Miracle in the Pulpit

 I sat with my head down praying while the praise and worship filled up the room. It had been a day. Two different trips to Amarillo ate up a good chunk of it. Other projects took out significant time. When I finally got in my office to study for an evening message, a visitor dropped in after only five minutes. That was the only time I had to study for the message. I did not feel prepared. I wished anyone else in the place had been chosen for the assignment but me. I cried out to God for help. 

I did not even know how to start the message. I prayed in desperation. I put no confidence in my ability, education, or experience. I've preached thousands of times. I did not feel adequate to preach that night. I heard the worship leader speak words I dreaded to hear as he prayed, "Now Lord, I ask you to speak through our brother whatever you have laid on his heart." I had a text. I had no meat. No introduction, no body, nor conclusion. I just had a text and prayer that God would speak to me. 

I reluctantly walked up and stood there silently for a few moments. I opened my mouth and molten lava of truth spewed forth for the next thirty minutes. Even while preaching, the thought occurred to me that only God could inspire the things coming out of my mouth. When it ended, I bowed my head and silently thanked God for the miracle that had just occurred. I told Brenda, Tucker, Turner, and several others that only God could have done that after the service. 

The next day a lady asked me if I could give her one of the points I made in the message she missed as she took notes. I told her I could not and then explained what happened. I told her I could never preach that message again even if I wanted to because God gave it in that moment. That is not the first time He has done that. I am sure it will not be last. 

Preachers are called to study for preaching to show ourselves approved unto God. There are times when life gets in the way. It is always God who inspires, gives revelation, and empowers people to preach if their is life and fruit in the preaching or teaching. There are plenty of preachers who don't rely on God. They rely on their education  and their vast experience in preaching and teaching. They work on eloquence and carefully crafted sermons. They may appeal to the ears, but they don't ignite the soul and fire new thoughts in our minds spurring us to repent, obey, and step out in faith. None of these things produces lasting fruit or spiritual life. 

I choose to lean into God. To acknowledge my inability to produce life change in people in my ability. Only through the power of God and unction of the Holy Spirit can I be a vessel of any use. He gets the glory. I don't deserve any credit. If He ever uses me to communicate truth and people are saved, moved to repentance, or to follow Him in a deeper level, that is all Him. I am just a vessel. God once spoke through a donkey. I'm humble He called and chooses to speak through me. 

May miracles in the pulpit continue whether I have time to study or not. May He keep using me to proclaim His truth to a lost and dying world, an apathetic church age, and to those hungry for the living God. I trust Him with the results and will do my best to deflect all glory to Him. 

Two Tough Questions

 Two tough questions surfaced recently that are not so easy to answer. Both asked by hurting people who wanted answers when the church does not act like the church Jesus commissioned. Tough questions that draw attention to our flaws and fears. 

Question number one came from a person outside the faith. A person who was covered in tattoos who looked rough around the edges. This individual lived right across the street from a church. He saw people come and go most Sundays. He was often outside washing and polishing his vehicle. Nobody ever approached him. Nobody invited him to attend a service. The man got involved in drugs and other criminal behavior and eventually ended up in prison. It was in prison where he heard about Jesus and got saved. 

When he got out of prison and returned home, he asked another Christian why nobody in that church ever invited him to attend. The fellow believer could only surmise that church members were scared to approach him. They were scared off by his looks. Not a satisfactory answer. 

The second question came from a lady in poor health and her husband who is also ailing. It seems their collective health is deteriorating rapidly. The lady asked me a tough question. She asked, "Why do people hug your neck and act like they care when you are at church, but you never hear from them when we are out of church.?" She went on to say that one deacon and I are the ONLY ones to ever call to check on them when they miss. Both have fallen multiple times recently and it would seem the days of their consistent attendance are in the past. Do they only matter when they sit in seats during a worship service?

I know that people in churches check on one another they are close to. People on the fringes often get neglected and forgotten. This shows another weakness in churches. We are supposed to care about everyone in the body of Christ. I do my best, but I often miss lonely and needy people who need comfort and support. When we notice people are missing we need to take the initiative to check on them. 

These tough questions are not easy to answer. People die and go to hell because we are too fearful to approach them. People are forsaken by the church because they are not popular, not wealthy, nor even faithful in attendance. It is easy to feel like nobody cares. Like you don't really matter. 

Churches, we can do better. First of all, God has not given us a spirit of fear {II Tim 1:7] We must trust God for the courage to approach even the most unlovable, unapproachable, and most resistant to hear the good news of Jesus. Jesus also said that when we did good deeds for one of the least of these it was as if we did it unto Him. We have to do better. Eternity hangs in the balance.