I am blessed to have been called to preach 40 years ago, but this calling has varied challenges.
I used to preach and teach 10-12 times a week in the Rescue Mission, Nursing homes, Juvenile Detention Facilities, Jails, Prisons, and Church.
The church is the most challenging, teaching me many lessons. Sometimes, all it takes is to say something wrong to offend someone, and they never return.
For this reason, the preacher must be on his "A" game every Sunday and every Wednesday, but fortunately, congregations like this one bless their pastor with grace. Today's message is my 677th here.
J. Spiritual leadership.
With the internet, society lives in an era drowning in information yet gasping for wisdom.
The greatest comforts I find are in the eternal truths of scripture. Isaiah, like every preacher, was an instrument of God's wisdom.
He wrote about spiritual communication when he declared:
Isaiah 50:4 The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.
This verse captures the essence of what it means to be an effective spiritual communicator—a preacher.
K. The Tongue of the Learned
Isaiah mentions the "tongue of the learned." This does not simply imply an extensive vocabulary or impressive eloquence but rather emphasizes the capability to transmit God's divine wisdom.
One of my favorite stories involves Solomon asking God for wisdom. This act of the new king demonstrates that godly wisdom transcends human understanding and ability.
1 Kings 3:9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so grea |
