Speak Up Job 26: 4 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Job asked, To whom hast thou uttered words? Job 26:4.  We must speak up to help others with the Lord.

Word of mouth is a key method of advertising.  When people are satisfied customers, they tell others about it.  Shriacha sauce has gone worldwide by word of mouth.  Word of mouth is likewise the essential tool of spreading the gospel.  Common, ordinary, satisfied customers tell others about their satisfaction with Jesus Christ.  We’ll look at 4 passages where God used ordinary people to tell others about the Lord and how he could help them.  Because someone was unafraid to speak up, men were freed from:

Leprosy – 2 Ki 5:3 By the words of a captive maid, who was not afraid to speak up, Captain Naaman was recommended to Elisha and cured of his leprosy.  If she had not said anything, he never would have been healed.

Bondage – Ex 5:1 By the words of Moses, who finally agreed to speak up, an entire nation escaped the bondage of Egypt and went on to inherit the land of Canaan.  This exodus and inheritance fulfilled the prophecy God made to Abraham.  What if Moses had not spoken up?

Prison – Gen 41:9-13 By the words of a butler, who remembered to speak up, Joseph was released from prison to interpret a dream for the king.  If the butler had not spoken up, think of the consequences.  Joseph would have never gotten out, his dreams would have never been fulfilled, Egypt would not have been prepared for the famine and his family would have never moved to Egypt as prophesied to Abraham.  All these were God’s will but someone had to speak up.  The butler forgot to do that 2 years beforehand.

Death – Acts 23:16 By the words of Paul’s nephew, who risked death to speak up, Paul was protected from the murderous intentions of more than 40 men who planned his assassination.  If he had said nothing, all the prison epistles of Paul would have never been written: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.  And many more souls would not have been led to the Lord.  The gospel would not have been preached by him in Rome.

What you and I must see today are two things:

First, the people we know and meet, who look like everything is okay with them, are:

• Being destroyed by sin like leprosy was destroying Naaman
• Being held in bondage to and afflicted by sin like the Jews in Egypt
• Being held prisoner when they could do so much more with their freedom in Christ like Joseph – who knows, their family and friends will likely be affected by their change – Paul Piatt saved on a bus route and now his whole family is saved and his father has even been to Bible College.
• Being hunted down by the devil like the Jews were threatening to assassinate Paul

Second, God uses ordinary citizens like you and me to speak up.  If we fail to speak up, the lives of those we know and meet will be continually affected by sin on this earth and wind them up forever in an eternity in hell.  To help you speak up, memorize scripture so you can speak as the oracles of God.

Conclusion: What can God accomplish in someone else’s life by your words?  You’ll never know until you “Speak Up.”