WITNESSES

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.”

Isaiah 43:10-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever watched a detective show?

I know I have and enjoy watching crimes solved by people who possess the ability to assess evidence and deduct who has committed an offense, bringing them to justice.

Typically during a case, a detective may look for people who may have seen or heard anything that might provide clues to the identity of the perpetrator. These people are commonly referred to as witnesses, a word derived from the Middle English word “witnesse” meaning testimony. These witnesses testify to what they have seen or heard, helping the person hearing their testimony, in this case the detective, form an understanding or knowledge about someone or something that has happened.

This concept of witnessing and sharing testimony is central to our scripture passage today as we continue to work our way through the Book of Isaiah, today looking at these three verses from the 43rd chapter:

“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.” vv. 10-12

The Lord tells us, just as He told the Old Testament Israelites, that we are His witnesses, chosen servants who are to go forth and testify about Him so others may come to know Him in their lives. We were chosen so that the Lord might impart His wisdom and knowledge upon us so we need not worry to try and describe Him on our own for He tells us who He is and thus what we are to tell others about Him. This is the foundation of our testimony but it hardly ends there.

For this Lord, the Lord God Almighty and Maker of heaven and earth, does amazing works in and around us, in our lives and in the lives of others that we become aware of. Because of this, our testimony can be reinforced by telling personal experiences where the Lord has performed miraculous, incredible works of intervention and deliverance, of healing and restoration, of bring reconciliation and rekindling love, of making a way when there seemed no way possible.

Indeed, there is no one like our God and He wants us to witness to that. This is the first of several specific items we are to tell others about Him. He tells us in our scripture passage that no god was formed before Him and there will be no God after Him. He stands alone as our omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Lord and Master. And only He has the power to do all things. Nothing is beyond the works of His hands.

The second thing the Lord wants us to witness to about Him is that He is our Savior. No one else made the way for us to be saved except Him and He did so out of love. John 3:16 tells us so:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God, the one and only Lord of us all, did not wish for us to perish as a result of our sinfulness and so He provided a way so we could live with Him forever. The only catch was that He had to allow His only Son Jesus to die on the cross of Calvary, sacrificed to atone for all the sins of mankind. That’s how much God loved us and that love was perfectly reflected and personified in Jesus His Son, the only One through which we can be saved, the only One who can bring us to life eternal with Him and God the Father (John 14:6). We’re to tell everyone about this (or in other words, to witness) for it is the will of God that everyone hear the good news of the Gospel so they will have the opportunity to receive and accept His salvation offer.

So there is no one like our Lord, the one and only true God, the One who our Savior. But that’s not all the Lord wants us to witness to. He wants us to let everyone know that He is alive and well and with us. He is not a foreign god, one that we have no familiarity with. Rather, He is actively revealing and proclaiming His presence and work in, through, and around us. He intimately cares for everyone and everything He has created and wants the best for them but He isn’t distant and standoffish. No, He dwells among us and regularly displays His power and wisdom in bringing help in times of need, cure in times of affliction and repair in times of injury, comfort in the midst of sorrow and despair, and assurance in the times of uncertainty. He’s alive through every season of a year and every season of our life.

Friends, He is our living God and we are to be His witnesses to it.

Are you ready to tell others about Him today?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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