Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men. (Proverbs 22:29)
There are some things I wished I learned a lot earlier in life. More particularly, there are some things I have pretty much always known that I wish I had applied earlier. One of these life-lessons is to make the most of what I have - in this case the God-given gifts that I have been entrusted with.
One of the gifts that God has given me is the ability to preach and teach. I preached my first sermon at 18, and with the gift of the gab, my rough and ready words garnered some positive feedback and I was away. Truth be told, for many years after I coasted on my ability to tell a story and weave some phrases together. Some messages were better than others; all could have been much better had I been more focused on developing my skills as a communicator.
Bill Hybels has an axiom, 'Excellence honors God and inspires people.' Since coming to Newlife I have had to become much more disciplined in preparing for preaching. Before coming, the opportunity and challenge of preaching week in, week out to the same group of people excited and terrified me. Would I have enough to say? Anything to say? These questions drove me deeper into reading God's Word, studying and into many more hours of sermon preparation than I previously engaged in. And, surprise - surprise, I believe my skills and effectiveness as a communicator have increased markedly. The really cool thing is that I know there is a lot more improvement in me, so for many more years yet I will enjoy the journey towards God-honoring excellence.
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