To be a witness for Jesus, means we are telling what we know about Him. That is why God's Word is vital to showing us our Savior. In John 5 Jesus is speaking to those who are following Him and sharing who He is and what that means. He is the Messiah sent from God to us. They had him right there and they missed Him, so it might be fairly easy for people in our world to miss Him if we don't take the message to the world as a witness of the fact that Jesus saves!! You may say "where do I take Him?" WHEREVER YOU GO! You have heard the term "random acts of kindness", but for the Christian witness we do "random acts of Jesus!" When sharing about Jesus your story is vital to the personal word you give to another person. In John 5: 31-34 31 “If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid.32 But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true.33 In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true.34 Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved.
It is not like were are "helping Jesus out" when we testify about what Jesus has done for us. Our testimony is the overflow of the abundant life that Jesus promised in John 10:10. So Jesu gives the Holy Spirit to us at our moment of salvation through faith and then we "come alive" in that changed life. The life we now live we live in the Spirit. In Acts 1:8 Jesus brought all of this into focus when he said 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere— This witness we have will not be some kind of religious activity that is man produced, but a very free and powerful testimony that is Spirit produced because it is all about Jesus.
That is how God puts each of His children into situations to share their faith as a witness and be led by the Holy Spirit. Your story is the "life" of the gospel because the gospel made an impact on you. Thus a "personal" relationship is born and the rest is living it out in every area of our life. Those areas might include but are not only inclusive of SERVICE. Jesus' example of service is this is found in Mark 10:43 But among you, it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” SACRIFICE - Time is a "hot commodity" in our lives and to give that time consistently to the Lord and keep giving it is a direct outflow of a growing relationship with Jesus. Jesus "set the tone" when He said in Luke 9:23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
LOVE - Because of God's great love and sacrifice for sins, we come to a realization that this love is "exceptional" and is meant to be shared. John 3:16 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. FORGIVENESS - Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus these vital words that show growth in the Spirit. Ephesians 4:32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. It is not by "accident" that words were very important during the church age and Paul had to remind these church folk, who he loved very deeply, that kindness and forgiveness go "hand-in-hand."
There are many other outflows of your faith that will be very specific to you, but you can bet they will reflect a loving Savior and awesome Father. Let the flow begin in your life, or open up the spigot to full and see just what God will show you about your faith. The Holy Spirit is in you and ready to do great and powerful things through you. Just let Him!! The following story shows what happens when we mess with God's plan for the living water to flow from our lives.
Unamuno, the Spanish philosopher, tells about the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, in his native Spain. It was built in 109 A.D. For eighteen hundred years, it carried cool water from the mountains to the hot and thirsty city. Nearly sixty generations of men drank from its flow. Then came another generation, a recent one, who said, "This aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children, as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor."
They did; they laid modern iron pipes. They gave the ancient bricks and mortar a reverent rest. And the aqueduct began to fall apart. The sun beating on the dry mortar caused it to crumble. The bricks and stone sagged and threatened to fall. What ages of service could not destroy idleness disintegrated.
The Pigrimage Continues...
David Warren
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