One of your tasks this week is to back up your informative speeches with credible sources.
The Apostle Peter did this so masterfully. It was on the Day of Pentecost and Peter was explaining to the gathering crowds how it was that believers were speaking in unknown languages. How could this happen? Peter said the most likely thing the audience was thinking. He knew his audience! He said, no, these men are not drunk, as you would suppose. It is only 9 o’clock in the morning.
He went on to inform the crowd of what they were seeing. He said it was a fulfillment of prophecy that was foretold long ago. He then went systematically through his evidence from the Old Testament to show that what they were seeing was exactly as had been foretold. He certainly had done his research. His hearers would now get a context for what they were seeing and be able to integrate it and hopefully, accept it.
When speaking to inform or persuade, it is important to have sources that your audience would find credible to back up your statements. The Old Testament could not have been more credible to Peter’s hearers that day. There were no more revered names than ones like Moses and the Prophet Joel. It would help them understand that these disciples were not crazy, or possessed, but were demonstrating the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Something that was alarming and frightening was now explained so it could be assimilated and hopefully embraced.
What thoughts come to your mind as we study this passage together and focus on the importance of credibility in our speeches? Why is it so important to build our worldview on credible sources and not on the latest theories or trends?
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