Power of Testimony

11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

Acts 4:33 NASB95

33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

Testimony means:

Witness, evidence, testify, be restored, do again, repeat

Bill Johnson states that a testimony is the spirit of prophecy.

The spirt of prophecy brings life now and in the future.

Hearing Testimonies:

An angel told Marry a testimony to help her come to faith.

Luke 1:34–37 NASB95

34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Jesus told John’s disciples to tell John what they see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the leapers are healed. This was to help John come out of his place of doubting.

Luke 7:22 NASB95

22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Even the parables Jesus told acted like testimonies.

Hearing testimonies help you come to faith in what you are needing to believe in and for.

Strategy of Darkness:

Evil has copied the same strategy as Jesus.

Evil takes testimonies of your past and others to remind you that you are not enough and God is not enough.

The biggest challenge with this is we become evil’s best recruits and we take those testimonies and play them over and over ourselves.

When you listen to evil’s testimonies, it produces, fear, doubt, and unbelief.

When you listen to the testimonies of Jesus it produce, Faith, Hope and Love.

In the places of waiting in life, it is a great idea to listen to and remind yourself of what God has done before.

Testimonies remind you that Jesus will do it again.

Sharing Testimonies:

The purpose of sharing a testimony is mostly for others.

Ingredients it takes to share your testimonies:

Love

Courage

Vulnerability

1. Love

To share your testimony, you need to care more about what Jesus will do for others than your embarrassment.

You need to care more for others than protecting yourself.

2. Courage

You needed courage to look for a solution in Jesus in the first place.

You need courage to now share that testimony to someone else.

3. Vulnerable

Reveal something that was missing or broken.

You needed God.

In (Matthew 18:22-35) Jesus tells a parable of a king who forgave a servant, but then that servant did not forgive his fellow slaves who owed him money.

Not giving away forgiveness that was given to you, stops the flow of forgiveness in your life too.

Not giving away what was given to you stops the flow of what was given.

Share others testimonies to match the need of the person in front of you.

Closing:

Testimony means:

Witness, evidence, testify, be restored, do again, repeat

Testimonies are to give hope and life to others.

Testimonies boost faith in people who need to believe.

A testimony is proof Jesus will do it agian.

Your testimonies are a witness to others that Jesus will do that for them too.

I challenge you to think beyond your life and share what Jesus has done in your so others can receive what you did.

Can you remember a time you heard a testimony and it helped you believe?

Can you remember a time where Jesus did something in your life? Have you shared that with anyone else yet?

Activation:

We are going to share testimonies today.

Maybe Jesus is challenging you to write down your testimonies.

Testimony:

Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 5715 עֵדוּת

5715 עֵדוּת [ʿeduwth /ay·dooth/] n f. From 5707; TWOT 1576f; GK 6343; 59 occurrences; AV translates as “testimony” 55 times, and “witness” four times. 1 testimony.

Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 5707 עֵד

5707 עֵד [ʿed /ayd/] n m. Contracted from 5749; TWOT 1576b; GK 6332; 69 occurrences; AV translates as “witness” 69 times. 1 witness. 1A witness, testimony, evidence (of things). 1B witness (of people).

Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 5749 עוּד, עוּד

5749 עוּד, עוּד [ʿuwd /ood/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 1576, 1576d; GK 6386 and 6387; 45 occurrences; AV translates as “testify” 15 times, “protest” six times, “witness” six times, “record” three times, “charge” twice, “solemnly” twice, “take” three times, “admonished” once, and translated miscellaneously seven times. 1 to return, repeat, go about, do again. 1A (Piel) to surround, go round and round. 1B (Pilel) to restore, relieve. 1C (Hithpalel) to be restored. 2 to bear witness. 2A (Qal) to bear witness, say again and again. 2B (Hiphil). 2B1 to testify, bear witness. 2B2 to cause to testify, take or call as witness, invoke. 2B3 to protest, affirm solemnly, warn, exhort or enjoin solemnly, admonish, charge. 2C (Hophal) to protest, give warning.

Matthew 18:22–35 NASB95

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 “But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. 28 “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 “But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

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