Testimony - Declare Your Personal Experience

 He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything He saw—that is the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time in near. (Rev. 1:2, 3)  

This scripture highlights the importance of the second attribute of ‘testimony’; the need to declare or make known a Truth that was personally experienced or seen. John is testifying by writing down what He has seen.  Because John was obedient to document His personal experience in the Spirit, we are blessed as we hear it and allow it to transform our hearts and minds. Without these words written about 90 AD for our consumption in 2013 we would not know of John’s revelation.  We would not know of the letters to the seven churches. We would not know of the depth and breadth of detail pertaining to the end times.  We would be ignorant of portions of the Gospel. We would have less upon which to believe in the fullness of Jesus Christ and His kingdom.

You have a testimony. You have many testimonies!  You can testify to the goodness and mercy of God, to His love, His power, His faithfulness. You can give a first-hand account of Jesus in YOUR life so others may BELIEVE!  You can….you have the potential…..you have the possibility of being a catalyst for others to believe based upon your personal experience. They may believe because of what you have witnessed. They may grow in faith upon hearing of the Truth you have seen manifest in your life. However, until you declare it to others it will only hold power to you…..it stays confined to the church of one…you.

You and I did not write scripture or create His Kingdom, but we testify to them. We testify to the written and revealed word of God by our words, actions, and lifestyle.  As we testify those who hear our testimony have witness to the power of the gospel.  They are blessed as they hear it and take it to heart.  There is a scriptural principle I call the ‘establishment principle’.  ‘One witness is not enough to convict a man of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established y the testimony of two or three witnesses.’(Deut. 19:15) The establishment principle is carried through to the New Testament as affirmation to the importance of multiple signs, confirmations, and words that bring strength to an idea. As a thing is confirmed by witnesses it becomes established in the hearts of the people.  To be established simply means to arrive at the point of believing something so that it will be Truth in your life. Your testimony may be the first, second or third witness to a Truth that will set someone free.

If I get healed of a disease or physical problem I MUST testify to others so they may believe and be blessed. If I receive emotional healing that validates the Truth of the Word I testify so others may take it to heart and they too can be healed. If I experience the working of God’s financial principles of prosperity working in my life, I testify to it so others can also have faith to experience the same kingdom work. If I see a miraculous sign I must tell others so they can grow in faith. If I experience transformation in my mind from legalism to grace, I must write of it so others can be set free of the law sin and death and experience freedom of the law of Christ.

People across the world need to hear testimonies of YOUR life. You can be the witness that helps establish a Truth in someone’s heart bringing freedom and deliverance. Open your mouth. Write words that reveal your experience. Live out loud the Kingdom life and people around you will be blessed and His Kingdom will be established in the hearts of many!

The Benefits of Testimony

"We have lives filled with testimony that ONLY we have lived, only we have experienced. "

The man (John) who saw it has given testimony and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you may believe. (John 19:35)

God instituted the concept of testimony to help validate the Truths of His kingdom. Testimony of God’s kingdom working in our life has power to move others to believe in the kingdom ruled by His son Jesus. The apostle John is testifying to seeing the crucifixion and, later, the resurrection of Jesus. In John’s words we see the three attributes of testimony: it’s personal; it’s declared; and it validates Truth.  These three attributes combine to bring power, revelation, and belief to those who hear a testimony. Today I will address the first attribute:  personal involvement and experience.  

The word ‘testimony’ comes from the Greek root word martus, variants of which are translated as either ‘witness’ or as ‘testify’ in the New Testament. A ‘witness’ is someone who has first hand knowledge and evidence to authenticate a fact or a truth.  It is the same root word from which we get ‘martyr’.  A witness has experienced or walked out or has seen and heard with their eyes and ears some fundamental aspect of the kingdom of God; some fundamental truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  When we personally experience and or observe physically, emotionally, or spiritually God’s truth in our life, we become a witness for His kingdom. We authenticate (i.e. bring evidence of fact) the Truth of His kingdom principles working in our lives.

The value of personal authenticity is exemplified in Hebrews 11. The writer lists numerous men and women of faith who personally walked in faith in some aspect of their lives.  At the culmination of this long list of ‘faith’ witnesses the writer says in Hebrews 12:1 ‘therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.’  The words ‘therefore, since’ follow an entire chapter documenting witnesses who walked by faith. It points the reader to the next few words of direction to you and me. 

All of chapter 11 was written to provide impact for chapter 12 verse 1. The witnesses of chapter 11 had first-hand knowledge and personal experience authenticating the power of faith in their life. Chapter 11 was written to reveal how key people in history acted and believed in such a way that validates a Truth. All this SO THAT you and I, the readers in 2013, can believe in the power of a fundamental truth of the kingdom of God… ‘faith’! 

Their personal witness to you and me encourages us to throw off everything that hinders, entangles, slows us down, mires us in muck, and to RUN forward in our call, purpose, and destiny designed by the Father.  The witnesses of Hebrews 11 testify to know how authentic, real, powerful, tangible, and truthful is a walk of faith in Jesus Christ and His kingdom. Their testimony is personal! They lived it! Their testimony is a catalyst for us to BELIEVE and to do what we have been called to do!!

You and I also have a testimony that is personal. We are witnesses to our own lives. We have lives filled with testimony that ONLY we have lived, only we have experienced. There is power in that testimony. There is a catalytic force in that testimony!  Do not underestimate its power!

In my next post I will teach on another attribute of testimony. Click here to be taken to the post!

Celebrate A New Season

“The Levites were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with music of cymbals, harps, and lyres. The singers also were brought together from the region around Jerusalem…I assigned two large choirs to give thanks.”(Neh. 12:27, 28, 31).

The scripture above was written by Nehemiah to chronicle the celebration of a Jewish remnant having rebuilt walls of Jerusalem. While we have not built any walls, the Holy Spirit has led us into a new venue of worship, a new season of pursuing His purpose and presence, and a time of harvesting from the seed sown across the world.  God has been faithful to lead us along a winding road that is our corporate spiritual journey in Christ. This coming Sunday, September 8, we celebrate the beginning of this new season. 

The Lord has shown us that the glory of the present house will be greater than the glory of the former house. (Haggai 2:8, 9) Under the new covenant of grace and peace the ‘house’ is our corporate heart, transformed into the glory of God. But I recognize that the building where we gather together to worship can have significance and purpose in bringing forth the greater glory of God as a church body. 

We will now share a facility with two bodies of believers that have welcomed us into a physical ‘house’ to bring forth God’s purpose and His glory and to bring the goodness of the gospel to the world around us. One body of believers is a messianic Jewish congregation with a heart to raise up local leaders in their community. The other body of believers, formed almost 100 years ago, has a heart to meet the physical needs of less fortunate people in this city. Our body of believers is called to bring the gospel beyond the borders of countries and people groups to the nations across the world. 

I am so excited about what God is doing!  Come celebrate with us this Sunday September 8, if you can.  If you cannot be with us, then pray and celebrate with us in your local church as we advance the Kingdom of God together in this new season.  Celebrate joyfully with songs of thanksgiving and with music of praise to the Most High God!