And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:24-31 This prayer, recorded in Acts, was prayed by the church at Jerusalem when they had been charged not to speak in the name of Jesus. They prayed for, and received, power to speak the word of God boldly. Bold does not mean loud, brash or arrogant. To speak boldly simply means to speak exactly what is on your mind without restraint nor intimidation. As a follower in Jesus Christ you have the duty and liberty to speak Gods word boldly. No one - not your family, friends, school teacher, school officers, college professor, pastor, employer, government or any other - has the right to intimidate, shame, coerce, blackmail or persecute you into silence. The freedom to speak Gods word is granted to you by the Holy Spirit, not the United States Constitution. It was He who empowered Peter to stand before the whole Jewish nation and charge them with having murdered the Lord. It was He who enabled Paul to mount Mars Hill and charge the Greek philosophers with folly. The same Holy Spirit has been giving men and women of God the boldness to speak Gods word all through the ages and He will give it to you today. In their prayer for boldness the church at Jerusalem cited the words of David in the second Psalm: Why did the heath rage, and the people imagine a vain thing. If you exercise liberty of speech in the name of Jesus, do not expect to go unchallenged. You will be hated as the Lord Himself was hated. You will encounter the rage of men but you will receive the praise of God and the freedom of soul that comes from being honest with yourself, with men and with God.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 02:29:05 +0000
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