³⁶ All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” ³⁷ And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

                                                                                                -Luke 4:36-37

 When the right person has the power, chaos is replaced with life-giving order, uncertainty is replaced with clarity, fear is replaced with courage, despair is replaced with hope, heartbreak is replaced with love.

And the result is worship. Celebration. Exultation. And witness! Worship and evangelism all roll together as the people declare what Jesus has done—both to one another and to the people who missed it as news spreads throughout the area.

When we see Jesus move with his authority and power, we gotta find a way to express it. Not keep it private, not keep it personal. There are others around you who need to know about Jesus’s power, there are family members and friends and neighbors who need to know about Jesus’s authority.

Most of us are timid about this, of course. Some of us got the message along the way that faith is a private thing. Some of us never learned any language to describe faith or talk about it with people around us.  Some of us have been cowed by our culture around us that says that we shouldn’t talk too openly or specifically about Jesus.

Fortunately for you and me, someone ignored all that and told us the good news.

Today, if you’ve got any sort of a story to tell about how Jesus’s power or authority or grace or mercy or comfort have been experienced in your life, then there’s likely someone around you who needs to hear that story.

We live in a world full of people grasping for answers and redemption from all sorts of gods and idols…and many who are just lost in the fog and emptiness of a life without any sort of larger meaning or purpose.

We have to find a way to help people to know who and what we know. It has be done with gentleness and respect, we cannot be bulls in someone’s spiritual china shop. But if and when we’ve experienced Jesus, the news needs to spread.

What experiences have you had with Jesus’s power and authority? Who around you might need that same experience? Spend a minute praying for at least two people in your life that you would love to know about the power and authority of Jesus. Then look for an opportunity in the next few days to share faith with them…or just to invite them to join you at church.