Have you ever wondered to yourself whether something is worth doing?
I certainly did last weekend. I was on an all-night trip to the city of Palmas in Brazil - the plane was late, the connections terrible, the seats were hard, and the coffee machine was broken! I wondered to myself in the airport at four in the morning, whether the trip was worth it!
I had been invited to preach at a guest event at a local church. No doubt many of the participants were thinking the same thing. "Would it be worth it to spend the whole of my Saturday in a church building?" Like me, they did not know that by the end of the day, we would not have missed it for the world!
When I arrived, the local pastor took me aside and said to me; "Giles, behind those doors, are five-hundred people desperate to hear good news!" As I preached I could see the lights come on in their hearts and the tears swell in their eyes. Once I gave an invitation for salvation, the multitude flooded forward!
That's not the end of the story. When the time came for the final message it was already late. I was thinking about the overnight flight I would have to run to catch. Perhaps others were thinking about going home too. Was it worth it to stick around a little longer?
I got up on the platform and spoke about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the morning the atmosphere had been different - more suspicious and distrusting. Now it was vibrant and receptive. People were on the edge of their seats. The invitation went out to all who were thirsty to come and drink God's living water. Within minutes hundreds and hundreds of brand new believers were speaking out in heavenly tongues for the first time. It was a touch of heaven on earth.
Back in the airport on my way home, I realised that this trip had been more than worth it! Heaven's register had been enlarged and heaven's power released! I think every person present at the event felt the same thing - that this had been the most worth it day of their lives!