Goodmorning friends! (:
So I've been reading through Acts this past week & I've noticed some markers of an evangelical/witness of Christ. (: Sometimes we don't stop to think about what a Christian witness looked like in the Bible, but I've found it very helpful for application to my own life.
1. The Holy Spirit
"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
In this verse it is evident that those who will be Jesus' witnesses will be His witnesses in result of the Holy Spirit coming on them. If the Holy Spirit were not to be in people who are witnesses of Christ, then they would be speaking only from human wisdom - not God's wisdom. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." 1 Corinthians 1:25 Do I wait to be lead by the Holy Spirit, or do I depend on my human "wisdom" to figure out how to reach people?
But how do you tell if the Holy Spirit is with someone?
"[Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord." Acts 12:24
Barnabas worked diligently for the Lord and His kingdom. This passage says he was "full of the Holy Spirit" - if the Holy Spirit had not had a hand in Barnabas' work, these people who were brought to the Lord would not have been, because the Holy Spirit would not have been working in their hearts. Am I saying that someone who does not lead people to Christ does not have the Holy Spirit in them? No. However, if someone is using their spiritual gifts, like Barnabas did, it is evident that the Holy Spirit is in them. Think about it. The Holy Spirit is the One who manifests spiritual gifts, and if someone is evidently using spiritual gifts to further God's kingdom in any type of ministry inside or outside of the Church, do they not have the Spirit in them?
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