SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE ABOUT THE LORD

PROCLAMATION

“As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, ‘May I say something to you?’ … ‘Please let me speak to the people.’ … Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd.  When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic: …”  Acts 21:37-40 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here 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 21:17)  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 21:18-19)  After seven days, some of the Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the temple.  They stirred up the 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 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. (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 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 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)

 

PLEASE LET US SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE ABOUT THE LORD

Proclamation:

“As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, ‘May I say something to you?’ … ‘Please let me speak to the people.’ … Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd.  When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic: …”  Acts 21:37-40 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here Luke records that the apostle Paul, after making several stops while travelling to Jerusalem, finally arrived there and was seized by the crowd of Jews. (Acts 21:1-27)  They dragged him out of the temple and began beating him in order to kill him but were stopped by the Roman soldiers. (Acts 21:27-32)  Paul was arrested, for his own protection, and taken to the soldiers’ barracks but he still wanted to speak to the people. (Acts 21:33-40)

Application:

The apostle Paul still wanted to tell his story to the people who tried to kill him.  During difficult times, in bad situations, and to a non-receptive crowd, we 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 personal story better than we can.  We need not be ashamed or afraid to speak, even to people who are not our friends.  Jesus said that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before His Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:33)

REGULAR BELIEVERS CAN BE FULL OF GOD'S GRACE AND POWER

Proclamation:

“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.”  Acts 6:8 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Because the complaining and murmuring of the people that some of the widows were not being served food, the twelve apostles gathered all of the disciples together.  They asked them to select from among themselves seven men, who were full of The Holy Spirit and wisdom, to whom they could delegate this responsibility. (Acts 6:1-4)  Stephen was one of the seven men selected. (Acts 6:5)  These laymen are considered to be the first deacons.  They were well versed in The Word of God and spoke well. (Acts 6:10)  Stephen was full of God’s grace and power, and was able to perform signs and great wonders.  It is possible that all seven of these men were blessed with the ability to do this.  However, Stephen was such a powerful witness of the gospel that he incurred the hatred of the Sadducees and they plotted against him. (Acts 6:11-15)

Application:

It is important to note that Stephen and the other six men were selected out of the group of disciples, the students of God’s Word.  They were not priests or apostles, but they were full of wisdom and The Holy Spirit, (Acts 6:3) and full of God’s grace and power. (Acts 6:8)  If we truly believe and are committed to The Word of God, each of us can be used by The Lord God to be a powerful witness.  It is not just the preachers that God can use to do His work.  We all can do great things for Him, if we are willing to be used by Him.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP FOR JESUS

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.