Hearing the Foreman’s Voice - The Gospel that Changes Everything

Listening to God’s Word and Letting It Take Root

Scripture: Acts 14:7-10 (NASB95)

And there they continued to preach the gospel. At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk.

Cowboy Wisdom

On a working ranch, there’s one voice the cattle learn to follow—the voice of the one who feeds them, leads them to water, and watches over them through the night. A good cowboy knows his stock, and the stock knows him. That crippled man at Lystra had never taken a single step in his entire life, but when he heard Paul preach the gospel, something stirred deep inside him. He wasn’t just hearing words; he was hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd calling to him through a dusty preacher on a street corner. And he listened with everything he had.

There’s a difference between hearing and listening. A cowhand can hear the wind howling all night long and sleep right through it. But the moment he hears a rattlesnake or a coyote near the herd, he’s wide awake. That crippled man wasn’t just letting Paul’s words drift past him like tumbleweeds—he was soaking them up like dry ground drinks in the first rain of spring. The Bible says Paul saw that the man had faith to be made well. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. That man’s willingness to truly listen changed his life forever.

Paul didn’t preach a fancy, dressed-up gospel for the city folks and a watered-down version for the country folks. He preached the same old, old story everywhere he went: Jesus Christ saves sinners. It was good enough for Antioch, good enough for Iconium, and good enough for Lystra. And partner, it’s good enough for you and me today. Don’t let anybody tell you the gospel needs updating. The Word of God doesn’t need to be rewritten—it just needs to be reread, believed, and obeyed. When you truly listen to what God is saying, it’ll put a leap in your step that no doctor on earth can give you.

Questions for Reflection

1. Are you truly listening to God’s Word, or are you just hearing it drift by like background noise? What’s the difference in your daily life?

2. The crippled man had faith to be healed before he ever stood up. What impossible situation in your life is God asking you to trust Him with right now?

3. Paul preached the same gospel everywhere. Are you tempted to soften or change God’s truth to fit your circumstances or the opinions of others?

Prayer Focus

Father, open my ears to truly hear Your Word today. Don’t let me just sit through sermons and Bible readings without letting the truth sink deep into my heart. Give me the kind of faith that crippled man had—faith that believes You can do the impossible, even before I see it happen. Help me to stand on Your unchanging Word, no matter what the world says. In Jesus’ name, Amen.