Can I Get A Witness? ¿Puedo Obtener un Testigo?

Can I Get a Witness?

Acts 1:1–8 NKJV

The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Hechos 1:1-8

1 En el primer tratado, oh Teófilo, hablé acerca de todas las cosas que Jesús comenzó a hacer y a enseñar, 2 hasta el día en que fue recibido arriba, después de haber dado mandamientos por el Espíritu Santo a los apóstoles que había escogido; 3a quienes también, después de haber padecido, se presentó vivo con muchas pruebas indubitables, apareciéndoseles durante cuarenta días y hablándoles acerca del reino de Dios. 4 Y estando juntos, les mandó que no se fueran de Jerusalén, sino que esperasen la promesa del Padre, la cual, les dijo, oísteis de mí. 5 Porque Juan ciertamente bautizó con agua, mas vosotros seréis bautizados con el Espíritu Santo dentro de no muchos días. 6 Entonces los que se habían reunido le preguntaron, diciendo: Señor, ¿restaurarás el reino a Israel en este tiempo? 7 Y les dijo: No os toca a vosotros saber los tiempos o las sazones, que el Padre puso en su sola potestad; 8 pero recibiréis poder, cuando haya venido sobre vosotros el Espíritu Santo, y me seréis testigos en Jerusalén, en toda Judea, en Samaria, y hasta lo último de la tierra.

Intro:

Let’s look at the word Witness - Testigo. What is a witness? What does the word witness mean?

New Webster’s Dictionary defines it as: 1. One who furnishes evidence or proof 2. One who has seen or has knowledge of incident; 3. To give evidence; to testify.

John, in the Gospel of John in the last two verses says:

24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

24 Este es el discípulo que da testimonio de estas cosas, y escribió estas cosas; y sabemos que su testimonio es verdadero.

He says that he testifies of these things. To testify is to bear witness; to affirm or declare solemnly; to give evidence.

That means that in Acts, when it says you will be witnesses, it is talking about something that has been experienced, known, or understood.

But what is it that they experienced? What did they understand, what or rather whom did they know?

That is the question that must be answered.

Step 1: Receive Him - Paso 1: Recive a Jesus

John 1:12 says:

John 1:12 NKJV

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

12 Mas a todos los que le recibieron, a los que creen en su nombre, les dio potestad de ser hechos hijos de Dios;

It says but as many as received Him, that is the first step to being a witness. Before we can be a witness of Jesus, we have to receive Him. We have to have said yes to His gift of salvation. We have to know the experience of being given light, when we were in darkness, life when we were dead, water when we were dying of thirst, bread when we were hungry, Fulfillment when we were empty, satisfaction when we were longing. We have to have received Jesus and all that He brings to our life, in order to be able to be a witness.

If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, then the first step is receiving Jesus. Salvation.

Perhaps you know what I’m talking about but feel like you are missing out on some of these. Is there an area in your life that you have not received Jesus. Sometimes we want to give Jesus only a part of our lives or heart. We receive him into the “living room” of our lives, but not our “bedroom”.

But are we truly experiencing God in every aspect of our lives?

Step 2: Receive the Holy Spirit - Paso 2: Recive al Espiritu Santo

The Second thing we need to receive in order to be able to be a witness is power. The power to live for God comes through the Holy Spirit.

In verse 8 of Acts 1:8 it says:

Acts 1:8 NKJV

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

8 pero recibiréis poder, cuando haya venido sobre vosotros el Espíritu Santo, y me seréis testigos en Jerusalén, en toda Judea, en Samaria, y hasta lo último de la tierra.

John 14:26 tells us a little about the Holy Spirit:

John 14:26 NKJV

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Juan 14:26

26 Mas el Consolador, el Espíritu Santo, a quien el Padre enviará en mi nombre, él os enseñará todas las cosas, y os recordará todo lo que yo os he dicho.

Often we try to live our lives for God without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. But we aren’t supposed to.

The Holy spirit is our helper, He is or guide, he teaches us what we need to be able to live as witnesses for Jesus. Without the Holy Spirit, we are simply trying to be good. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to be effective witnesses.

Everyone is giving a testimony to something. When you look at someone’s life, you will see the testimony of their life choices. I can look back on my parents life and see the things that went well for them, which is a testimony of their good choices. I can also see the things that went wrong for my parents and that is the testimony of their bad choices.

What is your life giving testimony of? Is it a record of all they ways you tried to do things on your own. Or is it a testimony of how God worked in you and through you because the Holy Spirit was actively working in your life?

Are you experiencing the Holy Spirit power in every aspect of your life?

On Feb 8, 2023 a scheduled chapel service at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky a revival broke out.

NBC reported that students and faculty from 22 schools in Hawaii, Massachusetts, Illinois, Minnesota, Tennessee, Indiana and other states traveled to Asbury to join in on the experience.

People traveled to Asbury, Kentucky because they wanted to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. But it can’t end there.

Step 3: Share Jesus in the Power of the Holy Spirit - Paso 3: Comparte a Jesus en el Poder del Espiritu Santo

The revival spread to other universities across the nation. Lee University in Cleveland TN, Anderson University in Indiana, Ohio Christian University near Columbus, Texas A&M in College Station, Indiana Wesleyan University in Maron Indiana, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge Louisiana, Baylor University in Waco Texas, Cedarville University in Ohio, Samford University in Birmingham Alabama, and Belmont University in Nashville Tennessee.

Students traveled from Asbury to neighboring universities and towns, and the people who traveled to Asbury went home and started revivals, and it all started when they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with God’s power, through the Holy Spirit, we are ready and even anxious to share the Gospel with others.

Conclusion:

Abby Laub, director of Communications at Asbury University, told FoxNews “If you look at the world, and you look at what is going on and what Gen Z is facing, I just think they are absolutely desperate for something other than what the world is giving them right now,”.

Becoming a witness is a transformational process, we Receive Jesus, we Receive the Holy Spirit, and we then Share Jesus with others.

When we have been saved from death, and are given power to live a new life, it spurs within us the desire to share that hope, joy, love, peace, and power to live differently with everyone.

What holds you back from being a witness? Que te para de ser un testigo?

Have you received Jesus into every area of your life? Has recibido a Jesus en cada area de tu vida?

Are you living your everyday life in the power of the Holy Spirit? Estas viviendo tu vida diaria en el poder del Espíritu Santo?

Are you excited to share Jesus with others? Estas emocionado por compartir a Jesus con otros?

If not, then come to the altar. There is no judgement here.

If you are doing these things, perhaps you just need to receive more from God. You can have as much of God as you want. He’s the well that never will run dry.