3. Fear Man
It is so subtle, yet so dangerous. Vain-glory, as an old Puritan put it, is one of Satan's most effective traps. Instead of doing what you do to glorify God, you start doing what you do to impress people, and you end up completely missing the point.
I think personally, one of the things I loved most about Dr. MacArthur when I was at The Master's Seminary, was that he would have been the same person if he were speaking to ten people as if he were speaking to ten thousand. It wasn't about what people thought of him, it was about honoring God.
4. Be Fake
I like habits. I'm glad I don't have to think every time I tie my shoe. But I don't want that to be true when I preach. We can't let preaching become just another habit. We get up on Sundays, we deliver a message, we sit down, we do the routine.
No, no, no.
We've got to think about who we are speaking to, who we are speaking about, why we are speaking. If we really want to be effective preachers, we've got to get beat up by the text. We've got to be comforted by the text. We've got to be challenged by the text. It's got to go through us if it is ever going to get to the people.
If you want to fool people into thinking you are someone you are not, I've got a piece of advice for you, be an actor. You get up there Sunday after Sunday and try to fake it, you end up hurting everbody - including yourself.
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2 comments:
4. Be Fake
Wow. Have you ever had a fake pastor? How do you tell a pastor that he comes off as shallow?
Hard stuff...
I guess, I'm not too concerned with being able to spot when someone else is being fake.
You start trying to read motives and expressions and you are getting into dangerous territory. I mean, really how do we know if someone is being fake?(...beyond the obvious...)
Sometimes what we think is fake is just a different way of expressing oneself. And where would that fit with love believes all things?
I'm talking primarily about self-evaluation. Probably, really fake is too strong a word. Lack of earnestness might be better.
I don't want to ever be like the tour guide at the Grand Canyon who has talked about it so many times that he kind of takes it for granted.
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