Keeping A Warm Heart As You Preach
by
Pastor Jack Hyles
(1926-2001)
(Loyal Pastor of First Baptist Church
of Hammond, Indiana for over 42 years)
A preacher must realize that crisis preaching will last only so long. Issue-oriented preaching will take the church just so far. Sooner or later, warmhearted preaching must take over. A preacher must have his heart warm at all times especially those times when he stands before his people to proclaim to them the truth that God has given him for them. Perhaps we can discuss some things that will enable the preacher to keep a warm heart. First we will explore ways to keep a warm heart while preaching.
1. Use words that warm your heart. Each of us has a little special vocabulary of words that are very dear to him and that move him to certain emotions. For example, I like the word "Mama."
When I speak of my mother, it warms me if I call her Mama. When I speak of the Bible, it warms my heart if I say, "the Book." While I am preaching, the little statement, "Thank God!" moves me to emotion. I can simply say, "Thank God for all He has done to me. Thank God for all He has done through me. Thank God for all He has done for me." Just the repetition of the little phrase, "Thank God!" warms my heart. I also love the words, "our Lord." There is something about the possessive pronoun before the name of Jesus or before the words, "God, Lord," etc. that moves me. I especially love to say "our Lord." I also love the word "wonderful." It has a ring to it that warms my heart when I use it. When I speak of my people I like to use the words, "precious people." When I pray for a group of people I often say, "God bless these precious people." Another statement that stirs me, especially to excitement, is the phrase, "the army of people," or "an army of people." The wise preacher will learn the words that are very sweet and dear to him. He will use them often. They will help to warm his heart.
2. Use superlatives that warm your heart. When used honestly, superlatives are a great aid to a speaker. Such statements as "the most amazing thing I ever saw," "the greatest day of my life," and "the most wonderful thing in the world," if spoken in truth and not through exaggeration, can be used to warm the heart of the speaker.
3. Use experiences that warm your heart. Each of us has stored away in his mind some wonderful memories concerning events that have transpired in our lives. Just the thought of some of them can move us to excitement or move us to tears. There are about a dozen things that have happened to me, the thought of which always warms my heart and makes me a better preacher. I have a list of those. When I find myself preaching with a heart less than warm, I revert to one of them. Sometimes when I am preaching I feel so ashamed, I often think while preaching, "How can my heart be less than warm when I am preaching about such a marvelous truth? How can I preach on Hell without tears? How can I preach on Heaven without shouting? How can I preach on salvation without weeping for joy Yet, there are times when I do. At such times I pull out of my bank of memories an event that will warm my heart, and I speak of it. For example, it doesn't matter where I am or what I am doing, if I think about how good God has been to me through the years, my heart warms and my eyes moisten. When I think of my childhood when poverty was mingled with the love of my mother, and add to that what God has done for me, through me and with me through the years, I am always moved. When I remind myself that I owned my first pair of new shoes bought for me at the age of 14, I ate my first hamburger at the age of 14, I ate my first egg when I was 14 years of age and remember how God has cared for me through the years, I find it easy to weep and to shout at the same time. If I am preaching a sermon and find my heart a little cold, I simply begin to speak about one of these subjects. It always gets me in the mood to preach, and then I can revert back to my sermon and go at full speed.
4. While preaching, mention names that warm your heart. I often mention the name, "Proctor Boyd," my Sunday school teacher while I was a teenager. He was the best Sunday school teacher I ever had! Just the words, "Proctor Boyd," give me a warm heart. I often mention the name, "Dr. Rutherford." He was my Sunday school teacher when I was a junior high lad. I can see him now standing in front of the class with tears streaming down his cheeks saying, "Boys, I'm not going to let the Devil have a one of you" Just the thought of that dear man standing before my class warms my heart. I often mention the name, "Jesse Cobb," the Chairman of the Board of Deacons at the Hillcrest Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, and the man who introduced me for the first time to soul winning. Just the mention of his name warms my heart. I use their names often. It gives me the kind of heart that my people deserve for their pastor to have-the kind of heart that will help me to preach with fervor and compassion.
5. While preaching, look at places that warm your heart. Glance at the altar and think of all the marvelous things that God has done there. Look down to the place where you are standing and realize that that is the place where God has put you to proclaim His truths. Let your mind think of the privilege of standing there to preach. Every Sunday I look to the fourth row from the front near the center aisle where my mother used to sit. My heart is warmed to think of her and her faithfulness to church as she came when she felt good and when she felt bad and sat there listening to and praying for her boy. Let places become important to you Have many little sacred shrines where you can go to remember. While you are preaching you cannot go physically to those places, but in your mind you can go anywhere you want to go that will warm your heart.
6. Remember those who once were with you. The pastor who wants to have a warm heart must remember those people with whom he once served who are now in Heaven. A part of the pastor's schedule should be a time to remember. As I preach, I often look back to the spot where Bill Sallade used to sit, and I love him for awhile. I then glance to the place where Henry Rose once sat, and I love him for awhile. During the Lord's Supper, I always remember George Huisenga, who was the deacon in charge of serving the Lord's Supper. During the Lord's Supper, I always look at the place where Blanford Duff used to sit; he was a loyal, faithful deacon. Every month I take time to love him for a few minutes. When I walk through the choir ready room behind the choir loft, I think of Mr. Brueck, one of our men who had cancer. He became so weak that he could not walk, stand or even sit. He would crawl on his hands and knees into the choir ready room and lie there so he could hear me preach just on the PA system. When I think of those with whom I have served who are now in Heaven, it warms my heart and helps me preach better.
7. Watch your people as you preach. Look at the widows who need your encouragement, the elderly facing the sunset years of life who need courage, the young people who need strength to resist temptation, the bus kids who need love and others who need you As you watch them, realize their need of you It will warm your heart, give you a purpose in preaching and throw you at the mercy of the Holy Spirit that He may help you to be what your people need you to be.
8. Develop rituals that warm your heart. Every Saturday night before I go to bed, I take a picture of my father, who died without Christ in 1950, put the picture on the floor; make an altar of it and kneel before it, asking God to help me to preach with the same fervor that I wanted my pastor to have the first and last time that my dad ever sat with me in church.
It was a Sunday afternoon. My father announced to me that he was going to church with Mother, my sister, Earlyne, and me that night. My little seven-year-old heart leaped with joy, and I made a mad rush down to the only house in the neighborhood that had a telephone. I asked the Wyatt family if I could borrow their telephone. I called my pastor and excitedly told him that my daddy was coming to church that night, and I asked him please to do his best to get daddy saved. That night Daddy, Mother; Earlyne and I walked for the only time in our lives into a church building. We walked two miles down Fernwood Street to the Fernwood Baptist Church. We sat on the second row from the back on the left side facing the pulpit. My big 235-pound giant of a dad stood beside me as we sang and sat beside me as we listened. I prayed that God would do something to my dad to transform his life and save his soul. Following the offering, the pastor stood and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, there will be no preaching tonight. This is the night of our annual cantata. The choir will present it to us at this time." My heart broke! I sat during the entire cantata and wept as my daddy slept. I could not believe that my daddy didn't mean more to my preacher than that! That was the only time he ever sat in church with me. I think of this every Saturday night and ask God to help me not to disappoint the little seven-year-old boys whose daddies are in the service.
There are other rituals that I have that warm my heart. As I walk into the auditorium I always pray the same prayer.
Every Monday morning I leave the office to go to the airport to fly somewhere across America to preach Monday night and Tues- day night. Before I leave the office I go into the waiting room and look at a big picture of Dr. John R. Rice on which he wrote, "To my buddy, Jack Hyles. Signed, John R. Rice. Psalm 126:5,6." I look at the picture and relive the 22 years that we traveled together and shared pulpits across America. I tell him that I miss him. My heart is always warmed as I think of this great giant with whom I traveled and whom I loved.
Weekly I go to the mausoleum at Memory Lane Cemetery, which is owned by First Baptist Church of Hammond. Just inside the door on the left there is my mother's burial place. When I go there, I have a ritual. I read her favorite chapter in the Bible, Psalm 103.1 take out her picture and tell her that I love her and then I sing the song that she sang as she rocked me to sleep when I was a boy, "Brighten the Corner Where You Are." Then I sing the last song that we sang together before she went to Heaven, "The Unclouded Day"
The preacher who has little rituals that help him to remember to love, to appreciate and to think will have a warmer heart.
9. Think of the effort spent by the people who come to hear you. Often on Sunday morning, about 8:00, I stop to realize all the time and effort expended by the people of my congregation, the hundreds of thousands of hours spent in preparation. This warms my heart as I prepare to preach.
10. Think of the labor that went into the offering that is dropped in the collection plate on the Lord's Day. Think of the greasy mechanic, the tired and weary steel worker; the lady that cleans houses, and of all the others who earned their money by hard laborious toil, and your heart will be warmed.
11. Think Whom you represent. II Corinthians 5:20, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Pause to realize that you are there in the place of Jesus, representing Him. I John 4:17, "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world."
12. Be publicly expressive of your love and appreciation. Say, "I love you," to your people. Be grateful to them. Express that gratitude openly It will warm your heart and bring tears to your eyes as you publicly express your love to the people whom God has given to you and to whom you are a gift from God.
13. Think where you are. You are where you dreamed someday you would be. You are where you will wish someday that you could be again. This is it! This is the culmination of all your study and preparation. This is the fulfillment of all your dreams and plans. You are now there-- God's man, God's representative. Always think of it! It will warm your heart!
14. Think of what "the Book" is. Realize as you preach that you are preaching the very Word of God, the Word that is eternal, which always was and always will be. It is the Book written by your Creator; given by divine revelation, word-by-word. It is God's eternal, never-dying Word, revealing Himself and His plan to man. Think of it! Think of it! Think of it!
15. Think of those watching from Heaven. This will warm your heart as you preach. I never preach on a Sunday morning or Sunday night in my own church or somewhere else around the country on a weeknight without realizing that my mother's eyes are fixed on me. The eyes of my two little sisters join my mother's, there are many other precious saints of God who are in Heaven who watch me in that great cloud of witnesses. There is my pastor; I C. Sizemore. There is my friend, fellow-worker and buddy, Dr. John R. Rice. There are my deacons who preceded me to Heaven and others of my people. They watch me. I must never forget it! It will warm my heart as I preach.
16. Think of those pleading in Hell. In Luke 16 we have the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man is in Hell, first crying for water; then crying for someone to go and tell his brothers not to come to that place of torment.
A few years after my father died without Christ, my sister knocked on my study door one Sunday after midnight and asked me if I would lead her to Christ. This I did. After I led her to Christ, I asked her why she came that night. She said to me that shortly after Daddy died she had a dream. She dreamed that she was taken to the second floor of a big building. She dreamed that she saw that entire building lined with caskets. In every casket there was a body. She was taken by this creature to every casket, and she looked in the face of every corpse. On every face there was a smile of peace until she came to the last one. The creature tried to keep her from the last corpse. She could only see two hands rising above the casket. She said, "Jack, I could tell in my dream that those were Daddy's hands. I rushed to look into his face, and there was no look of peace. There was no smile, but a look of anguish and pain. His hands were raised toward me, and he was crying, 'Sister, sister,' and then he would make some kind of noises that I could not understand. I tried to understand him and begged him to speak more plainly. He just kept crying, 'Sister, sister,' and making those strange noises. Finally, the creature took me away from the casket."
My sister told me that night after I won her to Christ that she had wondered for all those years what Daddy was trying to say to her. Then she told me that that night I had preached on the rich man in Hell and told how he asked Abraham to send the Gospel to his brothers on earth. Earlyne told me then that she realized that Daddy was trying to tell her not to come where he was. The dream of several years before had been explained in my sermon that Sunday night. Following the sermon she came to my study and was saved. For many years now she has been in full-time service for the Lord.
I have been aware for all these many years that my father died without Christ, and I must tell people that story so that they will avoid and evade the torments of Hell.
The preacher with a warm heart must make himself aware that he stands between Heaven and Hell; yes, even between the living and the dead!
17. In order to have a warm heart, the preacher must remember that someday it will end. Someday he will walk in his pulpit for the last time. Someday he will stand before his people for the last time. Someday he will present the truth of God for the last time. It will end someday It may be tomorrow; it may be today May my heart be warm while I have this opportunity, for it too will pass away
18. Think of the investment that others have made in you. Many a dear Sunday school teacher's rewards will be increased according to your fruitfulness. Others have invested in you; you must use their investment wisely. Think of it while you preach. It will warm your heart.
19. Think of the judgment seat and the fact that someday you will face Jesus. Think of the day when you will face Him concerning the sermon you are preaching. It will warm your heart and stir your soul.
20. Realize all of the work that has gone into the service by those who labor with you. Think of the nursery workers caring for the babies. Think of all the time spent by the choir, the choir director and the accompanists in preparing for the services. Think of the PA men, the ushers, those who work in the baptismal dressing rooms, the Sunday school teachers and the countless others that have spent many, many hours preparing for the service that you are now enjoying which culminates in the sermon which you are now preaching. You will find your heart strangely warmed.
In spite of all the advice given above concerning the obtaining and sustaining of a warm heart in the pulpit, the pastor will not all of a sudden get a warm heart when he enters the pulpit. He will eventually become in the pulpit what he is all the rest of the time, so he must constantly be striving to keep a warm heart 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Whatever spiritual temperature the preacher possesses during six days, he will possess the seventh day There is also the fact that it will be somewhat hypocritical to obtain a warm heart for the preaching of a sermon and then lose it the rest of one's week. There are some things the busy pastor can do that will help him obtain and retain a warm heart all the time:
1. Schedule time to praise. Have a set time in the schedule for the praising of God. This time should be started by the making of a list. Think of the good things that God has done for you. Make a list of them. Then go back through them one at a time. Think on them and realize the goodness of God. If your mind is fixed upon His goodness and His blessings to you, sincere praise will come. Praise should not necessarily be the result of a spontaneous stimulus; it should be the result of a heart that is aware of God's goodness. This awareness should be scheduled. I have a set time in my schedule when I do nothing but praise God. I make my list of all the things that God has done for me recently; then I go through the list to thank Him and praise Him for His goodness. It isn't long until I'm having a "real spell." This sincere praise to God is caused by a planned awareness of God's goodness and blessings on my life.
2. Schedule a time to worship. Praise is thanking God for what He has done. Worship is thanking God for what He is. There should be a scheduled time in the life of every child of God when he comes before his God to be still and know that He is God, to hear the still small voice and to look up to our great Creator and exalt Him and love Him for who He is and what He is. I am not talking here about a formal worship service with chanting and liturgy I am talking about a Christian being alone with his God to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
3. Schedule a time to meditate. It is interesting in the Bible to find how many times meditation is a prerequisite to God's blessings. Psalm 1:1-3, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Notice that one of the five prerequisites to prosperity is to meditate in the law of the Lord day and night. When God came to Joshua when he succeeded Moses as the leader of God's people, God listed meditation as one of His prerequisites for success. In order to keep a warm heart, the Christian, especially the pastor, should have a scheduled time of meditation.
4. Schedule a time to confess your sins. Several years ago I was sharing the platform with Dr. John Rice. We were in Atlanta, Georgia, for a Sword of the Lord Conference. It was time for our driver to pick us up for the evening service. I went down to Dr. Rice's room to wait with him for our driver. The door to his room was open and the door to his bathroom was open, and Dr. Rice was on his knees at the commode. I asked him what he was doing. He said, "I'm confessing my sins." Then he tore some paper up in little bitty pieces and flushed it down the commode. I asked him what that paper was. He said it was the list of his sins. I said, "What do you mean, Dr. Rice?"
He said, "Well, I have a set time every day to confess my sins. What I do is write my sins on a piece of paper. Then I go through them one at a time asking God to forgive me for them. Then I tear the paper on which it was written into many pieces and flush it down the commode." I asked him why he did this. He grinned and said, "Do you think I want folks to find out what my sins are?"
I learned something that day I learned that one of the great secrets to the great John R. Rice was the fact that he confessed his sins daily, by schedule, and he listed them before confessing them. The preacher who comes to God asking forgiveness for his sins will obtain that forgiveness, and this is one of the great ways to keep a warm heart.
5. Sing and whistle throughout the week. Every morning I choose a song for the day I sing it and whistle it throughout the day My song for today is, "Jesus, Saviour; pilot me over life's tempestuous sea." I hum it. I whistle it. I sing it. I choose songs that warm my heart. One day I will choose for my song of the day, "God Will Take Care of You." Another day it will be, "Blessed Assurance." Another day it will be "Standing Somewhere in the Shadows You'll Find Jesus." When I sing and whistle some great song of the faith, it helps to keep my heart warm.
6. Do not be around negative people. Make it a habit to avoid fellowship with those who are critical and negative. There is no way my heart can stay warm if I am around those who talk about negatives, who criticize people, who spread bad things even if those things are true. No preacher will walk with critics during the week and preach with a warm heart on the Lord's Day
7. Dwell on the effort spent on nice things done for you. When somebody brings me a batch of cookies, I pause to think for awhile as to all the work that entered into their preparation. If someone prepares a meal for me, I try for a time to think of the effort expended in its preparation as well as in its planning. The pastor has many nice things done for him. It is so easy for him to lapse into a professionalism concerning his gratitude. The warmhearted pastor will pause to think of the effort expended by people who love him and are thoughtful of him.
8. Think for a little while before eating every meal. I never sit down to a meal without pausing to think of those little Egyptian children who begged me for a penny while I was touring Egypt. I see their little swollen stomachs. I see the expression on their faces as they beg for something to eat or a bit of money with which to buy food. I think of the starving people in Ethiopia, and yes, I also think of the poverty that I once knew as a child. No one should ever eat a meal without his heart being filled with praise and warmed before his God because of the goodness of God as manifested in His provisions for us.
9. Think of the blessing of being able to get up in the morning. When the alarm sounds and you rise for a new day of activity, pause for just a moment to think of those who will never get up again. Think of those in rest homes, in hospitals and in bedrooms in America and around the world who would give all that they own just to get out of bed one more time. When you arise in the morning, lift your heart in holy hosanna and praise to God and say, "Hallelujah, I'm able to get up!"
10. Praise God as you walk out the door every morning. Think of those whose world is four walls, whose sun is a 60-watt light- bulb, whose sky is a ceiling and whose horizon is a window. Think of those who will never walk neath the stars again. Think of those who will never see another sunrise or sunset. Think of those who will never hear another bird sing or watch the blooming of a rose. Think of those who will never again breathe the freshness of outdoor air. Then lift your heart in holy praises to God with the warmth of gratitude bubbling in your soul.
11. Praise God as you begin the day's work. Think of the millions of unemployed who would love to have your job. Think of those whose poor health will never give them the privilege of another day's work. Think of those who would give all that they possess for the privilege of being strong enough to work just one day Thank God for work to do, and thank God for strength with which to do it.
12. Think as your leaders stand before you. When those to whom God has given spiritual leadership stand before you, think of the load they carry, of the responsibilities they have and of the price they have paid. Love them. Spend a few moments thanking God for them and whisper a prayer for God to bless them and to encourage their hearts. This will aid in the developing of a warm heart.
13. Think of those who follow you. Think of what they mean to you. Think of how hard they worked. Think of times that they pray for you, encourage you and lift up your hands in the battle. Realize that as a pastor you are God's gift to them, and they are God's gift to you. Realize the sweetness and closeness of the tie that binds you as spiritual leader and spiritual followers. Let this awareness of what they mean to you create a stronger tie which will in turn aid you in having a warm heart.
14. Every day spend some time thinking of the fact that soon you will see Jesus face to face. There was a day when Dr. John Rice and I traveled together. Now I continue to travel. He is beholding the face of the Jesus Whom he preached. There was a day when my mother and I sat together in the same room and shared a mutual love. I continue to do the work that God has called me to do while Mother is beholding the face of the Christ she loved. There was a day when Brother Lester Roloff and I fellowshipped together and preached together and prayed together. I continue to preach and fellowship and praise and pray He now beholds the face of his blessed Saviour. There was a day when my heart would thrill as I prayed with Dr. Ford Porter. How sweet was his fervency! How close to Christ was his fellowship! How wonderful was his companionship! Now I continue to pray and to serve. Dr. Porter beholds the face of the One with Whom he loved to talk and fellowship. Those who once walked with me now walk with God. Those who once beheld me now behold Him. Those who once fellowshipped with me on earth now fellowship with Him in Heaven. Soon I shall join their number. It is just a matter of a few days. That blessed thought warms my heart and propels me to preach through tears of joy and ecstasy, for soon I shall see Him face to face. I shall see Him as He is and behold Him Who made all good things possible.
15. Visit cemeteries and the gravesides of those whom you loved. I regularly go to a cemetery where many of our people are buried. I go from grave to grave and remember sweet experiences that we shared together. Soon the tears come-tears of joy because of victories we have known, tears of loneliness because I miss them, tears of praise because "there is a land that is fairer than day, and by faith we can see it afar; for the Father waits over the way to prepare us a dwelling place there." The pastor who wants a heart that is warm should often visit the graves of those whom he loved and with whom he served.
16. Savor the "now." How often do I hear people say, "I didn't appreciate her until I lost her!" or "I didn't appreciate him until he was gone!" I vowed years ago I would never have to say that. I did not wait until my mother was gone to appreciate her properly I did not wait until the years during which I traveled with Dr. John R. Rice were gone before I appreciated him. Through these years I have savored the present and realized what I have, not just what I used to have! Be aware. Stop while you are having fun and realize how much fun you are having. Stop while history is being made and realize that history is being made. Stop while God is blessing in mighty power and realize that God is blessing in mighty power. Do not wait until the history of this generation is written to know what happened! Know it now. It will warm your heart.
17. Read the Psalms. There are three books from which I read every day I read some of the Psalms every day, some of the Proverbs every day, and some of the book of Acts every day The Psalms give me love; the Proverbs give me wisdom; the Acts give me power. These three things top my prayer list-love, wisdom and power. If your heart is a bit cold, hear the Psalmist say, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." If the tears do not come easily, read, "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." Live in the Psalms, and they will help you to have a warm heart when you come before your people to deliver the truth which God has given you for them.
18. Pray for your enemies. There is a unique warmth that comes only to the child of God who loves those that hate him, blesses those that curse him and prays for those who despitefully use him. There is a certain taste about forbearance, patience and love for enemies that nothing else can give!
19. Think of good things to do for your enemies. Realize that people may not be all bad because they dislike you-- ~ Look upon them as being broken rather than being bad. I have a watch on my wrist. Sometimes the battery gets weak and it begins to lose time, or perhaps it will stop running altogether. I do not get mad at the watch; I realize that it is broken. I do what I can to fix it. When somebody does not like me, it may be that the battery is weak. I should not give him my hatred, vengeance, revenge or vindication. I should rather look upon him as being broken and not bad so that I may love and not hate him, do good to him and not ill! There is nothing that quite warms the heart like this, and once you have tasted the heavenly manna of forgiveness, you'll never again enjoy the bitter taste of revenge.
20. Look for people to help. "Look all around you, find some- one in need. Help somebody today Though it be little, a neighborly deed. Help somebody today Help somebody today Somebody along life's way Let sorrows be ended, the friendless befriended. Oh, help somebody today!"
Seven times a day I bow to my knees and lift my heart to God asking Him to let me cross the path of those who need my help and the path of those whom Jesus would help if He walked in my shoes. It is an amazing thing how the Holy Spirit can cause those to cross your path if you make yourself available to live for others.
When I get in my car in the morning, I always pray and ask God to help me to know what route to take to church. I rarely ever take the same route. It is amazing how He directs me to those who have need of help. Recently I prayed that prayer before I left in the morning, asking the Holy Spirit to direct me as I chose the route to church. I took a new route. A few blocks down the road there was a lady trying to fix her car. She was alone and frightened. It was my privilege to push her car several miles to the place where she had purchased it. On another occasion, on a morning when it was -12°, I found a lady whose car was stalled. We found the problem, and a few minutes got her on her way There are many people in need, and God wants to help them if He could only find somebody to be His hands, to be His feet, to be His tongue and to do the work that He would do if He were here on earth.
Every person who sits in a pew on the Lord's Day has a God- given right to have a man of God appear before him with God's message and with a heart that is warm and spiritual. If the pastor enters the pulpit with a warm heart and retains that warm heart while he preaches, it will be on purpose. It will not be spontaneous. He will not stumble into a warm heart. He will so live, so think and so love all week so that when he enters the pulpit, his heart is overflowing with the goodness of God and with a desire to speak of that goodness to his people and to impart that goodness to their lives!
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