Why the Hush?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth
“And He straitly charged them that they should not make Him known” (Mark 3:11,12).
Have you ever wondered why the Lord did not want
these “unclean spirits” to make Him known? We believe it was because He
didn’t want the likes of them telling others about Him. That is,
He knew that the testimony of such sinful, unclean creatures would hurt Him,
not help Him. He already had enough people thinking He was “in cahoots”
with devils (Matt. 12:22-24). If people heard devils testify of
Him, well, that wasn’t exactly the kind of testimony He needed!
We often wonder if the Lord feels the same way
today when instead of unclean spirits, unclean believers testify
to others about Him. We’re not suggesting that only saints who get
straight “A”s in conduct should be allowed to witness, for none of us is perfect.
Nor are we saying that God can’t use the testimony of sinful men, for if
He can use Balaam’s donkey to speak His words, He can certainly use carnal
believers. But we can’t help but think that if God “had His druthers,”
He’d much rather use a saint who has purged himself of uncleanness and is “meet
for the Master’s use” (II Tim. 2:21).
We believe the same principle applies when it
comes to pointing people to Paul as our apostle. In Acts 16:16, “a
certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination” followed Paul, saying:
“And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her” (v. 17,18).
What the devil was saying was true, of course,
but that didn’t stop Paul from hushing the testimony being offered by such a
questionable source. And so when we as grace believers try to convince
our brethren that Paul alone is the servant of God that shows unto us the way
of salvation in this dispensation, our testimony will be received much more
readily if our lives “adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things”
(Titus 2:10). Anything less would cause Paul, if he were here to see it,
to be as grieved with us as he was with the damsel possessed with the spirit of
divination.
The simplicity of the Gospel
Les Feldick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8JkWyYBLbA
Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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