If You Have a Testimony, Share It
Sometimes we forget how wonderful the gospel is. Sometimes we forget that God’s ways are best and that in Jesus we have the words of eternal life. Sometimes we forget that our message brings hope and redemption, reconciliation and transformation, and that the Bible is the preeminent book of wisdom on the planet.
One great way to remind ourselves of the beauty of the Lord and the power of the gospel is by sharing testimonies. The more we hear about what God is doing, the more encouraged we become—and the more stoked we get about the good news. How amazing it is to see the tears of gratitude, to hear the shouts of joy, to witness people of all ages getting free from their addictions, their bondages, their fears, their sins—all as a direct result of them responding to the message we preach and teach and live.
Young people today in America are more stressed, depressed, anxious, lonely, and suicidal than any generation in recorded history. Jesus really is the answer to their problems and pain, as opposed to simply being the head of a worldwide religion. Let us renew our excitement about the message we bring!
We must evangelize everywhere. On the most fundamental level, this is how we change the nation, as rebels are made righteous and sinners become saints. This is something we can all do.
Do you have a testimony of how the Lord has changed your own life? You can share your story with someone else. It is the most fundamental way we bear witness, telling others what we have seen and experienced in our own lives. Many times, when someone I’ve just met offers me a cup of coffee, I reply, “Actually, I’ve never had a cup of coffee in my life.” This normally shocks them. I then say, “I’ve never smoked a cigarette either.” Now they’re even more surprised. Then I say, “But I was shooting heroin at the age of fifteen,” which leads naturally into my own testimony.
Maybe your testimony is not as dramatic as mine, but if Jesus has changed your own life, if He has healed your body, if He has worked a miracle on your behalf, if He has been with you in the darkest of times, you have a story to tell as well. Look for opportunities to make Him known. We are called to be fishers of men and women (Luke 5:10).
Do we have a non-believing friend or neighbor or coworker or family member or teammate or fellow student? Do we meet new people from time to time? We should be praying for opportunities and looking for opportunities to share the good news with them.
We can even start Bible studies in our schools, our gyms, our places of business, our homes, or online—really, we can do this anywhere. Or we can invite people to the meetings we attend. In fact, one of the most effective ways to make an impact on college campuses is through evangelistic study groups, since it may take us decades to bring a healthy balance to the school’s faculty. But we can get our message out today by doing campus outreach. This is just one potential example among many.
The reality is that the most fruitful evangelism is relational, normally done in the context of work or family life. We hang out with our friends and family members and coworkers. We build relationships with one another. We live life, on some level, together. This is the greatest field of all for evangelism. Let us share the gospel everywhere. It is literally the difference between eternal life and eternal death.
To learn more about Michael Brown’s ‘Turn the Tide,’ visit MyCharismaShop.com