Who was given the trust to speak for God and to carry His Words - in the Bible? By knowing this, we will know who He can trust to do the same today.
The Old Testament: The Judges of Israel were a strange lot, but God's choice which illustrated the prophecy, "not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD." Othniel, the son of Caleb's younger brother, Ehud, left-handed, Shamgar a farmer, Deborah a woman, and Gideon who hid himself in a winepress. A list of nobody's, no great ones among them.
The New Testament: The disciples of Christ, ordinary men, in-fact less than ordinary. They established His church. Did they have to have the best clothes, best transportation, most beautiful church buildings and the latest electronic equipment in order to fulfill their commission? Did they have to be entertainers, producing a show, in order to be a witness of Christ? The greatest of them, like the Apostle Paul, didn't even have a coat for winter.
EQUIPPING FOR THE COMMISSION
How were they equipped by the LORD to be a witness at their first commission?
Matt 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
What about today? What about those that stand behind the pulpit? What about the ordinary believer in Christ, can he or she speak for God? Can anyone be trusted to speak for God and carry His Words to the world we live in today?
I believe, I can scripturally say, and with a resounding - YES, God has many in the world, and they are fully EQUIPPED to be a witness in a world that is saturated with unbelief. It is wrote in RED - Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
If you are sealed by that, then you have a Voice that can be trusted to speak for God. Some behind the pulpit, others to friends and family and all through the life you live by the Token display.
Every Church Age it has been the same pattern.
A.RESUME.OF.THE.AGES
"That is the reason for all preaching and teaching, for it is in the preaching and teaching of the Word that the sheep hear the voice of God and follow Him." - WMB
That encourages me!
Pastor Bill Ivy - Living Word Tabernacle, Campbell Missouri USA - Our services are archived - www.livingwordtabernacle.com
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