My post sermon procedure is pretty simple. I go to my wife and ask, “How was it?” At this point, almost six years in marriage, I can usually tell from her facial expressions her perception of the worship service. Sunday, she was able to articulate the big idea of the sermon, but sometimes I go away wondering, did anyone else hear me? Was I unable to articulate the message in a way that people not married to a pastor could understand? Sunday August 15th was one of those Sundays where I would leave the church facilities feeling as though I missed the mark.
Driving to lunch, I was replaying the service in my head, reminding myself that the main idea of the sermon was “glorify God through the opportunities He provides.” I used an image that I found on a Google search to explain that as followers of Jesus we are called to leverage the gifts that he provides for the mission he has called us to pursue (Matthew 28:19-20). Focusing on the biblical truth that nothing given to us was intended to make us famous, rather it is to be used to be King Jesus famous. “Did people grasp this reality?”
A few hours later, I received an email titled, “You’ve been tagged on Facebook.” It was a lady from our church trying her best to leverage her social networking connections for the glory of God. I left that service discouraged, not knowing how God would use a poorly articulated sermon for His glory. I rejoiced Sunday afternoon reminded that God continues to use broken vessels to reach those far from Himself.
Be encouraged knowing that at the end of the day, the results are up to God. Your job isn’t to produce results, your job is to be faithful.