Hillsong Conference
Thousands of people from all across Australia, as well as from around the globe, gather together to learn more about God.
Luke 21:5-38
Reference: v.38 …and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple. (NIV Bible)
Explore: This week in Sydney there is a huge Christian conference going on called Hillsong. Thousands of people from all across Australia, as well as from around the globe, gather together to learn more about God. While I'm not there this year I have been to previous conferences and it is a great chance to sit under the teaching of some great people and learn from others in the Christian walk. Each year this conference is booked out so there are always people lining up to get the seats closest to the front. It's like with any live event you always want to position yourself as close to the front as possible so that you are also a part of the action. People are always willing to sacrifice their time to get there early so they get a better seat. When you're on a bus or at the cinema it's cool to be up the back, but when you're at a live gig everyone is pushing to be at the front.
Application: When Jesus was travelling around teaching the people he had large crowds of people sitting under his teaching. I'm guessing that in 30AD they didn't have great PA systems so there would be extra incentive to being closer to Jesus. In the 21st chapter of Luke we read some of his teaching and we hear that people were arriving early in the morning so that they could hear what Jesus had to say. When it comes to a conference or a live performance people are often eager to be where the action is. They'll put off their normal routine to get there early. But in actual fact, we have the opportunity to learn about Jesus every single day. It may not be a live performance but we have the Bible to give us insights on God, and we have access to it every single day. Do we wake up early to get to the best spot? Are we willing to sacrifice our time to learn from the best? It's always good to go to conferences and concerts however we need to remember that we can have the best seat every single day. If the Word of God is open in our hands then we are behind the greatest teacher that's ever lived.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we put your Word aside and focus on our own lives. May we strive for the best seat in the house every single day. Amen.
Is reading God's Word a priority in your life?
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.