By His Power, Be His Witness August 12, 2018

Vol. 18, No. 32

WORSHIP t
SUGGESTED WORSHIP SONGS:
How Great Thou Art, For All You’ve Done, His Mercy is More, Great and Worthy of Praise

WELCOME
Crossroad. Name one person you met at a crossroad of your life who significantly helped to change the trajectory
of your life journey.

WORD
ACTS 1:8
“
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and
in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Consider what it would be like if God’s people are This power is not to draw attention to ourselves but
pursuing God’s purpose for their lives. Surely, amazing to point people to Jesus. If we know we have a
things will happen when ordinary people allow God to mission and we are comforted by the fact that the
use them in extraordinary ways. In the mission field, Holy Spirit gives us the power to accomplish it, we
there are no spectators and no benchwarmers. Everyone will be humbled in the process (Romans 1:16).
should be part of fulfilling the purpose for which
If at times you fear to share the gospel because you
Christians are called–to honor God and make Christ
think you are inadequate, you are not alone. The
committed followers who will make Christ committed
Apostle Paul felt the same. That is why he did not
followers (Matthew 28:18–20). This mission is God’s
speak with persuasive words but in the
purpose for every believer.
demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit so that
But we need a good strategy to be able to carry it out. people would not rest on his wisdom, but on the
Begin with our family wherein the parents are talking power of God (1 Corinthians 2:1–5).
about God and the Bible with their children. At work
or in school, do things excellently to gain people’s THE PURPOSE (WHO WE ARE)
respect, then do ‘Pray-Care-Share.’ As we disciple “You shall be My witnesses…”
people, we baptize them into God’s family, teaching
The first requirement for us as a witness is a personal
them how to live for Jesus. Keep in mind that making
knowledge of what we are to testify. Next is the
disciples is about living out who we are as the salt and
credibility for saying the truth. Lastly is being able to say
light of the world. Surely, this is ‘mission impossible’
what we know. Just as we need to know what we are
without the power of God.
saying, we also must say what we know. We may not
THE POWER (WHAT WE WILL RECEIVE) know everything, but whatever we know about Jesus,
we are to delight in speaking of it (John 9:24-25).
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you…” As followers of Christ, we have an important message
to deliver to the world. If sharing this message, we are
The power from the Holy Spirit reminds us of the
like a postman who does not deliver the mail to the
importance of the Spirit-filled life. We cannot be
right recipients. We will be doing a disservice to our
witnesses without the Holy Spirit. In the first place,
relatives and friends for the undelivered message due
such a Spirit-filled life is the normal Christian life.
them.
This word “power” in the verse comes from the Greek
Witnessing and making disciples for Jesus should not
word ‘dunamis’ which means to achieve something, or
be a chore or a burden. It is to be an overflow of who
to accomplish a task. It is specifically associated with
we are–people who personally experienced the
the supernatural power from the Holy Spirit that will
wonderful story of Jesus in our life.
enable us to accomplish our role in God’s mission.
WORD (cont’d)
THE PLAN (WHERE ARE WE TO WITNESS) credibility in doing excellently with their studies, for
“In Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even example.
to the remotest part of the earth.” This all leads to the importance of the local church in
Not all followers of Jesus will be able to go all over the disciple making. The local church is:
world to make disciples. But we are to be witnesses • A spiritual family that helps people grow in their
wherever we are right now. And wherever we are right relationship with Jesus and with one another.
now, that is our Jerusalem. Our wider sphere of
influence would be our Judea and Samaria. • A salt-shaker that is meant to shake and scatter
believers to be the salt of this decaying world in
Young people today have amazing opportunities to be need of Jesus.
witnesses of Jesus. A lot of young committed followers
of Jesus have been witnesses to their own families. They A serious choice that is almost as important as choosing
did it by speaking about Jesus, by demonstrating the our lifetime spouse. It is a choice that will have an
love of Jesus through their character, and by their impact for the rest of our lives.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(Leaders: Please choose questions that are appropriate to the level of spiritual maturity of your members)
1. Witness to Disciple. How is Acts 1:8 related to Matthew 28:18–20? Who is speaking and who is it spoken to?
2. Power to Witness. When was the last time you witnessed for Jesus? What did you witness about?
3. Moved! To whom are you moved to reach out and share Jesus to? Cite ways by which you can witness to them.

WORKS
PRAY CARE SHARE IN ACTION WEEKLY PRAYER POINTS
“Making disciples of Jesus is the overflow of our I. Thanksgiving
delight in being disciples of Jesus.” – David Platt • Worship God for who He is, what He has done,
Share your joy and delight as a disciple of Jesus to young
and what He will do in our lives
people this week. Live out being the salt of the tasteless II. Country and the World
earth and the light of this dark world. Commit to pray, care • Upright and moral governance of Public
and share with at least one young person starting today.
Servants and a God-centered Philippines
• Repentance and Salvation
III. Church
• That CCF Members would honor and love God
and make disciples
• Elders, Pastors, Leaders, and Families
• Ministries and Churches worldwide
IV. CCF Facilities
• Worship and Training Center
• Prayer Mountain
V. Personal Concerns
• Deeper intimate relationship with God
• Righteous living
• Salvation of family and friends