couple of years ago, a friend shared with me a story of what happened shortly after becoming the associate pastor in the church in which I grew up. The gentleman who was the senior pastor took him to a local pastor’s lunch meeting. On the way over there, he informed the associate pastor that he (the assoc.) would be the speaker at the lunch!
My friend was a bit surprised and said, “Why didn’t you tell me so I could prepare something to speak on?” The senior pastor said, “You have more to share out of your overflow than most people have to share when they study.”
This has stuck with me since hearing this. Are we walking in the Spirit so much that we are able to share with people without advance notice? Is the word of Christ dwelling in us to the level that, in any situation, we can follow the Spirit’s lead and speak forth truth? Is our walk able to flow out into the lives of others so that they are edified and built up?
I’m not down on studying, so don’t misunderstand. But are we studying in such a way that it can spill out to others as we go through life together? Or are we merely studying in order to teach formally? Are we studying because we have a scheduled time to speak? Or are we studying so that our lives will be examples to those around us?
Today, I read a post on Alan Knox’s blog about a situation that took place in the recent gathering of the church in his area. The post is entitled “Let the Word of Christ Dwell in You Richly“, taken from Colossians 3:16. Alan shared how a brother in that fellowship had shared from the Bible something with which God was convicting him. This paragraph reminded me of the story I shared at the beginning of this post:
Our brother did not “preach”, but the word of God was proclaimed. He did not present three points from a Scripture passage, but the “point” of Scripture was communicated clearly. He was not talking from his intelligence or knowledge, but from a deep desire to walk with God in an area where he was deficient. He had not studied in order to teach, but he studied in order to know his Lord and to live out the gospel; then he taught what God was teaching him.
Are you overflowing today? I pray that we all are.
Until next time,
steve 
Steve,
Good post. I have a quotation in my office/study:
Who I am as a pastor is much more important than what I say.
Rod
Be instant in season..and out of season..always ready to share that which your hands have handled of the Word of Life
Good word, Steve. Thanks for your blog – you’re a blessing!!
~Heather
Doctrinal teaching isn’t very filling; counting who’s got more blessing will empty you real fast; making sure your dots and tittles are in order is more tedious than drinking ink; maintaining your behavior just so, so Harry and Betty continue to respect you is depressing; but when you give love away, your cup runneth over.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!! I am having one heaven of a good time!
Great thoughts, Steve. This goes back to the whole Mary/Martha thing. If we will spend more time at the feet of Jesus, we will find it much easier to be the servant that God wants us to be.
Steve,
You captured the essence of my post. Thank you. I am learning to speak from what God is doing in my life, instead of from my intelligence or knowledge. Unfortunately, there are still times of scheduled speaking in my life. During these times, I must do what I can. I much prefer this (super)natural style of speaking from a heart that desires to know and love and serve my master… the heart of one who is still seeking.
-Alan
Charles Spurgeon said late in his career that if he could do it all again, he would have changed one thing. Instead of spending two thirds of his time studying the Bible and one third of the time praying, he would have switched the two around. And spent the majority of his time praying.
All, thank you for the great comments in response. Sorry I haven’t been around all day to respond, but I appreciate the responses here.
Steve-
Excellent post. Some of the most edifying messages I’ve preached were the ones that were spontaneous. There’s just a Spirit empowered “flow” that can occur when we are “unprepared” but ready and willing.
Be blessed…
Brandon
Steve -
I was thinking about this this morning. There is, obviously, nothing wrong with studying God’s Word. I think the problem comes when it becomes a means to an end … studying just to prepare for a message or lesson, and not studying just because we want to know God more. Just as Gordon said above: This goes back to the whole Mary/Martha thing. If we will spend more time at the feet of Jesus, we will find it much easier to be the servant that God wants us to be.
I’m starting to see this much more clearly now, and the problems that not understanding this can breed …
Blessings!
~Heather
Brandon and Heather, thanks for commenting.
Heather, you wrote: I think the problem comes when it becomes a means to an end
This is a great summary of the point. You are absolutely correct. So much of what seems to be missing in our churches today is that we’ve forgotten what the “end” is supposed to be.
The end is making disciples. Not converts. Not attenders. Not tithers. Not servants of any organization. Not a man’s empire. Not……you get the point.
And along with that is the end (a la Eph 4) of seeing the body built up into maturity.
Steve -
I’m glad you understood what I was trying to say — I was just about to post another comment because I wanted to make sure you knew that I didn’t think you were saying that studying wasn’t okay.
But the whole means to an end thing is unfortunate. Right now in our own “church life” (for lack of a better term) Brandon and I are dealing with this issue and the lack of understanding re: what Gordon said earlier. And the Church as a whole (at least the Western, American church) has forgotten what the end is, as you said.
Thanks for this thought provoking post
~Heather
How many of us, pastors and lay people, “get ready for Sunday” and miss the other 6 days of the week? But even worse, how many of us expect to be fed, rather than seeking the word? Newborn babies need to be fed. As we grow up, we should be able to shovel sustainance in ourselves.
Good word Steve, as the Dufflepuds say, “keep it up!”
In the Second Great Awakening, Charles Finney said that he never wrote notes or prepared sermons during his evangelistic preachings. And yet, he preached for usually two hours.
It is claimed that as many as 500,000 people were converted by his preaching.
My favorite story about Finney is the one where he opened a meeting with the benediction and then dismissed everybody. Afterwards, he and Father Nash went out into the woods and prayed all night long for the people. The next night, every person at the meeting gave their lives to Christ.
He ministered “out of an overflowing.”
Excellent post. Yes, there are times for studying, but it almost seems that that is more for our personal growth and edification. May our walk be such that we are always overflowing with His grace and truth!
11″When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
Excellent post! May we live this every day.
