WITNESSES TODAY

READING: ACTS 1:1-8

Verse 8: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The statement above made by Jesus to the disciples must have been very mysterious to them. However, as they obeyed they were granted all of the understanding and direction they needed. Then the disciples were faithful to the expectation that the Lord Jesus had established for them. Very soon after Jesus spoke to them, Peter was a powerful witness in Jerusalem when 3,000 people were saved after his first sermon. About five years later, as recorded in Acts 8:1, those who were of the church of Jerusalem were scattered because of persecution. They became witnesses to all Judea and Samaria as Jesus had ordained. The apostles were well traveled with regard to the remainder of the prophecy to be witnesses to the end of the earth. There are parts of the earth as we know it today that they did not personally reach as they preached the gospel. However, the Spirit of their faithfulness lives today and is expressed in the contemporary Church as today's Christians carry on the faithful witness. The prophecy of the Lord that established the witness to the end of the earth continues. That Spirit still serves, motivating the people of God in that enduring witness. That’s a thought – about God’s word.

RESPONSE

1. What is your role in being a witness?

2. What do you think there was about Peter’s sermon that resulted in so many being saved?