Awaken The Dawn

AWAKEN THE DAWN!

Grace is poured upon Thy lips; Therefore God has blessed Thee forever.

Without formal rabbinical training, Jesus became the most excellent teacher and encourager of His day. It is true that everyone did not accept all that He said, but no one would challenge that He spoke with compelling power and conviction. The people from His part of the country asked incredulously, while admitting the dynamism of His message:

“Where did this man get this wisdom, and these miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son?…Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at Him. 7

Just what is that special quality a speaker has that rivets your attention, feeds your soul, and sends you forth bold- ly doing the will of God? A sermon can be sheer drivel— the mind wanders, it even becomes a torturous experi- ence to sit and listen. I have experienced it both ways, as a preacher and as a listener. My four children grew up listening to my sermons Sunday after Sunday. My dear wife has heard me preach thousands of messages. Joy and I are so proud of our chil- dren—and always have been—but sometimes those kids were unmerciful! I suspect that I’m not too different from the average pastor going home from the morning service. Driving away from the church (discretely waiting at least a few blocks), I would casually ask the children what they thought of the sermon. It always astounded me how instantly and articulately they could analyze my master- piece. The coup de maitre came from my then teen-aged son two decades ago: “Dad” he said, “if you would just 28