Gustav Holst: "Never compose anything unless the not composing of it becomes a positive nuisance to you."
The same holds for preaching.
Why 'preach' if you have not felt the imperative?
Why speak if the holding in is not more painful than the letting go?
Jeremiah felt the pain we are talking about here:
“Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” (Jeremiah 20:8–9 NIV)
Peter and John experienced something similar when they were instructed not to preach:
“But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”” (Acts 4:19–20 NIV)
How do we develop this 'positive nuisance'? Here are three tips:
1. Get a soaking. Spend quantity time in the Bible regularly.
2. Ask the questions - questioning the text opens up our own imagination, which in turn prompts the heart.
3. Pray the text - praying through the passage or about the themes of the passage helps us to deepen our conviction levels.
Conclusion
Put these tips into practice and the 'nuisance' value of scripture will grow in you as in me.
Jesus taught as one with authority (Mk 1:27) and the people were amazed at him.
There were several reasons for this, but one was that when he spoke everyone could tell he was not able to stop himself.
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God bless,
Malcolm
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