Extreme Faith Workout
www.gbcwestlake.org
Today's extreme faith workout includes listening to last week's message, from James 3:13-18. One of the things that I struggle with, as a pastor, is making sure that my preaching is not just about getting wisdom out to others, for their learning and application, but that it begins with me. It is my desire, when I preach, that I am preaching to myself first. It is very interesting that many people will come to me and say that I was preaching to them. Sometimes, they are even angry because they truly believe I was using my preaching to preach at them or about them or embarrass them. Others come to me, obviously broken by God's Spirit, saying that God challenged them through the message and that it seemed as thought I was preaching directly to them. That is actually encouraging to hear, because I know that I wasn't but that God made it seem very personal to that person on that particular day with that particular message. Some days I feel I preached the worst sermon ever and yet I find out later that God used it greatly in someone's life. It is because God's power comes through the Word of God, even thought the messenger (me) is certainly mistake prone, a struggling sinner, and not the best communicator in the world. All praise goes to God. So, when I prepare for my messages, and when I preach them, and even if I listen to them later, it is my heart's desire to learn what God wants ME to learn and to apply what God wants ME to apply. Then, and only then, should I be concerned with what GOD wants me to say to others.
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