Learning Solo- week 3

Ok so for my third week here at Gulfway, I am pretty much working solo! Over the weekend Pastor Brandon had to travel up to Birmingham to be ordained. He then had to leave for a childrens camp in Springville, Al the following Wednesday morning. But on Sunday June 6, I found the highlight of my trip thus far. I was blessed with the opportunity to preach at Foley Assembly of God. Me not knowing anyone, and no one knowing me, it is safe to say I was a little nervous about what to preach, or how to even handle myself. Upon first learning about the opportunity, I immediatley went home and began to pray about it. I learned that this church was going through, what I like to call, "a spiritual valley." Their senior pastor for the last 30 years has suffered a massive stroke, and it was my churches responsibility to ensure that all their Sunday night services were set up. I arrived at the church to find a small group of people huddled in different areas of the church praying outloud. I was astonished to see a group hurting so badly reaching out to God in their desperate time of need. A time that for most of us, is when we pray the least it seems. I eventually got all set up and delivered a message about the faithfulness of God. Which to a church that was hurting so bad, was exactly what needed to be spoke on.

I concluded, prayed, and didn't even get off the stage before a massive swarm of about 50 people lined up to shake my hand, and tell me what a great job I did. I must be honest, this was all new to me because I had never done anything like this before. But I immediatly had to divert the praises all to the one who made that night, God! As people lined up, I told everyone of them the same thing, "all the glory to God!" One of the guys who went with me from Gulfway told me that after he was asked to go and support me, he went home and prayed about what the message was going to be for that night. He said that God spoke to him and said, "faithfulness faithfulness fauthfulness." Wow! If that wasn't such a confirmation to my spirit that I was still in the right will of God!

I have learned in times past that when God is not glorified in something that goes right, the whole thing is useless. We as His children were not put on this earth to do anything but make disciples of the nations, and bring honor and glory to the Father!

For the remainder of the week, I did my normal weekly activities. Reading, cleaning, and mainly serving the kingdom. We even had a youth group of over 2,000 people come and use our facility for a couple of days. For a little while, I was thinking that I wasn't even doing anything for ministry. I mean how can cleaning bathrooms, kids rooms, and taking out the trash be fulfilling my purpose of being down here. But I soon learned that me doing that, serving Gulfway, IS serving the kingdom! And that everything I do is a chance to glorify God!