PREACHING THE WORD
I have been given a huge and astronomical ministry opportunity. A few months ago I was approached by Bill Pinalto, the Student Ministries Pastor at Camelback Bible Church, and was asked to be the speaker for their upcoming Jr. High Winter camp this next weekend (January 20-22). I have known Bill for the last year and a half as we have both been involved in the Training Center at EVBC, and I have learned many things from him and his passionate heart to reach students for Christ. He is a man who loves God and loves ministering to students, and so when he approached me to be the speaker for this camp I was extremely encouraged that he would think of me. I let him know that I would pray about the opportunity, and that I would get back with him. Well God in His wisdom knows what he is doing, and after I spoke with people that know me very well, I only received positive feedback that I should go after this opportunity with all of my heart. Bill, his staff, and I have been praying that God would raise up about 20 or more students to go up to Pine Summit this weekend, and though this isn’t a huge group, I am so excited that God has given me the pleasure of proclaiming His Word. As I have been preparing for this opportunity, there have been a number of things on my mind about how my heart should approach this incredible time. Here are a few things that I concluded:
1. I do not care what people think about me, I want lives to be changed by the Word of God and the gospel of Christ! This really became a reality for me after I spent a weekend with Mike Paasch when he was preaching at a men’s retreat for Family Bible Church. I have often been one to care too much about what others think about me as opposed to what really matters . . . life change. However, as I spent time with him that weekend, God used him to greatly affect my heart to be that of a humble servant simply desiring for peoples lives to change by the power of the Word of God, not my words. It was after that weekend that I sure that it was God having me speak for this retreat not my own will. Thank you Mike for reminding me that I need to have a heart that desires to attract others to Christ and not myself. Here is a quote from a pastor from the 18th century that exemplifies this truth: "A man cannot be a faithful minister, until he preaches Christ for Christ's sake - until he gives up striving to attract people to himself and seeks only to attract them to Christ." [1]
2. My cup must first be overflowing and I must be on fire for God. My old discipleship leader and dear friend Mike Griffith once told me that before a believer should try to encourage or share his faith with others, he must first have his cup full with Christ. He gave me an example of a simple cup with water in it. If a person holds a cup that is full of water, the person barely has to move, and water flows out all around the circumference of the cup. However, if the cup is close to being empty, it will not bubble over as easily and it will be much more work to spill out onto others. My desire is that I would be so filled up with Christ and his amazing Word, that my passion would just bubble out to all those around me. I don’t want to have to work hard for others to experience Christ by my life. I want it to be so easy because others can clearly see that I am overflowing with passion for Jesus. I want to say with Tozer, “. . . if my fire is not large it is yet real, and there may be those who can light their candle at its flame.”
3. Personal holiness is the key to effective preaching. There have been times in this last month of preparation that have been dry in my life and even full of sin. I have noticed that as my personal holiness decreases, my passion for the word decreases as well. I praise God that this last week has been an awesome experience of the presence of God in matters related to holiness, and I am so excited to preach the message that I am living. Probably one of the greatest quotes that I’ve heard on this subject is from a pastor from the 18th century named Robert Murray McCheyne. He said, "Study holiness of life. Your whole usefulness depends on this, for your sermons last but an hour or two; your life preaches all the week. If Satan can only make a covetous minister, a lover of praise, and pleasure, he has ruined your ministry. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God. A word spoken by you when your conscience is clear, and your heart is full of God's Spirit is worth ten thousand words spoken in unbelief and sin."[2]
Oh that I may be a man that puts these three things into constant practice. For His glory, the salvation of sinners, and the sanctification of believers, please pray that God would use me this weekend to share the gospel of Christ as I minister the Word of God to the students and staff of Camelback Bible.
[1] http://www.watchword.org/smithers/ww39a.html
[2] http://www.watchword.org/smithers/ww39a.html
1. I do not care what people think about me, I want lives to be changed by the Word of God and the gospel of Christ! This really became a reality for me after I spent a weekend with Mike Paasch when he was preaching at a men’s retreat for Family Bible Church. I have often been one to care too much about what others think about me as opposed to what really matters . . . life change. However, as I spent time with him that weekend, God used him to greatly affect my heart to be that of a humble servant simply desiring for peoples lives to change by the power of the Word of God, not my words. It was after that weekend that I sure that it was God having me speak for this retreat not my own will. Thank you Mike for reminding me that I need to have a heart that desires to attract others to Christ and not myself. Here is a quote from a pastor from the 18th century that exemplifies this truth: "A man cannot be a faithful minister, until he preaches Christ for Christ's sake - until he gives up striving to attract people to himself and seeks only to attract them to Christ." [1]
2. My cup must first be overflowing and I must be on fire for God. My old discipleship leader and dear friend Mike Griffith once told me that before a believer should try to encourage or share his faith with others, he must first have his cup full with Christ. He gave me an example of a simple cup with water in it. If a person holds a cup that is full of water, the person barely has to move, and water flows out all around the circumference of the cup. However, if the cup is close to being empty, it will not bubble over as easily and it will be much more work to spill out onto others. My desire is that I would be so filled up with Christ and his amazing Word, that my passion would just bubble out to all those around me. I don’t want to have to work hard for others to experience Christ by my life. I want it to be so easy because others can clearly see that I am overflowing with passion for Jesus. I want to say with Tozer, “. . . if my fire is not large it is yet real, and there may be those who can light their candle at its flame.”
3. Personal holiness is the key to effective preaching. There have been times in this last month of preparation that have been dry in my life and even full of sin. I have noticed that as my personal holiness decreases, my passion for the word decreases as well. I praise God that this last week has been an awesome experience of the presence of God in matters related to holiness, and I am so excited to preach the message that I am living. Probably one of the greatest quotes that I’ve heard on this subject is from a pastor from the 18th century named Robert Murray McCheyne. He said, "Study holiness of life. Your whole usefulness depends on this, for your sermons last but an hour or two; your life preaches all the week. If Satan can only make a covetous minister, a lover of praise, and pleasure, he has ruined your ministry. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God. A word spoken by you when your conscience is clear, and your heart is full of God's Spirit is worth ten thousand words spoken in unbelief and sin."[2]
Oh that I may be a man that puts these three things into constant practice. For His glory, the salvation of sinners, and the sanctification of believers, please pray that God would use me this weekend to share the gospel of Christ as I minister the Word of God to the students and staff of Camelback Bible.
[1] http://www.watchword.org/smithers/ww39a.html
[2] http://www.watchword.org/smithers/ww39a.html
posted by Brent Klontz at 12:43 PM
1 Comments:
I will be praying for you as you continue to prepare to speak at this church camp. May God bless the preaching of His Word and the ministry you will do.
20 students is an exciting number to me, because that means you'll be able to have a more intimate and personal time with them. I'm sure you'll be able to serve them more personally than if it was a group of hundreds and hundreds. Praise God for this opportunity.
Let me know how it goes.
Rusty
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