Acts 1:8 (ESV)
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.
Do you love to tell your friends about your favorite team
or movie? Perhaps, but talking about Jesus seems hard for many Christians.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells his disciples they will be filled
with the Holy Spirit, which was their signal that they witness “to the ends of
the earth.”
So, did the disciples immediately set off to witness? No.
They hang around the Temple in Jerusalem for the next seven chapters until Acts
8:1.
It took persecution to wake them up. The persecution starts
in Acts 8:1, and many disciples are driven to the ends of the earth.
Now, God is omnipotent so he could have stopped the
persecution. Also, he is omniscient, so he could have warned the believers.
Instead, God allowed them to be driven out of Jerusalem.
Within a few years, these handful of believing disciples
turned the Roman Empire from the most debauched and cruel empire to a civilized
community of law. It wasn’t the power of man. It was the power of God for the
work of witnessing.
The disciples didn’t have to change anyone. Only the Holy
Spirit can change hearts. For the disciples—for you and me—we merely need to
obey Jesus Christ’s command. God will empower you to do it.
Consider the movie “God’s Not Dead 2.” Grace Wesley, a
public-school teacher, keeps her faith to herself, until she’s asked a question
by a student that demanded an honest answer about Jesus. Answering honestly,
Grace faces severe persecution and has to find the power of God’s grace to
stand up and witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Like Grace, Jesus tells us we will be empowered to be his
witnesses.
How? By trusting Jesus and asking the Holy Spirit to
empower you to witness. Trust, then tell everyone that Jesus Christ came to set
you, me and them free to live an abundant, eternal life with our Divine
Creator.
Dear Lord, we love You and thank You for forgiving us and
transforming my life. Sometimes we do not go forth to tell others about Your
Good News. Please have Your Holy Spirit empower us to go into all the world to
be Your witness throughout our life. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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