Receiving Energy from on Excessive
The Holy Spirit empowers believers for Christian witness. Jesus commissioned his folks to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8). Consequently, each believer and each church is named to bear witness about Christ. However till motivated by the Spirit, our public witness is commonly weak and fickle. Think about the instance of Peter: earlier than the resurrection, he was an untrue witness. When questioned by a servant woman, Peter responded with concern, swearing he didn’t know Jesus (Mark 14:71). However after Pentecost, Peter was a trustworthy witness: he preached the gospel with braveness, rebuking the leaders who crucified Jesus (Acts 2:23, 36). The distinction is that Peter had been empowered by the Spirit. As promised by the Father, the Spirit of Christ was despatched to indwell all believers and to inspire their gospel witness on this planet.
How may the Holy Spirit inspire our church buildings to be witnesses of Christ? The sovereign Spirit of God is free to make use of many alternative means. However he normally motivates us by giving us a imaginative and prescient of God’s mission and by arousing our ardour for God’s glory. After the resurrection, Jesus defined the Scriptures to his disciples, opening their minds to see the grand imaginative and prescient of God’s mission. It was essential for Christ to perform redemption earlier than the message of this redemption would “be proclaimed in his identify to all nations” (Luke 24:47). Jesus then commissioned the church, promising to ship the Spirit to empower them and to bear witness with them (cf. John 15:26–27). In the identical order at the moment, Christ opens our minds to grasp his mission after which empowers us along with his Spirit to take part in it as his witnesses.
Enduring Hope in God’s Mission
The Holy Spirit fills us with missional hope as we be taught from the Scriptures to see what God is doing. Missional hope is a joyful anticipation of the long run success of God’s mission (Rom. 5:2; 15:13; Col. 1:27). From historic instances, God’s folks celebrated what God was getting ready to do on this planet, and by religion they envisioned its success (Ps. 22:27–28; 72:8–19; Isa. 11:6–9; 56:6–8; Mic. 4:1; Mal. 1:11). Likewise at the moment, we hope for the non secular progress of Christ’s church amongst all nations and the rise of true worship all over the place (Mark 11:17; Acts 13:47; Rom. 15:8–13; Phil. 2:20–11; Titus 2:13; Rev. 5:13).
The top purpose of God’s mission consists of the common triumph of Christ’s kingdom, the consummation of the covenant, and the absolutely revealed glory of the Triune God. By religion, we all know this consequence is exceedingly sure and positive! Moreover, our sovereign God has additionally decreed the means to finish his mission: the co-witness of the phrase by his Spirit and his church. Due to this fact, our hope is enduring: God’s mission will succeed; his church might be gathered; his everlasting functions might be achieved, all to the reward of his wonderful grace (Eph. 1:11–14; 3:9–12).
You Will Be My Witnesses examines the witness of God’s folks inside the story of God’s mission, attracts insights from the church’s witness since Pentecost, and displays on sensible points of latest Christian witness.
Missional hope is aroused by this non secular imaginative and prescient of what’s going to quickly be absolutely realized. It’s constructed completely upon God’s guarantees (Gen. 12:3; Ps. 67; Dan. 2:44; Hab. 2:14). It’s doubly anchored in God’s unchangeable oath and character (Heb. 6:13–20). Accordingly, it kindles assured confidence to observe God absolutely, no matter the associated fee. Our theology of Christian witness is just not full till we’re stirred up with this missional hope and the piety that follows.
Responding in Worship and Prayer
The Holy Spirit usually makes use of missional hope to inspire missional piety. As an important a part of non secular godliness, this piety overflows spontaneously from biblical information of God’s mission joined with passionate prayer for the rise of Christ’s kingdom and the fullness of God’s glory. This piety is mental, rooted in biblical theology; it’s emotional, stirring up holy passions; and it’s sensible, demonstrated in self-sacrificing love and good deeds. Additionally it is mystical, sharing in each Christ’s struggling and victory, in addition to communal, for the reason that fellowship of the saints is itself a strongest witness on this planet of God’s triune love (John 17:21). Biographies abound of women and men who had been constrained by this holy ardour, giving their lives to be trustworthy witnesses of Christ (cf. Acts 18:5; 2 Cor. 5:14; Phil. 1:20–23).
The Holy Spirit fills us with missional hope as we be taught from the Scriptures to see what God is doing.
Missional piety is expressed by the church in worship as a festivity of what God has already completed and can quickly do to finish his mission. Declaring God’s mighty deeds and his glory among the many nations is the music of the church in all ages (Ps. 96; 98; Rev. 5:9). This piety can also be expressed in passionate prayer for the success of God’s mission. “Ask of me” says the Father to the Son, and due to this fact we echo the identical prayer: “Might folks from all nations worship the Son to the glory of God the Father. Might the entire earth be crammed along with his glory. Might your identify be hallowed on earth as it’s in heaven!” (Ps. 2:8; Ps. 72:19; Matt. 6:9-10; Phil. 2:10-11). Additional, this piety encourages passionate participation in God’s mission. Worship, fasting, and prayer had been the actions of the church leaders in Antioch when the Holy Spirit urged them to ship out Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:1–3). Likewise at the moment, the Spirit unites us in worship and solutions our prayers by filling us along with his zeal and boldness for gospel witness (cf. Acts 4:31).
Constructing on the Greatest Basis
What’s one of the best ways to inspire our church buildings for gospel witness? We are able to share knowledge concerning the urgency of wants on this dying world. We are able to evoke human pity with footage of dreadful struggling. We are able to right church members for his or her negligence and indifference. But these motivators could solely deal with signs, not the trigger. Somewhat, enduring motivation for Christian witness is produced by the Spirit inside believers. Our minds are opened to grasp the ability of the gospel, not just for ourselves personally but additionally as “the manifold knowledge of God” now being made recognized amongst all nations (Eph. 3:7–11). We see in Scripture the historic unfolding God’s redemptive mission, and the Spirit guides us in prayer for gospel success to the reward of God’s glory (Acts 26:23; 2 Thess. 3:1). These truths resonate inside our hearts and encourage us in direction of trustworthy obedience.
The Holy Spirit makes use of missional hope and missional piety to inspire participation in God’s mission. This imaginative and prescient and zeal, this private expertise and passionate hope, is stirred up inside us and our church buildings when Christ’s Spirit of mission fills us afresh and motivates us to gospel witness. Then, by religion, we joyfully anticipate God’s mission achieved. Then, we’re stuffed with evangelistic love for all folks. Then, in thankfulness, we provide our lives as prepared sacrifices for the reason for Christ’s kingdom.
Sensible Methods to Encourage Witness
Is your church a trustworthy gospel witness, just like the church buildings in Rome, Thessalonica, and lots of different locations all through church historical past (Rom. 1:8; 1 Thess. 1:7–8)? We want to dwell deliberately as witnesses of Christ, making disciples each regionally “and to the top of the earth” (Matt. 28:19). We lengthy for a revival of true spiritual affections in our group and for the salvation of our unsaved neighbors. We wish our church to be stuffed with holy ardour for the common fame of Christ’s identify. Many people acknowledge, nevertheless, that our church is just not but the witness it should be. Usually the issue is just not an absence of alternative, since there may be a lot want close to and world wide. Neither is it an absence of personnel, as each believer is named to be a witness. It’s not even an absence of understanding what to do, although extra information would reduce misguided efforts. The dearth of biblical motivation is normally the best problem.
What ought to we do to inspire our church buildings for gospel witness? Think about these 4 actions you are able to do collectively along with your church:
Pray collectively for the Spirit of mission to fill your church afresh, pleading on the guarantees about Christ’s fame and God’s glory.
Envision collectively what God is doing to perform his mission.
Have fun collectively the story of God’s mighty deeds among the many nations. Meditate on the wonderful file of God’s mission in redemptive historical past, and browse once more the gorgeous biographies of trustworthy Christian witnesses all through church historical past.
Work collectively to fire up the entire church to take part in God’s mission by gospel witness.
Brian A. DeVries is the creator of You Will Be My Witnesses: Theology for God’s Church Serving in God’s Mission.
