it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:11
We have several promises of God to lean upon and a mission to accomplish, but how many of us actually rely upon those promises. How many times have we attempted to do God’s will in our own power and ended with everything going the wrong way?
Its not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6)
God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).
God’s power is not stagnant for it has the potential of changing the entire world. The power, which is at work in us, is the Holy Spirit, which every child of God has.
It is the life changing power that made the apostles into messengers of Christ and enabled them to speak the word of God boldly. That same power lives in us, but do we speak boldly of Christ to our world? The power of God sent these apostles to places we are not willing to go. All of these men suffered at the hands of men who persecuted them for telling them God’s truth. Ten of the eleven apostles were put to death because of their message, yet they went in the power of God.
To amplify going in the power of God the Bible speaks of the saint as the ambassador of Christ. It means that you have been appointed as a personal representative of God to the world he loves. If anyone speaks as the ambassador of God, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God (1Peter 4:11). In other words, You should understand that the gospel message you present to the world carries the weight and power of God.
When Paul wrote to the Romans he said, Do not be ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). Those who are perishing consider the cross of Calvary as foolishness but to those who are save it is the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. Speak as one who knows where he will spend eternity and of your desire to see the person you are witnessing to go there as well.
When witnessing the Holy Spirit will prompt you with words of wisdom and he will work with those who hear the word of God. Speak the words you hear in your Spirit and you will be following a pattern that was used by Jesus and the Spirit of Truth.
I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. John 12:50
When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, John 16:13
Learn to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, but be able to determine if the voice you heard is from God, for not every voice is from God. The spirit of truth will guide you to speak the appropriate word of God, which provides a convincing argument for the person being witnessed to. The words of the spirit of truth are words of truth, which will quench any argument the opposition has to the gospel message.
Treat the person being witnessed to with respect by bearing the fruit of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
The fruit of the spirit adds to the power of your witness making it a powerful combination for the Spirit’s fire of conviction. Remember this, your main task is to present the message, it is God that builds the house, who molds the clay, whose expertise is revealed in changed lives. Anyone who believes in the Lord does so through the Spirit’s power.
5. Why A Seal?
Why has God revealed the Promised Holy Spirit as a seal? Throughout the Old Testament a seal played an important role in identifying the owner or the person of issuing authority. At the same time, a seal is not seen as a person, but as a means to preserve, identify and certify the contents of a container as being genuine and authentic. By the same token, inanimate things used to preserve contents are not considered attributes that are associated with a person.
One of the more unusual stories of the bible tells us of the passion of a man named Judah. In the story Judah went to town and seeing a temple prostitute made arrangements to sleep with her. In the morning he went home leaving some personal effects behind as collateral. Those effects were to be returned to Judah when payment was made. Although Judah sent the payment demanded by the temple prostitute, she was never found. Instead she kept the collateral in her possession. In the months that followed Judas’s daughter in law was found to be with child. Being a man of law he asked Tamar for an accounting of how she became pregnant? Tamar responded in the following manner.
"I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said. And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are." Genesis 38:25
The seal, cord, and staff opened a can of worms identifying Judah as the person she conceived the child through. The seal of Judah was of a unique design similar to a registered trademark or logo we see today that is used exclusively to identify a particular person or product. For the most part the seal was engraved to make a three-dimensional impression in wax, putty or lead attached to documents to confirm its content for authenticity.
By the same token, a signet ring was given to a number of responsible persons and among them were Joseph, Mordecia, Zerubbabel and Daniel. When these men used the signet ring in their official capacity, they signed official decrees in the king's name because the king had placed this responsibility on them. The signet ring is similar to the seal of the public notary, which is entrusted to reliable people that attest to the transfer of title, deeds, birth and death certificates, passports, and decrees ordered by the Court. The signet ring was pressed into the sealing substance leaving an impression on the official document of an higher authority. Since then the notary seal has become an impression pressed into the surface of an official document. The seal has become the universal means to witness legal agreements. The person holding the seal has a power of attorney that empower individuals with the authority to perform deeds in the interest of the authorizing agency or person.
In other cases the seal was used to protect something of value placed inside a container. The opening of a typical container was sealed with wax or putty to prevent the seepage of outside elements that could contaminate and destroy the contents. The deed for the property Jeremiah bought was placed in a container to preserve it (Jeremiah 32:10-15). Today this is a common process used to preserve homemade Jellies, jams and marmalade we use on our toast.
The tomb where Jesus was laid was another container that was sealed. The seal was placed on the entrance to attest that the body of the deceased, Jesus Christ was in the tomb. As long as the seal remained unbroken it attested that the body of Jesus was still there. The High priest wasn’t taking any chances when he asked Pilate to post guards to insure that no one tampered with the tomb. However, God would not let his son see decay and sent his angels to roll the stone away. Terrified at the sights seen by the guards they became like dead men. Makes me wonder if they actually saw Jesus rise from his grave.
We also see an official seal on government buildings, which attests to the right of governing authority to own property, identify the seat of authority and the dignitary representing authority. By the same token, we were bought for a price (1 Corinthians 6:20), God placed his seal of ownership on us (2 Corinthians 1:22). God comes with the Lord Jesus Christ and makes his abode in us (John 14:23). Then because we are his possession, he has placed his seal attesting to the ownership of our body, which has become the temple where God dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16) and moves us to obey his decrees (Ezekiel 36:27). God has done all of these things to guarantee us of what is to come saying I will never leave nor forsake you. (Hebrews 11:5)
The signet ring of the king gave Daniel and Mordecia the
