A Word in Season: Speaking for Faith (Acts 14:1)

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There are several occasions recorded in the New Testament where I would say how

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I would have loved to be present on that occasion. It might be the road to Emmaus, when our risen

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Lord opened up to those two disciples the things written in the Old Testament concerning himself.

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Or Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, when in the power of the Holy Spirit he made clear that this

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Jesus who had been crucified by the Jews was God's Lord and God's Christ, and people cried out, what must we do to be saved?

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Or in Iconium, when the apostle Paul with his traveling companions went to the synagogue of the

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Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the

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Greeks believed. Preachers love good preaching. Preachers love to learn from men who know how to handle the

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Word of God with the favor of God upon them. And I would have loved to have heard the apostle

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Paul as he so spoke that both Jews and Greeks believed.

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Now, it's not that you can just magically replicate that kind of effect, but there must have been something in what the apostle and his friends were doing at that time that we could have said,

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I want to be more like that. Perhaps it would have been the warmth and the affection with which they spoke.

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It must have been clear both to the Jews and to the Greeks on that occasion that these men had a real regard for their well -being, that whether or not they particularly liked initially or subsequently what they were hearing, that they could appreciate that these men were concerned for their undying souls.

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They had a real love for them, a real regard for them. It might have been the earnestness and the seriousness with which they spoke.

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These preachers were not ecclesiastical clowns. They weren't just going through the motions.

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There was nothing flippant or frivolous about what they were doing. They were dealing with eternal truths.

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They were addressing the issue of heaven and hell as it hinged upon one's relationship to the

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Lord Jesus Christ. And it must have been clear from what they said and how they said it in their voice and their manner that they were dealing with matters of absolute significance.

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And no doubt they spoke both plainly and clearly so that there was no human oratory clouding the things that they said.

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They weren't just setting out to be clever. They weren't setting out to be wise before the eyes of men.

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They weren't out for the applause of the crowd, see how well these men speak.

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Rather, they spoke in such a way as to cut to the very heart with the blessing of God.

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They chose their words to be easily understood. There was no beating around the bush.

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There was no messing about. There was no high flights that would have left people gaping, but perhaps without really a clue what was actually being said.

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But perhaps most significantly, they would have spoken powerfully and convincingly.

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And to some extent, that lies not in their power, but in the power of the

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Holy Spirit. It would have been a demonstration of his divine, sovereign, saving might in bringing sinners to the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, there would have been reason and care in developing their arguments.

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Yes, there would have been something compelling in their character and manner. Yes, there would have been depth of feeling in what they had to say, but there would also have been power from on high to grip the souls of the people who were hearing these truths about Jesus of Nazareth, God's Lord and Christ, and who came then to bow the knee to him and to cast themselves upon him for mercy.

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And that is what every preacher desires. And it's what you should desire for your preachers, your pastors, the teachers of the word of God in the congregation to which you belong, for the men who go out onto the highways and the byways to make known the

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Lord Jesus Christ, that they might learn to speak in such a way as to get the hearing, to catch the ear of those to whom they go.

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But not just with human reason, not just with human compelling power, but with power from on high, that God would take their well -chosen, well -thought -out, well -reasoned, persuasive words spoken plainly and warmly and earnestly, and would carry them into the hearts of the people who need to know the

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Lord Jesus Christ. So do pray for the ministry of the word, that men of God under the