"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
Ummmmm....you do know Jesus is talking to us here. Not just his disciples, this is a message to all of us. When I first read this passage years and years ago, I immediately thought "There is no way I am going to a third-world country with inadequate plumbing, oppressive heat and humidity, insects of enormous size, and where drinking the local water might give me hallucinations". I am sure there's a few of us who have been there. We can come up with many excuses as to not going, very few that get us to go.
I am not saying every Christian has to go on an overseas missions trip. That's not a requirement for being a card-carrying Christian in good standing. The Lord may never call you to an overseas missions trip. He is, however, calling each of us on our own personal missions trip to be His witnesses. Look at His words "you will be my witnesses..." There is no doubt about His intentions and thoughts on that matter. It would appear that we would have no choice in this, not that we are robots or anything.
It states that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us. This is a wonderful gift. Jesus' following statement shows that once the Holy Spirit comes upon us, our reaction will be to be his witnesses. We won't be able to help ourselves. When we receive this gift, we are going to want to shout it from the rooftops.
We have received the Holy Spirit. So, why is it so hard for us to being witnesses? We let our fears, our preconceived notions, and a lack of trust to move forward. We hear the devil's lies whispering in the wind to remain silent, that we might get in trouble speaking out. I know I let all sorts of stuff get in my head which keeps me from being a better witness.
Does this mean that I will never go on an overseas missions trip? Seriously, who knows? I haven't felt God leading me in that direction as of yet. It may happen, God may one day call me to it. We will see how I respond.
A year ago, I sat with the Vineyard Church missions team that went to India back in 2011. We watched a video of their trip. To be honest, nothing I saw made me excited to ever go on a missions trip. There was so much noise, lots of people on top of each other, it looked very warm there, and cows and monkeys everywhere. They are all things that tend to be at the bottom of the list of things I enjoy.
But the thing I took away most from it was this: All of the members of the team glowed from a joy they experienced there. Sure, there were tough moments and there were inconveniences. But, they never talked of it. They talked about the amazing things they saw and heard. Not only were they blessing the people they met, they were also blessed and grew in the Lord. I have yet to meet a person who returned from a missions trip unchanged or saying these words: "Well, that sucked."
Still, we are all called to be witnesses to the ends of the Earth. This would include the next cubicle at work, the house down the street, your own family, pretty much anybody you come into contact on a daily basis.
The best part is that it doesn't require knowing the Bible word for word, or extensive experience in praying for others, or other reasons we may give to express our perceived lack of ability in being used in the kingdom of God. I know this and am quite proficient in generating a litany of excuses to God explaining to Him how wrong He is in selecting me for a particular duty. Once again, it's focusing on my own ability and not on relying on God to see me through. I am afraid to be called to give my testimony, preach a sermon, or give a prophetic word to someone. I'll be honest - those things scare me a lot. I worry that I will do it wrong, or make mistakes. This kind of fear keeps me from truly enjoying playing in the Kingdom of God. That being said, I truly believe God will one day call me to each of those things at some point. The thing I have to remember is this: God will not call me to something where He will abandon me or not provide what is needed to sustain me. Like many, I remember that some days and some days I let myself get in the way.
There are always opportunities to witness in ways that are not life-threatening. Especially here in America. But yet we fear. What if your co-worker is having a bad day and crying? Is it hard to go over and be a comfort? What about calling a relative you haven't talked to in a long time? Maybe they were lonely and your call made their day? Taking time out of your day to help someone? No, you're not preaching God, but you are being a blessing to people around you. People will see Jesus in your actions and words. Not every witness encounter ends with a person accepting Christ as their savior. It's cool when that happens, but I think sometimes we feel we failed if that doesn't happen. Sometimes, we are called to tend the garden or water the plants and not always harvest. Nothing wrong with that.
Every moment we live and breathe is an opportunity to witness for the Lord. This doesn't mean to be perfect, which we cannot achieve as we are sinful. However, our words and actions can carry weight. Opportunities to reflect Jesus in peoples' lives are everywhere.
Finally, we really don't have to search out witnessing opportunities. I have found more often than not, I am led into these moments. Even more fascinating is realizing after the fact that you were witnessing. I think it is so reassuring to know that our witness doesn't rely upon our abilities. Just take advantage of those moments. More often than not you will be surprised that the right words just come flowing out.
I don't know where you may go and be a witness. I don't know if I will end up in Brazil, India, Russia, Africa, or across the United States. Just listen and be on the lookout as your chance to witness can happen at any moment before you realize it.
Ummmmm....you do know Jesus is talking to us here. Not just his disciples, this is a message to all of us. When I first read this passage years and years ago, I immediately thought "There is no way I am going to a third-world country with inadequate plumbing, oppressive heat and humidity, insects of enormous size, and where drinking the local water might give me hallucinations". I am sure there's a few of us who have been there. We can come up with many excuses as to not going, very few that get us to go.
I am not saying every Christian has to go on an overseas missions trip. That's not a requirement for being a card-carrying Christian in good standing. The Lord may never call you to an overseas missions trip. He is, however, calling each of us on our own personal missions trip to be His witnesses. Look at His words "you will be my witnesses..." There is no doubt about His intentions and thoughts on that matter. It would appear that we would have no choice in this, not that we are robots or anything.
It states that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us. This is a wonderful gift. Jesus' following statement shows that once the Holy Spirit comes upon us, our reaction will be to be his witnesses. We won't be able to help ourselves. When we receive this gift, we are going to want to shout it from the rooftops.
We have received the Holy Spirit. So, why is it so hard for us to being witnesses? We let our fears, our preconceived notions, and a lack of trust to move forward. We hear the devil's lies whispering in the wind to remain silent, that we might get in trouble speaking out. I know I let all sorts of stuff get in my head which keeps me from being a better witness.
Does this mean that I will never go on an overseas missions trip? Seriously, who knows? I haven't felt God leading me in that direction as of yet. It may happen, God may one day call me to it. We will see how I respond.
A year ago, I sat with the Vineyard Church missions team that went to India back in 2011. We watched a video of their trip. To be honest, nothing I saw made me excited to ever go on a missions trip. There was so much noise, lots of people on top of each other, it looked very warm there, and cows and monkeys everywhere. They are all things that tend to be at the bottom of the list of things I enjoy.
But the thing I took away most from it was this: All of the members of the team glowed from a joy they experienced there. Sure, there were tough moments and there were inconveniences. But, they never talked of it. They talked about the amazing things they saw and heard. Not only were they blessing the people they met, they were also blessed and grew in the Lord. I have yet to meet a person who returned from a missions trip unchanged or saying these words: "Well, that sucked."
Still, we are all called to be witnesses to the ends of the Earth. This would include the next cubicle at work, the house down the street, your own family, pretty much anybody you come into contact on a daily basis.
The best part is that it doesn't require knowing the Bible word for word, or extensive experience in praying for others, or other reasons we may give to express our perceived lack of ability in being used in the kingdom of God. I know this and am quite proficient in generating a litany of excuses to God explaining to Him how wrong He is in selecting me for a particular duty. Once again, it's focusing on my own ability and not on relying on God to see me through. I am afraid to be called to give my testimony, preach a sermon, or give a prophetic word to someone. I'll be honest - those things scare me a lot. I worry that I will do it wrong, or make mistakes. This kind of fear keeps me from truly enjoying playing in the Kingdom of God. That being said, I truly believe God will one day call me to each of those things at some point. The thing I have to remember is this: God will not call me to something where He will abandon me or not provide what is needed to sustain me. Like many, I remember that some days and some days I let myself get in the way.
There are always opportunities to witness in ways that are not life-threatening. Especially here in America. But yet we fear. What if your co-worker is having a bad day and crying? Is it hard to go over and be a comfort? What about calling a relative you haven't talked to in a long time? Maybe they were lonely and your call made their day? Taking time out of your day to help someone? No, you're not preaching God, but you are being a blessing to people around you. People will see Jesus in your actions and words. Not every witness encounter ends with a person accepting Christ as their savior. It's cool when that happens, but I think sometimes we feel we failed if that doesn't happen. Sometimes, we are called to tend the garden or water the plants and not always harvest. Nothing wrong with that.
Every moment we live and breathe is an opportunity to witness for the Lord. This doesn't mean to be perfect, which we cannot achieve as we are sinful. However, our words and actions can carry weight. Opportunities to reflect Jesus in peoples' lives are everywhere.
Finally, we really don't have to search out witnessing opportunities. I have found more often than not, I am led into these moments. Even more fascinating is realizing after the fact that you were witnessing. I think it is so reassuring to know that our witness doesn't rely upon our abilities. Just take advantage of those moments. More often than not you will be surprised that the right words just come flowing out.
I don't know where you may go and be a witness. I don't know if I will end up in Brazil, India, Russia, Africa, or across the United States. Just listen and be on the lookout as your chance to witness can happen at any moment before you realize it.
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