1. Witnesses should not rely on the times.
It cannot necessarily be said that the apostles asked Jesus about the restoration of Israel out of opportunism or fatalism. However, Jesus warned them that they might fall into such a tendency. Christianity rejects opportunism. In 2 Timothy 4:2, he said, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.” We should also fulfill our responsibilities every day in order to receive the Lord’s second coming. It is not right to wait for what is perceived to be the right time, thinking that one’s success or failure depends on the time or period.
2. The witness works by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The witness does not work by seizing the power of the kingdoms of this world, but rather he silently labors by the power of the Holy Spirit in the midst of persecution and contempt. I once met a pastor named Smietes in Amsterdam, Holland. According to him, he and his mother had been persecuted while trying to plant a church in the city of Burgge in Belgium. They had bought and repaired a building, and on the first Sunday that they gathered as a church, his father preached, his mother sang solo, and he played the organ. The only person who attended was a drunk who only interfered with the worship. He later learned that this person had come in by the scheme of some of the local people. The day before, many had been invited to the church, but no one came to the church because of the opposition and interference of these people, and only the drunk was sent. But after the worship, the drunk promised to believe in Jesus and left. He indeed lived a faithful Christian life for the rest of his life. Let us remember the important fact that the work of the Holy Spirit is especially manifested where there is persecution! It says in 1 Peter 4:14, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God, rests on you.” The portion of he who witnesses the Gospel is not to have power in this world, but rather, at times, to be robbed and persecuted.
By Dr. Park Yoon-sun