So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at
this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you
to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as
they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their
sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood
by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking
into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in
the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:6-11).
There was
much that the apostles did not know about the immediate future. After
witnessing the crucifixion and resurrection, they were wondering what’s next?
Surely if the risen Christ strode dramatically into Jerusalem, visibly proving
that He is indeed the Son of God, He would be immediately acknowledged as the
rightful King of Israel, by both Jew and Roman alike! Little did they know that
He would soon commission them to be the ambassadors of His
kingdom through their witness in word and deed to their generation, and then He
would leave them. The real question they should have been asking was, what
would life be like without the comforting, compelling concrete presence of
their Master and Teacher? The timing of God’s kingdom was not their business,
it is God’s business. Their business was to be Christ’s persistent,
persevering, and patient “witnesses” in word and deed,
and for many of them, to the death. They would change the world with the profession
that is fueled by faith.
Persistent witnesses trust the power of Christ’s Spirit. Jesus promised
the disciples would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”
because He knew that persistence in discerning and using every possible
opportunity to be a reflection of the risen Christ in a dark and rebellious
world would require supernatural power. We remember that salvation is God’s
work… “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not
your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one
may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). We also believe His Holy Spirit is always
at work convicting and compelling hearts to see and receive Christ… “But
when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of
truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me” (John
15:26). When we are filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, we are
empowered to be part of the glorious ministry of reconciling lost souls with
their Creator through Christ… “All this is from God, who through Christ
reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2
Corinthians 5:18).
Persevering witnesses know the passion of Christ’s suffering. The word
translated “witnesses’' here (martys in Greek), also means
martyrs. It is estimated that by 325 A.D. as many as 2 million Christians died
as witnesses, following the example and imitating the passion of Jesus Christ… “that
I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10). The Spirit exhorts
us to witness with the same passion today… “But rejoice insofar as you
share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory
is revealed” (1 Peter 4:13).
Patient witnesses anticipate the promise of Christ’s return. When we
remember that we are a small part of God’s big work, we are able to wait
patiently for the manifestation of the fruit of our labor. It sometimes takes
years of powerful and persevering witness to prepare the heart to receive
Christ, but our hearts are compelled to help others get ready to join us in
welcoming Him at His sure return… “For the Lord himself will descend from
heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we
who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1
Thessalonians 4:16-17).
As we grow up into Christ, we are more earnest and effective witnesses as our testimony becomes…
The Profession that is Fueled by Faith.
