In The Zone

I got up early on Sunday to pray before preaching. The message content that morning did not especially excite me. I studied and did the expositional labor to unlock the text days before.  I still prayed for fresh anointing and for God to move in our worship service.

Holiday weekend attendance in our church usually mean dismal attendance and Sunday proved to be no exception with Labor Day weekend. At the last moment three young people  came who are headed toward drug infested Columbia to be missionaries in a couple of weeks. They have visited in the past and their simple love or Jesus and passion for serving Him are infectious. They hunger for God and bring energy to a worship service.

Somewhere between the first and long worship songs God began stirring my heart. Though I preached the same passage I studied the message came out much differently. I got into a zone with God that thrilled my soul. I preached things I never planned to say. The passion intensified, the energy level picked up, and God's Spirit moved. Those visiting missionaries told me later over lunch, "There was a different atmosphere today." That is only explainable by giving God all the credit.

I cannot explain it. God brought me into a zone to communicate truth. He inspired me with His thoughts, with His passion, and with His power to deliver a fresh word from Him. I could not go back and preach that sermon again if I wanted to. Much of it I do not even remember. God did it through me.

This has happened to me more times than I can count. There are times when I am actually teaching or preaching where I feel God anointing me and guiding me in what I say. There are time when I think to myself, "Where did that thought come from?" I know the answer before I even ask the question. God gives illumination as well as inspiration. He puts me in a zone with Him where I truly feel I become His spokesman expounding His word. It is a purpose and passion I truly live for. Those are the moments, when no matter what else is going on in my life, I truly feel alive. Those are the moments I am fulfilling my purpose. Those are the moments when I do what He created me to do. Those are the moments when I live in the zone of a spiritual realm between heaven and earth.

I am humbled that God chooses to use me. He gives the illumination. He inspires new thoughts . He provides the revelation of truth. He wells up the passion to preach. He empowers me to deliver His word. He provides the opportunities. It is all Him. Therefore He gets all the glory for the changed lives. May I ever live and preach in God's zone.