Article Library

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By Pastor Chuck Swindoll

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A Holy Sacrifice

“We’re told to do a holy thing in an unholy world, which leads to the spiritual problem. This kind of sacrifice is, before God, logical and reasonable and it is rational, and it is right. In the eyes of our world, it is all the opposite, illogical and unreasonable and irrational and silly. Who on earth is going to set aside his life, beginning with the body, including soul and spirit, to One he’s never met, never seen?”

The Enemy’s Strategies

“How crafty, how sneaky, how clever, how deceptive. How bright is the enemy who loves the fact that you’re thinking about ministry. That means you move directly into the scope. That means you may someday fill one of these seats, and you may someday get to know him like you’ve never known him before. Ever put yourself in his shoes? Ever thought about what you would do if you were the devil? What strategy you would carry out?”

Heading Three

“The enemy is Lucifer, son of the morning, one day to be Lucifer of the abyss. But until then, he is a brilliant strategist who knows you better than you’ll ever know yourself and has a plan for you designed to ruin your hopes and your dreams any possible way he can. And so he works on the very areas that you and I tend to ignore, overlook, or yawn through.”

Heading Four

“That’s consecration. Have you done that today? Before you got dressed? Drove yourself to the campus? ‘Lord today, I . . . I place myself at Your disposal. I give You my eyes, I give You my ears, I give You my mouth, my words. I give You my body. I give You my feet, my hands, my thoughts, my motives. I give You my actions. I place before You whatever it is that represents me before You. It’s Yours. It’s Yours. Whatever, it’s Yours.’ The enemy hates that. He doesn’t like hearing that.”

Heading Five

“Excellence in what we print. Excellence in how we preach. Excellence in our counseling. Excellence in our touch. Dallas Seminary is committed to excellence. Excellence, not perfection. There’s a great difference. One leads to neurosis. The other lifts the bar and reminds people that our great God deserves our best. As one entertainer said, ‘God don’t make no junk.’ And she’s right. Excellence. We should set the standard for the world, not look to them to set the standard for us.”

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 fingertips. 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.

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