Real Witnesses

One time I served a subpoena to a man who was not paying child support for the mother of the children. I waited for him on a street corner, identified his name, and gave him an order to appear in court. It was his responsibility as a citizen to appear in court. We have a responsibility to witness for the Lord. Responsibility is an ability to respond as God has said to every life situation in spite of difficulties.
God puts His people that have been redeemed on the witness stand. The redeemed of the Lord have been handed a personal subpoena by the nail-scarred hand of Jesus to witness for Him. There is a great controversy in our world as to who is the true God. The world has very many false witnesses. Does not the Living and True God deserve for, those He has redeemed to witness for Him?
We are commissioned to witness for our God. Here is God’s commission for every child of God. What an exciting commission it is! Divine commission! We witness that He is the only Savior and God. What a PURPOSE to live for.
God challenges his people to witness for him as they come out of their captivity on their way to Jerusalem. We have come out of the prison house of sin and are on our way to heaven. Witness for our great King and LORD.
Some foundational points of witnessing:
Jesus is the Faithful Witness, v.10; Is.55:4; Rev.1 God does not ask us to do anything that He himself has not faithfully done. Jesus witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate. Jesus embodied all of the characteristics God desires for a true witness.
Witnessing increases our knowledge, faith and understanding of God, v.10 As we witness we come to know God by BY EXPERIENCE, and God becomes real. People think witnessing is only for weird religious fanatics. That is false. When we witness because God is real, and as we witness, He becomes more real to us. Witnesses have their faith strengthened. As we witness, we become even more assured of the TRUTH of God. Faith gives STABILITY. One reason Christians are unstable is their faith is weak. One reason our faith is weak is we do not witness. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established, Is.7:9. Witnessing increases our understanding or INSIGHT and discernment of God. As we witness, we are given INSIGHT into God’s character.
We witness that there is One God and Savior, v.10,11,12. God alone is the absolutely self-existent God. He is the one and only Savior from sin. Every other god of this world is formed. God is eternal.
We have a nation of people bored out of their gourd; witnessing is exciting work. Anybody can do it and we can do it anywhere. No matter what your profession in this world, you have a commission: to witness for Jesus Christ. What a joy to witness! To neighbors, to co-workers, or to friends before we were saved. What a joy to witness even to our own children and point their young hearts to Jesus Christ!
1. Real Witnesses Fear Not! (v.1-7)
Acts 18:9,10 Fear is banished as God’s nature, God’s works, and God’s promises are believed and cherished. God’s promises, His Person, and His power lead me not to fear. When you KNOW the truth and when you SPEAK the truth IN LOVE, you have nothing to fear. A witness must say what is the truth.
Isaiah 44:8, Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye are my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God: I know not any.
Many have slandered the good name of God and have testified wrongly of Him. Many more have cursed and blasphemed the name of God and associate him with cursing. We are not called to be COWARDS, for there are many of those, but He has called us to be true CHRISTIANS, who must stand and speak the whole counsel of God. There are not too many of those. I cannot but speak the things I have seen and heard. The false witnesses of God are many, sad to say. Many say they are Jehovah’s witnesses but they are slanderers of the One True God. They deny the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ and they deny the person and Deity of the Holy Spirit of God. Many say that God is whoever you want him to be. Many others say that whoever you say is God, is God. He could be Allah, Buddha, or some other deity. This is a false testimony. Others have said that our Lord Jesus Christ did not die on the cross or He is not alive. This is a false testimony.
It is hard work to win souls, but it is worth it, for the value of one soul is greater than all the earthly kingdoms of this world. The value of one soul is worth more than all the money in the stock market, all the buildings in Manhattan. It is sometimes fearful to witness for Christ because we will be rejected and we will be seen as judging others. We have to struggle against people’s self righteousness, their unbelief, or their pride.
A. God has CREATED us, v.1, 7
We are to witness to our world that our God has created us. I will not shrink from witnessing that we are made in the image of God. That the Book of Genesis as it reveals how God has made us on the 6th Day is truth. God formed man from the dust of the ground and God formed each of us individually and God formed Israel as a nation. The lie of evolution has led to calamity and death in our world. It leads to man living like an animal and not honoring the God who has created him.
We have an IDENTITY: Who am I?
We have UTILITY: What am I here for?
We have a DESTINY: Where am I going?
B. God has CALLED us, v.1
This is a personal call. He has called us by our name. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I can testify that I have heard my Saviour’s voice speak to me by the power of His blessed Word! Yes, this Book, the Bible, is the Word of God and I have heard Him call me to come to me and find rest for my soul, and I am here to testify this morning, that His rest is real.
C. God has REDEEMED us, v.1
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so. If He has saved you, you are to witness for Him. Yes, He has redeemed us.
D. God has PROTECTED us, v.2:
Just because God has created us and has called us to witness for Him does not mean we will not find ourselves in deep waters or experience pain in the fire. Sometimes witnesses have to go through the deep waters and hot fires. In strange places, in dangerous places, God is with us to protect us. In the worst places we have the best company! Remember, when you witness for the Lord He will be with you. He will not fail or forsake you.
E. God has SAVED us, v.3
If you are saved, then open your mouth for Him. If you do not, then you will be in danger of having just enough of God’s salvation to make you miserable. He is our Saviour.
F. God has LOVED us, v.4
Does the world not witness for the things they love? Do they not pour themselves into the lust of the world, the pride of life and the lust of the flesh? God has loved us! Will we not stand up for him? What would you think of me if I entered a room with my wife but I was ashamed of her and tried to distance myself from her and never introduced her to anyone? Can I say that I love my wife?
2. Real Witnesses PRAISE HIM! (v.21)
Witnesses show forth His Praise! Give Him glory. Thank Him. Adore Him. Worship Him. Praise Him!
1 Peter 2:9 says that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
A. Praise Him: God can MAKE a WAY where there is none! v. 16,17
Yes, witness of His past might and salvation. Praise Him for doing all those wonderful things in the past, for opening up the Red Sea and Jordan River. God makes a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters (v.16).
B. Praise Him: God will do something NEW that He has never done before!
One of the ways we witness for God is to praise Him for what He is going to do. Are you in the midst of the difficulty? Praise Him that He will do a new thing and He will deliver you.
Is.43:19, Behold, I will do a NEW thing.
The word new means He is able to renew and repair the broken things. God can renew the broken down walls of Jerusalem. God can renew our spirit within us when we sin. God gives a NEW song, makes a NEW Covenant, and also a NEW HEAVEN and EARTH.
Isaiah 41:15; 42:9,10; 65:17; 66:22
One of the obstacles that keep us from praising God as His witness is our past. “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.”
How do we deal with the past? For some of us here, our past is one of the greatest hindrances we face to our present. Is the PAST your PRESENT PROBLEM? SINS in the past that are UNRESOLVED, UNCONFESSED are a problem NOW. HABITS learned in the past that are still in your life are a problem NOW. You have MEMORIES from the past that cause guilt and regret in the present. You have PAIN in the past that causes you to complain and murmur against God in the present.
Does the past have to DICTATE to you who you are today?
Does the past have DEFEAT you with guilt?
Does the past have to DOMINATE your thinking and keep you?
Does the past have to DEPRESS you?
Philemon 11, Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me.
2 Tim. 4:11, Take Mark, and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
God can do something NEW for you NOW.
Some things are better off forgotten! Do not reflect upon the past and allow it to bring a complaining, murmuring spirit to your heart. We ought to be able to reflect upon the past with gratitude. The past ought to stimulate us to faith today. The past should not stereotype our expectations of God, however.
God is not bound by the past, to do exactly what He did in the past or not do what he did not do. God will do all His holy will. God will carry out His wise plan that He has foreordained from everlasting. Morning by morning, new mercies we can see from the hand of our great God.
We cannot live in the past and think God was alive in the “good old days” but that He is powerless to work in the “nasty now and now.” God lives today just as much as He did in the day He said, “Let there be light.” God is not making light today, however, but He is doing a new thing. God lives today just as much as when He opened up the Red Sea. God is not opening up rivers today, but He is doing a new thing. God lives as much today as when He fed Israel with manna in the wilderness. God is not raining manna from heaven, but He is doing a new thing. Isaiah is talking about this: God who made a way in the sea in the past is going to do a new thing, that is, make a way in the wilderness. God can do a new thing for you in your difficulty, in your desert, in the valley of the shadow of death.
God can do a NEW thing for you. I am not talking about signs and wonders, I am talking about God giving you “rivers in the desert.” This speaks about God giving His Holy Spirit. God’s Holy Spirit can bring about wonderful change in our life. He is our Counselor and Comforter. He does a NEW thing in our lives to help us discipline ourselves in areas that were before impossible: thoughts, finances, eating, children, church attendance, etc.
God is never limited or restricted by circumstances. HE can make a way where there is none, in the sea or in the wilderness. He can give “rivers in the desert.” This is the Holy Spirit, beloved.
He will do a new thing! (v.19) He will make a way through the wilderness! God can make a way for Israel through the Red Sea and for another generation through the wilderness.
The people of God must praise God.
3. Real Witnesses PROCLAIM Forgiveness, v.22-28
God’s people often complain and grow weary of our God. In our flesh, people think God is over demanding and unreasonable. God is saying that His commandments do not wear us out if we understand them. God’s commands do not overburden us, actually our sins burden the Lord!
A true witness does not become weary in serving Him because He has forgiven our transgressions.
A true witness does not get weary OF the work of going, telling, praying, or serving. Sometimes we get weary IN the work, but we do not get weary OF the work.
As witnesses, we must know that He has forgiven our sins and He will forgive all who call upon His name.
This is a pardon from God Himself. This is a blessing because all sin is AGAINST God. What if you stole from a store and you came to me and said, Matthew, forgive me for stealing that Mounds Almond Bar from the store. I would say, “You did not steal it from me. Go to God and confess to Him and then go to the storeowner and confess your sin to him.” All sin is against God and it is God who offers forgiveness.
Come now, let us reason together, Isaiah said in chapter 1. We are working our way to Isaiah 53 where we see the righteous servant bear our sins. Forgiveness must be by the blood of Jesus, for the life of the flesh is in the blood.
Forgiveness is all of God’s grace. It is for HIS SAKE. For His Glory. Through Jesus Christ alone! God ERASES our sins for His Sake. He wipes away our sin, removing it as far as the east is from the west. He obliterates it and abolishes it.
Psalm 51:1-4, 7-13: 1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. A sense of sin, although painful, is a tremendous blessing. When we sense our sin, we seek a solution. Witness how Jesus has died for our sins. Witness how He has risen from the dead. A witness tells the truth, the Gospel truth. Do not give any hear say evidence, that is second-hand testimony. Testify firsthand what God has done for you. Testify firsthand how the Lord Jesus Christ has come to you and you have tasted Him and seen Him and He has saved you. You are not saved through second-hand grace, but by God’s grace applied directly and personally to your heart. If you are saved, you will have a inner ache to tell others of His love.
As a witness, you will be cross-examined. That is, the lawyers of the world will stand up and take issue with our words, they will slice and dice our words and they will watch our life. You say you are a Christian, then why do you do this or that? They will question you, tempt you, taunt you, and mock you.
Remember, this sermon has nothing to do with many of you. You cannot witness for Christ, for you do not know him. You cannot witness for him till you have trusted him. O you who are out of Christ, let my witness to you this morning be this, that except ye seek him ye must perish, but that if ye seek him he will he found of you. May the Lord give you to find him now, and his shall be the glory. Amen.
Real Witnesses:
Fear Not!
Praise Him!
Proclaim Forgiveness!
I read the story in Cop of a young waitress held up by gang members. The young lady had a child and husband. The offenders of the crime were found but before the court date they intimidated the young mother. When she took the witness stand, she was afraid to tell the truth because of fear. She feared for her life, for the life of her baby and her husband. She was afraid to witness because she did not sense protection. Look at God’s witness protection program for us!