Can I Get a Witness

Last week we began looking at Acts 1:8, where Jesus tells his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

We spent our whole time last week on the concept of power, a concept that is sadly lacking in most of our American churches these days, where we are more known for our potlucks than our power. I just want to reiterate that this power is not our own power; it’s not that we are already good at something and then we just happen to use that skill in the church. This is Holy Spirit power, the power through which we know that in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)

Do you feel like more than a conqueror? If you are in Christ, that is who you are. That is how God defines you. God, who created the earth in a word, calls us more than conquerors, so this is who you are. Turn to someone next to you and tell them, “You are more than a conqueror through Jesus.”  OK, now tell them, “I am more than a conqueror through Jesus.”

And guess what? You have started to live out the second part of Acts 1:8. You are accepting God’s Holy Spirit power, the power that makes you more than a conqueror, and you’re bearing witness to it. Jesus tells his disciples that they will receive Holy Spirit power and that will enable them to be his witnesses.

If you think of a courtroom, the witness is one who is called on to give expert testimony. Part of the lawyers’ job is to make sure that their witnesses are credible: were they there? Are they reliable? Is there some special reason why the jury should believe or disbelieve them?

The witness that we see here in Acts 1:8 is a reliable witness. What makes someone a reliable witness? In Acts 3, Peter and John encounter a crippled beggar, who asks them for money. They responded that they didn’t have silver or gold, “but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6) That’s awesome – the guy is begging because he’s crippled and has been since he was born and he can’t earn a living, so he asks Peter for money, but Peter says, “I can’t do that. But here’s what I do have for you…” Holy Spirit power, that’s what he has! So the Jewish leaders get all riled up about this, and they question Peter and John. This is what happens when you’ve got Holy Spirit power; you get questioned.

But when you have Holy Spirit power, you also have Holy Spirit answers to the questions. The high priest and other Jewish leaders questioned Peter and John and in Acts 4:13 we see what happened. When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus.

I love the fact that Peter and John, the pillars of the early church, are described by the Bible as unschooled, ordinary men. Do you remember their occupation before Jesus called them? They were fishermen. They hadn’t graduated from seminary or studied under the top Galilean rabbis. They were fishermen. 

But there was something different about them. Last week I asked who found sharing the Gospel easy, and Jim Wycoff raised his hand. I’m glad I had gotten a chance to hear his story, which is a story of transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is something different about him. There is something compelling and powerful about a changed life. If I am no different than I was before, then it’s not going to matter a whole lot what I say, because why would you believe me? But when you see a real change… it’s another story completely.

I want you to notice that the Jewish leaders didn’t just see a change in Peter and John’s behavior. They saw a transformation, and they knew it was because they had been with Jesus. I know people who think they don’t have a testimony because there wasn’t a real dramatic “before and after” in their life. You were raised in a good home by godly parents and you’ve been in church all your life. But, believe me, you will change when you’ve been with Jesus. This is one reason why it’s vitally important to carve out time for Him, to be in the Word, to listen when you pray. The important part of our testimony is that Jesus is not just a remote historical figure, but he is real in my life. Because the only thing we really have that is worth bearing witness to is Him!

Our purpose on this earth is two-fold: to enjoy God’s presence and to share him with others. Even as far back as Genesis, God made his plan clear – he blesses so that we can be a blessing. When God called Abram, whose name he would later change to Abraham, God says to him, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

It can be easy to focus on the first part – God will bless me and give me a great name – but the reason for it all is to be a blessing to all peoples on earth.

The sad thing is that Israel never accomplished the task to be God’s witnesses in the world, and so Jesus took over the task and then commissioned the Church to continue carrying it out. But when we circle up our wagons and become inward-focused, then we are ignoring God’s purpose for us.

Our job as Christians is to spread the Gospel, to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. But Paul asks: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14-15)

If people don’t believe in Jesus or even know who Jesus is, we can’t expect them to become his disciples. So how are they going to come to know him? They will come to know him when the word is preached to them.

Turn to the person next to you and tell them “You’ve got beautiful feet!”

Do you have beautiful feet? They are beautiful not because you got a pedicure, but because they are used to carry you to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those who don’t yet know him.

Jesus also shows the progression of how the gospel is to be spread: you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  

He told them to start in Jerusalem. They were already there – they already had established networks there; they knew people, and the people knew them. Jesus calls his disciples to first be his witness to the people who they already know. This can be hard, but it is extremely effective. When the people around you notice a difference in the way you live, they are first going to be skeptical. After all, you’ve tried “new” things before. Remember that diet where you lost all that weight, only to gain it right back again? Remember that time you tried to quit smoking, and that didn’t last. Or when you resolved to be a better… (and you filled in the blanks with whatever you were struggling with) and you were for a little while, but then you were right back in it. But this transformation is different – though there are times when you do fail, they no longer define you, because you are more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ who gives you strength.

It will be hard, because you’ve already wired your brain to do certain things, but the Bible tells us that renewal is possible: The first part of Romans 12:2 tells us Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Don’t allow yourself to just follow the world’s patterns or the patterns you have just drifted into; God will transform you by renewing your mind if you allow him. Yes, it takes work. You have to be intentional. I had friends whose marriage was in trouble because of drugs – they moved out for a while, but when they came back, they went right back to their old friends.

I’ve found that when I want to change a behavior, it’s no good just to decide to change; if I don’t share it with someone, I’m not going to do it on my own. I have a group of fellow pastors who I can and do share pretty much anything with, and they’ll ask me the tough questions.

Here’s another difficulty in sharing Jesus with people around you; it used to be said that the two things you didn’t bring up in polite company were religion and politics – but you can’t swing a dead cat these days without hearing a political discussion or debate. When someone says, “Don’t get me started on (a particular candidate or politician)” you know they’re going to get started on that particular politician! But somehow it’s considered impolite to talk about Jesus?

Penn Jillette, the illusionist and outspoken atheist, tells of a time when someone gave him a Bible after a show. He doesn’t believe the Bible, but listen to what he said about the guy who gave it to him.

“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people that don’t proselytize…I don't respect that at all. If you believe that there's a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward, and atheists who think that people shouldn't proselytize  -  ‘Just leave me alone, keep your religion to yourself.’

“How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize?” Jillette asked. “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? If I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you and you didn't believe it, and that truck was bearing down on you, there's a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”

“There’s a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.” He has a real point. There are people right here in Wellston who are going to Hell, and we can do something about it. How much do you have to hate them to not tell them the good news?

Jesus doesn’t expect his disciples to only evangelize right where they are, however. They are supposed to go to Judea, which is the larger region in which they live. This is their country, their people. This is so-called “safe” evangelism. But they aren’t to stop there; Jesus calls them to go to the hated Samaritans, people who Jews didn’t even associate with. Who might be our Samaritans? There are people who we sometimes just dismiss from Gospel conversations – I wouldn’t share Christ with… because…

Who might be our Samaria? Who do you really not want to go to? That just might be our Samaria…  But don’t expect to go somewhere else and share Christ with another culture if you’re not doing it here already. Missionaries don’t just go and then start sharing Jesus; they are sharing Jesus and God calls them to go and share Him elsewhere as well.

This week we have a chance to get started being Jesus’ witness, in our own Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. If you aren’t walking with Jesus, you have got to start. Get into the Word. If you’re not willing to get into the Word of God, then quit faking and pretending that you’re a Christian. Go ahead and admit that you’re not. You aren’t too busy – you’ve made an idol out of other things. But if you are a Christian, spend time with God. Allow the Holy Spirit to empower you, to give you a former life, to have a testimony of how you have been with Jesus.

Something I do with my boys is that I have them share God-sightings. This isn’t just for kids, though, and I’m going to ask you to look for God sightings this week. Write them down and come next Sunday ready to share them. This might help you to be aware of where God is at work around you.

If you are already aware of how God is working in your life, then it’s time to share. Make the effort to share it with another Christian, maybe someone in this room. And celebrate together what God is doing. If you’re already doing that, it’s time to take it out to others. One great way to start this is to write down a couple of names of people who don’t know Jesus – write them down and make the effort to pray for them every day and to look for opportunities to share with them. And we will be his witnesses – here locally. And let’s start thinking about how we can be his witnesses even globally… Maybe someone here would like to participate in the Vietnam initiative that our district is so strong in.

And as we go from here, remember to spend time daily in the Word and with Jesus. Because we can’t do this on our own; we can only do it when empowered by the Holy Spirit.