“If he have faith, the believer cannot be restrained. He betrays himself. He breaks out. He confesses and teaches this gospel to the people at the risk of life itself.”
– Martin Luther
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” – Ronald Reagan
“I have a dream!” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!” – Winston Churchill
These words are from some of the most famous speeches in history. These men used words to accomplish much. It is even said that Churchill got the English language to go to war. The great turn of events in history and in the lives of individuals happened because someone spoke. Someone opened their voice and used it for a purpose.
Moses, Isaiah, Esther, and Daniel are some of heroes of the Bible who raised their voices. The whole creation started because God spoke. Each event in the Bible is sparked by a voice.
A new year is about to begin. I am sure we all have our lists of resolutions. Usually these lists are kept silent and only the individual knows. However, what would happen in our new year if we got rid of our lists, and, instead, used our voices?
The voice is quite powerful. Yet, do we understand all that we can do with our voice?
Speaking God’s Word
How many of us have picked out our Bible reading plan for the year? Whatever it may be, it usually starts as a plan to read through the Bible in a year. It is a daily check sheet of making our way through the 66 books. Bible reading is of vital importance for Christians. Yet, have you ever thought of going further? Have you thought that it might not be that important to read through the entire Bible in a year?
What good is studying the Bible if you do not share it with others? When we keep our Bible study to ourselves, it is just like Scrooge hoarding his money. He kept getting and getting and accumulating. But, what happened when he gave what he had?
Colossians 3:16 states to let the Word of God dwell richly among you. The Greek used for “among you” is plural. It is referring to the sphere in which God’s Word should dwell: the church. Individually we study God’s Word deeply in order to know God and His will for our lives. Yet, the Word remains in our individual spheres. We check our list as we progress through the year, and not bother with the sphere of the church.
Instead, let this new year be the year we throw out a check list of Bible reading. Instead, plan to study God’s Word deeper. Use a Study Bible; even try your hand at learning New Testament Greek. It is ok to not read through the entire Bible in a year. Study the Bible in order to speak God’s Word. Speak it into our marriages, speak it into our families, speak it into our churches. The pastor should not be the only one speaking God’s Word into our hearts, our homes, and in our churches.
Our voice this year can speak God’s Word and what we are learning in our study.
Speaking Our Struggles
One of the most popular items on a New Year’s resolution is conquering a sin or a “vice” in our lives. For many Christians it is that struggle we think about when we cannot sleep. It is that burden we hide under stylish clothing at church and hide under a mask of contentment.
I John 1:8 clearly articulates everyone struggles with sin. When we claim to others that we have no struggle, then we are deceiving ourselves. Sin will no longer be a struggle only when we are face to face with Jesus. Until then, we all struggle with temptations, lusts, sinful desires, and sinful actions. Some are more visible than others. But, we all sin and struggle with our fight against sin (Romans 7:15-25).
However, we honestly believe we can fight sin on our own. We feel the pressure to keep an image in our churches. So, we remain silent, and in our silence we suffocate. Many churches, on paper, claim to promote transparency and openness. Yet, why is it when someone opens up, they are shamed by being removed from their work in the church, being talked about behind their backs, or being shunned? A closed voice is one Satan can keep trapped.
Galatians 6:1-2 instructs the church to bear each other’s burdens. When we know someone is struggling, we do not let them fight alone. Hebrew 10:24-25 urges us to provoke and encourage each other towards good works. How are we to encourage each other unless we know what is going on? We cannot remain silent in our struggles. We as believers and as a church need to be willing to hear people’s struggles (no matter how dark) and fight for them (Philippians 2:4). A church is never about its appearance in perfection A church admits to its many imperfections and relies on the perfection of Jesus.
So let this year be the year we use our voices to speak our struggles. We no longer remain in silence and emotionally and spiritual hang ourselves.
Romans 8:1 promises that those who are in Christ receive no condemnation. This needs to be the attitude and environment of the church. We condemn sin, and we fight against sin. But, we should never throw someone to the curb because of their struggle. Proverbs 29:25. When we fear man in our church regarding our struggles, it brings a snare. Yet, when we trust God there is safety.
This new year speak up about our struggles. Do not remain silent. Even if you are in a church where silence is golden, fight that fear off and find a place where Christ’s forgiveness is celebrated when we speak. What would happen in our churches if this year we spoke about our struggles, and let the world see the testimony of God’s grace transforming a struggling church into the image of Christ, our perfection?
Speaking into our Culture
Finally, many of us would like this new year to be a year we see change in the world around us. Abortion, racism, mass shootings, political corruption, and many other things plague our world because we live in a fallen world. Yet, many of us only voice a political opinion. We forget to voice a Biblical opinion.
The Gospel is our main concern, and in Matthew 28:19-20 Christ commands us to make disciples of all nations. Our citizenship is first found with and in Christ. The next time we see a political debate, or a church shooting let the Gospel be the first answer to the problem; not another policy. Romans 1:16 says we should never be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God to transform lives. Sinful hearts do not need a policy. Sinful hearts need a forgiving and life-giving Savior.
But, we also need to stand for truth in our culture. It is more than witty comments on social media. Injustice happens all around us. We see babies being aborted, racism oppressing people, and shooters extinguishing innocent lives. Isaiah 1:17 shows that God values work against injustice, and in Micah 6:8 God says this is to be a value for us as well. However, true justice will not happen until Christ returns. Yet, this is why the Gospel has to come first. The Gospel transforms the heart, the heart transforms the worldview, the worldview transforms the actions. Then, we live out our Gospel-transformed lives with God’s values. This means we fight against injustice. Advocating the pro-life movement is great, but what are we doing to help those who cannot have children? Are we advocating for them? Are we educating ourselves in how racism is played out today? Are we striving for a church that represents the scene in Heaven (Revelation 7:9-10)? There are many instances where we as Christians can speak out against injustice in our culture and act on God’s values. It is not about promoting one political party or another. God’s Kingdom is our citizenship. His rule and His values are more important. Vote in light of God’s values. But, witty comments on social media don’t do anything except blow steam.
This year, let’s speak up for God’s values in how they apply to all areas of life in our culture. Let’s show the love of Christ while speaking His truth.
The Power of Your Voice in God’s Hands
New year’s resolutions are great. However, speaking leads to change. From creation to the new earth, each event in the Bible is sparked by a voice. God uses our human voices to spark change, to kindle fire in the church, and ablaze the world with His Gospel.
But, what if…? Speaking can be scary (believe me, I teach public speaking). Yet, God does not allow our insecurity and fears to be an excuse. Watch this clip.
God used Moses. God used Daniel. God used Paul. God used Esther. They were used for such a time as God ordained. And you? God has ordained you for such a time as this. You were not born with a list of new year’s resolutions. You were born with a voice. When your voice is given over God and His way, think about what can be done! Think of Isaiah when he surrendered his voice and what God did through Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8).
The new year is upon us. It can be a year of keeping a list. However, what difference would this year make if we stopped with our lists of our own making, and used our voices speaking God’s Word, speaking our struggles, and speaking into our culture?
Do you know the power of your voice? God does, and God gave you that voice. Let’s start the new year by dedicating to speaking and using our voices for God.
Braced By Truth 