Are You Talking to Me?
Last week after one of my messages, someone came up and asked if I was talking to him—if the point of the sermon was directed at him. Something similar happened again today. My answer, if you’re wondering the same thing, is “yes.” At least, I hope so. I hope the Holy Spirit is working through me in ways that make you wonder if my words have you in mind. That’s a good thing, because it means you’re listening, and it means God is using me—weak and flawed as I am—to challenge you in some way.
Now, do I write sermons and devotionals with specific people in mind? Not often, but sometimes. And as long as we are always speaking scripture’s truths, we can be confident that it is God at work. As Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man [or woman] of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV).
If you hear me and think I’m talking to you, please understand that it’s meant to be a blessing rather than a rebuke. But, hey, maybe at times I should be more direct.
Paul told Timothy not to be ashamed of his ministry and calling but rather to be bold. Here’s the quote from 2 Timothy 4:1-5: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (ESV).
I try to be patient and gracious, because I know I need those things. But I also try to be truthful, even if it’s hard truth that needs to be shared. If I fail to do that, I fail to be of any real use to God or to you. So, keep praying that God will refine and improve me so that I can share the truth in ways that are bearable, because God is still alive. His word still speaks. And we all most certainly need to hear Him.
Manchester Church, I love every single one of you in Christ.
Patrick Barber