Our devotion is by LUNGILE MPETSHENI who is our newly appointed denominational General Secretary.
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But to this very day I have been helped by God, and so I stand here giving my witness to all, to small and great alike. What I say is the very same thing which the prophets and Moses said was going to happen: 23 that the Messiah must suffer and be the first one to rise from death, to announce the light of salvation to the Jews and to the Gentiles... 28 Agrippa said to Paul, "In this short time do you think you will make me a Christian?" 29 "Whether a short time or a long time," Paul answered, "my prayer to God is that you and all the rest of you who are listening to me today might become what I am -- except, of course, for these chains!" Acts26:22-32
As I reflected on this passage, I was overwhelmed by the liberating power of the gospel message. I was also excited by the image of a liberated prisoner. I was further reminded of what my father used to say, "If you speak truth, you speak it once; yet if you lie, you lie many times."
Paul stood as a prisoner before King Agrippa. Normally his space and life would have been so limited and constrained. Being a free man, Paul saw his territory so enlarged. Instead of being ashamed of the situation that people put him in, he celebrated the liberating power of the gospel. He saw and used that moment as an opportunity to proclaim and "give testimony" -- not in the normal court terms but in the heavenly way. He was a prisoner in human terms, but liberated according to the divine plan. God does broaden our territories. We get thrown into situations that we need to capitalise of and proclaim the message. A supposed-to-be situation of shame may become a moment of glory.
Paul could have been threatened by the panoply of royalty (King Agrippa, Queen Bernice and the Governor Festus.) Many preachers change their testimonies when they find out that there are celebrities and/or senior government officials in the crowds that they are to speak to. They like to give messages that are to impress such figures. This we do at the expense of the true gospel message.
Paul knew that he/she who kneels before God can stand before any and every man. Paul was small in stature, but a giant spiritually. He saw the King, with his mastery of the Jews religious practices and his cohorts as spiritual dwarfs. He gave a pure gospel to the King, announcing the light of salvation to the Jews and the Gentiles. Praise God for this bravery. We, preachers of the gospel are called to stand firm and not to compromise the liberating power of the gospel, even if the EMPIRE presents itself as a threat to us. The EMPIRE and its subordinates must hear the gospel and become Christian.
Lastly, Paul presents a seamless continuous message of liberation, which started in the messages of Moses and the Prophets. God has throughout history been in the enterprise of saving humankind. Paul stated this truth to Timothy, thus, God "wants everyone to be saved and to come to know the truth. For there is one God, and there is one who brings God and human beings together, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself to redeem everyone. That was the proof at the right time that God wants everyone to be saved." (1Tim 2: 4-6).
Let all the nations receive salvation through our proclamation.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
