Jesus' Witnesses, Part 1 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day

59)
TEXT: John 5:31-35
31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that
the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.
34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say,
that ye might be saved.
35 He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a
season to rejoice in his light.
---------Today, I am continuing the daily Just Jesus Evangelistic
Campaign sermon series, which is aimed at sharing the Gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ with unbelievers and reminding
Christians, in this important election year, to keep the main thing
the main thing -- and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ and praying for their salvation, for the
problem in America is not only disobedient presidents,
politicians, and people, but disobedient pastors, preachers, and
parishioners who have refused to obey the Lords Great
Commission which is to, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations
and who have refused to obey God's repeated commands to
"pray without ceasing" for unbelievers, believers, and political
leaders. Yes, you should pray for the right candidate to win; yes,
you should vote for the candidate that the Lord gives you peace

about voting for. But, don't get caught up in it like the world does.
Nothing much is going to change until people get saved and get
their hearts right with the Lord.
This campaign is inspired by the following three verses: 1
Corinthians 2:2 which says, "For I determined not to know
anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Acts
5:42 which says, "And daily in the temple, and in every house,
they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." And 2
Timothy 2:4 which says, "No man that warreth entangleth himself
with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath
chosen him to be a soldier."
This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope
you are one of those saints who still loves to hear the "Old, old
story of Jesus and His love" -- As another hymn says, "For those
who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the
rest." This series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear
and understand the Gospel and be saved from sin and the
punishment of sin which is hell. This is message number 59.
Gary Amirault said, "Love, life, light, liberty, song, dance,
wisdom, tree, vine, branch, river, rock, lamb, truth, the way, the
beginning, the end -- everything in life points to Jesus because
'from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be
glory forever. Amen.'"
Perhaps the most important part of a court case is witness
testimony. These people are familiar with some aspect of the
issue at hand. They take the witness stand in order to testify on
behalf of the defense or the prosecution. Their testimony helps
sway the jury in its decision.

In his discussion with the Jewish leaders, Jesus recognized that,

for the Jews, His own words would not be enough to convince
them of who He was. He said, "If I bear witness of myself, my
witness is not true." He meant that the Jews would not consider
it as true. Hebrew law stated that a person who was on trial had
to call two or three witnesses to back up his story. Jesus does
this by supplying three witnesses to His hearers in this passage.
The concept of witnesses or testimony is very important in
John's Gospel. The word "witness" appears 47 times. The first
witness Jesus calls upon is John the Baptist. He says, "There is
another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness
which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he
bare witness unto the truth." John the Baptist began his ministry
before Jesus, he preached that Jesus would come, and when
Jesus came, he declared that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the
Lamb of God 'who taketh away the sins of the world.' To the
Jewish leaders, John was like one of the Old Testament
prophets. He was not a part of the religious establishment, but he
consistently called people back to God and repentance. Even if
they did not like him, they at least respected him until Jesus
came on the scene.
For some of us, it takes the testimony of others to bring us to
God. We can sit and read the Bible and hear preaching from the
Bible all day, but it often takes the words of another man or
woman to convince us of the truth. Ray Stedman said, "It is a
strange phenomenon, frequently seen, that men and women who
pay no attention to the voice of God directly will often listen very
interestedly to someone who tells what his experience with God
has been." While this might be frowned upon by some, God
allows for it as many people have come to saving faith in Jesus

Christ based on the testimony of friends, family, and other

prominent individuals.
In verse 34, Jesus says, "I receive not testimony from man: but
these things I say, that ye might be saved." Jesus is pointing out
that He does not need any man to testify on His behalf, however,
He allows it in order that the Jews might be convinced of who He
is and believe on Him for salvation. Jesus praises John by calling
him "a burning and a shining light." John let his light shine for
Jesus; he was a bright spot in the political, religious, and cultural
morass of first-century Palestine because he pointed people to
Jesus. "Behold, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the
world!"
Unfortunately, the Jews only basked in the glow of John's truth
for a little while. Jesus says, "ye were willing for a season to
rejoice in his light." When many of the Jews learned of the Savior
whom John had been talking about, they were disappointed.
They were looking for a conqueror who would overthrow the
Romans and put the Jews back in control of their land. They were
dissatisfied with Jesus' talk of a spiritual kingdom.
Regarding this event, One Biblical scholar: "The Jewish people
were excited about John's ministry. However their enthusiasm
cooled, and nobody lifted a finger to try to deliver John when he
was arrested by Herod. The publicans and sinners accepted
John's message and were converted but the religious leaders
refused to submit. Whenever God raises up a spiritual leader who
commands attention, there is always the danger of attracting
people who want to bask in his popularity but not submit to his
authority. The prophets and Apostles, as well as the great leaders
in church history, all had to put up with shallow people who

followed the crowd but refused to obey the truth. We have them
in churches today."
Don't make the mistake that the Jews made. If you have not
believed on Jesus based on His own words, believe on Him
because of John's words. If you have family members or friends
who are genuine Christians, ask them what their experience with
Christ has been like. They will be glad to tell you.
Whatever path you take, you will be led back to Jesus. He is the
way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except
through Him. Others can help you along that path, but you must
believe in Jesus for yourself. If you do not know Jesus Christ as
your Savior, here is how you can trust Him into your heart and
life today:
First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have
broken God's laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: "For all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God." Please understand
that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell.
Romans 6:23 says "the wages of sin is death" This is both
physical death and spiritual death in hell.
But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved
the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
The phrase "For God so loved the world" means that if you are in
this world, God loves you no matter what you have done.
The next phrase, "that He gave His only begotten Son" refers to
Jesus Christ. He is God's son who suffered, bled, and died on the
cross for your sins and for mine, and He was buried and rose
again.

Our next phrase is "that whosoever believeth in Him". The word

"whosoever" means anybody at anytime. The phrase "believeth
in Him" means to trust in Him, to depend upon Him, to rely on
Him, or to have faith in Him for your salvation.
Our next phrase, "should not perish", refers to eternal
punishment in a place called hell.
And, lastly, the phrase "but have everlasting life" means to live
eternally in Heaven with God.
The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: "That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved.... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved."
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly
Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad
things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my
sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for
me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my
heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross,
was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on
doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help
you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light
Society.com and read "What To Do After You Enter Through the
Door". Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if

any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and
find pasture."
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please e-mail
me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is
some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer
request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you
until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.