Impact of the Eyewitnesses

The power and influence of an eyewitness. It's an incredible thing. 

When I wrote the post, Battle Strategy, which was one of the first posts I published on this blog, I wrote about a first-hand experience I had with spiritual warfare, with front-line struggle against the enemy where I saw him face to face, where I turned to the One Who is greater than the devil, that is, to Jesus Christ Who lives in me, and where I -- through Jesus' all-powerful name -- conquered Satan.

I saw it with my own eyes. I witnessed not only the physical, natural walk through downtown Columbus, Ohio, but I experienced the cataclysmic warfare that happens all around us every day, though most often, this warfare goes fairly unnoticed by us who rely so strongly on what our physical, natural eyes can see.

Ephesians 1:18-20 says: "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms..."

It keeps going, but I'll stop there.

Paul says: Hey, I'm praying that you can see beyond the natural, physical world (because the real deal is what the eyes of your heart can see).

Paul says: I'm praying this for the entire purpose of understanding the whole point of this saga of God and mankind in reciprocal relationship. 

Paul says: I'm praying that you can know -- like, the Biblical definition of "to know," the intimate, no-holds-barred knowing, the knowing where you really, really, really step into, clothe yourself with, fully immerse yourself with -- this incomparably great power available to those who believe.

Paul says: That same power -- the power I just mentioned that is available to everyone who believes -- y'all, WAKE UP AND PAY ATTENTION -- is the same power which God exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of the Father.

We. Have. The. Power. That. Broke. Death. available at our fingertips -- not for the purpose of simply having power (see Acts 8:9-24 and the story of Simon the Magician who wanted power for powers' sake) -- but for the purpose of intimate relationship with God.

Whew! Somebody shout Amen!

And then look back at Jesus' words in John 14:12: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing..." 

Hang on, stop the Mustang. What? Will do what You've been doing, Jesus? 

You mean... standing in front of six huge vats of water that have just been filled by servants who are very certain that the liquid inside is indeed H20, and telling them to take a taste to the master of the wedding ceremony, who declares the liquid to be the best wine he's ever tasted?

You mean... standing up in a boat in the middle of a storm, talking to the wind and the waves and saying: "Hey! Settle!" And... they do?

You mean... walking through a crowd pressing all around You, and when someone with a mustard seed-sized portion of faith reaches out and touches Your clothes, You feel the power go out of You to heal this person?

You mean... striding up to a tomb where Your best friend has been buried four days ago, and calling: "Lazarus, come out!" And he does?

Oh, but Jesus isn't done with His statement, so let's finish it. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

What happens when Jesus goes to the Father? He tells us: "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him (the eyes of their hearts are still tightly shut) nor knows Him. But you. know. Him, for He lives with you and will be in you" (John 14:16-17).

So the Spirit of Truth, the Counselor, the One Whom Jesus sent when He returned to the Father... that same Spirit bears witness with our spirits... He testifies with our spirits... (Romans 8:16). He -- with us -- declares this reciprocal relationship we've got with God, the relationship that brings us right to "the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe."

Whew! 

So now, flip over with me to 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, where Paul says: "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the Gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this Gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:1-2).

In other words... if you start to think that anything I've told you about Christ is false... if you don't bear witness with the Spirit Who lives in you, if you declare the Gospel false even in part... your faith is standing on sinking sand instead of on solid Rock. Stand on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In courts, they make you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, and it's worthy of standing on. It's the solid Rock; there's no sinking sand about it.

Paul goes on to list four reasons the Corinthian church can place unshakeable faith in the foundation of Christ: "For what I received, I passed on to you as of first importance: that (1.) Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (2.) that He was buried, (3.) that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and (4.) that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born" (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

Some of y'all know of Voddie Baucham because of his recent book: Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism's Looming Catastrophe (which I haven't yet read, but want to as soon as I can get my hands on it -- I hear it's pretty phenomenal). I first heard of Voddie Baucham when someone posted a message he preached at a conference where he gave a concise statement for why he stands on the unshakeable Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here's what he said: "I choose to believe the Bible, because it is a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They [those same eyewitnesses] reported supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies [Hallelujah!] and claimed that their writings are divine rather than human in origin."

Goodness gracious lands sakes alive. 

Look at the power of the eyewitnesses! They saw what they saw in the natural. They opened the eyes of their hearts. They testified with the Holy Spirit to the story of the power of God's reciprocal relationship with mankind, and the world cannot contain it. This. story. is. too. big to hide!

Y'all, in case there is ever any confusion, I make my eyewitness testimony right now by the help of the Holy Spirit: Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago, died for my sins and yours, it's true, it happened. He was buried in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. It's true, it happened. On Sunday morning, early, He stepped back outside of that tomb, alive, alive, alive, and appeared to more than five hundred eyewitnesses, who then recorded what they saw and passed down to us as of first importance.

It's true, it happened. And I have seen His all-surpassing power at work in my heart and in my life. I have seen phenomenal turns of His hand at work in my life. I have seen miracles happen because of His work in my life. I am an eyewitness that God is still God.

Daniel says, appropriately: "Praise be to the Name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him. I thank and praise You, oh God of my fathers! You have given me wisdom and power; You have made known to me what we asked of You, You have made known to us the dream of the king" (Daniel 2:20-23).