Not us...

"For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." -- Matthew 10:20.  Jesus, continuing to remind His disciples that following Him will come with its share of challenges.  Contextually, He reminds them that it is the Spirit that will give them the words they need to say when faced with persecution.  When faced with persecution, they were to let God speak.  In the same way when we are faced with having to defend our own faith in Christ, we must remember that it needs to be God who speaks, not us.

Often times when someone says something offensive to us, our gut reaction is to say something offensive back without first thinking about the impact our words might have.  Could it be that the same is true when someone attacks our faith in Christ?  As opposed to respectfully defending our faith, sometimes we attack the other person's belief system in return. When we look through the Scriptures, we see that Jesus came to speak where God spoke.  He did not come with the sole intention of telling everyone else how wrong they were without first defending God's expectations.  The fact is everything Jesus said came directly from the Father.

So what does this mean to us?  We must remember that when it comes to defending our faith, it is NOT US who speak but the Father.  If we choose to use our own words as opposed to God's Word, we run the risk of first creating a negative impression of Christianity but second what's worse is that the words we use can destroy that ministry opportunity and close that person's heart off to ever receiving the gospel message.  Might sound slightly melodramatic but I have seen situations like this occur in the past.

On a side note though, sometimes we will find that inevitably it is God's Word itself that offends people.  This is not our fault.  When someone is offended at the words of Christ, it is due to the condition of their heart.  There is still hope and we must not be discouraged when someone rejects God's Word.  The seed has been planted and we must continue to water it when the opportunities are there.  Bottom line is that we must let God do the talking, not us.

Not us.  So my encouragement to you this morning is this.  Next time you are faced with someone challenging your faith putting you in a position to defend it, remember the words of Peter in 1 Peter 3:15 where we are told "But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."  Be ready always to let God do the talking.  Being ready involves knowing why you believe what you believe but studying out the evidences for Christ and the Bible.  Unless one shuts his or her eyes, the evidences for both are overwhelming.  Be ready.  Remember the words of Jesus "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." It is God who speaks, NOT US.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!