My preaching and how’d it go...

First of all I want to thank you all for your prayers. I know that there were many people praying for me. It was a big day for me and I really felt your support in prayers. Well, it’s been a week. But I still remember it pretty well. So let me share with you about it.

The thing was that the night before I had prom…so you get the point:) But preaching was my priority and so I left earlier (well, I was the first one that got out of there). I woke up at 6am and went to the church. I went there to pray. For myself and also for those that would hear the message. It was an interesting time when I was struggling with a question of what can older people receive from my preaching? You know, like 40 yrs old and people in their 50s… What about them? What can a teenager boy tell them? Then I realized…what was it that God said? It goes like this:

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11

So it’s not MY job to make sure that it’s going to touch people’s lives. It’s HIS job and I can rest on that. The verse that God gave me to get ready and to fight just minutes before my preaching was a verse from Proverbs 1:33 that says:

But whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.

So I just pleaded with God. I prayed: God, I just want to listen to You and tell them what I hear from You. Not more, not less. And I really want to listen to you and I know that when I do – I don’t have to be afraid, for it is You I listen to!

It was amazing to stand up there. You know what I remember? Feelings and thoughts? Nothing! I don’t know...but it was just that I was there and preaching. I didn’t care at all that it’s my first preaching, or that I’m being recorded, or that there are almost 50 people staring at me (including my parents, my friends from school and MANY other “special” people). It just all passed me by. I was so into preaching and the Word that I had NO idea and interest about those things. It was there just me serving the Lord. And what a great feeling to be used by God! I didn’t pay any attention to me being there – but wanted Christ to be there and be speaking through me.

So speaking for myself I enjoyed it and loved it. It just felt right to me that I was preaching and I felt that I was at the right place at the right moment. But feedback is really important and so I cared how useful it was to people. I was afraid that it was useful only to me…I’ve learnt a lot along the way but I failed at passing it down to the congregation – at least that‘s how I felt. But those people didn’t feel like that at all. Actually I’ve received lots of positive feedback. People were encouraged and blessed by the ministry and I was really thankful for that.

Later our pastor told me (when he was giving me feedback) that I can start thinking of another topic for my next sermon. So yes, I will preach again. But that’s not going to be any earlier then in the spring. What will I do till then? Just read the Proverbs:) I will listen to the LORD and I will dwell secure and without fear!

Marek

Some more info on my preaching

As you may know from my previous post I will preach next Sunday (Dec 13th). I just want to give you some update on how things are going.

As I expected (and was pretty sure) my youth would be an obstacle to some. But I must say that I am really blessed by people that are in my church because they are finding their way through and are trying to accept me. I’m not saying there are no problems – I’d be lying if I said that. But God’s love unites us and helps us to get through some stuff.

And I know it requires of the people in our church to humble themselves cause there’s going to be standing a 19 yrs old guy (who hasn’t even finished his high school) and will be preaching to them. Oh how I love them to receive me in humility. And on the other hand it’s a great temptation for me to think high of myself. You know, preaching that early is not so common. And so both of us, the congregation and I, have to be careful about our hearts, motivations and thoughts.

But as I get closer and closer to the day I will preach God humbles me in so many ways. For the past weeks He’s been tearing down every single thing I might rely upon. And there’s nothing left now. Not my wisdom, not my skills, there’s nothing I could hold to. But there is GOD that I can and surely WILL rely upon to! He’s tearing everything down and leaves Himself as the only One that is still there.

He makes me to see more and more of the greatness of the preaching of the Word. More and more of the importance and need of it. And He’s showing me my heart – who I really am – oh and how that prepares me for the ministry. I was afraid I might grow in pride but He’s protecting me – I’m being more and more humbled. And what makes me humble the most is the thought of what preaching really is. Makes me feel unworthy of this great ministry.

This is what Cotton Mather said about preaching. He lived in 17th century:
“The great design…of a Christian preacher [is] to restore the throne and dominion of God in the souls of men.”
John Piper, The Supremacy of God in Preaching

Please pray for me that God would keep my heart pure and that the hearts of the people in our church would be open to the message of God that I will try to communicate as biblically and clearly as I am able to. For I am not preaching myself, but Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23).

Marek

Preaching and me...

Friends, another update…and a prayer request is here:)

About a month ago I was asked by our pastor to preach at our church. I find it as a great privilege and honor to teach the Word of God to our congregation. But it’s not just a great privilege; it’s also a great responsibility. So I want to ask you to pray for me as I prepare the sermon. I’ve done some teaching before, but it was only for youth groups and small groups. Never a sermon! It’s going to be something totally new to me that I have never experienced before. The truth is that I’m a pretty young guy how hasn’t even finished his high school. And the fact that I will preach humbles me even more. So I want to ask you to pray for me. Especially that:

• I would be faithful to the Word of God and the preaching would not be in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that their faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).
• That my youth would not be a barrier to the hearers (1 Timothy 4:12).
• That I might do this with joy and not with groaning (Hebrews 13:17).
• That God would be glorified and to Him given all the glory (Ephesians 3:21).

I’ll give my first preach on December 13th. Please pray that God would be honored and glorified in my preparation and the actual preaching…

Marek

A Kind of “Pleasing Pain”

Another part from the book The Hidden Smile of God. This is about David Brainerd:

Brainerd’s conviction was that no aspiration on earth surpassed the supreme purpose to savor and spread the reign of Christ in his own personal holiness and the conversion of the Indians for the glory of God. He called his passion for more holiness and more usefulness a kind of “pleasing pain.” “When I really enjoy God, I feel my desires of him the more insatiable, and my thirstings after holiness the more unquenchable. . . . Oh, for holiness! Oh, for more of God in my soul! Oh, this pleasing pain! It makes my soul press after God. . . . Oh, that I might never loiter on my heavenly journey!”.
He was gripped by the apostolic admonition: “Walk circum- spectly . . . redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16, KJV). He embodied the counsel: “Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9, KJV). He strove to be, as Paul says, “abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). April 17, 1747: “O I longed to fill the remaining moments all for God! Though my body was so feeble, and wearied with preaching and much private conversation, yet I wanted to sit up all night to do something for God. To God the giver of these refreshments, be glory forever and ever; Amen”. February 21, 1746: “My soul was refreshed and comforted, and I could not but bless God, who had enabled me in some good measure to be faithful in the day past. Oh, how sweet it is to be spent and worn out for God!”.

And the result is.....:)

Friends, thank you for praying for me during this time when I was deciding about my future, namely choosing the university I will go to. And here's the result. This is an edited excerpt from a letter I sent to those ten people I met with:
-----------------------------
Friends, 
As you already know, I’ve been praying for almost a year about this period of time. That God would make His plans clear to me and that I would be able to make a step of confidence into the next year.

I must say that the Lord has exceeded my expectations regarding the clarity by which He guides me. I wrote down everything those ten people told me and I looked at it carefully. Considered it and tried to boil it down into good and right decisions. Fortunately that wasn’t that hard, because I haven’t met with much of a contradiction between what they all said to me.

After considering everything I’ve heard from them, looking at my life and asking God to make it clear I can say I know what the Lord wants me to do (at least the next step He wants me to take). There were many questions and many ways. Such as: should I go and study theology at all? If so, when? Now or later? Where? In Slovakia or somewhere else? And if not theology, what else should I do? God didn’t let me alone with these questions and He gave me guidance along the way to resolve this and to come up with an idea that would be pleasing to Him and give Him glory.

I believe that God would be pleased if I went and studied theology. I am convinced that the best place where to do so is Banká Bystrica at KETM. So I will apply for that university. If God wills, that’s where I’ll be next year. But I don’t want that to be everything I do. I don’t want it to be over after KETM and so I would like to do some more studies outside of Slovakia, where I can get better and deeper education. But I believe that KETM can give me the best preparation I will need for ministry here in Slovakia.

God didn’t use this time only to show me the next step in my life; He also helped me to clarify the vision, desire, and purpose in my ministry. Let me tell you about these for a little moment. There are basically two main visions (desires) I have (right now):

1. I want people to experience what I experience, namely joy and love that comes from God. To be more specific I could say it in one clear sentence: I want people to cry because of what has Jesus done for them! Not the kind of cry that is sorrowful but the kind of cry and tears that are joyful because God Himself loves them and died for them. I don’t want them just to know this, I want them to live it, experience it in such a way that brings tears into their eyes.
2. I don’t want Revelation 2:4-5 to be true for those people. Jesus says in Revelation 2:4-5 „But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” There are hundreds of people in the church in Slovakia that lost their first love. They’re not in love with God anymore. They’re not passionate about Him anymore. They have lost the zeal they once used to be living with. And that’s my desire. I want to awake in them the love they once had for Christ and His people. I want them to burn with passion and zeal for Him and His glory. I want them to be awaken.

All together it’s been a little over a month of time while I was meeting with all these people. It’s been a fruitful and encouraging season for me that I am really thankful for. So in the end I can say that this all has been a success.

Marek

What is really imporant?

 Couple of days ago I was reading about the life of David Brainerd and as I was walking home last night I was asking myself a question of what is really important? If it's not how much we do or accomplish, then what is it? I found an explanation in what Piper said:

The amazing thing may not be that he died so early and accomplished so little, but that, being as sick as he was, he lived as long as he did and accomplished so much.

If we are to decide whether somebody's life was "successful" based on how much has this person accomplished, David Brainerd would probably not be among those Top 10. However, he's one of the most influential people in the history of the church in matters of missions.

It is an inspiring thought that one small pebble dropped in the sea of history can produce waves of grace that break on dis- tant shores hundreds of years later and thousands of miles away. Robert Glover ponders this thought with wonder when he writes, 

It was Brainerd’s holy life that influenced Henry Martyn to become a missionary and was a prime factor in William Carey’s inspiration. Carey in turn moved Adoniram Judson. And so we trace the spiritual lineage from step to step—Hus, Wycliffe, Francke, Zinzendorf, the Wesleys and Whitefield, Brainerd, Edwards, Carey, Judson, and ever onward in the true apostolic succession of spiritual grace and power and world-wide ministry.

 So it is not about how much we do as it is  about why, for whom and how we do it. If our goal is to glorify God and we do it out of selfless motives - then our ministry is more glorifying to God then anything else. For Jesus himself says: there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. That's all it takes for a huge celebration in Heavens. Another quote from the book.

Who can describe the value of one soul transferred from the king- dom of darkness, and from the weeping and gnashing of teeth, to the kingdom of God’s dear Son! If we live twenty-nine years or if we live ninety-nine years, would not any hardships be worth the saving of one person from the eternal torments of hell for the everlasting enjoyment of the glory of God?

So my friends, may we set our hearts and eyes for way greater things then numbers and stats. Let's set our hearts, minds and eyes to the glory of God and the joy of Christ we have a share in. 

William Cowper

Another person Piper writes in his book The Hidden Smile of God is William Cowper [pronounced “Cooper”]. He was a man who wrote many hymns that are being sung in churches even today. But not everybody knows what's hidden behind those verses.

In 1752 he sank into his first paralyzing depression—the first of four major battles with mental breakdown so severe as to set him to staring out of windows for weeks at a time. Struggle with despair came to be the theme of his life. He was twenty-one years old and not yet a believer.

In December 1763 he was committed to St. Albans Insane Asylum, where the fifty-eight-year-old Dr. Nathaniel Cotton tended the patients. Cotton was somewhat of a poet, but most of all, by God’s wonderful design, an evangelical believer and a lover of God and the Gospel. He loved Cowper and held out hope to him repeatedly in spite of his insistence that he was damned and beyond hope. Six months into his stay, Cowper found a Bible lying (not by accident) on a bench. And this is what Cowper says:

Having found a Bible on the bench in the garden, I opened upon the 11th of St. John, where Lazarus is raised from the dead; and saw so much benevolence, mercy, goodness, and sympathy with miserable men, in our Saviour’s conduct, that I almost shed tears upon the revelation; little think- ing that it was an exact type of the mercy which Jesus was on the point of extending towards myself. I sighed, and said, “Oh, that I had not rejected so good a Redeemer, that I had not forfeited all his favours.” Thus was my heart softened, though not yet enlightened. 

Increasingly, he felt he was not utterly forsaken. Again he felt led to turn to the Bible. The first verse he saw was Romans 3:25: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (KJV). And William continues:

Immediately I received the strength to believe it, and the full beams of the Sun of Righteousness shone upon me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement He had made, my pardon sealed in His blood, and all the fullness and com- pleteness of His justification. In a moment I believed, and received the gospel... Whatever my friend Madan had said to me, long before, revived in all its clearness, with demonstration of the spirit and with power. Unless the Almighty arm had been under me, I think I should have died with gratitude and joy. My eyes filled with tears, and my voice choked with transport; I could only look up to heaven in silent fear, overwhelmed with love and wonder.

Cower was a man so depressed that he tried to commit a suicide so many times that one might wonder what was so hard to kill himself. The answer is easy. As Piper puts it: each time God providentially prevented him. God used the sorrows and hardships of his life to bring about fruit that now (after all those afflictions) tastes much sweeter.

This is what John Piper writes as a conclusion:

Cowper was sick. But in his sickness he saw things that we so desperately need to see. He saw hell. And sometimes he saw heaven. He knew terror. And sometimes he knew ecstasy. When I stand to welcome the people to worship on Sunday morning, I know that there are William Cowpers in the congregation. There are spouses who can barely talk. There are sullen teenagers living double lives at home and school. There are widows who still feel the amputation of a fifty-year partner. There are single people who have not been hugged for twenty years. There are men in the prime of their lives with cancer. There are moms who have car- ried two tiny caskets. There are soldiers of the cross who have risked all for Jesus and bear the scars. There are tired and dis- couraged and lonely strugglers. Shall we come to them with a joke?
They can read the comics every day. What they need from me is not more bouncy, frisky smiles and stories. What they need is a kind of joyful earnestness that makes the broken heart feel hopeful and helps the ones who are drunk with trifles sober up for greater joys.

In Cowper’s most famous hymn, this is what he sings—the preciousness of the blood of Christ to the worst of sinners. 

There is a fountain filled with blood 

Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins; 

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, 

Lose all their guilty stains.
 

The dying thief rejoiced to see 

That fountain in his day; 

And there have I, as vile as he, 

Washed all my sins away.
 

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood 

Shall never lose its power; 

Till all the ransomed church of God 

Be saved to sin no more.
 

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream 

Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.