When God speaks




“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

I will never forget the first time I preached. It was a very short fifteen minute talk on love. I had been practicing it for weeks, waiting for the time when I’d be invited to share the word. Then one day, the leader of this multi-faith group asked me to talk at one of the meetings. After I had given the talk, I went to my little prayer room and asked Jesus what he thought of it. “Not bad,” he said, “but that was you talking. Next time let me do the talking.” It took me a few months to figure out how that worked, but once I got it, I discovered the secret to powerful preaching. It is also the secret to making a strong defense of the faith, as Jesus says today, so its important we know how this works.

Allowing God to do the talking doesn’t mean you just go up in front of people without any preparation and start talking, believing the Spirit is gonna talk for you. It consists of: One, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Two, being filled with the word of God. Consequently, when the occasion arises, the Holy Spirit within you will help you bring out the right and relevant words you need to say at the time. Often, he will give you insights even as you are talking, things you have never thought of before, and I just love it when this happens.

We have several instances where we see this happening in Scripture. On the day of Pentecost, when Peter went out with the eleven and gave his first sermon, he was filled with the Holy Spirit who had just been poured out upon all of them. Then he began quoting rather obscure passages of Scripture. However, these weren’t texts that he was unfamiliar with. He had undoubtedly read them or heard them, and when he was speaking, the Spirit brought them to mind, and backed the words up with his power. The result: 3,000 people accepted Christ that day.

On another occasion, we find Stephen doing something similar. His example illustrates what Jesus said in today’s passage. I paraphrase: “When dragged before people, don’t worry about what to say, for the words will be given to you at the time by the Holy Spirit who will speak for you.” Stephen was one of the first deacons of the Church. He worked great signs and wonders, which earned him the jealousy of many people. They hauled him before the Sanhedrin on trumped-up charges. In his defense he delivered this awesome sermon. 

Three thousand people didn’t accept Christ as a direct result of Stephen’s preaching. However, there was a man standing there, listening to him talk. You know who that was? That was Paul, and although Scripture doesn’t talk about the impact it had on Paul, I am convinced it primed him for the conversion that would take place a few days later. Paul went on to become the world’s greatest evangelist and I am sure that Stephen would be credited with much of what he had done. Amazing, ya?

So, this is how it works. Therefore, if you wanna know what to say when you are suddenly called to preach, or if you find yourself having to make a defense of your faith, make sure you know God and know his word. And then let God speak for you.

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here:  https://youtu.be/m-v3qJm2jZc



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let’s Get Healed - A Reflection on Matthew 18:21-19:1

Image
  Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, an
Read more

Patience - A Reflection on Luke 2:33-35.

Image
  And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”   This is probably the shortest passage that we have reflected upon this year. In it, we find a man named Simeon making a prophecy about three things. One, about Jesus. Two, about the people of Israel. And three, about the pain that Jesus’ mother Mary would go through. We have seen all his prophecies came true. But who is Simeon? And what can we learn from him? Ok. On the 40th day of his birth, Jesus is taken by Mary and Joseph to the temple to be officially inducted into the Jewish faith. When they were there, a man named Simeon came in to see them.   He is described as “righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the H
Read more

Dying and Killing

  The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled— can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier,
Read more