1 Will Not Shut Up

 

John Bunyan was born in 1628 at Elstow, England, the oldest son of a tinker. His family was very poor so he had little education. He joined his father’s trade. When he was sixteen, Bunyan was enlisted in the Army. After three years, his company disbanded and he returned to Elstow and continued to work as a tinker. His first discovery of what Christian fellowship might mean came when he overheard four poor but pious happy women sitting at a cottage door in the sunshine, making lace while talking about the things of God.

He came closer to hear what they were saying. Their talk was about a new birth, the work of God on their hearts. “They spoke,” Bunyan wrote, “as if joy did make them speak; they spoke with such pleasantness of Scripture language and with such appearance of grace in all they said, that they were to me as if they had found a new world” . Bunyan found himself drawn into the fellowship of which these poor women were a part.

This meeting with the women marked a definite change in Bunyan’s inner life. His thoughts became “fixed on eternity.” He began to look into the Bible “with new eyes” and read it as he never had before. Indeed, as he puts it, “I was then never out of the Bible, either by reading or meditation; still crying out to God that I might know the truth and the way to heaven and glory.”

Bunyan moved from Elstow to Bedford to further his trade and to be closer to his church. He began to preach. He was arrested in November 1660 for holding an illegal religious meeting. He was warned that he was to be arrested if he held church at a friend's house. John went anyway, determined to set an example of boldness. If he fled, weaker brethren would see it and run also.

He was sentenced to three months in Bedford's prison. The prison conditions were hardship. There was little light and no bathing facilities. The cells were overcrowded, the place stank and Typhus killed many prisoners. John's ration was one-quarter loaf of bread a day. One day the magistrates said, "John, we will let you out, but you must promise not to preach again. There are the regular cler­gymen of the country; what have you, as a tinker, to do with preaching?"

To go free, all John Bunyan had to do was make one promise. He must agree not to preach publicly anymore. Bunyan said to the magistrates, "If you let me out of prison today, I will preach again tomorrow, by the grace of God”. And when they told him that they would not let him out unless he promised not to preach, he bravely answered, "If I lie in jail till the moss grows on my eyelids, I will never conceal the truth which God has taught me”.

His continued refusal to assure authorities that he would refrain from preaching if released prolongs his imprisonment for 12 years, from 1661 to 1672. While in jail his Bible was his treasure. He said that he never in all his life had “so great an inlet into the Word of God” as he did in prison. He wrote that “those Scriptures that I saw nothing in before are made in this place and state to shine upon me. Jesus Christ also was never more real and apparent than now; here I have seen him and felt him indeed”.

He did not give up his ministry. He simply moved it to the jail. Bunyan and his friends preached to one an-other on Sundays. John was cheerful, believing he suffered for Christ. He said he had true freedom in prison; he could read the Bible, preach and sing hymns with no one to stop him. He was also allowed to write.  While imprisoned he completed many of his sixty books including the “The Pilgrim's Progress”, the most read book apart from the Bible.

When finally released, Bunyan immediately returned to preaching. By now the authorities realized he was concerned only with the Kingdom of God. On August 19,1688 he preached what was to be his last sermon. He concluded with the words “consider that the holy God is your father and let this oblige you to live like the children of God that you may look your father in the face with comfort, another day”.

That day was not far off for him. One day while returning home from a mission, he rode on horseback in heavy rain from Reading to London. Bunyan contracted a fever and died in London on August 31, 1688, at the home of his friend. His earthly labour ended and he ascended to his heavenly Father to be crowned with immortality.

In Acts 4 Peter and John were arrested for healing a lame man in the name of Jesus and claiming that Jesus is God;  Deuteronomy 18:20 says “a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, was to be put to death”. They were teaching that Jesus had resurrected; The Sadducees who were part of the Sanhedrin did not believe in the resurrection of the dead (Mark 12:18). The two had no rabbinic training and therefore had no right to teach within the temple premises.

Acts 4: 7-13 says “They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them… it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed…When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus”.

The Sanhedrin observed in Peter and John what they had seen in Jesus: courage to speak boldly and authoritatively without formal rabbinic training (John 7:14-15 ; Matt.7:29; John 7:46; Luke 20:20-26). The Jewish leaders viewed them as unlearned. What they missed was that these men had been to the most prestigious "seminary" in the history of the world, for they had been trained for three years by the Jesus himself!

The apostles were not afraid of anything, including death. Jesus had secured them eternal life (John 17:1-5).On the cross Jesus did not say “I am finished “ he said “it’s finished”(John 19:30). After resurrection he gave many convincing proofs that he was alive and spoke about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). During the last supper Jesus had said “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes”(Luke 22:18). He promised “I will come back and take you to be with me”(John 14:3). After ascension angels told the disciples “this same Jesus will come back” (Acts 1:9-11).

 The Apostle’s had no formal rabbinic training; their boldness could not be attributed to the arts of rhetoric, but was the exhibition of deep conviction of the truth of what they spoke. That conviction could only be obtained by having been satisfied that Jesus was alive and the kingdom he promised was real. Such conviction is of far more value in preaching than mere education; without such a conviction, preaching will be as cold as the teaching of the Scribe’s (matt 7:29).

The rulers took note that these men had been with Jesus. The phrase "took note" comes from a root word meaning "known by some distinguishing mark." Something distinguished Peter and John from others who had appeared in that court. What made them different was the fact that “they have been with Jesus”. What a wonderful compliment! Spending time with Jesus leaves a clear and observable mark in your life.

The more someone is with Jesus, the more that person becomes like Christ, in purity, holiness and love. In turn, his pure walk produces in him a great boldness for God. The Scripture says, "The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28:1). The original word translated “bold” in this verse means secure and confident. That's what the rulers saw in Peter and John. The world will distinguish those who "have been with Jesus".  

Those who say  like Paul “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ... having a righteousness ...that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil.3:7-11).

 Education is valuable in the service of Jesus, but nothing can replace time spent in His presence. Some people want just enough of Jesus to escape judgment. They give Jesus only the bare requirements: church attendance, a muttered daily prayer, perhaps a quick glance at Scripture. They know if they read much of his Word or spend any time praying, the Holy Spirit will make demands on their lives. And they don't want to change is their lifestyle.

The Nobel Prize is awarded annually to people in a variety of fields who have made an extraordinary impact. A Nobel Prize is the ultimate affirmation of years of training, effort and sacrifice in pursuit of excellence-investments that are the source of their impact. To make an extraordinary impact for Jesus Christ in our world, what must we invest in? Christ’s first followers were impacted from spending time with him. As a result, they had become passionate about what concerned Christ—the eternal destiny of men and women.

The rulers commanded the Peter and John not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.  But the apostles answered “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:18-20). Christians are commanded to Submit to every governing authority (Rom. 13:1; Peter 2:13). However there is one exception-God's commands take priority.

We must be sure that we have the clear teaching of the Word of God before we take a stand against the authority. Paul wrote “we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition; For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit... we speak... to please God” (1 Thess. 2:1-5). Note that if disobedience is required, then one must be prepared to suffer the consequences.

Peter knew what the Lord had commanded the believers to do and he was going to obey Him at any cost. Peter and John were willing to pay the price of this defiance with their lives. When the rulers had threatened them further, they let them go ...When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported everything that the chief priests and the elders had said to them (Acts 4:21,23).