Witnesses

June 1

2 Samuel 10-11

Psalm 68:7-14

Proverbs 14:33-35

Acts 1

Witnesses

“So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, ‘Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?’  But He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth.’”  Acts 1:6-8

Even after the resurrection the disciples still didn’t understand His plan.  They thought that maybe Jesus was going to set up His kingdom then.  They saw Him raised from the dead and they were thinking that surely this would be the perfect time for Him to defeat Rome and establish a kingdom.  If He could defeat death, He could defeat Rome!  But that wasn’t His plan.  The gospel had been presented to the Jews, but now God wanted the gospel to be taken to the rest of the world so that all men could have an opportunity to believe in Jesus and have eternal life.  Jesus had laid the groundwork, He had sacrificed Himself paying the penalty for sin once for all, but now the world had to be told about what had happened and His disciples were part of His plan. 

Thankfully, Jesus did not tell them the plan, ascend to heaven and expect them to carry it out on their own.  If that had been the plan, it would have failed and we would never have heard about Jesus.  The disciples had already demonstrated their lack of courage and conviction.  The persecution that awaited them would have certainly been more than they could have endured.  I have heard people say that the difference in them was the fact that they had seen the resurrected Jesus, they had proof that He was who He said He was, so they were willing to stake their lives on it.  I don’t think that was it.  They had seen Him heal sick people, walk on water, and raise Lazarus from the dead.  Granted, raising Himself from the dead was on another level but that was not the difference.  They were still frail and weak and when the going got tough, they would have caved.  What made the difference was the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling them.  They no longer had to rely on their own strength and power.  They had divine power living in them giving them the courage, strength, and power to live godly lives and complete the mission Jesus had left for them.  They were able to stand firm on their convictions and continue to preach the gospel despite extreme persecution.  Most of the disciples and many in the early church were martyred for their faith but they remained steadfast till the end.  The power of the Holy Spirit in them gave them everything they needed.  The early church received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  Since that time, the moment anyone becomes a believer and accepts Jesus into their life, the Holy Spirit comes upon them.  He comes into their heart and begins the process of sanctification.  He cleans out the cobwebs of sin and replaces them with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control in increasing measure (Galatians 5:22-23).  As we cooperate with Him in the process, we experience victory over sin and we are able to accomplish His purposes and plans for our lives.