Called to Speak
Good morning to you, it is Monday morning, 3rd of October, 2022 and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
“Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent…”
Acts 18:9
Then we go straight to Acts 23:11:
“But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, [b]“Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”
A very important directive. The Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus Himself, spoke directly to Paul at night in a dream - a vision. He did not send an angel because of the importance of this commandment. By the way, this is the very scripture, Acts 18:9, with which the Lord Jesus called me to go out and testify, to speak up and preach the Good News to a dying world.
On the 17th of November 1989, while spending time in my prayer-room, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to me clearly. Not audibly but in my heart and told me not to be afraid but to speak and not hold my peace. From that moment onwards, I started to go out and hire halls, stadiums and open spaces - to speak the Gospel to the 'whosevers'.
I just want to clarify something, its not easy, it takes a lot of faith to stand up in a public place and to declare, sometimes to a hostile crowd, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that there is no other God. It is becoming progressively more difficult these days to preach the Word of God openly. There is a big call for political correctness. You can’t just say this and that... I want to tell you that there are some nations, if you preach from the text found in John 14:6, where Jesus says:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
That scripture verse would be enough for someone to be arrested and put in jail. It is a calling. Do you know something? We are all called to tell people about Jesus Christ.
Many years ago, I was invited to a little town to preach. From the first night, it started on a Friday night, I could sense in my spirit that it was going to be a tough one. First of all we were invited to a hotel, then the food was late and people were drinking heavily. By the time the food came, the people were half-sleeping and some were under the weather. Then I had to stand up in an open place and speak - I preached my heart out. I made an altar call and no-one responded, I will never, ever forget it. That night I couldn’t sleep, I tossed and turned and I said, “Lord, I have got a farm, I am a successful farmer, I don’t need to do this!” And then the next day I said, “But I will carry on, Lord.” And then we had the breakthrough.
Sometimes it looks like nothing is going to happen and then you have an incredible breakthrough. Keep telling people about Jesus.
God bless you and goodbye.