Same message every Sunday - Can't he preach any other message? Phillippians 3-4

The story is told of a preacher who showed up in his new church and preached a wonderful message on forgiveness and mercy. All the congregation love it and couldn't believe they had found a preacher with such a dynamic flare for preaching. They coulnd't wait until the next Sunday to hear another message from the Word. The next Sunday, however, brought something they didn't expect. When the preacher mounted the pulpit he had the church members turn to the same passage of Scripture he preached the week before. Thinking he was going to plunge deeper into the text the church members fingers quickly turned the pages and sat attentively waiting for new words of wisdom and insight. Instead the young preacher preached the exact same message from the week before, closed in a blessing of prayer and left the pulpit. Although this was strange the members were fine with it ... until the young preacher preached that same message week, after week, after week. Finally one of the deacons was selected to confront the young preacher and ask him when he was going to preach a different message. The young preacher simply looked at the deacon and said, "When everyone starts to practice and perfect this message I will move onto a second message. However, as of now no one has practiced what I have been preaching so there is no reason to move on."

I assume the story is just made up but the point made is perfect for what Paul writes in Philippians 3:1. Paul tells the readers of this letter that it is "no trouble to him" to write the same things again to them and it is a "safe-guard" to them. Paul is about to write something again he had already told them. As the master teacher of the day he doesn't back away from repeating prior teachings. He is not looking for the new, he is making sure they have a grasp of the old. In our itching ear society we have an egerness to hear new things. In Paul's day the men of Athens couldn't wait to hear new things (Acts 17). But, Paul wants believers to hear the same truths he already told them and that will be a safeguard for them. So, why do we preach the same things over and over each Sunday? It is a safeguard for us. Why do we read the Bible over and over? Because it is a safeguard for us. How safe are you if you don't heed the lessons you are hearing but rather look for new words in the wind?