Sitting By

Scripture Reading: Luke 5:17-26

Today's Treasure: "And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every city in Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them" (Luke 5:17, KJV).

Luke 5:17 describes a scene in which the Pharisees and doctors of the law were "sitting by" (KJV). Matthew Henry wrote: "How many are there in the midst of our assemblies, where the gospel is preached, that do not sit under the word, but sit by! It is to them as a tale that is told them, not as a message that is sent them; they are willing that we should preach before them, not that we should preach to them."

Can you recall a time you attended a Bible study or church service that profoundly affected a few of the people you were with, while others were completely unmoved, almost as if they hadn't attended?

Perplexing, isn't it? Sometimes the explanation is more than the lost condition of the unaffected because the Holy Spirit faithfully convicts and woos the lost when they are willing to hear the truth. Let's face it, believers can sometimes be as unaffected by a powerful message as any unbeliever. Like the Pharisees and teachers of the law, sometimes the unaffected can be the most "religious" people in the room. Could the difference be sitting by rather than sitting under the raining power of God's Word?

Several months ago this remarkable difference became crystal clear to me. One of my favorite congregations to visit is an African American church in New Orleans. I've fellowshipped with these wonderful believers after a number of services and not one of those times has a solitary person been critical or even untouched by the message. You may be thinking, They must have a great preacher. It's not the preacher because I've never heard the same person preach twice. What, then, is the difference? The listeners involve themselves in the message. They are not spectators. They take responsibility for the effectiveness of the message by actively engaging themselves in it.

I've been in many other settings where members basically gave the preacher an anointing rating over lunch. The discovery startled and affected me. I began praying that God would motivate me to actively engage myself in every message that I hear or read. Since that time, and not accidentally, I've not heard or read a single ineffective message. The teaching of God's Word is life-changing and healing! Who wants to sit by when we could sit under and be showered by His power?

Sweet Father, I praise You because Your Word has the power to heal and change my life. I know I am responsible for the effectiveness of the messages that I hear. Please forgive me for not receiving, but only sitting by and listening. I pray that I would engage myself in each message I hear from You. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Adapted from Jesus the One and Only, by Beth Moore, pages 72-73. Nashville: LifeWay Press, 2000. Used by permission.