Let’s see if you can guess what famous person said the following (the answers are below … but no cheating!):
- “The phonograph is of no commercial value.”
- “I think there is a world market for about five computers.”
- “I tell you Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad soldiers; we will settle the matter by lunch time.”
- “There will never be a bigger plane built.”
- “The world potential market for copying machines is 5000 at most.”
People get it wrong lots of times. Even really smart, successful people. King Solomon, who was called the wisest of all, wrote a book called Ecclesiastes in which he shared some bad advice he tried to follow. In the closing verses he gave this warning, “My son, be warned. Of making many books there is no end so do not believe everything you read, and much study is the weariness of the flesh” (Ecclesiastes 12:12).
In the Hebrew world there were three departments of knowledge:
- Law―words from God to man
- Prophesy―judgment from God on how man is doing in observing God’s law
- Wisdom―man’s attempt to live out God’s law based on observation, experience, and reflection (for a great example of all three departments at work, see Luke 10:25-37)
What we need is someone who (1) knows God’s way, (2) lives God’s way, and (3) can teach us how to live out God’s way for ourselves. Someone who is perfect, flawless in every phase. We need the One Who said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). That One is Jesus.
Can I make a suggestion that will bring you amazing results? Spend some time reading the red letters. That is, go to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and focus on the words of Jesus (which many Bible translations print in a red font). There I am certain you will discover the greatest words ever spoken!
If you can, please join me over the next few Sundays as we will be attempting to discover the greatest words ever spoken on a variety of subjects. Folks have turned in the questions that they would like answered, and we are going to look to the red letters to see what Jesus has to say.
Answers to the quiz:
- Thomas Edison, remarking on his own invention
- Thomas Watson, Sr., chairman of IBM
- Napoleon Bonaparte, at a breakfast with his generals preceding the Battle of Waterloo
- A Boeing engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin engine plane that held ten people
- IBM board of directors, to the eventual founders of Xerox
Craig T. Owens 