ACTS 1:8
“Ye shall be witnesses”
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC, has a guard 24 hours a day. Every hour on the hour, 365 days a year, a new soldier reports for duty. When the new guard arrives, he receives his orders from the one who is leaving. The words are always the same: "Orders Remain Unchanged."
The same could be said of the orders that Jesus gave to His disciples. Just before He ascended to heaven, He told His followers, "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
In a definitive statement made moments before His ascension our Lord Jesus indicated to His disciples what their responsibility to Him was be during the period before His return to earth.
That statement has been recorded for us by Luke. In a day of confusion with regard to the Church’s task in society, our Lord’s mandate should be carefully considered and carried out by us who profess to be His disciples.
"Witnesses" — it is that word which defines for Christ’s disciples their role and responsibility. We must not lose sight of the fact that the Holy Spirit came to equip the disciples to carry out their work of witness.
These words unfold to us and impose on us, the final directions of the Son of God as what we are to do in His absence.
I. THE STRATEGY OF OUR WITNESSING
"Ye shall be witnesses unto Me." These words give us Christ’s plan for His people in their propagation of the Gospel.
It is not a mere bickering over words to stress that Christ did not say to His disciples, "Ye shall witness about Me." Rather, He said, "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me."
The distinction between these alternatives is just this: often we think of witnessing as involving only a verbal communication of the Gospel. But that is too limited a definition of Christian witnessing. Instead, we must grasp the fact that the Lord Jesus looked upon His disciples as My witnesses in every aspect and area of their lives. Of course, that involves and includes words, but it requires much more: it comprehends the believer’s entire life.
We are not seeking to get people to accept only a creed. We are not attempting to get people intellectually convinced of the superiority of Christianity. We are concerned to show that our faith is both relevant and related to all and every phase of a person’s life. All our life, our relationships, habits, and goals should be a witness unto Him. It is not just a matter of telling; it is a matter of living.
We want people to receive Christ as the Way as well as the Truth; as a result, in life we must demonstrate and declare our witness for Christ.
II. THE SUBJECT OF OUR WITNESSING
Christ indicated the strategy of our Christian witness. He also indicated the subject of our witness. "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me." Christ, then, is the One who delegates us to be witnesses, but Christ also is the subject of our witnessing.
We are not going to inform people as to who we are or what we do. The text doesn’t tell us to do that. In John’s Gospel 1:6-9, we see that John is a witness of the right kind. He came to bear witness of the Light and Jesus Christ is that Light. John isn’t attracting people to himself. He witnessed well. He spoke well of Christ
The secret of his good witness is found in, John 3:30 where he says, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
A young preacher was called to a church which was attended by quite a number of college and university professors. After he had preached for several months, he sat down and wrote a letter to his Christian father, telling him about the problems he was having with his ministry. He said he was beginning to get nervous, and that he was not going to be able to continue his ministry, and that his problems were caused by the attendance of the college professors. He said to his father, "When I am preaching on biology, I see the biology teacher to
front of me, and I wonder if my statements are correct When I preach on science, I see the science professor, and I wonder if I have made any mistakes in my statements." He continued in this line at some length, in his letter. Then he closed by saying, "Dad, I don’t know what I am going to do. I cannot continue on with the ministry. Have you any advice to give me?"
His dad wrote him a letter, and in it just said, "Preach Jesus Christ to that crowd in front of you. They likely don’t know much about Him."
The early church was totally taken up with the message, far too often we are taken up with the methods.
III. THE SCOPE OF OUR WITNESSING
Our witness is to be global in its scope.
These words give us a principle and pattern to follow: Christ wants the whole world to be included in the witness of the Church. It is not necessary for every
generation of Christians to go to Jerusalem and work out from there the
hub of their activity. But it is necessary for every generation to extend their witness to an nations?
A rich farmer from the State of Texas once went to the airport, walked up to the ticket counter, put $500 on the counter, and said, "Sell me a ticket."
The clerk responded: "Yes, sir. Delighted to. Where to, sir?"
Whereupon the farmer replied: "It doesn’t make any difference. I’ve got business in all parts of the world."
The Church of Jesus Christ has business in all parts of the world. We must have a global vision.
They were to start where they were -at Jerusalem. But they were to be witnesses “both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” All of this was to be done at the same time. They were not merely to do the home field - Jerusalem, and then go over to Samaria. They were to do all the fields at the same time.
A. We should commence at home - family and friends
B. We should continue abroad
Should be preaching the gospel everywhere - where ever the Lord has placed you.
Christ met unbelievers where they were. He realized what many Christians today still don’t seem to understand. Soul-winners have to get out in the field. According to one count, the gospels record 132 contacts that Jesus had with people. Six were in the Temple, four in the synagogues, and 122 were out with the people in the mainstream of life.
1. In Jerusalem – evangelize their own community
2. All Judea - evangelize their own country
3. In Samaria - evangelize their own continent
4. Uttermost part of the earth - evangelize all creation
The whole world is our parish; let arise and be at it.
During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, there was a shortage of currency in the British Empire. Representatives carefully searched the nation in hopes of finding silver to meet the emergency. After one month, the committee returned with its report. "We have searched the Empire in vain seeking to find silver. To our dismay, we found none anywhere except in the cathedrals where the statues of the saints are made of choice silver."
To this, Oliver Cromwell eloquently answered, "Let’s melt down the saints and put them into circulation."
IV. THE SECRET OF OUR WITNESSING
No one can be an effective witness without the power of the Holy Spirit.
Are there conditions to be met for the experience of this power? Let a familiar story told about Evangelist D.L. Moody provide the answer. A committee of ministers in a certain city was discussing the possibility of having D.L. Moody to serve as the evangelist during a city-wide evangelistic campaign. Finally, one young minister who did not want to invite Moody stood up and said: "Why Moody? Does he have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit?"
There was silence. Then an old godly minister spoke up; "No. he does not have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on D.L. Moody."
Does the Spirit possess you wholly? Not until He does will you contribute your maximum to this matter of witnessing.
A sign at a gas station intrigued me. It read, “A clean engine always delivers power.” The Christian who yields himself heartily and holy to the Lord will have the power of the Holy Spirit upon them.
V. THE SEASON OF OUR WITNESSING
We are to be a witness for Christ until He comes again.
See II Timothy 4:2.
The good news of the gospel is too good to keep to ourselves.
Conclusion:
The mandate of our witnessing - “He said unto them.” It is not a choice but a command. It is either testify or transgress.
The medium of witnessing - “Ye”
The message of our witnessing - “unto me.” It is not about me but about Him. It is not about our church but about the Christ.
The might for witnessing - “the Holy Spirit”
The map for witnessing - “both in ...an unto”
