Morning Moments

Matthew 28:18 (KJV)
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Acts 1:8 (KJV)
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The words translated power in these two verse are different. The first verse has to do with authority and the second with strength. The first indicates power to rule, but the second indicates strength to witness.

With this understanding, we can see that the strength, courage, boldness, power to be a witness of Jesus Christ comes from the Holy Spirit within us, whereas our authority to do so comes from the one of whom we witness. A witness is simply one who testifies to what he/she knows and has seen.

The early Church did not pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, they prayed to be bold witnesses of Jesus Christ. His promise is for our strength to do it, but He is the One who sends us out to do it.

It has always bothered me that so few people who call themselves Christians actually are witnesses of Jesus. I think the problem is twofold: In the first place, we must understand that the One who sends us to do it has ALL authority, so if we do it and are not received, those who resist or refuse are resisting and refusing HIS authority, not ours. In the second place, those of us who know Him get the strength, courage, boldness, or power to witness from Him. We have not been given the spirit of timidity, but of love, power, and sound mind. So when I become what I can only become IN Christ, then I can do what He enables me to do FOR Christ. That is the purpose of being filled with the Spirit.

Sometimes, but not often that witness is rejected, but we must understand that is not our business, it is His.

Look at the experience of D. L. Moody - One night in Chicago, many years ago, when I was on my way home, I saw a man leaning against a lamp-post. Stepping up to him, and placing my hand on his shoulder, I said—
"Are you a Christian?"
The man flew into a rage, doubled up his fist, and I thought he was going to pitch me into the gutter.
I said, "I'm very sorry if I've offended you, but I thought I was asking a proper question."
"Mind your own business," he roared.
"That is my business," I answered.
About three months later, on a bitter cold morning, about daybreak, some one knocked at my door.
"Who's there?" I asked.
A stranger answered, and I said, "What do you want?"
"I want to become a Christian," was the reply.
I opened the door, and, to my astonishment, there was the man who had cursed me for talking to him as he leaned against the lamp-post.
He said, "I'm very sorry. I haven't had any peace since that night. Your words have haunted and troubled me. I couldn't sleep last night, and I thought I'd come and get you to pray for me."
That man accepted Christ, and the moment he had done so asked—
"What can I do for Him?"
He taught in the Sabbath school until the Civil War broke out, when he enlisted, and was one of the first to be shot down, but not before he had given a ringing testimony for God. Anecdotes, Incidents and Illustrations.

Not very long ago, I was on a flight to Nicaragua. There were a couple of different groups of high school and college kids on the plane with Leaders on a mission effort. I stopped by a couple that I thought was part of the group. I leaned over and asked (thinking they were leaders), "Does anybody here love Jesus", to which the guy replied, "Just keep walking". I quickly said, "Oh I apologize, I thought you were leaders of one of the mission groups on board." The same kind of experience in witness that Moody had. The seed had been sown and God will do the rest. Always be polite and never pushy.

It is not up to me to save anybody, but it is my responsibility Biblically to let folks know who saved me. That is all that a witness does by speaking of things we do know and testifying of that which we have seen. If someone is offended, we are not to be reactive, be lovingingly and respectfully responsive. The results of our witness is up to God, but the responsibility of doing it is up to us. I do it everywhere I go as God guides and opens doors and I have never been hit, shot at, spat on, or anything else other than asked to "move on" and that in no way offends me. He who has sent us to witness also gives us wisdom in our doing it.

BLESSINGS!