Heart Transplant
Ezek. 36: 26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and gv you a heart of flesh."The more i work with people, the more i realise that it is difficult to handle the matters of the heart. I am talking about my heart and the hearts of others. What we see on the outside (the make up and hair style...etc), can easily hide the matters of the heart.
As a Pastor, i realised that i can preach a sermon only to find people reacting in an opposite way (in the matter of a few minutes). Sometimes, it can be very discouraging and heartbreaking. At times, it also makes me feel 'inferior'. Do people accept what God had convicted me about? Am i wasting my time?
I thank God that often times He stops me from rattling away. He whispers, "its not about you." I guess the greatest challenge at the end is whether the preacher himself is converted by the Word that He preaches. The more i think about it the more i realise that only God can give us a heart transplant.
Labels: Reflection
posted by Pastorpher at 2:08 pm
3 Comments:
i realised that i can preach a sermon only to find people reacting in an opposite way (in the matter of a few minutes).
You can? How opposite a way in the matter of a few minutes when the people is only seated down not doing anything else? The facial expression?
At times, it also makes me feel 'inferior'. Do people accept what God had convicted me about? Am i wasting my time?
I know how it feels ('cept that I only preached once in my life and I think it should be the last!). But don't lose heart - Jesus and Paul did not fair well too at times - people just refuse to listen and yet they still go on. And now their words are ours to read, study and obey.
the greatest challenge at the end is whether the preacher himself is converted by the Word that He preaches
Definitely. I must tell you that SH told me one day that your sermons very much involved "you" (i.e. you speak from a more personal level) than the sermons he is used to and he was moved by your devotion and commitment to preach what meant something to you in the first place.
God bless.
Hi Pearlie, thanks for milding over what i have written. I appreciate & welcome your comment as it challenges me to think further. In regard to people's reaction, i was not so much thinking about our sermon at the church service. (however, there are also ways to measure that response but it can't be done in a few minutes). but i was thinking about some other meetings where there were devotional meditation.
your comment about Jesus and Paul was encouraging. Hmm...something worth remembering. I guess at the end of the day, our responsibility to preach God's Word doesn't depend on people's response; it is in obedience to God.
Galatians 1:10
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ"
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