(Text and Audio)
Title: A Peculiar Command and How it Relates to us Today
- Bad News/Good News
“When they deliver you up.” A subtle reminder that this spotlight persecution was a matter of “when” not “if”. This would not be a comforting though the apostles as they were being sent out. But Jesus follows this with a more comforting thought when he tells them “do not worry about how or what you should speak…”
This would certainly be a comforting command because these men were not scholars at all. They would most likely be fretting tremendously if they knew that they were responsible for defending the faith on their own.
This is a work of the spirit. It will be given to them “in that hour.” Not the day before, that they could rehearse it, and get it “right”, but rather “in that hour”, demanding that they have faith to trust the words will be given them.
Why is it given to them “in that hour”?
- If the Gospel succeeded or failed based on the talent of it’s leaders, then it’s not really a demonstration of God’s power, is it?
- If the Gospel success is on our skill, then we receive glory when we do well as teachers.
- God has a history of using men who don’t seem like the obvious choice, for the very reason that the glory then solely belongs to God. (Moses was an outcast murderer and most likely had some sort of speech impediment, Daniel was a eunuch slave, Jeremiah was a teenager, and Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen.)
- Others?
- Do we wait “until that hour”?
So here’s the question: Now, why can’t I, as your pastor, employ the same tactics with sermon preparation? Why can’t I put aside the hours each week I spend prepping the sermon and say, “I have faith that the Lord will give me the words to say in that hour…if I worry about it, I will be showing a lack of faith.”
Can Teachers today claim this same promise?
- We have the N.T. scriptures, the apostles did not.
- This was a specific command given to these at a specific crucial moment in history. (It was different than the regular teaching and instruction the apostles would later give as the early leaders of the Christian Church.)
- The Spirit can still supersede us today. There have been messages that I prepared with a few key themes I wanted to touch on and I felt the spirit lead me to emphasize different points (even in the middle of my message). The message from Matthew on divorce from last spring was one such message. How many of you have prepared a teaching, led a small group lesson or something similar and were surprised by the way the message ended up going, but still felt very used by the spirit?
- We now teach today largely based on what the apostles did say “in that hour.” That has become our scripture and guide.
Are there any circumstances when we can/should claim this promise?
- When we are ambushed or caught off guard.
- When we didn’t have time to prepare.
- When we don’t realize we are teaching.
- Others?
***Key: In all of these cases, the common denominator is our faith. If we are not walking rightly with God, we cannot expect His Spirit to flow through us. But if we are in him, in Scripture, in prayer, in meditation, then we are a sharp instrument, ready to be used at a moments notice.
Be vigilant, be ready, have sharpened faith.