“and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” – Acts 1:8
The Book of Acts Shows how the apostles went into the world to be witnesses. They had a message to proclaim which they knew to be true from personal experiences, a message which they regarded as a matter of life and death to all humankind, and a message which they were ready to proclaim come what may.
So….WHAT? What is it that WE must know if WE are to fulfill OUR mission as WITNESSES ? It is, of course, the knowledge of Jesus Christ. That is to say, “witnesses of me” as well as “witnesses for me.” Our task as a Christian witness is to TELL others about Jesus Christ and this we can only do as we know the truth about Him. So, the primary source of this knowledge is the Bible of course, which itself is the supreme witness of Christ. It’s the indispensable textbook of the Christian witness. To fulfill this mission effectively and convincingly we must know that teaching not only in merely academic sense, but also in a personal sense. What the bible teaches about Christ must have been verified in one’s personal experience. You can impart knowledge to others about a historical person without having any personal attitude toward that person, but you can’t effectively commend a living person to others as a friend or benefactor without having yourself experienced his friendship and help.
So….WHERE ? Now the answer to this question is explicit in the text which describes a series of concentric circles with Jerusalem in the center and the end of the earth as the outer limit. In other words, where you are now and everywhere else you go, as far as the end of the earth. THERE IS NO LIMIT !!!!!!! Evangelism, like charity, begins at home. It’s easy to dream about what we might do as witnesses if we lived somewhere else, but we tend to overlook the opportunities right where our feet are in our present situation.
This leaves us with HOW ? the most important question of all. Witnessing for Christ is never an easy one, least of all in our day and age. Jesus gave to us not only a commission, but a promise as well. He never gives a command without there being a promise attached. It’s when we receive the Holy Spirit that we are equipped for the fulfillment of our mission. It’s under his inspiration that we come to know the scriptures and Christ himself for ourselves. The spirit enables us to recognize the opportunities that present themselves for us to bear witness.
It is the Spirit who provides the power to solve the problem of the “how.” His was the power that converted a small band of ordinary, weak and fearful men in Jerusalem into a force of fearless evangelists that turned the world upside down !!!!!! THE SPIRIT is THE POWER that is promised to the church in every age to enable to fulfill witnessing to the Lord to the ends of the earth. So…. Mt. Zion: Pick a pack of firecrackers!!! Siss, boom baaaah!!!!! It’s our mission…..Let’s witness !!! RAH !!! RAH !!! RAH !!!!!!