A World That Is Waiting: Become the Witness God Calls You to Be

There is a world waiting, and it isn't waiting for you as a believer

There's a phrase in Romans 8 that unsettles you when you read it slowly: creation is not waiting for the manifestation of believers, it is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. That's not the same thing. The world isn't looking for people who go to church on Sunday. It's looking for women and men who know who they are, who know who their God is, and who carry something of him wherever they live.

This message closes the "Waymaker" series: being someone who opens a path. Today, the title is simple: a world that is waiting. It's waiting for you to go out, to influence, to bear witness. It's waiting for Esther. It's waiting for Paul. It's waiting for Mary of Bethany. It's waiting for Peter at the temple gate. And it's waiting for you.

Esther: a woman, a mandate, a people saved

Look at Esther. A determined woman, a courageous woman, who left everything behind to go do what God was asking of her. Starting out as an immigrant, almost a slave, she rose to the most influential position one could hold: the king's court. God gave her a mandate that she carried through to the end. That mandate was to be influential over an entire people, over millions of Jews who were to be exterminated. Thanks to what God had placed in her heart, she set that people free.

Her quality, in the world's eyes, was her beauty. The king saw her and was captivated. You and I may not have that particular quality (maybe you do, I don't). But we have other qualities: organization, writing, speaking, painting, wisdom in giving counsel. With those qualities, God can bring us exactly to the place where he wants us, because the world, which does not know God, sees our qualities first.

What is your quality today? It's not there by accident. Through it, you can step out of the church and become influential wherever God asks you to be.

Acts 1:8: the little word "but" that changes everything

The central verse is Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Look at the first word: "but." If there's a "but," it's because something came before it. Jesus has just told his disciples that he is leaving, that they must wait for the Comforter. And at that moment, the disciples ask a very human question: "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" In other words: "You're leaving, and what's going to become of us? Will there at least be a kingdom, peace, something for us?"

Jesus answers, in essence: it is God who knows the times, that is not your concern. And he adds this "but." But you will receive power, and you will be my witnesses. He shifts the disciples' gaze from themselves to others.

The difference between "me" and the witness

A witness is not someone who thinks about himself. A witness is someone who thinks about giving to others what he has received. The "me" wants to receive and keep for itself. The witness wants to give what he carries inside.

When I started playing soccer, around six or seven years old, I was on the bench all the time. Every Saturday the lineup came out: Daniele, absent. The next Saturday, the same thing. At some point you become bitter. While the others played, I hoped my team would lose, because I was so angry not to be playing. That way, the coach would clearly see that the team was missing Daniele. This went on for two years. That kind of thinking is the ego. It's the "me" that takes up all the space.

Often, in our lives, we function that way. A circumstance bothers us, something isn't going right, and we bring everything back to ourselves: "what about me?" The abundant life Jesus promises isn't found there. It's found when we start caring about others, about our neighbor, about the person next to us. The Holy Spirit isn't given to you so you can manage on your own. He is given to you so that you become a witness.

Paul at Troas: obeying even without his best friend

Paul is a textbook case. After a violent conversion and a ministry that takes off, he goes through a period of total confusion. In Acts 16, he wants to go to Galatia: the Holy Spirit stops him. He wants to go to Bithynia: the Spirit of Jesus refuses him again. Add to that a return to Jerusalem to settle a painful dispute over circumcision, and above all a violent argument with Barnabas, his traveling companion, over Mark. They part ways. Paul continues with Silas, but he has just lost his best friend in ministry.

It's in this climate that he arrives at Troas. There he receives the vision of a Macedonian calling out to him: "Come over to Macedonia and help us." Europe opens up. But in 2 Corinthians, Paul admits something very human: "When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest, because I did not find my brother Titus. So I said farewell to them and went on to Macedonia." In Greek, "no rest" really means he could not settle down. He was looking for Titus. He wanted at least to embrace his friend before leaving.

He did not find him. He left anyway. It is because of that obedience that the gospel crossed into Europe. If Paul had stayed at Troas chasing after Titus, you probably would not be reading this article today.

The young man who wanted his inheritance first

Remember that young man in the Gospels: "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." His father was not yet dead. He might well live another ten years. If a son was not present at his father's death, he did not receive the inheritance. Translation: "Jesus, I want to follow you, but let me first settle my little nest egg, my financial security. Then I'll come."

He lost the chance to follow Christ, not because the desire wasn't there, but because he thought of himself first. As long as we think of ourselves, we cannot be witnesses. A witness is someone who lets go in order to bear witness, and who trusts God's providence.

Mary of Bethany: giving what is most precious

After Lazarus is raised, there is a banquet. Lazarus is at the table with Jesus. Mary, his sister, comes in with a jar of perfumed oil. She pours it on Jesus' feet, then wipes his feet with her hair. The gesture shocks the disciples. One of them protests: "Why this waste? That money could have been given to the poor." Jesus answers: this woman is preparing me for burial.

At today's value, this perfume was worth roughly a year's wages. Everything Mary owned. Just days earlier, she had been devastated: her brother had just died, and two women alone at that time were worth nothing socially. Jesus gave her back her brother. Her way of saying thank you was not a few words, it was: "Everything I have, I give to you. My security no longer matters. I have you."

Today, Jesus does not ask you to sell your house, nor to give a year's wages, nor to leave your job (unless he personally reveals that to you). He asks you to give him what you hold most dear. And for a child of God, that is no longer wealth. What he asks you to give is the testimony of Christ.

Peter at the temple: "what I have I give you"

Peter was for a long time the champion of "what about me?" When Jesus speaks to John about his death, Peter interrupts: "That's all well and good about John, but what about me? How am I going to die?" Then Pentecost comes. The Holy Spirit descends, and some time later, before a lame man at the temple gate, Peter utters this sentence: "I have no silver and gold, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."

That's the shift you need. The greatest wealth you have is Christ. And that is what the Spirit asks you to share. Not your money. Not your property. The testimony of God's power.

Two testimonies, one calling

Being a witness comes down to two very concrete things:

1. Being a witness to the character of Christ. This is the sum of the fruit of the Spirit: love, peace, kindness, patience, self-control, goodness, gentleness. Your character speaks before your mouth does.
2. Being a witness to the power of Christ. Not your own. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. The power of Jesus that heals, that delivers, that restores lives.

Nothing more, nothing less. No spiritual marketing, no showmanship. Character and power.

Today's call: be filled, not just baptized

Without being filled with the Holy Spirit, we cannot manage it. And this is not only about the baptism of the Spirit received once, but about being filled again, and again, elsewhere, today. To overflow with him, you must be filled with him. Without love, we are nothing and can do nothing. And the Spirit is love. Being filled with the Holy Spirit means being filled with the love of God, so that you go out and touch people not with judgment, but with grace, loving them as they are, giving them the riches of the Kingdom: revelations, words of life, faith.

Key takeaways

• The world is not waiting for "believers," it is waiting for the manifestation of the sons and daughters of God.
• Your quality (organization, speaking, writing, wisdom...) is a bridge to the world. Like Esther's beauty.
• The "but" in Acts 1:8 shifts your gaze: it moves you from "me" to witness.
• Following Christ sometimes means leaving without your "Titus," like Paul leaving Troas.
• What Jesus asks you to give today is not your money: it's the testimony of his power.
• Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one-time experience: it is a daily need.

Personal application

1. What quality has God placed in me that the world around can see? Am I truly putting it at his service?
2. What "what about me?" am I stuck on right now? A circumstance, a frustration, a lack of recognition?
3. Is there a "Titus" I'm still looking for before going where God calls me? A friend, a comfort, a security?
4. Have I ever told Jesus, like Mary: "everything I have is yours"? What does that concretely change in my week?
5. What would the Holy Spirit like to give through me this week, to someone I'll cross paths with?

Scriptures cited

• Romans 8:19 · "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God."
• Acts 1:6-8 · "But you will receive power... and you will be my witnesses."
• Acts 16:6-10 · Paul stopped from going to Galatia and Bithynia, called to Macedonia.
• 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 · Paul at Troas with no rest, for lack of Titus.
• Luke 9:59-62 · "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
• John 12:1-8 · Mary pours the perfume on Jesus' feet.
• Acts 3:1-8 · Peter at the temple: "I have no silver and gold."
• Galatians 5:22-23 · The fruit of the Spirit.

FAQ

What does "creation waits for the manifestation of the sons of God" mean (Romans 8:19)?

Paul distinguishes two things: being a believer, and being manifested as a son or daughter of God. Creation is not interested in a religious label; it waits for people who know who they are in Christ, and who carry his character and his power into the places where they live. To be manifested is to step out of your religious context to influence the world.

Why focus on the little word "but" in Acts 1:8?

Because it shows the shift Jesus brings about in his disciples. They ask him: "what about us?" He answers: "but you will be my witnesses." The "but" moves the gaze from "me" to the other. The power of the Holy Spirit is not given to console you in your frustrations, but to make you a witness to someone else.

How do I know if I am filled with the Holy Spirit today, and not just once in the past?

Look at what overflows from you. If what overflows is your own pride, your own flesh, yourself, then it's time to ask to be filled again. Being filled is a daily decision: putting yourself back under the Spirit's leading so that it is his love, his character and his power that overflow from you toward others.