Testimonies

What is your testimony?

Tonight we are going to begin an actual sermon series on being the church and what better way to begin this series than look at the beginning of someone entering the church family. One of the most documented testimony of salvation in scripture is the Apostle Paul and tonight we are going to be reading his testimony.

Paul’s testimony is one of the most recognizable stories in the Bible because of his name being changed from Saul to Paul. His testimony also provided the perfect template for our own testimonies. A testimony has 3 major parts: Before salvation, the Salvation encounter, and life after salvation. The scriptures that we are going to look at has the 3 distinct parts of a testimony laid out. While we are diving into scripture I want you to begin thinking back on your personal testimony. Testimonies are a great thing and it is always good to think back to the moment when your personal life changed forever. Tonight we are going to relive that moment and see how your personal life has changed from salvation.

Acts 9:1–2 ESV

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

I am going to take a random guess and say that none of your testimonies start like Paul’s. None of you were holding peoples coats while they throw large stones at Christians. None of you were also not going around to surrounding cities and rounding up Christians and throwing them into prison either. Paul’s life before salvation was drastically different than anyone in this room tonight or at-least I am hoping so. The thing is that everybody who has a testimony their story is just as important or just as much a miracle as Paul’s. Paul was no doubt a bad person by anybody’s standard even more so to the Christians that had their families taken away from them because of Paul.

Right now I want you to begin writing the first section of your testimony.

What was you life like before salvation?

Paul’s was a life of threatening Christians. Mine was a life of living for myself and faking the church life. Yours might be simple and seem basic but that is your story of salvation.

Everybody has this part of a testimony because everyone has a time in their life when they were never transformed through Christ. Even people who are lost can write down their life before they were saved because they are still living in that life.

I will give you a little while to finish writing down this part of your testimony.

The next section of Paul’s testimony is also drastically different than yours and mine but ours is still just as much a miracle as Paul’s. The next part of Paul’s testimony is who told him about Jesus and when he was convicted of his sins.

Acts 9:3–12 ESV

3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”

Here was see Paul continuing his quest to persecute as many Christians as he could by arresting them in hopes of stopping the spread of Christianity. His plans are quickly stopped as he encounters the person who told him about Christ. Saul’s main reason for persecuting the Christians is the fact that they were telling people that Jesus was still alive. Paul had most likely been around the crucifixion or had heard that Jesus had been crucified and he knew that once a person is dead they are dead. This encounter with Jesus quickly stopped Saul in his tracks rapidly. Jesus himself had just spoken to Paul. Could you imagine going around calling people crazy and lunatics for believing that Jesus was alive and in the middle of doing so JESUS himself blinded you and audibly spoke to you.

Who is that person that shared the Gospel with Saul “Paul”? The person who Paul was persecuting. This is also the reason why Paul is called an Apostle of Christ. An apostle is someone who has been taught or as seen Jesus in bodily form and called by Jesus to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. None of us have seen Jesus in bodily form and none of us were once blinded on our way to arrest Christians.

Paul immediately obeyed what God had commanded him to do and this act of obedience also emphasized the importance of following Christ in everything.

He did not ask any questions or make excuses to put off salvation but rather he obeyed. So many times people will want to put off salvation because they are selfish with how they want to personally live their lives but the problem is that we do not know when the last time for salvation will be.

Paul’s encounter with the gospel is supernatural but so is our personal encounter with the Gospel.

Now I want you to fill in the next two section on the Testimony worksheet. This is a section that some of you may not be able to fill out because you have never experienced salvation. If you cannot write anything I would like for you to come talk to me or one of the other adults right now if you would like or you can also do this in just a little bit once we are done.

The last section of Paul’s testimony is how his life has changed from the moment of salvation.

Acts 9:18–22 ESV

18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Paul obeyed and went to Damascus and while he was there Ananias obeyed God as well and went and prayed with Saul and Saul accepted Christ.

Immediately after he was saved he went and got baptized. This is an important set in your obedience to Christ in salvation. Once a person is saved they should then be baptized because doing so is act of obedience of Jesus. Baptism does not save you but it is a public display of what God has done in your life by demonstrating the act of moving from death to life.

Baptism is something that should be done after a person is saved and even if you have previously been dipped in the water previously but have not done it since salvation you need to get baptized.

The best thing about Paul’s salvation is that he immediately began proclaiming Jesus is the Son of God. Paul’s life drastically changed from the moment he was saved until he died. He became the most well known Apostle in the early church and he is the main reason that Gentiles, you and me, are included into the church today.

Now I want you to fill out the last section of the worksheet. How has your life changed since salvation?

Do you love people more? Are you compassionate about things of Christ? Do you have more patience with people? Have you grown in your faith? Has God changed the way you talk, think, or respond?

This section might be a difficult section to fill out because it is difficult to reflect on your personal growth with Christ sometimes, but that does not mean we shouldn’t do it!! We should regularly inspect our lives to ensure that we are growing more and more like Christ daily.

While you are writing down the last section of you testimony, what are some ways that you can use your testimony to reach others?

Are you unsure about your testimony? Please come talk to one of us tonight! This is by far the most important decision you could ever make in your life. There are some of you who have are afraid of laying your pride down in order for God to change you life. You may be worried about what you friends may say or how you life will change.