They Came To Hear Him!

 

I’m Duane Matz and welcome to Today’s Living Word.

There are three great parables concerning the lost in Luke Chapter 15. The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. It’s interesting to note how the chapter started out. We are told that all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to Jesus to hear Him. They didn’t come for the miracles, they came to hear Him! They came to hear what He had to say.  “Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God!” This should cause us to pause and consider what we are saying from our pulpits! Are we preaching the full counsel of God’s Word? Paul’s last writings to Timothy included this exhortation: 2Ti 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

 

Sometimes, we back off from the hard truths of God’s Word, (which really aren’t hard, only forgotten) because we have this fear that people will get angry, walk away and never darken the door of our church again. But instead of giving in to this fear, let the words of Peter ring in our ears, when many disciples of Jesus were leaving Jesus because of His hard truth preaching!  Joh 6:66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

 

We have the words of eternal life given to us by Jesus! We have been graced with the truth! Let’s not put any of it under a bushel basket, rather let us humbly and gracefully, and confidently go forth with His words of truth speaking them in love because when people know and receive that truth, they will be set free!

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.