To Seek and To Save

It was so wonderful to be back at church yesterday. I was on a business trip last week and I had missed 4 services. Just walking through the front doors of Highland Baptist gave me such peace. I guess it's sorta like a drug addict or a drunk when they've not had their fix. I would have stayed at church all day yesterday. The pastor preached a terrific message in the morning service and we had a really large turnout in the congregation, probably the most people we have seen since our revival services last year. On the way out the door, the pastor asked me to preach for the evening service and I was almost giddy because it had been since our New Year's Eve watch service since I had preached and I had several sermons outlined and ready... but the LORD had something else in mind...

As I was sitting on the couch studying for my sermon yesterday, my mind would not stay focused on the subject. I just knew that I was supposed to preach a hell fire and brimstone message defending the faith and calling out Sodomites and other abominations. I thought that was where the LORD was leading me until it was nearly crunch time. I was praying like crazy for Him to give me the message and time was running out. I had to be at church at 5:00 to start choir practice and it was already after 4:00, I was in a panic. Then, suddenly, that old familiar tingling set over me and I turned to Luke chapter 19. I had never preached a message on Zacchaeus and had not read that passage of Scripture in quite some time. I didn't have time to do much studying, I just read the 10 verses over and over and over and prayed that God would preach the message for me. When the time rolled around for me to stand behind the pulpit in front of another good crowd of people, I was very nervous. I knew the LORD would not let me down but couldn't help but be scared. It didn't take but a couple of minutes for me to get that comforting feeling of the Holy Spirit and the words just rolled off of my tongue. I just love it when the LORD works like that! You can click on the link below to listen if you want to: