{"id":32328,"date":"2022-09-10T16:05:16","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/what-to-remember-when-your-sermon-gets-no-response\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:05:16","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:05:16","slug":"what-to-remember-when-your-sermon-gets-no-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/what-to-remember-when-your-sermon-gets-no-response\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Remember When Your Sermon Gets No Response"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Matt Henslee<\/em><\/p>\n

If I\u2019d titled this article, \u201cLeft at the Altar,\u201d you\u2019d probably think you were about to read a sob story about some poor fellow twiddling his thumbs as his bride-to-be jumps in a cab and makes a run for it.<\/p>\n

While this isn\u2019t that kind of post, it does involve a sob story of sorts\u2014one that involves being lonely at the altar, when you finish up a sermon and see no response.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had the joy of serving in vocational ministry for over 18 years now. Some of those years have been filled with incalculable fruit. But other years have left me feeling ineffective and isolated in ministry.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve been there too. You preach your heart out faithfully and call for a response, but only hear crickets.<\/p>\n

Well, I\u2019ve got some encouragement for you. You\u2019re not alone. Remember these two stories of faithful men who experienced long seasons of ineffectiveness by worldly standards<\/p>\n

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1. Remember Jeremiah<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Before you sob too much, brothers, don\u2019t forget the prophet Jeremiah. God told him in Jeremiah 7:2, \u201c Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord and there call out this word: \u2018Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then we read in Jeremiah 7:27, \u201cWhen you speak all these things to them, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Why? Because although he knew what was coming, no one would listen to him for 40 years. That\u2019s four decades<\/em> of not seeing any fruit from his labor!<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had Sundays at my church where I\u2019m scrambling to find enough folks to help people fill out membership cards and to counsel those who are making decisions to follow Christ or are praying on the steps of the stage. But we\u2019ve also had Sundays where I felt like I was preaching to a brick wall.<\/p>\n

Jeremiah was obedient for 40 years despite no earthly success, yet to me, this prophet was extremely successful. Yes, he doubted God, but he ultimately stood firm and took an unpopular message to a people under judgment.<\/p>\n

2. Remember Carey<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Then there\u2019s William Carey, a man many consider to be the father of modern missions. After seven years of what probably felt to him like preaching to brick walls across India, he baptized his first convert in December, 1800. Note this gospel fruit took seven years<\/em> to appear!<\/p>\n

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See also  8 Ways to Persevere in Ministry<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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By the time Carey passed away, he\u2019d served as a missionary in India for over 40 years without a furlough. What did he have to show for it? In a nation with a population of millions, he had 700 converts.<\/p>\n

One of the things I remember most about Carey is a quote from a sermon he preached in 1792: \u201cExpect great things from God; attempt great things for God!\u201d<\/p>\n

And Carey\u2019s walk matched that talk. He was faithful throughout four decades of ministry that involved combatting infanticide, battling malaria, translating the Bible into the major languages of India, losing his son to a terrible disease, fighting widow-burning, and even having his wife accuse him of awful things.<\/p>\n

His life was a roller coaster for sure, yet he remained faithful. And because of his faithfulness, history witnessed the birth of the modern missions movement that produced missionaries like Hudson Taylor, David Livingstone, and Adoniram Judson.<\/p>\n

Keep Your Hand to the Plow<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I doubt you\u2019re reading this as a pastor who\u2019s spent 40 years spinning your wheels without any<\/em> fruit. But if you\u2019re currently feeling lonely at the altar, I have one word for you:<\/p>\n

Good.<\/p>\n

Assuming you\u2019re preaching the Word faithfully and that your loneliness stems from a burden for lost souls in need of salvation:<\/p>\n

Good.<\/em><\/p>\n

Keep it up. Don\u2019t quit. Stay faithful. Keep preaching, keep plowing, and trust the Lord with the results. Continue to evangelize throughout the week, invite folks to church, and preach your heart out week-in and week-out.<\/p>\n

I leave you with the words of Revelation 3:10:<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been a little lonely at the altar, keep on praying, keep on preaching, and keep on pleading for a response. May the Spirit bring forth fruit in and through our faithfulness to preach the Word.<\/p>\n

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Matt Henslee<\/h2>\n

@mhenslee<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Matt and his wife Rebecca have four daughters. He is the Associational Mission Strategist for the Collin Baptist Association in Texas, and coauthor of Replanting Rural Churches<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n