And We Are Witnesses

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. Today’s program is called, And We Are Witnesses. Let’s turn to Luke 24:36-49, this is after Jesus rose from the dead and He had already appeared to Peter and another disciple as they walked on the road to Emmaus. They went back to the upper room and Jesus appeared to them: Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, Peace to you. But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, Have you any food here? So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence. Then He said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. I have a question for you; every one of you who is preaching, every one of you who is witnessing: Have you been endued with power from on high? You say you have the Holy Spirit, but do you have the power of the Spirit of God; the same power that raised Jesus from the dead operating through you? Consider your ways. Let’s turn to Acts 1:4-8, And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which, He said, you have heard from Me; 

for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 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 Apostles obeyed the Lord and they tarried in Jerusalem until, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them, and they spoke with tongues and they prophesied. Then Peter rose up and he spoke these words, verse 32 of Acts 2, This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call. Have you truly received the gift of the Holy Spirit? I am not here to condemn you; I’m here to exhort you to consider: Have you really received the Holy Spirit; have you really been baptized by Jesus in the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist said, I baptize you with water, but He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Some of you, as we used to say in the old days, have received the Holy Spirit but He has leaked out, in other words, you haven’t stirred up the gift of the Spirit in you; you haven’t continued in the Spirit; you haven’t 

continued in the power of the Spirit; you haven’t continued in His Word. Jesus said, If you continue in my Word, you will be my disciples indeed, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will speak in other tongues, you will prophecy, and you will receive power! And the reason you receive power is not to be exalted in the eyes of men. The reason you receive power is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and to glorify Him!; to glorify His name! The Holy Spirit, Jesus said, will glorify Me. He glorifies Jesus! What are you doing glorifying yourself!? No wonder the Holy Spirit is not in your church services; because you’re seeking your own glory; because you love the world and the things of the world! Repent!,  and turn back to God with all your heart and be His witnesses! Let the Holy Spirit move through you! Let the Holy Spirit move throughout the church! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise God!

In Acts chapter 3 we read about Peter and John going up into the Temple at the third hour, the hour of prayer, and the Lord moved; the power of God moved. Peter didn’t dream it up; he didn’t think this would be a good thing to do. He was just walking into the Temple and the Holy Spirit led him to that man who was begging; who was born lame; he couldn’t walk from his mother’s womb; he was 40 years old, and Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I you. What did he have? He had received the Holy Spirit; he had received the power that Jesus told him to tarry in Jerusalem for. He received that power and he was being led by the Spirit! And he took that man by the hand and raised him up and said, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise and walk! And the power of God came on that man, and he rose up and leaped and praised God, and went with them into the Temple, walking and leaping and praising God! And that day over 5,000 men were saved as Peter preached the Gospel! Chapter 3, verses 11-16, Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Glory to God! Glory to God! Acts 4:33-35, And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 

and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. The Apostles gave witness to Jesus’ resurrection with great power; the exceeding greatness of His mighty power that the Father worked in Jesus when He raised Him from the dead. Let’s turn there: Eph 1:15-23, Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all! This Gospel is with power! We are witnesses unto Him; unto His resurrection, by demonstrating the power of God as the Holy Spirit leads us. Victory over death, victory over all sickness, over all the powers of darkness, over all sin and unrighteousness! In Isaiah 53, He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we were healed! This is the truth! The Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power!; righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit! Jesus said, You shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto Me; in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Let’s turn to 1 Cor 2:1-5, And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. There is the power!; the exceeding greatness of God’s mighty power that He worked in Jesus when He raised Him from the dead. Jesus said, in the Book of Revelation, I was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore! He died for our sins; all our sicknesses; everything was laid on Him; everything that troubles the human race was laid on Jesus, and when the Father raised Him from the dead, He put it all off! He put it all off! That’s why Paul determined not to know anything except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Amen! He said, I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 

We are the Lord’s witnesses as He moves, as He moves by His Spirit through us, and as He wills, in demonstration of the power of His resurrection; the exceeding greatness of His mighty power which the Father worked in Jesus when He raised Him from the dead. 1 Cor 12:4-11, There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. For what purpose? To glorify Jesus, and to edify the body of Christ. And if you get off from that purpose; if the Holy Spirit begins to move in your midst, and you begin to look to yourselves, or you begin to look to yourself like you’re some great man or woman of God, you will miss the bus. The Holy Spirit will leave. He glorifies Jesus! Our hearts must be purified to where we desire to glorify God and honor Him, and then God will move by His Spirit as we believe; as we trust Him and believe He will manifest His power, but it’s always for that purpose: for the glory of God, and for the edification of the body of Christ. 

Thank you Father. Let’s just praise Him. Let’s just praise the Lord. Thank you Lord! Praise you Father! We thank you Father! Praise you Father! We thank you Lord! The Kingdom of God is not in word but in power! Thank you Lord! Praise you Father! Thank you Father! Thank you Lord! Thank you Father; if you wish to speak Father, Amen Thank you Lord! Praise you Father! I wait upon you Father: whatever you will, whatever you want to do:

Interpretation of a message in tongues:

I am the God of all flesh! Hear my voice, you preachers! You listen to Me right now!

I am warning you! I’m warning you because I love you! I’m not warning you to condemn you, but I’m warning you and commanding you to repent for perverting my ways; for perverting the people; for teaching lies and speaking lies in my name! You will be severely judged for these things if you will not repent, says the Lord!