Thursday, September 16, 2004
Ephesians 6: 19
“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth
boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.”
When the great revival hit Wales, the preacher mounted the pulpit, but could not
speak. The great oratory of silence overcame the congregation until one member
broke out in confession of sin against a brother. This was followed by forgiveness,
one for the other, and a hymn broke out. This silence was far more eloquent than
any sermon ever prepared by man. It was an holy silence. Just how much do we
long for a revisit of this holy silence to overcome the assembly where we meet? I
wonder how content we would be?
We all know about the infirmities of Paul. We are not certain on specifics. Some
speculate he had a visual problem, and others a stomach disorder. We know that
he suffered greatly in prison. Here Paul says, “And for me.” He is talking about the
prayer mentioned in the previous verse. When you pray, pray for me, that I may
speak the gospel boldly. Help me to put aside self, and simply speak the truth in
love. Lovingly discharge my duty to proclaim Jesus’ love abroad. This would far
outweigh any homiletic brilliance on our part and the congregation would cry
afterwords, what a brilliant Saviour is his.
I am to attend a wake to-day. I will hear accolades of good works, which will be
nice platitudes for the family, but there will be no mention of salvation, and this
grieves my heart more than anything. There is nothing worse than to attend the
funeral of uncertainty; where churchism overcomes the message of the church.
Paul says, “And for me, that I may speak boldly the gospel of truth.....This is the
speech I long to hear, but it will not come. Sorrow and grief will be rampant, and
individual human praise will abound, but this is nothing compared to the gospel of
the Saviour, the Prince of Peace. How can we know peace when we do not know
the author of peace?
My beloved, let us never hold silence when opportunity arises to speak boldly the
gospel. May we always wear the whole armour of God as soldiers of the cross and
move fearlessly amidst the enemies of that cross.
If we dare to do this, we shall indeed experience the eloquence of God wresting all
fear from our hearts and equipping us for battle in an holy warfare. The Holy
Spirit will overwhelm us with His presence and we shall know peace.
And for me, Lord. Fill me with such awe that I will always speak Your truth with
holy boldness and immersed in Your love, that we shall all see Jesus.
Cheers,
Jim