Testify

Acts chapter 20 verse 24. the Apostle Paul to the Ephesian Elders in a retreat but none of these things move me neither count I my life dear unto myself so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord to testify the gospel of the grace of God Psalm 107 2 says let the redeemed of the Lord say so my message tonight is simply this testify God bless you please be seated your testimony is powerful I've been raised in church all my life and I've heard some amazing testimonies I heard a brand new believer curse while he was thanking God for his salvation I've heard people say I feel good in my soul feel like traveling on making Heaven my home I heard one man who got called on to testify in church in an impromptu manner he thought he was being funny but he said Jesus wept Peter slept John fell off the back door step he said it in church pastor's wife is leading the testimony service at that moment was not the least bit amused at that testimony but we thought it was pretty funny just for a minute to testify is to witness to a test to prove by an eyewitness account testifying is not giving your opinion it is telling what you have seen and what you have heard is sharing what you know is to give evidence to prove that something exists or something is the case that is alleged to be the case legal sentences are meted out based on credible testimonies in the Bible a single witness could not cause a person to be put to death but Deuteronomy 19 15 says that at the mouth of two witnesses or three Witnesses the matter shall be established and someone could be stoned to death because of their offense numbers 35 said the mountain by the mouth of witnesses but one witness shall not testify against a person that caused him to die looking back on this Jesus said it is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true in other words one witness is powerful but when we work together when we testify together it's exponentially more powerful and binding I'm not really trying to relate to what I spoke about last Wednesday night but how important it is for us to testify in song and prayer and preaching with the preaching that we agree with what is said that we affirm what is being preached from the word of God Amen your testimony is very powerful now as you go through the word testify in the Old Testament you'll find out that most occurrences of the word testify are God testifying against Israel for their sins testimony there has a negative use where does the same thing it attests to sin but there's also in the Bible that positive powerful testimony now I want to encourage you today to use your testimony for good the Bible I read it a few minutes ago but I want to read it again on the screen Psalm 107 1. I'll give thanks unto the Lord for he is good for his mercy endureth forever let the redeemed of the Lord say so whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy if the Lord purchase your salvation brought you back from sin if he's redeemed you by his blood then the Bible says you should testify about that you should say so you should not be silent and I want you don't I'm asking you to not read back into my previous five-minute sermonette it could have its applications but really they're two different topics amen Second Corinthians 4 13. we having the same Spirit of Faith according as it is written I believed and therefore have I spoken we also believe and therefore speak he's quoting in Old Testament writer and he's saying if you really believe you should speak what you believe we believe the gospel Paul said and therefore have we spoken what we believed now testifying or a positive testimony has a powerful effect when you say something encouraging and strengthening it can make a big difference in the lives of other people Proverbs 15 30 the light of the eyes rejoices the heart and a good rapport makes the bones healthy or if you're reading the King James makes them fat or strong Proverbs 25 25 as cold Waters to a thirsty Soul so is good news from a far country good news a testimony a word of encouragement has a very powerful effect so if you've been redeemed say so if God's been good to you tell it everywhere you go amen if you have some good news to share then share it and there are three reasons I want to give tonight you should testify for God's sake as his Witnesses testify for the sake of others unbelievers other believers in the Next Generation and you should testify for your own sake so first of all we are called to be God's Witnesses so we testify on his behalf or for God's sake in Acts 1 and 8 Jesus said that you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be Witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and in the uttermost part of the earth you are my witnesses to testify of Me Jesus was here he was God's witness as the the mediator the god in flesh the man Christ Jesus and he passed that assignment onto us he's given us Ministry of reconciliation that we would Witness us on his behalf and testify for him in Acts 5 32 there are many scriptures that will not be on the screen that I have in my notes but the Apostle Peter said and we are his Witnesses of these things and so also is the Holy Ghost the Dual witness of words and spirit working together acts 4 and 20 for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard now he's telling them in the context of Acts 4 20 we cannot be quiet about what we've seen and what we've heard we believe therefore we speak we have believed therefore we have spoken we've been redeemed and so we're going to say so we're going to testify of the goodness of God the Bible teaches in Psalm 19 1 and other places that the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork so all of creation testifies about the greatness of God but it is essentially A Silent Witness I know Thunder may not be silent but it is God's witness in the heavens in creation but we are God's spoken Witnesses I know by your life you're a Silent Witness wherever you go your character and conduct testifies of your nature that has been changed by Jesus Christ the Bible says and I'll use the word preaching and the idea of preaching in this message but I'm really talking about your testimony and the power of your words God shows by the foolishness of preaching now maybe he means by the thing preached by the cross to save them that are believed God has entrusted us with the gospel his saving power is conveyed by words in our text the Apostle Paul in Acts 20 24. he's called the Elders of the Ephesians Church Ephesian churches to a retreat and he speaks about his future and about the danger that he may face they cry at the end of this they weep because they will see his face no more but he said of all the things that he faces in his life none of these things move me they do not change my conviction or my determination neither count I my life dear unto myself that I mean I finish my course with joy he says at the end of his life that he has finished his course so he does what he says he's going to do this course in the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God Paul's life mission was to testify of the Gospel With His Brilliant intellectual theological mind well more than one occasion perhaps three Paul shared his personal story he could argue from theology the Old Testament he could argue from philosophy as he did in Acts 14 and acts 17 but he chose to often tell his testimony what he used to be before God saved him of his encounter with God on the road to Damascus and now the Lord changed his life and called him to be a witness Paul used his personal testimony to persuade Kings and people to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ he told us in First Corinthians 9 and 15 that he really didn't have a choice in the matter he said Woe Is unto me if if I preach not the gospel he said Necessities laid upon me in Romans 1 and 16 he said I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ he wasn't afraid of what would happen when he spoke that word he knew that there was a power that was conveyed when he testified of the grace of God for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God into salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek now when the Lord spoke to ananias the man who came and laid hands on Paul that he might receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost a man that baptized him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ he was afraid to go pray with Paul but the Lord spoke to ananias said go thy way he's a chosen vessel unto me to Bear my name before the Gentiles and Kings and the children of Israel Paul would testify of the ministry and the grace of God wherever he went to his son in the gospel Timothy in second Timothy 1 and 8. he told him therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord don't back down from the truth and then he said nor of me this his prisoner in other words I'm in the middle of afflictions he tells us for the Gospel of Jesus Christ don't be ashamed of me and don't be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ do not fear the consequences of testifying for the goodness of God so we testify for God's sake as his Witnesses he's called us to be his Witnesses we also testify for the sake of other people and the first category of other people is for lost people amen the ideas established in my first point about the power of the Gospel to save people to change their lives but I want to make a few points about our witness to lost people that we tell them about Jesus Christ and what he's done for us and we can bring lost people to the Lord through the power of the Gospel when we tell how Jesus saved us it has a powerful effect it's been several years I think according to my notes since I've really taught on this I just want to give you an excerpt but we tell about how our lives were before we were saved your testimony has three components of it before how and now before I came to God how I came to God and now that I've come to God how my life has changed now that's pretty simple isn't it before how now before I came to God what I was like how I thought my attitudes toward God other people and even myself sends power over me that's part of my testimony the before Christ portion of my testimony and then how I came to God your story might involve a dream or a vision or a friend at work or a parent someone who told you who testified to you and told you about salvation and then your conversion experience how you turn from your sins in Repentance how you join Jesus Christ in his death by being buried with him by baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ how you Rose to walk in the newness of Life by the power of the Holy Ghost amen how did you come to God there's a powerful part of your testimony usually I try to make sure I help people understand that sin is a power that you cannot overcome on your own that sin is man's problem and that it has people bound and separated from a pure and holy God but I'm thankful for God's solution and my problem that Calvary was God's only provision for man's sin that while I was dead in sins Jesus Christ laid down his life for me I didn't deserve it I didn't pay for it amen but I thank God part of my salvation is that when I cannot help myself Jesus Christ help me when I cannot purchase my salvation Jesus purchased my salvation amen regardless of what Jesus did his solution there's always our responsibility to exercise saving Faith by accepting and applying the gospel to our lives believing is so important but obedience to what you believe is the demonstration that you really believe amen my responsibility is to obey the gospel to apply it to my life through repentance from dead Works Faith toward God baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost everybody please say before how and now now my goodness what a difference Jesus Christ has made in our lives are not perfect but I don't like to say that I'm a sinner I was a sinner saved by grace doesn't mean that Christians never sin but we've been delivered from the power of sin we've been delivered from the penalty of sin amen we've been delivered from Eternal death and Hell amen we are children of God praise God Redeemed by the blood of the lamb and now my total attitude has changed I think differently by attitude toward life is differently God's given me power over sin he's given us righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Ghost promise of eternal life amen that's that's part of what we witness how I came to God I testify before how and now and how God brought me into his kingdom when Jesus delivered the man of godara from demons whom multitude came about they everybody knew of this miracle and the man out of whom these Devils the Legion of devils were cast he wanted to follow Jesus now people follow Jesus but in Luke 8 39 this is what Jesus told that delivered man of godara to do return to thine own house and show how great things God had done for thee and he went his way and he published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done for him what a testimony of the deliverance from demonic possession that's a testimony to tell that man had one but we have one praise God he testify for other people starting with lost people one other verse that I want to share with you about witnessing testifying to unchurched people unsaved people Colossians 4 verses 5 and 6. walk in wisdom toward those who are outside Redeeming the time let your speech always be with Grace seasoned with salt that you may know how you ought to answer each one in your interactions with lost people by your attitude by your words by your tone by your expressions by the tip you leave oh I felt that when I said it let your speech be with Grace season with salt sprinkle a little something on there that has a preserving influence that changes the taste of food right make it better than it could be but your speech the season was Saul and ask God for wisdom because you are a testimony testifier of the grace of Jesus Christ your testimony of the grace of God we testify for the sake of lost people but we also testify to encourage and strengthen other believers in Psalm 40 the Bible said that I will testify in the assembly that I've not concealed your loving kindness he said I'm going to talk about it to church people Hebrews 2 and 12 saying I will declare thy name into my brethren in the midst of the church will I praise thee Hebrews 10 24 and 25 and let us consider one another I stuck with the King James here I'll try to triangulate verses looking at other translations and commentary if I'm unsure of that passage and need to review it and to provoke it means to motivate but I left provoked there to prod to encourage people to provoke unto love and good works and I kind of wanted to say provoke because some people provoke to a lot of other reactions so you should consider one another not yourself always consider one another and you should motivate them you should stir them up you should provoke them to love and good works and I want you to see the context because the next verse is when we love to talk about but look at the context we're talking about provoking one another encouraging one another moating one another to love and good works but where do you do that verse 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching so we're going to motivate we're going to provoke to love and good works when we're with people I know you can do that in 2023 in a text an email you can post something on social media but the context is in fellowship with one another in a small group in a class on a Ministry team before and after church amen when we gather together it should be to motivate people to love in good works and if you have any other motivation then you need to leave that somewhere else that's not the culture of a Christian or this church be kind to one another tender-hearted forgiving amen this motivation takes place in the context of a gathering according to Hebrews amen the attitude that you are carrying is revealed in your words in your testimony Luke 6 45 New Living Translation a good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart what you say flows from what is in your heart I could just say you may be dismissed right now right because the dagger is deep of this verse my goodness so what you say is the product of what's on the inside you've got you've got a treasury you've got a emotional mental bank account and what is in there is what is coming out and if what is coming out is not a good heart doesn't sound like it comes from a good heart then that means you need to have a spiritual house cleaning so you testify to set the tone if you're negative Ned or Nancy you're killing the relational climate like air pollution you may not know how negative you are but other people do negativity is like insect repellent for people it is keeping them away from you you need a good friend to tell you your negative thoughts and trust their faithful wounds is Proverbs 27 6 said faithful of the wounds of a friend but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful amen you may say I'm just a realist I call it like I see it I need to let your speech be seasoned with salt with Grace amen we understand that in the church and the world at work at home there are real problems to be dealt with we need to ask the Lord to give us Grace because everything we say is a testimony it's a testimony of something praise God so we want to address those challenges in the right way Psalm 66 and 16 says come in here all you who fear God and I will declare what he has done for my soul we testify to the Lost we testify to other believers and I want to add that we also testify to the Next Generation now I know those could be lost or saved but I want to make us you know kind of a condensation of this section but in Deuteronomy 6 4 you know the Shema hero Israel the Lord our God is one Lord you love him with all your heart soul might and these words are in your heart you teach them diligently to your children and then you talk about them all the time when you get up when you go to bed when you walk by the way that's what you talk about you are testifying to the Next Generation in the context of Deuteronomy 6 is to your children it's fascinating to me that memorials in the Bible where conversation starters and Joshua 4 they took 12 Stones they stacked him up pitched when they pitched at gilgal and they said Joshua 4 21 when your children ask your fathers in time to come what do these Stones mean then you're going to let your children know you're going to testify to your children for the Lord your God tried up the Waters of Jordan from before you until we passed over in the same way as the Lord your God did at the Red Sea has just like he did to that generation we had miracles in Our Generations that all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord that it is mighty that you might fear the lord your God forever amen we testify to the Next Generation we tell them what God has done in our lives but before the how the now we tell them the Miracles of an imagined campaign we tell them about miraculous healings we tell them about the grace of God that kept us through tough times when we didn't get a healing when we didn't get the answer we expected but God was good Amen to all the trouble the trial the vicissitudes of life God was there Psalm 71 my mouth will tell of your righteousness verse 16 I will make mention of your righteousness of yours only verse 17 to this day I will declare your wondrous works and then he said in verse 18 Psalm 71 when I'm old and gray-headed oh God do not forsake me until I declare your strength to this generation your power to everyone who is to come Psalm 78 gives a similar idea that I will open my mouth the things that our fathers have told death we will not hide them from their children showing to the generation to come the Praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he has done we're going to tell the Next Generation we're going to testify to them of the greatness of God so the same God who worked in our life will work in their life amen God established a testimony in Jacob and commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children that the generation to come might know them even the children which should be born who should arise and declare them to their children from generation to generation to generation we testify of what God has done in our lives Psalm 78 7 that they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God to keep his Commandments in Psalm 145 one generation shall praise His Works to another and shall declare testify of your Mighty Acts so we testify amen we testify to lost people to other believers we testify to the Next Generation we testify for the God's sake of his Witnesses for other people's sake for salvation encouragement and strength to secure the Next Generation but we also testify for our sake amen you may remember when David was greatly distressed and his followers spoke of stoning him first Samuel 36 David encouraged himself in the Lord he just had just got his Bible out got the pulpit he preached and he ran out there and sat down in the congregation listen to what he just said there's no one else that was on his side so he encouraged himself in the Lord second Timothy 1 and 8. the verse I mentioned earlier Paul told Timothy be not there therefore ashamed of the testimony of the Lord make sure that in your life you keep your testimony for your sake to keep your soul that you remind yourself of God's goodness in your life so that you don't forget it's been my experience that when people are ready to make a really bad decision they look back over the Peaks and valleys of life and they selectively choose what they want to remember to justify the actions they're about to take and maybe a husband or wife in a marriage and they look back and all they want to remember is the lows so it will justify their exit from that relationship you need to testify to yourself that God has never failed you he's been good to you through thick and thin amen don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord we testify for our own sake Revelation 12 11. these Martyrs they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony their testimony gave them power over Satan in that case they loved not their lives unto death Romans chapter 10 verse 8 sorry this was not on the screens but what saith that the word is nigh thee even in your mouth and in thy heart the word of faith which we preach if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation now I know there are non-apostolics that use this verse to say all you have to do is I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ I confess him we understand this epistle written to Christians save people who had obeyed Acts 2 38 but this truth is true right it is with the heart we believe it is with the mouth we confess so if God has been good to you and you feel it notify your mind notify your mouth and say it amen Matthew 10 32. Jesus said whosoever therefore shall confess me before men him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven but whosoever shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven if we clam up If We Hold Back Our Testimony if we are ashamed of the testimony of the Lord if we deny him he will deny yes our words are powerful to testify for our sake amen as I mentioned earlier our words really reveal our hearts Matthew 12 33. Jesus's words either make the tree good and it's fruit good or else make the tree bad and it's fruit bad for tree is known by its fruit that's pretty simple isn't it when Jesus said it so it must be pretty deep then he said Brew to vipers how can you being evil speak good things for out of the abundance of the heart a mouth speaks a good man mentioned this verse earlier out of The Treasure of his heart brings forth good things and an evil man out of the evil Treasures treasure brings forth evil things but I say unto you that for Every Idle Word men may speak they will give account of it in the day of judgment for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned our words are powerful and I want to encourage you tonight to testify testify for God's sake as his witness for the sake of people who were lost that they would be saved for the sake of other believers that they would be encouraged for the sake of the Next Generation that they will believe in the god of their fathers and that you would testify to yourself or for your sake to secure your soul to encourage yourself in times of disappointment or trouble in your life when you are speaking you are unpacking what's in your heart you may not even know it's there I said well I I spoke before I thought well not really maybe you didn't think enough about what you said we've all done that well I'll say excuse me I do not want to speak for you I've done that but to say I didn't think about it would say I was speaking in tongues because you don't have to think about it when you're speaking in tongues but if you said it it was there came from somewhere we want to deal with the somewhere so we can deal with what we say so that we Testify the grace of God and then we want to deal with where that comes from psalm 19. the Bible said they'll let the words of my mouth in the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer if Proverbs 18 and 21 is true that death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that lavish to eat the fruit thereof then we need to let our mouth our tongue our words have life and not death we need to testify Jesus told Nicodemus we speak what we know and we testify that we have seen and then he said that you don't believe our witness but I want to just hold on to that phrase that Jesus said we tell what we know and we testify what we've seen so we need to make sure that we Testify the glory of God because God's Messenger to other people to our own sake I want you to stop just for a minute right now and I want you to think of what you would say tonight if you were put on the witness stand to testify about what Jesus Christ has done in your life now I know he's done a lot for you but what would you say what would you tell someone he wanted to know what Jesus Christ has done for you what would you say to a lost person what would you say to a fellow believer what would you say to a young person was struggling with life and philosophies or maybe a tough thing they're going through what is your testimony that keeps you doing right when you're tempted to do wrong a testimony have you heard from other people that has encouraged you when you thought about giving up I want to encourage you tonight to testify but stand right now if you would amen testify out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks all right so lift your hands to the Lord right now and would you just tell him something that you're thankful for that he has done for you would you testify to the Lord right now about his goodness in your life but his mercies that are new every morning