Sermon Central
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The Power In An Eyewitness Testimony
Contributed by Bruce Ball on Mar 5, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: Giving one’s testimony involves telling others 1- How we were before we met Christ; telling them about the circumstances that 2- Led us to meet Christ; and 3- The difference Christ has made in our lives since we met Him.
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.
‘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.
