Sitting, reclining, lying down— they are rather comfortable positions, but standing is the posture that needs real effort, but standing for God and speaking on His behalf needs true valor, that characterizes the true prophet. “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” (Lk 4:16-22) Jesus stood before them and declared the beginning of the day of the kingdom of God that startled, and they ridiculed Him,  by referring his father and the profession. Following the example of the Master, the chief apostle too, stood in front of the crowd fearless: “All of them continued to be stunned and puzzled, and they kept asking one another, “What can this mean?” But others kept saying in derision, “They’re drunk on sweet wine!”

Peter Addresses the Crowd

Then Peter stood up among the eleven apostles and raised his voice to address them:

“Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand something, so pay close attention to my words. These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it’s only nine o’clock in the morning. Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days, God says,

    I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.

Your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

    your young men will see visions,

        and your old men will dream dreams.

In those days I will even pour out my Spirit

    on my slaves, men and women alike,

        and they will prophesy.

I will display wonders in the sky above

    and signs on the earth below:

        blood, fire, and clouds of smoke. 

The sun will become dark,

    and the moon turn to blood,

        before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord.

Then whoever calls on the name of the Lord[k] will be saved.’

“Fellow Israelis, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a man authenticated to you by God through miracles, wonders, and signs that God performed through him among you, as you yourselves know. After he was arrested according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified this very man and killed him using the hands of lawless men. But God raised him up, putting an end to the suffering of death, since it was impossible for him to be held by it, since David says about him,

‘I always keep my eyes on the Lord,

    for he is at my right hand

        so that I cannot be shaken.

That is why my heart is glad

    and my tongue rejoices,

        yes, even my body still rests securely in hope.

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades

    or allow your Holy One to experience decay.

You have made the ways of life known to me,

    and you will fill me with gladness in your presence.’

“Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and that his tomb is among us to this day. Therefore, since he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him with an oath to put one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah:

‘He was not abandoned to Hades,

    and his flesh did not experience decay.’

“It was this very Jesus whom God raised—and we’re all witnesses of that. He has been exalted to the right hand of God, has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, and has caused you to experience what you are seeing and hearing. After all, David did not go up to heaven, but he said,

‘The Lord told my Lord,

    “Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

“Therefore, let all the people of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!”

When the crowd that had gathered heard this, they were pierced to the heart. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

Peter answered them, “Every one of you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift. For this promise belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those who are distant, whom the Lord our God may call to himself.” (Acts 2:12-38)  Men of God always had enough courage, to stand and speak before, even the authorities of the temple, for they receive such audacity and gallantry from the One whose word, they pronounce, hence they dare do it any way, as in the case of prophet Jeremiah: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the Lord’s house all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not omit a word!” (Jer 26:2) Samuel, Moses, Elijah, Paul and all chosen men of God enjoyed the intrepidity and true grit, for they were covered by the Living God , and hence any one truly desires, the vocation of prophet need faith and courage to convict people of their sins against God and mankind and nature. Modern trend is in stead of God’s chosen standing in the courtyard of the temple, they compete with each other erecting pillars of stone and metal, and inscribing their own names, wasting the hard-earned money of the fishermen and farmers, whose money is their sweat and blood, that these so-called who prefer to sit in air-conditioned offices do not know. May God give us enough strength to condemn anyone and everyone, who do not prioritize God’s Word over everything.

 

Abba, Thank You for commanding us to stand and speak on Your behalf, Let Your Spirit empower us always with enough faith and strength, In Jesus’ Most Powerful Name, Amen.