Charlie Hainline is a layman at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is a man who radiates the love of Christ, and is serious about sharing his faith with others. One year, his goal was to lead 1650 people to faith in Christ (5 a day)! Once, he was out witnessing with a couple of other folks, and though he didn’t share the gospel, he sat there and smiled broadly as a teammate did. When the teammate was finished and asked if the person would like to trust Christ and receive the gift of eternal life, the person replied, “If being a Christian would make me like him (point to Charlie), I want it!” Charlie’s life wasn’t a bed of roses by any means. His daughter was kidnapped, killed, and her head was found floating in a canal. When the murderer of his daughter was caught and convicted, Charlie went to jail in order to witness to the man.¹ Witnessing of Jesus, that’s what we are talking about in this week’s Light on Life.

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#S4-033: Why It’s Important to Flow in Faith’s Domain [Encore Podcast]

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You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put into operation.
This weeks call is:

• The scripture says, ‘There was a man sent from God to be a witness, to stand up and testify, to confirm based on personal knowledge of Jesus.’ Could they say that about you?

Join the Conversation

Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believers life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question:

• How do you think our lives should be a witness for Jesus? In the comments section below, list some ways you think we can bear witness to Jesus.

Episode Resources

You can find more information on the subject of ‘Who Jesus Is’ by clicking on the links above.

1. Encountering Jesus in Your Everyday Life.
2. #S4-005: What to Do When Your Family Thinks Your Nuts about Jesus [Podcast] 
3. #S3-030: Do You Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus? [Podcast]
4. #S1-033: Three Things Jesus Did that You Can Do [Podcast]
5. #S1-020: What Happens When You Encounter Jesus? [Podcast]
6. #S5-010: Just Who Is Jesus to You? [Podcast]
7. #S5-011: The Zoe Life of God in the Person of Jesus [Podcast]

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 42 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 38 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com

Podcast Notes

The Marks of a Witness

• One gentleman gave these characteristics of a witness.
  • A witness must have a first-hand experience of Christ.
  • He must be able to express himself verbally.
  • A witness will have confidence in the power of God.
  • He will have compassion for the spiritually lost.²

Witness One to the Mission of Jesus: John the Baptist

John 1:6–8 (KJV) — 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

• The first witness we come to in John’s gospel is John the Baptist.
• In chapter one alone, the word witness appears four times of him.
• The Greek word witness is one we need to understand and with the thought here’s the definition of the day.
• The word witness means confirmation or on the basis of personal knowledge or belief or testimony.³
• We could use the word ‘attest’.
• You know attest to the truth about something.
• It’s like a witness who comes to the stand to attest or affirm the truth.
• In fact, you have to say that when you go up to testify.
• You have to be sworn in and you are asked ‘Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
• That’s witnessing.
• The scripture says, ‘There was a man sent from God to be a witness, to stand up and testify, to confirm based on personal knowledge of Jesus.’

John Uses the Word Witness Many Times

• The root word appears forty-seven times in John’s gospel alone.
• Compare that to the other three gospels.
• The other three gospels combine to use the root word thirty-two times.
• So, John’s gospel forty-seven times, Matthew, Mark and Luke thirty-two times combined.
• What you see from these stats is that the word witness is a huge word in John’s gospel and gives us a big clue as to why John wrote what he wrote.
• He wanted his gospel to personally testify to Jesus.
• So, he gathered all these witnesses.

John 20:30–31 (KJV) — 30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Why John Wrote this Gospel

• We have in this statement in John 20, the reason why John wrote His gospel.
• He was inspired, he was moved by the Spirit of God to record what he recorded so that the readers of his gospel might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior, the Anointed One, the very Son of God.
• That’s why the word ‘witness’ is in there so many times.
• So, we are looking at these witnesses.
• The first one is the Baptist.

John Was Sent

• The scripture says that God sent him; ‘There was a man sent from God whose name was John’ is the record.
• What can we learn from this phrase?
• You can learn that it’s best to be sent by God instead of going yourself.
• There are many that go themselves.
• They have their own plan.
• The path they follow is their own.
• They have everything figured out.

James 4:13–15 (KJV) — 13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

• It’s best to say, “If the Lord will, we shall do this or that.’

It’s Best to Be Sent

• It’s best to be sent.

Micah 6:4 (ESV) — 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

• Moses, Aaron and their sister Miriam were all sent.
• In this case, God sent the entire family of siblings.
• The Lord sent the Apostle Paul also.

Acts 22:21 (ESV) — 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

• Paul did not go up on his own.
• How many times have you just gone on your own?
• How did it work for you?
• Do you remember the story of Elijah and the Brook Cherith?

1 Kings 17:2–6 (KJV) — 2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

• Provision comes with direction.
• Sometimes we suffer lack because we are not where we should be, we are out of place.
• Remember this little rhyme, it will help you in this area.

If you are out of your place, you are out of your grace, and you will fall on your face.

• Or maybe this will help you.

Some are sent and some just went. No wonder their lives are full of dents.

John Knew What His Mission Was

John 1:19–21 (KJV) — 19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

• John knew what his mission in life was.
• The question is, ‘Do you know what your’s is?’
• Notice what happens in the life of a man who knows what his mission is, who understands and who locks in on his purpose.
• The religious come to John to try and identify who he is.
• You know that’s just like people in the world, they always want to catalog you and try to put a name on you.
• Especially if you don’t fit the mold, if you are not like them, particularly, particularly, if you are casting a negative reflection on them by the life you live or the values you project.

John Knew Who He Was

• So here they come, ‘Who are you?’, they ask John.
• John’s first reply?
• ‘I am not the Christ.’
• Notice, John tells them who he isn’t not who he is.
• He could have said, ‘No, I am not the Christ, I am the voice’ but he didn’t.
• Observe that John’s answer are short and to the point.
• He says, ‘No, I am not the Christ’ and leaves it right there leaving the priests and Levites to continue stepping through the other choices of who they thought he was.
• So, here they are, they are trying to figure out who he is.
• They ask the ‘Who are you’ question three successive times.
• Each time John’s answers the questions they become more and more curt.
• He gets shorter and shorter with his answers.
• First, he says, ‘I am not the Christ.’
• Then they ask him, ‘Are you, Elijah?’
• He says, ‘I am not.’
  • See that, a shorter answer.
• Then they ask him, ‘Are you the Prophet?’
• He says, ‘No.’
• I’m not the Christ, I am not, and then-No.
• It’s almost like John gets irate with the carnality of the questions that they are asking him.

John Was Focused on His Mission

• This is what happens sometimes with focused people.
• John was locked and loaded on his mission of testifying to Jesus.
• So, when the religious crowd is asking John about himself instead of about John’s mission of being a witness to Jesus, he gets annoyed almost.
• His responses get really short.
• Do you recognize yourself here?
• Are you intent on your Kingdom of God mission on planet earth?
• You should be, you know.
• Look at how Jesus turned the tables of the money-changers over in John two.

Jesus Was Focused and Zealous

John 2:13–17 (KJV) — 13 And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

• Defining some words would help us to pin down the flavor of this passage.
• The Greek word ‘zeal’ here intense positive interest in something marked by a sense of dedication.⁴
• It means excessive fervor to do something or accomplish some end.
• The next word we should understand is the word ‘eaten up’, ‘the zeal of your house has eaten me up.’
• The word means to consume, to devour, to take up all of one’s attention or time; conceived of as eating up greedily.
• Hear that.
• Jesus was ‘greedy’ for the things of God.
• He was consumed with it.
• It took up all of His attention or time.
• That’s what the Greek word means.
• Does this describe you?
• Does anyone complain about your devotion to your mission for God?
• Are you zealous for your mission, do have what other’s deem as excessive fervor?
• Is that your feedback from the people who are in your world?
• John the Baptist was that way and so was Jesus.
• Zeal for the things of God ate them up.

The Christ, Elijah or the Prophet

John 1:20–21 (KJV) — 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

• Now, one thing to add here and with that thought here’s the Historical Background of the day.
• The Jews were not unified on the scriptures as to the identity of the Messiah.
• With some there was an expectation of the Messiah.

John 1:41 (KJV) — 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

John 4:25 (KJV) — 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

• Some, in Israel, were looking for the Messiah.

Some Were Looking For Elijah

• Others were looking for Elijah.

Malachi 4:5 (KJV) — 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

• There were some among the Jews who interpret this verse in Malachi to mean that Elijah the prophet would return as the Messiah.
• Still, a third group thought that the Messiah was the Prophet mentioned by Moses.

Some Were Looking For a Great Prophet Like Moses

Deuteronomy 18:15 (KJV) — 15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

• How do we know that?
• Well, listen to this conversation in John seven.

John 7:40–41 (KJV) — 40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. 41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

• Did you hear this verse?
• Some of the people of Israel were discussing the topic of whether Jesus was the Messiah or not.
• The group was split.
• Some in the group thought He was the Prophet, others thought He was the Messiah.
• John’s witness gets right to the point.

John 1:29–30 (KJV) — 29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

• Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world.
• That was John’s witness of Jesus.
• How is your witness of Jesus?
• So, that’s the first witness, Let’s go on to the second as we said there are seven of them.

Witness Two to the Mission of Jesus : God the Father

John 5:31–32,37 (KJV) — 31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true…. 37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

John 8:18 (KJV) — 18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

• The synoptic gospels, record firsthand the Father’s audible witness of His Son.

Matthew 3:17 (ESV) — 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

• So, the Father bore witness of Jesus.

Witness Three to the Mission of Jesus: Jesus Himself

John 8:14 (ESV) — 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

• Jesus witnessed of Himself.
• His witness was not a braggadocios witness.
• His witness was an agreeing with what His Father said about Him.
• That’s your job as a believer is to agree with what God says about you.
• As John Osteen used to say:

This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I can do what it says I can do. Today, I will be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess, My mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same. Because, I am about to receive The incorruptible, indestructible, Ever-living seed of the Word of God. I will never be the same. Never, never, never. I will never be the same. In Jesus name. Amen.

Witness Four to the Mission of Jesus: The Holy Spirit

John 15:26 (ESV) — 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

• The Holy Spirit whom Jesus prayed to the Father to send into the earth bears witness to Jesus.
• Now, He is on the inside of you.
• So, what does that say about your being a witness for Him?

Witness Five to the Mission of Jesus: The Works of Jesus

John 5:36 (ESV) — 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

John 10:25 (ESV) — 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,

• Jesus couldn’t do the works He did, He couldn’t do the signs He did unless the Father God by the Spirit of God helped Him to do it.
• Jesus Himself said:

John 14:10 (ESV) — 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

Witness Six to the Mission of Jesus: The Word of God

John 5:39 (ESV) — 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

• Three-hundred-fifty prophecies of Jesus exist in the Old Testament.
• Three-hundred-fifty plus potential witnesses for Jesus.
• Out of those three-hundred-fifty prophecies, ninety plus are witnesses in John’s gospel.⁵
• The Word testifies of Jesus.

Witness Seven to the Mission of Jesus: Everyday People

• The disciples bore witness of Jesus.

John 15:27 (ESV) — 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

• The Samaritans did the same.

John 4:39 (ESV) — 39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”

• The crowd that saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead bore witness to Jesus.

John 12:17 (ESV) — 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.

• So, there you have it.
• Seven witnesses to the Mission of Jesus in the gospel of John.
• How is your witness?

#S4-040: Why You Need to Know the Story of John Alexander Dowie [Podcast]

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