But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
We are called to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. A character witness is someone who can testify about a person based on their relationship with them. Jesus was not speaking about a character witness, He was speaking about an eye witness. An eye witness is one who has seen the action of the individual in the moment of their accusation. Jesus is calling us to be a witness of His present relationship with us and the present vision of who He is. Jesus is asking us to be witnesses to Him. In order to be an effective eye witness, we must have a relationship with Him.
Jesus command the disciples to be witnesses and to be in place of empowerment. Our eyes need to be open if we are going to be eyewitnesses. The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has created them both (Proverbs 20:12). We need to be intimate with Jesus and to meditate upon His word. From that place, we are then able to hear and to see. The eye is the part of the body that receives light. It is a lamp.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. 1 Corinthians 12:7
The Holy Spirit wants to manifest Himself through us. He has given us particular gifts to bless the body (1 Corinthians 12). There are four of these gifts that are used as revelatory gifts. They are the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, prophecy and the discerning of spirits.
Correcting the motivation of why we are call witnesses
Christians are dead to being a witness because their motivation is wrong. Jesus is the One who saves men not us. He asked us to go and disciple men, not to save then. We are called serve and to be servants. Our gifts have been given to us to serve, to benefit others and to glorify Jesus.
Observing the simulation
In the Greek, ‘word’ is referred to as ‘logos’ and ‘rhema’. Logos refers to the written word of God, the Bible. Rhema speaks of the word coming alive and being applicable to our lives. Out of the rhema word comes fruitfulness, breakthrough, abundance and answers.
Readying our ammunition
A word of wisdom brings solutions. It is an instant revelation from the mind of God that brings instructions.
14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” 16 So they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him. Mark 12:14-17
The word of knowledge brings conviction.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” John 1:47-49
24 Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!” 25 But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. 26 For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.” 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” 29 And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.” Acts 26:24-29
Prophecy brings direction. It is the revelation of God’s heart, will and intent to man through man.
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:4-8
The discernment of spirits brings clarification. When we have discernment, we are able to teat and determine the origin, motive and intent of spirits. It exposes whether something is devilish, divine or of human origin.
Prepare for demonstration
– Before engaging in the field, we must engage in the fold. We need to be equipped and empowered before we evangelize as we can bring change and transformation to the lives of others.
– You must be spiritual.
– Keep it simple and be open to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
– Be socially involved with others, as opposed to being socially absolved. You need to be sensitive to the Spirit of God.
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