“For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.” (2nd Cor. 10:10)
When Paul, who was then Saul, hunted down, persecuted and even had Christians killed, he was perhaps one of the most feared men in the land. He offered no mercy, he was sly and deceiving in his work, for if one openly confessed to serve the Lord Jesus Christ they were immediately arrested, and so subtlety was his craft.
“Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.” (1st Tim. 1:13)
He believed he was serving God.
I live in a land where I am still able to openly profess my Savior in public, but more and more there are retributions for some who do so, not to death yet, as Hebrews 12:4 professes. “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” but those days are approaching.
There was a day, not long ago, when men in general feared the Living God and thereby those who stood for Him on this planet, His Word was seen as truth, His Lordship and Sovereignty were well known, and when His servants professed, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” men listened.
But even all the clearly visible signs today do not cause them to consider the Living God, they do not cause fear nor repentance, and so the messenger is mocked, ridiculed, rejected as weak and a fool. As in the days of Noah and as in the days of Lot are prophecies in the Scriptures that are coming to pass in our day, but there is something that has not changed and never will, our presence in their sight may be weak, but the Word of God has lost none of its power.
When Saul came to town, people fled in fear of their lives, and rightly so, when Paul returned to a place he had visited, people ran to his side to hear the truth, to hear the words of the Holy Spirit.
You have those words.
What you look like, your physical presence means little to the Almighty, what you speak does, and if you claim to serve the Living God, if you claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, He expects you to speak for Him. It does not matter what the possible consequences to you are, messengers give the message they have been given to give.
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” (Acts 3:19)
Nearly every nation today is led by a Saul, if you will, and if they have not yet, they will soon begin to hunt down those who serve the Living God, and they will kill them.
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev. 12:11)
That verse is for those who will be saved during the days of Jacob’s Troubles, but the future always casts a shadow behind it. We are to be their example, we are to stand on the Rock of our salvation, we are witnesses to His Holy name, we are called to give the message of salvation.
Do not think that after we are removed that all of a sudden millions will trust in the Lord just because of the proof of the Rapture, how could they know even one morsal of the Word of God unless we have spoken to them about Him?
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15)
Planting seeds is a simple task my friends, unless you fear Saul, unless you fear personal retribution, unless you fear personal consequences.
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” (Heb. 10:38)
“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26)
Saul may be coming to your town, will he meet Paul there, of those that only profess the Lord Jesus Christ with their lips?
