The Witness

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     First John 1:1-3 says, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

     A group of men from my dormitory at Indiana University decided to go Spelunking.  Some my be wondering wha that is while others know that it is going into and exploring caves.  There are active caves, which have water dropping and forming the stalactites and stalagmites.  The cave we went into was active, which meant it was wet in many places, causing us to be quite muddy when we came out of the cave.  I was muddy from top to bottom and upon entering the dorm, some would ask, “What happened to you?”  Then I would tell my story.

     Why had the Apostle John left his father’s business along with his brother?  What had he been doing the past three years?  What happened to the disciples?  At times, John and the others would be asked those questions  adn he would give account of what had happened to him.  His life had been changed along with many other “disciples” in the area.  They had been changed b the Lord Jesus Christ.  John begins his first epistle with the statement of a witness to a great event.  He was going to tell just head happened and he could do so because it had happened to him.  He wanted everyone to have the same fellowship  twitch God as he was enjoying at that moment.  When something life changing takes place in your life, you want to tell someone about it.  That is the way the gospel is spread in the world.  Sure, God could change everyone with just a word, but He chose to have the message of salvation to be shared from person to person.  Someone told you and now it is up to you tell someone else. Who will then go and tell yet another person.  A witness in a court of law shares what they know about the case that is being tried.  A witness in the Christian faith also shares what happened to them as a result of meeting the Savior.  John was there and he knew what had happened to him.  No one can refute what takes place in your life and no one can refute what happened in John’s life.  John was there and I was not.  I was in Chattanooga, Tennessee when i heard the familiar gospel message again and again and finally gave my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and believed that He had died for my sins.  I was there on top of Missionary Ridge in the King’s Inn motel when it happened.  Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ?  If you do, you must have met Him  somewhere, somehow in y our pas and this is your testimony of what happened.  Someone may ask you, “What happened to you?”  You then tell them,  “That which took place in my life was great and I have fellowship now with God the Father and I want you to have that same fellowship with me.”  Praise God for the testimony of each and every beli