Am I Really Making a Difference?

By Gobel Brockman

This past Tuesday I took a solo trip to the Cane Ridge Meeting House in Paris, Kentucky, home of the Cane Ridge Revival of 1801. (The photo is a picture I took of the pulpit from the balcony.) The revival began when Reverend Barton W. Stone had decided to invite other churches in the area to his church's annual Communion service. What resulted was a meeting that lasted for several days, drawing a crowd estimated at between 10,000 to 20,000 people. (When you remember that this was before the days of automobiles and mass transit, you start to realize what a giant undertaking it was.) It is reported that at some points throughout the revival as many as 12 preachers were preaching at the same time at different places on the church grounds. Some used handmade platforms while others simply stood on tree stumps. It is also reported that an incredible move of the Holy Spirit took place, with many there experiencing physical manifestations such as shaking, jerking, and many other signs and wonders also took place. It was a revival that truly touched the entire area for years to come. Rev. Stone said this of the revival: "The effects of this meeting through the country were like fire in dry stubble driven by a strong wind." 

On the day I visited, a church group from Louisville was there and had scheduled a church service that was to begin just moments after I had arrived. The rule at Cane Ridge Meeting House is that you are welcome to hold services at the church as long as everyone there is invited, and I accepted their invitation. It was an incredible day. I sang with tears streaming down my cheeks as I sat with people I did not know as we sang together "It is Well With My Soul." I was deeply stirred as I thought about how those men and women long ago were simply going after God, and here we were over 200 years later still feeling the Holy Spirit as a result of what happened there. It was a truly moving day for me, and I could indeed still feel the results of what God did in that place over 200 years ago.

It made me wonder if what I'm doing today is having any lasting value for the kingdom of God. Yes, people may "Like" and "Share" my Facebook posts. Perhaps they will "Retweet" what I say on Twitter. Maybe they will watch my YouTube videos and click the URLs to my sermon links. But is what I am doing having REAL lasting value for Jesus? Is my prayer life really touching Heaven? God said in Isaiah 55:11 that "My word shall not return to Me void." - am I taking in His word and then sharing it as I should? Is there a real, genuine move of the Holy Spirit going on inside of me that is touching those around me? (I hope you're asking yourself these same questions.)

In Exodus it was said of the Egyptians that "There arose a generation that did not know Joseph." I don't want it to be said of me that because of me, "There arose a generation that did not know Jesus." We are in a generation that is in desperate need of a genuine move of the Holy Spirit. I want to be a part of that. The challenge is getting myself out of the way so that God can work through me. 

May we seek the face of God with more fervor, and may He touch us and leave such an undeniable anointing on us that the generations after us will still feel it. If the Lord tarries, I hope future generations will walk into our churches and still feel the presence of God that WE search for today.

I hope they will feel what I felt at Cane Ridge Meeting House this past Tuesday. Revive us again, Lord.

Don't Go Through Life On "E"

By Gobel Brockman


Back in the late 80's I worked 3rd shift at the main Post Office in Indianapolis. On one night in particular, I was flat broke. Nothing. Not even enough for a Snickers for lunch. (Fortunately I have a pretty sizable 'reserve tank' to get me through situations like that.) The problem came when it was time for the drive home. The gas gauge was just above "E" and it was a 33 mile drive from the parking lot to my driveway. I spent those 33 miles with one eye on the road, one eye on the gas gauge, and one eye looking to Heaven praying for help. "God, if you can turn water to wine, surely you can turn air into gasoline..." As I passed each exit, I was thankful that I had at least made it that far. Raymond St, Keystone, Southport. Closer to home, but the gauge was refusing to cooperate, creeping closer and closer to the danger zone. As I passed the Franklin exit I thought "Well, at least now I'm close enough to walk." I sang my praise to the Lord as I took the Edinburgh exit, almost incredulous that I made it. Apparently my "air into gasoline" prayer had reached Heaven after all.

When I worked 3rd shift I always went straight to bed as soon as I got home. When I woke up that afternoon, a thought hit me. I used to do something in those days, and I thought, "Don't tell me I forgot!!" I checked my wallet, and I could do nothing but laugh at myself. I don't do this anymore, but I used to cash my paycheck, then take a $20 bill, fold it up, and hide it behind my driver's license in case of "emergencies" - like, say, needing gas money to get home from work. Sure enough, the $20 was there. Not only did I have gas money, I could have gotten that Snickers I so desperately needed. The lesson that day was simple - I'm an idiot.

But that got me to thinking - how often do we as Christians go through our lives like that? We sometimes struggle just to get through the day, thinking we'll make it only by the skin of our teeth, when the whole time we have access to the abundant blessings that our Father has for us. We pray, "God, give me strength for the day!" while His Word says, "I am more than a conqueror through Him that loved me." We ask God to get us through temptation when He's already given us all we need to live a victorious life. I think there are many reasons for this, but I think one of them is the simple fact that we fail to realize that God has already given us many of the things we think we have to beg Him for. God doesn't want us going through life praying we make it past each exit; He's given us great and precious promises that we can live a life that's filled with joy, peace, and victory - even in those times when we feel like we're "running out of gas."

Child of God, God is for you. And the Bible says, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" You don't have to go through life on "E" hoping you make it home. Stop and look in your wallet - God's put more than a $20 in there. You have more than what you need to make it. Now enjoy the trip home.

Have a Snickers while you're at it.

We Truly Are All In This Together

By Gobel Brockman


As I type this, we just returned home from a vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama. It was a fun, relaxing week. I was also able to have some quiet time on the beach to "get alone with God" - which is always a special time for me. However, what I want to talk about is the drive home. I've mentioned before that one thing that I can get impatient with rather quickly is a traffic jam on an interstate. Coming home through Alabama, we encountered three. (I will say that I maintained my composure pretty well this time. Guess I'm getting mellow with age.) Two weren't too bad, but one was a rather long one. At one particular point, we were on a slope. As far as we could see ahead of us, and as far as we could see behind us, there was slow or stopped traffic. When we finally reached the end of it, we saw the cause of the delay – a semi had went off the side of the road.

More than anything, I pray that the driver and any passengers are safe and uninjured. But once we got through the jam and resumed to normal speed, I was reminded of what the Bible says in Romans 14:7: "For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself." What do I mean by that? That long line of traffic, affecting hundreds of people, was all started by one person. I have no idea what caused the accident, but I'm sure it was not intentional and again, I pray that all is well with everyone involved. I'm simply saying that hundreds were affected by one. What I want to talk about this week is that life is the same way.

We may think our lives aren't affecting others, but we are wrong. Our words, our actions, and the way we live out our beliefs all have a lasting impact on other people, whether we intend that way it or not. We can look at this in two ways:

1) Negatively
We are creatures of choice. Sometimes we abuse that right. We can try to live with secret sin, and then try to convince ourselves that we're not hurting anyone but ourselves, but that simply isn't true. The bad choices we make, if not corrected, will eventually affect who we become, and who we become eventually affects those around us. In one way or another, our negative choices will have some kind of negative impact on the people around us.

2) Positively
When we look throughout history, we can be amazed at how thousands or even millions of lives have been permanently changed because one person (or a few people) chose to do the right thing. I'm not just talking about historical figures; many times it's just in our day-to-day lives. I think of men like Don Black, my childhood Pastor. In those days I was just a smart-alec kid who knew how to operate his mouth better than his ears. (I'm sure many of you will find that hard to believe.) Still, he taught me and others the word of God in a way that we could understand. On top of being the Senior Pastor, he also led Children's Church every week. We were kids, but he didn't treat us like kids, he treated us like people who needed to know the Gospel. I'm sure there may have been times when he thought that what he was doing didn't really matter, but I'm living proof that it did. Here I am in my 50's, and I still remember the words and actions of one faithful pastor in my youth.

I know this has been a bit of a long read this week (it may have seemed like an interstate traffic jam to you) but I just want you to get a very important point: the choices you make in life don't just affect you – they affect the people around you - whether you want them to or not. People you love and care about. "For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself." Choose your words, actions, and attitudes wisely.

In other words, keep your eyes on the road on the highway of life. There's a lot of people sharing the road with you.