“When God gives an assignment, He also gives the skills.” -Max Lucado
I watch high school varsity basketball games several times a week. One of our players has a terrific 3-point shot which he shoots from the far corner of the basketball court. When another player passes the ball to him, he will score if he is standing in that spot. It is his sweet spot. When I stand on stage in front of a group of people with a well prepared, well-ordered presentation, which is built from the principles of Scripture, I am in my sweet spot. I know at that moment I am standing in the middle of God’s will for my life. Using your unique abilities, talents, personality, and style while doing what God wants you to do will put you in your sweet spot, too.
Sweet spots are made of connections because an ah-ha moment happens when the speaker connects with his or her audience. If the presentation is prepared thoroughly. If the speaker uses all the good techniques of speaking in a powerful and winsome way, the audience will focus on the message, the Holy Spirit will work, and lives will be changed.
Your Sweet Spot
Three factors will help us find our sweet spot.
- The first factor is the type of person we are becoming. God’s primary concern for us is not what we’ve done. His primary concern is who we are becoming. Ask yourself, “Am I authentic? Do I really believe what I say I believe? Do I apply the teaching to my life?”
- The second factor that leads you to the sweet spot is your overarching message theme. What are you offering?” My overall message theme is hope, so my presentations must have elements of optimism and faith. I live my life in holy anticipation, expecting God to surprise me each day, so I want all my messages to reflect this attitude of hopefulness. Perhaps your message theme is recovery. If so, then your life story, as well as your presentations, should reflect it. If your message is about the power of prayer, then you should be a person of prayer.
- The third factor is the feeling you convey through your message, your body language, and your words. I remember hearing a presentation on the dangers of imported meats. I left the meeting afraid to eat a hamburger. The speaker didn’t give us any hope or tips on how to choose healthy foods. Ask yourself, “What emotions will I communicate? Will I leave my audience with guilt, fear,–or joy?”
Feeling God’s Smile
We would consider John the Baptist to be a successful speaker. He had every reason to feel proud. But he wasn’t. He continually turned the audience’s eyes and hearts to Christ. He said, “Behold the Lamb.” He told the crowds, “I am not the Christ.” He counseled his closest disciples, “I must decrease – He [Jesus] must increase!”
Like John, we feel God’s smile, because we have pointed people to Christ and kept the focus off us. More of Jesus, less of me. There is the sweet spot.
You can speak as if God’s words are yours when you know your calling, prepare fully, and build a connection with your audience. The Holy Spirit will do His work as you speak. And that spot is sweet!
Question: What is your “sweet spot?” In other words, what spiritual gift are you using when you feel the smile of God’s approval on what you are doing?
