I have never been known as a cutting edge technological Pastor. Oh I use Keynote when I preach and I have recently graduated from a Blackberry to an I Phone but that’s about it. This brings me to the subject of our time together today. The texting feature, which has really come into play in the last few weeks since my granddaughter was born, is something I use more and more. The only drawback I can find to this point is a simple spell check tool that has twice gotten me in trouble. Last week I sent a message to a church member who’s father was having surgery and being the caring Pastor I thought I would ask in a text, “Debbie’s Dad doing OK?” but because of the afore mentioned spell check device what I really sent was, “Sonora Dad OK?” this is doubly upsetting because no one involved in the conversation speaks fluent Spanish! Then on a more personal note I was texting my sweet wife of 30 years just letting her know I was thinking of her when I thought I wrote, “Hi there sweety!” to which my phone trying to help correct my spelling sent my wife the message, “Hi there sweaty!” Ah the joys of high tech communication!!! Words are powerful things and can sure cause a laugh or two. Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hail sham, then Lord Chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office. Hailsham recognized Marten among the group and cried, "Neil!" Not daring to question or disobey the "command," the entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees!
The power of a successfully communicated thought, from one human mind to another, is one of the greatest forces we know. But like the tango, it takes two to communicate. You can communicate a thought, but your thought may not be understood. In some cases, your thought may not even reach the proper target. That's why it pays to ask questions to make certain that people understand what you are saying. The great moviemaker, Cecil B. DeMille would agree. DeMille was making one of his great epic movies. He had six cameras at various points to pick up the overall action and five other cameras set up to film plot developments involving the major characters. The large cast had begun rehearsing their scene at 6 a.m. They went through it four times and now it was late afternoon. The sun was setting and there was just enough light to get the shot done. DeMille looked over the panorama, saw that all was right, and gave the command for action. One hundred extras charged up the hill; another hundred came storming down the same hill to do mock battle. In another location Roman centurions lashed and shouted at two hundred slaves who labored to move a huge stone monument toward its resting place. Meanwhile the principal characters acted out, in close-up, their reactions to the battle on the hill. Their words were drowned out by the noise around them, but the dialogue was to be dubbed in later. It took fifteen minutes to complete the scene. When it was over, DeMille yelled, "Cut!" and turned to his assistant, all smiles. "That was great!" he said. "It was, C.B.," the assistant yelled back. "It was fantastic! Everything went off perfectly!" Enormously pleased, DeMille turned to face the head of his camera crew to find out if all the cameras had picked up what they had been assigned to film. He waved to the camera crew supervisor. From the top of the hill, the camera supervisor waved back, raised his megaphone, and called out, "Ready when you are, C.B!" Oh boy, the disasters of miss-communication.
When it comes to communicating the truth of God’s word and what it means to be a Christ Follower we cannot afford to miscommunication! Job said, “Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth. My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Paul shares this advice, “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the fellow who took a seed catalog and started out the door. "Where are you going with that?" his wife asked. "I'm going to show it to my tomatoes," he explained! Remember as you behold the example of others, you set one yourself! When Gen. George C. Marshall took command of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA, he found the post in a generally run-down condition. Rather than issue orders for specific improvements, he simply got out his own paintbrushes, lawn equipment, etc., and went to work on his personal quarters. The other officers and men, first on his block, then throughout the post, did the same thing, and Fort Benning was brightened up. Leadership by example. I have a little thing I do each morning before my feet hit the floor beside my bed. I recite this verse from the Psalms of David, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” May my words be clear, my walk be straight, and my life be honoring to God! Amen!
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