I have to admit something and it may or may not come as a shock to you- I am in awe of what God is doing through the lives of our church and its people. I shouldn’t be and I hate to say that I don’t give God enough credit for this but I just sit in awe.
Since arriving at First Anna, I knew God was prepping to use our church to make an impact that none of us could imagine and we haven’t yet, but it is definitely in the works. I firmly believe we are seeing the beginnings of something so incredible and powerful that we are not fully aware of what is going to happen.
The excitement that surrounds each service and the days leading up to the service, the texts and calls I receive from people saying they are praying for me and for the weekend is an awesome blessing. I have heard from several that they hate to miss Sunday service because of the excitement they sense. And if they do miss, I have text messages waiting asking how it was and that they were praying for the service.
Since becoming the pastor 3 months ago, I knew it would be like this; I could feel the Spirit was ready to make a break-through, yet I have been taken by surprise. I shouldn’t have been. I mean, I have strong faith and believe that God is who He says He is and that He wants to use each of us to make an impact and take His hope and love into our community, and I should’ve been prepared for how He was going to move in our midst, but again, I have been shocked.
Also, let me say this- what is happening in our church has nothing to do with me or Mayfield. He could use anyone to preach and lead the church and to lead us in worship. The difference is how sensitive we are to the Spirit and willing to change anything to create a better flow of worship.
The willingness to tweak with stuff coupled with our 1st Wednesday service and day of fasting each month, prepares us to sit back and watch God do incredible things in our church and in the lives of our families. By the way, the 1st Wednesday service…wow! I have never felt anything so powerful before.
As we continue to watch and be a part of what God is doing in our community, I want to share a few things with you on how you can prepare for our services.
Be expectant. Expect God to move not only on Sunday, but on Monday; on Tuesday; on Wednesday; on Thursday; on Friday; on Saturday. Our God is not limited to revealing Himself only on Sunday. Certainly, expect Him to move on Sunday but don’t discount the other days.
Prepare yourself for worship. Just as you would prepare for a sporting event or concert, preparations have to take place. To prepare for worship- start with having the right mindset. Listening to the junk on the radio or television before the worship service isn’t preparing your heart for God to speak to you. Get rid of the distractions and those that throw worldly messages at you. When you walk into the Worship Building, say a prayer and ask God to move in your life. Look around for someone that looks like they need prayer; they may be under stress or have anxiety in their life; and pray with them.
Throw off all hindrances and worship God. The time for casual worship and casual faith is over; there was never a place for it in the past and certainly not now. We pursue with passion hobbies and sports and work and pleasure but the minute it comes to faith, all passion is turned off. As I have said in our Spiritual Disciplines series, our faith is a passionate faith. King David who wept and danced and fasted, Paul who suffered and traveled where God led, Peter who felt being crucified like Jesus wasn’t proper so he was crucified upside down, Stephen who became the first martyr, Mary who poured perfume on the feet of Jesus and washed His feet with her hair. These are just a few examples of passionate faith. It is time for us to have that same passion with our faith. It is time for us to passionately pursue our Jesus!
Make worship a priority. If we expect God to move, we have to make Him a priority in our lives. What is hindering each of us from having God as the #1 in our life? Is it our hobbies? Sports? Pleasure? Money? Education? We can pay all the lip service we want to God but He has not called us to be half-hearted followers of Him; He has called us to deny ourselves and follow Him and Him alone. God has to be a priority in our life. To have anything else in that place means that God is not receiving our worship but that other “thing” is.
As I follow and seek God and see what He has in store for us, join me in this pursuit. It’s time for a revival not only in our church but in our community and I believe that God is using us now and what we are seeing is only a glimpse of what He is about to do!
For those that may not feel qualified to take part of this or to join a ministry and serve, let me share something with you. For the past 2 ½ months, I have not felt qualified to be your pastor. I don’t have the right degree and that has caused me to doubt myself. I feel I have to work extra hard to make sure each message is the best I have done. Along the same line, I have felt that each week has needed to be better than the previous. I’m not a good enough speaker- I stutter as I speak and stammer as I read Bible passages. For those faults, I have felt that I have to work longer and harder to overcome my weaknesses and shortcomings; that I must study even longer due to the lack of my education.
And then something hit home with me to take away my doubts and fears- God has called me to do this and He is and will equip me to do His job. My job isn’t to make me look good or to build my name- it is to bring glory to Him and Him alone. Who cares if my messages aren’t strong week after week- they are the message that God has given me to speak to His people. Even though I am weak in areas, these weaknesses force me to rely on Him and His glory comes through in my times of weakness.
The same is true of you! Whatever weaknesses you have, God will call you and equip you and prepare you for incredible works once you take the focus off of your shortcomings and put them on God. It is a lesson I am still learning and have to remind myself of daily- When I am weak, He is strong.
Whatever you feel is keeping you from following or serving Him, it is nothing He cannot use. He has prepared you and gifted you and equipped you in ways that others in this church and community have not been. You are the one He wants to use. He hasn’t called us to wade in or jump in but to dive in and trust Him! Let’s do it!