Witnesses For Christ.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 35, Issue 4, 1 June 1944, Page 5

Witnesses For Christ.

(Sermon preached at All Saints' Church, Taradale, on Sunday after Ascension by the Rev. H. Blathwayt.)

Acts 1—8 : But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and' in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. It will be remembered that after our Lord's resurrection He told the Disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until He should pour out His Spirit on His Church. The church .at that time consisted of the. Twelve Apostles, a few women and perhaps a few others. At the outside there' would not be more than 200 brethren. For remember the .church is made up of those, who have faith in Jesus and who have been baptised. And when I speak of faith in Jesus, I mean those who believe that He, God once entered into the world by taking his humanity in the womb of. the Virgin Mary. ■ ... • •■'■•: .■-• The_Nicene Creed says "Who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven and was. incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was, made man and was crucified, also for us." Those whp believed in Jesus were faithful to Him: They remained in Jesusalem and Christ's promise was fulfilled. The Holy Ghost came upon them by transient sign- and like 'a. rushing mighty wind.' What we notice most is that the Church became at once a missionary church with everyone being enthusiastic to proclaim to others the good news they themselves had received. Christ said that they would be witnesses and by their- lives proved that they had something valuable that others had not. The outsiders saw that these men were happy, con•tented, unselfish and willing to help others. It became a common saying "See how these Christians love one another." They disposed none, being so different from the Priest and Levite of the Jewish Church. We read of wholesale conversion as ,on the Day of Pentecost when three thousand were admitted into the Church by baptism. But these early disciples did not only witness by their lives but by dying for it. In " fact the ' word "witness" in Greek is "Martures" from, which we get the word martyr. It became unpopular "to witness for Christ and many like ' Stephen laid down their lives rather than deny Him. Surely they would understand our Lord's words when- He had said, "If any man: will come after Me." Further He said "For -whosoever wiir lose his life for My sake he shall save it." ' What we have to remember is that those words and the words .; of the text were not only to the Disciples .but to us as well. "'"' We have to be His' witnesses. Like the

Disciples we have to so live that people may take notice that Jesus has touched our lives and made us more humble, unselfish and willing to be of service to our brother man, and like the Disciples to assemble ourselves together to break bread and to give~Hini worship and praise. Many people are neglecting this wav of witnessing, in fact they encourage others, by their example, to stay away from Sunday worship and so lead them from it. It is by our example that we most affect and when people see us who are vestry members or communicants) hot being loyal to our church they naturally think that our religion is a sham. It does not encourage them to give _of their best in the service of their Church. When we compare" the Jives " of ' those who were witnesses for Christ in the early days of Christianity with our witness we can understand why it is that the church is so feeble in these days. If you are a gardener you always want to be among your flowers. You see that the weeds don't crowd them out. You: tend and nourish them and so i$ must.be with God's garden. & poet has truly said:— . " . Your, heart's a garden love has sown. . , ■ ;./'■ . . • . To give your life the- work i.hat needed ' Some day He'll come and pluck His flowers ■So mfhd you keep your garden weeded." We should not let Sunday pass without assembling in church to give God worship and praise. But besides being loyal to Him at: home we have to see that those who live, in dark places of the earth without knowledge of Christ have the Gospel brought to them. . Our text says "that ye shall be witnesses not only in Judea and Samaria but unto the uttermost parts of . the earth. The evangelising of the multitudes without the knowledge of Christianity is without doubt our concern as witnesses if we; are Kuch. The proclamation of the King of • Kings to go and spread the good news was issued 1944 ago. yet millions are still Christless and hopeless living lives that are cruel, sensual and devil- , ten. ..' ■ ' ■■-'■.:"'■■. ..'■■■■■' . .■:•'■ All our missionaries will tell you, whatever field they work in, that the heathen before they receive Christ go about in constant fear of - some tapu or hoodoo, but when they become one of Christ's disciples a wonderful change overtakes them. They become, like all-true Christians happy and contented— they . become, witnpsses for Christ.