I read this incident from the life of Fred Rogers recently.*  It seems that during his seminary studies he would drive on Sundays to different congregations in order to expose himself to as many styles of preaching possible.  One Sunday in the late 50’s Fred and a few friends drove out to hear a certain preacher only to find that he was away and a substitute was preaching.  The substitute was a retired preacher, and his style was plodding.  Fred was greatly disappointed to the point of irritation by the time the sermon was over.  When he turned to complain to his friends he found that one, a young lady, was in tears.  “That was exactly what I needed to hear,” she explained.  Fred learned that the Word is alive with the breath of God, and that its power transcends the limitations of the deliverer when the word is sincerely delivered.
            In fact, according to the word itself, the sincerity of the deliverer need not be a hindrance to the power of the Word:
            Some, indeed, are preaching Christ from envy and strife, but some also from good will…..What then?  Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice, yes and I will rejoice!  (Philippians 1.15,18)
            I know this to be true, personally.  At the end of my sophomore year one of our suite-mates started to smell funny.  We were very supportive of him during this malady, keeping the levity level high by calling him “Lassie”, saying he smelled like sheep-dip, and calling our “baaa, baaa.”  Every Thursday we had a dorm devotional, and when it was our suite’s turn I planned a devotional around all the great sheep passages from the Old and New Testament.  We read Psalm 23, Ezekiel 34, John 10, and I Peter 5.  We sang “The Lord My Shepard Is,” “Fear Not Little Flock,” and “The Ninety and Nine.”  The guys in my suite barely contained their laughter, our gamey suite-mate glowed crimson, and I was plagued by a growing sense of guilt.
            And then…..
            At the end of the devotional, a guy from another suite was visibly troubled.  He shook a bit, and tears dropped, one by one, from his eyes.  He responded to the gospel that night, and was baptized.
            I am not over the guilt of that moment yet.  It isn’t the worst thing I ever did, but it is probably in the top 5.  Combining, as it does, malice, cruelty, and blasphemy, it is quite an achievement in sin.
            And yet, the Word had its work.  Despite all this the Word expressed its power.  The Word transcends.  It is alive with the breath of God (II Timothy 3.16).  It is living, active, sharper than a double-edged sword, and able to perform microsurgery on our thoughts and intentions (Hebrews 4.12).  The Word contains its own power, and we are, at best, only crock-jars where the jewel is kept (II Corinthians 4.7).
            Over the years I have had youth interns, faced with delivering a devotional, who have despaired “I don’t have anything to say!”  My answer has always been, “You don’t need to generate something to say.  The Word speaks.  Go study the Word, and share what you have learned.  That is all.”
            Mel continually tells the youth group, “Read your Bibles.”  Amen.  The Word is the seed that grows and produces fruit (Mark 4.14).  It contains more than law, strategy, and advice – it contains power.  Independent of – no – transcending our limitations, the Word will do its work.  Fear not little flock – we are not left with only our own energies and capabilities – we have the Word, and the Word brings its own power to bear. 
                                                                        - Barry Bryson
* The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers, by Amy Hollingsworth, Integrity Publishing, 2005 (pp. 33-34).