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When we think of the word testimony we might think of Matlock or a court room setting.
My mom loves those kind of shows.
She still watches Judge Judy.
Today we are looking at this concept of one’s testimony as it pertains to the Christian faith.
One’s Testimony of Christ, I believe, can be summarized in the very dating methods we use today… well not today but when I was in school: BC and AD, before Christ and after death.
Our Testimony is the story of our conversion and ongoing sanctification.
We tell people of our life Before Christ.
Who we were, what we pursued, our struggles, our trauma leading up to our collision with Christ.
We then explain what has happened after death.
Paul in Romans 6:4 “4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
We were buried in Christ and resurrected a new creation.
So now in Christ we testify how He is working in our lives.
You know something, this was the bedrock of the early church.
In our society here in the United States, we invite both believers and non-believers to come to church with us.
This was not so in the first century.
Only Christians went to church.
Only Christians invited Christians.
Not because it was a country club.
But to invite a non-believer to the gathering was dangerous.
Why?
To bring the wrong person would mean now they know where you meet and all in the town who are Christians as well.
They can now go to the authorities and the entire church might be arrested or executed.
This is the same protocol for Christians in China, the middle east, and North Korea.
So, how did the church fulfill the Great Commission?
Through their personal relationships and their testimonies.
Today I want us to look at a few of these cases and then I want to help equip you to begin preparing your testimony.
First, your testimony is essential to the spreading of the Gospel, not your education.
So many people feel disqualified from the service of the Church before they ever start because, “I do not know enough.”
Listen, I have been a Christian for more than 20 years, went to Bible college, served in Ministry for the last 14 years.
I do not know enough!
The same argument can be made if we dare to say, “I do not know as much as so and so.”
Well then that person who you are measuring yourself up to does not know as much as this person.
On and on it goes, bearing only fruit of complacency.
It is not your education which moves the Gospel but the testimony of those who have been saved by Christ.
So can we talk about this for a moment?
The 12 Apostles give us a pretty good variety of conversion experiences.
First off Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, you know the guy who paved the way, the voice crying in the wilderness, making way for the Messiah.
Yea, Andrew followed him anticipating the Messiah and when Andrew met Jesus he left John, who was not offended in the least, and became a follower of Jesus.
One could say he is like the Christian who was raised in a Christian home and became one himself.
I have met these people before and its interesting, they feel like they have missed something.
They hear about people who had drug addiction, abuse, tragedy strike their life and then they came to Christ and now they no longer do meth.
They have forgiven people who wronged them.
These, Andrew’s of the church feel like they are missing something because their Testimony is not like Paul’s.
If this is you, listen to me very carefully.
You have not missed anything, you have gained everything.
Let me tell you why, you had Jesus in your life before so many others.
I went 14 years without Him and now that I know Him I see it was me who was missing out, not you.
Praise God you have a mother and father who knew Jesus, who taught you of Him and His salvation, who prayed with you.
I was missing out, not you!
You had Jesus from day one!
Praise God for that.
Peter became a follower of Christ because of Andrew’s testimony.
Peter had his own experience with Jesus and that was built upon Andrew’s Testimony.
We will all have our own personal experiences with Christ, and the testimony of another with reinforce it.
At the same time Peter, James and John hauled in a big miraculous catch, pulled the boats into shore, left everything and followed Jesus.
Philip, became a follower of Jesus, though we do not have a detailed story of his conversion.
What we do know is his testimony of Jesus to his brother Nathanael provoked Nathanael to follow Jesus as well.
Matthew was a tax collector.
He was hated on both sides: the religious and non-religious alike could at least be joined in their views of the tax collector.
Matthew must have felt trapped.
Everyone avoids him, there is no fellowship in his life, he yearned for a fresh start.
Maybe a second chance.
This is the only reason I can imagine because the record of His conversion was simply that Jesus, who Matthew was probably familiar with due to the Testimonies of others, Jesus said, “Follow me.”
That is all Matthew needed to hear to leave everything behind and have a new life in Christ.
To move a little quicker through the list we have the Apostle Paul.
Prior to his conversion his name was Saul and he persecuted the church.
Paul is a remarkable case which tells every single person loud and clear, “You are not too far gone.”
Let me put this into perspective.
Paul, had a supernatural experience when Jesus met Him on the road to Damascus.
Jesus had already resurrected and ascended, so Jesus spoke to Him from the heaven’s.
Jesus questioned Paul as to why he was persecuting the church.
Paul was struck blind, don’t worry God gave him back his sight.
In Paul’s later writings he communicates God’s love for His church as a groom for His bride.
So, some perspective, God sees the church as His bride, His beloved.
Paul hated her, and killed her.
He drug Christians out of their homes and killed them.
So Jesus took a man, who hated His bride, harmed his bride, murdered His bride and made him a son.
Let me tell you something, you harm my wife, we are not going to be friends.
Ill have to work through forgiveness, but we are no longer on speaking terms.
Thankfully, God is not petty like me.
He made Paul, who was an enemy, a son.
There is no cut off for who is redeemable.
Paul’s Testimony speaks of God’s mercy, grace, and redemption.
You might be saying, “You have no idea what I have done.
You have no idea if my past.”
Can I tell you something?
You are right, I don’t know.
In fact I will only know if you tell me.
But God knows.
God saw every bad choice, every mistake, and every sin including the ones which harmed another.
Why is that beautiful?
Because of the cross of Jesus.
The cross testifies, that your sins were not too much.
That your redemption was always in reach.
The fact your sins did not break the cross tells you that you are not too far gone.
That you can be saved.
That you can be redeemed.
I know that because Jesus uttered 3 words from the cross right before He died, “It is finished.”
You sins, in Him, finished.
You brokenness, in Him, finished.
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