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📖 Luke 24:48-49
25 – 11May2022 – Empowered by the Holy Spirit - Luke 24:36-49 - COMMISSIONED TO BE HIS WITNESSES - Bible reading: Joel 2:28-32
“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that as You send us to be Your witnesses, we are empowered by Your Holy Spirit. We are totally cast upon You to be Your witnesses. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.”
Luke 24:48-49 And you are witnesses of these things. (49) Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
A beautiful description of witnessing is given to us by the apostle John.
I John 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— (2) the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— (3) that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. (4) And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
The end objective of witnessing for Christ is to see that people come into the joy of the Lord. This was what was prophesied.
Isaiah 44:1-5 "Yet hear me now, O Jacob My servant, And Israel whom I have chosen. (2) Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: 'Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. (3) For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; (4) They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.' (5) One will say, 'I am the LORD's'; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, 'The LORD's,' And name himself by the name of Israel.
The Lord promises to pour His Holy Spirit upon us and on our descendants. Who are our descendants? They are the ones who are born into the family of God because we were the Lord’s witnesses.
Joel 2:28-32 "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. (29) And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (30) "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. (32) And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.
There will be signs and wonders, through His Holy Spirit, as we witness to Christ. People will be delivered. The Lord had told the disciples that they would be His witnesses of these signs by the enablement of the Holy Spirit.
John 15:26-27 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. (27) And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
The Holy Spirit enables us to be witnesses to the truth of Jesus. Witnessing is about our relationship with Jesus, of how He has changed us and continues to change us into His character.
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
We are called to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. Our places of work and the people, who are a part of those domains, are the places and people to whom we are witnesses of Jesus.
There is never a time when we stop being a witness to Jesus. Our actions and our reactions, our life as well as our words, our knowledge, attitude, skills and also our values. All of them are a part of us being His witnesses.
The Lord had very specifically told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem, till they were filled with the Holy Spirit and then they would be His witnesses.
Our audience must know that our witness to Christ, is not a work of our flesh, but of the Holy Spirit. A marked change in the lives of the disciples had to be seen by the world for them to know that the disciples were operating in the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in different languages. This was a powerful sign that they were now operating in the Holy Spirit, to be witnesses to Jesus. The Holy Spirit produces in us these signs as an expression that we are not operating in the flesh but in the Holy Spirit.
Witnessing is the place, where we can evidence for ourselves how the Holy Spirit operates through us, in different circumstances, and brings people to Jesus.
Thought to ponder
Are you enjoying your life, as a witness to Jesus?
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