I believe it might have been Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones who once said something along the lines of – ‘I wouldn’t cross the road to hear myself preach, but I cross the world to preach to others.’ Without for a moment in any way comparing myself to the great Doctor, I was reminded of his words as I travelled to Belfast today to preach at the induction service of an EBC Graduate this evening.
Belfast is hardly crossing the world, but in God’s goodness and mercy I have, over the years, had the inestimable privilege of preaching God’s Word to God’s people in numerous countries on different continents, and it still genuinely puzzles and humbles me that anyone would actually pay me to travel in order to bring God’s Word to them.
Yet, as long as I have health and strength and relative soundness of mind, and the opportunities come, I will continue to serve the Lord in any way I can. As I sit in my hotel room and go over my preparation for this evening’s service, I’m reminded of the context of that great charge in 2 Timothy 4 – “Preach the Word” which is my text. It’s a context of so much church activity that has the form of religion but not the power (2 Timothy 3:1-5), and where false teachers and preachers are, as they say, two a penny, and yet faithful preachers are all too thin on the ground (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
My prayer – and I covet this as your prayer for me – is constantly, Lord, keep me faithful to you, your Word and your people.