To Be a Witness, a Lifestyle…预览

Witnessing is clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit

REFLECTIONS:

Read Acts 1:8 and 4:23-31 and take a moment to respond to the following questions:

➤God has put His power within us so that we can be witnesses. What were the signs that accompanied the testimony of Jesus during His earthly ministry and that of His disciples?

➤What will be the signs that will accompany my testimony (John 14:12), and how can I live it?

This verse in John 14:12 is so extraordinary that it seems crazy some biblical commentators have tried to explain it by saying these bigger things were the sum of what the Church was going to accomplish globally. This is not the case. Put your faith in action and believe what Jesus has promised. You are called to accomplish greater things than He did because He ascended to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit to give you His power! Testimony is not only a lifestyle, but we have a partner, the Holy Spirit. He is the One who touches hearts to liberate the life of Christ and His power.

Acts 1:8 reminds us of the importance of receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. It was so essential that Jesus appeared specifically to two of His disciples who were in the process of going away and called them back to Jerusalem (cf. Luke 24:13-33). It is the same for us today. We need to be clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit to live the life of witnesses to which Jesus has called us. In the text of Acts chapter 4, we see these first disciples prayed together and asked God for the assurance and audacity to witness. They also asked that wonders and signs accompany their testimony because God’s kingdom is not a question of words but of power (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:20). We will spend an entire chapter looking at living in the miraculous.

To come back to the prayer of His disciples, God answered them, and the place they gathered to pray began to shake. It wasn’t simply approving their request but also pushing them to go out of where they were because nobody wanted to stay inside a shaking building. This reminds us of the importance of getting out of our comfort and security zones to be witnesses who experience the power of God. God wants to see us witness, and He is always ready to manifest His power to accompany our testimony. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine the Holy Spirit in the starting blocks in heaven, ready to act. He is only waiting for one thing: that you witness!

When we talk about the power of the Holy Spirit, we can understand:

- God gives the ability. He makes us able to do things we wouldn’t have been able to naturally. Peter would never have preached as he had on the Day of Pentecost if God hadn’t made him capable. God comes to liberate His power to propel us further when we do our part.

- God gives the power. He gave His power to the disciple at a precise moment for a specific task- healing the sick or proclaiming God’s Word. This is what Peter experienced when he said to the paralytic man, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” (Acts 3:6). That is what being filled with the Holy Spirit is, and it is a reality for us today, so live it!

- God gives the understanding. The power of the Holy Spirit allows us to speak in a way that touches hearts. He inspires our words. The Holy Spirit knows how to touch the heart of His listeners. We will come back to speaking in tongues and the importance in your life of discipleship.

- God gives signs and wonders. God uses flames of fire or the sound of a rushing wind to get people’s attention. God is always there to get our attention and confirm His Word through signs and wonders. When we witness to others about Christ and the miracle of meeting Jesus one day, God uses signs and wonders to allow us to expect something will happen, just as the 3,000 saw at Pentecost.

Put your life at His disposition by developing an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit to receive His power and expect the miraculous when you start to witness. You’ll see, you’ll be surprised.

MY DECISION:

➤What I have understood for my personal life:

➤ What I am deciding for my life based on what I have just learned:

➤ What you decide today will determine who and what you will be tomorrow!

Adapted from “un disciple en marche” copyright 2018 by Luc Favre, published by Vie Victorieuse. All rights reserved.