“YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES TO ME…”

April 27, 2014

The Challenge To Be Good Witnesses Of Christ

Easter is more than just a yearly event to celebrate. Finding greater significance in it annually should further concretise this tremendous sense of mission in life to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus and His resurrection. He, before He ascended to heaven, said these words to His disciples.

“And you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 
Acts 1:8

The Lord Jesus gave His disciples a great sense of purpose in seeking to be a good witness for Him. They were meant to be His effective witnesses to the ends of the earth. They actually became good witnesses for the Lord (Acts 2-10). How did they go about doing this?

1. Being Fully Convinced In The Irrefutable Proofs Of A Living Saviour

“To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs” 
Acts 1:3

The Lord Jesus’ resurrection was not a figment of the disciples’ imagination. After His resurrection, He presented Himself alive to them and to more than five hundred brethren at once (1 Corinthians 15:6). He spent another forty days speaking to them about God’s kingdom. These infallible proofs of a risen Jesus confirmed to them that what was prophesied concerning His resurrection had been fulfilled. The disciples found concrete faith in a living Jesus. We too must have such a faith.

2. Being Filled With The Dynamic Power Of The Holy Spirit

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” 
Acts 1:8

The work of bearing witness for the Lord cannot be done in our own strength. It has to be done through the empowering of the Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus told the disciples to stay and wait in Jerusalem till they were endued with power through the Spirit of God. They would then be able to bear witness for the Lord with boldness and with effectiveness. In the text of Acts 2, the Apostle Peter preached the gospel most effectively. Let’s also seek this empowering of the Spirit.

3. Faith In The Precious Promise Of The Lord’s Second Coming

“This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” 
Acts 1:11

One day, the Lord Jesus will return again. He will return in the same manner as He was taken up in the ascension. The Lord Jesus was brought up in a cloud to heaven. What a glorious sight that must have been! This is the promise that the Lord Jesus will return again one day. Let’s exercise faith in His imminent return. Let’s do all we can to reach out before He comes back.

4. Following Through With Constant Prayer Together

“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” 
Acts 1:14

Prayer also enables us to bear witness for the Lord well. The disciples of the Lord Jesus continued together in prayer as they had never done before. There was a special sense of oneness in praying and supplicating together with the women. Let’s continually pray as we seek to bear witness for the Lord. He will hear and guide us in all our evangelistic efforts.

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