Chosen to Speak

Have you ever had to deliver a speech? It’s the night before, and you're practicing your vocals and presentation while looking in the mirror. Afterwards you’re tossing and turning all night because of the pressure of having to deliver a speech in front of an audience. Giving a speech can be quite the chore. But did you know, in the bible, there are some people who also had the task of delivering a speech, and they, just like us, had a difficult time preparing how they would deliver their speech as well. We will see now throughout the bible some of the people chosen by God to deliver a speech to His people.

Moses

In the book Exodus, we learn about a man who was chosen by God to deliver His people, the Israelites, from the oppression and slavery to the Egyptians at the time of Exodus. This man was named Moses. After leaving Egypt where he grew up, Moses traveled to the land of Midian, where he tended flocks. One day as Moses approached Horeb, God appeared to Moses via a burning bush. There, God told Moses about the oppression and suffering of the Israelites in Egypt, and then selected Moses to travel to the Israelites to tell them about their coming salvation. Being chosen by God however, Moses hesitated to accept his task and even questioned if God had chosen the right speaker. Once Moses got the pep talk, and God informed him of what to say to the Israelites, Moses went on his way to deliver the news of salvation to the Israelites in Egypt. After convincing the Israelites that he was sent by God, and after much perseverance, Moses, with the help of God, was able to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt and took them to their freedom. 

Jesus

In the New Testament of the bible, we see the appearance now of Jesus. Jesus was special, he was prophesied about in the Old Testament to be born to a virgin, and came to his fulfillment in the New Testament. Not only was Jesus prophesied to be born to a virgin, but it was also prophesied that Jesus would speak and testify to many people as well, and not only many people, but many people who would reject his testimony. It’s not too motivating knowing that many people will reject your speech before you even give it, but Jesus was driven by the spirit of God, and fulfilled his duties nonetheless. Jesus was sent to testify to those who were descendants of the house of Israel, however, since they did not accept his testimony, Jesus preached to those who would listen to the one sent by God, and because of his obedience, Jesus was able to become the bridge between man and God, freeing us from our slavery to sin. Kind of how like how Moses delivered the Israelites from their slavery to the Egyptians, Jesus was also sent to free us from our slavery to sin. In the end, Jesus, full of the spirit of God, was able to carry out his task, and for that reason, through the words Jesus spoke, we today also can be made clean and free. The greatest outcome to a speech ever!!

The Disciples and Martyrs

In the book of Acts, after leaving his instructions with the disciples, Jesus departed into heaven. Now it was up to the disciples to deliver the message of Jesus to many places and people. Something that Jesus promised even before the disciples began their journey, was that the road they were taking was a difficult one. One full of hardships and tears. However, having received the truth, the disciples were determined now to spread the good news about Jesus throughout the land. In a sense, it was their turn to deliver the speech and it was up to them to teach people how to read the Bible and see Jesus within it. The disciples faced persecution and even execution at the hand of their persecutors. Some were jailed, others were sawed in half, and even others were crucified upside down. But determined and also driven by spirit, the disciples put in every effort till their last breath to ensure that people knew the truth about Jesus. Kind of makes our high school speech a little easier considering it won't cost us our life. 

Now in thinking about this, are we those called to also do the same if we consider ourselves believers or are curious in becoming one? These individuals carried a life of faith due the certainty they had in understanding to the point they can give a speech regarding God and Jesus but how much do we know? To aid in this, we can grow in our understanding by taking the initiative through the resources at our disposal, to even online resources such as Ez Bible as a start too, especially if we don’t know where to begin.