Written by Mark Driskill:
Tuesday March 22, 2011

Read Acts 10:44-48

“While Peter was still saying these things the Holy Spirit fell.”

What an awesome thing it must have been to see. Right in the middle of Peter’s sermon there is a divine interruption. Before Peter gets to use his closing illustration the Spirit of God is already taking hold of the hearers. People who moments earlier, had never even heard of a Holy Spirit were manifesting his presence and power in their lives.

This is the kind of interruption every preacher longs for. I love it when right in the middle of ministering God shows up and messes up the whole service. I’m thankful that Peter had enough sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to recognize a God thing when he saw it. As he heard these first gentile hearers beginning to speak in tongues and praise God he had the spiritual sense to recognize the Spirit at work.

I am so glad Peter didn’t try to take control of the situation. Not only was God interrupting the flow of the service, but he was touching people who up to that point had been considered off limits for the gospel. The church had not yet decided the Gentiles were admissible, but when Peter saw the evidence of the spirit he backed out of the way and let God have control. I am also glad he didn’t pull out the church regulations and shut it down for the sake of propriety.

Oh friends let us all be so interruptible. When God shows up at your church it will not always be in sync with your order of worship or even in line with your doctrinal statement. Sometimes I think the Lord just likes to mess up our theology for fun. I think the Holy one gets a kick out of kicking down our notions of how God is supposed to operate. In order to walk in the power of the Spirit we must be willing to let God interrupt our plans and challenge our preferences. Otherwise we become religious and powerless worshippers of our own ideas.

Let the Spirit mess up your plans today. Listen to his voice and let him lead. You just never know what great things may happen when you let God mess up your plans.

Mark Driskill and his wife Mary are homeschooling community ministers in Breathitt County Kentucky.  They have four children. They co pastor Emmanuel fellowship Church, serve as Camp Pastors at Bethel Mennonite Camp, and Mark Teaches at Oakdale Christian Academy.

Mark is web minister for Begotten by theWord , a ministry of Helping Hands Christian Resources.

Once a month he preaches on the local radio station through the “Lion of Judah” program. Mark also preaches in youth rallies and revivals upon request at no charge. Their vision is to see true spiritual awakening come to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and to the nation.

Contact information:
Email: driskill@hilbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.