Sermon 13/7/08
This was originally given as a sermon. Here I have expanded it and added many Biblical references which were not given in full during the delivery of the sermon sermon.
Bible references are taken from The New King James Bible, or from the King James Authorised Version.
Matthew 24:14
We are called to be a witness to God and the saving grace and work of Jesus through His death and resurrection. But how are we to do it or how are we to be witnesses?
All of us are not blessed with oratorical skills. Nor do all of us possess the desire to speak in public.
The clue is in the phrase “called to be a witness,” not to give a testimony. Too often today these two things are misunderstood.
Perhaps we need to examine how this word is used in the Bible and the examples that the Bible gives us of different kinds of witness.
Passive witness
In the Old Testament animals were given and stones piled up as mute or passive witnesses. Examples of this can be found in;
Gen 21:30; And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have dug this well.
Gen. 31.44; Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
Gen. 31:48; And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;
Luke 24:48; And ye are witnesses of these things.
Here Jesus speaks of witness in a passive sense, of being there to see and hear what is happening, what is being done and what is being said.
James 5:3; Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
In this verse physical objects are a passive witness against someone’s way of life.
There are other kinds of passive witness. The witness as observer
of Jesus’ suffering.
1 Pet.5:1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
Indirect witness
Jesus teaches that the things He does, the miracles the performs and the teaching that He is giving show that He is sent by God to do those very things as a witness to all who see them or hear of them. Whether or not people choose to believe or not what they have seen or heard.
John 5:36; But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
John 10:25: Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
Acts 22:15 Paul and Silas in Prison Acts
16:25:And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Paul and Silas were wrongfully accused and imprisoned and would have been quite within their rights to have made an official complaint. Especially as Paul was a Roman citizen. The fact that they did not, but instead sang praises to God and prayed aloud was a powerful witness to other prisoners and to the guards in the prisn as well.
Joseph was also wrongfully accused and put in Prison. It was his behaviour and attitude which were a witness to others of his righteousness.
Read Gen. 39.
Silent witness
The Holy Spirit is a silent witness. How? The Holy Spirit can speak to us about others. He can also convict us of the righteousness or otherwise of a thought or an action. He can inform us of the truth through a conviction deep within our hearts or being.
Ignoring these promptings will make it difficult or even impossible to be and effective witness.
Acts. 1:8: 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.
Romans 8,16: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
There are three witnesses.
1 John 5:8:and there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
Believers have the witness within themselves
1 John 5:10: He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
Putting it into practice
Here is where theory has to be made reality. We can give our testimonies in public in churches or at other meetings. We can speak to others in private about The Lord. All of these are good things to do. Unfortunately many who do not believe in God or Jesus have been inoculated against listening to people evangelising.
Sometimes people will even twist the things that we as Christians say and do. Not necessarily deliberately although it sometimes maybe so. Most people tend to think that everybody else thinks and behaves the way they do and will blame others for things they themselves might do or say in similar circumstances.
The way we live
This is perhaps one of the most enduring and effective ways for the gospel to be spread. Bill Hybels talks about contagious Christians. People who live life the way Jesus told us to. People who allow the Holy Spirit to lead them everyday, second by second are a tremendous witness. The way they live their lives can be so attractive to others that people are drawn to the Lord through the very lives they live.
1 John 5:10: He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself:
I firmly believe that all who believe in and follow Jesus Christ, the Son of God, are first and foremost called to think, act, and speak in ways which Jesus Himself did. It is the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit within is which is the real witness.
Then and only then when we are led constantly and consistently in this way can we BE a witness in our every day lives to all we meet or pass in our daily walk with Jesus.