A Witness
Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
To learn how to be a witness for Christ, we need to look at his life as our example. When Jesus was on earth, he was always witnessing. Even as a child, he was drawn to the Temple, to sit with the elders, and could not keep silent.
As an adult the Scribes and Pharisees could not stop him. They followed him, and dogged him, but could not keep him silent. His message was always as clear as a clean brook of running water, where you could see every stone; not like a muddy pond. They hated him for this.
We must be the same. Our speech must be plain, open, direct, transparent. The world must see that we have a heart of love for God above everything and everyone else. When we do, Jesus told us we would be hated, just like he was. But, it proclaims to the world that we are His witnesses. Our life will bear fruit for His kingdom; but we will never see the full scope of our witness here; only in the life to come.
Our daily life and conduct is as much a witness of our faith as our talk.
We should not have to say “I am honest”-just be honest. If I simply tell the truth; I don’t have to worry about what to say if I’m ever asked what I did or said, or how to explain it; it makes life much more simple, and free of stress.
It is unwise to use oaths; it can bring you into much trouble. Jesus instructs us to not make oaths; it is a very foolish thing to do.
Mt 5:33-37 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Don’t boast of integrity, be upright.
Never fear man, or restrain your witness. Fear of man brings a snare.
Pr 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
As a witness for the cause of Christ:
Let God put the burning coal from the alter on your lips; as he did Isaiah, let Him speak through your mouth the things that are burning on His heart; that He has revealed to you secret; and let it be with boldness; as the disciples cried for in Acts, as they proclaimed the risen Christ under great persecution.
Don’t consult the temperature of the crowd to try to appease them, or find the right words to soothe their consciences; let the Holy Spirit use you to bring the needed conviction to their hearts, that it will cause them to make a decision: either for Christ-or reject Him. This is what effective witnessing will do; it will move you out of your apathy, and cause you to make a decision. It will make you uncomfortable on the fence your sitting on, and make you move; one way, or the other. Your not trying to get people to like you; your presenting the gospel, proclaiming the risen Christ to a dieing world. Jesus told us we would be rejected, accept this truth, and make up your mind if He is worth whatever the cost to bring the truth of the gospel to people, in a straightforward fashion; and let them have the freedom to receive or reject it.
Believe that the seeds you’ve sown the Holy Spirit will continue to use to provoke them, and deal with their hearts. We may never know how many we will meet in heaven, that we witnessed to, who we thought would never come, because we only saw their rejection of our witness. As Paul said, one sows, another waters, and God gives the increase.
This is really all that matters, because when we stand in heaven, we won’t be concerned about how many friends we made while we were down here; it is how many faces we see in heaven that God put before us, and gave us opportunity to share the gospel with them, and open the door of salvation to them while we had the time to do it.
If you do suffer as a witness, rejoice that you were given the honor, and counted worthy to suffer for Christ. He has counted us blessed, and our reward awaits us in heaven.
Study, and pray much; to give the Holy Spirit access to your spirit; and enable you to be more bold in your witness. The more time you spend with the Lord; the greater your boldness and witness will become. His presence will be ever with you, enabling you to endure every hardship, or loss; as he did the first disciples; and Paul.
It may be that we will suffer abandonment by our friends, and church people; Paul knew this pain by experience also.
2ti 4:16-17 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
Notice that Paul’s only concern even when he was forsaken, was that he would be strengthened to keep preaching with clarity and boldness. This is the essence of being a witness for Christ.
Lorna Couillard
Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
To learn how to be a witness for Christ, we need to look at his life as our example. When Jesus was on earth, he was always witnessing. Even as a child, he was drawn to the Temple, to sit with the elders, and could not keep silent.
As an adult the Scribes and Pharisees could not stop him. They followed him, and dogged him, but could not keep him silent. His message was always as clear as a clean brook of running water, where you could see every stone; not like a muddy pond. They hated him for this.
We must be the same. Our speech must be plain, open, direct, transparent. The world must see that we have a heart of love for God above everything and everyone else. When we do, Jesus told us we would be hated, just like he was. But, it proclaims to the world that we are His witnesses. Our life will bear fruit for His kingdom; but we will never see the full scope of our witness here; only in the life to come.
Our daily life and conduct is as much a witness of our faith as our talk.
We should not have to say “I am honest”-just be honest. If I simply tell the truth; I don’t have to worry about what to say if I’m ever asked what I did or said, or how to explain it; it makes life much more simple, and free of stress.
It is unwise to use oaths; it can bring you into much trouble. Jesus instructs us to not make oaths; it is a very foolish thing to do.
Mt 5:33-37 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Don’t boast of integrity, be upright.
Never fear man, or restrain your witness. Fear of man brings a snare.
Pr 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
As a witness for the cause of Christ:
Let God put the burning coal from the alter on your lips; as he did Isaiah, let Him speak through your mouth the things that are burning on His heart; that He has revealed to you secret; and let it be with boldness; as the disciples cried for in Acts, as they proclaimed the risen Christ under great persecution.
Don’t consult the temperature of the crowd to try to appease them, or find the right words to soothe their consciences; let the Holy Spirit use you to bring the needed conviction to their hearts, that it will cause them to make a decision: either for Christ-or reject Him. This is what effective witnessing will do; it will move you out of your apathy, and cause you to make a decision. It will make you uncomfortable on the fence your sitting on, and make you move; one way, or the other. Your not trying to get people to like you; your presenting the gospel, proclaiming the risen Christ to a dieing world. Jesus told us we would be rejected, accept this truth, and make up your mind if He is worth whatever the cost to bring the truth of the gospel to people, in a straightforward fashion; and let them have the freedom to receive or reject it.
Believe that the seeds you’ve sown the Holy Spirit will continue to use to provoke them, and deal with their hearts. We may never know how many we will meet in heaven, that we witnessed to, who we thought would never come, because we only saw their rejection of our witness. As Paul said, one sows, another waters, and God gives the increase.
This is really all that matters, because when we stand in heaven, we won’t be concerned about how many friends we made while we were down here; it is how many faces we see in heaven that God put before us, and gave us opportunity to share the gospel with them, and open the door of salvation to them while we had the time to do it.
If you do suffer as a witness, rejoice that you were given the honor, and counted worthy to suffer for Christ. He has counted us blessed, and our reward awaits us in heaven.
Study, and pray much; to give the Holy Spirit access to your spirit; and enable you to be more bold in your witness. The more time you spend with the Lord; the greater your boldness and witness will become. His presence will be ever with you, enabling you to endure every hardship, or loss; as he did the first disciples; and Paul.
It may be that we will suffer abandonment by our friends, and church people; Paul knew this pain by experience also.
2ti 4:16-17 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
Notice that Paul’s only concern even when he was forsaken, was that he would be strengthened to keep preaching with clarity and boldness. This is the essence of being a witness for Christ.
Lorna Couillard
