YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER AND YOU WILL BE WITNESSES

Proclamation:

“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.”  Acts 1:8 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After His resurrection, Jesus spoke these words to His disciples just before His ascension to heaven. (Acts 1:6-9)  Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem until they had been baptized by The Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5)  He said that they would receive power when The Holy Spirit came upon them and they would be witnesses for Him.

Application:

These 120 men and women (Acts 1:14-15) in the upper room did not receive The Holy Spirit until the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:1-4)  Today, we do not have to wait.  We receive The Holy Spirit of God the very moment that we believe and accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.  We also receive spiritual power to be witnesses for Christ because The Holy Spirit dwells within each of us. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)  Although we did not physically walk with Christ, or directly witness His death, burial, and resurrection, we have heard the account of those who did and we have believed. (John 20:29)  Unfortunately, our old human nature is still within us and we must choose to do the right thing and obey The Lord God. (Romans 7:19-23)   We have the power but we must choose to walk the walk with Christ.  We need to pray for Him to help us to let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and give God glory. (Matthew 5:16)

We Are Called To Be His Witnesses

"You will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard."  Acts 22:15 (NIV)

Luke, the physician and travelling companion of the Apostle Paul, recorded here Paul's account of what Ananias told him when he restored his sight which God took from him on the road to Damascus.  Ananias told Paul that God had chosen him to be His witness.

All who have been saved by belief in Jesus Christ, have been called to be witnesses for Him.  Every one may not be called to preach the gospel, but each of us has a unique testimony of what we have seen, heard, and read.  Additionally, we know what The Lord has done for us.  No one can tell your story like you can.  No one knows the troubles, trials, tribulations, and temptations that you have been through better than you do.  You are the perfect one to be a witness for what God has done for you.  When you tell your story, be sure to give God the glory.

Being Tried By The Lord Makes Us Better

"The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but The Lord trieth the heart." Proverbs 17:3

Heat makes raw precious metals pure. Being heated to very high temperatures tests and refines silver and gold. Likewise, trials and tribulations make us better people. Our faith is tested and strengthened by the adversity and affliction that we endure.

The things that we go through in life make us stronger. We can be better witnesses for The Lord and have a better testimony after we endure the tests. Whatever He brings us to, He can bring us through. We may not like it while we are in it, but we will be better because of it.

Now When I am Old And Greyheaded

"Now when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed Thy strength unto this generation, and Thy power to every one that is to come." Psalms 71:18

Do not discard or disregard the "seasoned" senior saints, there is a lot of wisdom tied up in all those years that could be useful to the world. For we have seen, and experienced, and learned a lot during our Christian walk that could benefit the younger generations. We can truly testify, based upon our trials and tribulations, about the strength and power of The Lord and what He has done in our lives.

Listen when the elderly speak, you just may learn something. God is not through with us old folks yet, and with His help there is still kingdom building work for us to do. That is why we can pray this old man's prayer. We need God's help to guide our tongue as we speak to the next generation.

Jesus Is God # 2

Do you know what our main purpose in life is?


"Ye are my witnesses, saith The Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He; before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. I, even I, am The Lord; and beside Me there is not savior... Ye are my witnesses, saith The Lord, that I am God." Isaiah 43:10-12


We are to tell this sin-sick, dying world about our Lord and savior, Jesus, The Christ. We are to spread the good news about His birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection. We are to tell the world what He taught and we are to live our lives by His teachings.

He should be able to call on us and count on us when He needs a witness to give a testimony to a lost soul. We are His witnesses. We need to tell people that Jesus is God.

See Jesus is God # 1 posted on August 31, 2010. Read John 1:1, John 1:14, and 1 John 5:7.