This is super encouraging to me!! I can relate to you so much. I’m currently 18 years old, grew up in a expository preaching (anabaptist) church, but the church shyed away from talking about topics such as hell and sin too much, so I never really felt convicted of my sins. I would’ve told you up until I was 17 that to be saved, you need to accept Jesus into your heart. It wasn’t until I was 17, though, that my friend recommended I watch Ray Comfort (Living Waters) RUclips channel. The first video I watched, I finally understood the bad news about what I really deserved, and was just broken over my sin against God. I knew the Good news my whole life, but it wasn’t until the bad news (law) was applied to my heart that God finally opened my eyes and gave me saving faith. The fear of the Lord was put in me that day, and I finally knew what it meant to repent and trust in the Lord. But, I didn’t start reading my Bible until Back in December of this year, And God really opened my eyes…I was so curious, and I had such a great thirst for the Truth I had been missing my whole life. I couldn’t sleep for 2 weeks straight because of all the thoughts going around in my head about trying to comprehend what I had been reading that day. Then God gave me an opportunity to preach at a talent show at my school: they didn’t let me finish preaching the gospel, and turned my mic off, and I felt the power of the Holy Spirit just overtake me, and I immediately stepped off the stage and started quoting scripture that I didn’t even know I had memorized, and finished explaining how to become saved. Right after I finished, I felt that “pleasure” you described. I said the words “that was the greatest thing I have ever done in my life” and I was just so content. Now God has given me another chance to preach at my senior Baccalaureate service: I’m doing that tonight. I only have 3 minutes, so I’m just gonna preach the gospel and try to do it in 3 minutes. So many people in my area would call themselves Christian’s, but like me, grew up in Churches that never talked about sin or hell, so I don’t know how many are even saved. Can’t go wrong with the gospel!!
Thank you so much for this. I just preached my first sermon and I can relate to this a lot. Except I knew I was preaching 😂. But this was really encouraging so thank you!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing that experience, Dr. Lawson. You have truly been a blessing to my Christian walk. I preached my first message years ago at a homeless shelter in my city and I was scared half to death. It was a Sunday night chapel service and I wasn't prepared for the crowd that was there. I can't even remember the text I preached from now, but I do remember studying for it for weeks and feeling completely unprepared for such an important task. Preaching is a high calling and a tremendous responsibility. I'm so glad that God gave me an opportunity to do it, but I'm understanding each day the importance of studying to rightly divide the Word (2 Timothy 2:15). I am grateful for your book "Famine in the Land," as well as a few Master's Seminary classes on Expository preaching that I saw on RUclips. Your breakdown of Psalm 1 helped me tremendously. I remember being so blessed by how you could preach from one or two verses and get so much from it. It helped me so much when I taught Sunday School classes because I could find so much in a few texts that could be taught for weeks. I hope you know how much you've helped others learn to teach and preach the Word of God; I am still learning, but despite my own fears and the prayerful work that has to be put into teaching and preaching, it truly is a joy. God bless.
Lesson - it's always good to be prepared for an opportunity you don't have than to have an opportunity for which you haven't prepared... 👍 Pastor Lawson amazing man of God 🙏
Dr. Lawson is a GEM. Maranatha!
This is super encouraging to me!! I can relate to you so much. I’m currently 18 years old, grew up in a expository preaching (anabaptist) church, but the church shyed away from talking about topics such as hell and sin too much, so I never really felt convicted of my sins. I would’ve told you up until I was 17 that to be saved, you need to accept Jesus into your heart. It wasn’t until I was 17, though, that my friend recommended I watch Ray Comfort (Living Waters) RUclips channel. The first video I watched, I finally understood the bad news about what I really deserved, and was just broken over my sin against God. I knew the Good news my whole life, but it wasn’t until the bad news (law) was applied to my heart that God finally opened my eyes and gave me saving faith. The fear of the Lord was put in me that day, and I finally knew what it meant to repent and trust in the Lord.
But, I didn’t start reading my Bible until Back in December of this year, And God really opened my eyes…I was so curious, and I had such a great thirst for the Truth I had been missing my whole life. I couldn’t sleep for 2 weeks straight because of all the thoughts going around in my head about trying to comprehend what I had been reading that day. Then God gave me an opportunity to preach at a talent show at my school: they didn’t let me finish preaching the gospel, and turned my mic off, and I felt the power of the Holy Spirit just overtake me, and I immediately stepped off the stage and started quoting scripture that I didn’t even know I had memorized, and finished explaining how to become saved. Right after I finished, I felt that “pleasure” you described. I said the words “that was the greatest thing I have ever done in my life” and I was just so content.
Now God has given me another chance to preach at my senior Baccalaureate service: I’m doing that tonight. I only have 3 minutes, so I’m just gonna preach the gospel and try to do it in 3 minutes. So many people in my area would call themselves Christian’s, but like me, grew up in Churches that never talked about sin or hell, so I don’t know how many are even saved. Can’t go wrong with the gospel!!
I remember my first sermon at my church's prayer meeting and at the rescue mission.
Thank you so much for this. I just preached my first sermon and I can relate to this a lot. Except I knew I was preaching 😂. But this was really encouraging so thank you!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing that experience, Dr. Lawson. You have truly been a blessing to my Christian walk. I preached my first message years ago at a homeless shelter in my city and I was scared half to death. It was a Sunday night chapel service and I wasn't prepared for the crowd that was there. I can't even remember the text I preached from now, but I do remember studying for it for weeks and feeling completely unprepared for such an important task. Preaching is a high calling and a tremendous responsibility. I'm so glad that God gave me an opportunity to do it, but I'm understanding each day the importance of studying to rightly divide the Word (2 Timothy 2:15).
I am grateful for your book "Famine in the Land," as well as a few Master's Seminary classes on Expository preaching that I saw on RUclips. Your breakdown of Psalm 1 helped me tremendously. I remember being so blessed by how you could preach from one or two verses and get so much from it. It helped me so much when I taught Sunday School classes because I could find so much in a few texts that could be taught for weeks. I hope you know how much you've helped others learn to teach and preach the Word of God; I am still learning, but despite my own fears and the prayerful work that has to be put into teaching and preaching, it truly is a joy. God bless.
Thank for your testimony.
That had me in tears..
Lesson - it's always good to be prepared for an opportunity you don't have than to have an opportunity for which you haven't prepared... 👍 Pastor Lawson amazing man of God 🙏
That was so good to watch and listen. Thank you Dr/Pastor/Brother Lawson.
Thanks for these videos.
I just love you
Is he talking about the NLT? Is that all that he had was a copy of the NLT New Testament only?