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     “We Are Witnesses!”

                                                                                                            April 11, 2004

Acts 10:  34 – 43

Through today’s Bible text, we can learn how the Apostle Peter applied the subject of Christian witnessing  in his life.

 It is the Apostle Peter’s conviction that one of the most glorious privilege of Christian life is to be witnesses of Christ.

1. A theme of Life.

“We are the witnesses of Christ.”
This is the theme of his life.

As for the apostle Peter,
To be witness of Christ was the whole purpose and meaning of his life here on earth.
It gave him power and courage to preach the message of Christ without compromise.
It gave him an iron will and unquenchable desire to go wherever the Spirit of the Lord led him.

Wherever he went, in whatever situation he was in,
He stuck himself with this theme,  “The witness of Christ.”

He claimed this theme before the multitude of people in Jerusalem.
on the day of Pentecost,
     before the people who remembered clearly about the crucifixion of Jesus.

He said;   Acts 2: 23, 32,

This man was handed over to you and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing Him to the cross….But God raised this Jesus to life,

we are all witnesses of the fact.

In Acts 3: 15, the Apostle Peter spoke again, regarding the healing of a lame man,

            You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead.

            We are witnesses of this.

 Once the Apostle Peter was summoned by the Council of the Jewish authorities.
He was charged to a crime of disturbing people by the message of Jesus.
He was indeed threatened to death.

But Peter responded before the Council, Acts 5: 30, 31

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross………And we are witnesses of these things.

 In the first epistle of Peter 5: 1,

again the Apostle claimed that he was a “witness of the suffering of Christ.”

In today’s Bible Text,   Acts 10: 39
we read that the Apostle Peter was invited by Cornelius, a Roman centurion in Caesarea.
And he was asked to speak to them about Jesus.

As the Apostle spoke to the household of Cornelius, 
again he delivered his talk simply as a witness of Christ,
oppose to be someone who knew something better than others.

He said,

“And we are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and
              in Jerusalem.”

 “We are witnesses of all the things He did.”
The Apostle Peter lived his life on the theme of being witness of Christ.

So, all through his life, the Apostle Peter held high and fast the theme of being witness for Christ.

For him, he lived his life for this.
He died also for this cause.
For the apostle Peter,
to be the witness for Christ was the reason to live and as well as to die.

Likewise, if we can have only one sole reason to live,
Our life will be ever exciting.
If we can have one reason to die,
We would never be afraid to face death.

He is my reason for living
He is the king of all kings
I want to be His possession
He is my everything.

2. Privilege of Witness.

The Apostle Peter did not only think his theme in life was to be witness of Christ,but he saw it the most glorious privilege and honor.

 After resurrection,  Jesus appeared to His disciples over a period of forty days,presenting Himself with convincing many  proofs that indeed He died and resurrected again.

Before He did anything else, before He went to anybody else,Jesus went to His disciples first and ate with them.

 Now, the Apostle Peter thought that was the most honorable and privileged experienceany human being could have here on earth.

 To Peter, he was the one who denied his master as many as three times at the most needed moment.

 But the risen Lord came to him as the first thing after resurrection.And Jesus asked him,            “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

And Simon was so touched by the question and answered with tremulous voice.

            “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You!” John 21: 15

 Today, the Apostle Peter claims confidently with proud spirit,

“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

 God chose us to be witnesses of Christ.
And the risen Lord showed to us but not to everyone.
And we had eaten with Him.

That is what Peter is boasting about.

The privilege of having Jesus among them after resurrection was doubled by receiving a commission to preach and testify that,

vs. 42   “He commanded us to preach to the people
and testify that He is the One whom God appointed as judge of the living
and the dead.

So, as for the Apostle Peter,
He was the first man whom the risen Lord visited
And commissioned to preach and testify the risen Lord
who is the judge of the living and the dead.

Thus, the Apostle Peter held fast the theme of being witness for Christ.
And he held it high as the most prestigious privilege and honor.

And then, today’s Bible text leads us to what happened as the result of such conviction filled presentation before the household of Cornelius.

3. The Power of the Holy Spirit

If we keep on reading after today’s text,

Verse 44, 5,

            While Peter was still speaking these words,
            The Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message……
…..And they were speaking with tongues and exalting God.”

Yes, the Spirit of God came upon them where there was the testimony of Jesus’ life and resurrection presented.

The power of the Holy Spirit revealed where there was the task of witnessing of Christ and His resurrection was highly acknowledged and honored.

 Even the people, non Jewish people, who had never heard of Jesus before,they experienced  the powerful manifestation of the Spirit of God falling on them.

 Today, as we celebrate Easter Sunday, along with Christian Churches in the World,we are reminded that we should reinstate to be witness of Christ as the theme of our life.

 Or else, what can be more important and interesting to us and to others,accept the fact that Jesus died and rose again from the death?

 We are reminded that as Christians we are the most privileged people on earth.As the risen Lord visited Peter and His disciples first,God sent His Gospel to us first that we may have the eternal salvation and everlasting hope in Jesus Christ.

 It was not only the household of Cornelius,

but thousands and millions of individuals and households and nations and continents,whoever, and where, the task of witnessing of Christ was faithfully carried out the manifestation of the Holy Spirit was evident.

Therefore, let us reclaim that Jesus is risen today.Let us take this news to our loved ones.

Let us do every possible way to help our loves ones accept and believe That Jesus indeed died for his/her sins and rose again to give himthe eternal salvation and everlasting hope.

In ancient Corinth, there used to be staged the Isthmain Games – the fore-runner of the modern Olympics.

There were many events there, but the one which received the most attention was the relay race.

The competitors would line up side by side at the starting line, each bearing a torch.

In the distance waited still another line, of men and still farther on other lines.

When the signal was given,The men started to run, bearing their lighted torches.

When a runner reached his partner in the next line he would pass on his light, and so on from man to man until the finish line was reached.

The fate of the team would lie on each member’s shoulder.
If you do well carrying the torch to your partner,
More likely your team will win the crown.

 Otherwise , your team will loose in shame and humiliation.

Today we are here, being called to carry the Gospel message, the message of our Lord’s death and resurrection,  to our loved ones.

 If each of us do well our part,
More likely the race of Gospel message will win victory in the lives of our loves ones.
Or else, how could they reach the torch of God’s love, peace and joy.?