SPEAK TO PEOPLE ABOUT THE LORD

PROCLAMATION

“But Paul said, ‘I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people. … Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people.  And when there was a great silence, he spoke unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying, …”  Acts 21:39-40 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the acts of the apostles of Jesus, The Christ, as written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this chapter Luke records that the apostle Paul, after making several stops along the way while travelling to Jerusalem, finally arrived there.  When he arrived, the people there warmly received him. (Acts 21:1-17)  The next day, he met with the elders and gave them a detailed report regarding what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. (Acts 21:18-20)  They told Paul that they had heard that he was teaching the Gentiles to turn away from the teachings of Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children.  They were concerned, knowing that the Jews would soon learn that he was in Jerusalem, so the advised Paul to go with four men who had just taken their vows and were on their way to undergo purification. (Acts 21:21-26)  After seven days, some of the Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the temple.  They stirred up a crowd and the people seized Paul. (Acts 21:27-29)  They dragged him out of the temple and began beating him in order to kill him but they were stopped by the Roman soldiers. (Acts 21:30-32)  Paul was arrested, for his own protection, and taken to the soldiers’ barracks, but he still wanted to speak to the people.  After being given permission to speak, Paul addressed the crowd in their language. (Acts 21:33-40)

 

APPLICATION

Even though the people had dragged him out of the temple and beaten him, the apostle Paul still wanted to tell his story about Christ to the people who had just tried to kill him.  During good times, and in difficult times, in bad situations, and to non-receptive crowds, believers should not shy away from speaking up for The Lord God.  Believers are called to witness for The Lord, (Isaiah 43:12) to tell others about His goodness towards us.  No one can tell our individual and personal story, regarding what The Lord has done for us, better than we can.  We need not be ashamed or afraid to speak, even to people that we do not know.  Jesus said that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before His Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:33)