Witnesses - Part 2

"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." - Acts 1:8

Last week's passage was about witnesses. It made me think about what a witness is. Isn't a witness nothing more than a person who knows something about someone else that not everyone knowor has experienced something that not everyone else has? In the last blog entry, we discussed the testimony of the 5 witnesses in this passage and our response to those witnesses. Are we going to believe the testimony of these witnesses or are we not?

Today I would like to look at the idea of witnesses from a different angle. After Jesus' resurrection, and just before his ascension, he left the final instruction that we, his Church, his people, were to be his witnesses. If we are to be his witnesses, implying we know something or have experiences something uniquely and that we are to tell about it.

Read Acts 26:1-23

This story is just before Paul makes his journey to Rome to appeal to Caesar. He had been in custody, under house arrest for two years. He has a chance to speak to King Agrippa, a high ranking Roman Leader and this is his testimony recorded.

• In vv. 3-12 what is that Paul is sharing about his life?
• In vv. 13-18 Paul shares about his conversion. What do you notice about part of his testimony?
• In vv. 19-23 what does Paul share?
• How is your story similar to Paul's? What was your life like before you accepted Christ? What were the events that led up to your conversion? How has your life changed since?

Read the story of the Samaritan woman at the well - John 4:1-42.

• After having talked with Jesus, in vv. 28-29 it says she returned to the city, and in v. 39 it says that many were converted "because of the woman's testimony." What do you think her testimony was?

See here's the thing. I'm concerned that the modern church has turned evangelism into something very technical and very complicated. We have seminars and books and movies and tracts all designed to help people evangelize. None of these are wrong and can be excellent tools, but Jesus' final command to us was not to be evangelists, but to be witnesses. People can argue with you the truth of the bible, or the meaning of a particular passage. The one thing they just can't argue with you about, is your own story. You are a witness too! You know something or have experienced something that not everyone has!

At it's most fundamental essence, this is evangelism - develop relationships with people, then share your story.

If you've never done it, write down your own story. What was your life like before you encounted Christ? What were the circumstances surrounding that meeting? How has your life changed as a result of that meeting?

Then begin to pray for opportunities to share your story.