The Holy Spirit Loves to Testify of Jesus
Acts 1:8
Acts 1:8 (NKJV) "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
There is no true witnessing without the work of the Holy Spirit. We must have the Holy Spirit's help as we testify. However, the good news is that Jesus said, "He [the Holy Spirit] shall testify of me."
You see, the Holy Spirit loves to testify of Jesus. As a result of His deep love, adoration, and affection for Jesus, He loves to talk on and on about Him. So when you partner with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to work through you, testifying becomes natural and simple instead of forced and difficult. It becomes an overflow of your relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice He said that the disciples would be witnesses "after" the Holy Spirit came upon them. To witness and testify powerfully about the resurrected Christ, supernatural power is required. Hence, without the Holy Spirit's assistance, it is almost impossible to testify with confidence about Jesus Christ.
Before the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were similar to many Christians today. Rather than advancing upon the lost world with the message of Christ, they were hiding behind closed doors (see John 20:19). Unlike the great spiritual army they were supposed to be, they were simply "holding out" in a room, hiding for fear of the Jews.
Yet Jesus said the Holy Spirit would "testify" of Him, not make us fear-filled cowards! That word translated "testify" comes from the Greek word martureo, which means to witness or to give a good report. It's where we get the word martyr, referring to someone who obtains a righteous testimony as a result of his willingness to accept suffering or death rather than renounce his faith in Jesus. That kind of courage comes only from the supernatural ability of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer to testify of Jesus, regardless of any pressure or opposition, no matter how severe.
It was not until Acts 2 that the disciples understood the greatness of the Holy Spirit's ability to empower believers to testify. The witness of Jesus Christ literally blasted out of their mouths as they hit the streets of Jerusalem, fully yielded to the Holy Spirit. In addition to supernaturally declaring "the wonderful works of God" in other languages (see Acts 2:11), they proclaimed the Word of God intelligently in their own language to a people they had been afraid of the day before!
A good example is seen in the story of the apostle Peter. After he received the infilling of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, he was transformed! Standing before an enraptured crowd, Peter boldly proclaimed, "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you...ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified...whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death...therefore being by the right hand of God exalted" (Acts 2:22-23, 33). This was supernatural witnessing! This was supernatural proclamation!
Certainly there is nothing wrong with preplanned evangelism, door-to-door visitation, or evangelism programs that teach you the basics of witnessing. But when those programs are carried out without the power of the Holy Spirit, they are often dry, dead, and unsatisfying. Real witnessing or testifying of Jesus Christ can only be done by the power of the Holy Spirit!
Why lean on your own understanding when it comes to witnessing? Why reduce this powerful moment to a mere program? The Holy Spirit was sent to testify of Jesus! No one knows how to testify better than He does.
If you are afraid to witness, as I was when I was younger, I urge you to open your heart to the Holy Spirit and let Him release His power through you to become a witness for Christ. As you surrender your heart and mind to the Holy Spirit's control, witnessing will turn from stressful drudgery into a joyful, rewarding, and exciting adventure!
