Matthew 4:17 (KJV)
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
I’ve been a preacher of the gospel for over 42 years now. While I am thankful to have been called of God and to have had so many blessed opportunities in the ministry, I have preached in many of these United States from coast to coast. I’ve preached to large crowds, in smaller churches, and in several meetings with international attendance.
I have been humbly blessed to see souls saved, men surrender to preach, families restored, and churches planted. I’ve had the incredible privilege of helping secure the sale of a college campus in Southern California and the purchase of a new one in Oklahoma City.
I am awed at how blessed my life in the ministry has been.
Then, at the right time, when I sensed a burden to focus more on writing, God had—really without my even realizing it—provided in such a way that I could step aside from pastoring, move to a small town where my son pastors, and pursue this next venture of faith.
Having said all of that, I can also say that the Bible does not exaggerate when it calls preaching foolishness. It is humbling. It exposes a man to the multitudes who hear him. The preacher is laid bare before the congregation, leaving him vulnerable to both their agreements and disagreements.
As one disgruntled man told me years ago, “I’ve had disagreements with you many times over the years. This was the last straw.” Every sermon potentially adds another straw to the convictions of our congregation, never knowing when the next message may become “the last straw.”
Here’s the point.
Jesus left heaven, became man, and “began to preach,” laying Himself bare before men.
There came a day when He preached His “last straw,” and they crucified Him.
But what they did not know was that by killing Him, they were releasing the greatest form of liberty any man will ever know: liberty from sin and freedom of conscience.
#Matthew417 #PreachTheGospel #RepentAndBelieve #LibertyFromSin #FaithfulPreaching
The Foolishness of Preaching: Lessons from the Preacher
Have you ever had a sermon become your "last straw"—or your turning point? Leave a comment below and share your experience.
If this devotional encouraged you, visit marvinmckenzie.org for more Bible studies, daily encouragement, comics, and Christ-centered resources.
For this and, more than 7100 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.
My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org
Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/
Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more
Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give.
No comments:
Post a Comment