The Lord’s decision to make us His witnesses is a divine set up for blessings, just like when He asks us to give to Him, in spite of the fact that He owns everything (Psalm 50:9-11). In the same vain, the Lord does not need our publicity, just as the sun does not need to be announced. When the sun rises in the east, it is seen as far away as the west, and we know Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2). It is an honour to be a witness of the Sun of Righteousness, because by virtue of this status, the world will see the grace of God upon our lives. When Elisha agreed to abandon his farming business to become Yahweh’s prophet, little did he know that the king would later refer to him as “my father” (1st Kings 19:19-21, 2nd Kings 13:14).

What are the characteristics and responsibilities of Christ’s witnesses? The Lord hints us on some of these in Mark 16:15-18:
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
The primary character of the Lord’s witnesses is that they follow Him sincerely, and their primary responsibility is preaching the gospel. This responsibility is even more serious that what was committed to Jonah, because a very high price has now been paid for the redemption of mankind, which must not be allowed to go to waste. Another responsibility is to cast out devils. If we will take territories for the kingdom of our God, we must be ready to cast out the demons that currently reign over such territories. Speaking in tongues enables every witness of Jesus Christ to be an effective mouthpiece of God with man and mouthpiece of man with God in the place of intercessory prayer. Taking up serpents as referenced in Mark 16:18 could mean dealing with serpents that come in human clothing, deceiving people just like the old serpent did. The Lord’s witnesses must challenge such lies with the Master’s true message. When we do all these as witnesses of Jesus, souls shall be rescued from eternal damnation. This is our joy and goal. Are you an effective witness of Jesus?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.