In simple terms, amplifiers take a signal, add some energy to it, and make it louder and stronger. Once a signal has been amplified it needs to be connected to a loudspeaker so that others can hear it.

As Christians, we are to ‘live out loud’ so that others can see, hear, experience and ultimately know Jesus. We are to amplify Jesus: to take His signal, His message, His love, His presence into the world and make it louder and stronger.

Jesus told the early Christians, “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 ESV) The power that we need to amplify Jesus doesn’t come from within ourselves. It’s an energy and power from the Holy Spirit with the express purpose of amplifying the message and love of Christ.

What happens when an amplifier tries to make a noise louder than its capacity is distortion. Distortion is not nice – it hurts your ears and leaves you wanting to turn the sound off. Caution friends: we need to make sure we’re not distorting Jesus as we go about amplifying Him. I have met far too many people who have turned off the idea of Jesus because a Christian they’d met distorted the original signal and message.

So how do we make sure we’re not distorting Jesus when we amplify Him to the world? We allow the Holy Spirit to provide the energy and power. We don’t go out in our own strength and try to be Jesus all by ourselves. We let the Spirit take the lead, guide the steps, provide the words, give the grace, supply the love. The Spirit amplifies Jesus in us and then we’re the speakers so that others can hear an undistorted message.

So go and proclaim. Go and love. Live Jesus out loud. Amplify.