Monday, May 17, 2010

Spiritual Tips 2 Share It!



'The Skinny on sharing your Testimony'

Why do it?
1.  Why we need to testify...  It's plain in the word of God.... in the book of Revelation 12:11 "But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony..." 

I also want to add that by stepping out verbally is part of a process...

In 1 Corinthians 2:4&5 we hear Paul say, "My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God."

Your testimony is a shoe-in for people to be receptive to the power of God, and the process we go through is less and less of Us (as Paul was talking of those 'persuasive words of wisdom') but instead more and more of the physical presence of God flowing through us touching people.  So He's laid this burden upon my heart to encourage people in sharing their testimonies...  like an athlete has to train the body, we too should be taking heed of the scriptures and step out into being a vessel for the power of God.

2.  Multiplication with a video is wisdom.  If you find yourself repeating your testimony to people, consider all the people out there that could benefit from it that you don't personally run across.  Consider getting it out there 24/7 for people to come across and be blessed by it, by the direction of the Holy Spirit.  Seems like a no-brainer.  If you cast the net, Jesus will fill it, but the key is that you have to get that net out there.  Want to catch one fish... tell your neighbor.... want to allow God to do more, put it in a medium that can reach many.

3.  Reaching the one.  It's not about quality. The Spirit of God on a piece is felt regardless... and although multiplication is wisdom, as far as quantity... we could be used as a shepherd that goes after the 1 from the 99. So-- after publishing a video, and not getting responses, don't lose heart... you could be the only one to reach one that would then turn around and reach millions. Can you see the honor in that?  Some sow, some water and some harvest... each cannot live without the hand of the other and each is equally important in the Kingdom.

4.  Builds our own faith.  When our past is healed, we can give praise to God, which of course, encourages others (if you got through it, I can get through this too!).  The very act of delivering your testimony can be a powerful signpost for you.

So let's talk about Getting Hands-on and doing it!

From 'Bystander' to Participant

1.  Go with what bears. As I exhort you to share your walk of faith, I'm not asking you to throw all your pearls to swine.  If you have victory and you are at peace with a segment of your walk... maybe you are to only give a chapter in your life or just one experience.  There's nothing wrong with testimony blog style, so long as it doesn't focus on 'poor ole' me', NO, remember a testimony is 'look what the Lord has done!'.   

For some, you hold your audience better with small chapters of your walk then an exhaustive commentary of everything from birth to what you prayed this morning.  So also think of your audience... think of a person having one problem and your one segment of testimony perhaps only addressing that one issue.  I personally share tidbits of testimony throughout teachings…everyone is different, seek Yeshua for personal direction, Father knows best!

If inevitably, your sharing will be sharing pearls with swine  ..and you know what I mean... (Matthew 13:30a Let both grow together until the harvest..") sometimes it's better to reach the lost then some 'christians', who like to vaunt themselves over having a cleaner past then you might've had... anyways, if this is an issue but it still bears on your heart to share... get another youtube account, blur your image or put a picture backdrop with your testimonial voiceover.  Let there be no hindrance to the fruit you have to bear to help others draw near to Christ!

2.  Be real & don't sugarcoat!  People give the results & are too proud to elaborate that they 'know this' because they failed.... hey, I started to do this & God said "Ah, ah, ah... that's not what Really happened... you need to be real", and this is why; if you are too proud to admit the process...it just looks unattainable to people.  I think this is called humility  : )  So this is really the difference between a sermon and a testimony... a sermon says do this or that because of the character in this 'story' (again recall, Paul's mention of 'persuasive words of wisdom' in 1 Corinthians 2).... but a testimony says don't do it or do it because I'm a living witness to it's result.  There is real power in being the living breathing witness.

3.  On a technical note... you may not have a great camera or video editing software, but you can be aware of your surroundings.  Turn your camera on and speak a bit, then watch what you just created.  Are there any distractions... do you have a bobble head in the window sill? Not loud enough? Kids fighting or a cat meowing in the background, that might turn people off from taking your word of testimony seriously?  There are some quality issues you can control so take full advantage of doing the best you can... remember this isn't some story... this is a precious testimony of Faith in the creator of the Universe!

4.  Do you have stage-fright?  Consider writing out your testimony as a script you can scroll through on your computer screen as you record.  Or, invite a friend over and have them behind the camera and just focus on them as you speak or allow them to interact with you interview-style.  Worst case scenario... pick a spirit-filled person that your testimony has personally touched and have them share for you.

5.  Don't give up!  I can always tell when God is flowing out my mouth in power... it's because there is so much adversity in producing a video.  Everything you can imagine happens to try to thwart the production process. A video that should take a couple of hours from start to finish ends up taking days.

The enemy is going to throw all kinds of FEAR at you and excuses, but it's time you come off the sidelines and quit believing that you have nothing new to offer.  You have lots to offer.  This isn't about being a christian rockstar of sorts, or a ministry mogul.. this is about been there, done that... and my Redeemer Lives.
www.hearingGod.tv 

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