How the Lord called me to preach.
By Ingo Breuer
Let me share with you how the Lord has led me to begin preaching the Gospel.
I will be preaching the first time on June 2, 2002 at McFerrin Missionary
Baptist Church in Madison, TN.
In September 2000 I was flying home to Germany from a trip to Tennessee. I had a
long layover at the airport in Amsterdam (Netherlands). At this airport I
discovered a prayer room which looked like a church auditorium inside. So I
walked in and looked around and just started to pray and spend some time alone
with God. When looking at the empty pulpit in the prayer room the impression
came on my heart that God wants me to start preaching the Word and filling the
empty pulpit.
This impression remained with me for quite a while; but the carnal mind took
over and said I am not fit to be a preacher. You are not eloquent enough, you
are too matter-of-fact, you are too young, etc. But since that time the Lord
began to stir me up again and again until I finally could not stay silent
anymore.
I read a Scripture in Ezekiel 3:18: “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt
surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked
from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.” I began to meditate on
this scripture and I felt guilty of not warning people about the consequences of
sin and about the condition of their soul. I was living life, going to work and
going to sleep and felt uneasy that I am not really doing what God wants me to
do. I knew that I had to start preaching God's Word wherever I could, so this
uneasiness and guilt within me would go away and people would be exposed to the
Word of God which will never return to God void, but it will accomplish whatever
God wants. So many times I feel like I am overflowing with thoughts that God
gives me and I wish I could have preached on them. When I am by myself - maybe
driving in the car - and I begin to pray aloud, then after awhile I realize I am
'preaching' to myself. I can understand what David said in Psalm 40:9 “I have
preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my
lips, O Lord, thou knowest." So I recently told my church about being called to
preach. I cannot refrain my lips any longer. Back in May 2000 I began working on
my own Christian website at www.solidrockfaith.com. When I noticed that a
personal website can be maintained at a very low cost, I knew immediately that I
had to go to work and use this as a witnessing opportunity for Christ and to
publish the Christian message, and conceal not. I had so many articles,
writings, testimonies, issues and messages that I wanted to share with people
anywhere in the world, that I did not have to worry about running out of
material to publish. The website now appears in English and German language and
offers a wide variety of material on how to be saved, how to live a Christian
life, the Ten Commandments, Baptist history, pro-life/pro-family issues,
restoration of a Biblical world view as opposed to secular humanism, etc.
Through the website people can leave prayer requests, ask questions, share
information, subscribe to a newsletter or request free gospel tracts. In fact, I
have recently acquired a large number of different tracts on the issue of
Christian marriage. Since the devil is so busy trying to keep divorce rates
outrageously high - even among Christians unfortunately - I feel I need to give
away these tracts for free to all who request. This "campaign" will start very
soon.
The website also provides visitors with the opportunity to hear the preached
Word of God in English and German. It was hard trying to find appropriate
messages In German. I contacted ministers, asked for tapes, offered them the
opportunity to have their sermons published, but I received not one sincere
response. That was the final trigger: I had to preach the word instead of
waiting for someone else to do the work. So I began to record messages to
publish on the Internet. The results so far: people have been writing me and
asked for more information about why creation is right and evolution is wrong
(Some of these requests come from school students (!) who use this material for
essays or speeches.) and other Christian issues. There is a hunger for God's
Word out there!
In January 2002 I visited my parents in my home country Germany for one week. It
was a short time and we spent quality time together. When I was there I asked
myself: if I had enough time to do something else besides visiting my family,
what would you do? Preach the Gospel! That would be my main interest over there
because the people need it so much. I personally agree with many conservative
Americans who claim that Europe has become post-Christian. I can confirm from my
own experience that this claim is exactly right!
Now I live here in Tennessee. I must say that I love America, but it is so sad
to see her moral and spiritual decline. I hope and pray that with every time the
God's Word is preached, heard, believed, and obeyed, this evil process will be
stopped. That is why I would love every opportunity to proclaim the Word of God
here and see someone get saved. I don't know where exactly the Lord is going to
lead me at the beginning of this ministry, but I just continue to trust Him. I
would be pleased with opportunities to preach at local churches, an evening
service, helping in a revival, or filling in for a sick brother.
Ingo Breuer
E-Mail: Ingo.Breuer@solidrockfaith.com
Website: www.solidrockfaith.com
