HoHum:
We are uncomfortable with the word witness- mainly because there is another group out there who has overtaken the word. They are the same group who claim to be the 144,000 talked about in chapter 7 of Revelation. Much of that group’s theology comes from misunderstandings of the end times, of Revelation. My main gripe with them is that they mess with Jesus. John 1:1- “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In their Bible it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” They have also taken over going door to door witnessing. If we went door to door people might think we are from this group. Flip Wilson once quipped, “I’m a Jehovah’s Bystander. They invited me to be a Witness, but I didn’t want to get involved.” Preacher might say in a sermon, “Can I get a witness? Or Can I get someone to testify?”
WBTU:
Transliteration of the Greek word “witness” in Revelation 11:3 is martus from which we get the English word martyr (see how this applies in a few minutes). A witness is one who may be called to testify to an event. Evangelist is a cousin word to being a witness. An evangelist is someone who proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Who is an evangelist? Everyone who is a Christian but many confine this word to the one who preaches to a local congregation- find this in NT in some places. Even so, every Christian must be a witness- not just preachers.
Witnessing is not an option- we bear testimony all the time. Evangelism is a term used to refer to the preaching of the Gospel. It comes from the same Greek word for gospel and means, literally, “gospeling.” When we evangelize we are “gospeling” — we are spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Enough about definitions of Christian words. Our mission is to love people and lead them to a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Thomas Rainer- 7 things google tells us about evangelism in US from 1998 to 2016
1. We are steadily losing interest in evangelism over time
2. Church members are losing interest in evangelism
3. Ministers and staff are losing interest in evangelism
4. American churches are among the worst in evangelism
5. Churches not doing evangelism will decline in health
6. Church members are much more likely to criticize rather than evangelize
Okay, enough of the preliminaries. Last week went over the 6 trumpets that sounded in Revelation 8 and 9. Read earlier the sounding of the 7th trumpet at end of chapter 11. Much like the opening of the 7 seals we have an interlude between the 6th and the 7th trumpet. This pause reminds us of our responsibility to witness. The 6 trumpets picture a terrible lost world and a terrible coming judgment; someone must speak up, someone must warn, someone must call the world to repentance and point them to salvation. Who is that someone? It’s the church.
Revelation 10 and 11 contains many things above my pay grade but want to focus on 2 things here: 1. Revelation 10:9-11 with John and the little scroll. 2. The 2 witnesses of Revelation 11:3-12. Notice their activity: all 3 are commanded to speak the message of God. Who exactly are the 2 witnesses? Unsure but we have some clues. Read Revelation 11:3-4. The olive tree symbolizes Israel, the OT people of God, while the lamp stand pictures the church, the NT people of God. Read Revelation 11:5-6. They have the power of Moses “to turn the waters into blood” and the power of Elijah “to shut up the sky.” These 2 are no longer present on the earth but if I was guessing, I’d say these 2 witnesses represent the Spirit empowered church of God. What is that power to be used for? To proclaim God’s truth. We the church are called to speak God’s message to the world. Too often, the American church wants to delegate that task to hired personnel and are content to sit on the sidelines cheering them on. The fact is: this is not an invitation, it is a command- Matthew 28:18-20. Church, we got into the ministry when we got out of the baptistry, and we must see ourselves as witnesses. I like the lady who, when asked about her job, said, “Oh, I’m a missionary… cleverly disguised as a grocery store clerk.” No matter our vocation, we are all missionaries. Most effective missionaries are ordinary Christians.
What exactly does Revelation 10-11 tells us about this call to witness? At least 3 things
Thesis: We are to witness from God’s Word, witness through hard suffering, and witness with great urgency
For instances:
1. Witness from God’s Word- Revelation 10:9-11 (Read it)
John, like Ezekiel before him, eats the scroll and it tastes like honey. God’s Word is sweet, and to a hungry world, the good news of God’s grace is a welcome taste. When we witness, we are always wise to point people straight to the Bible. Scripture has transforming power. I’m reminded of this most when I’m preaching a bad sermon. This series is really stretching me. Going into uncharted territory- never preached on this before in my 29 years of preaching. Never know if a sermon will be a dud and seldom used Scriptures cause extra concern. Despite my best effort, end up serving a dud. Preacher friend who gave a poor sermon from his estimation. Shaking people out and they said, “Nice sermon. Nice job.” One honest lady said, “Nice try.” During my “nice try” sermons, I just want to get done quickly, go home and try to do better next week. But God, in his great sense of humor, sometimes gives me the best response to my worst sermons- just to remind me it’s not about me. As the invitation hymn is sung (believe, repent, confess, baptized), people come down the aisle! Decisions are being made. A lady is shaking my hand, saying, “You have no idea how that touched me.” I’m thinking, “You are right. I have no idea how that touched you.” My oldest sons made a decision based on a message from Jeremiah (the Lord can do amazing things through hard material). As ineffective as my words are, if I’ve been faithful to Scripture, God’s Word is still effective. In Isaiah 55:11, God says, “my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hired new full time chaplain at hospice and one of the first things he did was download Blue Letter Bible on his tablet. Often uses it.
2. Witness through hard suffering
When John tastes the scroll, it is sweet, but when he swallows God’s message, it is bitter (10:10). This is evidence that some hate to hear the truth. Karl Marx said religion was the opiate of the masses, a sedative to make them feel better. Tim Keller says this, “Christianity is by no means the opiate of the people. It’s more like the smelling salts.” The gospel rouses those who hear it from their self centered dreams and awakens them to the awful reality of their sinfulness. Just as smelling salts are hard to take, God’s truth is sometimes unwelcomed. As someone said, “If you try to be the light of the world, you’re going to attract a few bugs.” Just ask the 2 witnesses in chapter 11. Read Revelation 11:7-10. God’s messengers should get hazard pay. Prophets have always had a high mortality rate, and no one would give life insurance to an apostle. With the exception of a few (like John) they end up dead prematurely for preaching God’s truth. When we faithfully proclaim God’s message, we too will face hostility. Sometimes, in the interest of keeping the peace, we can be tempted to keep silent. Nobody wants to be seen as intolerant or judgmental. It’s easier just to keep quiet. But as one African American preacher put it, “The church must be prophetic, or it will be pathetic.” Which is why we need these words in Revelation. Notice: John doesn’t write as much to instruct us in witnessing as much as to inspire us to witnessing. No more slick presentations, no more tracts (tho that might be helpful at times), no more memorized speeches. Took a training to volunteer for hospice and read a book called, “My Gift/ Myself”. Wonderful material but that main thought is that we are the only Bible that many will ever read, we are the only Jesus that many will ever see. The best thing (and often the only thing) that we take into a visit is ourself. We have plenty of information, we just lack courage. Richard Wurmbrand was a pastor in Romania behind the Iron Curtain, arrested in 1948 and tortured for 14 years because of his faith in Christ. In his book Tortured for Christ, he wrote, “It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners… It was understood that whoever was caught doing this received a severe beating. But a number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their terms. It was a deal: we preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching; they were happy beating us- so everyone was happy.” Wow, how many sufferings do I endure- very little! If they paid the price for faithfulness, surely I can speak up for Christ to my neighbor.
3. Witness with great urgency- Revelation 11:11-12 (Read it)
God miraculously raises the 2 witnesses from the dead, perhaps picturing our own resurrection at the end of time, because when the 7th trumpet blows we are brought to the end of the world. The time for our witness is short. Reminds me of my neighbor and friend Jimmy during my high school years. Did not hang around Jimmy on the weekends- wild parties. During the week we had the unfortunate privilege of riding on the bus together. First ones on in the morning and the last ones off in the evening. Spent time together and I like to laugh so often laughing. One time Jimmy turned to me and said, “You don’t drink, you don’t cuss, you don’t hang around loose women but yet you manage to have a good time and are often laughing. What is your secret?” The HS nudged me to say something about my faith in Christ. Instead I said, “Oh, I’m just a naturally happy person.” Say him a few years after high school and shared that I was studying to be a minister. Jimmy was unimpressed. After a few minutes of small talk, Jimmy left. I was told after a few more years he died from drugs. What if I had said something about Christ when the time was ripe. Left off #7 from list given by Thomas Rainer. #7- The evangelism problem begins with me. Colossians 4:5: Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
