On the Day of Pentecost, the apostles were endued with power by the Holy Spirit, and that is something we emphasize the need for. But the other aspect of their ability to bring the world to Christ is also something that we need in the world today. That is the fact that they were His witnesses. Yes, our power to impact the world will be that we are filled with the Holy Spirit. But it will also be that we are true witnesses of the Lord.

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Show Notes:

We recognize that the disciples of Yeshua (Jesus) were called witnesses, and we use that term quite a bit within the Church atmosphere today. We talk about going out and witnessing to others, which absolutely is an important part of our Christian life. But I think that we have lost the true meaning of the word witness. I think we are using the term too lightly, and that takes away from the veracity of it and the impact that it needs to have.

The apostles were actual witnesses. They had witnessed Yeshua’s teachings and His works. They witnessed Him as the resurrected Lord. The disciple who replaced Judas had to have this requirement of being a witness. The Church focuses on the fact that these men were endued with power at Pentecost. But their impact on the world was also because they were witnesses. And we cannot ignore that fact if we want to impact the world today.

We cannot sell short the power of what it is to be witnesses. It is time to minister to the world around us, and we need to do more than tell people what we believe in. We need to see true witnesses of the Lord going throughout the earth today. Let us reach into this in our hearts and in our own experiences. You could ask, “How is it possible to be witnesses of Christ so long after His ascension?” That is what we will cover in the next podcast. Be sure to listen to it.

Key Verses:

• Luke 24:13–27. “He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”
• Luke 24:28–45. “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”
• Luke 24:46–48. “You are witnesses of these things.”
• Luke 24:49. “Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
• Acts 1:21–22. “One of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

Quotes:

• “The anointing upon them was tremendous, but they were in fact witnesses of these things. They were telling people what they had seen, what they had heard, what they truly were witnesses of.”
• “I believe there’s no reason for us not to take another step beyond where we have been and where the Church has been.”
• “I believe what this generation needs are true witnesses under the power of the Holy Spirit that can bring an impartation of change to the lives of individuals that are hearing it.”

Takeaways:

1. For us to impact the world in a way that deals with the wickedness and depravity that is so prevalent today, there is a need for two elements: (1) that we truly be witnesses, and (2) that we be endued with power from on high through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
2. Being a witness is more than telling people that we believe in what was written in the Gospels. That is wonderful and it can be powerful. But we need the power that the witnesses of Christ who wrote the Gospels had.
3. Those who witnessed the resurrected Christ not only heard what He said but also had the Scriptures imparted to their minds—something that was essential if they were to go out and speak to the world about what they had witnessed. We need the same witness of the Word today.

For Further Study:

Read Luke 24:13–49. Let this story impact your heart. Let it impact your life. And let it be something you use to contend with the Lord as we approach these tremendous days of Pentecost.