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Sharing Our Experiences
Early Christians had wonderful experiences.
They never had this kind of experience before in their lives. Jesus had a profound impact on them.
First time, they felt they were so full of life. They realized how beautiful life was. They felt so positive about their lives. God became so real to them.
The important thing is – They didn’t keep their experiences to themselves. They shared. They shared their experiences with others.
That is what BEING A WITNESS is all about. Sharing what you experienced with others.
When good things happen, you want to share with others, don’t you?
They were all witnesses to good things that happened to them. They saw clearly what God was doing in their lives and for the world. They saw that the new world had come and they proclaimed boldly the arrival of this new world.
You have to understand how difficult it was for Christianity to survive.
Christianity was not a big religion. A very small number of people. And they were not necessarily elites; they were ordinary people.
Around them, there were a lot of sophisticated ideas, systems, and religions.
Like Greek philosophy. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Stoics, and so on. A very solid religious establishment like Judaism. A powerful and sophisticated political system like Romans.
Christianity – A very new movement. It didn’t have political power, financial power, cultural power or religious power.
How did the Christianity survive?
How did it break through the thick walls of opposition and persecutions? How did it overpower the big ideas that were present and became a dominant idea next several hundred years?
It completely depended on WITNESSES – WITNESSES of those who experienced the power of God through Jesus Christ.
Through their witnesses, Christianity was able to break through all kinds of barriers and walls and persecutions not only to survive but also to sweep through the whole world.
That itself is the greatest miracle to me and that was what happened historically. The history is its proof.
It wasn’t what they experienced that changed the world. It was their witnesses that changed the world.
Being A Witness
Early Christians boldly witnessed to what they experienced. That was the power of the Spirit.
St. Paul was one good example.
On the road to Damascus, Paul had a wonderful experience of meeting Christ. His eyes were open.
His worldview changed. His understanding of God changed. His attitude towards the law changed. His understanding of righteousness changed. His whole outlook of life changed.
After that experience, he didn’t keep it to himself. He shared what he experienced with people.
The whole story of the Acts of Apostles is about Paul’s life of being a witness. We are going to study that in February.
Being a witness was not always easy to Paul. He was persecuted. He was hated. He was imprisoned. People tried to kill him.
But he didn’t stop being a witness. That is the power of the Spirit.
He received a wonderful life message and he wanted to let others know. Church was established and Christianity was firmly rooted by his witnesses.
His life was a witness to God’s grace he experienced. He said, I am who I am by God’s grace. His life was a witness to freedom he enjoyed.
In Christ, he said we are free.
Sometimes I hear this kind of statement. “Oh, I should behave myself because they know that I am a Christian.”
That is not being a witness. That is putting up a false image.
Be yourself. Be authentic. Be real.
Being a witness is not to show how great you are. Being a witness is not to show how good you are.
Being a witness means to show how God has been so good to you in spite of your shortcomings.
It means to show how confident you can be in God’s power even though you don’t have your own personal power.
You can share how you can be free from your obsession about your own survival. You can share how you can overcome your own difficult circumstances with grace.
By being with those who are lonely, alienated, and abandoned, you are witnessing to Jesus’ teaching.
By rejoicing with those who rejoice and crying with those who cry, you become a witness to God’s presence.
Being a witness means to be humble and yet confident, to be gentle and yet firm, to be loving and yet courageous to be able to say what should be said.
This is what St. Paul said.
But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:7-10)
That is being a witness.
You have this treasure in clay jars. The extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from you. You witness that to others.
Your Humble Calling
My friends, you are a witness of Jesus Christ.
Christ has done so much for you. God has blessed you in so many ways.
Don’t keep your precious experiences to yourself.
Share them with others. Be a witness to what Jesus has done for you.
YOUR CALLING IS NOT TO GO OUT AND CHANGE THE WORLD.
Your calling is simply to be a witness. It is God who will change the world, not you.
But God will use your life to change the world.
Being a witness is not always talking about it. Being a witness is not a verbal exercise. You are a witness of Jesus Christ through your life.
Be authentic. Be honest. Be who you are. Be real. That is the first thing you have to do.
Then be a warm presence in this very cold, calculating, competitive, and cruel world.
St. Paul said you are a fragrance of God. Yes, you are a fragrance of God. Be a good, sweet fragrance.
Your presence matters. Your presence can help so many people. You have to ask yourself what kind of presence you will be.
A Spiritual Presence for Others
The world we live in is very hostile.
The world we live in is not a friendly place. Power controls the world. Not love. Selfishness and greed control the world. Not sacrifice and goodness.
Be a friend in this hostile world.
Practice love in the power hungry world. Care for others in this selfish and greedy world.
That is being a witness.
There are so many people who suffer in the world.
Your presence matters. Be a spiritual presence in the world.
The other day, I visited a person at North York General with the Rev. Chung. She just found out that she had a pancreatic cancer.
I didn’t do much. I was just there. She thanked us so much. My presence was spiritual presence for her.
A few weeks ago, a young man died. And many of our church members helped the funeral through organizing and through music.
Your presence was spiritual presence for the family. You were witnesses.
Be with those who are sad. Be with those who feel lost. Be a warm and sweet presence. People need to experience that.
What kind of presence are you? Are you cold and rude? Be kind. If people greet you, greet them. In the elevator, I try to tell them, have a good day.
Be always positive no matter what circumstances you may be in.
Don’t be selfish; be generous.
Don’t be self-centred; be concerned with others. Don’t live out your fear; be courageous.
Don’t hang out with the powerful and the popular; reach out to those who are invisible. Be in solidarity with the weak and the vulnerable.
Live your life as a witness. You will experience the power of life.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
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