If you follow my blog you know that I was able to attend the Desiring God Pastors Conference this year. What a blessing it was to be surrounded by so many godly men! What a blessing to sit under the teachings of Michael Oh, Matt Chandler, Mark Dever, and John Piper. What a blessing to sing and worship with 1500 men! If you have never been in an auditorium full of men singing to their Savior you are really missing out on something special and unique. While at this conference I was brought to tears on more then one occasion. Faced with my own sinfulness, or the thought that there are so many out there who have not heard about the Gospel! I was brought face to face with my own selfishness. I thought I was gaining in that particular area. On the outside it may be true. But inside I long for my Jesus to return! Above all else! I do not fear for those who have rejected His truth or have not heard the Gospel! I need to love them, have a desire for them to come to know Jesus! I am doing my best, with the Lords assistance to have a proper world view. A sort of sorrowful rejoicing if you will. I shed tears for Nancy on more then one occasion too. She has been so heavy on my heart. Please pray for her.
Two of the speakers at this conference were under 40 years old. The majority of folks who attended were under 50. This was very encouraging to me! It contrasts sharply with the trends in my industry. If I were to go to a conference in the water and waste water industry 80 percent of the folks are within 10 years of retirement. Who will take over? God's church on the other hand is growing! So many young faces filling pulpits or doing missions work. God is working! God is raising up His people to do His work!
One of the biggest lessons that I learned on this trip is that I need to spend more time getting to know my God and His Word. I need be more familiar with Jesus and His earthly ministry. I was talking to a woman in the Minneapolis airport about the Gospel and we had very different ideas about who Jesus was and is and I was not able to take her to the scriptures I needed. I praise God for his sovereignty in these areas of our failures!! It is indeed much harder to talk to a "churched" person about Jesus then it is to talk to someone who has not been "churched"! I need to learn! I need to be prepared!
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