Proclamation:
“One
night The Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking,
do not be silent. For I am with you …’”
Acts 18:9-10 (NIV)
Explanation:
These words were recorded by
Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion of the Apostle Paul, under
the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.
Paul had his life threatened for saying that Jesus was The Christ and
The Son of God. The Lord spoke to him in
a vision and told him to keep on speaking up for Him. He also said that He would be with him and
that no man would harm him. (Acts 18:10)
Application:
Sometimes we sin without
speaking or doing anything. We sin by
keeping quiet when we should speak out. There
are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. When we should speak up for Jesus and we
don't, we sin. The Bible records that
Jesus said, "... whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny
before My Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 10:33) There is an old saying which says: “Silence
is consent.” (Author unknown) If we do
not speak up for Jesus when we have the opportunity, then we may as well be
agreeing with those who in disbelief put Him down. At a time when you could be beaten to death
for your beliefs, The Lord basically told Paul to speak out for Him without fear
of being harmed because He 'had Paul's back'.
"Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and
shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad; for great is
your reward in heaven ..." (Matthew 5:11-12) It is possible that we might lose a few “friends”
if we speak up for The Lord Jesus, but what have we really lost but some
popularity with man. What is the worst
thing that could happen? They could kill
us. But we know that being absent from
the body means being present with The Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8) So, even if it kills us for doing so, we
should not be afraid to speak up for Jesus.
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