Refuse Mediocracy

I'll admit it. I'm a critic of sermons. I think this comes from being a Communication Studies major. I'm not saying that I'm a great speaker, but I have studied the art of public speaking and communication, so I notice when a person is being irrelevant, not communicating clearly, dragging on, stuttering, etc. And unfortunately, I'm often a cynic when people say things along the lines of "the Holy Spirit is moving in this place" or "God convincted me" or "X amount of people were saved on such and such night." I credit a lot of the cynicism to the fact that I know that music (which is often present in the above mentioned moments) can overwhelm us at times and make us emotional individuals. Don't get me wrong, I love music. Oh boy do I love music. I think if I had to choose between music and television, I'd choose music. But I also know that music transform a situation into something it's not...which can be good and bad.

Anyhow..with this being said-- Tonight was absolutely incredible. Tonight, all my criticism and cyncism was thrown out the window. Tonight, I can say with sure confidence that the Holy Spirit was moving, God convicted me, and I was reminded of the Grace that is mine because of my Saviors death on the Cross. I don't think God could have spoken to me any louder unless He was literally standing next to me yelling through a bullhorn into my ear. I felt so convicted of doubting God's plan, of doubting God's ability, of doubting God in general. Before worship tonight, our pastor met with us (the leadership team) and mentioned that in the past hour he had thrown out everything that he had planned for the evening because God had laid something on his heart to talk about tonight. He said that tonight had the potetional to be very powerful. I thought to myself "Yep. Okay. Maybe for everybody else, but not for me. Tonight's going to be just like every other night." At that exact moment, I'm pretty sure that God was having a good laugh at me.

About 2 minutes into the sermon, I found myself much more alert than usual. And about 5 minutes after that, our Pastor said something that hit me like a brick wall, as though God reached down and shook me awake. It made me realize that I can't live looking backwards, but I have to trust that what the Lord has planned is far more perfect, better, and fulfilling than I can ever imagine for myself. As our pastor closed out the evening he asked us something that I think will resonate with me for a while..."Do you really want to live a life of mediocracy or a life fulfilling God's will for you?" I refuse to be mediocre anymore...I refuse to be mediocre in my faith, my ministry, my relationships, my job and my life.

So what's your decision? Your way or God's way? Mediocracy or Fulfillment?

"I'm not going back.
I'm moving ahead.
I'm here to declare to you my past is over.
In you, all things are made new.
Surrendered my life to Christ
I'm moving, moving forward.

You make all things new.
I will follow you forward!"

--Moving Forward, Free Chapel