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But you shall receive power, the Holy Spirit coming upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Act 1:8)
Many Christians treat witnessing in the same manner that they treat buying a car. They have in mind the make, model, color, and style and yet are going to pick and choose the options they want. The assumption is that evangelism and witnessing is just like the options on a car. Just as the new owner of a car selects whether he wants a cassette deck over a CD player many Christians believe (falsely) that we are able to select “hospitality” or “service” over “witnessing”.
Even more interesting is the Christian who says: “witnessing is not my gift”. I often wonder how they mean this expression. I would agree with them that witnessing is not their gift to distribute but this verse makes plain the fact that it is everyone’s gift to receive. Christian this gift belongs to the Holy Spirit; it is properly speaking His gift. He provides the unction and the power. He testifies of the Son, he regenerates, he empowers, and he convicts of sin.
The power does not reside in you; the power is from on high. All of us are called to be witnesses (Matt 28:19). Do not be unduly influenced by the cowards and defectors who by dereliction rob you of the joy that attends witnessing for Christ. The pitiful excuses dreamed up by those who are not obedient to the bible should never trump the very plain word of God. You and I are admonished by this verse to be a witness. Are some called to be evangelists and some pastors? Yes. But you are called to be a witness. You are in the grocery store, the post office, the beauty parlor, the gym. If by God’s grace you believe the good news then by the same power God calls you to share it.
Reformed Devotions 