God gives unusual assignments, but He is also trustworthy to provide what’s needed to get the job done.
“God, who moves in a mysterious way, always leaves us scratching our heads,” said Reginald Calvert, pastor of New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church in Bessemer, preaching Jan. 28 at First Baptist Church Pelham during the Sunday evening session of the 2024 Alabama Baptist State Evangelism Conference.
“God, when He calls us into ministry, never gives us a job description before we start. He calls us, and then He provides a job description because He knows if He gives us the job description before we submit to His will, we will perhaps be like Jonah and try to … get away.”
Admit weakness
Speaking on Ezekiel 37, Calvert pointed to God’s question in verse 3 — “Son of man, can these bones live?” — and the faith evident in the prophet’s answer.
“Ezekiel is standing there, and at least he has enough sense to say, ‘I don’t know God, but I know that You know. God helps us when we know that we don’t know.”
Pastors don’t have an answer for everything, Calvert said, which is why it’s important to place the work back into the hands of God.
“Somebody in here, you’re working too hard, you’re worrying too much, you’re trying to make it happen. Turn His business back to Himself. Give it over to God because with God, all things are possible.”
Offer hope
Calvert said Sunday mornings are a speaking and listening experience: “oral preaching and aural listening.” He encouraged pastors to consider their listeners as they craft a message.
“It’s one thing to exegete the text, but it’s another thing to exegete the audience,” he said.
Those in the congregation should have the expectation that God will speak to them.
“We must prepare ourselves to come and hear the Word of God,” he said.
There are “people who are in the audience and things are dried up in their lives. … Some don’t know if they can make it until tomorrow. … Some who are hoping God can bring about some kind of divine renewal.”
God “sees those bones. They need to be revived (v. 3). … And that’s what I love about Jesus. He meets us where we are.”
‘Be real’
Christians have got to “be real,” he said, “because people want real solutions to their real problems. … If you can’t find help in the church, where can you find it?”
Churches will grow when we let people see the love of God and the real Jesus, “this Jesus who knows everything I’m going through and everything I’m struggling with,” Calvert said.
People should not come to church hurting and leave hurting, he added. They need a message that offers hope, “one that challenges [hearers] to make a change.”
“Keep preaching,” Calvert encouraged. “God did not put the responsibility on you to save souls but to preach salvation.”
“I’m not superhuman,” Calvert said. “I just want to trust God enough for the unusual assignment.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — Video from the 2024 Alabama Baptist State Evangelism Conference is available at the Facebook page of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. Click here to go to the page.
Click here to view a gallery of pictures from the conference.
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