I preached a few Sundays ago on the Annunciation. After I preached, I didn’t feel I did a very good job. The subject matter of the Second Person of the Trinity taking on a human nature just was overwhelming to me. I had too many ideas running round my head and felt like I was trying to herd field mice getting them in order. Then, don’t you know, one of the best preachers I know (no, not John Piper) came walking in before the service with his family. I was nervous and then settled but the next day I was depressed. I just didn’t feel I’d captured the majesty of what Gabriel was talking about.

But even though I may stutter and lisp and mumble when I preach God’s word, the Holy Spirit never does when he applies it. Since then I’ve heard a number of people refer to what I said in the sermon. That, my friends, is the greatest compliment a preacher can get. At least for me, there is so much self-doubt that when I am told what a great sermon it was, I always have a nagging suspicion that the compliment is not sincere. But when I hear people refer to things I talked about in the sermon, even if they don’t mention me, especially if they don’t mention me, then I know that the Spirit blessed His word and sunk it into the hearts of his people. That cannot be faked and I’m happiest when they forget where they learned it. That protects me from vanity and them from fixating on the teacher over the message.