The presence of the Holy Spirit is so important in our lives for so many reasons and in so many ways.

 

I want to share what i consider as one of the basics of Christianity… the A, B, C of our faith. If you are a Christian and you are not aware of this, one has to wonder how you have managed to be a witness for Christ thus far.

 

If you are in a moving car (as a passenger) when an accident happens, you have involuntarily become a “witness” to the event that occurred. The cops can decide to ask you for an opinion on how the event unfolded. In court, even the Judge presiding over the case may decide to call you on the stand to testify as to the truth of the events that happened.

 

Let me get to the point with a more precise example. On June 1st, 2014 I got married to the love of my life – Emilomo Adelakun. Our son Daniel is evidence of that union. However, the almost 300 people we had in attendance at our wedding have automatically become witnesses by virtue of their attendance at our wedding. Any one of those attendees can testify as to the event that happened. That’s the power of a witness.

 

Also, pictures of our wedding on any social media outlet “extend” the right to other people who were not present at the wedding, to raise such questions.

 

This brings me to my main Question:

*If you were not physically there 2000+ years ago, how can you then confidently testify to Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God .. (as Lord & Savior of all the earth) to another person who doesn’t yet know Christ? Let’s understand the perspective of an Unbeliever and why they doubt us some times.

 

The truth is your great grandfather wasn’t born, your father hadn’t met your mother and the thought of you being conceived didn’t even exist – how then can you rightfully speak on a matter that happened ages ago when you were not there?

 

If you have ever asked yourself that question, the answers you seek are in the book of Acts.

 

2 scriptures –

Being a witness requires confidence to testify to the truth of matters. A shaky testimony or unsure testifier leaves much room for doubt. And you cannot convince an unbeliever when you yourself don’t know the basis for your beliefs. You need to meditate on these two verses till they become a part of you

 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

 

We are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

 

2 things to note.

1- You receive the HolySpirit when you are in alignment with God’s Will for your life (obedience to His voice)

 

2 – When you receive the Holy Spirit, you receive the conviction and power to testify about Jesus Christ and the salvation He brought to all men (for no other name has been given amongst men whereby we must be saved). The Holy Spirit is thus essential, to the life of a successful witness.

 

3 – Lastly, it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that gives you unquestionable faith, implicit knowledge and the supernatural confidence to be a witness to the truth that Christ came in the flesh, died for our sins , rose from the dead the 3rd day and ascended unto the right hand of God – events that happened 2000+ years ago

 

The presence of the Holy Spirit in one’s life should therefore, be the primary means through which a Christian should testify.

Yes the Bible contains the word of God through which we believed and which has helped testify but the truth according to this scriptures is that without the conviction of the Holy Spirit in the mind of a Christian there is no power in your words.

 

Your testimony may as well be a recital or story repeated by a parrot. This is why meditation is important for a believer as it builds up our faith. The words written by men who witnessed the actual events, lived in the age it happened or those who had the inspiration of the Holy Spirit does not pass on their firsthand experience or testimony to you.

 

Paul or Peter’s testimony is not the same as yours. You can adopt it. But ultimately it’s their experience. It is literally a picture of their life and encounter with Christ through which they now testify. You too, need your own experience with Christ. It’s called receiving the Holy Spirit.

 

Like the pictures at my wedding, the testimony of those who experienced the event itself become the primary tool through which others who were not there, attain the right to speak on matters such as the words spoken by a true witness of Christ.

 

The rights we attain come through faith which comes from reading, meditating and hearing the words those with the first class experience wrote down for us.

 

They couldn’t all have come up with such words without truly experiencing something supernatural. Like Peter said,”for we did not follow cleverly devised fables” – in other words, when we talk to you about Jesus, it’s not a clever ploy. It’s not a joke..! We know what we are talking about because we have the first-class experience of a witness. The words written by the apostles should create a hunger and thirst in our hearts which only the presence of the HolySpirit can quench. We need Him desperately because It is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the mind of a believer that convicts us and ultimately empowers us to bear witness to the words of eternal life.

 

A judge doesn’t call those who have not witnessed anything. Why then should an unbeliever on the street listen to you if you have not experienced the faith you talk about? The courts only want the main witness to narrate his or her experience.

 

They are not interested in history or stories. The world is the courtroom and you are being called to the stand each time you speak to another about Jesus Christ.

 

If the physical court rooms only want to hear it from the person who had the experience itself why should the world be any different? You see, The Holy Spirit bridges the gap between 2000 years ago and today when you need to testify. He was there. He saw it all.

 

When He comes into your heart and life, He convicts you of the truth of those events. Only then can you know that you know that you know Christ died for our sins. You are not just repeating the words your Pastor told you. Don’t get me wrong, the words written by Peter, John and the apostles are primary tools of witnessing; to aid us when we testify to an unbeliever that Christ loves and died for them.

 

However, without the conviction that comes from the refreshing presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives there is no power in the words we speak.

 

The power is in the personal experience you have which prompts you to get up on your feet to go tell somebody about this “good” Jesus. That, is a testimony indeed. Perhaps you’ll never experience this conviction I talk about if you are only a Christian because your parents passed it on to you.

 

If you dare testify at this stage, you might as well be a history teacher narrating the experience and conviction of other men who bore witness to the events that happened in front of their own eyes.

 

You will be telling their own story in your own words and that does not pass as an experience through the in dwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

 

I can’t say this enough but this is why you truly, more than ever, need the presence of the Holy Spirit as a believer, serious about winning souls.

 

In summary, every believer has received the right to speak on the truth spoken in the word of God about Christ Jesus but we need the Holy Spirit to help us testify.

 

Without Him, your testimony can be likened to you not being in attendance at my wedding yet being able to use the pictures – proof. This is why those born into a family where Christianity is the order of the day still need their own authentic experience where they consciously confess Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

 

By faith we are saved, so faith requires a conviction and an experience. As a matter of fact, some believers have fallen off the path because they began to doubt the words written by people like Paul & Peter.

 

This is because they had no conviction in the first place. It’s the Holy Spirit that convicts a Christian through the words written in the Bible. This becomes an authentic experience that one can draw confidence from when witnessing to people.

Thanks for reading