Acts 1:3,8; 2:1-4,32-44
Our 20th Anniversary was a wonderful, Spirit-filled day – Now Jesus wants
the Spirit to light a fire in us to be his witness!
At Pentecost, the disciples and 120 others are filled with the fire of the
Holy Spirit, and spill into the street, filled with excitement for
witnessing for Jesus.
Jesus calls us to be on-fire witnesses – So that others will know The Truth!
In a trial, witnesses make a promise to God to tell the truth, so a decision
can be made about someone’s fate. As Christians, we make that promise to be
witnesses to the truth about Jesus.
We have been given the gift of the life-changing fire of the Truth of Jesus
to give to others. But so often we do not go outside of our Christians
friends to non-Christians to be his witness. Ask yourself: Do you believe
the truth that Jesus is the Son of God; he died to take away our sins; he
offers us Abundant Life now, and Eternal Life someday? If so, do you also
believe his command that we do for others as we want done for us…as
someone has done for us when they witnessed his truth to us? Do you believe
there is someone you know who needs to know his truth?
If you had cancer, and someone told you how they were cured by a new
treatment; if you are cured, you would not keep it to yourself; you would
tell someone else who has cancer. The Good News of Jesus is even better than
a cure for cancer – He not only heals our brokenness now, he opens the door
to an eternally-healed life with him!
And Jesus calls us to be on-fire witnesses – So that others will want The
Truth! The most effective witnesses show by their words, body-language, and
what comes out on cross-examination that they deeply believe what they say.
The jury is drawn to them, and make their decision based on their testimony.
Like those first Believers, Jesus wants to be so on fire for him, so that
people see it in our lives and want it for themselves. We are to be like the
gold miners, who could not keep their new discovery secret, because others
saw “the joy on their faces.”
If our life is on fire like that, we can draw people to Jesus anywhere – as
our daughter Shannon did in Beijing, as she helped in a center for
prostitutes brought from the streets. They saw the joy, love, and kindness
in her life; they came to trust her; ultimately, one woman began asking what
helped her be that way…leading to being baptized, as others looked on and
began to ask…
There is much at stake, which is why Jesus calls us to be on-fire witnesses
– So that others will be changed…and saved! We are surrounded by others
whose lives are in chains, who live in darkness, struggle in storms…family
members, co-workers, fellow students, neighbors, people we see but do not
pay attention to.
We concluded with the video, “It’s Your Turn,” the story of a waitress that
“Christian families” saw every week, but did not take time to know, and
offer Jesus to fill her emptiness, heal her brokenness.
(https://skitguys.com/videos/
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