To Be Effective

Me: Sometimes we need to be reminded of what the Lord says is true.

Prodigal: Yes, there are so many different ideas of what will help.

Me: You can never go wrong with the direction the Lord will take you.

This is from the book Jonathan Edwards: Men of Faith by David J. Vaughan

Edwards understood that to be effective in the pulpit he needed to do more than simply master the mechanics of sermon preparation and the techniques of preaching. He also needed something beyond his solid knowledge of the Bible. What Edwards sought in private was communion with God. If he was going to preach effectively–with power– then he needed the touch of God. Not content to utter speculative truth alone, he strove to acquire a personal and experiential knowledge of the doctrines he proclaimed. He grasped the simple but profound fact that his inner life was interwoven with his outer work. Ministers should “earnestly seek after much of the spiritual knowledge of Christ, and that they may live in the clear views of his glory….Ministers should be much in seeking God, and conversing with him by prayer, who is the fountain of light and love.

Minister’s heart should be in the right place and pride should be forced away by understanding that God has given us everything. God is the one to be worshiped and not God’s servants.

Psalm 23:6

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodialpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

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