The Greatest Orator

And a very good morning to you! It is Saturday morning, 26th February, the year 2022. And this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day.

If we go to the Gospel of John, the officers answered:

“No man ever spoke like this Man!”

John 7:46

The greatest Orator who ever lived, oh yes! An orator is someone proficient in public speaking. Now, remember the soldiers were told by the High Priest to arrest Jesus and they didn’t. When the High Priest said, “Why didn’t you arrest Him?” They said, “We have never ever in our lives heard a man speak like this?”

No one can hold a crowd transfixed for a measure of time as Jesus could. Yes, the soldiers were transfixed by what He said. You see, it's not so much what you say, it is more who you are that holds people’s attention. The greatest sermon ever preached is found in Matthew 5, that’s right - The Sermon on the Mount.

I want to talk to you about extempore preaching. Do you know what that means? Extempore preaching is what the great preachers of the old times used to do. They would take one verse, like let's say, Romans 1:17 which says:

“The just shall live by faith.”

And they would preach, open-air, no notes, for three hours non-stop. You see, if it is not inside you then it is not coming out of you. These men spent time with God. You know, the old preachers used to say to me, “Son, if you don’t strike oil in five minutes, stop boring.” You have only got five minutes to get the attention of a crowd and if you don’t climb in there, you have got no chance.

You know, as a young man I was so desperate to preach after I gave my life to the Lord. I would jump in my pick-up, many a day, go into the middle of my maize fields (the cornfields) and when nobody was looking, I would jump on the back of the pick-up and preach my heart out to the maize plants. And then at the end of the message, I would say, “Let's bow our heads in prayer” and the Lord Jesus would send a gentle breeze and all the maize plants would bow their heads!

Aah folks, I want to say to you today - before you go to work, go and read the Sermon on the Mount. It is a magnificent message. And then go out and tell people about the greatest Man who ever lived. No man ever spoke like this man!

Jesus bless you and have a lovely day!