Title: Go as a witness / (Acts 1:8)
Content The reason why you and I come to God today to worship is because Jesus Christ saved us. Salvation is when God delivers us from the consequences of sin and death. There is no other way of salvation other than Jesus.
There are some people who are discussing salvation outside of the church, but it is not really necessary to talk with them. However, misunderstandings about salvation seem to exist within the church as well. There are times when we take a wrong human approach to the issue of salvation.
There are people who say I am saved because I was born into a Christian family. There are those who think that they are saved because they have an extensive knowledge of the Bible. There are those who make zeal the standard of salvation.
However, salvation does not come from being born into a Christian family (John 1:13). Just because you have great knowledge of the Bible does not mean you are saved (John 3:10). Just because you attend church every Sunday for worship does not mean you are saved (John 4:20). You are not saved just because you work hard in the church (Matthew 7:22-23). Because salvation is not a matter of religion, but a matter of life (1 John 5:12).
Salvation is not obtained through methods and contents determined by man himself. That is why Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). said no. Salvation is a gift of God's grace to those who believe through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8).
When we know the method and content of salvation right away, we can live as true believers. Those who are saved must live a life that testifies that Jesus is the Christ. You must be a witness. You must live a life that testifies to the Jesus you know and the Jesus you have met. We will think together through the Word of what kind of life we, who have been saved, should live as witnesses.
1. A witness is an eyewitness to the facts.
Witness is a legal term. A person who says 'who said what, who did what' about a certain fact. Standing in the courtroom, he said, "I have seen what others do not know, and I have heard." will tell you
You can win a trial if you only have witnesses. We must be witnesses of Jesus Christ. Our mission is not to say things that do not exist as if they exist, but to tell the truth of what we have seen and heard without lies. However, although the disciples of the Lord met Jesus and spent time together, we have never met the Lord in person. But we can meet Jesus through faith.
The Bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we can know great spiritual mysteries.
How exciting is it when only I know what others do not know? In Matthew 13, Jesus explained the kingdom of heaven through parables. He said that heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. Even if no one in the world understands, those who know that there are treasures in the earth, and those who keep them, are full of joy.
One of the distinguishing characteristics of the believers who formed the early church was that they had joy, emotion, and a sense of vitality and vitality. The thrill, joy, and strength they had had nothing to do with their success and achievements in worldly affairs.
“When they saw it right, they called the apostles and flogged them, and forbade them to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them, and the apostles left the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be reproached for his name. Jesus was the Christ, and he did not cease teaching and preaching” (Acts 5:40-42).
We are those who believe in Jesus Christ and know the kingdom of heaven. As those who have the testimony of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven, I hope you live in overflowing joy.
2. A witness is an experiencer of the facts.
Those who have experienced the facts can go beyond theories. A party to a fact can testify to others more reliably than a person who has witnessed and heard it.
In John 4, the sinful woman of Suseong meets Jesus and runs into the town and tells the story of the Jesus she had met. Bartimaeus the blind testifies to the fact that Jesus allowed his eyes to see. The Samaritan, who had been healed of his leprosy, returned to give thanks. Those born lame testify with certainty that Peter and John were healed in the name of Jesus.
Lazarus, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years, a paralyzed man of 38 years, and Lazarus who was raised from the dead, proves that Jesus healed them and raised them. Peter confidently says that Jesus walked on water and he made me walk. This is because he personally met Jesus and experienced the power of the Lord.
There are many miracles in the Bible. But if that miracle has nothing to do with me, it means nothing. I have to experience it and have a direct relationship with it. It should be a story about the Lord I met. Paul lived his entire life, cherishing and preaching Jesus whom he met on Damascus Hill.
Do you have a story of Jesus you met? A witness cannot speak only of the experiences of others. I must have the experience of meeting the Lord in person. That way, I can tell my story, not someone else's.
Helen Keller has lived her entire life with a triple high that can't see, hear, or speak. However, he met the Lord through faith and lived his life testifying and praising the Jesus he met. He had a strong experience of meeting Jesus Christ who came into his life even though his physical eyes had not seen it and his ears had not heard it.
We must live the life of a witness for Jesus. A witness must have the experience of Jesus whom I met. In the name of the Lord, I pray that Jesus may pour out every time you open your mouth by meeting every day and experiencing every event.
3. Witnesses must go and report.
Witnesses are not people who sit and wait. According to what he has seen and heard, he is a person who goes out and preaches the Jesus that I experienced. Jesus told us to go and tell the witness.
“Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
"And he said, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
We must go from the nearest to the farthest with the Gospel. We must take the gospel and go from loved ones to enemies. We must not hate Japan and change them with the gospel. We must go to China and Russia to preach the gospel. The Lord is still urging us to go and preach.
It is not my choice for us to live in this reality today. God has made me live in this age. You made me come to this church, and you made me work. He also made them live in their respective regions. We are the people who have been called by the Lord to be saved. But, on the contrary, they are a group that has been sent into all circumstances to which we belong.
“As the Father sent me into the world, so I also sent them into the world” (John 17:18).
We are a group sent by the Lord. There may be difficulties on the way to preach the gospel, but the Lord will sustain you with power. He promised to be with us to the end of the world. He says he will give you authority in heaven and on earth.
We must go as witnesses and preach. When a great persecution came upon Rome, Peter turned his back on Rome and went elsewhere. At that time the Lord was walking toward Peter. Peter asked. "Lord, where are you going?" “I am going to Rome to suffer with the saints.” Hearing this, Peter was shocked. Unable to have Jesus crucified again, Peter turned around and went back to Rome, was crucified upside down and drank the cup of martyrdom.
Witnesses are like martyrs. So, the word that you will become a witness is the same as the word that you will become a martyr. A witness is a witness until death. A person who is responsible for the facts until death.
I am not going to die, but even when death comes, I do not give up on Jesus whom I met. Witnesses are to preach what I have seen and heard, without sparing my life, with all my might until the day I die. So even if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. That should be our life.
4. Witnesses will share in the glory of the Lord.
A life that you put your best effort into leaves the most rewarding. Whatever you do, the reason you do your best is not for others, but for yourself. Although we have to give our best in everything we do, some things bring emptiness behind success. Success often leads to unhappiness.
We must live a life with no regrets. When I finally put my life in order, I shouldn't have any regrets. What was the conclusion of Solomon's life?
“Be warned again, my son. The building of many books is endless, and studying much is weary of the body. I have heard the end of the work. Fear God and keep His commandments. This is the duty of man. He will judge deeds and all secret things, good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:12-14).
Solomon, who enjoyed all kinds of wealth and glory, did not find anything worthwhile in anything. “Vanity and vanity, vanity and vanity, all in vain.” But the only thing he could find as rewarding was to fear and serve God. The Bible says
“All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25).
It should not be a life that dries up like grass and withers like a flower, leaving nothing to be desired and frustration. In that sense, Paul lived the most successful life. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith; from now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day, not only to me, but also to those who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8)"
God makes you reap what you sow. The evangelist said that he shines like a star in the sky.
“The wise will shine like the light of the firmament, and the one who turns many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).
Evangelists receive the following crowns:
① the incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:25) ② the crown of pride (1 Thessalonians 2:19) ③ the crown of righteousness (2 Tim 4:8) ④ the crown of life (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10) ⑤ the crown of glory ( 1 Peter 5:4)
We must live a life witnessed by faith before God and become myself and you who receive the blessed reward.
Let me conclude with the words.
We are witnesses of Jesus Christ. A witness is an eyewitness to the facts. A witness is an experiencer of the facts. Witnesses must go all over the world and preach the truth of the gospel to all people. Witnesses go to heaven and receive the greatest reward. The life of a witness is the life that God guarantees and the most blessed life. So Paul, who realized the truth of the gospel most deeply, said: I hope it can be yours and me.
"Not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's" (Romans 14:7-8).