He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”—Acts 1:7-8
This was Jesus’ response after His resurrection to the disciples. What was the question you ask? “Are you restoring the Kingdom to Israel at this time?” Jesus pretty much tells them look God in His own authority has periods and times set and these times and periods won’t always be something you will know or should know etc. God has times and periods already in motion from the beginning of time to the end of time. What is my role and function in this?? Jesus tells them after His initial response--- your role and place in God’s times and periods is to be a witness, and for this you will receive some help—my Holy Spirit. This might seem very Christianity 101 but how come it’s so hard to do that one thing? Be a witness.
I’ve been pondering upon this for about three weeks now. I think sometimes too much knowledge of theology or the Word gets in the way of the supernatural pure power of the Holy Spirit. We want to explain everything by the theories and interpretations of the Bible. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying we need to put aside the pure gospel. What I am saying is sometimes like the Bible says; too much knowledge puffs up. Too much theology gets in the way of me walking in the pureness of God’s spirit and simply being a witness. On my way to work this morning something spoke to my spirit: “be my witness.” Just that…and then it kept ringing in my ears—“you will be my witness.” Sunday at church we heard pastora say “forget about representing the church, REPRESENT JESUS!” This is very true. We are not called to be Jesus’ attorney and defend Him, he can do that on His own. We are called to be a witness. It’s so true how easy it is to play church and just attend a church meeting and use only that meeting time to worship God in song and raising of my hands. Nothing wrong with this—not at all, but God and Jesus His Son called me to something big— that as I do that something, I’m worshiping, investing in the Kingdom, and touching heaven!! Jesus’ answer is clear to all of us---the Kingdom isn’t just for Israel the Kingdom is for everyone and when you are a witness you are taking the Kingdom to the ends of the earth and to mankind. “Be my witness” Jesus says. He says this every day and until He returns. That’s my calling---to be His witness. That’s the reason to fill myself with Holy Spirit power to—Be His Witness.
Remember, until we fulfill the purposes of God we will be truly at peace with ourselves and our life. The main purpose we are here is to be His witness. When we tap into this I promise we’ll find the answer to our questions. And we’ll be at peace and rejoice that we’re a part of that question and answer Jesus had with His disciples thousands of years ago.
So go now and BE HIS WITNESS….
