By: Dale Weckbacher
Acts 1:8
But you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth.”
(ESV)
When we find a good restaurant,
we do not hesitate in telling our friends about it. However, when it comes to telling others
about what Jesus means to us, we can often clam up and remain silent. With Jesus’ final words before ascending to
be with God the Father being a calling to all believers to spread the message
of the Gospel and make disciples (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20), we must determine why we remain silent when the
opportunity presents itself to share the Gospel. Some obstacles to being a personal witness for
God are,
1) Having
someone ask a tough theological question (1
Peter 3:15) – It does not take a
great theologian to be a witness for the Lord for the Church turned its world
upside down with a group of twelve non-theologians (Acts
17:6). This proves that it is not the
eloquence of speech or great biblical knowledge that attracts people to want to
know Christ, but the change they see in our lives because of our relationship
with Christ. Peter experienced a radical
change in his life going from denier to bold evangelist in 50 days (Acts
2:14-41; Matthew 26:69-75). Others
saw this transformation in not only Peter but others and wanted what the
disciples had. Peters later writing in 1
Peter 3:15 is no doubt a result of seeing how people witnessed the
transformation in his life wanted to experience the same transformation in
their lives. The role of theology in a
believer’s life is as a catalyst for bringing life transformation that shines
as a light of witness to a dark world and not something to use pridefully bringing
attention to ourselves. Theology becomes
powerful in a believer’s life when it becomes something lived by and not just academic
words.
2) Feeling
weak and insignificant (Acts
1:8) – The life transformation of the Apostle Peter from one denying Christ
(Matthew
26:69-75) to one boldly standing before a crowd (Acts
2:14-41), some of whom called for Jesus’ crucifixion, is a threefold
process. First came repentance of his
denial of Christ (Matthew
26:75). Peter then professed his
faith in Jesus three times, once for each denial, when he encountered the risen
Lord receiving full justification with the Lord (John
21:15-17). Peter then, along with 119
others, received empowerment through the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts
2:1-12). Like Peter, believers in
Christ must experience all three parts of the process for empowerment in their
lives to be witnesses for Christ. However,
the controversy over the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a source of controversy
within the Church, causing some to skip this step in the process creating
feelings of weakness and insignificance.
Jesus cautioned His followers against skipping this step in the process
in Acts
1:4. We should look at the baptism
of the Holy Spirit as one sitting in a room with a wall socket, holding some
electronic device in their hand. If they
do not plug the device into the wall socket, the device does not have the power
to operate. Those that have repented of
their sins and received justification by the grace of God (Ephesians
2:8) have the message of the Gospel in their hands with a calling to spread
that message (Mark
16:15). However, if they do not plug
themselves into the power source of the Holy Spirit in their lives, they will be
weak and ineffective. It is this
weakness and ineffectiveness that leads to feeling insignificant. I urge all believers reading this to plug
into the power source of the Holy Spirit in their lives so they can become
powerful and effective witnesses for Christ in how they live and what they say.
3) Fear
of rejection (Psalms
118:5-6; 2 Timothy 1:7) – Rejection is a fact in life but fearing rejection
is not from God (2
Timothy 1:7). Jesus is familiar with
rejection, even by God the Father (Matthew
27:46), and yet fearlessly went to the cross to forgive our sins (2
Corinthians 5:21). One thing believer’s
in Christ can depend upon is that God will never reject them for the Lord has
promised never to leave us (Hebrews
13:5). Fear is not from God and God
has promised never to leave us so there is no reason to fear rejection from
people (Psalm
118:5-6).
We live in a dark world full of
conflict and immorality. This is why it
is imperative for believers in Christ to be like Peter and allow God to
transform them and embolden them by the power of the Holy Spirit so they, like
Peter, can boldly stand up for godliness.
However, this is not just about speaking out for being a witness for
Christ is more about how one, as a Christian, lives their life. The world needs to see godly people living
godly lives that provide an example to follow, using words when the opportunity
presents itself. 1
Peter 3:15 speaks of being ready to defend the hope we have in Christ as
this indicates someone wanting to have that hope themselves. However, to have that hope we must prepare through
repenting of sins, accepting Christ for justification, and most importantly, allowing
the Holy Spirit to empower us. Please
continue to pray with me for revival to sweep across this world as believers in
Christ allow the light of the Gospel to shine and be a witness in their
lives. May God bless everyone reading
this post.
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