Fire In My BonesThat’s right. I have such a love for preaching the word of God that when I don’t, I feel like Jeremiah, when he says that if he were to not speak what Yahweh tells him to speak, “Jeremiah 20:9 Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.” That’s exactly how I feel. I always want to preach.
Tonight I preached at a rehabilitation center that I regularly go to. I preached from Mark 10:13-31 on being an inheritor of eternal life. I have been so encouraged over the last few weeks as I have been preparing for this message on the rich young Jewish ruler from this text. It is so rich! Furthermore, I am even more blown away by the way that Jesus evangelizes to this young man. I think a fascinating study would be to take a look at all the various ways (or methods) that Jesus shares the gospel with various people. It is so interesting how Jesus tailors the gospel (not the message, but the method) to certain situations and individuals. He is a genius – of course, he is God! In any case, I have thoroughly enjoyed delving into this text recently. I have found myself returning time and time again to the riches in these verses. I just cannot wait to get the message out. I cannot wait to have the gospel proclaimed.
That is one proof which confirms to me that I know that I must be a preacher. I simply cannot do anything else. I don’t know how to manage a business. I don’t know how to be an engineer. I don’t know how to use a scalpel and perform a surgery (you would never want me to get close to you with a scalpel!). I don’t know how to work with cells in the field of biology. Nor do I have any desire to be in these professions. The sole, singular, supreme and sovereignly planted desire in me is to preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2).
Therefore, I conclude by saying that I must preach. It is in my blood to preach. It is my burning passion to preach. I am always ready to preach. I live to preach God’s truth to people. I pray that God would use me some day for His ultimate glory in a ministry where I can preach the truth. And if I don’t preach, then may I echo with the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthian church, “1 Corinthians 9:16 woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”
