The Power of Words

I think it is interesting how many people hear or read things very differently. For example, not every week, but quite often when I preach a sermon, someone comes up to me and says, "I really liked that sermon. The part about(please fill in the blank from your own imagination) was really good." I will usually thank them for the compliment and go away wondering when I said that. I mean, it is usually a great point and sometimes something I wish I had said, but not a part of the sermon I remember. I know that many other pastors have had the same thing happen to them. You see this is what I call the power of words, particularly living words.

Living words are words that are put forward in an effort to be the Word of God for that day. They are more than mere words, for these words must be surrendered to the Holy Spirit and spoken through the the Holy Spirit. In order to be the Word of God, we, the speaker, must give up control. Let's face it, though, some of us do not like to give up control. Oh, we pray the prayer, "God may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be truly pleasing unto you this day." We even mean it, we want our words to be pleasing to God. But we still want them to be our words, we want the credit for them when they come out good. We want to be able to predict our congregations reactions, control them and even manipulate them into doing what we want them to do. However, God has other plans, other meanings for His Word.

Although it is difficult for me, because I like control, my prayer is that I will give up control of my words, so that my words may truly be God's Word. This does not excuse me from preparing for a sermon, studing and the like. It does however, relieve me of the responsibility for changing people. I will let God handle that. I can't do it anyway. So God, guide my words and even more so, guide the hearing of the people you have entrusted me to shepherd. Let them hear your word, not matter what I say.