BGC

Do Not Be Silent

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. – Acts 18:9–11

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Acts 18:9–11 encourages us to depend on God in our evangelism.

This is Paul, the greatest missionary to ever live, and he was afraid. So whenever you have fear, when it comes to sharing the gospel, you’re in good company. The greatest missionary in the world had fear and Jesus came to him and said, “Don’t be afraid. Go on speaking. Don’t be silent”. So, Paul was even tempted to be silent. Have you ever been tempted to be silent instead of sharing the gospel with somebody? Paul’s familiar with that, too.

So this is all of us. I’ve felt that often; you too, I’m guessing, have felt that. Jesus says to Paul, and He says to us, “I am with you. I’m with you. You’re not alone. In your fear and your temptation to be silent, I’m with you”. And he goes on to say, “Not only am I going to provide for you, but I have many in this city who are my people.”

In other words, “Trust Me, I’m working here. You may not see it, but trust Me. I’m using your life and My Word in your life in ways far beyond what you can see. So just keep speaking, and I’m going to draw people to Myself”. And so Paul stays teaching the Word of God among them. And the Church is born in Corinth. The Church grows in Corinth because Paul keeps speaking by the power of Jesus with him, with trust in Jesus.

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God, we confess that we are prone to fear and silence when it comes to sharing the gospel. We just confess that before You. Just like Paul was, we are. And so we pray for Your help. We pray that You’d help us even today to hear and receive this word from You, that You are with us, that Your Spirit is in us, that we’re not alone.

You’re for us. You’re going to provide for us even the words to say. And You are working. We trust, oh God, by faith right now, that You are working in people’s lives around us, and that You are drawing people around us to Yourself, in our schools, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, in places where we exercise, in the communities where we live in our cities, and among the nations. We trust that You’re drawing people to Yourself and that You will use our lives to do that work.

And so, God, we pray for boldness. We pray for love, for compassion. We pray for freedom from fear and confidence in Your Spirit, in us, with us. And we pray that You’d help us to speak Your Word today. We pray that You’d help us to share the gospel, the good news of Your love in Jesus with somebody today, tomorrow.

And God, we pray that You would draw people to Yourself around us. We pray for this, for our brothers and sisters who are spreading the gospel around the world in hard places; we pray that they would not be afraid. That they would not be silent. That they would know You’re with them and they would keep speaking, trusting that there are people in the cities where they live that You’re drawing to Yourself. We pray all this according to Your Word in Acts 18. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Ctto ✨

Faithful to the End

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. – Acts 20:24

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Acts 20:24 challenges us to strive to finish well the Christian race.

And specifically, Paul says, “If only I may do this one thing, finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus”. In other words: “Jesus has called me to do certain things today, and I want to be faithful to do what He’s called me to do today. And what He specifically called me to do is to testify of the gospel of His grace, to be an ambassador for Jesus”.

And there’s clearly a sense in which Paul was called to do this in a particular way. But the reality is that this is true for all of us. We have all been filled with the Holy Spirit of God so that we might die to ourselves, live in His Spirit, and testify to the gospel of His grace. We are called to live spreading the good news of God’s grace. And the beauty is that God has put you in a particular place to do that.

He has me in a particular place to do that; He’s given you a course that’s different from me. He’s given you a ministry. And so don’t just picture paid minister picture, I’m talking about a calling from God. You’re on Earth to make His grace known through your life. And He’s put you in a particular place today. He’s put you around particular people today. So die to yourself and be faithful to do all He has entrusted to you, called you to do today. Finish your course today, and then finish your course tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, all the way until we see our Savior’s face.

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God, we pray that it would be so. We pray that this would be true of all of our lives. Lord, we pray that You would help us to die to ourselves, to die to our plans, our dreams, our desires, our thoughts, our ways.

We want to live crucified with You. We want to live by faith in You as the Lord of our lives. You lead us. You guide us, You direct us. And we praise You for the ministry You’ve given to us. We praise you for the course that You’ve called us to. Not just the big picture in our lives, but even just today. And we pray that You’d help us to faithfully follow You. Help us to faithfully finish our course today. Help us to do all that You’re calling us to do today.

Specifically, oh God, help us to be ambassadors for Jesus today. And then help us to rise and do the same thing tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. And God, in this, I’m praying for this in my life and others’ lives. God, I just praise You for the meaning and the purpose, the glorious meaning and purpose You’ve entrusted to us in each of our lives. You have given us a ministry that we receive from You to make Your grace known through our lives. May it be so.

God, help us to be faithful with this privilege, this honor, this ministry You’ve entrusted to each of us. And God we pray that You would direct us, guide us in every way even as we pray right now. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Ctto ✨

The GOSPEL
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

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