A family member....female....employs a personal trainer at the gym. I imagine that the expertise involves how to operate gym equipment....what equipment to use....weights and repetitions and sets....things like that....but that is just a guess. I've been retired for going on seven years now....and I'm one of those that would like to be working at least part time. I had this thought in my daydreams from time to time. Someone hires me to be their personal trainer as they navigate the first years of their Christian walk. Well that's not going to happen....but I have a Plan B. No one hires me....I just do it here in my posts.
OK....let's get started. You are somewhat like 'Christian' in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress....only you found your way to Calvary....and your burden fell off....and rolled down into the grave. What do you do now?
Well you have to eventually find a church but that's not going to be easy....not in my plan anyway. There are plenty of churches to go to....where you would basically stay right where you are at today....and this for decades if you wish. Unfortunately there are not many churches with pastors from out of the past. They are there but you have to go through some training in order to be able to identify them.
So....in the meantime what you will need to do is to find a ministry that you can trust....and then let them guide you. That's where I come in. I'll tell you the ministries that you can trust. Actually if you do that then you won't even need me much longer....but that's OK. I just want to be the guy wearing the neon clothing and waving his flashlight in the direction that you have to go....to avoid the bridge that the storm had taken out.
What I'm going to do this first day is tell you that you have to hear the gospel preached....absolute bare minimum....once a week....but preferably even more than that....two or three or four times a week. I'm at about ten....and if I can't keep this up....in this collapsing world that we live in....then I get weak real fast.
What I'm suggesting is very easy to do. All you need is a computer or a smartphone. In the first stages of this first stage....you just need two names.....Charles Spurgeon and John Piper. Just Google their name...along with 'sermon YouTube'....and pick whatever sermon that comes up that you want. There will be lots of them. This will feed you. It's not the only food out there....it's more survival food for times of disaster....which is what we are in.
That's it folks....your first lesson. If you do this you will come back.
Note: Folks...with a post like this I am pulling out all the stops. The Hee Haw video....the concept itself of a personal trainer....all this to get your attention....to encourage you to make it a regular habit to listen to sermons from....as I always put it....Men from the past.....or men from today who preach like men from the past. You need to hear God's Word preached in the power of the Holy Spirit....and today's pulpits are not....are not....giving that to us.
Also: If you want....I'll give you two specific sermons to start with...
Charles Spurgeon....An Urgent Quest For An Immediate Answer
John Piper....If My Words Abide In You
