Speak up!
The Bible has so much to say about ‘speaking’. It can either be used for good or for harm. All Christians are told to speak to God about men and speak to men about God
Doubtless they remembered the commission they had been given:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
Just before he left them Jesus had reminded his followers of this charge:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
They had to find ways to speak to men about Jesus. It is no wonder that they felt they needed God’s help to fulfil this commission.
After Jesus had ascended into heaven his followers met together. They didn’t spend the time gossiping about what they had seen:
“They all joined together constantly in prayer.” Acts 1:14
They obviously realised how much they need their Lord’s help and his boldness if they were to fulfil their commission.
In Acts 2 the young church were all together when they experienced the Holy Spirit coming on them in power. This was far more than just an emotional experience. There was first a violent wind that blew through the upper room they were using. Then the saw fire which separated and rested on each them without burning them.
Power to live effectively for Christ always comes when Christians are both close to the Lord and close to others in the church team. These two features usually go together
The fact of this on the Christians was dramatic. They told the visitors to Jerusalem who came from many nations and had gathered because of this violent wind. The Christians left the security of the house and went out to tell them about Jesus. The remarkable thing was they found they could speak foreign languages, real languages, that they had never learned. However what really mattered is what they said when using these languages:
“. . . we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues.”
The greatest wonder is that God had entered his world as a person in order to give himself as the ultimate sacrifice to pay for the sins of his people.
Peter grasped the opportunity. There were crowds in Jerusalem for the Pentecost celebrations and he explained to the crowd that Jesus who had risen from the dead was behind all this. He taught them from the book of Joel which he must have been taught by Jesus. He then moved on to tell them all about Jesus, his death and resurrection and that everyone has to make a decision about him.
“Repent and be baptised, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
3,000 became Christians that day and they devoted themselves to the new fellowship:
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people.” Acts 2:47
It is clear that they were a close praying community deeply committed to sharing the gospel with others. They talked to God about those they met on Christ’s behalf.
When Charles Spurgeon was preaching in Metropolitan chapel in London he was remarkably effective at drawing people to Christ. What was his secret? He was a very able passionate speaker who didn’t just give theological talks but spoke to people’s hearts. However the real secret was the members of the church. Spurgeon recognised the 500 or so who attended the weekly prayer meeting as its powerhouse. These people prayed for those they had talked to and had invited to come to hear the word of God being preached. They longed for God to work in their lives. Christians who consistently find other priorities that are more important than talking to God about men rarely see God at work through them.
However it is not enough to speak to Jesus about men, it must be associated with a consistent speaking to men about Jesus. It is a tragedy of contemporary churches that so few Christians speak to others about Jesus. In a survey of members attending Bible teaching churches were asked about their practice. 80 per cent did not talk to a non-Christian about Jesus or invite someone to come and hear about Jesus in the 6 months of the study. To be in the 20 per cent they only had to do this once. No wonder few churches are growing.
I had a patient who was the churchwarden of a local village church. After dealing with the medical issues I asked her how the church was going.
“It is getting difficult. We are getting smaller and older.”
“Please tell me, do members of the church talk about the Lord Jesus with others in the village?
“Good gracious me, no. We don’t talk about him amongst ourselves!”
What a tragedy. Where has ‘You shall be my witnesses’ gone?
We must surely help each other to relearn the need regularly to speak to Jesusabout people we are concerned about and do this with others in the church. Then we need to learn how we can effectively speak to people about Jesus, again in conjunction with others in the church, the work we have been chosen for.
Old Testament teaching
Repeatedly this idea that those who love God will speak up about it is emphasised. These are some examples:
“Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.” Psalm 89:15
To acclaim Jesus is not natural, we all have to learn how to do this. It will only be seen in those who have made a commitment to live for the Lord day by day.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.” Psalm 91:14
The consequence of having a close loving relationship with our Saviour is that we will acknowledge publicly that we belong to him.
This desire to talk about our Saviour will continue all our lives:
“They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” Psalm 92:14-15
New Testament teaching
This need to be open about our commitment to the Lord still remains. It is vital for salvation.
“ If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10
A feature of real faith is to speak about our Saviour:
“It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak,” 2 Corinthians 4:13
The writer to the Hebrews also brings this reminder:
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:15-16
Jesus himself stated that an open acknowledgement that we are followers of Jesus is vital:
“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.” Luke 12:8-9
We must help Christians not to keep quiet about their commitment to Christ. Jesus said:
“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:26
In 1949 John Currier was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Later he paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee.In 1968, Currier's sentence was terminated, and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him. But John never saw the letter, nor was he told anything about it. Life on that farm was hard and without promise for the future. Yet John kept doing what he was told even after the farmer for whom he worked had died.
Ten years went by. Then a state parole officer learned about Currier's plight, found him, and told him that his sentence had been terminated. He was a free man.
Would it matter to you if someone sent you an important message, the most important in your life, and year after year the urgent message was never delivered?
We who have heard the good news and experienced freedom through Christ are responsible to proclaim it to others still enslaved by sin. Are we doing all we can to make sure that people get the message?
“In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.”
BVP
