"A carnal professor will boast of having attended this conference and that, of having heard this famous teacher and that renowned preacher, and be no better off in his soul than if he had never heard any of them. He may listen to two sermons every Sunday, and fifty years hence be as dead spiritually as he is today.
But the regenerated soul appropriates the message and measures himself by what he hears. He is often convicted of his sins and made to mourn over them. He tests himself by God’s standard, and feels that he comes so far short of what he ought to be, that he sincerely doubts the honesty of his own profession. The Word pierces him, like a two-edged sword, and causes him to cry, "O wretched man that I am!"
~ Arthur Pink, "Faith"
This is assuming what is being preached is faithful and true to the whole corpus of Scripture--and that is the measure by which the Christian tests himself. Today it is doubtful most of the celebrity teachers bother with much of Scripture save their own pet-doctrines and verses, leaving Christians lacking in sanctification.
I totally agree lyn!
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