The Empowered Witness

Acts 1:8 ~ "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Believer in Christ, you have a testimony to share. The LORD Jesus has empowered you for this very purpose, that you should be a witness concerning Him.

Let us first consider what a witness is meant to be. We get our word "martyr" from this term, and it conveys one who is willing to testify to that which they have seen or heard. It soon grew into a definition of those who were hazarding their lives for the sake of that truth--even risking their lives for Jesus. You have been given something that others need to know.

If you were called upon by a court of law to bear witness to a set of circumstances, all you would be expected to do is share what you know. And that, dear friends, would be the limit of your testimony. No judge would allow you to pontificate on hearsay evidence, or to carry on a lengthy hypothesis concerning your opinions on the situation. You are a witness of events--and that is all.

So, let me ask you, what do you know of Christ Jesus? What have you come to know concerning Him? Because you are not just a witness, you are to be HIS witness. Many Christians go on and on about their own experiences, circumstances and travails of life--bearing witness of themselves. They will say things like "I believed" or "I placed my faith in Jesus" or "I confessed." These are all true statements, for you must believe, place your faith in and confess Jesus Christ as LORD. But are they bearing witness of HIM?

You might be thinking, as others have, that you haven't actually witnessed the work of Christ. But are you sure? Have you found the Scriptures to be a true account of the life and work of Jesus? Have gone to the Gospel of Matthew and listened to the Sermon on the Mount or have you found your way to the Gospel of John and heard Jesus command Lazarus to rise from the grave? These are two things that Jesus did and you can bear witness of HIM by testifying to what He had done. Beloved, go to the cross and the tomb and see His death and resurrection--and then testify to what HE did. 

There are those who think that what a believer must do to be a witness of Christ is to be able to convince others that the gospel is true. But that is not what a witness does. A witness testifies to what they know is true, but it does not mean that the others will be convinced. Consider what king Agrippa said to Paul in Acts 26:28, "And Agrippa said to Paul, 'In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?'" If you want a clear witness testimony of the LORD Jesus simply read Acts 2:22-36. 

And the one testimony you can definitely bear witness to is His salvation in your life. If you are born-again, the LORD Jesus opened your heart and your understanding to the truth of the gospel and quickened you to believe. If your faith is anchored to Christ, then it is good to show people the cable of your faith, but it is better that you expose them to the Rock which holds you fast. For salvation is found nowhere else--only Jesus.

And this is why He empowers you through the Holy Spirit. The power that He gives is the efficacious power, the power that gives you the strength to do the work of being a witness. And truly we need His power to be a witness for Him since we live in a world that genuinely hates Him. He does not empower you to your own tasks or intrigues. 

Have you told of Jesus Christ? Have you pronounced His work of redemption on the cross and His resurrection from the dead? Dear believer, use your testimony of salvation to leap-frog into magnifying the person and work of Christ. 

In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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