Good morning everyone!
This morning, we’ll look at the book of Acts 1:8 and the message is entitled Empowered to Witness.
In 2007 the Cleveland Cavaliers were led by basketball mega-star LeBron James. In conjunction with Nike, the team rolled out the slogan “We Are All Witnesses.” The message was actually messianic, though it was not entirely prophetic. Because, the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA title that year.
I know not everyone is a fan of the NBA. So, not everyone is a witness to the professional basketball’s greatest players. And not everyone is a witness to the league’s greatest moments. But for Christians, we are all witnesses. We are witnesses of who Jesus Christ is, and what He has done in our lives.
In our text today, Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “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.” These are the last words of Jesus before He ascended into heaven. To understand the context of this verse, we need to begin in v. 6 where the disciples were asking Jesus a final question. They said,“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
This was a question they have asked Jesus many times before. They were concerned only about the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. But, the kingdom Jesus was envisioning and announcing to them was much bigger than that. It was the kingdom of God, which does not have physical or time boundaries. So, Jesus responded in v. 7 by saying, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” And He continued in v. 8, “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.”
Brothers and sisters, there are two foundational truths in this verse that we must understand and apply as followers of Jesus Christ.
First, we must understand that…
We Have Been Empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8a)
In the first part of the verse, Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” Now by this time, Jesus had already commissioned His disciples and given them the task of making disciples of all nations. Yet, He knew that this was an impossible task for them to accomplish on their own. So, He promised to send them all the power that they would need to accomplish the task. The word "power" here means "to be able," or "to have strength.”
Now the question is… When did the Holy Spirit come on them or when did they receive that power? In Acts 1:4-5 - Jesus gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The gift that Jesus commanded His disciples to wait for, which was promised by God the Father, is the “gift of the Holy Spirit." And the “baptism with the Holy Spirit” btw, is not an individual experience after a person’s salvation. It was a collective event that occurred once in history.
It was on the Day of Pentecost when Jesus simultaneously baptized ALL believers with the Holy Spirit into His body. In Acts 2:4 it says, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.” In other words, the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples on the Day of Pentecost. Likewise, we all have been empowered by the Holy Spirit.
So, it was on the Day of Pentecost, the disciples received power which was promised by Jesus in Acts 1:8: “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” Jesus was basically telling His disciples, "Though you have been with Me for 3 years, it is not enough that you have heard Me teach the multitudes, you have seen Me heal the sick, and even raise the dead. Now, you need to be empowered with the Holy Spirit in order to be effective and fruitful as My witnesses throughout the world.”
Application
Brothers and sisters, apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing. We have no capacity to influence people for Christ. All our efforts will be in vain if we are not empowered by the Holy Spirit. Though the Holy Spirit dwells in us or takes permanent residence in our hearts when we first believe, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit as a way of life. But, we often neglect our spiritual maintenance. Although we have been filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to be refilled. When the greatest evangelist of the nineteenth century, D. L. Moody, was asked why he said he needed to be filled continually with the Holy Spirit, he replied, “Because I leak!” Like Moody, we all run out of gas and need the power of the Holy Spirit to recharge our lives.
Now, you may be thinking how can I be filled with the Holy Spirit? According to Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru), we are filled by the Holy Spirit by faith. In his popular booklet, ‘How You Can Be Filled With the Holy Spirit,’ he talks about four steps to being filled with the Holy Spirit:
Sincerely desire to be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Confess your sins, and receive forgiveness.
Surrender every area of your life to our Lord Jesus Christ.
By faith, claim the fullness of the Holy Spirit, according to:
His Command in Ephesians 5:18 - “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
His Promise in 1 John 5:14-15 - “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”
Since prayer is one way of expressing our faith. Here is a suggested prayer by Dr. Bill Bright that you can pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The prayer goes like this: "Dear Father, I need You. I acknowledge that I have been directing my own life and that, as a result, I have sinned against You. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ's death on the cross for me. I now invite Christ to again take His place of authority on the throne of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled, and as You promised in Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith. I now thank You for directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit.” Amen!
Brothers and sisters, by faith, let us be filled with the Holy Spirit as a way of life, and receive supernatural power to be His witnesses.
The second foundational truth that we must apply as followers of Jesus Christ is that …
2. We Are To Be God’s Witnesses Everywhere (Acts 1:8b)
In the second part of the verse Jesus said, “and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The dictionary defines the word ‘witness’ as the “one who has seen or heard something” and “one who furnishes evidence.” A witness is someone who can say, “I know this is true.” In a court of law, a witness swears on a Bible and promises to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Witnesses tell the truth, and if they are good witnesses, that is all they do. A witness tells nothing less than the truth - and nothing more either.
Jesus tells the disciples that they will be His witnesses. Though this is not a command (imperative), it is expected (indicative). Jesus expected His disciples to go into a world where people did not know about Him, and to give a truthful account of what they had seen, heard, and experienced. Since they had witnessed His perfect life, teachings, suffering, death, burial, and resurrection (Luke 24:48; Acts 1–5), they were to go out and give a truthful testimony about Him.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is expecting all of us, His disciples, to do the same. We are to testify to the truth about Jesus and how He has changed our lives. Every Christian is part of God’s mission in the world.
In addition to our testimony, we should show Christ through our actions. We are His witnesses and therefore must speak and live so that others will glorify God when they hear our message and see our faith in action.
Illustration
When I was serving as a missionary in Malaysia in 2005, I witnessed an incident where a person, who was mentally disordered, committed suicide. It was a shocking experience that was compounded by what followed. As one of the witnesses, I spent the next several weeks telling investigators and police officers what I had seen. I was not expected to explain the details of the mental condition of the person. I was asked to tell only what I had witnessed. So, I told them what I saw.
Brothers and sisters, as followers of Christ, we are called to be witnesses of what Jesus has done in our lives. Btw, to point people to Christ, we don’t need to be able to explain every theological issue or answer every question. What we are expected to do is to simply explain what we have experienced in our own lives. But, this has been a challenge for us because we have become content with being keepers of the aquarium rather than being fishers of men.
Brothers and sisters, let us be Christ’s witnesses. Nobody can be a better witness concerning your life than you. Since no one else can tell your story of how you came to Christ; sharing your story is your mission. Each of us are expected to share with others how Christ has changed our lives. And that’s what being a witness is all about.
Now the question is…Where should we go to witness?
Jerusalem - Our family, neighbors, and work associates with whom we have regular contact in our daily activities. In addition, we speak their language and know their culture. So, this should be the most natural place for us to start sharing what Christ has done for us.
Judea - These are people in our socio-economic and ethnic group that are not in our immediate network of relationships. They could be our co-workers, neighbors, fellow club members, other parents whose kids are in the same school, etc. We need to share Christ with them.
Samaria - These are people whose lifestyle, culture, or economic standing is different that ours. But, we should not content ourselves with reaching out only to those who are like us. We must also seek to reach those who are not like us.
Ends of the Earth - We might be intimidated when we consider the challenge of going to the “ends of the earth” to share the Good News. But by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is possible for us to be involved in reaching the ends of the earth for Christ. E.g. Technology.
Application
There was a survey done recently, which was quoted by the BBC, found out that 39 per cent of the people are more in touch with their friends and family during this global pandemic. Many of them mentioned in the survey that their conversations are going deeper than usual. Brothers and sisters, people are more spiritually hungry than ever. So, let us take this as an opportunity for us to be God’s witnesses to our family and friends. Let us be intentional in spending more time (virtually) with family and friends who are not believers yet.
Since people are still under some form of lockdown or restriction of physical movement, so this is a great time for us to share the Gospel with them. Let us make use of technology and social media to reach out to our friends and family, and share the Gospel with those in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even those who are in the other parts of the world. We hope and pray that many of our family and friends will testify in the future saying, “I became Christian during COVID-19.”
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is expecting all of us to be His witnesses, and He specifies the power by which we must do this. The Holy Spirit is the source of that power. So, we need to make sure that we are constantly filled with the Holy Spirit to be God’s witnesses.
Reflection Questions:
How are you experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in your life right now?
When was the last conversation you had with a non-Christian family member or a friend concerning Jesus?
What can you do this week to be God’s witness?
Two things we have learned today from Acts 1:8:
1. We Have Been Empowered by the Holy Spirit, so
2. We Are To Be God’s Witnesses Everywhere
Brothers and sisters, since we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit, let us be God’s witnesses wherever we are.
Let us pray!
