Recently, I took one of our kids on a campus tour of CSU (Colorado State University). During the tour we walked through a central open plaza where our tour guide told us that it was a “free speech zone.” The picture included in this blog shows the big preaching stump in the plaza where our tour guide said that at any time students could get on it and speak about whatever they wanted since it was a free speech zone.
I believe “free speech zones” are disappearing in our culture today. The First Amendment gives us the right to free speech, but there does have to be some guidelines to what is and is not appropriate. For example, the FFA has many rules for what can and can not be publically broadcasted. My larger concern is our culture’s growing lack of ability to have civil discourse. It would seem that “the message” must fit into a certain worldview or it will be discounted and often even demonized with immediate pigeon-holing and name-calling.
All of this raises a very important question. What is your message? Do you live with a message worth proclaiming on a preaching stump regardless of the speech police? For many Christians the idea of standing and giving a message is one of the scariest things they can think about. For others they think publically proclaiming the gospel of Jesus in public like this is detrimental to the cause of Christ in the world. It is very popular today to quote Francis of Assisi’s famous quote, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words.” Is this accurate to what Jesus told His disciples and followers? Of course, Jesus taught that our life should be a living message to people, but He never discounted our speech. He commands all of His followers to be people of the Gospel message. The Holy Spirit transformed simple fisherman into great public preachers. Paul reveals the importance of proclaiming the Gospel publically in Romans 10:14-15:
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”
This might shock you, but if you are a follower of Jesus Christ you are to be a preacher! That’s right, everyone who follows Him is to carry the Good News message and be a proclaimer of it in the sphere’s of influence that God gives.
If I am afraid to proclaim it then I am possibly ashamed of it. How do we get over our fear? Listen to Paul,
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…”
We will start to proclaim it as we experience the power of God inside our hearts. This happens as we learn to proclaim the gospel daily to ourselves first before proclaiming it to others. When our hearts are freshly awakened to our great need for God and His empowered Holy Spirit then our hearts are awakened to others great need for God’s love. Without this daily time in fellowship with God our message becomes a World-Message rather than a Word-Message.
What is Your Message?
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