Not “Share” — but “Declare!”

It’s been a great day! I arrived home from Columbus, GA at approximately 4:15 AM. Thankfully, the Lord kept me awake thru the drive home and then gave me sweet sleep for several hours. I praise the Lord for the wonderful concluding service of the pastor’s conference and for an altar full of God’s men begging and crying for God to use them/us in greater ways than we’ve ever known. God is up to something across the nation.

Almost daily, I’m asked two questions. (1) What is happening in our nation, and (2) Are pastors waking up? What is happening is the unleashing of pure evil (same sex marriage, LGBT agenda, rejection of all Biblical values, etc.) across the world. Are pastors waking up? Yes, and no! Some still don’t see the encroaching evil. Others, who do, are still unwilling to speak courageously–calling sin what it is–an affront to the Holy God of heaven and an abomination in His sight.

However, some (and the number is growing all the time) are awakened and engaged, declaring “Thus saith the Lord,” without fear! It is my honor to preach for/labor with some of the nation’s finest pastors. In love, but directly, they are proclaiming God’s truth, applying it powerfully to the multiplicity of issues we now face. While loving and proclaiming the gospel, they understand their responsibility to preach “the whole council of God,” including those topics that are politically incorrect, the declaration of which may bring to them before unknown consequences. Yet, they are willing to hazard their lives for the clarion proclamation of God’s truth.

If you have this kind of pastor, stand unequivocally with him and by him. Encourage him to continue his faithful stand. If you don’t have this kind of pastor, lovingly challenge your preacher to take this kind of committed stance. All of us, who are called to pulpit ministry, will one day stand before the One Who placed us into the ministry, giving an account of how we conducted and fulfilled our calling. In all candor, I live in light of this daily. Because I want to please my soon coming Savior, and hear Him say of me, “Well done,” I am unwaveringly committed to the clear, consistent, courageous declaration of God’s truth. It is not a “sharing” of truth. It is a “declaring” of truth. While “sharing” suggests timidity, “declaring” denotes authority. It is proclamation like that of Jesus, of Whom it was said, “He teaches as One having authority, and not as the scribes.”

So, men of God, stand tall, plant your feet, clear your throat, and courageously DECLARE the unchanging, authoritative, life-altering, Word of the Living God. People want it! They need it! And, you and I are privileged to proclaim it!

Dave Kistler
President, HOPE Ministries International/HOPE To The Hill
President, North Carolina Pastors Network (NCPN)
Co-host, Stand In The Gap Radio