Bearing Witness
Notes
Transcript
Bearing Witness
In our gospel reading out of Matthew this morning, we heard the Great Commission - Matthew’s recalling of Jesus’ final instruction before ascending to heaven. This is the charge that He has given the Church - Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, He is King, and to call Him Lord is to say “you rule over my life” - therefore, in my own paraphrase, Jesus says: Go and make disciples everywhere. Spread out, multiply, invite others into what you have received. Baptize new believers, initiate them into God’s family. Teach them what I have taught you. And don’t worry, you can do this because I am right there with you and I will always be right there with you.”
And Luke, writing about Jesus’ words before ascending adds this in Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The King is about to take his rightful position on the throne where He will administer all the affairs of the Kingdom - but before He goes, He tells his band of merry disciples - you are now promoted. I’m making you my “sent ones” (that is what Apostle means) - my ambassadors. We are going to change the world and you are going to be right there on the front lines. I will fuel your endeavors - I will give you everything you need - the Spirit of God will make you successful.
I hope that stirs within your hearts some excitement today. If it doesn’t - then check yourself before you wreck yourself! You may have settled for religion over life-changing faith. The Lord of Lord, King of Kings, has given you, His Church, a charge to keep.
Charles Wesley, co-founder of Methodism along with his brother John, penned the hymn “A Charge to Keep I Have” which includes the stanza:
A charge to keep I have,
a God to glorify,
a never dying soul to save,
and fit it for the sky.
(fit if for the sky meaning to prepare a soul for eternity with Christ)
It is believed that old Charles based his lyrics on Matthew Henry’s commentary on Leviticus where Henry wrote:
“We have every one of us a charge to keep, an eternal God to glorify, an immortal soul to provide for, needful duty to be done, our generation to serve; and it must be our daily care to keep this charge, for it is the charge of the Lord our Master, who will shortly call us to an account about it, and it is our peril if we neglect it. Keep it ‘that ye die not’; it is death, eternal death, to betray the truth we are charged with.”
It is an awesome responsibility that we have been entrusted to carry out. There are souls that God brings into your life that are lost, wandering, blinded by the worries of this world - and who may very well catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God through you - forever changing the path of their life.
Does that fill you with excitement or dread? Ferver or fear? Or a mixture of it all?
I’m sure Jesus’ disciples watching Him ascend felt that same mixture of emotions. As they watched him ascend, I can almost picture them cutting eyes at each other...”oh-oh…now what?”
But it wouldn’t be long before the Holy Spirit came down and filled them up. It was not by their power, but by the Spirit’s power that they could actually keep the charge.
And now it is our charge to keep. It is our time to bear witness.
What we have to share is worth every person’s attention because of the eternal consequences.
Since this is so important - I think we need to take a moment and be clear of what it means to bear witness.
As simple Dictionary definition is to show that something exists or is true.
We all bear witness to something in our lives.
A husband and wife supporting each other during a difficult time bears witness to the bonds of a loving marriage.
Wearing your favorite team’s jersey or hat bears witness to the importance of the team to their fan base.
I was reading an article this week by Dr. Kristi Pikiewicz, a psychotherapist, titled “The Power and Strength of Bearing Witness.” In the article, she wrote,
“Bearing witness is a term that, used in psychology, refers to sharing our experiences with others, most notably in the communication to others of traumatic experiences.” Dr. Kristi Pikiewicz.
“bearing witness is vital and necessary in remembering traumatic memories and in the healing process.” As an illustration, she mentioned Elie Wiesal. Some of you may have read his bestselling book, Night, where he bears witness to the horror of the Holocaust which he survived, but so many of his family and friends were killed. He writes, “For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.”
Art is a one way that people bear witness. Andrew Wyeth, an American artist, greatly admired his neighbor Tom Clark. Mr. Wyeth wrote about Mr. Clark, stating: “His voice is gentle, his wit is keen, and his wisdom enormous. He is not a character, but a very dignified gentleman who might otherwise have gone unrecorded.” To bear witness, Wyeth painted this masterpiece.
In the Gospel of John, in the hours leading up to his crucifixion, Jesus is standing before the governor Pontious Pilate.
Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Jesus’ life bears witness to the truth. If you are seeking truth - read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, listen to his words, observe what He does.
Our lives are to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. That through Him we are made children of God - reconciled and redeemed.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
So how do we bear witness? How do we show that something exists or is true?
Well, the Bible shows at least three ways.
We bear witness through our words.
Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
We unashamedly speak about what God has done for us. I was watching a video clip yesterday on Youtube of Demario Davis, pro-Bowl linebacker for the New Orleans Saints during a post-game press conference. Instead of talking about the game, he shared a real life event in his family that happened a week earlier. His daughter had the worst epileptic seizure of her young life, she stopped breathing twice on the way to the hospital. She was already in remission from cancer, and now they feared they would either lose her or that she would have lasting damage from this prolonged seizure. So Demario and his wife prayed - trusting their daughter in the loving hands of Jesus. Demario said he prayed not just that she would live - but that she would come out of this stronger than before. The very next day she was attending her sister’s birthday party - playing like nothing had happened. He shared his story and gave Jesus all glory and then invited all who would listen to him to open their hearts to Christ.
We bear witness with our words. How has Jesus changed your life? What difference have you experienced? Who needs to hear your story?
We bear witness through our lives.
As followers of Christ, we follow a kingdom ethic. Remember in the Great Commission where it says “teach them to observe all that I have commanded you” - that assumes that we ourselves are practicing all that he has commanded us. That means our lives are guided by strong moral ethics, that we are honest in our dealings with others, that we operate with integrity (even when no one is looking), that we are compassionate to all people, we abhor gossip and slander, we work for peace, we operate in humility. In other words, we follow the Golden Rule, “treat others the way you want to be treated.”
Our lives should be a faithful testimony to the one we follow. Sorta like Tom Cotton “voice is gentle, his wit is keen, and his wisdom enormous.”
Sadly, many people today do not have a high view of Christians. Your life should change that perception among those who know you.
And we bear witness through our love.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
How well we love one another matters. God has gathered together this church family called Grace Methodist. We are part of a bigger family of Christians everywhere - but this is our immediate training ground on loving one another. This is where we can perfect what it means to sacrificially love so that we can let it bleed outside these walls.
I’m honored to be one of several persons who facilitate the cancer prayer service here on Wednesdays at noon. It consist of a small gathering of saints who consistently step into the gap and pray for those struggling with cancer and their family members. They rejoice in the stories of healings and remission, they grieve over the hardships of those who are having a difficult time. Quite often, they listen as one bears witness to the trials they are going through. This in one of the training grounds here on how to love one another. One Mission Cambridge is another training ground. Children’s church is another. The visitation team is another.
We bear witness through our love.
A lot of fear over bearing witness is a misunderstanding of how we do so. Yet if we simply ask ourselves, how do I show that Jesus is real and true? We do so by our word, our lives and our love. And others will hear, see and experience the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us. The Spirit is the one who leads us out of darkness into light. The Spirit will arrange the times, places, and opportunities - and He will prepare the heart of the listeners. Your job is to bear witness.
Amen.