Making the Most of Every Day
By Pastor Chuck Swindoll
The Famine in Our Land
“You’re going to be engaged in touching the lives of those who are spiritually ignorant, starving. There’s a famine in the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but for hearing the Word of God. I’ll tell you, everywhere I go I sense the famine, and it’s greater it seems now than ever. People are more ignorant of Scripture than I’ve ever known them to be, and all the more reason for us to be committed to teaching the decrees and the regulations to the people that God calls us to.”
Study And Obey God’s Word
“Ezra determined he would study, and then he wanted to make certain in the study that it would impact his own life. That’s a very valuable principle. That’ll hold you in great stead with your congregation. They will love to know that it applies to you, just as it does to them. I’ve had people say, ‘How do you know what to preach on?’ And my answer is, often, ‘I preach on something I need to hear, and I let you listen in, because it always applies to something I need to have in my own life. It was Ezra’s commitment. He determined that he would study God’s Word for the purpose of doing it. Doing it.”
Teaching: A Calling Like No Other
“Is there any greater joy for you who teach and you who preach? Is there any greater joy than knowing God used your mouthpiece, your throat, your lips, your tongue to communicate truth that people live by. Oh man, it’s a calling like no other.”
Put in the Hard Work
“If you talk yourself out of the hard work of these years at the school, I’m going to tell you, there’s a consequence that follows that that you will regret the rest of your life. But if you give yourself to it, and if your partner in life is just as committed as you are, you’re going to discover rewards like you cannot right now imagine.”
Don’t Rush the Study Phase
“Look at those three objectives: to study, to obey, to teach. That’s a pretty good order to follow. Right now, you are in the study phase. Don’t get antsy. All the time I was at seminary during my four years here, there were guys all around me that were urging the class to get up and get out and get beyond it. Get beyond what? It’s the best time of your life to do your studies. Get serious about your studies. You have these minds to guide you. You have the library packed with great literature to help you in your study. You cultivate your own library and you take that with you.”
Additional Resources
First, sign up for our Chuck’s Insights on Ministry email where we bring you his best thoughts on preaching, leadership, and ministry each week. By signing up, you’ll instantly receive a one-page checklist with 20 preaching insights from Chuck. See this page’s sidebar.
Second, check out our new Preach The Word articles and video series on YouTube where we’re teaching Chuck’s best insights on this important calling.
Third, listen to Chuck’s messages to those in ministry through our Seminary Chapels page. For decades, he offered students at Dallas Theological Seminary his best thoughts on church leadership and ministry. Now, we have put them at your finger tips. Also, you can find them through this YouTube playlist we created for you.
Fourth, if you don’t own a copy of Chuck’s book on preaching, Saying It Well, we highly recommend you add it to your library. It’s his preaching memoir that is also like a practical preaching manual. You won’t be able to put it down.
About the author
Pastor Chuck Swindoll
Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading program in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.
