I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH 5C “YOU ARE MY WITNESSES” – MAY 29, 2022

WE ARE CHRIST’S WITNESSES!!!

• As believers in Christ, we are all called to witness and share about God’s greatness with those around us.
• As Christians, we are called to be witnesses for Christ who present a testimony about the truth that we have experienced and heard.
• A witness is someone who experiences something and then tells about it.

ISAIAH 43:10 – “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.

ACTS 1:8 – But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

ACTS 26:16 – But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.

1 PETER 2:9-10 – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

WHY DO WE WITNESS FOR CHRIST?

• Jesus’ Example: LUKE 4:18-19 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
• Jesus’ Command: MATTHEW 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
• We are called to be Ambassadors of the Gospel:
  • 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
  • 1 Peter 2:9-10
• Participating With God in Proclaiming the Gospel
  • Romans 10:13-15
  • Part of being A follower or Disciple of Jesus:
• Matthew 4:19
  • As a response to what Christ Has Done for you.
  • Acts 4:20
• We Witness because we Love God and others:
  • 1 John 1:1-4
  • 1 Thessalonians 2:8

WHAT DO WE SHARE/PROCLAIM AS CHRIST’S WITNESSES?

• WE MUST PROCLAIM THE WONDERFUL WORD OF GOD!!!
  • ISAIAH 55:10-11 – As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my WORD that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
  • ROMANS 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
• WE PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL!!!
• 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-4 – ¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. ³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
• Other Scriptures:
  • Ephesians 2:1-10
  • Romans 3:21-26,
  • Romans 5:1-11,
  • Romans 6:20-23,
  • Galatians 1-2,
  • Ephesians 1:3-14.
• We tell people the truth about Jesus Christ!
• ACTS 2:32 – God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.
• ACTS 3:15 – You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
• ACTS 10:39-40 – We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
• ACTS 13:30-31 – But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.
• ACTS 22:14-15 – Then he said: “The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.”

HOW TO BE A WITNESS FOR CHRIST?

• Our role as a witness is to both tell of the good news with our words, but to also share through our actions.
• Witnessing is an all-of-life kind of thing because following Christ encompasses all of life!
• Being a witness involves both Word and Deed!!!
• 1 PETER 2:9-12 – But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
• It is out of who we are in Christ and whose we are as children of God that we go on to share and act in a way that is pleasing to God.
• You Must Have the LIFESTYLE of a Witness.
• A Witness Remains LOYAL to the end!!!
• Being loyal to Jesus no matter the cost and speaking up for him even when others oppose you.
• How many of us are willing to do that?

Be Bold Witnesses! Fear not

• ISAIAH 41:10 –  Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
• PSALM 115:11 –  “You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.”

God fills us with the Holy Spirit, who is bold and courageous (1 Timothy 1:7-8).

• We do not have to muster courage and strength on our own. We simply submit to the Spirit of God that is within us.
• The Spirit of God emboldens us to proclaim the gospel without fear (1 Thessalonians 2:2)
• Boldness is contagious. When we are bold for Christ, enduring hardships for our faith, others are provoked to do the same (Philippians 1:14).

You must be Ready to share your Witness!

• 1 PETER 3:15 – But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
• EVERY Christian needs to be READY, at a moment’s notice, to share their faith — because you never know when the opportunity is going to come.
• 2 TIMOTHY 4:2 – Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Are you READY to share the gospel?

• When you walk out of this room, could you share if God opens the door for it?

Rise up, You champions of God,
Rise up you royal nation
Rise up and Bear his light abroad
We’ll reach This generation

We’ll reach This generation
We’ve got our Marching orders
We’ve got our Marching orders
Now is the time To carry them forth

Go forth, Jesus loves them
Go forth, Take the gospel
Go forth, The time is now
The harvest is ripening
Go forth!

Feel now The burden of the lord
Feel how he longs To save them
Feel now for those Who never heard
About the son He gave them