“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8.
“And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:32.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Do you know what the last request My Son made to His followers before He ascended back to His throne in the great Kingdom of Heaven? It was that you would go and tell the whole world the good news about Him, that is, about salvation. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:15-18. “Thus it is written, that the Messiah would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:46-49.
And at the Passover meal the night before He died for your sins, He prayed for all those who would hear about Him by the words of those present down all the generations to you who are reading this. But how will the generations hear if you do not tell others the good news of Jesus that you have been so blessed and honored to receive? What you have received as a gift, give as a gift! And what is the gift? Jesus. I so loved the world that I gave My only begotten Son so that all who believe in Him will never perish but will have eternal life. And that is the best gift you can give anyone! And it was My best gift to a world trapped in the slavery of sin and the curse as well. The unfathomable riches of Christ and the treasure you have in Him! The mystery hidden down the ages in types and shadows and now revealed to you in the glorious light of the gospel shining on the face of Christ!
And today we begin a new series that is of paramount importance to Me in these last days, for My Son cannot return to establish His Kingdom until all the nations have had the good news of the Kingdom preached to them. Matthew 24:14. So today we begin with Life Lesson No 1 in our new series of how to be an effective witness for Me in the world: “Why witness?”
I have given mankind the dominion authority over the earth. If I am to act on earth, you must authorize Me to do so and partner with Me so that My Will, which is perfect, pleasing, and good, can be done upon the earth. Otherwise it will not get done. People do not understand this and question why I let things happen or do things that cause destruction, but I am not guilty of either one. You are the ones who let things happen when you choose not to involve Me and I never cause any kind of destruction, that is done by the destroyer, who is the devil and his demons, and if you stay within Me and the safety of My Name (a strong tower) and My Word (the truth and the Sword of the Spirit) you can avoid his tactics and actually put them down under your feet.
But I entrust the sacred proclamation of My Word and the good news of salvation—all about Jesus and the Holy Spirit, to you, the children of men. Look back and you will see this is true. When Cornelius the Roman centurion was seeking to know Me better and to honor Me with his prayers and almsgiving, I sent an angel to him, not to preach the good news but to tell Cornelius to send for Peter who would instruct him in the way of salvation. Acts 10:1-8; 33. And even though Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, I sent Ananias to go baptize him and lay hands on him to heal him and to impart the Holy Spirit. Acts 9:10-19. And do you remember when the apostles were in prison for preaching the good news? My angel did not take the job over for them, instead he led them out of the prison, opening all the gates before them, and told them, “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.” Acts 5:17-21. Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach.
I have entrusted the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation to you who believe. And I have asked you to be My witness to your family, your neighborhood, your city, your state, your nation, and to all the world. Go and tell the good news!
Many of you are asking how to please Me, but I have told you already that it is My heart’s desire that all men be saved and come to know the truth and there are some people that only you will be able to reach for Me.
When My Son called Peter and Andrew, James and John, to follow Him, He told them He would make them fishers of men. My Son is the same yesterday, today and forever, as I AM, and He has not changed that call. You have in you the Light of the World, Jesus, let your light shine before men, do not hide it under a bushel basket or under a bed, put it on a lampstand so all may see it. And you know the golden lampstand of the tabernacle, all the lamps on the lampstand had their wicks trimmed to point to the center lamp, the servant lamp, the seventh lamp, which represented Jesus, who came to serve you and not to be served to give His life as ransom for all. You who know the ransom, let the captives free by introducing them to their savior Jesus Christ. Shine like bright lights in this dark and perilous world holding fast to and holding forth the Words of eternal life. You are the light everyone is looking for. You are the answer to the anxieties and fears they are facing. Go do the works of Jesus and greater—which is preaching, teaching, and healing—going about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil.
Bring all to the new birth, bring them to Jesus so they can become a new creation and shake off the chains that bind them. The old things passed away; behold, new things have come! Speak to others of newness of life in Christ. Everyone wants something new in his or her life. And all these things are from Me, their creator who loves them and has a good plan for them. Tell them about My promises that are all “yes” to them in Christ—that I am your healer, your provider, your peace, and your strength. Tell them about how they are blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in Heaven and it is deposited in their heavenly account that they can access in Christ by thanksgiving in worship. Tell them about how I put all their sins on Jesus and punished them on Him so that they are holy and blameless before Me like they never sinned at all. But let them know all this is there for them in Jesus alone and they only have this if they believe in Him and receive Him as Lord.
I have reconciled you to Myself through Christ and given you the ministry of reconciliation, namely, I was in Christ reconciling the world to Myself, not counting their trespasses against them, and I have committed to YOU the word of reconciliation. Therefore, you are ambassadors for Christ, as though I were making an appeal through you. Go out and reconcile whoever will listen to Me by giving them the opportunity and privilege of receiving Jesus as their Lord and being born again unto new life in Him.
If you won’t do this, who will? The harvest is great but the laborers are few. So many are busy about their own pursuits but not looking to the lost who so badly need to be found. They are everywhere you go, it is not hard to find them! They are in your home, at your work, at your school, in the market, on the sidewalk walking at your side, in parks, at beaches, in restaurants, at church—indeed everywhere you go you will find them. I sent My Son to seek out and save the lost, and as I sent Him, so He told you He sends you. But, just as I gave Him the Holy Spirit before He started His public ministry, so now He gives you the Holy Spirit to be able to do this honorable work of saving souls. He told His disciples before the fulfillment of Pentecost as He ascended back to Me in Heaven having finished the work of salvation I gave Him to do, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8.
You are wise to save souls. You will shine on the day of visitation. So many will be there, saved and rejoicing in My heavenly Kingdom because you cared enough to stop and talk with them about Jesus.
Be like Jesus in your mission for as I anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power so He has anointed you, “The Spirit of the Lord LORD is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19.
Paul described his mission for you, and he prayed you would all be as he was, he was sent to the unbelievers “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.” Acts 26:18. Did he complain about the task I had given him, and I have entrusted this sacred task to all who believe in some greater or lesser measure? No, he rejoiced in it with joy unspeakable filled with glory, “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ.” Ephesians 3:8. He loved setting the people free and seeing them healed and whole serving Me and their brethren with joy beyond understanding.
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces shalom peace and brings good news of great joy, who announces salvation. Isaiah 52:7. Is that what your life looks like? Are your feet as you walk the paths of life each day beautiful upon those paths? Look for opportunities, make the most of your time. Be busy about your Father’s business. Have you ever noticed that My business is saving souls? That has been My purpose ever since Adam lost his eternal life for himself and all his descendants. And in Jesus I have accomplished it and it is available for all who will receive Him.
Whoever will call on My Name will be saved. But if you don’t teach them My Name, how can they know it? And how then will they call on Me in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Me whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” Romans 10:13-15. And everyone of you who believe, just as I sent My Son to be My faithful witness in the world, so He sends you. But He did not leave you orphans, He gave you My promise of the Holy Spirit to be with you and in you forever. And He witnesses with your spirit that you are My children and that your sins and offenses I remember no more. And the Holy Spirit testifies to Jesus and He will show you how to witness as well. In fact, the gifts that He bestows on men for the good of all are all ministry gifts to help you know how to witness.
I love you. Why witness? Because I have asked you to share what I have so freely given you with others too. For this is how you can best keep the commandments to love Me and love your neighbor. I, and all of Heaven, rejoice over the salvation of a soul and your neighbor, who you save, will rejoice forever in the eternal Kingdom because you cared enough to tell him the good news. And that is love. I so loved the world I gave you My only begotten Son so that all who believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. And now He is yours to give as well.