Burden and Boldness

I read a story yesterday afternoon about a pastor who could not be consoled when nobody was saved after he preached on Sunday nights. He would go home and cry out, “Why? Why? Why?” He would not eat or drink anything but agonize in prayer. This preacher carried a great burden for the lost.

That little story impacted me. I preach to empty altars more Sundays than not and I questioned myself if it truly bothers me. Am I burdened that few are saved? Are my eyes moist with tears as I pray, preach, and pastor? I pleaded with God to give me a burden for the lost this morning. I asked the Lord to share His heart with me concerning those who perish without Christ. I do not want to become a comfortable professional preacher. I want to be a pastor who lives with a sense of the impending doom of people without a relationship with Christ. I want to be disturbed in my soul and broken in my spirit both day and night.

We are an apathetic bunch. We have read the scriptures and know the final outcome of people without Jesus Christ. We know they will face the righteous judgment of God and feel the full force of His fury for eternity but still we are unmoved. Our eyes are dry. The prayer room is empty without intercessors pleading and wrestling for the souls of men and women. We sit sleepily in our cushioned pews careless and calloused about the spiritual plight of people who do not have a relationship with Jesus.

Where are the tears? Do we not care? Do I not care? Can this preacher sit dry eyed and tight lipped when so much is at stake? I beg God to give me a burdened heart. I am not willing to stop there though. I don’t just want a burden but also the boldness to talk of Christ anywhere to anyone.

I want the boldness to take the message of Christ to the dark corners of Seminole and the dark places of this world. I want the fearlessness of God to well up in me so I can talk of the Lord without shame or compromise. I want the burden to so burn in my soul that the gospel erupts like lava from a volcano.

Jesus had a burden and He also had boldness. Paul had a burden and he fearlessly preached Christ wherever he went. He was opposed. He was persecuted. Yet, he boldly shared Christ regardless of the personal cost. What about you and I? Do we have a burden? Do we feel anything for the lostness of our cities? Where has the boldness gone? Why have we become so scared and intimidated into silence.

God, you alone can break our hearts for lost people. You alone can make us tender and allow us to feel the love and compassion you have. You alone can fill us with boldness. We are a timid and cowardly bunch. We are an apathetic and hard- hearted people as well. So I come asking you to change me from the inside out. I ask you to transform this preacher until I am a man consumed with your burden and filled with your unflinching boldness.