Staying faithful

This week I have enjoyed the privilege of preaching revival services at Sandy Springs Baptist Church in Harmony, NC.  I have never preached a full revival before, so this is a new and exciting experience for me.  It's a small church and there have been a couple of nights where I'm pretty sure I was the youngest person in the room, but it's an honor to preach whenever God grants the opportunity.

As the time for the revival services was approaching I was busy preparing multiple sermons, seeking God's direction as to what He would have me say to His people.  It didn't matter to me how many people came, I was just excited to preach that many times and to pour myself into the life of this church.  For the first two nights I felt as if I had prepared well and that I had been faithful to give God my all.  But last night was different. 

Since last night was youth emphasis night, my plan was to share my personal testimony and then bridge over to an abbreviated sermon.  Since my topic was very familiar to me - not just my testimony but the passage I was going to preach - I admit that I didn't spend as much time in preparation as I did for my other messages.  When it was time for me to get up to preach I suddenly felt grossly unprepared.  I began to struggle to string my thoughts together and when the message was over I felt more relieved than anything.  My lack of faithfulness to prepare had me second guessing much of what I said.

Why do I share something so personal and possibly self-incriminating on my blog?  I do so to illustrate the need that we all have to stay faithful to the call that God has placed on our lives.  To be honest, I have no idea how the message was received last night or how God will choose to use it in the lives of the hearers.  He can and does choose to move in spite of my feeble efforts to serve Him.  But because God has called me to be a proclaimer of His truth, I must stay faithful to be a student of His word and to meticulously prepare for any opportunity He gives to me to publicly declare His Word.  My last message to this church is tonight and I post this blog in the midst of immersing myself in God's Word to faithfully declare it to His people.

It doesn't matter where God has you in your life, your call from Him is to be faithful.  Stay focused on Him, be constantly committed to rely upon Him as your supply and your treasure.  Never slacken in your devotion to Him, for He is never slack when it comes to you (2 Peter 3:9).