Luke 21:14-15 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.”

My first reaction on reading this this morning was, Wait a minute! Did Peter contradict Jesus? I have used 1 Peter 3:15 several times in messages, where it says “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” In Japanese it even uses the same word as today’s passage, though the NIV uses “defend yourselves” here and “give an answer” in 1 Peter. However, it didn’t take much reflection to realize the differences, thanks in part to the English nuances. Jesus is talking about when we are attacked, and He says we aren’t to lose sleep over trying to defend ourselves. The first test of this was Peter, who amazed the Sanhedrin with his response as an ignorant fisherman. (Acts 4:1-22) Perhaps an even bigger test was Stephen, who was on trial before the same body but with a different result. Peter was released, (that time) but Stephen was stoned to death as the first martyr for his faith. Did Jesus’ promise that “not a hair of your head will perish; by standing firm you will gain life” (verses 17 and 18) fail? Not at all! Stephen was gloriously received into heaven! However, that still leaves us with what Peter said in his letter. There, Peter is not talking about when we are attacked, but rather when our lives generate questions in people about how we can have such peace and joy in the face of our circumstances. He’s not talking about memorizing evangelistic presentations, he’s saying we should have enough of the Word in us so that no question will take us off guard. He certainly experienced God’s provision of supernatural wisdom and wording, as we just saw, but he also knew that if our relationship with God isn’t fresh, renewed daily, we won’t be in a position to receive that provision.

I’ve not been actively attacked that often, though it has happened. Each time, God has indeed supplied wisdom and wording that shut people up. As a pastor, I am to be faithful in sermon preparation, but that preparation must be in receiving and transmitting what the Lord desires to say, not in cooking up polished oratory. There is a world of difference between a speech, no matter how excellent, and a Word from the Lord. I’m not in the business of giving speeches! I am to encourage the believers to steep themselves in the Word, gaining spiritual nourishment and giving the Holy Spirit plenty of material to work with for guiding them and speaking through them.

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness to speak through me time and time again, often with things I hadn’t thought of before I heard them from my own mouth. Thank You for the memorial service I’ll be speaking at today. The truths You want shared there are very simple, but they are foundational. I ask You to use me to generate a hunger for salvation in every person who hears me, drawing those few who are saved closer to You and drawing those who are not yet saved to repentance and faith. I pray that Brother Minoru would have a rich harvest of souls even now, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!