Preaching to the Preacher

I used to think that I learned from the sermon while I was preparing it and that was it. Now I know it is not the only time God speaks to me through my preaching. At least twice in the past couple of weeks I have had content from sermons brought back to mind and applied.

Instance #1: After experience inner turmoil for about ten days without being able to identify the cause, I was reminded of a suggested application at the end of a sermon. That application (to be concerned with living up to God's expectations rather than people's expectations) immediately shed light on what was causing my angst, followed by joy and peace. Now, I just have to live up to God's expectations. How hard can that be?!

Instance #2: Following a sermon (and Church Council retreat Bible study) that identified fasting as temporarily giving up a regular part of life—normally thought of as food—in order to gain more time for something else—normally thought of as prayer, I found myself needing to accomplish four weeks worth of work in just two weeks. I decided to forfeit an activity I enjoy doing as a distraction and focus on getting the work done. Lo and behold, by temporarily giving up something that probably consumed a total of ten minutes a day, I was able to accomplish many more hours of prayer, Bible study, and sermon preparation. I know the math regarding time does not work out but it happened anyway and I thank God!