Words and Deeds Empowered by the Holy Spirit Build God’s Kingdom

“It was a God thing,” I said. I will explain why later. I was a church’s guest speaker.

I am a retired pastor. I have preached hundreds of sermons. In planning for the service, I was not sure which one to select.

I chose one and read over it. It had been about five years since I preached it. I studied it for about thirty minutes. It just did not seem right.

I looked for another message. One sermon got my attention. “What’s Wrong with the Church?”

I had no good reason for picking it. I was not aware of any problems in the church where I would preach. It just seemed like the right message.

The day before I preached, I had second thoughts about my choice. It was quite different from other sermons I had preached at that church. But it was too late to abandon it.

I read a verse in my devotional time that Sunday morning before I preached. “He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things” (1 Chronicles 28:12 NIV).

The Holy Spirit directed David’s thoughts to accomplish His will. Looking back, I experienced some of that when I chose my sermon topic. I did not know how fitting it would turn out to be. 

The main point of my message was that love for Christ and His church should be the defining passion of believers. I mentioned five issues that make churches look bad to unbelievers.

What are they? Divisions in the church. Unfair political decisions in the church. Hypocrisy.

Friend-centeredness, not Christ-centeredness. Fruitlessness from not abiding in Christ.

Shortly before the service started, I was helping the pianist plan the music for the morning. I went to the church that day thinking I would only be preaching.

I was sitting in the front pew. I did not expect to lead worship. Shouting broke out behind me. Two people in the church were terribly upset with each other. One of them got up and began to head for the door.

Another person in the congregation tried to settle the conflict between the two squabbling individuals. That person was also talking very loudly and attempted to keep the person from leaving the sanctuary.

The peace-making effort failed. The person left, very hurt and angry. The peaceful atmosphere minutes earlier vanished. Tension hung in the air.

My message perfectly fit the situation that had suddenly emerged. Two people were unwilling to forgive each other.

When I announced the title of my message, “What’s Wrong with the Church,” people could hardly believe it. I stressed the importance of reconciling with those who hurt us to prevent divisions in the church.

Two people commented after the service about how timely the message was. My response was, “It was a God thing.”

The Lord says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” (Psalm 32:8 NIV).

It is humbling for God to lead me so specifically in my sermon choice without my realizing it. How often does God use our Spirit-empowered words and deeds without our ever knowing it? More often than we think! What is your takeaway? See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.

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God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,090 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,150 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.   https://www.christiangrowthresources.com/his-power-for-your-weakness

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