Why the Preacher Can't Quit
"Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name.
But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I
was weary with forbearing and I could not stay." JEREMIAH 20:9
Destined to be a preacher? "Yes! Absolutely and positively
yes!" That was Jeremiah's clear and resolute certainty at one
time. The word of the Lord came to him as he was busy with
his own agenda and he heard God say, “Before I formed thee
in the belly I knew thee; and before thou earnest forth out
of the womb I sanctified thee, And I ordained thee a prophet
unto the nations. Known before conceptions, sanctified prenatally;
ordained from eternity {Destined to be a preacher) Unequivocally and undeniably yes! But now, after some serious traveling on the prophetic roadway another thought occupies this preachers mind And it does not end with a question mark. It ends rather with a resounding exclamation mark. And the language is decidedly different. Heavy of heart and sunken in spirit, the prophet out of the village of Anathoth says in substance concerning his predicament,
(1)"Doomed to be a preacher!' Underscore the word "doomed."
Put it in big, bold caps. And lay upon it the most emphatic
note. "DOOMED! DOOMED!" "DOOMED to be a
preacher! Destined? Yes But also doomed! How sad and
forlorn such an utterance sounds. How replete with negativity.
There's nothing alluring at all about such a poignant
note. This is no way to encourage young prophets eager and
zealous in their efforts to speak for the Eternal. But honesty
obtains He will not deceive nor misled. His verbal posture
right now reads."Doomed to be a preacher "Almost from
the get-go, he knows nothing but turbulence. Few tail-winds
to urge him onward many head-winds to stifle and stymy.
.Indifference, obstinacy, betrayal, direct confrontation, hard opposition- all of these have been at work. Priestly resentment, hatred on the part of his countrymen, family disloyalty-these have assaulted his spirit. And yea, some have even sought to take his life. And all of it has stemmed from a sincere effort to tell the truth about God and about the human predicament. He has wept for his people-"O that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears. They have vexed his very soul to the extent that he has pleaded with God 'Let THEM be confounded that persecute me but let not me be
Confounded let THEM be dismayed but let not me be dismayed! bring upon THEM the day of evil and destroy THEM with double destructions. There's nothing pastoral at all about that kind of talk. The preacher is bitter, angry, just plain mad.
This is the ultimate personification of pulpit pessimism Deaf ears, cold hearts closed minds- no responsiveness-fruitlessness these have made for a sense of futility.
Nihilism, the absolutization of nothingness has captured
The preacher's mind and spirit He may have been destined
to be a preacher but now, in the throes of cold, clammy rejection he knows that doom is part and parcel of the portfolio. Now, don't look on this sorrowful scenario as some unique, isolated episode in the long history of the divine-human encounter. Jeremiah's experience is not novel. Others have been similarly vexed I'm sure you have known some preachers whose tongues spoke the language of bitter protest because of Fruitless field; onry-opposition and smug stagnant satisfaction with a damnable status quo have destroyed the
optimism of many a cleric, and preachers of the gospel and good news of Jesus the Christ. I have had to minister, on many occasions, to wounded warriors defeated divines, persecuted preachers. They began their ministries with zeal and enthusiasm anxious to woo and win alien souls to the Kingdom eternal but along the way storm clouds rose, and tranquility was overcome by the turbulence of angry winds and boisterous waves.
And when it gets like that when waves of trouble roll, and
the pain predicament is prolonged, it's not hard to hear the
soul speak up, saying in hurtful tones- Doomed to be a
preachi er”
Sad it is when one's visible situation produces such a
posture but it can become even worse. It can rise to a level
of the worst cynicism. It can get so bad that the preacher
gives up on God. Now that's the zenith, the vortex, the acme if you please, of preacher pessimism. To this preacher pessimism, tjis incredible and preposterous posture of futility Jeremiah came. “ O Lord, thou hast deceived me and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I and hast prevailed; I am in derision daily; everyone mocketh me For since I spake, I cried out; I cried violence and
spoil because the word of the Lord was made a reproach
unto me, and a derision daily. He charges God with deceit
and desertion. He blames God for derision and his distraught condition. And he puts it in the "everyday" category. And on the crest of abject cynicism/he makes bold to utter the ultimate farewell-“ Because of what I've been, through I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name.” I'm through with this preaching function. My last sermon has been delivered. My preaching life belongs to the past, I surrender my credentials. I declare for Heaven to hear that on my part there's a cessation of declaration. I'll never again call God's name. I'll speak no more in His name. 1 sever the relationship.I cut loose from the connection. I'm free to do that which will serve and satisfy my own interests."
Sounds rather conclusive, does it not? It's over. The benediction is done. God's been told "goodbye." The curtain has fallen. The.finale has been rendered. It's over-or is it? Is it really over? Can a preacher call it "quits?' Can a disappointed and dejected spokesman really CALL it quits. Can a prophet, by his
own initiative/cease and desist from lifting the trumpet ? Can a preacher throw in the towel and tell God-" I’m finished?'
No, I'm afraid not. A PREACHER can't do it. A non-preacher can, but a blood washed, Spirit filled preacher can't quit. You can’t terminate.what God initiates. If you're been called from yonder eternity, you don't
have that prerogative. Anybody who can walk away from the preaching function actually walked into it on their own.
Here's a man who, at least on surface examination had good reason to exit. Listen again-"I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name." He puts a period at the end of his resignation .And then a strange thing happens. He at once breaks a basic rule of speech. Before the period can settle, we hear him say, 'But." "I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name, But his word was in my heart
as a burning fire shut up in my bones.'What's the matter
with you Jeremiah? You just quit. You just submitted your resignation, and already its rescinded. You rescinded it yourself. God didn't say a word. You closed the case and then said "but “ What's your problem man? "Well, I meant what I said (every bit of what I said), but
I ran into a “WORD problem?! I am talking @ HIS WORD; HIS WORD” is the expression of HIS thought. HIS WORD expresses HIS essences, in other words HIS WORD constitutes the divine self disclosure. And I wanted to get away, but I couldn't get away from His WORD. What do you man?
Well,..His word is not separated and detached. HIS WORD is not some isolated phenomenon. I found out that as I turned to walk away from Him, I was still connected to HIS WORD: I remembered that when He called me, He put HIS WORD in me. He put it in my heart, in my "Leb" in the Hebrew tongue.
The leb-the heart-the center of being, the total of the
inner nature,-the heart and soul of me. It's in me. HIS WORD is in my heart. He planted it and it's permanently planted. I was serious about quitting, BUT HIS WORD is in my heart, and it isn't simply resident in my heart. It's lodged in my heart and it burns in my being It's like a fire shut up in my bones. I had to recant, I had no option in the matter. On that note of resignation I could not stay. I'm still HIS preacher. Regardless of what happens, Tm going on in His name. It's in my
heart and, it's a burning fire Oh, that's why the preacher
can't quit. That's why Paul told Christians at Corinth Necesssity is laid upon me, WOE is unto me if I preach not the Gospel. The compulsion comes from within. The compunction is inward. The motivation is on the inside. You can't see the engine and you can't see the fire It's the fire of the Holy Ghost And that fire will keep you going when you don’t feel like going.(That fire)will make you run on anyhow. That fire will make you declare "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken. We are cast down, but not destroyed." It may be that some despondent preacher is listening to my words. |You’ve encountered deaf ears, You’ve met up with cold hearts. You look out on an unfruitful field. And you feel like giving up.) Brother Preacher give up. .
Preacher, you can't quit. Regardless of the weather,! hold on. The outside temperature may be low but check the inner thermometer. And if He called you, there's fire on the inside. The song says There is something within me……
:
There's a burning and a yearnin
"I feel the fire a burning
/ feel the fire a burning :
/ feel the fire a burning in my heart.
You cant make me doubt Him
You can't make me doubt Him
You cant make me doubt Him in my heart.
I know too much about Him
I know too much about Him
I know too much about Him in my heart.
I feel the fire a burning/and I feel like going on….
1. BILL JONES BY PERMISSION
