“…Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people…” Isaiah 55:4
Dear Ones:
When the Spirit of God was poured out at Pentecost, in particular upon the disciples in the upper room, we find that “they were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 2:4) and that, by the Spirit, were proclaiming “…the wonderful works of God.” (v.11) In the Apostle John’s first epistle, he writes: “…That which was from the beginning, which we have HEARD, which we have SEEN with our eyes, which we have LOOKED UPON, and our hands have HANDLED, of the Word of Life; for the Life was manifested and we have SEEN it, AND BEAR WITNESS…we declare unto you.” (1 John 1:1-3) What is it to BE a witness, to bear witness? It is to declare and proclaim Christ, and His work(s). The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, would declare that his preaching would consist of “the preaching of the cross,” and the preaching of “Christ crucified.” (1 Cor. 1:16,23) What does he mean? He is, in essence, doing exactly what the disciples did on the day of Pentecost, for they were declaring the “wonderful works of God,” by virtue of Christ’s redeeming work on the Cross. But they were declaring Christ, not only crucified but living. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36) This is a witness, declaring what one has seen and heard of Christ, proclaiming the testimony BY the Spirit.
What are the credentials of a true witness of Christ? One of the great qualifications to being an Apostle of Christ was that, one had actually seen Him. The true witness is one that has “seen” the Lord with the “eyes of your understanding, ” or rather perceive His glory (the reality, truth of His nature) by the Spirit. How can this be, or be realized in our lives? The Psalmist in Psalm 77:13 declares this: “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” In Psalm 63, we read: “…my soul thirsts for thee…in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is, TO SEE Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have SEEN THEE in the sanctuary.” What is the Holy Spirit seeking to communicate to us here? It is that worship is the first thing…always! The personal worship of God, by the Spirit and according to the truth of the word of God, is essential to being the witnesses that we are to be. Why? Because it is “in the sanctuary,” in worship, that we SEE God, we perceive and become convinced of His Person, attributes, the greatness and beauty of His Person. It is there also that the wonder of Christ, and His work of redemption, will grip us. When He is a reality to us, as He was to the disciples of old, we too will be the witnesses we should be, by the Spirit, declaring His wonderful works, and preaching the Person of Christ.
Dear Father, give us to see the necessity of putting worship first, so that our perception of Thee will be correct, and true. Strengthen our hearts to lay hold of what You unveil to us of the greatness and wonder of Christ, anointing us by the Spirit, so that we shall have a word in season and out of season, for the needy heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad