Confirmation

Sermon preparation for me has always been a wonderful mix of hardwork, diligent study, and expectancy all rolled up in a big blanket of faith. Faith that what I feel in my heart as the timely word is indeed the word for the time.
There have been occassions when I had aboslute certainty that I had heard from Heaven. More often though there is a gentle sense that this word is correct and an exercising of faith that God has made Himself heard and that I'm hearing correctly. The challenge of this faith is that most times the confirmation of the impact of God's word through you is not made known until after the delivery. By then, if you missed the mark it's to late. You can't unpreach a sermon. I thank God that He has always been clear in His preparing me.
I experienced just such a time this past weekend. My father, my wife, and I had just spent three days at a wonderful missions conference and were on our way back to Dallas. First we had a scheduled stop at the Trustee Camp at the Michael's Unit Texas State Prison. I was the scheduled speaker for the evening service and found myself in prayer for the right words to speak. I seemed to only have a glimmer of the light of the message; just enough to keep me looking in the right direction but not enough to totally illuminate the way. I could just make out the next step but not much more than that.
I was directed to Acts 17:26 & 27. Paul was preaching in Athens and explaining that the God who created the universe also planned when and where each man and woman would live. This passage of scripture has been especially comforting to me as a means of providing more meaning to my life than just modern theories of universal chance.
In preparation my mind wondered to a hot Honduran afternoon where I found my self taking a swim on the Cusuna, Honduras beach with a few ministry friends and a small handfull of Cusuna children. My friend, an orthodontist from America, asked me, "Why do you think we were born in the USA with all the opportunities and privileges available to us, instead of being born here in Cusuna?" The answer lies in Acts: "so that men would seek Him."
A trustee camp is a little different than most other prison environments. There was no barded-wire, no guard towers, no heavy doors. There was a brown picket fence around the small yard more like one you would use restrain a puppy than one to restrain an inmate. There was one guard who checked us in and then we walked ourselves to the classroom where church was held. If the men were not all wearing the familiar white jump suite, you could easily forget that some previous action had caused them to be incarcerated.
We were immediately greated by a friendly man named Benett. He was cordual and handsom. He knew my father and seemed genuinely glad to see him. Next we met a man I'm sure I won't soon forget, Pastor Ray. Ray was a short young man full of joy. His personality was contageous without being overboard. One of those people who you just instantly like.
Ray was the pastor of this small flock, caring for his cobgregation as any loving pastor would. He was friendly, sincere, and volunerable. Not what you might expect from an prison inmate.
Several more men filed in. Each seemed friendly. Most greated us, some didn't. I'm not sure exactly when Rody came in. I don't remember seeing him until after the worship had started. He was a tall fit man who seemed very comfortable in his own skin.
I realy began to keep an eye on him once I began to preach. Of the 30 or so men in the room, Rody stood out to me. He maintained eye contact with me through the entire message but there was something else. He seemed to be very in tune with the message. I always believe that each message is crafted for someone in the audience, even if only for one someone. I wondered if maybe Rody, or Ray, or Benton was that someone.
After the message three men prayed to receive Jesus for the first time. What a great privilege it is to introduce someone to Jesus. Afterwards we gave a challenge for each man to seek God more than before, lest we become complacent. Almost every man in the room stood to their feet to answer the challenge. It was an amazing time to watch these men praise God with their whole hearts.
Finally we took some time to pray for Pastor Ray. These men gathered around us, joined hands, and sought God on behalf of their shephard.
I was already on cloud nine, but I had no idea what was still in store for this encounter. As we were greating the men and saying our goodbye's, Rody came up to shake my hand. We exchanged names and I said to him, "I believe God was speaking to you today." He stopped in his tracks and then invited me to follow him to his desk where his Bible lay.
Although choked up, he recounted to me this story:
"this morning I woke up at 4:00am asking myself, 'why am I here?' God lead me this passage of scripture." He pulled out a piece of paper where he had written out Acts 17:26 & 27, the very text of my message. His ability to speak became even more diminshed as he said, "It may seem selfish but I believe God sent you here to confirm His word just to me. He gave me this scripture but I really needed some confirmation."
I was floored. To be the answer to a prayer; and at the same time God was confirming His word to Rody He was confirming His word to me.
"Fear not for I am with you always."

Travis Moffitt
Associate Director
Worldwide Voice In The Wilderness
P.O. Box 740273
Dallas, TX 75374
www.wviw.com