“Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates
and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you
should say. For the Holy Spirit
will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12 )
I cannot but wonder how I would
respond if my life were threatened with persecution for the cause of
Christ. It would be easy to be full of
bluster and self-confident today that I would surely stand then. In reality, I have doubts—about myself. That is where my faith must rest on the
promise of Christ, and not in the power of man—for that is wholly
inadequate. There is a breaking point
for me—and it might not be much—yet, there is limitless power in Him.
What would I say?
What would I do?
Trials are coming; opposition is intensifying. Al Mohler, the President of Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary said, "We will know very soon where every church and pastor stands on
crucial questions. There will be no place to hide."
We can speak up! The Spirit
promises instant inspiration—I need not plan ahead of time. He will speak through me. The grace will be
there when demanded—and not a minute before.
Truly, I have seen this miracle happen.
Although I have never faced a trial so severe as what Jesus alludes to
here, I have been “put on the spot.”
Someone has challenged my faith, someone has attacked me verbally, or
just the circumstances of life have driven me, so that I had to have instant
inspiration—and the Spirit has given it!
A peril, however, is for the lazy pastor who wants
to claim this promise out of context—and rather than study, squander his time
on the trivial, and ask God for instant inspiration! God does not bless sloth! The late Bible teacher, John Phillips, commenting
on these verses, and on that kind of folly in failing to prepare a sermon,
writes, “The man who does not know what he is going to say five minutes before
he gets up can be sire that most people will not remember what he said five
minutes after he sits down.” (“Exploring the Gospel of Luke,” p.180). In this case, the people will find their
spiritual hunger unsatisfied by the small packet of instant inspiration we try
to microwave and serve them!
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