WITNESSES WANTED
‘Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace; for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.’
If that is the charge that is given simply to the missionary, to the one, that is, to whom God has spoken, and who has a voice which can be used in speaking God’s message, then it is a charge which does not refer exclusively to St. Paul, or exclusively to one class or another class; it is a charge that is equally applicable to every one of us, in so far as we are, or may be, or must be missionaries for God.
I. The call for witnesses.—It comes to us as a permanent command from God calling for witnesses, not merely from this class or that class, but from all of us. Witness for God is one of the great requirements under which God designs that the progress of His law and gospel should go forward. The crying need of the world at this time, as at all times, is for witnesses, for people who will hear this command of God and take this encouragement of God as being addressed to themselves, ‘Speak, and hold not thy peace, for I am with thee.’ And God has much people, we may say truly, in this city.
II. What hinders us?—The first word of the message that God gave to the missionary was ‘Fear not,’ and with good reason.
(a) Fear. It is fear that makes man dumb, and it is fear that wraps us in selfishness that will not speak, that will not say a good word for God, not even to try and save another soul—it is fear.
(b) Not knowing what to say. But perhaps we must seek also, at the same time, a somewhat deeper reason for our dumbness than fear. What some here would feel is not so much that, as the difficulty of knowing what to say. How true that is, how ghastly true that is! We do not know what to say about God! God has loved us and blessed us, and taught us and favoured us, and we still, with all that, have nothing to say about God.
That is all wrong. We ought to know, we ought to have something that we can say about God. Experience, if nothing else, ought to have taught us a little of this by now. You have met temptation somehow; what is your impression about it? So often we put it down to luck. We say, ‘Well, as luck would have it, I have managed all right.’ If that is our view of the way in which we have been kept and watched over by our Heavenly Father and loving Saviour, it is no wonder we have little to say to any one else. The man who has seen with his own eyes how God has blessed him, uplifted him, preserved him, he will have plenty to say.
III. The Divine charge.—In the light of all that, listen once again to God’s charge. It is for us all, ‘Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.’ And, please God, after all we have learnt something. We have learnt a little bit; well, if it is only a little bit of a message you can give, give that. You know something of the way in which God has loved you. Tell them that. You know something of what God has done. You know a great deal more, after all, about the ways of God than many people you will meet to-morrow. Tell them the little bit you do know. God has given you something, and you know it. God has answered your prayers, and you know it. God has given you grace, sheltered you from temptation, borne you through it, crowned you with unexpected blessing, and you know it. Tell it to them, tell it to the people you will meet. And as we go forth striving to speak our message, so God plants in our hearts a little more message to say, a little more love, a little more power to drive it home.
—Rev. W. H. Frere.
Illustration
‘See how God would have us, ordinary people, bear witness for Him, merely appealing to the most ordinary facts and sins which are under our eyes day by day. We watch our young people go forth, as we say, into the world. We watch our boys leave school and go to work, plunged at once into a hornets’ nest of temptation, and is there a voice to warn? Alas! so often there is none, none. We watch our girls and young women going forth into our business houses, plunged into the midst of a world of temptations. Where is the voice that is to give them some bit of warning and guidance? Alas! so often there is none, and ruined lives and wrecked existences are the result of it. We see men working side by side; they see one another daily, and know one another’s lives. They know this one has taken to gambling, and so on, drifting away from the good old traditions of God, and drifting down into an abyss of sin, and where is the voice that will speak? None, so often there is none.’
(SECOND OUTLINE)
THE VISION
This is one of the seven visions which St. Paul saw.
I. The help was promised when it was most needed.—St. Paul had two fears: one that he would be crushed by violence, the other that his labour was in vain. So these two fears were met with two gracious promises: his personal safety, ‘no man shall set on thee to hurt thee,’ he is to be immortal till his work is done.
II. The reward certain.—And, besides, a multitude of the Corinthians should be saved. St. Paul believed it should be even so, for he continued there eighteen months.
III. The means to be used.—‘Speak, and hold not thy peace.’