'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.
www.hearingGod.tv
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