New Year Is

EYE WITNESS NEWS

Profile of a Witness

Acts 1:8 " . . . and you shall be My witnesses"

Introduction:

What does this text: "Ye shall be witnesses to Me!" evoke in your

thinking? What is a proper response?

A. IT SAYS TO ME THAT I PERSONALLY, AND WE, AS PEOPLE CALLED

NAZARENES, NEED TO TAKE THESE WORDS TO HEART

1. Early on in my Christian walk I got the message that I was not

a complete Christian unless and until I was also a witnessing

Christian. Just about all my Christian life I have had an annoying

feeling that I should be a better personal witness of the grace of

God.

B. BUT IT ALSO INVITES ME TO SEE HOW THE PEOPLE TO WHOM JESUS WAS

SPEAKING DIRECTLY, AT THAT TIME, UNDERSTOOD AND CARRIED OUT HIS

ORDERS:

1. The context of this text is the end of that period between the

first Easter and the Ascension and Pentecost with the outpouring of

the Spirit. That was a very important time for the disciples.

Several questions come to mind: [After the death and resurrection

of Jesus things were decidedly different. It was not merely business

as usual.

"Where did Jesus go at night to sleep?" or, "Where did Jesus go

when He disappeared from their sight?" I know that speculation is all

too easy. But several things are apparent:

Why, do you suppose, was there a period of 40 days between the

Resurrection and the Ascension?

Why, again, were there 10 more days until the descent of the Holy

Spirit at Pentecost?

What part do the Old Testament figures of Passover and Pentecost

have in the scheme of salvation? It certainly was more than

coincidence that these significant events fell on those significant

holy days.

I. A TIME OF PERSUASION

Of what were the disciples witness, relative to Jesus?

A. Old Testament fulfillment:

1. In the matter of the calendar itself:

JESUS THE PASSOVER

Lets take that last question first: From our vantage point we

see that the Old Testament holy days found fulfillment in the Person

and Ministry of the Savior.

Cynics would say that Jesus was the supreme opportunist. They

would say that He sought to fill out the prophecies of the Old

Testament.

Jesus filled out the meaning of the Old Testament: Do you

understand Passover? Divine intervention in behalf of helpless people

who cry for deliverance. Beginning an Exodus that was to climax in a

Promised Land.

The planting of a Seed... JESUS THE FIRST-FRUIT, OR HARVEST Do

you understand Pentecost? The "Seed" planted in the ground brought

forth 3,000 souls fifty days later; The first harvest celebrated; and

also the giving of the Law on Sinai;

B. Personal encounter/ spiritual revelation: The disciples met the

Risen Savior, and He revealed Himself to them.

II. A TIME OF PREPARATION

A. They were not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the

Holy Spirit.

B. This involved ten days of intensive prayer.

C. This also involved

III. A TIME OF PROCLAMATION - [Conclusion:]

A. The overwhelming sense of joy that accompanied the knowledge that

they were NOT left orphaned; they were indwelt by the Spirit of their

Savior-- THIS was the thing that powered their witness.

Their battle cry was, "The LORD is risen!"

We must have this in order to be witnesses, and not hear-say

gossips:

1. A personal encounter of revelation: (not enlightenment only;

that is not enough. but God-revealed reality. We must know, be

persuaded that God has raised Jesus from the dead. The resurrection

is the dynamo that makes everything about the Christian faith genuine.

There is nothing wrong with becoming a seeker. If you are not

satisfied, ask God to help you look within. Come away with reality.

If your heart condemns you, God is greater than your heart and knows

all things.

2. An increasing joy and love for the Savior. This will be

"felt," for want of a better word. Deeply satisfying. It will

resonate with others who love Jesus, too. The greatest family on all

the earth is the family of God. This love will respond to the

Spirit’s prompting to go. (Philip)

3. This witness will be both conscious and unconscious. There

must be a congruence of the unconscious and the conscious witness.

When what we say and how we live are in disagreement people will

always finally believe the way we live. But when both coincide there

will be effective witness.

a) they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus

b) we ought to obey God rather than man!

4. There is nothing wrong with organized effort in witnessing:

I have attended special seminars on witnessing, and have undergone

intensive on-the-job training; and I have had concentrated weekend

efforts and have led small groups in witnessing. Perhaps if God so