Power of One Podcast with Tony Medlin - We Need a Witness

Based upon acts 1:8, we learn that it is every ordinary disciple of Christ - that is you and me that needs to be a witness for what Jesus has done for us. Get excited with me as we all commit to sharing our stories of what Jesus has done for us. The world needs a witness!!!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to this week's edition of the Power of One Podcast. My name is Tony Medlin. We are so glad that you're with us. I'm excited about today as we're going to be talking about a few excerpts from a sermon I did this past week and one that I will be sharing with a doctoral class later in the week. I wanted to share it with you because I just can't get it off my heart. And that is we more than ever before in our country and in our world and our churches and our communities, everywhere we are, we need to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. I entitled the sermon that I wrote, Power Beyond Our Walls. And I based it off of the passage in Acts, and you'll love these words. You will probably recognize them. Acts 1.8 says, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. These were the last words that Jesus spoke before he ascended into heaven. I began to think as I thought about this passage of the Brandon Lake concert that my wife and I attended a couple of weeks ago, and it was just a fantastic worship experience. But it wasn't because of Brandon Lake. It was because Jesus Christ Himself was there. Brandon even said that. He said early in the concert, you bought a ticket with my name on it, but tonight is not about me. It is about Jesus. And I looked around as 12,000 people were raising their hands in worship. It was just beautiful in power and it was palpable, the presence of God that was in that place that night. Couple of moments really stood out as Brandon was singing his famous song Gratitude. And at one point in the song, he went out into a circle and just knelt on his knees by himself, looking around at 12,000 people who were all singing his song. It was like an amazing 12,000-person choir. It was beautiful to watch. There was also this young boy, seven, eight years old, he must have been. He had had some heart issues, Brandon explained. And he wanted to pray for this young man. He had heard his story, and what a beautiful moment it was for 12,000 people to be reaching out their hands toward this young boy and praying for him. There was power in the room that night. It's that kind of power that God wants for us as we walk with Jesus daily. It is that kind of power that can be seen in our life through very solid evidence. What is that evidence? The world needs to see it. Well, you probably also have heard of Galatians 5.22, which gives a list of characteristics that will be a part of our lives when we exhibit the power of the love of Jesus in our hearts. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control. I gave our congregation some homework on Sunday and I asked them during the coming week, when you notice that your life is exhibiting one of these, or that you need to exhibit one of these, write it down. Because when we are exhibiting these, we are exhibiting the love of Jesus, and we are actually being a witness. The need for this power is so important in our world today. I also shared with our congregation, you can have the best appliance in the world. But if it's unplugged, it's not going to do you any good whatsoever. I often think about getting a generator, but you know when I think about getting a generator, it's when the power goes out. I need to think about the power of Jesus in my heart and my life right now. Not just on Sunday morning, not just at a Brandon Lake concert, but right now, during the middle of the week, when normalcy seems to be going on around us, but yet we know that there's chaos and the world needs to see Jesus in us. Jesus said that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon us. And when we receive Christ, we have the Holy Spirit within us. We have his power. Are we going to be a witness today? A couple of things I'd like to point out. Number one is when a witness in court shares a testimony, that witness in court is not talking about theory, not talking about degrees, not talking about feelings. That witness in court is talking about what he or she has experienced. They are telling what they know. And that's what being a witness for Jesus Christ is all about. It's telling what you know, it's telling what you have experienced so that others may see and others may possibly experience that through your witness. You don't need a doctoral degree, you don't need a master of divinity degree, you don't need any degree to be a powerful witness for Jesus Christ. He is calling each of us as ordinary disciples to carry the story of Jesus wherever God sends us, and that's the second thing I want to mention. What is the scope of our mission? Well, it's shared right here in verse 8. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Jerusalem. That for me is right here where we are. There's not a better place to start being a witness than where you are. Is it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday when you are listening to this podcast? Is there someone in your workplace? Is there someone in your school? Is there someone within your sphere of influence that needs to hear about your experience with Jesus Christ? You don't need to go preach them a sermon. You just need maybe to go say, hey, let me tell you, my friend, what God has done for me today. Let me tell you why I have the peace that I have. Let me tell you why I have the energy that I have. Let me tell you why I have the passion for him that I have. You can be that witness right here today. What about Judea? Maybe Judea gets us into a little bit broader region. Maybe you get a little bit outside your comfort zone. Maybe you're on a trip, you're on a bus, you're in the grocery store, you're in another city, and you sense that someone needs someone to share with them, to talk to them about Jesus Christ and about what he's done in your life. Whether it's Jerusalem or Judea, God is calling you to do that. We are all, as his children, witnesses. But how about Samaria? Now we're getting into the place that may be really uncomfortable. Maybe we're getting to the place where God wants us to talk with someone, to relate to someone, to love someone that thinks differently than we do, that looks differently than we do, that maybe is from somewhere completely different from where we are from. And maybe God wants us to share with them. And you notice I use the word love. Folks, if we are going to be witnesses for Jesus Christ, it is going to have to be in love. Doesn't mean we don't tell the truth. It doesn't mean that we don't understand the judgment of God. But right now, our world needs to hear that that same God loves them. He wants to erase their sin on the cross. Jesus took that sin upon himself and he became the substitute for our debt. And we have a chance for newness. We have a chance for new life. We have a chance to be free inside. That's the message we need to share with people. It's a little bit more difficult to love that person. But God is calling us to be witnesses of this love, of this Jesus who gave himself for us, not just in Jerusalem, not just in Judea, not just in Samaria, but to the uttermost parts of the world. And that takes us completely outside of our comfort zone. Maybe it takes us even to a new place. I read a book recently by a missionary to China, and it was fascinating to read that work and what that life was like and being able to integrate with people and be a part of their culture in order to have an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus with them. And it wasn't long after I read that book that I had a chance to sit down with a person named Chris Harbin, the son of one of our church members. And it was interesting to hear Chris talk about himself and his family and their life as missionaries to Algeria. He had almost a glow about him as he talked about many of the same things I had read in the book about the missionary to China. I praise God for those that are willing to answer the call of God and go literally to the uttermost parts of the earth to share the story of Jesus. But folks, right now, today, right where you are, you don't have to prepare. You don't have to take a class. All you need to do is understand what God has done for you through the cross of Jesus Christ, through the cross at Calvary, where Jesus Christ hung upon a tree, as I said earlier, to be the dead for our sin. And God raised him from the dead, and that new life and that renewal is for you and me. Maybe you haven't received that renewal yet. Maybe you have not received that new life. It doesn't matter what you've done, it doesn't matter where you are, it doesn't matter where you've been, you can receive that saving grace of Jesus Christ right now. In fact, I would like to just pray a prayer. And if you need to receive Jesus today, just pray this prayer with me. Lord, I'm a sinner. I need you. I want to be renewed. I want my sins washed away. As far as the East is from the West, though they be as red as crimson, they could be white as snow. Lord, thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for making me to be a new creation. Lord, help me to live life more fully now than I have ever lived before. And I know that you are my Savior because Romans 10, 9 and 10 says, if we believe with our hearts that Jesus is Lord and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God has raised him from the dead, we shall be saved. God, I believe that today. And I ask that you would use me to share with others that same message. If you've prayed that prayer, I'd like to know about it. Go on our website, Power of One, Spiritual Renewal.com. You can email me at Anthony Medlin26 at Outlook.com. Let me know what's going on in your life. I want this podcast to be able to reach many people and to share with others the kinds of things that we need to know to live life victoriously and to live life fully. Power of One, Spiritual Renewal. It is a it is an opportunity that I want to use to share discipleship with people who want to grow in Christ. Again, go on my website, email me. You can call me at 864-430-4498. I would love to uh set up an appointment with you. I would love to hear what's going on in your life. And also, if you're in the Oconee County area and need a church, uh I'm pastor of a church plant, Grace Methodist Church. It's a global Methodist church right here in Seneca. It's at 155 Thrift Avenue, right off of Highway 20, 123, beside Tractor Supply. Sunday mornings at 10 o'clock. We would love for you to be with us. Folks, thank you for joining us for this week's podcast. I hope you have a great rest of the week, and I will look forward to seeing you right here on the Power of One podcast with Tony Medlin next week. Have a blessed day, everyone.