David Miller: Christ and the Church

“Now regarding anthropology, it was the Founder of the Church [Christ] who expounded the doctrine of human depravity.
He taught us that men are dead spiritually and cannot activate themselves.
They are defiled morally and cannot rehabilitate themselves.
They are dominated satanically and cannot not liberate themselves.
They are debilitated volitionally and they cannot elevate themselves.
They are damned eternally and they cannot not exonerate themselves.
They can’t work their way, they can’t worship their way, and they cannot will their way to God;
they are dependent upon the interposition of the grace of God in Christ Jesus or they will die in their sins and go to hell.” - Rev. David Miller

They say that Rev. Miller used to get people to stand him up behind the pulpit as he preached. Well, as he preached this morning at the Southern Seminary Chapel service, though paralyzed in his wheelchair, he stood taller than many preachers do every Sunday as they step up into the pulpit.

He had a holiness about him. It seemed like an old-time holiness. Like when you look at old photos of preachers from the late 19th and early 20th century, and you think to yourself, “I wonder what it would’ve been like to hear them preach”. That’s how Rev. Miller was today, except for he was here, and he was preaching…

Boy, was he preaching! Before I go any further, let me just say this. In my own opinion, there ain’t nothing like hearing the Word of God preached out of the KJV. Now don’t get me wrong, I carry an ESV, and just bought a CSB (kinda by accident, but oh well); but sometimes I think modern English should “suck it up and be a man” when it comes to the “thou’s” and “thee’s”. If you want to exegete the Greek and Hebrew, come on with it, but don’t feel bad if I follow along with KJV (and later on with the ESV…lol).

Anyways, back to Rev. Miller. He preached out of the KJV this morning. But their wasn’t a Bible in front of him, nor were there any notes for that matter. He recalled and recited the entire sermon from memory. Now to a bunch of seminarians, that right there is enough to gain yourself a hearing. But that ain’t all. In fact, that ain’t even close to all. Memorizing is one thing, but what Rev. Miller did this morning far surpassed mere mental capacities. He brought the Word, in power.

You should’ve seen the place. We were hanging on to his every word, and trying to digest his every thought. As he referenced scripture from memory, the Word seemed like less of a book to him, and more like a part of him. Rather than turn to a passage, he drew it out of his heart, and let it rest on his tongue. Many of his texts were not obscure or novel, but all that he said had a freshness about it that, to me, was like a rain on dry ground.

For me personally, this man and this message is still piercing my heart. My calling itself has been encouraged and directed. My heart for the proclamation of God’s Word has been inflamed. My view of Christ, His Church, and the coming kingdom that unites them both forever, has been renewed afresh. See what the Lord has in it for you: David Miller, Christ and His Church.

“the Lord hath reigned from the tree. Hallelujah!”

‘BH

~ by brotherhank on September 20, 2007.