Be a witness
Friday, January 14, 2011
Dear Praying Friends,
As we are looking back on the year 2010 and awaiting of 2011 our heart is full of gratitude toward God and anticipation to see Him working! In 2010 God allowed us to see growth both in quality and quantity in YTL. (If you look back our emails and letters you can find the evidences of that.)
As we move into the new year, instead of sharing with you what God is doing through the ministry, I want to share with you what God is teaching me recently from a passage we all know by heart: Acts 1:8 "when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will be my witnesses...to the end of the earth."
Here are the lessons for me that God is using in my life as I look into 2011:
1. :: To be His witness is not a command, but it's an identity. :: (Note that Jesus doesn't say that you will be witnessing, but you will be a witness.) When we don't witness Christ, we not just "simply" disobey, we deny our identity in Christ.
2. :: To be His witness is not a command, but a sign of the fulfillment of Jesus's promise. :: Jesus promised that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will transforms us to be a witness. The evidence of the Spirit-filled life is a witnessing life. Consider that the opposite must be true as well.
3. :: Jesus didn't gave a strategy to reach the world, but He gave power for it. :: The key to reach the world with the gospel is not the planing and strategizing - which by the way we focus so much on. The key for the Great Commission is Christians walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our focus should not be on creating super plans and strategies, but on walking in His power. It also means that the reason the world is not reached for Christ is not in the lack of plans and strategies, but in the lack of numbers of Christians appropriating the power of the Holy Spirit!
4. :: The power that is promised to us by receiving the Holy Spirit is given to us to serve His purposes, not ours. :: The power of the Holy Spirit is given for a specific reason: to enable us to be His witness and to serve His goals. Often we want to use His powers for our purposes and needs.
As Edina and I look into the year of 2011, our desire is that we would walk more fully in our identity as witnesses of Christ! Pray that for us in this coming year!
We are thankful for your faithful and generous partnership with us!
Advancing the Kingdom of God together in 2011, too!
Gabor for Edina and the kids
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