Minister: Kirsten Barlow
Witness? May 24 & 25, 2008
Ephesians 3:7-19 (The Message)
7-8This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
8-10And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
11-13All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don't let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!
14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit-not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength-that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
What does it mean to be a witness?
There was a movie titled "Witness" about 20-years ago now (doesn't seem like that long - I guess time is speeding up for me). It starred Harrison Ford and Kelly Gillis. It was the story of a little Amish boy who witnessed a brutal murder in a train station in Philadelphia and all that he went through because he had seen the murder happen.
That is definitely one definition of a witness - someone who can give a first-hand account of an event. In the case of the movie "Witness" it was someone who had seen a crime...they were a witness.
Yesterday (today), I had the privilege of marrying a nice young couple and on their marriage license there is a place where two witnesses need to sign in addition to the bride, the groom, and the person performing the ceremony. They need to testify to the fact that the marriage happened by putting their signatures on paper - they witness to the marriage.
Witness definition: A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about a crime or dramatic event through their senses (e.g. seeing, hearing, smelling, touching) and can help certify important considerations to the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event firsthand is known as an eye-witness. Witnesses are often called before a court of law to testify in trials. Witness testimony is always presumed to be better than circumstantial evidence.
In the New Testament a witness is someone who attests to truths about God. They are called witnesses. In this vein, people like Paul and Timothy and Barnabas and the disciples would all be considered to be witnesses for Christ. They tell truths about God.
As a matter of fact, the Greek term that is used for witness in the Bible is μάρτυς martys "witness". Our English word, martyr comes from this word. It initially signified a witness in the forensic sense, a person called to bear witness in legal proceedings. It was used in this sense in the secular sphere as well as in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible.
The process of bearing witness was not intended to lead to the death of the witness, although it is known from ancient writers (e.g. Josephus) that witnesses, especially of the lower classes, were tortured routinely before being interrogated as a means of forcing them to disclose the truth. During the early Christian centuries the term acquired the extended meaning of a believer who witnesses to his or her religious belief and on account of this witness endures suffering and death. The term in the English language is a loanword and used only with the extended meaning of someone who has been killed for their religious belief - Wikipedia
What I want to talk about today is the New Testament version of the word "witness", not today's secular version.
What does it mean to be someone who attests to the truths about God? It is a very timely question, because earlier this month the United Methodist Church had it General Conference. This happens every 4 years. It is a meeting of equal numbers of clergy and lay people from Methodist churches all around the world who meet together to discuss beliefs and principles and policies of the United Methodist Church for the next four years. The petitions that they ratify are what make up the United Methodist Book of Discipline.
Well, there are many things that happened at this year's General Conference and I won't bore you with the details here (if you want to know you can go to the umcom.com website and read about it). But, there is one petition that was approved that you need to know something about. It is a petition that made an addition to the membership vows that those who want to join the United Methodist Church and specifically Sunrise will take.
People who join UM churches henceforth will promise to be faithful in "their witness" as well as in their "prayers, their presence, their gifts and their service." The new phrase is intended to highlight the mission and evangelistic responsibility of church membership.
But what does it mean to be a faithful witness?
I think that is what the apostle Paul was trying to get at in his letter to the church in Ephesus. He said, "8This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities."
The apostle Paul, someone who we would think of as one of the very best of all time about sharing God's love and God's truth saying he was the least qualified to do so, but that God chose him to spend his life doing just that. God wanted Paul to be a witness.
Witnesses are often reluctant aren't they? Think of Moses. He really didn't want to lead his people and to tell them about what God was telling him. He didn't want to be God's witness in that situation. In the movie, "Witness" - the little boy was a reluctant witness. He and his family didn't want him to testify to what he had seen.
You frequently hear cases on the news about a mugging or a stabbing or a shooting that happened in the middle of a busy street with people all around and amazingly enough no one saw or heard anything. They are afraid to be witnesses because they of what might happen to them if they tell the truth. They fear that their lives will be in danger.
Can you think of anywhere in the Bible where something similar happened? How about the disciples...maybe Peter...when Jesus was arrested Peter was a great witness wasn't he. They said, hey, you know that Jesus guy don't you? ...and Peter said, yes, let me tell you all about him...he's awesome.
No, Peter didn't say that. He said, who me? Never heard of the guy. Jesus? Jesus, who?
Peter was a reluctant witness. So, were the rest of the disciples. After Jesus' crucifixion, they hid. They were afraid what might happen if they told people about Jesus.
But then what happened? Sure, they saw Jesus risen from the dead. But what was it that allowed them to be willing witnesses? Remember in Acts 1:8 that Jesus said, "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." And then later on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came on the crowds and suddenly everyone was able to understand everyone else even though they all spoke different languages. That same Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised that would give his disciples power to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.
That's how the disciples went from being a bunch of reluctant witnesses to being willing to share the message that God's love was available for all. Willing to share the good news of Jesus, even if it cost them their life. Even if as a witness they ended up being a martyr. It was the power of the Holy Spirit!
Paul prays that God will strengthen the church in Ephesus with his Spirit and that Christ Jesus will live in their hearts. Wouldn't that give them what they need to be witnesses of God's love?
What if we were strengthened by the Holy Spirit with Christ living in our hearts? Would we be able to do what Paul wrote that "when we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go."
If we were filled with the Holy Spirit - if we let God in Christ Jesus into our hearts could we say what needs to be said and go where we need to go?
What needs to be said? God's love is available to all. That was Paul's point. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was no longer just available to the people called Israel - to the Jews - it was now available to all who would hear and believe the good news of Jesus Christ: that God so loved that world that he sent his son (Jesus) that whoever believed in him would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)
Now, some people may not like to hear this. Some may say, oh, I can't be a witness for Jesus. Those are the people that stand on the street corner and outside of the ball park thumping their Bibles and telling us to repent...the end is near. I couldn't do that?
Now some of you may be called to that, but that really isn't what I am talking about.
How about engaging in a conversation with a friend who doesn't come to church about why you DO come to church: telling them about what you believe and why those beliefs are important to you.
How about living your whole life as a witness: not only being willing to share in words about your faith, but in your actions, too?
Then would you be ready to take the vows of membership in the Methodist Church that say that you will be faithful in your witness?
Why would you want to do this? Did you catch the ending of Paul's prayer in today's passage? He said that with our feet planted firmly in God's love... a love that overflows that we can't help but to share with others that we can rise to the heights...that we can live our lives in full...to the fullness of God.
That sounds pretty good to me...not living according to my standards of fullness, but living into God's standards of fullness. That would be a life beyond my wildest dreams!
Erasmus, the famous Renaissance scholar, once told a classic story which was designed to emphasize how important it is that we take up the torch of Christ's ministry with great commitment. In the story, Jesus returns to heaven after His time on earth. The angels gather around Him to learn what all happened during His days on earth. Jesus tells them of the miracles, His teachings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.
When He finishes his story, Michael the Archangel asks Jesus, "But what happens now?" Jesus answers, "I have left behind eleven faithful disciples and a handful of men and women who have faithfully followed me. They will declare My message and express My love. These faithful people will build My church." "But," responds Michael, "What if these people fail? What then is Your other plan?" And Jesus answers, "I have no other plan!"
Jesus is counting on you and you and you and me. But the good news is, we are not alone. Jesus left the Holy Spirit here to help us. The Spirit gave the disciples the power to be God's witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Don't you think that the Holy Spirit can give us the power to be witnesses, too?
Let's pray...
God, we thank you that you are with us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Help us to be filled with your love and your power that we might live to be your witnesses in Colorado Springs, in the state of Colorado, in the U.S., and around the globe. Give us full lives to live: lives full to your standards, not ours, that we might experience all your blessings. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.