Hanging Off His Words
Was this going to drag?
Reference: Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words. (Luke 19:48 NIV)
Explore: It was about ten years ago, but I remember it well. I was fairly new to my ministry leadership position and was attending a Hillsong conference with some people from our church.
The speakers at the conference had been good and then John Maxwell stood up to speak. He started off by saying he had 10 points about leadership that he had an hour to speak on.
“10 points!” I thought. Most preachers stick to the standard 3! Was this going to drag?
Well, Maxwell started talking and I was mesmerised. His stories spoke true to exactly where I was at and his leadership advice was exactly what I needed.
By the time his hour was up he was only 3 points in. I wanted to hear all 10 even if it took five hours! I had truly hung off his every word.
Application: There are many very talented speakers in our world. And many speakers have great words from God to share.
Think of your favourite speaker. And now imagine how much better Jesus would have been.
Sure, there were still the judgemental people in the background picking holes in His words, but Jesus was the ultimate in preaching.
We don’t have Him standing amongst us now, but we do still have His Word in scripture. I reckon there would be a queue around the block if people knew that Jesus Himself would appear to speak at a conference, and yet, so often we pass up the opportunity to open the Bible and read His words for ourselves.
Prayer: Lord, Your word can speak directly to us. May we commit to opening it regularly. Amen.
What does God have to say to you through His Word today?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.