Categories: Acts, New Testament, Word of SalvationPublished On: July 16, 2025
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Word of Salvation – July 2025

 

The Church’s Mission – Witnessing in the Spirit’s Power

 

Sermon by Rev. John Westendorp on Acts 1:8a

Scripture Readings: Luke 24:36-48; Acts 1:1-14

 

Singing:        BoW.111       O give the Lord wholehearted praise   [1-3,4,7] BoW.392       I will sing of my Redeemer
BoW.484       Lord, speak to me that I may speak
BoW.485       Lord, you gave the Great Commission
BoW.531       I will arise and go forth

 

Introd:            I suspect that the most difficult task to which the church is called is to testify to Jesus Christ.

I see witnessing as the hardest and the most dangerous obligation that you and I have.  For 3 reasons!

 

First, it’s a dangerous obligation.  It can literally kill you.
Stephen was a witness for Jesus Christ… but we read in Acts 7 that it cost him his life.
The witness became a martyr… and in fact, in the Greek language a witness is a martyr.
The same word is used for one who witnesses and for one who dies for the cause of Christ.

Today there are many places where a Christian witness will cost you your life.
Here in Oz we can still witness freely without being put to death for our faith.
But even here it will often costs us something.  Perhaps ridicule or rejection; sometimes hatred.
Witnessing is still the church’s most dangerous task.

 

Secondly, witnessing is difficult because of those to whom we witness.
People around us generally put up a stubborn resistance to the gospel message.
Men and women prefer to do their own thing and take their chances with God.
They think God is a user-friendly, nice God, who is obligated to receive them into heaven.

So there’s a strong resistance to the message that we need Jesus to save us from hell.
And it’s easy for us to get discouraged and downhearted because of that resistance.
The O.T. prophets repeatedly complained about stubborn resistance to the Word of God.
For that same reason Jesus wept over Jerusalem.  That resistance makes witnessing tough.

 

Thirdly, witnessing is our most difficult task because of our own inadequacy and weakness.
We struggle with our own fears.  We are very conscious that our knowledge is limited.
How do we begin?  What will we say?  How can we do it?

Okay, sometimes we use our inadequacy as an excuse.  Nevertheless it happens repeatedly:
We do talk about our faith but then people ask questions we can’t answer.
People raise objections that we cannot easily remove.

 

Evangelism is our most difficult task.  Witnessing is the hardest thing you are called to do.
Yet this morning our text tells us about the power that enables us to witness.
It reminds us that what we find very difficult is done through the Spirit empowering us.

 

A]        THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

 

  1. In the gospels Jesus on several occasions gave His disciples commands to preach and teach.

His command to evangelise is probably best summarised in those well-known words of Math.28:19.
What we call The Great Commission:
Go and make disciples of all nations… baptising them… teaching them…!
The disciples are told to make known the work of Jesus Christ.

 

However they are now also told very clearly not to attempt to obey these commands on their own.
Once Jesus is gone they are not to preach the gospel… until the Holy Spirit has come.
In our text Jesus speaks first of the Holy Spirit coming upon them.
And only then… afterwards… of the disciples being witnesses for Jesus Christ.
Turn a moment to Luke 24:48,49 which makes this even clearer.
First Jesus tells them in vs.48 that they are witnesses: You are witnesses of these things.
But He adds in vs.49 that first the Spirit of God must come.
I am going to send you what my Father has promised;
but stay in the city… until… you have been clothed with power from on high.

 

IOW There is a dimension to evangelism… to witnessing and preaching…
that goes beyond the human dimension… beyond our own wisdom and our own ability.
Jesus recognises that witnessing is too hard for us… it’s too difficult.
It needs an extra something… the dimension of the Holy Spirit’s POWER.
Or as someone has called it: ‘The PLUS of the Spirit.’

 

Without that PLUS OF THE SPIRIT you can say a lot of very good things… and even clever things.
Our leadership could dream up the most effective P.R. scheme for our church…
but it will all be empty and without any real results… without the Spirit’s work.

On the other hand when there is that dimension of the Holy Spirit
then you can take the simplest testimony about Jesus…
the most down-to-earth sharing of the gospel with child-like simplicity…
and it will dramatically transform someone’s life.

 

So if we want to overcome our difficulties in evangelism…
and if we want to be more effective in our witness…
then we must have a greater reliance on the role of the Holy Spirit.

 

  1. Here it’s helpful to put our text in vs.8 in context of the previous verses.

In vss.6 & 7 the disciples are asking about God’s Kingdom.

They ask whether now at last Israel will be restored in all its former glory… with Jesus as its King.
Jesus virtually tells them: That’s none of your business!
What the Father has planned is not for you to know!

 

And yet, at the same time, Jesus does open up for them a wonderful vision.
Because right after telling them that it’s none of their concern… He adds the word BUT…!
But… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses.
IOW: God’s Kingdom is indeed going to grow and increase… it will come in glory…
but only as you set about your task of being my witnesses in the Spirit’s power.

 

Here is the wonderful miracle that God uses His people to extend and grow His Kingdom.
People are still called into the Kingdom of Christ – but by means of our witness to the gospel.
And it’s ordinary people like us sitting here who can tell that message.
It’s humbling to know that it pleases God to use us to build His Kingdom.
Our various church programs and activities ought to serve that purpose.
Bible study / youth programs / teaching / leading / worship so as to be better witnesses.
All that we do is to testify to Jesus and to gather in the harvest of God’s elect children.

 

But that is also where we bump up against that reality that Christian witness is difficult.
Think about it: How could Jesus build His Kingdom with these 11 men?
Look at them.  Jesus couldn’t even depend on them when He needed them most.
Peter…?  He denied Jesus when the chips were down… and now he is going to be a witness?
Incredible!
James and John…?  They were more interested in who was the greatest in the kingdom.
And now they are going to work for the Kingdom…?
Heaven help the Kingdom of God if it depends on people like that.

 

And we ought to confess the same things about the church today.
We have so often spoilt the work of Kingdom building with our squabbles and arguments.
Too often our priorities are directed at building our own little empires.
Or we become preoccupied with our own material comforts… and our entertainment and fun.
And the Kingdom of God…?  We need prodding to even think about it.
If God is going to use people like us… then heaven help the Kingdom.

 

  1. Well, of course that’s exactly where help does come from.

It came from heaven in a rush of a mighty wind and filled the place where they were meeting.

The Spirit was sent from heaven on the day of Pentecost.
That is why the disciples were called to wait a while before witnessing.
Because in themselves they were powerless.  They needed God’s power.

 

It was power from above that turned Peter, a denier of Jesus, into a witness for Him.

The power of the Holy Spirit turned self-centred people who only wanted honour for themselves…
into people who now have only one great longing:
to see Jesus glorified and His Kingdom growing and increasing.

 

The POWER of the Holy Spirit is there to meet our powerlessness.

When the inventors of explosives wanted a name for their invention they chose the name ‘dynamite’.
It’s a word that comes from the Greek word for POWER – the word dunamis.
That’s probably a fitting comparison.
When the power of God explodes into our lives things begin to happen.
That’s why at Pentecost there was that roar of a mighty wind from heaven.
Then the one who does the speaking is really none other than the Spirit of God.
He gives us the words to say… and He gives us the boldness to say them.

 

In some ways it may seem that the church was not well prepared for Pentecost.
Why didn’t they organise a big outreach event or stage a massive rally on this festive occasion?
That was probably because the church before Pentecost was basically still an OT church.
And the OT church was not big on evangelism… nor was it big on missions to the nations.
But now we see there was also another side to it.
Jesus had told His disciples to wait and not to preach or witness until the Spirit came.

 

Today we don’t have to wait anymore as the disciples did.
Pentecost has come… the Holy Spirit is at work with His power.
But what we do need is a constant awareness of that same power… and to be filled with it.
The difficulties with our witness will only be overcome as we are filled with that DUNAMIS…
with that power of the Spirit of almighty God.
That’s why we repeatedly read later in Acts of bold and outspoken witness…
because, as the Holy Spirit filled them, the believers spoke out boldly (cf.Acts 4:31).

 

B]        THE CHRISTIAN’S WITNESS.

 

  1. This text compels us to think through this idea of witnessing a little further. What is a witness?

If you’re witness in court what must you do?  A witness testifies to what he sees and hears.

When a couple get married their official documents are signed by witnesses.
Those witnesses are saying: We know these people who are getting married.
So too a Christian witness says: I know this Jesus…let me tell you about Him.

 

Imagine a crime scene: a bank is robbed and you happen to be there. That makes you a witness.
You saw what happened… and you may be called on to testify to what you saw happening.
To stand up in court and say: I know that this man robbed the bank.
So too a Christian witness says: I know that this Jesus died and rose again.

 

Of course in our text Jesus is speaking specifically about the eleven disciples.
They were special witnesses to Christ… in a sense that you and I will never be His witnesses.
The apostles were eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

Later, in vs.22 of Acts 1, the apostles appoint a replacement for Judas.
And they insist that the replacement must be a witness to the resurrection.
You see, the apostles were Christ’s official witnesses… to testify that He was alive.
And they had the task of writing these things down for us in the Scriptures as witnesses.

That makes it tempting to say: Well that’s great… it’s the disciples…they are the witnesses.
They heard Jesus preach.  They saw him die… and they saw Him risen from the dead.
Me?  I wasn’t there… l didn’t see any of that.
So Jesus isn’t talking about me, is He?  Doesn’t that let me off the hook?  I’m not a witness.

Sorry!  You can’t get out of it that easily.  If you are a Christian then you have met Jesus Christ.
You have met Him in the gospels.  By faith you know that He lives.
And you know that His death is an offering for your sins.
By faith Jesus is as real to you as to the apostles.
So when Jesus talks about being witnesses then that includes you and me.

 

  1. If that’s so then let’s make sure we understand what witnessing involves.

I am not talking this morning about preaching… the formal proclamation of the gospel.

Nor am I talking about teaching… where we systematically instruct people in the faith.

 

Witnessing is something you do when you are asked what happened.
Let’s go back to that bank robbery: You see the crime and that makes you a witness.
You have no choice about that… you saw it so you are a witness whether you like it or not.
But that doesn’t yet mean that you will be called upon to testify to what you saw.
That only happens as the police or the courts ask you to give your testimony.
Or when the media ask you to give your impressions of what took place.
Or maybe if other people come later and want to know what happened.

 

Now notice that Jesus does not say that the apostles are witnesses… although that is certainly implied.
But He specifically says that they will be His witnesses.
IOW: they will actually be called upon to testify.  Jesus expects that.

 

Witnessing generally implies that an opportunity has been given to you to speak of what you know.
To tell others what you have seen and heard and experienced.
It’s what the apostle Peter says in one of his letters:
That a Christian must always be ready to give an explanation for the hope that he has.

IOW: when we are questioned… or when people indicate an openness to listen…
then we fail in our duty when we do not witness to Jesus.
We know Him… and we know the meaning of His death… and the power of His resurrection.
We too are witnesses to these things because God has shown them to us.

 

This explanation of being a witness may help us overcome that problem that we so often have.
We have this fear that we won’t be able to answer all the questions people come up with.
They will ask things like: If you believe in a God of love, how come there are fires and floods.
Well, relax!  The task of a witness is not first of all to solve every problem.

The witness’s first and foremost task is to tell what he knows.
To testify to who Jesus is and to what He has done.
To simply state that I know Him as Son of God who died for my sins and arose to give me life.

 

  1. Let’s come back to the point that Jesus says that we will BE His witnesses.

Notice that He doesn’t say that we will witness for Him… but we will be His witnesses.

IOW: It is not even first of all what we say or what we do… it’s what we are.  It defines us.

 

That tells us two things.  First: that witnessing for Jesus Christ and the good news of the gospel
is not just an optional extra… something tacked onto the Christian faith.
It is not a take it or leave it affair but belongs to the very essence of being a Christian.
You ARE a Christian… you WILL BE a witness.

 

If you see that bank robbery then you are a witness whether you like it or not.
So too… if you are a Christian then you are a witness whether you like it or not.
As Christians we cannot opt out of our obligation to witness to Jesus.

 

Secondly, this also reminds us that witnessing is not merely a matter of speaking.
It is a whole way of life… in everything we do we ARE His witnesses.
Not only our words (though that too) but also our deeds should point others to Jesus Christ.

 

C]        THE POWER OF THE CHRISTIAN WITNESS IN THE SPIRIT’S WITNESS.

 

  1. I began by stressing our powerlessness and helplessness in communicating Christ to others.

I stressed our need to depend on the DUNAMIS… the dynamic of the Spirit.
His power must give us the boldness.
In fact He must even give us the words to say.
And all of that is true when we talk in terms of our witnessing.
Because Jesus speaks only about our witness after He speaks about the Spirit.

 

But, interestingly, the Bible also speaks of the witness of the Holy Spirit – e.g. in Act 5:32.

And there it links our witness with the Spirit’s witness.

We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.

These two belong together inseparably: Our witness… and the witness of the Holy Spirit.

 

  1. In fact let me take that a step further because we often put things the wrong way around.

John Stott in his book “Our Guilty Silence” (p.102) puts it like this:
“We are accustomed to think of ourselves as the chief witnesses
who then hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will confirm our witness.”
  But it’s not like that.

 

Please turn to John 15 – and notice particularly the order in the verses 26 & 27.
When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about me.
And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

 

Notice that Jesus FIRST speaks of the Spirit’s witness… and then adds: But you also…!
IOW it is the Holy Spirit who is the principal witness.
And only when His witness is there in our witness… is there POWER in our testimony to Jesus.
So we must pray for that witness of the Spirit of God to work in and through us.

 

  1. Our problem, you see, is more serious than that we can’t speak unless the Spirit gives us the words

Our problem is deeper than that we are silent unless God’s Spirit gives us the boldness to speak.

Our problem is especially that you and I can never convince anyone of the truth about Jesus.

And we can never change anybody.

 

But that isn’t our task either.  It’s not up to us to make converts for Jesus Christ.
Only the Spirit of God can convince people and change people.
And He must convert them as He witnesses in their hearts to the truth of the gospel.
But the wonderful thing is that the Spirit witnesses there where Christians testify
to what they know about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

 

The Spirit’s witness… working in us to speak for Jesus Christ.

Only that power can rescue us from the difficulties and the frustrations of Christian witnessing.

Only the Spirit’s power can rescue us from our guilty silence about our wonderful gospel.

 

As we go into this week let’s not trust in our own wisdom and strength.

Let’s simply allow the Holy Spirit to do His work of witnessing to Jesus… but to do that also through us.

Amen.