EMPOWERED TO TESTIFY

“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about Me. And you also must testify…” (John 15:27-27a) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…” (Act 1:8) “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak…as the Spirit enabled them…declaring the wonders of God…!” 

 Jesus sends His Holy Spirit to empower us to testify. The Spirit points away from Himself, past us the recipients, and points to Jesus. On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came that is exactly what happened. Some who witnessed the disciples testifying wanted to focus on their behavior, saying “they have had too much wine.” (Acts 2:13) Peter immediately stood up and put the focus back on Jesus. “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth…God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified both Lord and Christ (Messiah).” (Acts 2:14-36) And that is where the focus must always be, even on the day we celebrate known as the Day of Pentecost. 

Jesus, our Living Lord, calls each of us to Life in Him and ordains us and sends us to testify to Him in the world. It is Jesus who ordains and empowers us. All who follow Jesus and receive His Holy Spirit are thereby ordained to proclaim Jesus in the world. The Church of Jesus Christ ordains clergy for special functions of sacrament and word within the Church, but it is Christ Jesus who ordains us, including the clergy, to service and proclamation. This is what Martin Luther referred to as “the priesthood of all believers.” We are empowered and enabled by His promised Counselor whom He sends us from the Father, the Spirit of truth. (John 15:26)

In His Holy Spirit we are constantly thrilled by the potential of the "impossible." There is sheer joy within as we face the "impossible” for we know that “what is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27) We rejoice in the fact that “…nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) The whole power and economy of Heaven is behind us when we are about the business of proclaiming Jesus Christ in the world. Pentecost is the day we celebrate this empowerment. However, the Power within us and the wonder of doing the impossible must never divert our attention from the task we are sent by Christ into the world to do. 

Individuals, as well as whole churches, can be sidetracked in our witness when we call attention to the wonder of miracles and not the Man, Jesus, who is the central Miracle that makes all things possible. The Holy Spirit is His Gift to His Church. In my opinion the Day of Pentecost was the day the Church, already in existence, was empowered to do its mission, not its birthday. The birthday of the Church is the day Jesus called His first disciples, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, and said to them, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt. 14:19) Later Jesus confirmed His commitment to His church when He said, “upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18)

On the day of Pentecost His Church, already in existence, was doing exactly what Jesus had told them to do. (That’ll preach.) They were gathered together in one place, no doubt on “The Teaching Steps” on the north side of the Temple Mount, praying and waiting for the Gift of the Father, the Holy Spirit they had heard Jesus speak about. (Acts 1:4-5) They believed Jesus when He promised that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them.”(Acts 1:8) Like them, when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we too are empowered to fulfill our calling to testify to Jesus in the world.