Powerful Sermon

Paul Washer of HeartCry Missionary Society preached a powerfully convicting sermon confronting nominal Christianity at a youth conference. Click here to download this sermon. It brings tears to my eyes...tears of remembrance, tears of repentance, and tears of sadness. I remember my life before Christ and how easily I become complacent in my Christian experience, leading me to repent of my stagnation. I am saddened that I have family and friends who claim to be Christians, but they are not committed to the local church nor do they show any signs of fruit. The truth is that I wish I would have been confronted with preaching like this a few years ago before I became a Christian. I was the kind of nominal Christian that Paul preaches about in his sermon. I was a false childhood convert who wasn't a Christian due to the simple fact that I was not truly following Christ.

As a Christian, this sermon convicted me and brought a renewed sense of zeal and purpose to my walk with Christ. Oh, how easy it is to slumber in the comfy bed of contemporary American evangelical Christianity. Too often I become acclimated to the conditions of this world. My prayer is that the Lord would stir within me an enmity toward this world's charms and riches.

I am reminded of the words to Isaac Watts' great hymn, "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?" One particular stanza expresses the prayer and resolve of my heart:

Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord.
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.