Craig T. Owens

Jesus said we have some really, really, REALLY good news to share! It’s news about how much God loves us and wants us to know Him personally.

Jesus wanted us to spread the word far and wide about this really, really, REALLY good news, but He didn’t want us to try to do it in our own power. In fact, the last words He spoke to His disciples before ascending into Heaven were—

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

Did you catch those words: power TO BE witnesses. The Holy Spirit provides us with the resident, miracle-working, moral, influential, and enabling power not to do witnessing, but to be witnesses.

“The Pentecostal believer is to be something, not just experience something. He or she must become a living witness of Christ on earth.” —Charles Crabtree

There are really two ways that we are witnesses for Him. Our witness is:

(1) Strategic

• The New Testament believers strategically met house-to-house and in the Temple (Acts 2:46).
• The church strategically picked leaders to help them be effective in their witness (Acts 6:2-3).
• The Holy Spirit strategically picked missionaries to be witnesses in far-off lands (Acts 13:2-3).
• Those missionaries were strategic in following up on their witnessing work (Acts 15:36).

(2) Spontaneous

• The newly Spirit-baptized believers were able to spontaneously worship God (Acts 2:4) and testify of His power to others (Acts 2:14).
• Peter could spontaneously respond to the crowd’s question after Peter had finished his sermon (Acts 2:37-39).
• Peter and John had a spontaneous reply when the Sanhedrin called them in to testify (Acts 4:8).
• This spontaneous witnessing power was available to them through the Holy Spirit just as Jesus had promised (Matthew 10:17-20).

If we try to just do witnessing, our strategy will be lacking and we’ll quite possibly be caught off-guard in a spontaneous setting. But when we allow the Holy Spirit’s power to transform us TO BE witnesses, our strategies are more effective and our spontaneous moments are too! The Holy Spirit helps us share the really, really, REALLY good news!