BECOMING: Witness

Hello church (and anyone else reading)!

This week we continued our 10-week study of spiritual practices that we are calling BECOMING. Unfortunately due to some technical difficulties, our livestream was not working this past week, which means that we do not have a video stream for the sermon from Sunday. We do, however, have a video of the two testimonies that were shared, which you can view here, and you can find a summary of the sermon below!  

Who we are becoming should be intentional, not accidental. In this series, we are exploring nine ancient practices that position us to be formed by Christ and so become like Him. 

Acts chapter 2

Happy Pentecost! If you have never celebrated Pentecost or aren’t fully sure what this church holy day is, Pentecost marks the giving of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. The early followers of Jesus were all in one place when, as you can read in Acts 2, a sound like a rushing wind came through the room and tongues of fire appeared over their heads. Even more shocking, the believers began to preach the gospel in languages that they did not speak! This is the power of the Holy Spirit, and the same Spirit that we have access to today.

Some people, not understanding what was happening and probably having no frame of reference for this kind of miracle, claimed that the believers were drunk. But Simon Peter stood up and reproached them, explaining who Jesus is, how He suffered and died, and how after His ascension He sent the Holy Spirit. 

There are two dominant things the Spirit does according to the New Testament: 

First, the Holy Spirit is the power who unleashes life from the New Creation into the present. 

The Spirit works to bring a broken creation back through the Son to the Father. 

Following Pentecost, the mission of the Spirit is to empower and complete the reconciliation of all creation to the Father through the ministry of Jesus the Son.

The Spirit is the power of the inbreaking reign of God. 

The Second dominant thing that the Spirit does in the New Testament, is this: The Spirit creates community among the people of God. 

The Holy Spirit is the Power who unleashes life from the New Creation into the present AND that means the Spirit ALSO creates COMMUNITY among the people of God. 

Despite there being people present with many different languages (according to verses 9-11: Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs), everyone heard the gospel in their own native language! 

The Spirit is Power who unleashes life from the future New Creation into the present. In the New Creation there are tribes and peoples, tongues who all gather around the throne and in their own language, they praise God! 

In the New Creation there will be no need for interpretation because God’s Spirit creates community among God’s people. 

God unifies, or harmonizes, all peoples into One Giant Beautiful Family. 

The Spirit is also a gift that is not given sparingly; the Spirit is poured out among the followers of Jesus. 

Poured out. It’s an image of lavish generosity, of breadth and richness and fullness. 

Isaiah 44:3 says,

“I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, 

and my blessing on your descendants.”

Ezekiel 39:29 

“I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

Acts 10:44-45 

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.”

Titus 3:5-6

 He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus our Savior 

Romans 5:5

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 

It’s not a sparing gift here and there, reserved for a few lone prophets, extraordinary leaders, and wild visionaries. On the day of Pentecost, Peter, claims fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, announcing that the outpouring of the Spirit is not restricted to a few special people but was poured out on the whole community of God’s people and beyond! “sons, daughters, old men, young men, servants, male and female.”

In your life, what could it look like for the Holy Spirit to be poured out? 

What could it look like for the Holy Spirit to be POURED OUT in your Life?

The Spirit unleashes life from the New Creation into the present. 

In the New Creation, there is unconditional Love. 

It could be that God wants to empower you with unconditional love.

In the New Creation, there is freedom. 

It could be that God wants to empower you with forgiveness, the power to forgive others and yourself. 

In the New Creation, there is peace and wholeness. 

It could be that God wants to empower you to be healed and for you to heal others.  

In the New Creation, there are no captives or people who are oppressed. 

It could be that God wants to empower you to be liberated and for you to liberate others.

And when you experience the pouring out of the Spirit in such a powerful way, what do you do with that? You witness. Share your experience of the Spirit, of that unconditional love and freedom and peace, with others. 

Witness is one of the most powerful ways of sharing the gospel. We can quote Scripture at people and pray for them, but sometimes it is that firsthand testimony account that makes the difference between belief and doubt. 

The spiritual practice of witness means we practice sharing with others what God is doing in our lives. 

It is not limited to just when we started following Jesus. 

Testimonies include what God is doing in this season of life. 

When we witness, we share with others what God is doing in our lives. 

How has the Spirit been working in your life? What can you witness to, and who in your life may need to hear your witness? 

Resource 1: Where does the word “witness” even come from and what are other contexts it is used in the Bible? This video from the Bible Project dives into a word study on the Greek term “martus” and tells us about our role as the people of God.

Resource 2: For a deeper dive, this podcast episode from Bridgetown Church speaks to the central role of witness in the life of the believer and the church.

Know that you are deeply loved and called to share that love with others. We hope to see you next week as we continue to learn and grow alongside you! 

Grace and Peace, 

Community Cup staff