As believers, we have the privilege of knowing a God who chooses to reveal His nature to us.
Amidst all of the thundering revelation and day-to-day information that the Lord releases to those who listen, there comes, at times, the voice of a gentle Shepherd. The sound of this voice carries authority, tenderness, and love that quiets all other voices and silences all other thoughts. Perhaps you know this Voice.
God is in the storm, but He is also close to the brokenhearted. As believers, we have the distinct privilege of knowing a God who chooses – despite all our challenges to the contrary – to reveal His manifold nature to us. He is truly good!
As I’ve journeyed with Him through several weeks of prayer, one of the verses He’s given me repeatedly is Acts 2:32: “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.”
This statement is part of the Apostles’ doctrine; it comes from the very first speech that Peter gave when he stood up on Pentecost, preaching to those on whom the fire of God fell.
Believers sometimes assume that this verse speaks only of those who were alive to see Jesus’ resurrection historically. These same people say that the power of the early church died with the martyred apostles. I believe, as I know many of my readers do, that this verse is more than just a historical statement.
Our Foundation.
A witness is a martyr; someone who is willing to die for a truth they believe. The ninth of the ten commandments in Exodus prohibits bearing false witness, and Jesus later affirms that truthful witness is a condition for our entrance into eternity. (Deut 5:20; Matt 19:16-18.)
Ironically, Jesus died on the testimony of false witnesses, yet His resurrection makes us witnesses of what is actually true!
The Apostle Paul writes:
“…if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:12-18)
When we encounter Christ for the first time, confessing our faith in Him, we become “witnesses” to the truth of His life in us now and our hope of eternity later. When the Spirit is poured out on believers, it is to empower us to be witnesses of the hope of glory through Jesus Christ.
These times of trial reveal who the true and false witnesses really are. Those who hold onto their testimony of God’s love and faithfulness in the darkest seasons are those who are true witnesses – or martyrs – for Christ. They die daily to their own misconceptions of who God really is, and reconcile others to Christ in the process. They will be rewarded for their faithfulness.
@ Deborah Perkins / Hisinscriptions.com
Our Restoration
Resurrection power is unlimited, as the book of Acts shows. Jesus didn’t die just to save our spirits! He came for the whole man; for all that concerns us.
This is one of the reasons why I love the Lord. I have been delivered from captivity in many areas of my life, and am still being delivered today. The power of Christ touches spirit, soul, and body to restore what is broken or lost. Our salvation is an ongoing process. (Philippians 2:12.) The best thing we can do in trials is to become prophets and restorers of our own lives.
Salvation is, in part, an emotional process. We are called to die to what is old so that the new creation can rise up. We cast down false imaginations and lying thoughts and renew our minds with what is biblical and true. As this transformation of our minds and souls occurs, we become witnesses to His power working in us, but we also become restorers of life to others.
For healing to occur in the Body of Christ right now, we need witnesses. We need people around us who really “get” what it means to feel pain; to be betrayed; to feel abandoned, alone, or rejected. The restoration process is ignited through testimonies of witnesses. Christ is the Healer, but He calls His Body to be the voices and hands that help us when we need “Jesus with skin on.”
It is because those who love God invested time and energy to bring me to the Throne, enjoying God together, that I discovered the power of prayer.
It is because I was able to rest my tear-streaked face on a spiritual father’s heart that I encountered the heart of a loving heavenly Father for the first time.
It is because dear friends took my hands and sat quietly with me in moments of deep personal pain that I found hope in valleys of trouble.
The journey is not easy, but it becomes easier when we walk together in unity, in the presence of those who are “witnesses” to our lives. Their stories of healing and restoration inspire us to believe for our own.
