The Fifth Piece of the Great Commission: Be Jesus’ Witnesses
Mike’s Note: This is the fifth and final post in a series of posts detailing the PDBTW acronym of the Great Commission. You can start from the beginning here!
Eye Witness testimony in a trial is always very powerful. Lee Strobel, in his book ‘The Case for Christ,’ one of my favorite books to go through with folks I’m discipling, mentions how powerful eye witness testimony is in a court trial. Strobel writes, ‘One of the most dramatic moments in a trial is when a witness describes in detail the crime that he or she saw and then point confidently toward the defendant as being the perpetrator.’
Eyewitness accounts are so powerful, of course, because they are extremely hard to dispute. What an eye witness sees with their own eyes is fact to them. It’s the reason that I believe the #1 tool the Christian has in evangelism is telling the story about what Christ has done in your life. People can’t despite it!
As we look at the fifth of the five pieces that make up the Great Commission, this time from Acts 1:8, Jesus’ admonition for us to be His witnesses in Jerusalem (our local area), Judea (our state or province), Samaria (our Nation), and to the ends of the earth, we look at what it means to be His witnesses and the power found in being His witnesses.
1. In Order to be Jesus’ Witness, we need to know Him
One of the dictionary definitions of the word Witness that I like best is ‘one who has personal knowledge of something.’ We can’t be Jesus’ witness unless we know Him, and have surrendered our lives to Him. I love the description that John gives in 1 John 1 1-3, ‘That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.’ John knew Jesus, and he knew Him deeply. It was easy then for him to tell what he already knew.
2. Once you know him, you can’t help but speak of Him
Jesus gives us a great indicator if we’re going to be good witnesses for Him in Luke 6:45. ‘The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.’ Whatever is inside your heart will dictate what comes out of your mouth, and what you prioritize in your life.
3. In Acts 1, Jesus tells us that we will receive power, and that power will help us be effective witnesses
Many times when people quote Acts 1:8, they’ll quote the second half of the verse, but they’ll leave out the first part. ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses……’ The Greek word used for “power” here is “DUNAMIS,” and it means ‘miraculous power.’ This word was also translated as ‘ability,’ ‘might,’ and ‘strength.’ Even as He’s telling us to be His witnesses, He knows that we need that ‘supernatural power’ that can only come from the Holy Spirit! He’s got our back as we witness for Him!
So dear Christian, what areas of the Great Commission do you need to work on? Give Jesus your whole life and watch Him work through you for His glory!