Even in the wilderness

ourCOG April 19, 2023 9:18 am #ourCOG 1

Everyone expects the preacher to say something, but the question is, does the preacher have something to say?

Good morning dedicated ILCOG Ministerial Team!

In all my years of pastoring, no matter how hard I tried to prepare ahead of time, Saturdays were still the day that it “happened” for me in most of my sermon preparation. I’d get up with the weight of Sunday (especially the message) feeling like a ton of bricks laying on my shoulders.

Maybe that describes you today. This morning in my bible reading I reflected on Luke’s comments about John the Baptist (Luke 3). A little statement stood out to me in verse 2 – “the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.”

(1) The word of God came – trust God’s word! You are not called to be a “reed shaken by the wind” (Matthew 11:7) trying to figure out what is trendy, expected, or “catchy” – just open your bible and preach from it.

(2) The word of God came to John the son of Zacharias – God had a specific message for a specific person – not just any John or Jack or Judy – no! God had a word for a specific person – John the son of Zacharias. And the same is true for you today. Believe in God, but also believe in you – God has called you and you have something to say.

(3) The word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness – the Bible offers no comment on why John was in the wilderness but it does assure us that God knew he was there and was able to get His word to John – even in the wilderness.

The ONE THING for today: Currently you may be in the wilderness. You may feel like you have a wilderness assignment. You may be going through a wilderness season personally or as a family. Nevertheless, God knows right where you are and his calling on your life is still there. It may be no bigger than the size of a man’s hand – but God will give you something to say for tomorrow. Say it, say it in faith, and trust God with the results…for He is risen! He is risen indeed.