Your Testimony |
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05/22/08 |
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THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR TESTIMONYRevelation 12:11
The Lord has declared, "And they overcame him (the devil, see verse 9) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death" ( Revelation 12:11).
This verse is central to the lives of Christians. The blood of the Lamb is what made our salvation possible, and brought us to the place where we even have a testimony. The word of our testimony is not just about how we were saved, as though God entered our lives for that moment and we've never seen or heard from Him since. We all are supposed to have an ongoing testimony of our involvement in the things of God, and His involvement in our lives. We should be ready to answer the question, "What has God done in your life in the last month?"
As we share God's involvement in our lives with Christians and non-Christians (as we see that God has opened the door for us to share), the Holy Spirit takes this testimony, and does His wonderful work in their lives. Sometimes they will respond with a Hallelujah!, and sometimes they will get a frown on their faces and change the subject. When this happens, it isn't that you have failed God, or that your testimony was not effective. What probably happened in the case of the frown is that your testimony brought the person under the conviction of the Holy Spirit (for reasons we don't need to know), and because of this discomfort he wanted to change the subject. You have done your part, and now the Holy Spirit will do His part. Another reason for getting a frown is that sometimes Christians with a testimony to share don't pay attention to whether the Holy Spirit is preparing that other person's heart to receive what we have to say, and we sometimes forget to ask the Lord, "Is this the right time?"
What is the big picture? It goes like this: In the Garden of Eden, mankind sinned for the first time, and fell into a "depraved" state, so that all people are born with a carnal, sinful nature. This was a work of the devil, in the Garden. Because of this tragic event, "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (I John 5:19). Everywhere (literally, all over the earth), the devil has seduced people into personal sinful bondage, and into the development of sinful practices, such as abortion, pornography, divorce, wife-beating, white-collar crime, etc. The world lies in darkness, and Jesus has called us, His disciples, to be "the light of the world". Our light shines as we manifest the Lord living inside us, in the person of the Holy Spirit. One of the powerful ways our light shines is when we testify to the wonderful works of God. We do want people to know what a wonderful God we worship and serve.
So, what does God want to do about this horrible condition of the world, all this darkness, all these millions of evil works of the devil? As led by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle John wrote these words, "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (I John 3:8). Probably the primary work of the devil is that he "has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (II Corinthians 4:4). So, the lost have been blinded to prevent them from coming to Christ...so that they would perish in hell. This work of the devil must be destroyed, so that these perishing people can come to Christ.
Jesus told us, His disciples, in John 14:12, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father". So, as Jesus ascended to the Father, He gave us the Holy Spirit to empower us, so that we can do His work of destroying the works of the devil. Therefore, as we share the truth of the Gospel with a perishing person, the Holy Spirit takes that word and powerfully uses it in the life of this person with whom we have shared. Then comes to pass the word of God in II Corinthians 4:6, "For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ". Thus, as the Holy Spirit shines God's light into this person's heart, this particular work of darkness, done by the devil, has been destroyed, and the person is not free to trust in Christ.
Now, all the preceding is about rescuing the perishing people of the world. But there is more. The devil doesn't just work on them....he also has plans to weaken or destroy believers in the Church of Jesus Christ. He has planted all forms of strange practices and doctrine in the church. The worst one I know is the doctrine that we have to work at becoming as sinless as possible so that God will overlook our past sins and let us in Heaven. This is “works salvation”, and is from the pit of hell. It stinks of sulfur from the pit. The truth is that we are born with a sinful nature, and can never be good enough to earn or deserve to be admitted to Heaven. Only by receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior can we appropriate for ourselves the forgiveness of sins that He purchased through His death on the cross. He died in our place, since we deserved that death, because of our sins.
In addition to this, the devil wants to get as many church groups (denominations) as possible to create a doctrine where their faith is a faith of the intellect, which usually involves an avoidance of feelings in the heart regarding our wonderful Lord and Savior. Some even say that God has no feelings. However, He has given us a "great commandment" in Matthew 22:37, to call forth our feelings, as we love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind. This "faith of the intellect" doctrine also wants to avoid the wonderful supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. However, as we testify to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, He breaks through intellectual walls created by this doctrine, and He brings life lived in the Holy Spirit, an exciting, joyfilled life which blesses others and glorifies the Lord.
The bottom line is that, through your words of testimony, you can make a difference in your friends' lives, destroying these very clever works of the enemy, and helping your friends "come alive in the Spirit". As they begin to think about Him living inside of them, ready to use them in wonderful ways, they will begin to bring blessing to others, and they will glorify the Lord Jesus. This will bring a wonderful sense of fulfillment and joy to their hearts.
October, 2003
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This site was last updated 07/10/07