Awareness of My Story

Recall a point in your life when you met someone famous.

Harold of the Statler Brothers

Probably the first person I wanted to tell was our Aunt Martha. She LOVED THAT MAN!

I knew she would absolutely be in awe that I met and got to talk with Harold.

When we come in contact with famous people, we want to share with others about our experience and let our friends, family, and anyone who follows us on social media know about our encounter.

For those of us who have accepted Christ, we have come in contact with the most important person who you will ever encounter in your life. We should be telling others about our experience coming to know Him and what He has done for us. It is only then that doors will be opened to those around us to accept Him and come to encounter Him as well.

Some questions to think about as we go through our lesson this evening.

How comfortable do you feel sharing your story of coming to faith with others?

How often do you have the opportunity to do so?

How eager are you to do so?

Revelation 12:10–12 ESV

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

I am going to reread these verses again. While I’m reading these verses, I want you to think about how these words relate to your testimony: salvation, power kingdom of God, authority, conquer.

Revelation 12:10–12 ESV

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

These are words that relate to our testimony and the power that it has when we share with others. Have you ever thought your testimony has the power the conquer Satan?

This is something which when you accept Christ should really be something we should accept as a given. God has the power to take the words of our testimony and make them into something He can use to defeat Satan. Your testimony, no matter what the circumstances in which you came to Christ has the power to change lives.

Revelation 12:10 ESV

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

If we take a look at the last part of verse 10, we will see that Satan the verb or action word there is present tense. Satan is trying to convince us that our testimony of faith is insignificant. Especially when your life followed a track like mine. Where you were raised in the church and your salvation was almost something that most people took as a “given.”

While our lives and our tracks to salvation may be very different with some looking almost as a miracle that they came to the knowledge of what Christ did for them. There are a couple of truths about salvation which we all have in common, and it doesn’t matter what your track to salvation was.

We were all dead in our sin.

God brought us to life through the death and resurrections of Jesus Christ.

When we remember, no matter what the track was or the journey we travelled to come to know Christ, we all started at the same place, and we all have been saved through the same blood which Christ shed on the cross for us.

Revelation 12:11 ESV

11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

In the verse where it describes Satan’s defeat, the verb or action word is in past tense. Satan has been defeated, and we don’t need to pay attention to him and how he tries to make us feel bad about ourselves.

John 4:39–42 ESV

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Think about all the woman at the well had going against her. Her reputation in the town she was from had to be horrible. If she had dwelt on her past and not looked at what Jesus had offered her in her future, there is no way she would have shared her testimony with the people around her.

Instead, she went to the town and talked about the person who knew her before she told Him anything. He told her about the New Covenant. She shared with such compassion that the ones she shared with wanted to come and meet Him.

The impact she had on her city was incredible. Nothing short of miraculous. And it all came simply from her sharing her testimony with the people she knew. They could see the change Jesus had made in her life.

Your personal testimony is just that, it’s your story.

While each story may be similar, they are different. When you share what Christ has done for you, you are sharing something which is personal. Don’t ever make it something which is humdrum. Don’t make it something that seems rehearsed. It is okay to be ready, but be you. Don’t try to be Rick. Don’t try to be Mark. Don’t try to be Sandy. Be yourself and tell it in your own words. You don’t have to be prolific or use “church” words or big words to impress people.

SHARE YOUR STORY!

1 Peter 3:15 ESV

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Psalm 71:15–18 ESV

15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. 16 With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone. 17 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. 18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.

In Peter, we are told to be ready to defend our faith at anytime. When we are asked and when people challenge our faith, we need to be able to stand our ground and let people know who we have our faith in.

Does this mean the only time we share our faith is when we are asked about it?

I don’t think so. If we aren’t asked, but we feel the Holy Spirit moving us toward a Gospel conversation with someone, we need to be prepared to talk with those folks and share not only about who Jesus is, but also our own personal testimony about what this decision has meant in our lives.

We may not have all the answers which someone may ask us.

When that happens it is okay to say you don’t know. It isn’t okay to leave the conversation there. Either talk with a Christian you look up to, or dig into the Word yourself. When someone asks you a question you don’t have the answer too, what a great opportunity for you to learn more about the God we serve. Who gave His Son because He loved us so much. What a blessing an unknown answer can have not only in the person you’re sharing with when you get back with them, but your own as you learn more about Him.

So here are some questions for you to think about as you go home tonight.

What experience with God has had the most influence on your life?

How has that experience affected your life?

How would your life be different if you had not had that experience?

What hangups or difficulty do you have in sharing your testimony?

How personal Bible study and prayer help you get over these hangups/