Published by admin on 08 Jun 2012 at 12:14 pm
WHO WILL BE MY WITNESS?
From old times God has appointed witnesses to reveal His plans. In fact it is written that God does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets. The Holy Bible tells of the Prophets of God who foretold of the Christ and what He would accomplish for mankind. They were His witnesses then. But who are His witnesses now? And what are they saying?
In Isaiah 6 it is written:
Isa 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Isa 6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
Isa 6:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
Isa 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Isa 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Isa 6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Isa 6:12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
Isa 6:13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
We can read how these prophecies have come to pass before, but we also see how they are repeating themselves in today’s society. But yet God never changes, He is the only God, and there is no other, period. God spoke to Isaiah about Jacob (Israel) being His witness in Chapters 43 and 44, and I’ll use 44:1 to start:
Isa 44:1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
Isa 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
Isa 44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
Isa 44:4 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
Isa 44:5 One shall say, I am the LORD’S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isa 44:7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
Isa 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
You see, God doesn’t do things in a corner, but rather He reveals them to mankind. The LORD wants all the world’s inhabitants to know Him intimately, to call upon Him continually. But how will the people call upon God if there are no witnesses? The prophets of old all spoke of the coming Messiah. Well, He came. He preached of the Kingdom of heaven. He told sinners to repent of their sins, to turn from their wickedness and seek God. He did signs and wonders everywhere He went, and healed all the sick who came to Him. But He was rejected of the religious leaders as one who blasphemed against God by calling himself the Son of God. Then He was hung upon a cross as was prophesied long before, giving Himself freely for the sacrifice for our sins and died as the perfect Lamb of God. He was resurrected from the dead the third day, having been approved of God, to sit at God’s right hand in heaven. All this was foretold by God’s witnesses, the Prophets.
Mark chapter 16 tells of the resurrection of Jesus, and His appearance to the disciples, AND, His assignment for them.
Mar 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
Mar 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
Mar 16:3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
Mar 16:4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
Mar 16:5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
Mar 16:6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
Mar 16:7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
Mar 16:8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
Mar 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
Mar 16:10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
Mar 16:11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
Mar 16:12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
Mar 16:13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
Mar 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Mar 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Mar 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
Mar 16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Jesus had chosen twelve disciples, whom He had prepared to be His witnesses of the New Covenant. After the resurrection of Jesus, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit and power was given to about 120 people gathered with the disciples on the day of Pentecost, described in Acts Chapter 2. That opened a new era as they began to minister the Word of God boldly, winning thousands of people to receive Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Well, down through the ages the LORD has raised up multitudes who have gone about proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of which I find myself being one also. And if YOU know Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, guess what? You’re called to be His witness, too.
So, what are God’s witnesses to be doing today? We are to be doing the same as the other witnesses did, proclaiming BOLDLY the salvation that is only available in Christ Jesus! As prophesied in Isaiah 6:9-10, many will hear, but they will not receive the message of salvation. As it was then, so it is today. But that doesn’t mean we should sit back and not proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for there ARE those who WILL hear and be saved. For that purpose you and I are called to be witnesses of Christ Jesus.
Will Christ Jesus do the works through us that He did through His first disciples? Yes! We can see after the day of Pentecost, the power of the Holy Spirit was given to all those who received Him, and they went forth preaching with signs and wonders confirming the Word. So, do you want to see signs and wonders? Want to see people saved and healed? Want to see lives changed, the captives set free and the broken hearted made whole? Then join me in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I hear the Holy Spirit speaking to me today, Who will be My witness? Well, I certainly will, send ME!! And I know He has, and He continues to do so. But I’d like some company, so will YOU be His witness also? All it takes is a willing heart. God will supply everything else.