normalize: sharing your testimony
The great commission….go therefore and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).
How do we do that???
How did the original disciples grow the kingdom into the church today? Especially in a time where there was no social media, no cell phones with cameras or video, no live feed…
Everything was word of mouth, sharing what Jesus did and how he changed lives and documenting what the disciples experienced in the form of letters……THEY SHARED THEIR TESTIMONY!! Their personal experience with Jesus. The first 4 books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) are all documented personal testimonies.
What is a testimony? A testimony is a statement for the purpose of establishing and recording truth. In the Greek a testimony or martyreo (to bear witness) is giving accurate information about which a person has direct knowledge. The disciples had direct knowledge and first-hand accounts of what Jesus did and how he transformed their lives.
But there were also testimonies, personal encounters and witnesses, from others (people who were healed, brought back from the dead, demons cast out, etc.) all throughout the New Testament. Testimonies were formed just by listening to the sermon on the mount or a random conversation with Jesus.
Let’s look at the woman at the well. In John 4:7-42, we see the story of the Samaritan woman, who was going to draw water, something she probably did every day. But on this day, Jesus was waiting for her at the well. And he radically changed her life with this “random” encounter. Jesus told the woman of everything she had done but he also revealed himself as the Messiah to her.
John 4:39-42 (ESV) Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So, when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “it is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
You see Jesus didn’t use opportunity with the woman at the well to change her life only. He used it as a vessel to reach the woman plus so many more. Our testimony works as a vessel to lead others to Christ. The pain might be ours but the story is His.
At the XO conference we went to recently, one the speakers used an analogy about a forest fire and how some seeds will only flourish after having been through the fire (cliffs notes version, her version was a lot more in depth and a lot better). A couple months ago, me and Brax were driving from Coahoma to Big Spring, probably for practice or whatever, but there was a HUGE fire in the median. That fire left a big black burnt patch in the median, right on I-20, you can’t miss it and we see it every day when we make the trips to Coahoma and back. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that burnt patch wasn’t there anymore, but there is this little patch of green grass in the middle of a bunch of dead, dried up grass.
And I immediately went back to this analogy. When we go through a fire, an experience, a trial, a trauma, we are left with this burnt patch in our lives. But when we share how God brought us through whatever experience/s you have endured, people see the life brought from death. They see the beautiful green grass that grew despite the burnt patch that was there before. They see the freedom from bondage. They see a mess turned into a message.
When we start walking in Christ, living out our faith, showing people Jesus, and talking about how Jesus transformed our lives, we are making disciples and furthering the kingdom. We open doors of communication about struggles, forgiveness, grace, redemption and restoration. We show people that despite your past, God loves you. And he takes what the enemy meant for evil and uses it for good.
There is value in your personal experience with God. People want to hear your testimony, but more importantly people want to SEE how Jesus has changed your life. No matter how insignificant it seems, how bad it is, how dark it looks, how “burnt” it appears…if you let God, He will make it more beautiful than before.