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Did you ever wonder why Jesus would perform miracles and then tell people not to share their testimony with others? Why would He want those who experienced God's great grace to keep quiet about it? How many of us would obey if told to say nothing about a great encounter with Him?
Let us consider a few instances of this. In Mark 7, a group brought a man who was deaf and dumb. Jesus said, "Ephphatha!" and he was healed. Then, Jesus commanded those present not to tell anyone (Mark 7:36). He even told Jairus and his wife not to reveal what He did for their daughter (Luke 8:56). He did the same with a group of blind men in Matthew 9, healing their sight only to tell them, "See that no one knows about this" (Matthew 9:30).
Most couldn't keep quiet. Matthew 9:31 - But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country (NKJV). And in Mark 7:36 - Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. And in Mark 1:45, when He healed a leper, we learned a consequence of this reality - When the man left, he began to talk freely. He spread his story so widely that Jesus could no longer enter any city openly. Instead, he stayed in places where he could be alone. But people still kept coming to him from everywhere (GWT). Jesus sought anonymity, but once the people of any town found out what He'd done, all privacy was gone.
Now, how does any of this apply to modern Christians? Are we not called to testify to what God has done in our lives? Has the Lord not instructed us to be witnesses who speak of His power? Are we not to make Him known by sharing our experience so others can taste and see that our God is good? The answer to each of these questions is a resounding 'yes'. However, we can learn from Jesus' instruction that certain people should not share what He's done for them.
When believers are in tune with the Holy Spirit, they will know when to share their testimony. Sometimes, God may want His children to wait before they tell everyone what He's done in their lives. Part of the miracle may still be 'cooking' and, once done, will complete the entire 'meal'. In such cases, the focus should be on the need to remain in God's plan and timing. Jesus wanted to keep Himself and others within God's schedule. For instance, even His disciples were told not to share certain things until after He died (Matthew 17:9).
Alas, how many of us can dial down our excitement when God answers our prayers? It requires great discipline. We must realize that in some cases, the time has not yet come to reveal the mysteries we've seen or experienced.
However, we must allow the Lord to develop such discipline in us. And we must obey when told to hold off on revealing certain godly encounters. Deuteronomy 29:29 - The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. We cannot forget this scripture and the deep wisdom it contains. Many things God reveals to His children are not for public consumption. In Matthew 7:6, Jesus warned believers not to cast their pearls to pigs, indicating that the precious things of the Lord are not for everybody. This is partly why He spoke in parables to certain people (Mark 4:34).
We may be called to delay in sharing our encounters because of the 'birds of prey' which aim to blemish the offerings given by God's people to Him (Genesis 15:11). Simply put, satan aims to steal, kill and destroy the testimony being offered as a sacrifice of praise to the Lord. This could be in the form of naysayers who dismiss and question what a believer experienced. As a result, the Spirit of the Lord may discourage sharing testimony with a particular person or group. Or, the Lord may encourage a believer to leave out certain details or share in a way that protects their privacy or that of someone else. A believer needs only to cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
There are many reasons why the Lord may discourage someone from immediately sharing their encounter with Him. Ultimately, it is not for us humans to make that determination. God must guide. Our default should be to praise Him without reservation, remembering that we were created to honor and worship Him. He also called us to attest to His character by sharing what He's done and taught us. Nevertheless, if the Lord wants us to slow down on sharing what He's done, we should patiently wait until we receive His release to do otherwise. May we allow the Spirit of the Lord to help us navigate such situations with the Lord's discretion and discernment, IJN, Amen.
See you at Noon EST for fellowship!
The term precursor refers to a forerunner or harbinger - someone or something that comes in advance of another. Thousands of years prior to the arrival of Jesus Christ, men and women foretold of His coming. This continued until John the Baptist who stood in the wilderness, called people to repent, and announced that God was sending someone more powerful than him (Matthew 3:11). Each of these individuals prepared the people around them for what God was doing and what was to come.
Today's believers are the inheritors of this great Biblical tradition. Just as the prophets spoke of a savior who would come to the world to redeem people, so are Christians to make the same proclamation. The prophets of old spoke of Jesus in faith, believing the God who filled their mouths would fulfill His word. We, however, have the evidence that Jesus indeed came and was crucified on a cross, God's Holy Spirit, and our faith in the Bible that indeed, the Son of God will come back to do what is prophesied.
However, many of us modern Christians ignore our unique calling to be like John the Baptist and others who served as precursors to Jesus. John prepared the people of his time for a Messiah who came and performed great signs and wonders by the power of God. A Savior who continued to do great things through His disciples, the men and women who preached to those who would listen that He was coming back one day. Through His name, they healed people's minds and bodies, sometimes just by teaching them to repent of their sins and be reconciled with the Lord.
We think the precursor role ended with John the Baptist or maybe with the great generals of the faith who carried the gospel to strange lands and peoples. But, we - the people who bear the name of Christ and are marked with the Holy Spirit - are equally called to serve as precursors of Jesus. We too are charged to declare that the kingdom of God is coming and call others to confess their sins, repent, and be reconciled to God through Christ before He returns to claim those who belong to Him. We are to walk in the miracles, signs, and wonders that open hearts and minds to the reality of our God.
Jesus told His disciples, and in turn all who would believe in Him through them (meaning you and I), "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). We are to be vessels through which God's salvation may reach to the ends of the earth because He has revealed to us that a day is coming when His grace will no longer be available. On that day - Judgment Day - we will be called to account for every action, every thought, even our idle words. God will judge whether we can reside with Him in heaven or remain with satan for eternity in the fiery pit.
God cannot lie, and since He has alerted us to this eventuality, it becomes even more pressing to stand as a precursor to Jesus in this day and age. We need to know His word so we can use it to soothe the pains of those around us. We need to walk in the Spirit so we can be at the right place at the right time to display God's light and speak it into the spirit of a person overrun by darkness.
The Lord will help us as we step out in faith that we - the children He paid a blood price to save - will serve as today's precursors to Jesus and His glorious return. IJN, Amen.
See you at Noon EST when we will gather to worship the Lord who sacrificed His Son for us. Then, we will pray for our loved ones as well as strangers, calling on God to meet their needs. In our last 10 minutes of fellowship, we will pray for ourselves, calling on God to strengthen our spirit man, and physical body so we stand in Godfidence, and not in fear, as the announcers of Christ's triumphant return. I hope to see you then!
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