{"id":7114,"date":"2018-08-14T08:56:48","date_gmt":"2018-08-14T12:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?post_type=oyb&p=7114"},"modified":"2018-08-14T08:56:48","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T12:56:48","slug":"yet-preaching-the-good-news-is-not-something-i-can-boast-about-i-am-compelled-by-god-to-do-it-how-terrible-for-me-if-i-didnt-preach-the-good-news-1-corinthians-916-nlt","status":"publish","type":"oyb","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/oyb\/yet-preaching-the-good-news-is-not-something-i-can-boast-about-i-am-compelled-by-god-to-do-it-how-terrible-for-me-if-i-didnt-preach-the-good-news-1-corinthians-916-nlt","title":{"rendered":"“Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn\u2019t preach the Good News!” (1 Corinthians 9:16 NLT)."},"content":{"rendered":"
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THE CALL TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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When I was eight years old, my grandmother told me that she thought I was going to be a preacher when I grew up. I disagreed and insisted I was going to raise chickens with Papaw. Turns out, she was right. God called me to preach. But I do still love chicken. \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The first time I felt the call to preach was when I was 19 years old. I was attending a Christian conference for college students and the speaker instructed anyone who felt God calling them to the ministry to stand up. I looked around to see who would stand up, when I suddenly realized that I was standing up! I seriously don’t remember telling my legs to stand. But there I was, standing with tears pouring down my face. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Flash forward 11 years. I was 30 years old, married with three kids, a mortgage and a good corporate job. And I still hadn’t answered the call to preach. I taught Sunday school, I sang in the choir, I served on church committees, I was a deacon… I was trying to serve without selling out completely. Yet, I knew that God wanted my all in all. I was afraid, but like Paul, I felt compelled. My misery grew so great (It’s miserable to run from God’s call. Just ask Jonah.) that I finally surrendered. I quit my job, went to seminary, and planted Wilson Community Church. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Like Paul, I can’t boast about this calling. Like Jonah, I tried my best to run from it. Yet now, thirty years later, I am so thankful. How terrible it would be if I didn’t preach the gospel. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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What’s God calling you to do?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE CALL TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS
\nWhen I was eight years old, my grandmother told me that she thought I was going to be a preacher when I grew up. I disagreed and insisted I was going to raise chickens with Papaw. Turns out, she was right. God called me to preach. But I do still love chicken. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

The first time I felt the call to preach was when I was 19 years old. I was attending a Christian conference for college students and the speaker instructed anyone who felt God calling them to the ministry to stand up. I looked around to see who would stand up, when I suddenly realized that I was standing up! I seriously don’t remember telling my legs to stand. But there I was, standing with tears pouring down my face. <\/p>\n

Flash forward 11 years. I was 30 years old, married with three kids, a mortgage and a good corporate job. And I still hadn’t answered the call to preach. I taught Sunday school, I sang in the choir, I served on church committees, I was a deacon… I was trying to serve without selling out completely. Yet, I knew that God wanted my all in all. I was afraid, but like Paul, I felt compelled. My misery grew so great (It’s miserable to run from God’s call. Just ask Jonah.) that I finally surrendered. I quit my job, went to seminary, and planted Wilson Community Church. <\/p>\n

Like Paul, I can’t boast about this calling. Like Jonah, I tried my best to run from it. Yet now, thirty years later, I am so thankful. How terrible it would be if I didn’t preach the gospel. <\/p>\n

What’s God calling you to do?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"scripture-book":[1313],"scripture-chapter":[1342],"oyb_day":[1753],"location":[],"class_list":["post-7114","oyb","type-oyb","status-publish","hentry","scripture-book-1-corinthians","scripture-chapter-1342","oyb_day-august-14"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb\/7114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oyb"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7114"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=7114"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=7114"},{"taxonomy":"oyb_day","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb_day?post=7114"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=7114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}