Word That Spreads
I hope you have been blessed by this week's teachings about words - Jesus' words taught with great authority, and caused the people to be amazed. But what we don't want is to offer faithful words without a love for Jesus and a desire to live for Him - such words mean nothing.
Let's finish the week by reading how this passage ends, in Luke 4:36-37: "All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What words these are! With authority and power He gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!" And the news about Him spread throughout the surrounding area." (Luke 4:36-37)
The Power of Good News
So the word spread! How quickly word tends to spread - especially false news. Have you noticed that? The other day I had a few conversations with people in my community about some important matters. Somehow, word got out into the wider community that I was condemning and going after people, in these conversations. This was a ridiculous misrepresentation of what happened, but the word was already out! So now I have more conversations to have to try and correct what has been said. False news spreads fast.
But of course, good news that is true also spreads fast! When Shereen and I announced that we're expecting twins in 2026, word spread so quickly, much further than our own sharing of the message. News always fascinates people, and so when word gets out, it really spreads fast.
News about Jesus spread quite quickly too, in those days. And this was before the days of instant communication. People talked about Jesus among themselves. And look how far His message has spread now - all over the world there are followers of Jesus who continue to be amazed by and hold to His teachings.
Our Call to Share the Gospel
But there are still some who haven't heard the word about Jesus. There are many too who have heard bits of the message but never the actual full message. It's our responsibility, as Jesus' followers, to bring His message to the world, to spread it around!
Lyle Pointer, in an article called "Evangelism is a Process", writes this: "A study of how people come to know God indicates there are first multiple exposures to the gospel before a person accepts Christ. Win Arn has noted that people who accept Christ and stay in the church hear the gospel an average of 5.7 times before they record a decision to serve God."
Word spreads, but sometimes it takes multiple hearings of the message for it to actually penetrate. So I ask you: are you spreading the Word? Are you taking the life-giving words and message of Jesus to those who need it?
Remember, Jesus called His disciples to be "fishers of people". We are to be 'catching' souls for God, so to speak. To do so, the words and message of Jesus must reach the ears and hearts of those who don't yet know.
So I say to us today: Let's keep on spreading this Word! Let's not get discouraged. God is at work, and if we are doing our bit to take His message to those who need it, we can say with confidence "we've done all we can Lord, the rest is up to You."
It’s not “only words”! These are the words of life. May they define our lives, and may we spread them far and wide.
