So the sermon I heard today hit me pretty hard. It was a guest preacher, a pastor and author from England–Neil Hudson, the author of Imagine Church. Sometimes you may have justification to think your pastor aimed his sermon at you. I had none. I just knew that God wanted me to hear it. It was very good, and I wanted to share it with you.
It was on Luke 10:1-20, where Jesus sends out 72 disciples into the surrounding towns ahead of where He was going to go. He sent them with next to no instructions, told them to take no extra clothes and no extra money. They had to trust that the Father would give them what they needed.
Basically the message was that the “ministry field” he wants us working is the place He’s sent us to. He said for most people that is where you would be at this time Monday morning. For me that means the cigar shop.
You know I took a big financial cut taking my current job (but that’s a world better than not working at all). I like working there, but it isn’t a pastoral resume builder and there isn’t a lot of room for advancement(not none, but not a lot). And I hate being so financially tight. I have often wondered: why this change?
Then the pastor said that often we don’t like where we are. We don’t like having everything we need. We would rather be doing something else, somewhere else. And we probably pray for God to change our circumstances. But often He does not give us what we want. Because He wants us to be learning to trust Him for what we need. As Jesus sent the 72 out without extra clothes and adequate provisions of food or money, the Father often sends us out in the same way so that we can be learning the same things.
That hit me hard… in a good way. I felt like God was saying, “Are you listening Dan? Nothing is wrong. You haven’t been benched. There are people I need you to help who come into each of those stores you work at. And I want you to trust Me more. I want to trust me for everything, I don’t want you depending on yourself and what you can do, I want you depending on Me and what I can do. You have work to do where you are. Trust Me, and do it.”
We went to church in two cars on Sunday. I was glad for that. I needed some time alone to think, and pray, and process that. There is so much I love about my life and what I am doing and where I am, and at the same time there is so much I wish were different. But I need to trust that God knows what He is doing and that He will give me what I need to get done what He wants me doing. I need to trust that while do the things I can do, God will take care of the things I can’t do.
The audio is below for your listening pleasure. I highly recommend it.
Learning To Be Full Of Grace And Truth. 
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
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Beautiful, Dan! I wish things weren’t such a struggle, but the fruit to be found there, the treasures, are just priceless. What doesn’t kill you builds character, right? The very best pastors I know all have really struggled and developed an empathy and heart for people that isn’t even of this world. I think that trusting in the Lord when it comes to finances can be especially hard for men.
For some reason I first read this as, “the sermon I gave today hit me pretty hard,” which made me laugh. I have been there and done that, where I have a word, I have a word,and then I realize, oh dear, this word is entirely pointing at me! 🙂
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Haha! I know exactly what you mean. I wish things weren’t so hard too. But as the philosophers of Mercy Me wrote, if that’s what it takes to praise you, then Jesus bring the rain! If have a funeral to prepare for Friday and a sermon for Sunday, so I don’t think I will be around much after today. We’ll see.
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A very good sermon for sure Dan. I think he was talk to me too!
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Glad you liked it.
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It was a great sermon for the last 2/3 of it that I caught. I plan on listening
to it again.
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👍👍👍
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