Sermon for Sunday March 8th, 2009

THE POWER IN AN EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY by Bruce Ball

Isaiah 43:10-43:10


What is the most crucial testimony in a court of law? Actually there are three: One is a picture or video taken of a person committing a crime. But, depending on the quality of the picture, that can be ruled inaccessible. Another is an eyewitness that testifies they saw a person doing something. Again, depending on how reliable that one person is, his or her testimony can also be thrown out.

But the most powerful testimony of all is having two or more eyewitnesses, giving the same condemning testimony. Almost nothing can defeat those testimonies.

The first Christians all lived to witness. That was their main focus; building the kingdom of Jesus. But today’s Christians have pretty much ignored the calling to give their testimony. Paul Harvey says we are no longer fishers of men, but keepers of an empty fish tank. We want to take care of those fish already in the tank, but we don’t feel the need to go out so we can catch more fish.

There is a big difference in doing what we are called to do, and doing what we choose to do; between what the early Christians lived to do, and what we try our best not to do.

ISAIAH 43:10 reads;
‘You are my witnesses, declares the Lord.’

We are called to be witnesses as to what the Lord has done for us. Even Jesus gave us that command as his very last command on this earth.

MATTHEW 28:19-20
‘Therefore, go and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you to obey. And I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.’

We are much different than the early Christians. Many of today’s churches seem to have watered God’s Word down to where it is comfortable to hear and not causing many Christians to worry too much about being turned on to God or actively involved in God’s kingdom. But is the how the early Christians were? No. They followed the Word of God with gusto. I think we could safely say that while they always tried to walk the walk, we sometimes are more comfortable with just talking the talk.

So, we can assume at this point that every Christian’s job is to witness to others as to what Christ as done in their own lives. Many Christians do not witness because they are afraid to put their faith on the line, because they might be criticized by friends for doing so. But is that in line with what God wants?

And then, in 2 TIMOTHY 1:8 it says;
‘So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord.’

As Christians, we need to rediscover the need for, and rekindle our desire for, telling others about Jesus Christ. But we have worked ourselves up to the point where we don’t know exactly how to do it, and so we live in fear and end up doing nothing.

Have you ever noticed how important personal testimonies are to our daily lives? Every commercial is made to look like a personal testimony. And then, what do we do? We listen to this total stranger tell us how great the product was for them, and we go right out and buy it. Talk about personal influence over us by somebody who doesn’t even know us!

Every Christian has a personal testimony as to how they came to know Jesus, or what Jesus has done for them since saving them. I would like to ask anyone who has a personal testimony and would like to share it, please raise your hand.


(Ask for volunteers and then have them give their personal testimony.)


What awesome personal testimonies. Any time we see the Lord actively working in our lives, for His glory and our benefits, it becomes a very strong testimony that needs to be shared with those around us.

During everyone’s testimony, you listened intently, didn’t you? Why? Because they were telling you the truth, they were telling you exactly what had happened to them. If they were telling you what happened to somebody else, you would not have been very interested, or if they tried to impress you with how good of a Christian they were, you would not have listened. But since they were telling you a very personal story from the center of their hearts, you listened carefully.

(At this time, you can give your own personal testimony, or you can defer from doing so. Below, is mine.)

If I might, I’d like to share my personal testimony with you. As you know, the middle of last year, I got very sick and in October I was rushed to the hospital. After much testing, it was discovered that I had a very large and very severe ulcer in my colon.

My body turned against itself and I lost over 60 pounds within a couple of months. They gave me medicine and sent me home. I didn’t seem to be improving. I would sleep up to 16-18 hours a day. I realized I was quickly losing this battle.

A few weeks later, Diana had to rush me to the E.R. one night with what seemed to be a heart attack. Two doctors confirmed that it was, indeed, a heart attack. I ended up having these ‘heart attacks’ at the rate of 1-2 a day!

After more tests, they determined it was not the heart, but severe asthma attacks. I began praying and asking others to pray for me. To make a long story short, they prescribed several medications for me and the asthma symptoms disappeared.

During this same period of time, I was diagnosed as having advanced prostate cancer. This was pure overload on my part, and knowing I could not deal with it, I turned it over to God and asked Him to handle it for me. Again, many prayers were said on my behalf.

Last month, I had another test and it showed I have no signs of cancer whatsoever.

Six weeks ago, eight months after becoming ill, they gave me two blood transfusions, totaling ½ gallon of new blood. They said I was very anemic and my red blood cells were not working.

Last week, I had my latest doctor appointment. He said my colon is on its way back to normal, even though it may take a while to get there. And he said it looks like the red blood cells have finally kicked in.

Let me give you a truth. The medication I was on has certainly helped, but I was healed because Jesus took it away from me.

This is all explained in ISAIAH 53:5,
‘By His stripes, we are healed.’

If you tell a small child something, that child will automatically believe it with all their hearts. They don’t avoid things like adults do; they embrace all they are told with open minds and total belief.

Jesus reminds us that we must ‘change’ to be like children to inherit heaven. But what do we do? We ignore the truth because we might not fully understand it. And we tend to pick and choose which of Jesus’ commands we decide to follow. And the ones we generally pick are those that don’t cause us to get out of our comfort zones.

There is a nationally known pastor who heads up a very large church. He has stated that he will not talk about sin or the consequences of sin because he wants his Christians to be happy Christians. I know some people in that church, and they always feel free to tell others about their church, but I find it funny that they don’t have a clue as to how to give their personal testimony about Jesus. It isn’t about our being comfortable; but it is all about coming to know Jesus and knowing what will happen if we reject the fullness of Christ.

Tonight, I want to give you some information that might help make it easier for you to share your testimony.

Start by making it a personal conversation between you and the person you want to share it with; a conversation that lets them know you are going to share something very personal with them.

You might want to start by quickly telling them how you were;


1. BEFORE YOU MET CHRIST

Paul tells us that we have ’all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ He also tells us ’the wages of our sin is spiritual death.’

So, when we give our testimony, we must start with how we were once of the world, steeped in sin and reaping the benefits of sin. If we look to the Apostle Paul as an example, we see that even though he talked of his sinful past, he never glorified it.

I have heard people give so much detail about their past that I didn’t know if they were trying to glorify Christ or brag about their own sin. When you tell others that you were lost in sin before Christ, do not go into a lot of detail, as that will be perceived as your trying to glorify your past instead of glorifying Jesus.

Tell them that, before Christ, you were always searching for ways to be content and happy, but there was no way. Tell them how your focus was always on you and what you wanted or expected, never on God, or what He expected from you.

Then, we tell them the circumstances of how you came to;


2. MEET CHRIST

In ACTS 9:1-19, we find out Paul came to know Christ. He was still trying to search for Christians to persecute when he was on the road walking near Damascus. All of a sudden, a great light shined down on him that was so bright he fell face down on the ground to escape it. He heard a great voice ask him why he was persecuting Jesus. Then, Jesus told him to get up and go into the city where he would receive further instructions.

The others with Paul were speechless. They had heard the sound but didn’t see who was making it. When Paul got up, he was blind, so they led him to Damascus. For three days he could not see and he didn’t eat or drink anything.

In that city, a Christian by the name of Ananias had a vision go and help Paul. Ananias knew of Paul’s persecution of Christians but still felt led to help him. Three days later, Paul was able to see again, and he spent three years being taught about Jesus and learning all he could. After that, he began to venture out and get involved in the brotherhood of Christ, helping to build the kingdom of Jesus.

And as Paul began giving his testimony, he would tell of his past, but he would not glorify it. He would contrast that with the joy of the present – and in knowing Jesus on a personal level. He presented his testimony as a fact, not a feeling, for facts can be verified, and feelings can fluctuate wildly from high to low without warning.

After we tell someone how we met Christ, or how we were finally converted to Christianity, we should then tell them about;


3. THE DIFFERENCE CHRIST HAS MADE IN OUR LIVES

When Jesus healed the mad man at the cemetery, what did he tell him to do? He said to go home and tell what the Lord had done for Him. Jesus wanted him to go back and give his personal testimony.

And that is what Jesus wants you to do. He wants you to tell them that you were a sinner who finally came to Jesus. That way, if they know you used to be like them, you will understand where they are now. He wants you to tell the facts of how Jesus got your attention, so they know how it is done. Then Jesus wants you to tell them about how He changed your life so they will know their lives can be changed, too.

MATTHEW 7:21-23, He told us,
‘Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of Heaven; but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.’

Many Christians do not give any testimony because they are afraid of what others will say about them. As Christians, we need to rise above that if we are to be faithful. God wants us to give our testimonies at every available opportunity. We have been told to do God’s will or we will not get into Heaven.

Let me give you some staggering statistics. The average church member has heard over 4,000 sermons, sung over 20,000 songs, and has brought less than 5 people to church with them in their entire lifetime.

And the most staggering thought of all; did you know that the average American churchgoer has helped zero people convert to Jesus Christ?

The American Christian has a false sense of what Christianity really is. Millions believe that as long as you believe in God, you are a Christian. Many more believe that if you go to church and live a good life, you are a Christian. Still others don’t know exactly what to believe.

There are even some who openly deny that Jesus even existed; yet they still call themselves Christians because they go to a church that tells them they are a Christian.

The word ’Christian’ means, ’like Christ.’ It doesn’t mean anything else. And the only people who are really Christians are those who really do try to live out the principles of what Jesus Christ taught.

Millions more sit in churches today, numb to the feeling of the Holy Spirit. They have rejected the Holy Spirit many times because they have never been taught about Him, and don’t feel the need to study the Bible for themselves to find out whom He is. And little by little, their hearts grow cold to the touch of our Lord, and ends up with our just going through the motions, thinking we are being good Christians but missing out on everything that Christ offers.

Calling yourself a Christian while having no relationship with the Holy Spirit does as much for our salvation as showing up on your job with absolutely no intention of working.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but the number one reason the Holy Spirit hasn’t touched more Christians is that most Christians have chosen to ignore Him. We think it is okay to go to church for one hour a week, listen to the preacher tell us all he knows, and then go home thinking that is all we need. The problem with that is; listening to others without trying to get involved in the learning process yourself won’t get you to Heaven, it will just get you into trouble.

Our usage of computers and cell phones have added to this problem. We spend talking to people we don’t know about everything in our lives, but we don’t reach out and talk to others face to face anymore about anything, much less about Jesus.

Another problem we encounter today is our skewed perception of what the church is supposed to be. The early church numbered in the thousands. Their primary concern was not enjoying their church, but to reach others for Jesus. Our primary concern is to have a church we enjoy going to. They focused on Jesus, while we focus on ourselves.

We hear people today saying they don’t want a church that has over 50 people because they won’t know everyone. It isn’t necessary for you to know everyone in your church. It is only necessary that everyone in your church knows Jesus.

One of today’s greatest needs is to have Christians get serious about their faith and to boldly take the miracle of Jesus to others they encounter. And that is what we are called to do. I think the reason most Christians do not heed that command is because we tend to relate to the Bible as a distant story that is in a book rather than what actually happened then, and is still happening today. In short, we don’t take it seriously.

Let me give you a few more instances of what God expects from you as a Christian.

In ROMANS 13:11-12 – Paul says:
’The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer than ever before. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.’

Too many of today’s Christians believe it is okay to have one foot in the world while trying to keep the other foot in God’s kingdom. The reality is if they have one foot in the world, their other foot is in a spiritual grave.

JOHN 2:15 tells us;
’Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.’

I am of the opinion that if we are a nation of convenience. it is only because the American Church has failed miserably in teaching the American Christian what God really expects of them. The bottom line is, we have not done our jobs, and therefore, few are being told.

I am not trying to sound critical about today’s Christians. I am, however, telling you that very few of us live up to the standard of what a Christian is called to live to. If you cannot take the word of God to others, you need to bring them to the word of God, and that is found in churches more than any place else.

How many of your family or friends have you shared your personal testimony with? Would you like to be able to testify, as did the first century Christians? Boldly and convincingly? The only way you can do that is in the power of the Holy Spirit. And that leads me to ask you a question: Have you really opened your heart to the calling of the Lord? Acknowledging Him is not the same as receiving Him. You must make a determined decision; a binding choice, to either focus on what God wants from you, or focus on what you want for you.

When I was studying Physics in college, my professor started his class by saying that everything revolves around mathematics. He said that to get anywhere at all, we must begin with the number 1.

The same is true with Jesus. He is our number 1, and to get to heaven, we must start with Him. It all comes back to needing a place to start. We need our number 1. You will serve whatever it is that you think you need. And you will gladly tell others about what (or whom) you need.

Who do you need?

JOSHUA 24:15 says in part;
‘As for me and my household, we shall serve the Lord.’