Will You Publicly Acknowledge Who Jesus Is?

Image result for christian testimony
“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.
As the crowds following Jesus began to increase, he started upping the ante in what it would mean to follow him.  He know that those who publicly confessed faith in him would soon do so at the risk of their lives.  The persecution of followers of Jesus started right after Jesus rose from the dead and grew stronger throughout the rest of the first century.  Jesus makes it clear how important it is to acknowledge him before others regardless of the cost.  
It is increasingly hard to acknowledge to Jesus today in a world that is increasingly hostile to Christians.  The media makes fun of Christians and others think Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites, racists, or worse.  The easy thing would be to hide out in our "holy huddles" and be afraid to even mention the name of Jesus.  But Jesus didn't call us to be meek or afraid to stand up for Him.  Notice it is politically correct to say God's name in public, but not the name of "Jesus".  That is a different ball game.
We all remember the story of Peter, who told Jesus he would NEVER disown him.  But when push came to shove and Peter's neck was on the line, he disowned Jesus three times.  Fortunately the Lord restored Peter after his resurrection, and Peter preached the gospel until his own death confessing Jesus as Lord.  
Finally, in verses 11 and 12, Jesus concludes by saying, "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.”
It is the Holy Spirit who "en-courages" us to be bold and acknowledge Jesus before others.  And this isn't in a "preachy", "in your face" kind of way.  I think there will be times in our lives where we will be called upon to speak up and name the name of Christ.  The Holy Spirit will give us the nudge, and the question is whether we will take a risk and to testify to our belief in Jesus.  The good thing is that what the Holy Spirit leads us to do, He empowers us to do.  
My experience is that it has been quite exhilirating to stand up for the Lord.  I haven't done it all the time, but when I have done it I have felt the Lord's pleasure.  I think the time is now for Christians to stand up for what they believe and not be intimidated by the current atmosphere of hostility directed at Christians.  After all people, of other religions and ideologies are more than happy to stand up for what they believe publicly and demonstrably. Then, why shouldn't we? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

Image
6  “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.   7  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “  ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,  whom you are persecuting,’  he replied.   9  My companions saw the light,  but they did not understand the voice  of him who was speaking to me.  10  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “  ‘Get up,’  the Lord said,  ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. This is the famous story of the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul was going there to persecute Jewish Christians and throw them into prison and he meets Jesus is a spectacular way.  Not only is he blinded by a briliant light, but he hears the Lord's voice audibly.  And the Lord asks him, "Lord, Lord why are you persecuting me!"  Paul thought he was serving the Lord, but he was persecuting him b
Read more

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 6 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. The author once again picks up with the theme of moving on to Christian maturity.  He teaches them to move on from the "elementary" teachings about Christ. What does he mean by that?  He gives clues by citing repentance, faith, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, and teaching on the judgment and resurrection from the dead. We might call these the basics of the Christian faith. If you read through the Apostle's Creed, which our church confesses in our 8am service, it contains many of these core doctrines.  Click here to see the Apostle's Creed Written Around “When we consider the
Read more

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 4 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Paul gives a closing charge to Timothy. First of all, he is to preach the word. God's Word speaks to all situations and seasons. The Word of God will sometimes correct us. Our lives can get of out alignment with God's will as outlined in
Read more