You Will Witness.
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But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
During Jesus’ time on Earth, the disciples see Him in His element. Jesus is able to love people who spit on Him and curse His name. He is able to love the people who fight against Him trying to help them. He is able to love Judas, someone who betrays Him. The disciples see people literally get raised from the dead. They watch years of poverty and disease be eradicated with His touch. They see things that break both the laws of physics and what they view as possible.
And now Jesus is saying they will be His witnesses? He is going to leave them to continue His legacy? It’s crazy.
“But how?” the disciples may have asked, “I'm not good enough. I just left that girl's house. I just cheated on the boyfriend I prayed for and You gave me. I just sobered up from last night. I'm not the Christian that people want me to be and You want to use me to love others as you did? You want meeee to represent You? Yikes. Are You sure?”
And the answer is yes. God wanted to use the disciples and He wants to use you! He knows you, and still wants to use you.
You will be witnesses. You, yes you. Broken you. Insecure you. You. Just let Him work.
You will be a witness of God's transforming love. Why? Because you have experienced it. You can only share an experience you've had. You can only introduce others to a love you know. You are loved and now you’re a billboard of who God loves and what His love does.
But how? How is this going to work out? What's crazy is that Jesus had a plan that's very similar to the plan He used to save us from the penalty of sin. He decided to do the work for us. He called us to love like Him. But it wouldn't be in our own power. Jesus told His disciples that they would be ministers but that they needed the ministerial prerequisite which is the Holy Spirit. So what is the Holy Spirit? Why is this so important?
The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons within the Godhead. We have God the Father as one, Jesus, the agent of salvation that came to earth to do the work of justification for us as another one. And finally, The Spirit of God, imparted to produce an internal work of love inside of us. Just because Jesus died for the penalty associated with sin doesn't mean the effects of sin don't still exist. We are free from the penalty of sin, which is separation from God, but the effects still linger. There is still greed. There is still pride. There is still selfishness and fear. It's a paradox. God is life and love so being separated from Him means death and hate. We are still broken even though we have wholeness while hidden in Christ. But God as The Spirit came to work out those issues in our hearts. The Fruit of the Spirit’s indwelling is the remedy to the effects of sin. Jesus said He would leave us a gift of a helper and an advocate so we would actually have the power to do what He called us to. It's not in our own strength—God is working for us, through The Spirit.
So yes, Jesus left us here with the task of being His hands and feet while He prepares heaven. But, we aren't alone. The Spirit of God is the one powering these works of love you could not power on your own. Jesus knew you could not love on your own so He devised a plan: the Holy Spirit. God didn't want separation from you anymore so He came as Jesus, stayed as the spirit, and will be with you in heaven. He is not leaving you alone. God is in, with, and around you. He is healing you and helping you. Changing you and charging you with the power to love. He is fixing your heart so the fruit is love and not pain. And preparing a place so that you will never feel the effects of separation again.
You will be a witness of God’s love, not just to your community but the world because you allow the Holy Spirit to do His work of Love. It doesn't matter how broken you are. The Spirit is strong. He will continue to use you as He heals you.
If you give God a shot, He will not only give you the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit will comfort, confront, heal and help you. God has called us to God-sized missions, but He has not left us alone to do it. He is doing the work and putting our names on the assignment. Jesus wraps us in Himself so we have His security and wholeness while He heals us. Just let Him work. Give up and give it to God. Allow the Spirit to work and you will continue to be a witness of God's grace and love to the world.
So how do I get the Spirit? It sounds so good, but how do I get it? Is it really that simple? In Luke 11 Jesus addresses the issue like this:
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are sinful, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
You heard it here folks. All you have to do is ask and you can trust that you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit.
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ROAR
In the Bible, the disciples experience a transition of ministry. They are called to minister but Jesus tells them that they need His Spirit first because The Spirit would give them the power to actually accomplish what they were called to do. One day they are all in a room together and boom, they hear a roar of wind and are filled with The Spirit just as Jesus said they would be. They receive the Holy Ghost's power to love like Jesus because it is God working through them. Then, the mission of presenting love to the world commences.
On April 17th, I want to create a room to not just celebrate the gift of God’s imminent and transcendent Spirit, but ask for an outpouring of it. The Bible says that in the last days God will pour out His Spirit and His sons and daughters would be witnesses, speaking for and about Him. I want to be a part of that prophecy. The Bible reminds us that if average dads can give good gifts, we can be assured that our heavenly father will give The Spirit to those who ask. So I'm asking and asking you to ask personally. Join us as we ask together at ROAR.
I'm going to new plains and I know I need Jesus with me. Let’s do this together.
Here is a link to sign up:
https://redemptionsdafellowship.org/roar
I also want to thank you for continually supporting this ministry, ThoughtsByPace. I have heard many friends and friends of friends say that God has used this platform to make Jesus make sense to them and reignite their passion for seeking Him. Thank you for playing a part in that. You can continue to support through prayer, sharing, and giving. Anyone can text “thoughts” to (844) 750-0137 to subscribe! And anyone can partner by donating through the donation portal on this website or through Cash App to $ThoughtsByPace.
Thanks again for everything.
God is so good.
Sincerely,
Pace.
