Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Being subpoenaed to court as a witness.

I was surprised by the lawyer interrupting with an objection.

Here-say.

It was I that was the witness on the stand.

A witness to what I saw.

I was not there to speak in place of someone else’s experience.

They could be called and speak for themselves.

I was the only authority concerning what I saw.

No one could speak for me and what I saw.

Same for the officer.

In the world of marketing and advertising, things have changed a lot in recent years.

No longer are the classifieds in the printed paper important or even read much.

Mailers have lost the spark they once had.

And we all know how telemarketing is getting less and less affective and more and more bothersome....But the tried and true method of ages past still reigns as king.

Word of mouth.

The power of personal testimony.

A personal witness can go further than thousands of fliers.

Which is why sometimes celebrity endorsements are still influential.

We may not know the John Doe on a flier stating that so and so is the best so and so.

But if Superstar such and such says it’s so, we want to believe it.

And if the person trying to convince us of something is a close friend or family, we will be more often than not more influenced by them than shear statement printed on a page from the company indicating why we should choose their product.

Everyone is a witness to something...

Every Christian is a witness for Christ.

As we continue in this series about the truths of the Spirit

Promise of receiving spirit

It will be with us and in us

To convict and convert the heart

Is available now

The divine nature of the Spirit that brings life to these dry bones

Through the Spirit Christ dwells in us

Today we continue the exploration...The reason we need the Spirit

It is to receive power to be witnesses.

We need the Spirit to receive power to witness.

The spirit is a gift who gives power to witness.

Witnessing

Witnessing is not one of the spiritual gifts.

Where we all get gifts, but not all have the same one.

It is something everyone capable of doing.

Everyone is capable for witnessing.

The power to do so and the content of the witness is given to everyone who has accepted Christ as their savior.

Witnessing is a privilege of the converted, not a talent.

Witnessing comes out naturally by those who have a testimony.

The way we express our testimony will indeed vary from person to person.

If you have an experience with Jesus, then you are capable of witnessing.

those who are not capable of witnessing, have not experienced Jesus.

Witnessing is an outward expression of something that has happened inwardly.

Martys - definition = witness from which we get the word “martyr”.

However, in greek the word martyria is the content of the witness.

In English, one word describes both the person and content.

I am a witness and that which I say about it, the content is also the witness.

Witnessing is empowered through the manifestation of the Spirit.

Manifestations of the Spirit (The outward visible expression)

Only two manifestations of the Spirit

When we receive the Spirit it will be seen in two ways:

The lives we live

The burden we have for those who do not know Jesus

And we see the example in the upper room on pentacost.

In the same vain, we receive two things from the Spirit, Fruit & Gifts

Fruit

Gifts

they are companions and should never be alone.

Someone with spiritual gifts should testify to their experience and share it.

There are a variety of ways to do so and the time and place should be considered.

But we should be witnessing.

And we have power to do so.

Fruit manifestation

Paul talked about the fruit of the Spirit and reminded the church about grace.

We are saved by grace.

Christ’s righteousness.

But notice what was happening to the Galatians.

They were called hypocrites for promoting works of the law to earn salvation.

Gal 2:

In that context he asks...

gal

He encourages them that Christ has redeemed them from the curse of the law.

And also contrasts the results of legalism, which don’t save and bring death, or falling away from grace, by contrasting with walking in the Spirit.

love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control

Manifestation of the Spirit

Miracle fruit with 9 flavors from one source, or 9 types from one source

These fruit expressed through our character resemble Jesus.

We reflect Jesus as we bear fruit and people are able to see the fruit.

And we expect to reap this kind of fruit if we are connected to the spirit

Just as when we plant an apple seed, we don’t wait for an artichoke, we expect apples.

Based on what we sow, is what we reap.

which means if we are sowing seeds of discord.

Story example of witnessing and visible fruit.

You might be thinking, I want more of this fruit in my life.

Or I wish someone else in my life would be fruitier.

How we bear fruit

How we bear fruit?

This illustration says it all.

john 15.1-8

This process of bearing fruit takes time.

And the verse is clear about it.

First there is bearing no fruit and then some fruit, then more fruit.

then much fruit

.

The vineyard manager, vine dressers, vitner, takes care to help the fruit bearing process.

Prune, trim, remove, takes care of the vineyard

Produces growth.