We turn in God's Word this evening to Acts 1. The book of Acts 1. We read Acts 1 verses 1 through 14, the first 14 verses of this book of the Bible. Let's hear the word of the Lord. The former treatise, have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up After that He, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, will thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power, but ye shall receive power. After that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And he shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then return they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room where abode both Peter and James and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus and Simon Zelotes and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord and prayer and supplication with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus. and with his brethren." We read that far in God's holy and inspired Word. On the basis of this portion of Scripture, as well as on the basis of all of God's Word, we have the teaching of the Heidelberg Catechism in Lords Day 20. You can find that in the back of the New Psalter, page 591, Lords Day 20. Albuquerque Catechism is explaining the third section of the Apostles' Creed. First section, remember, was I believe in God the Father. Second section is I believe in Jesus Christ, His Son. The third section, along with the third person of the Trinity, what does thou believe concerning the Holy Ghost? I believe in the Holy Ghost. What do you mean by that? First, that He is true and co-eternal God with the Father and the Son. Secondly, that He has also given me to make me by a true faith partaker of Christ and all His benefits, that He may comfort me and abide with me forever. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the book of the Bible that we read from, the book called Acts, in most of your English translations have at the top the acts and then the prepositional phrase of the apostles, the acts of the apostles. As you should know, the titles of these books are not the inspired Word of God, but are titles that editors, uninspired editors, have placed at the top of these books. And so when you read Acts of the Apostles, you should be thinking, is this an accurate description of what you read underneath it, in the inspired Word of God? And it is. It would be more accurate if the book of Acts were titled Acts of Christ Through the Apostles. The actions or acts of Christ through the apostles. And it would be the most accurate or the most complete if it read Acts of Christ by His Holy Spirit. through the apostles and in the church. Acts of Christ by His Holy Spirit. That's clearly what the book of Acts is about. As you read through, we read through chapter one, as we think about what comes after that, we know that this is a history, a literal history, like Genesis and the New Testament now, when Jesus Christ ascends into heaven as the King of kings and Lord of lords. That's what we've considered in the heart of our catechism so far. Recently we talked about him as the one who ascended into heaven and poured forth blessings. Last week we talked about him as the right hand man. We read here in Acts 1 of that, He ascended into heaven to be that right hand man and He ascended with His hands upraised, remember children, to show that He would be in heaven to bless His people. And how would He bless His people? One of the great benefits of His ascension we saw already was the sending forth of His Holy Spirit. And so as you read through Acts, especially Acts 2, we see that he sends forth his Holy Spirit on Pentecost, pouring forth that Holy Spirit, filling the church and the leaders of the church to do what we would call evangelism, missions, witnessing. Acts is a history of the Holy Spirit poured forth from the Ascended Christ as he works in the church. witnessing and evangelism so that the church grows, is built up, and is defended. You can read Acts for yourself to see that this is what it's about. And today we consider the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and Lord's Day 20. But what I want to emphasize is an application, for good reason, very relevant for us as we are thinking about evangelism, is that the Holy Spirit has as its main work, his main work, in the church, the work of witnessing. Of course, there are many other blessings and many other works of the Holy Spirit, but we see Jesus' own word here. Notice verse eight, Acts 1, verse eight. Ye shall receive the power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, Jesus says. And he's very explicit about what that Holy Spirit's going to do. The rest of Acts shows us this too, but he says very clearly, and here's the result, here's the fruit, ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, close, nearby, and in all Judea, further away. And in Samaria, a little further away, and then unto the uttermost part of the earth. That's what he tells the church. These are Jesus' last words, and as you know, the last words of someone are very important. The last words that Jesus spoke before he ascended to heaven were these words. He explains the explicit purpose and work of the Holy Spirit, which he's going to pour forth upon the church. Ye shall be my witnesses. There's a similar passage if you look back in John, John 21. John 21, 21 and 22, you find Jesus after his resurrection coming to his disciples in the upper room. You remember he came in when the doors were locked. And John 1, verse 21 and 22, we read what Jesus says to them. They were scared and he says, peace be unto you. And he appeared to them. And then he says this, as my Father hath sent me, my Father sent me into the world, even so in the same way I now send you. And then when he said that, we read, he breathed on them and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost. The express purpose of Jesus Christ in giving His disciples the Holy Ghost, breathing His Spirit upon them was so that they would be equipped to be sent out like He was sent out. If you read through the book of Acts, that's what stands out very clearly. Again, it's not to deny the many other gifts of the Spirit, many other works of the Spirit, but it's not overstating it. that the main work that Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to do among us in His church is to equip us to be witnesses. In fact, we can put it even more strongly, it is impossible, it is impossible for a church that is filled with the Spirit to avoid witnessing. It's impossible. The Holy Spirit, as we see today, is God. He does an irresistible work. If He works in His people, and He does, then you will be witnesses. He will make it so. It's not just a duty, it's not just an obligation that's implied today, but the point is this is His work. to make you witnesses. Notice how Jesus says it, to make you witnesses. Not to have you do witnessing, though that's included, but it's actually telling you your identity in Christ. Not just your work in Christ, but your identity in Christ. Ye are my witnesses. Whether you might like it or not, you might be afraid of it or not, That's beside the point. What Jesus says is, I will pour out my spirit, and then this will be your new identity. You will be witnesses. It's not just a calling. It's part of your identity in Christ. And so, beloved, as you hear God's Word tonight, and as you think about our real duty, don't try to be witnesses by your own strength, though you're called. You're called to improve in that, and I am too. Let there be a conscious reliance upon God the Holy Spirit. And don't quit either. When the going gets tough in it, or you feel tired of it, don't quit because it's difficult, no. Seek the help of the Holy Spirit. He will equip you. Jesus says that's what he sent the Spirit for. So consider this doctrine of the Holy Spirit in Lord's Day 20 along with Acts 1 with me under the theme, The Holy Spirit Promise to Witnesses. The Holy Spirit Promise to Christ's Witnesses, first the Spirit's identity, secondly His work, and finally our witnessing. We begin with some basics or fundamentals, we might say, about the Holy Spirit. You already know them. You already know these truths that I'm about to expound upon, but it's important that you, as a forgetful people, are reminded of these basics or these fundamentals about the Holy Spirit. Peter said in 2 Peter 1, verse 12 this, wherefore I will not be negligent, I will not neglect to put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them and are established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle, meaning as long as I am in this body to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. to stir you up by putting you in remembrance of these things. The purpose, notice, as I just read from 2 Peter 1.12, is to stir you up by reminding you. In other words, people of God, I'm not just reminding you of who the Holy Spirit is, His identity and His work. I'm not just reminding you so that you can take these facts and store it in your brain and say, yeah, I knew that. And then it can be another cold doctrine in the files of your brain. No, I'm preaching to you to remind you of this doctrine of the Holy Spirit so that your soul is stirred by it, so that you're stirred up unto a greater conviction or faith in this Holy Spirit, and so that you are stirred up unto a greater love for this Holy Spirit and a greater worship for this Holy Spirit and a greater witnessing by the power of this Holy Spirit. Let it not be a mere intellectual activity. So first, of first importance is that you remember the deity of the Holy Spirit. That's one of the basics of fundamentals. He is very God. That's what the catechism begins with, that He is true and eternal God with the Father and the Son. Often in At a Reformed church, we emphasize the deity of Jesus Christ. He's very God and very man, and that's good. We have to maintain that as the identity of Jesus. But just as much as Jesus is God, so also the Holy Spirit is God. Do not diminish Him in any way. He is not any lesser than Father and Son. He is co-equal and co-eternal. He is just as sovereign as Father and Son. He is just as just as Father and Son. He is just as wise and loving as Father and Son. He is just as omnipresent and infinite as Father and Son. He is called the third person, not because, children, He is third place. He is called the third person, not because you can rank Him as third. He's called third person only because this is the order in which He is revealed most prominently in the Bible. First, the Father is revealed prominently. Second, the Son is revealed prominently. And then third, as you see in Acts, the Spirit is revealed very prominently. But just because that's the order of the prominent revelation of God regarding the Spirit does not make Him third place. He is equal with Father and Son. Apply that. It's not supposed to be just a doctrine that you have in your brain. Let this stir your soul. In this way, that the Holy Spirit is God means that when you say in church, I believe in the Holy Ghost, you may not say it with coldness. If He's God, then your heart is supposed to be worshiping Him as you say it. There needs to be an awe. that this Holy Spirit is my Lord and my God. You may not have a dead orthodoxy with bored heart saying, yep, I know that. But you're supposed to confess Him as my God whom I trust, whom I worship just as much as Father the Creator and Son the Redeemer. Too many say with lip service that they believe in the triune God but practically speaking they believe and honor a duality rather than a trinity, father and son. And there's less awe and less consciousness, less worship toward the third person and that ought not be. that there be just as much worship to Spirit as Father and Son. Together are one God, blessed forever. Secondly, I remind you that the Spirit is not only God, but also a person. Father is a real person, Son is a real person, and the Spirit is a real person. The Catechism says He is God along with Father and Son, implying that these are three persons. So often we in our minds think of a pronoun, it, when we speak of the Spirit. I've even said it, of the pulpit, I'll refer to the Spirit sometimes as it or something. But more accurately, the Holy Spirit is He. He's a person. One that says I in the Trinity and has actions. That's what a person is, one who is a subject, a distinct subject of real actions. Distinct from, not separated, but distinct from father and son. He has real activity that he does. And as a person, because he is a person, he is active in a relationship. That's why we speak of personal relationships. Persons that are relating and having fellowship with each other. The Holy Spirit is a real person. Father is a person who has a real living relationship where he's active with the Son, but also with the Spirit. Spirit with Father and Son. 1 John 4 verse 8 says, God is love. Think about that. Not just that God has love, but God is love. Father is love, Son is love, Spirit is love. And that should give you the concept of the covenant, that idea of the covenant, that Father and Son, not just the two of them, but also the Spirit are in A bond of love, one with another. Persons in fellowship. A mystery, yes. We cannot fully understand this and yet awesome to ponder on. The Holy Spirit is a person. He is personal in close relationship with Father and Son and wonderfully with us, with us as people. Which brings us to the third point I remind you of regarding the Holy Spirit. He is the breath of God. He is very God. He's person, a personal being, along with Father and Son. And third, the Holy Spirit is the personal breath of God. Now don't lose sight of the fact that He's a person. This is where we sometimes forget that He is person, and we refer to Him as it. But He's the breath of the Father. The word spirit means wind or breath. That's the literal meaning of the word spirit. God uses that name for Himself as God the breath. He is the almighty breath of God. If you jump to Acts chapter 2, right after we read Acts 1. In Acts 2, when this Holy Spirit is poured out, the number one sign, the first sign of the Holy Spirit being poured out was in that upper room, remember children, the sound is of a mighty rushing wind so that it is clearly revealed through that sign to us that the Spirit is this mighty, the almighty breath or wind coming from God. He proceeds eternally from God, the Father. And from God the Son, this is John 15, 26, when the Comforter, that's the Spirit, is come unto you, whom I will send, Jesus says, unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. I'll draw for you an illustration of the Spirit as the breath of God so that you don't only think of a mighty rushing wind like a tornado that destroys. Why you think of this spirit as someone who's both almighty as well as gentle and loving in his work. It's God the Holy Spirit is. We have to be careful here in this illustration not to make God like human beings but to help us think about a conversation between two close friends, two close friends. Whether it be a husband or wife or a girlfriend and a boyfriend or just two friends. Those two friends are said to breathe words to each other. They don't only have words in their thoughts. They don't only have words that they form on their lips. They don't have just words that they text out on their phone. But for a close relationship between two persons, they come together and they breathe those words. Their breath carries those words from one to another and back and forth, back and forth. That is what is the strength of their relationship as conversations are breathed back and forth between two persons. That's a human relationship, but that helps us. God is far higher, infinitely higher, and in a greater sense then, this is what the Holy Spirit does. He is the personal breath that the Father breathes forth. He doesn't just think words, doesn't just form words in his mind, but he breathes words and has been toward the Son, and the Son back to the Father. And awesome. Awesome is this. Father, Son, with a willing personal breath, the Holy Spirit, He breathes forth words to you and to me so that there's not only a close personal relationship in the Trinity, but now between the Trinity and His people there is the breathing forth of words to us. And that breath doesn't just stay here in us, but we breathe forth words back to God only by the power of the breath of the Spirit. And we're drawn closer and closer by this rushing, mighty wind, who comes not to destroy, but to give us life, to give us breath, draw us nearer to God. The Spirit is that divine, personal, mighty, rushing breath of God. One more point about His identity that transitions us to His work more directly. Catechism specifies that He is eternal. He is co-eternal with Father and Son. He doesn't have a beginning, nor does He have an end. He's not bound by time, along with Father and Son. The Spirit is eternal. And now, from a human perspective, as we think about the Spirit as being eternal, there was never a time when He was not working. One question comes up in our minds that's often asked by people who are thinking about the Holy Spirit and His work. If He's eternal, What's the difference between the Holy Spirit working in the Old Testament, breathed out by God to His people then, and the Holy Spirit as the breath of God working in the New Testament in His people? What's the difference? You should ask that question because we've talked about the benefit of the ascension of Jesus Christ being that he gives his Holy Spirit and if he's already working in the people in the same way, then why did Jesus have to ascend and pour forth his Spirit who was already working in his church? So what's the difference between the Spirit in the Old Testament and the Spirit in the New Testament? The answer is this, to sum it up. The difference is not one of the nature of His work, but differences of degree, degree or extent. The nature, the kind of work which the Holy Spirit did in the Old Testament is of the same kind that He does in the New Testament. He regenerates, He gives faith, He works the saving work of God in His people. We'll get to that in a few moments. It's the same kind of work, but now in the New Testament it's to a greater degree, to illustrate it. Think about the word pour, remember? Acts 2.17 uses that word. Peter explains the prophecy of Juul being fulfilled. I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. In the Old Testament, the Spirit worked, but it was, to be illustrated, more like a trickle or a sprinkle. Or we say it's drizzling outside. That's how the Spirit worked in the Old Testament. He still worked. But now in the New Testament, when Jesus ascends into heaven, He makes sure that the Holy Spirit comes like a waterfall from the sky. He pours forth His Holy Spirit upon the church. And now more specifically in the New Testament, God's people must understand how the Holy Spirit works, especially to bring a far greater clarity. of the gospel. He's the spirit of truth, Jesus says. He brings the truth of the gospel so that though the Old Testament people knew Jesus, they had faith in Jesus, the New Testament people know a whole lot more clearly who Jesus is and what He has done. The Old Testament people knew it in picture form. The New Testament people see the reality, all the facts of history of what Jesus has done. The Spirit makes sure that we know the gospel with greater clarity. Another way the Spirit works to a greater degree is that we enjoy greater closeness to God. You remember in the Old Testament they would come to the tabernacle and the high priest would be the one that came close to God in the tabernacle. And the people had to come close too but they couldn't get into the Holy of Holies. Now God's people in the New Testament with the Holy Spirit working in them have access, Romans 5 says, and they draw near to God. And in drawing closer to God than the Old Testament people, they have a higher degree of assurance in the New Testament. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit also bursts forth so that he works not only in the Jews. That was the Old Testament. There are some Gentiles too, like Rahab and Ruth, but In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit gushes forth to the nations. That's why you're saved. You're not a Jew. But He pours forth so that He flows to both Jews and Gentiles, all nations. Jesus ascended to heaven that He might pour forth His Holy Spirit to the New Testament church, that He might work to a greater degree than He had ever worked before in the old. which brings us to focus on His work, this eternal, divine, personal breath, the Holy Spirit working to a greater degree in the New Testament than in the old. That's the work that's summed up in Heidegger Catechism. Secondly, we read that He is also given me to make me by a true faith partaker of Christ and all His benefits, that He may comfort me and abide with me forever. The Catechism is in no way comprehensive here. The Catechism does not list every single thing that the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit does much more than we have time to describe today. But important is this, that we distinguish the work of the Holy Spirit from the work of the Son, the second person. Essential students, this is a review for you, but all of us need to remember this about the Spirit's work. In distinction from the Son, there are two prepositions that help us. You remember them? The two prepositions are for and in. The Son, the second person of the Trinity, has worked salvation for us. He's accomplished it. He's finished it for us. And the Holy Spirit now takes that salvation that Jesus Christ has earned, merited, and the Holy Spirit sent by Christ works that salvation in, inside of us. To say that the work of Jesus Christ was to earn salvation for us means that He's merited it. He's accomplished it. He said on the cross it is finished. He has fully suffered the wrath of God for us. Does that work need to be done yet? The suffering of the wrath of God, the punishment for us? No. Christ has done it all. Praise the Lord. He suffered the hell that we deserve for our sins. He's been our substitute for us. That word for especially refers to his substitutionary work. Not only has he suffered in our place, but he's also obeyed in our place. He has finished obeying all the 10 commandments perfectly with perfect love for God and his neighbor. So that when God looks at us and judges us, he says to you who repent and believe today, you are perfectly righteous in my sight. I forgive you so that in my sight you are just as righteous and obedient as Jesus Christ was for you. And that will never change. That's the gospel, what Jesus has done for us. But now how do you experience that? How do you enjoy that? How do you know that within your heart that this is what Jesus has done for me personally? In other words, how has it worked in us? Jesus sends forth that Holy Spirit. And what he has finished doing to earn for us all the blessings of salvation, he internalizes it. That's what the Catechism is saying when it says, he makes me by a true faith partaker of Christ and all his benefits. Partaker is an important word. He applies the work of Christ to my heart. He makes me a partaker of what Christ has done. How can we be brought to a conscious enjoyment and experience of the saving work of Christ? How can we who are dead by nature come to a realization and know what Jesus has done? Well, here's the Arminian answer. The Arminian answer and the answer of most confessing Christians today is man must by his free will accept Jesus Christ. Jesus has done everything for us, they will say. Jesus has done everything for us, they will agree with us on that. But now when it comes to the preposition in, working that in us, now man has to cooperate with Christ and His Spirit to get it inside of us. That's called synergism. We believe monergism. Armenians believe what is called synergism. And you can hear it. It is primarily an error about the Holy Spirit. Not many understand that. It's primarily, it begins as an error of the Holy Spirit. The Armenians will agree with us that Christ has done everything for us. But now when it has to be applied to the hearts of His people, it's up to you for it to be worked in you. And on the basis of Scripture, I declare to you that salvation, whether salvation for us or salvation in us, all of salvation is completely the work of God. Who has done the work of salvation for us? Christ alone. And now, who works that salvation in us? The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ alone. He gives me, by a true faith, to be partaker of Christ and all His benefits. He works in me that faith. He blows like a mighty rushing wind in whomsoever He wills. so that I had to believe. I was made willing to believe. Powerfully and sweetly, He bent my will. Question for you. You know, a couple of weeks ago when the wind came, remember the wind? The wind came and snapped the tops of trees and the tops of electrical poles, just snapped them right off. And you saw the biggest of trees, the thickest of trees swaying bent this way and that in the tornado-like winds. I ask you, could those trees say, nope, not going to bend. Could the tops of those trees that were going to break say, no, I'm not going to snap off, ain't doing it. Could they resist that wind? No. They bent it, the wind bent that, those trees wherever the wind wanted to, sent by God's sovereignty. That's an illustration of the mighty rushing breath, spirit of God. And by the way, we and our hearts are not big trees. We're like twigs, dead twigs if you will. He wants to bend your heart and break you so that you're contrite and repentant. He will. He will have His way with you. That's the mighty rushing wind, the irresistible work of the Spirit. Thankfully so because we would not bend in our sin except this irresistible spirit comes into our hearts and does bend us to true repentance and faith. John 3 verse 8, the wind bloweth where it listeth. Where the wind wants, Jesus says to Nicodemus. And thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit." Are you regenerated? Do you repent? Are you sorry for your sin? Do you now out of thankfulness want to do what's good, what's right? Are you free from the bondage to pornography, free from the bondage to idolatry and drunkenness. You're not perfect, but are you seeking to live a godly life? You should. But the point of the sermon tonight is this, don't you dare, don't you dare point to any of that and say, look at me, I'm better than other people. You must point to the spirit. Glory be to Him, to Him alone, because without Him I would be like everyone else, still dead and in bondage, without faith, without life. Who made you different from others? 1 Corinthians 4 says. What do you have today that you didn't receive of His grace? If you received any good, why do you boast or act as though you didn't receive it as a free gift, as though you obtained it by your own power? Repent of that pride and humble yourself before this God, this God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let all glory be to Him. He makes us partaker of Christ and all His benefits, all of His benefits. of Christ, meaning He works in us as the Holy Spirit and joins us to Christ. And the Holy Spirit takes His abode in us so that we, as 1 Corinthians 6 says, are His very temple. He makes us partaker. of Christ to enjoy God with us. We don't marvel at that enough. Again, this should stir you. We should think and marvel about how Jesus, the second person, from his lofty position in heaven, remember, humbled himself and became a man. We marvel at that. That's good. How Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, humbled himself, became a man, suffered and died among sinful men, was rejected of men for our sins, and then rose again and ascended to heaven. But we should also be marveling at how the third person of the Trinity, you know what he does? The third person comes into this sinful body, this dark soul. And the Holy Spirit, third person, says, I'm going to dwell in this puny, dirty, dark soul and make him and make her my temple, my dwelling place forever. That's amazing. You don't deserve that. Not even close. But the Holy Spirit will come and make you a partaker of God Himself. That's why 2 Peter 1 verse 4 says, we are made partakers of the divine nature. That doesn't mean we become God. We become partakers of the divine nature. The Holy Spirit dwells in us. and we're joined eternally to the Son of God by His power. There are many benefits that come that flow to us day by day through Christ and by the Spirit. He makes me, the catechism says, by faith partaker of Christ and all His benefits. Regeneration, faith, justification, sanctification, preservation, glorification, you recognize that as the golden chain of salvation. Every single link, every single part of salvation is by the Spirit. You have the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Every single fruit of the Spirit is of the Spirit. Every single breath of prayer, if you could breathe out one prayer sincerely, that's by the Spirit. If you could worship God With concentration for one moment, that's by the Holy Spirit. If you feel any nearness to God in your relationship to God, that's by the Spirit. The Catechism says comfort. If you have any comfort through your trials, that's by the Spirit. He's called the Holy Spirit. If you have any holiness in your life, that's by the Spirit. And if you are able to witness, That's by the Spirit. That's the main application that I want to focus on tonight as the third point. He abides with us exactly so that we can by His power engage in this witnessing. It's not directly mentioned in the Catechism but that's in Acts 1 and we need to stop minimizing this As we have a tendency to, to his disciples, he said, I'm sending the spirit and you shall be my witnesses. Witnesses unto me. Think about the word witness. That's an interesting word. A very important word to understand what it is that the spirit empowers us to do. When you think of a witness, you must think of someone who testifies in court. Some are called eyewitnesses, but not necessarily those who are eyewitnesses. There are witnesses who are not eyewitnesses in court, too. Two main descriptions of a witness in court. Number one, a witness is someone who has had experience, often firsthand experience, of a certain event that's pertinent to the case. So if you were to stand in the back of church and you would look out the window and you were to see a crime committed, a hit and run. So a car comes by and he crashes into one of the cars of the members of the church and he drives off. It's a hit and run. And you catch the color of the car, the kind of the car, you even see some letters on the license plate. You are a witness to that crime. Even if you don't say anything, before you say anything, you are a witness to that crime. Because you have seen it. You've experienced the event. You are My witnesses, Jesus said to His disciples. Meaning, you saw the wonderful works of God. You saw Me, Jesus Christ, walking with you. You heard Jesus preach to you. You see the miracles. You saw His death. You saw His resurrected body. You are witnesses of Jesus. You saw not only the crime of the murder, the greatest crime, the murder of the Son of God, but you also saw the resurrection and now the ascension. And you might say, well, I didn't see it. Not with your physical eyes, but with your eye of faith. You've experienced firsthand, haven't you, the regeneration of your dead soul? You be given the eye of faith so that as you read the scriptures, as you hear the word preached, you know Jesus is real. You know he's the son of God. You know he's very God and very man. You know that he died. That's a fact. You confess it. You know he died for your sins and he rose again and he is ascended to heaven. You know it. You are one who has experienced salvation in your heart. You are witnesses. Even before you open your mouth, Jesus says, you are my witnesses. But being a witness consists not only of experiencing a certain event, but also a witness includes testifying of it. And so a witness of a hit and run might go to court and might even feel it as his or her responsibility to go to court in Allegheny, for example, and swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and then describe the events, the details clearly and accurately. That's the activity of a witness. You are my witnesses, Jesus said to the disciples. You have seen, you've experienced the gospel. And now go, testify before kings, testify before judges, testify before the people of this world. Give a verbal testimony. That's why I give you my spirit, that you might be such witnesses. Acts 4 verse 20, that's what Peter said. We cannot but speak. We can't stop ourselves. We have to speak of the things that we have seen and heard. That's what a witness says. I can't hold it in. I have to echo it. I have to overflow as a prophet. I must speak of what God has done for me. Courage is what he gives. That often stands out as the work of the spirit in his witnesses. No, you don't have courage of yourself. We talked about that on Tuesday night. One of the main reasons we aren't good witnesses, even though you are already, that's your identity, we're not very good at it is because we fear. We are afraid of men. We're afraid of what people think. We're afraid of what they'll say. We're even afraid that they might persecute us through mockery first. We have the fear of man. Remember Peter? Peter is in Acts 2 preaching on Pentecost. But before the spirit was poured out on him, remember Peter? I will never deny thee. Yes, you will, Peter. Before the cock crows three times, you'll deny me. I'm willing, I'm going to be willing to die for you." And then in front of a maiden, a young girl. He's afraid of her. And he denies Jesus three times. And then the contrast. Christ pours out His Holy Spirit upon Peter and now Peter stands up and acts too before the mocking crowd and he declares the gospel without any shame. You see the change? That's the work of the Spirit, not Peter. The work of the Spirit in Peter, to be a bold witness. Here's another thing about the word witness. In the Greek, the word witness, remember this, is martous. It's where we get the English word martyr. You know why? Because a witness, as you read through church history and through the scriptures, a witness is one who has the courage by the power of the spirit to speak the word even if he knows it means his death. A witness is a martyr. And Jesus says, I've given you my spirit so that you are my witnesses. I will pour him forth so that you have this courage, this boldness." The Holy Spirit cultivates courage and also a deep spirituality in us, a deep spirituality that seeks His kingdom first. One other thing that we talked about last Tuesday was that one of our main hindrances is that we're so busy. We don't feel like it, not really interested in it, some of those reasons. And not all the time, but what this sums up is a distraction with the earthly instead of prioritizing the heavenly, the spiritual kingdom of Christ. That's what it is. We should see it. We busy ourselves with everything else instead of the spiritual kingdom of Christ. When Jesus says, seek ye first a kingdom, we seek an earthly kingdom. It's not just a pre-meal and post-meal problem. It's a human problem. That's my problem, your problem. That's why we're not so good at witnessing. This is the disciples. Notice Acts 1 verse 6. They come to Jesus before the spirit is poured out and said, Lord, will thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? We almost laugh at that because you know what they mean by it. They still want Jesus to establish an earthly kingdom. And what's so striking is that when the Holy Spirit's poured out, these disciples don't ever mention this again. They don't go back to seeking an earthly kingdom anymore. They're all about building the spiritual kingdom that is the church through their witnessing. That's what the Holy Spirit works in us, not the pursuit of money, not the pursuit of vehicles, not the pursuit of better homes, not the pursuit of things, but a deep spirituality that causes us to pursue the things of the kingdom of God more and more. One thing, one response that some might say, some might give to this is, well isn't that for the church leaders? Wasn't Jesus just speaking to the apostles here? Verse 14, these all continue with one accord and prayer and supplication with whom? The women. marry the mother of Jesus and with his brothers, Jesus' brothers. These are not all office bearers. When the Holy Spirit filled them so that they went forth and spoke the wonderful works of God, they weren't all office bearers. They were led by the office bearers, but they all were made to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts of the world. I end with this. The Spirit makes his witnesses beginning with prayer. Something I tried to emphasize last Tuesday, that evangelism and prayer are intimately tied together. You cannot separate them. You may not separate them. The Holy Spirit doesn't depend on your praying. Don't misunderstand. He's the very one who breathes into you prayers. But He first works prayer. And as He works prayers out of our lips, He also works witnessing from our lips and hearts. Back to verse 14. These all continue. with one accord in prayer and supplication. Jesus promised that he's going to pour out the spirit. They didn't say, well, he promised us it was going to happen. We can just wait and relax. No, they continue with one accord in prayer. They waited 10 days. Jesus didn't give them a timeline of how long they would have to wait. Ten days in that upper room and they pray, waiting for the breath of God to blow. God will give His grace and Holy Spirit only to those who ask. So may the Holy Spirit move in us with His Word this evening too so that He breathes into you and He breathes as a mighty rushing wind out of you prayers to Him, to God. May He revive our hearts more and more. that you who are witnesses already can become more and more active. Amen. Let's pray. O God, to us show mercy and bless us in thy grace. Cause thy face to shine upon us. May thy Holy Spirit work as a mighty rushing wind, powerfully and sweetly to bend our wills and our hearts that we might be better witnesses of Jesus Christ. And use us, Father, so that the saving health of the Gospel might be made known unto the nations. And more may trust Thee, the Almighty God, not only Father, but also Son, and not only Father and Son, but also the Holy Spirit. Praise be unto Thee, one God,