Witnesses

"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 

Jesus did three world-changing things at the end of his earthly life. He died on the cross, bearing all the sins of the world. He became the sacrificial Lamb, taking the sins of the world and dying for them, once for all. On the third day, he was resurrected. He rose from the dead, defeating death and the grave. Forty days later, he ascended into heaven to reclaim his place at the right hand of the Father. God had placed everything under his feet and the place of power and victory was secured. Jesus had completed his work on the earth. 
    Jesus knew that after he ascended, he needed a body on the earth. What he had begun must be continued to completion. So his last words to us were those in the passage above. He sent the Holy Spirit to empower us and the purpose was clear. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of Christ. Those who were present the day he said these things had witnessed the cross, the resurrection, and then the ascension. They were to tell the world exactly what they had seen. The message then was exactly the same as it is now. Although we weren't physically there for these world-changing events, everyone of us have experienced them. The cross, the resurrection, and the ascension are responsible for our lives in Christ. 
    So we are now the body of Christ. What he did, we now do. What he said, we now say. The authority he had, we now have. We have been empowered to take  the message of Christ to everyone we know and beyond. This is not a mission to simply bring in converts. It is a mission to make disciples. This goes far beyond taking five minutes to lead someone to Christ. Don't get me wrong, it is vitally important to bring people to Jesus. But we must also disciple them to be followers of Christ, not just recipients of grace who return to their old lifestyle. The Great Commission is clear, we are to make disciples in the same way Jesus did when he walked the earth. This is the purpose for the empowering of the Holy Spirit.l
    Sometimes we forget the real reason we have received so much from God. We have unlimited blessing. We have churches to belong to, brothers and sisters to fellowship with, and all of our needs are met. These are blessings, but they are not only for us. They are to be extended to others. Jesus gave of himself to everyone he touched. He sacrificed sleep, food, and shelter to do that. Do we have the same commitment? We need to renew the priority to be witnesses. It's not difficult, it's not strange. We simply give to others what we have already received. We start at home and then we go into all the world. This is God's heart for those who do not know him, and he uses us to accomplish it. We are his body, his hands and feet in the world.