In Acts 1:8 we have the last earthly words of Jesus. Although all the words of Jesus are important and powerful – there needs to be special consideration given here. Jesus knows that these are the last words that he is to speak in the flesh before his return to heaven. He is about to leave the 11 that he has walked so closely with and he is looking back on the last 33 years and forward to his crucifixion. He knows the difficult road ahead for the 11, as well as his church until his return. The self limiting earthly restraints are no longer binding on him. He will be returning to his place at the right hand of God – yet, he takes with him the human body, still bearing the scars of our sin - not because he couldn’t remove them – but because he won't. Not because he needs them – but because we do. Not because he needs to remember – or remind God – but because we need to remember, to be reminded – and to recognize him as our Lord and Saviour. These last words are words that Jesus knows he is not just speaking to that small group standing on that hill top – but to all of history – to us.

“but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth”

This is THE Call of all those who would say they are followers of Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit – we exist for one purpose, and one purpose only – to live as a witness of the story of Christ – from Genesis to Revelation.

We need to look at this word ‘witness’ not firstly as a verb – as we generally do, (witnessing), but as a noun. The difference is significant –“witness” as a verb is something that we do – whereas, as it is found here in this verse, it is a noun – someone we are. Too often the problem with our witnessing is not with the words necessarily, but with the witness of our own lives, to those words – our ‘being’. That is the amazing revelation of Christ himself. He is not witnessing about the Word – he IS the Word.

Have you ever been asked to be a witness to something? If you have then you were asked – “What did you see…What did you hear… What experience makes you a credible witness?” I’ve been part of a few situations where because of what I saw, heard or directly experienced changed the outcome of a decision. I was a witness of an accident. Initially the person protested and was saying something different, but when they saw there was a witness – they didn’t contest it. Fortunately, it meant I didn’t have to go to court. Just the power of knowing that there was a witness in this case was enough.

It’s what makes the words of 1 John 1:1 so powerful: “what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled concerning the word of Life”.  1 Jn 1:1

When John, the disciple of Jesus, writes these words so many years later – after being a witness to Christ’s life, being present with him that day when he ascended to heaven, being in the room when the tongues of fire descended – he was a witness.   How he lived, along with the rest of the disciples was a result of what he had witnessed in his encounter with Christ. His witnessing was born out of his being a witness of the events.

A slight change of gears for a minute, but – it ties in.

Paul writes in Phil 3:20 – For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform the body of our humble state in to conformity with the body of his glory by the exertion of the power He has even to subject all things to Himself.

We typically view this verse as a verse that reminds us that we are to forget the things of earth – and transcend the material things of this world. The earth is something we leave behind and look to the future – which while it has truth, is not what Paul meant here.

The people of Philippi would have heard this verse much differently. Paul takes a very familiar, yet powerful phrase and turns it upside and co opts its meaning and power. Philippi was a Roman colony and the Roman’s had a very successful strategy in taking over the surrounding territories and making them loyal to Rome. Rome had their own Gospel – their own good news. The word or idea of gospel is not unique to the Bible. What they would do is capture the citizenry of a town and take them back to Rome while at the same time they would take ‘witnesses’ of Rome – it’s splendor, benefits and opportunities and transplant them into the city they had just captured.. Then these transplanted citizens of Rome would at every opportunity demonstrate and talk about the power of Rome, the magnificence and justice of the Roman system – of the benevolence of Cesar. All that was required (in theory) was that at least once a year, the citizens of that town would come and pay homage to Cesar, give a sacrifice and declare – “Cesar is Lord” They could keep all their gods, business, homes, their beliefs and practices – they just had to make Cesar the supreme god – and they would receive all the benefits of membership. The Roman’s would seek to influence and change the very culture of that city from being what it was, to one that was Roman like. They knew if they changed the minds and hearts of the people - and you don’t need an army – belief in the end holds more power than sword.

However, to reject this ‘kind and gracious’ offer meant that you might join the citizenry of the crucified. There are witness reports that at times on a common hi-way leading into Rome there could be hundreds of those who rejected the graces of Rome roped to wooden cross leading into the city. And these were not quick deaths, as most would die of dehydration and exhaustion. People traveling the roads would be ‘witnesses’ of the futility of rejecting Roman.

The phrase, “I am a citizen of Rome” carried great weight – as Paul himself had invoked it when the Jews where going to put him to death.

Rome would use these witnesses, as they moved them into the captured towns and villages to be ‘the presence of Rome’ – as people asked, “What’s it like? What happens if…? What did you see? What did you hear? What did you witness?” These Roman citizens where expected to be a faithful presence to Rome in the city to which they had been assigned. As a result, the people of Philippi would see the wonderful evidences of these ‘witnesses’ of Rome.

So, when Paul says “we are citizens of heaven” to the Philippians, they knew exactly what was being asked of them. They were to live, work and play in Philippi – or wherever, as citizens of heaven – as a witness of God’s Good News in their own lives. They were not to remove themselves and become separate, but live with and amongst the people so that when people encountered them – whatever they were doing – they were encountering people whose citizenry was in heaven. As those from Rome sought to be a faithful and attracting presence for the good news of Cesar – those who were disciples of Christ were called to live as faithful and attracting witnesses of the power of God and the work of Christ in their lives.

We are not called to withdraw from the world and be a separate people, but to live as salt and light in the world. We are called to be a light on a hill at night that can bring hope, direction and salvation.

We citizens of heaven are to live and work with each other, in the city of Kitchener, before a watching government – with our staff, in serving those with exceptional needs as a faith witness (the noun – who we are). It’s not that we are not to be witnessing – but how we go about that witnessing is firstly and foremost rooted in ourselves being a witness of – and too our encounter with God. The power and invitation to engage in witnessing comes from being a witness to others. As they inquire, “Who, why, how?” they observe and experience an evidence of the faith that lies within.

Paul reminds us in I Timothy :12 “ I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service; even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. And yet I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ.

I know more than I want to about who I am or can be as part of the power and presence of Christ in my life. I know what I’m capable of because it still occasionally leaks out. As a citizen of heaven, a witness of God’s mercy, grace, forgiveness and hope in my own life, I am called to be a living witness of the power of God that has come upon me. May we live faithful witnesses so that we too are asked “What did you see, what did you hear, what did you touch, what has touched you?”.

Anyway, I was just thinking….

Neil