Focus: Power To Be And Do

Text: Act.1:8

"But ye shall receive POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall BE WITNESSES UNTO ME both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Whatever God requires of you to do, He has sufficient power for you to do it. He doesn't give you a job to do for Him and then leave you to do it by your own power. No one is required by God to accomplish a divine task in the energy of the flesh. God assigns you a job and also equips and empowers you to achieve it.

From our text we understand what God has given us power to do. It is power to bear witness to Christ. It is Spirit-imparted power to testify about Jesus Christ as the Savior of mankind. It is essential to know that without this power we cannot function as Christ's witnesses. We are enabled and emboldened by it. 

Becoming witnesses for Christ is made possible by the empowering presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

With our lips we bear witness for Christ. With our godly life we bear witness for Christ. By bearing fruit and letting our fruit remain we bear witness for Jesus Christ. Wherever we are or go we are required to witness to the world about Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit and us are testifiers for Christ. Jesus Christ says concerning the Spirit, "He shall testify of me…," and concerning us, He says, "And ye also shall bear witness…" (Jh.15:26,27). The Spirit and us are witnesses of Christ. We tell of His saving grace and liberating power. We tell of His redemptive death and resurrection glory. We preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation. We carry the good news of death on the cross and resurrection from the dead to every nook and cranny of the earth and setting men and women free from Satan's thralldom.

The greatest assignment of the church is winning souls through our witnessing of Christ. No work is more important to God than the work of setting men free from slavery to sin, Satan and death.

God has given us power for global evangelism. We go from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to every corner of the earth. 

Begin from where you are, but don't stop there! Go beyond your borders! 

Blow the gospel trumpet and let the world hear the voice of God through you! 

Use your God-given power to accomplish your God-given global assignment! 

Don't waste your powers! Don't misuse or abuse your power! 

Be a witness for Jesus Christ! Bear witness for the Lord! 

Let your light shine before men! Confess Christ before men! 

Be ready to die for what you believe, and that is what it means to be a witness - ever ready to die for your faith in Christ! You speak the truth without minding the consequences. 

We have received the power of God in us to be a witness and do the work of witnessing. Use it! Venture out! Reach the unreached! Touch hearts and lives! Make hearts burn with the fire of the gospel! There's power to make wealth as well as power to preach the gospel and bear witness to the truth of the gospel.

As a Christian, what are you doing for Christ? Are you constantly engaged in the business of preaching the gospel and bearing witness for Jesus Christ? Let us use God's power for what it is given for - witnessing for Jesus Christ!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter