A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.

Tomorrow I will be speaking to over 100 pastors, ministry leaders and their wives at FamilyLife Weekend to Remember in Hershey, Pennsylvania. One of the quotes I will be sharing is from Charles Spurgeon, in the first of his Lectures to My Students. He charges pastors and ministry leaders to remember where the power come from in ministry.

EVERY workman knows the necessity of keeping his tools in a good state of repair, for "if the iron be blunt, and he does not whet the edge, then he must put more strength to it." If the workman lose the edge from his [axe], he knows that there will be a greater stress upon his energies, or his work will be badly done.
Michael Angelo, the elect of the fine arts, understood so well the importance of his tools, that he always made his own brushes with his own hands, and in this he gives us an illustration of the God of grace, who with special care fashions for himself all true ministers.

We are, in a certain sense, our own tools, and therefore must keep ourselves in order. If I want to preach the gospel, I can only use my own voice; therefore I must train my vocal powers. I can only think with my own brains, and feel with my own heart, and therefore I must educate my intellectual and emotional faculties.

I can only weep and agonize for souls in my own renewed nature, therefore must I watchfully maintain the tenderness which was in Christ Jesus. It will be in vain for me to stock my library, or organize societies, or project schemes, if I neglect the culture of myself; for books, and agencies, and systems, are only remotely the instruments of my holy calling; my own spirit, soul, and body, are my nearest machinery for sacred service; my spiritual faculties, and my inner life, are my battle axe and weapons of war.

M'Cheyne, writing to a ministerial friend… “Remember you are God's sword, his instrument- I trust, a chosen vessel unto him to bear his name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfection of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”

A Special Meeting with God

Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011 was a day of confession and celebration for Harvest Granger. Sunday morning we contemplated the fight we are in with indwelling sin. We walked though a list of 78 overflowing sins in order to put off that which God hates.

Then Sunday night we gathered again to celebrate the second anniversary of our church and worship for the first time in the new facility God has given us on Hickory road. We filled the place with our worship and God inhabited our praises!

After a fantastic time of lifting our voice and making music fitting for our Savior we read from Joshua 1:2, "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them." We broke into small groups to thank God for the 10 acres of land he has given to His people as a place where the gospel can go out into our community.

We then entered into a time of praying Psalm 32 back to the Lord. We confessed our sin to him and rejoiced in the truth that "Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity."

Then, one by one, people stood to confess sin and acknowledge their dependence on Christ....

• A 10 year old boy confessed God had convicted him of greed.
• A man confessed God had convicted him he needed to write a letter to his former spouse seeking forgiveness for his part in their divorce.
• A man confessed after spending 17 years in another church and serving as a deacon for 7 years his life had been dramatically altered after attending Harvest for 6 months. He admitted he had been in the "shallow end of the pool" for too long. For the first time he has found assurance of salvation in response to the gospel. As a result of attending our Foundations class he has learned to follow Christ. In the last two months he has shared the gospel with two friends who need Christ.
• A young man also shared how his family's prayer had brought him to Christ. After ten years of addiction to drugs, losing his wife and daughter, and spending time in jail, God had changed his life. He has been clean for 6 months and is seeking to obey the Lord.

After two hours we all sensed that we had been in the presence of God. We are grateful for a place to meet but the new facility is of no value unless it is a place where we meet God and lives are changed by His power.

"Lord, may what I saw at 'Harvest on Hickory' Sunday night be the first fruits of lives that are changed all for your glory!"