Part 2: In Search of a Witness
Looking for a Witness
Part 1 - “Do I have a Witness?”
Text: Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Introduction – Looking for a Witness.
Read Comment & Pray - Matthew 24:1-14
“I'm looking for a witness”
“I'm looking for people in which the witness of the gospel of My Kingdom can be seen and demonstrated, for a witness testifies of what it has seen and heard.” - SO KEY – talk more in weeks to come.
God is getting ready to move in a big way -
Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
One of the primary truths that Jesus proved is that it is simply impossible to represent God accurately without demonstrations of power.
Matthew 4:23-24, “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24. Then His fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.
50% of Jesus Earthly ministry was teaching and preaching and 50% was healing and delivering.
Jesus has called us/commissioned us to do the same – The Great Commission Read Mark 16:15-18.
Jesus has empowered us to do the same - Acts 1:4-5;8, “And being assembled together with them, He (Jesus) commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the Promise of the Father which, He said, you have heard from Me; 5. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now... 8. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”
The whole reason for the “Power” of God is to be a “Witness” for God.
2 Chronicles 16:9a, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him....
The Lord continued to speak to my heart and said, “I am getting ready to invade earth once again, but before I do I earnestly look for hearts who are loyal to Me. For it is those hearts which have caught My eye that I choose to carry and display the witness of My Glory through.”
Thinking of the Christmas story when God first invaded the earth through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ –
In preparation of His Son's advent, the Lord's eyes ran to and fro and found the eyes of:
Zecharias – a priest who was blameless and righteous before God. A man who walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord (Luke 1:6).
His name was John the Baptist and he would go before the Lord Jesus in the spirit and the power of Elijah, “...to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,” and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).
Secondly, there was a virgin girl named Mary whom the Lord God found favor with and choose to overshadow.
Having her conceive in her womb and bring forth the Savior of the World – the Lord Jesus Christ – (Luke 1:26-37).
In essence we see that God has always been and will always be searching, selecting and securing loyal hearts in which He can display His mighty witness through.
The Lord has always been looking for a witness. Why should we take special notice of it now at this time?
The End Time Witness. Parable of the Fig Tree.
We have already read in Matthew 24 Jesus response to the the sign of His coming and the end of the world.
Matt. 24:6-8, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled ; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8. All these are the beginning of sorrows (Birth/labor pains – that grow in intensity).
2 Things we see from these signs of the Lord's Return.
These signs are growing with intensity.
But the end has not come.
It is only when, as Jesus said, “...this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, then the end will come.”
The True Witness of Christ's Return - Read Matt. 24:32-33.
The fig tree always speaks prophetically in the scriptures of the nation of Israel.
Israel is God's Fig Tree.
Ezekiel 36:24, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.”
The Prophecy of the Valley of Dry Bones – 1209.
Ezekiel 37:1,”The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.”
Ezekiel 37:2, “Then He (God) caused me to pass by them all around and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.”
What the Lord allowed Ezekiel to see into the future were the bones of 6 million Jews that were killed during the Holocaust which began in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came into power in Germany and ended in 1945 when the Nazis were defeated.
In fact, "Holocaust" is a word of Greek origin meaning "sacrifice by fire”.
It is reported that once the bodies were burned they would scrape out the bones – and bury them in deep valleys they had created with bulldozers.
God allowed Ezekiel to see the valley of dead, dry, Jewish bones.
God said to Ezk. Ezekiel 37:3, “And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
Read Ezekiel 37:4-10
Ezekiel 37:10, “So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath (wind KJV/breath of life) came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.”
God raised up the nation of Israel on May 14, 1948 under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion.
Listen to what Jesus said, “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near,
Matthew 24:33-34, “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near – at the doors! 34. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away, till all these things take place.”
We are that generation!!!
Jesus is coming back to the earth with His mighty armies – Rev. 19.
You and I will see it come to pass!
And the Lord is saying, “I am looking for a witness...”
He's coming back, He's coming back, He's coming back!!!!
Beloved, are you ready if the trumpet of God were to sound today?
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord.' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
Will you do this today – will you look into the deep recesses of your heart and honestly ask yourself..”...Whose will am I doing?”
The Parable of the Talents.
Read Matthew 25:14-17
Matthew 25:18, “But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.”
Matthew 25:25, “And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.”
However, one of the most sobering scripture passages in the whole bible is found in Matthew 25:28-30 in which Jesus says, “Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 for to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Do you understand?
This man was cast out of the kingdom!!!
Jesus, you said, (John 15:7) “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you..” (being a witness for the gospel)
Jesus said, “If you abide in Me and My Words abide in you, you will ask you desire and it shall be done for you. By this (union) is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples (witnesses). “
Conclusion – “Do I Have a Witness?”