Showing Up To Church With Sense of Expectation

The last time I lived in Georgia, it was in the small town of McDonough, about 40 minutes South of Atlanta. At the time, it was a very small rural town. In the past fifteen years, it has grown mightily ... I would probably not recognize the same town if I were to go visit today. But back in 1997, it would remind you of Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show.

When I was first transferred to McDonough, one of the first things on my plate was to find a nearby church. I found on a brochure a small Baptist church that had caught my eye. It was advertising the fact that after church, they were going to have a pot luck dinner, AND a riding lawnmower race! Wow, gotta love small country towns! How could I resist!

It was actually a particularly small crowd that morning during the services. The choir sang a few songs, morning announcements were read, then the Pastor stepped up to the pulpit. He stated that due to a lack of God speaking to him that week, he did not have a message. WHAT? He stated that due to a lack of God speaking to him that week, he did not have a message! He then released the congregation, and they all headed outdoors to a picnic area and started to get their lawnmowers ready. Immediately, it began ... you can only imagine ... about 50 people gathered around picnic tables, and the gossip begins! "What is the preacher doing, saying God didn't speak to him!"  "Didn't he have his ears open this week!"  "Oh, the preacher must have been sinning this week!"  And so on and so on.

The afternoon activities went on as normal. Then, at 7 pm Sunday night, in which was usually a very scarcely attended service, about 800 people showed up. Standing room only! You see, the gossip had spread throughout town very quickly. People showed up that night, because they wanted to hear what the preacher was going to say. And wow, did he preach that night! He preached on the topic of "Showing Up To Church With a Sense Of Expectation!"

How often do we show up to church services with an expectation that God is going to speak to us? Do we prepare our hearts to actually hear something while we are there? Or, do we have earplugs in listening to the NFL pregame shows on the radio? Do we show up because in the part of the country you are in, it's culturally expected out of you to be at church? (Many places in the South, you're frowned on if there is a car in your driveway on a Sunday morning!)

Listening to God is like listening to anyone-before you can hear Him, you must be ready to listen. Just as in a conversation, you cannot hear the other person if you are talking or if your mind is distracted. So it is with God. If you want to hear Him speak, you must be quiet and you must be focused on what He is saying.

This doesn't apply just to attending to church services, but in a daily quiet time with Him as well.  But for the purposes of this blog, I am referring to your time at church.  I encourage you strongly, the next time you are getting ready for church, wake up 15 minutes early. Have a prayer time with Him. If you are married with kids, pray with them as well. Ask God to open your ears and hearts, and to prepare you for the message He has for you that week!

"I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." ... Psalm 40:8