13.10 Power to be witnesses

When the disciples were given the great commission, Jesus said that they had to first receive empowerment before they could share the gospel message (Acts 1:4-8). Today, we should not run off to fulfill the great commission without first receiving His empowerment.

Jesus tells us to receive power to be witnesses through the baptism in the Spirit (Acts 1:8). We need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus wants us to “be witnesses” which is more than simply to “do witnessing”.

A sister was sharing in our meeting earlier about how she had struggled to “do witnessing” as a Christian because she didn’t feel like a victorious Christian. She didn’t feel empowered and God wasn’t real. The secret is not in “doing” but in “being”.

To be a witness, it has to be by the power of the Holy Spirit that transforms us from within through the reality of Jesus.

As a witness, our lives reflect Jesus and doing witnessing will flow naturally as part of our daily lives. Our lives speak louder than our words. We are an epistle of Christ for the world to read (2 Cor 3:2-3).

To be an effective witness, our lives should be a living testimony of the reality of Christ. The Bible says that our lives are an epistle of Christ for the world to read. We display His fruit and we experience His power. Our experiences can be shared as testimonies.

Personal testimonies are a powerful witness of Christ’s reality and love. When we share our testimonies, the devil will be defeated. Rev 12:11 says, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”