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REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “Peter’s witness that God exalted Jesus” To witness means to testify about a fact or information one has seen, heard and experienced. Peter witnessed to the Jewish leaders about the resurrection of Jesus. We shall reflect on the fact that we can witness to the world about Jesus when we believe in Him as our Saviour and are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Beloved in the Lord, after the arrest, suffering, crucifixion and burial of Jesus, Peter and the other disciples were afraid of persecution; therefore, they had to abandon their Master and mission and go into hiding. They were afraid of the Jewish authorities who despised Christ and His Gospel. In today’s Scripture, we find Peter and the hitherto timid Apostles emboldened by the Holy Spirit to witness to the same Jewish authorities that God exalted Jesus. This witnessing was done in the face of persecution. “Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead, whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” (Acts 5:29-32) It is important to note that the boldness or courage of Peter and the other Apostles came from the fact that Jesus was indeed exalted as the Son of God and the Saviour of the World. Again, they were emboldened because they obeyed God and were empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Dear friend, the passion to witness or preach the Gospel must come from our faith in the exalted Jesus and our ability to allow ourselves to be used by the Holy Spirit to preach to the dying and perishing. You and I are the Peter and the Apostles of our times. We have received knowledge of the Good News and have become beneficiaries of Jesus’ salvation. The Holy Spirit has also been made available to those who trust and obey God. We have no excuse as a Church and as individuals. There are politicians, traditional leaders, the rich and the poor whose souls are perishing and dying. Like Peter and the Apostles, the Lord expect us to move out of our comfort zones to witness to the world about the exalted Jesus. We are to witness, according to John 3:16-17, that “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17) Friends, it is not enough to attend daily morning devotion, midweek service and Sunday services and feel spiritually and emotionally refreshed and fulfilled, but what pleases God is that after we have been saved and have had an encounter with the the truth and the light, we must use every available means and opportunity witness to the souls around us.

In the 21st century, witnessing has become easier in many parts of the world, although there are many who still make nonsense of the Gospel. Paul had already revealed to us that “… the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-19). We must not feel shy or ashamed to preach the Gospel. We must not fear rejection and be filled with apprehension. Like Peter and the Apostles, we must always be compelled by the commanding words of Jesus Christ during the Great Commission when He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) Beloved in the Lord, how are Christians of the 21st Century obeying the Great Commission? Is the church running a mission-oriented ministry or a maintenance ministry? A mission-oriented church prioritises Evangelism over everything else. Funds received are channelled towards Evangelistic and outreach activities so that many souls will continue to be saved even as the church expands quantitatively and also qualitatively. Any church that prioritises the Great Commission is given the divine empowerment to expand since it is obeying the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ. Beloved in the Lord, maintenance-oriented ministry, on the other hand, is when the church is satisfied with its few members; therefore, it builds a wall around itself to the exclusion of outsiders. The church is comfortable with its routine activities for the spiritual upliftment and edification of its members. Again, welfare schemes are operated for the benefit of their members to the exclusion of outsiders. There is no urgency for witnessing; it is all about the existing members and their welfare. A maintenance-ministry oriented church prays and waits for souls to find their way to their chapels, but a mission-oriented ministry has a plan or a strategy that reflects Jesus’ instruction to the Peter when He said, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4) In other words, a mission-oriented church, goes out search for the lost and dying. It goes out to witness. Evangelism is not left to chance; it is purpose-driven in a mission-oriented church. In a maintenance-oriented ministry church, the leaders and members are more comfortable and obsessed with spending church funds on building expensive church chapels, welfare packages, and do not really focus on the dwindling numbers of their members. Leaders of a maintenance-oriented church are not passionate about evangelism. Evanglism is an annual affair instead of a continuous activity. Many of these leaders will discourage others and will not support a budget for effective evangelism. Many of them think it is a waste of church funds. However, in a mission-oriented church, the leaders are at the forefront of the evangelism or outreach agenda. You will usually see them supporting and actively involved in Evangelism.  

Dear friend, as believers in the 21st century, let us use our social media handles such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and many others to witness to the world about the resurrected and exalted Christ. You can share the morning devotion link every morning on your WhatsApp status or Facebook timeline. It is a passive and conscious effort to have those who visit your timeline read the Word of God.

In summary, we have discovered that we can witness to the world about Jesus when we believe in Him as our Saviour and are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER

May the Holy Spirit empower us to witness to the world about Jesus, our Saviour. Amen.