You Shall Receive Power and Witness [Acts 1:8]

 

MIHRAN KULHANJIAN'S

THE 5 MINUTE LESSON

        April 11, 2024

Vol. I

Published by Christian Revival Mission, Inc.

Copyright ©* 2024  by Mihran Kulhanjian

*Anybody may reprint The 5 Minute Lesson and distribute it freely.

Permission is not required to reprint or copy as long as no

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You Shall Receive Power and Witness

[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.”

 

What is Jesus Telling Believers?

Lesson:  Every believer in Jesus Christ is to be a witness to Him everywhere, to every nation. The life-giving Spirit is in all who are born again (John 3:3) giving power to witness.

 

When one is born again and receives the Holy Spirit, the new believer is ready to share the gospel message and to witness to all and to the end of the earth.  This is the calling, that every follower of Jesus witnesses. This means everybody, not only the pastor but the entire church—every believer. Everyone is a preacher, to some extent, and a teacher to some extent, and we can each prophesy to some degree in our own way guided by the Holy Spirit. We witness in faith and each of us has been given a certain measure of faith and we witness by the faith given to us by God.

 

When it comes to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the salvation message, each of us is given a responsibility. We love God and glorify God. If you want the gift of prophesy ask God for it. I believe you may already have it to some degree. God gives us many gifts, yet many have not cultivated the gifts of the Spirit which God has given us.  If we love Jesus and love our neighbor why would we hold back?  We are to share the "Good News" with all, with every creature everywhere. We know what the disease is. It's sin. It is rebellion against God. Now we know the cure. The cure is Jesus, what He did on Calvary. Why would we hold back the knowledge of the cure to anyone? This cure is free to all, that is, to all who will receive Him.

 

If you are a true believer [not a hypocrite], witnessing continuously throughout your life is commanded, not only commanded by Jesus, but sharing the Good News should be a conviction of the love set on your heart to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ.  Are you committed to the Lord? Have you filled your heart with His desires?

 

We are new creatures in Christ Jesus, old ways are passed and new desires are instilled. We stop witnessing when our bodies have died in this life.

 

Jesus said:  "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" [Matthew 9:37-38]. There are billions of souls destined for hell. Jesus commands believers to pray for laborers [witnesses] to share the "Good News."  Let's not only witness but let's pray that the laborers are plentiful.

 

Practical Steps:

How Do I Tell People about The Good News? 

There are many effective methods of sharing the Gospel. The Apostle Paul used his testimony. You can use your testimony and how Jesus transformed you from sinner to saint. Another effective way is by asking a series of questions, starting with:  "Are you good enough for Heaven?"   Or  "Are you a good person?"  Most people will say they are good.  Jesus said no one is good except God. Good means perfect, "sinless."  Every one of us has sinned and we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

 

We then go to God's Moral Law, the Ten Commandments.  Ask three or four questions:  Have you ever told a lie?  Have you ever stolen anything?   Have you ever lusted for someone? Have you ever used the Lord's name in vain?  Most people (if they are telling you the truth) will say "yes" to each of these questions. These are only three of the Ten Commandments. If we have broken one of them, we are guilty, breaking God's Law and deserve punishment.  Punishment is hell--God's jail for the guilty. But God did something where people do not have to go to hell. Do you know what He did?  He sent His Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for us.  This is the Gospel message:  Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  He was buried. He rose again from the grave three days later and lives. He came to save you from hell, so that you might know God and live. He came that you might believe in Jesus Christ, receiving Him as your Lord and Savior. Believe means to trust, follow and obey--to yield yourself to Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  Do you believe this?   "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.   For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10). 

A Christian should put to memory Romans 10:9-10 and also John 3:16-19 for witnessing: 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
 
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."  (John 3:16-19)

 

Using Gospel Tracts

Using gospel tracts to witness and to share the truth of Jesus Christ is a wonderful way to break the ice with strangers and even with unsaved friends and family. Gospel tracks come in all sizes, from business cards to small booklets, brochures and leaflets.  Using tracts is biblical. God put His Word in the Bible, the written Word.  He gave us the Ten Commandments written on stone. Therefore, gospel tracts are an important way to share God's Word, in a concise format. 

 

Gospel tracts share the message when we are unavailable; they can be read by anyone, anywhere, and they can be read by others without direct contact from you.  Gospel tracks have a way of getting into homes were we can/t. And when it is left on a table in the home there is a good chance members of the family may read it.  Gospel tracts can be handed to people personally, left on doorsteps or cars, placed in shopping bags, placed on store counters, and mailed.  From my bookstore I was shipping over two hundred books a day through the mail to two hundred different customers. A tract placed in each package shipped would reach, and likely be read, by 6,000 people per month. A short one or two page letter or card does not cost much to print and does not cost any extra postage when placed in a package.

 

If you are a business owner, there are many options you could use to share the Gospel with your customers. If you have a fear of losing customers because you are doing God's work, then examine yourself:  Are you in the faith? Are you ashamed of the Lord? Or do you seek profit over God? God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). The prospect of losing a customer because you confess Christ is worth losing; and the possibility of gaining a convert, a new disciple of Jesus, is not only wonderful, it is exiting, and the saints in Heaven rejoice over a sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). You have become a soul winner. You have introduced light to a person who was lost in darkness. God is watching. He sees the good and the evil.  And the good works you do now will bring glory to you with crowns in Heaven.   We have an obligation as ambassadors of Christ to execute the will of God as long as we are in this world.

 

 

Study Questions

 

  1. What do you receive when the Holy Spirit comes upon you? P_____________

 

  1. What city did the apostles first witness after receiving the Holy Spirit? J_____________

 

  1. Where do we witness at last? To the_________________________________

 

  1. When do we stop witnessing?  When  our_____________________________

 

  1. Why did Jesus say "pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers?" The laborers__________________________________________________________________

 

 

Answers to You Shall Receive Power and Witness

[Acts 1:8]

  1. Power.
  1. Jerusalem.
  1. To the end of the earth.
  1. When our bodies have died in this life.
  1. The laborers are few.

 

Christ has commanded us to witness and share the Gospel with the world.  When we do not do this we are in defiance of God's Word.  If we love God we not only avoid the things that are detestable to Him but we also obey His commands of commission.  In love we share the "Good News" of Jesus Christ.  We say:  Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. He was buried. And three days later He rose again. He lives.  This is the Gospel.  James said we should also be doers of the word not only hearers (James 1:22).  If we hear and say we believe and do nothing, what good are we to anybody? What good are we to God?  God has revealed Himself to us. It is our privilege to  witness.  Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the love you have by which the Holy Spirit has filled you; for each of us has been dealt a measure of faith (Romans 12:3).