I was the one who would boo the talent show contestant who chose to sing "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" if he/or she sounded like a lonely dog. People would get mad, but my logic on this I believe is respectable. Being the event is a talent show, the contestant has opened themselves up to be examined by their talent (or lack thereof) regarding their performing arts gift (the term gift used loosely). The unit of measure of this examination is usually in either cheers (good work) or boos (not so good work). Furthermore, the audience member more than likely is not examining the subject matter of the art, but how the artist displays the actual art. This is why one contestant can sing a sexually explicit song and another can sing a Christian-themed song in the same show. It's all about the skills. And I, for one, refused to be fooled by the contestant with lack luster skill and has attempted to get cheers by singing a gospel song. The good news of Jesus is great, but you stink...and frankly, you are mocking who God is by trying to use a gift (to gain personal accolades) that you haven't developed or simply don't have.
With this, it appears to be very common that some people blame the Holy Spirit when a singer, choir, or preacher doesn't perform well. In the same way, these individuals affirm and praise God when a performer sounds fantastic. However, neither party are accurate in their declarations...but what is evident is the amount and type of preparation that was taken to show this gift. At the least, the most sensible assumption would be to think the Holy Spirit spoke with and/or helped the performer during the practice time that they (the performer) determined to have. But to think that a Spirit-filled cat can just show up and sing or preach without any type of preparation (planned or unplanned) is ludicrous.
There are far too many examples in the Bible to think that is the case. The most famous is when a future King David told the current King Saul he was able to kill a 9 foot giant because he had killed lions and bears while guarding his fathers' sheep for years (1 Samuel 17:32-37). I'm sure that David wasn't thinking he was going to have to fight a warrior giant, but he recognized his former work (and how serious he viewed it) prepared him for this new task. Please note, this took place before the falling of the Holy Spirit on humans...which happened centuries later.
Also, we look at Paul who was able to sense a shipwreck comming when he was being transported as a prisoner to Rome in Acts. The Bible states that he had a hunch about trouble during the voyage, but the Bible also states that he had traveled by sea vessel at least twice before (read Acts). Obviously, he was privy to the nautical conditions to know when and when not to travel, as well as being sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Lastly, even the apostles had plenty of practice in ministry walking with Jesus nearly every step. Although they were able to receive the power to do the works when the Spirit fell on them (Acts 2), it wasn't like they didn't have any idea of what to do after that...because they already had the training.
Moses, Abraham, and countless others have benefited from this principle; but for some reason, we think we can get filled with the Holy Spirit and become great 'whatevers' immediately and consistently. But that isn't the case. And it very well could be that a Spirit-filled persons' performance doesn't make sense or sounds off key because they didn't take the practice time to craft the work...which is an indicator of an extreme lack of faith (James 2:20).
Don't blame the Holy Spirit for being sorry, because proper planning prevents...well, y'all know the rest.
Peace
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