Is your soul hungry & thirsty lately? I believe many of us are. Praise God for increasing our spiritual appetite so that we may keep growing!
Come and enjoy the feast! Do not wait. God is so amazing! He is right here waiting at your heart's door. Give Him some time. Allow Him to speak to you. Only His word can satisfy your hunger and quench your thirst. Let's join the cry of Jeremiah, "Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O LORD, God of hosts. (Jer. 15:16)"
In the past two days, with my hands busy with outward duties, I finished listening to more than half of the sermons by Pastor David Platt. He, though just turned to 28 this past summer, got two undergraduate degrees, two M.A. and one Ph.D. in Theology, and has traveled intensively on mission fields, is now called to serve as the Senior Pastor to the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, mobilizing the church to be a mission-oriented, bible-loving faith community.
Besides Pastor John Piper from Desiring God Ministries in Minneapolis, MN, and Brother Yu (于宏潔) from Silicon Valley Christian Assembly, I have never heard any pastor who is so passionate about God's word and about sharing this passion & joy to others. Also, like Piper (though I haven't yet heard David Platt quoting Piper), he is very mission-oriented, aiming to lead the congregation to see God's glory in every message, which I believe to be a critical remedy to the broken hearts in the contemporary world. (On the contrary, telling s-t-o-r-i-e-s and jokes during the sermons, a lot of times, do not nurture the sheep's pining soul.) Only God's word is vital to a soul.
Please do not mistake me. I am NOT promoting idolism here. I am simply pointing to the messages that have blessed me and want all of you to share my blessings. Otherwise, I would be too selfish. When I listened to his sermons/watched his preaching, I really feel like hearing Jonathan Edwards preaching a few centuries ago. In fact, words cannot describe how I was greatly impacted these days by David Platt's messages, and by Piper's as well as a few others' messages during the past 6 years. But for Pastor David Platt, I have been praising God for anointing such a young servant and raising up such a young generation who does not go with the trend and who is so fervent for the Lord and for making Him known to all. God has used MANY young servants throughout the Bible to speak to the nations, to bring salvation to His people, or to deliver them from spiritual or physical dangers. I also pray that the Lord will raise more servants like this, keep them, anoint them, for His Kingdom, and for the joy of all nations.
I plead with you to set aside some time to listen to some of these words from God. 2006-06-11 & 2006-06-18 were the two sermons that he preached when he was conducting his pastoral search interview at this church. All others are great, too.
Be ready to be challenged, blessed, and encounter the Almighty God while you are listening to these messages.
God be with you (神與你同在)!
posted by zc @ 11:12 PM
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