WEAPON #FIVE: KEEP YOUR
TESTIMONY
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| Do not sell your testimony to anyone, guard it! |
The
call of God is a call of testimonies. It’s a call of conviction and witnessing.
God the Father expects all His children to have a testimony and keep it with
them forever. The Encarta English Dictionary defines testimony as something
that supports a fact or a claim.
Many Christians claim that God is Omnipotent –
thus All Powerful and indeed He is – yet because they lack testimonies, they
most often than not make their problems bigger than God.
They sometimes think
God can do all things but their situation is exceptional and it’s beyond the
ability of God. They magnify their problems over the Almighty God; how sad it
is!
The
early church was convinced of the Mighty Power of God. They believed they could
do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthened them (Philippians 4:13). They had
received one thing from the Lord and that was enough conviction for them that
the Lord could do all things for them. No wonder they were seeing results.
The more you keep your testimonies, the more
testimonies you have!
John
the Apostle heard and saw Jesus transfigured (Mark 9:2). When Jesus raised the
daughter of Jairus from death, John was there with Jesus (Mark 5:21-43). When
Jesus resurrected from the dead, John was there when He appeared to the
disciples (John 20:19-23). At Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, John was with the
disciples (Acts 1:1-11). At the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was come
upon the disciples, John was one of them.
So John had a testimony; he heard
Jesus and saw His works. He was then convinced and nothing could change his
mind about the Word of life. What have you seen? What have you heard? What is
your conviction? What is your testimony? John’s testimony made him stronger to
stand and conquer all battles until He was called home.
1 John 1:1-2
1 That which was from the
beginning, which WE HAVE HEARD, WHICH WE HAVE SEEN with our eyes, WHICH WE HAVE
LOOKED UPON and TOUCHED WITH OUR HANDS, concerning the word of life
2 The life was made
manifest, and WE SAW IT, and TESTIFY TO IT, and PROCLAIM to you the eternal
life which was with the Father and was made MANIFEST TO US
In
this life, one cannot dispute your personal testimony. No one could challenge
the personal testimony of John. His testimony and conviction about God was
enough for his living. It is your testimony that can drive you – and others
into victory. It is jeopardy to lose your testimony in this journey of life! It
is your testimony that can take you far in this life. Testimonies are weapons God has given to the church to
overcome any battle.
Revelation 12:11
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.
Thank
God the blood of the Lamb has already been shed; what is left of you is to hold
onto your testimony in order to overcome your accuser. You need to have a
testimony and you need to keep it forever. Why do you lose your testimony and
be afraid of the storm starring at you? Haven’t you read of the Lord who calms
the storm and that if only you will invite Him into the situation, you shall
experience total calmness and peace?
Write
Down your Testimonies for Remembrance
God
wants His children not to forget what He does for them. Testimony is a powerful
tool so anytime God did anything for the Israelites, He asked their leaders
then to write them down for posterity so that they will know the God they
worship and not be intimidated by anybody. He wants His children to build their
faith partly on what He has already done for them and trust Him for what He is
about to do.
When
God delivered the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians in the last plague
which was known as the Passover, He asked them to make it a lasting ordinance
for them and for their descendants. He said, ‘I don’t want you and your
children to forget about this deliverance and when your children ask you why
you observe this ceremony, tell them that God delivered you from the slavery of
Egypt’.
Exodus 12:24-26
24
You
shall OBSERVE this rite as an ordinance for you and for your sons FOREVER.
25 And when you come to the
land which the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you SHALL KEEP THIS SERVICE
this service.
26 And when your children
say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?'
27 You shall say, 'It is the
sacrifice of the LORD's passover, for he passed over the houses of the people
of Israel in Egypt, when he slew the Egyptians but spared our houses.'"
And the people bowed their heads and worshiped
Don’t
forget your testimony; it is a powerful tool for your victory. Also in another
occasion, when the people of God, the Israelites were on their way to the
Promised Land – when they had got to Raphidim, the Amalekites came and attacked
them. Moses then asked Joshua, his minister to choose some of the men of Israel
and go and fight the Amalekites. While Joshua and the men were at battle, Moses
had the staff of God in his hands and held it up on top of a hill.
As long as
Moses held his hands up, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered
his hands down, the Amalekites were winning. At a point in time, Moses’ hands
grew tired so he sat on a stone and Aaron, his brother and Hur, his brother-in-law
held his hands up; one at each side of him. Because of this, Joshua and his men
were able to overcome the Amalkites army with the sword. But after the victory
God ordered Moses to write it down and also to rehearse it in the ears of
Joshua who was to succeed him.
Exodus 17:14
14 And the LORD said to
Moses, "WRITE this as a MEMORIAL IN A BOOK and RECITE it in the ears of
Joshua that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under
heaven."
Why
did God ask Moses to write it down? Because He wanted them to keep it for a
memorial! God was about to do something in the lives of the Israelites, but if
they forget of what He has already down, they may not believe Him for the
future. God didn’t want them to forget His faithfulness; his faithfulness
forever endures! The Lord is saying ‘don’t forget what I have done, keep it
with you and use it as a cause to trust me for the future’. Has the Lord not
done anything for you? Why do you forget and be afraid of what is before you?
The
Lord wants you to keep what He has given you and trust Him for more. When we
were children, I believed my daddy could provide me anything in this world
(before he left mum and me). This was because whenever daddy went out, he got
me shoes, dresses, candies and things I had earlier requested – though I didn’t
receive from him all that I asked him to buy for me. But you see because he got
me my needs, I trusted him so much so that I remember I once told my friends
that Daddy has promised to get me an aeroplane and there were some of them who
will never get on board – perhaps because they too refused me something.
Meanwhile my Daddy had never used an aeroplane himself before – as at then.
Well, you may say we walk by faith, which is true but the point is that base on
what Daddy did for me some days before, I trusted him for everything in the
future.
God
wants us to be like the ideal child who will believe his father for everything
because of what he has already received from him. The good news is that our
Heavenly Father unlike the earthly father lacks nothing. Whatever He wants to
give to you, nothing can limit Him. Just keep what He has already given to you
and let that alone convince of the future provisions. He is able!
Testimonies
Bring Victory
A
lot of people have conquered life's battles because of their personal testimonies
or testimonies from other people. Though faith comes by hearing and hearing by
the Word of God, testimonies can boost your faith in the Lord. David was a
young guy who had been a Shepherd throughout his life. He had never been to war
in his lifetime before – though he had big brothers – at least three of them
who had been to war before.
Then came a time when a Philistine by name Goliath who
rose against the Israelites and their King, Saul. The Bible refers to this man
Goliath as ‘A Champion’ (1 Samuel 17:4). Perhaps he had never lost a battle in
his lifetime before. And we are told
this Goliath had been a warrior from his youth. He was an experienced warrior. But the battle of life is not fought with
experience; but with the grace of God.
Goliath
ridiculed Saul and his men and said to them "Why
have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not
servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If
he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if
I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us”
(1 Samuel 17:8-9). He believed in himself and didn’t see any giant among
the Israelites who was able to fight and conquer him.
But you see, Solomon
after studying all these things made a profound statement that ‘the battle is not for the strong’
(Ecclesiastes 9:11).
At
the words of Goliath, Saul and his men were dismayed and greatly afraid. Well,
I think they had no testimony; they had not read of what God had done in the
past and they themselves had no personal experience with the Lord. You will
only be terrified by the enemy when you don’t have a testimony.
But
unexpectedly came a man with a testimony. David came to the scene and heard the
blasphemous words of Goliath against his God. David had never fought in the
battlefield before, but he had fought severally for the lives of his sheep on
the pasture field. He told the King Saul, ‘I have a testimony and I can stand
this Philistine’! Saul said No! You are just a small boy who has never been to
a war before; you can’t fight this guy! David said ‘I have a weapon and that weapon is my testimony’
1 Samuel 17:34-37
34 But David said to Saul,
"Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and when there came a
lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,
35 I went after him and
SMOTE him and DELIVERED it out of his mouth; and if he arose against me, I
caught him by his beard, and SMOTE him and KILLED him.
36 Your servant has KILLED
both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of
them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God."
37 And David said, "The
LORD who DELIVERED ME from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, WILL
DELIVER ME from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David,
"Go, and the LORD be with you!
Perhaps
David knew some old shepherd with experience who was killed by wild animal like
the lion or the bear. He realized it was not normal to fight the lion and the
bear and prevail. He acknowledged God as behind his victory over the lion and
the bear. He convincingly said “The LORD
that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine”. David had an
experience with God; He had a testimony from God and he kept this testimony.
When
he had shared his testimony with the people, no one, not even Saul, the King,
would stop him. If you have a personal testimony, nobody can stop you from
walking into your victory. There are people who are still in the grips of fear
and wouldn’t rise up to stand their accuser in battle. They have already
pronounced themselves as losers because they have lost their testimonies! Let
no one stop you!
Let no one discourage you! Believe that all things are
possible with God. Tell your discouragers what the Lord did for you in time
past and that He lives for your victory. And when David through his testimony
trusted God, He would not also let him down. If only you will keep your
testimony and trust the Lord, He will never let you down! David said “Some boast of chariots, and some of horses;
but we boast of the NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD.” (Psalm 20:7).
What
do you remember? What do you trust? What do you boast of? And what keeps you
going in life? David never forgot the name of the Lord. He always remembered
the goodness of God and that made him thrive in life. David tasted and saw that
the Lord is good and because of that He never feared what the future would
bring. He said “The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want...” (Psalm 23:1-6).
What has the Lord done for you? And are you more than convinced that He who saw
you through yesterday will see you through today and tomorrow?
Testimonies
of the Apostles
Peter
and John were threatened. The Sanhedrin has commanded them not to speak or
teach in the name of Jesus. But they had a testimony. Their experience could
not stop them from witnessing. They told the Sanhedrin they have a testimony to
share
Acts 4:19-20
19 But Peter and John
answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you
rather than to God, you must judge;
20
For
WE CANNOT BUT SPEAK of what WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD
You
see, if Peter and his colleagues had kept quiet because they were intimidated,
I don’t know what would have become the church now. They didn’t lose their
testimonies; they kept and shared them and the church is greatly benefiting
from their testimonies. Their testimonies have become part of the Bible which
is profitable for all godliness. Paul too had a testimony. He believed that the
Lord who delivered him from death would continue to deliver him until he was
finally called home
2 Corinthians
1:9-10
9 Why, we felt that we had
received the sentence of death; but that was to make us rely not on ourselves
but on God who raises the dead;
10 HE DELIVERED us from so
deadly a peril, and HE WILL DELIVER; on him we have set our hope that HE WILL
DELIVER US AGAIN
Paul
was not afraid of death because God had delivered him from one and he was
convinced that no death will overshadow him if the Lord had not permitted it.
What testimony do you have? What have you seen, or read, or heard, or touched? God
wants you to stand and face any life battle in the light of your testimonies.
God bless you!
Sincerely
Richard
richardadupoku2045@gmail.com
