Each of us has a story; an attestation of personal events in our lives. There are things that happen over our lifetime that quite often define who we are. For the Christian it’s their personal encounter with Jesus Christ. In fact every human being on earth's encounter with Jesus Christ is a defining moment. Some choose to reject Him and some choose to follow Him. As followers of Jesus Christ we have a special story to tell. All are all different and unique but all are regarding the same event. Spiritually speaking it’s the most important event in a Christian’s life. Sharing ones testimony on how they came to saving faith in Jesus Christ is something that can be extremely powerful. It’s not something that should be hidden away and kept secret. Nor should we be ashamed of it in the least. At its essence, your personal testimony tells of what your life was like before Christ, how it happened, and after you came to know Jesus as Savior.
2 Timothy 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
One popular excuse some Christian’s come up with not to share their story is that they say they aren’t worthy to share their story. Many times Christians use this as a cop-out. In reality they are believing Satan’s lie. He is the accuser of the brethren. He tells them they aren’t good enough to be used by God. However there is some truth to the feeling behind the lie. Meaning that we all have fallen short. We all are guilty of sin. But it doesn't mean our story can't be used by God. The point I’m trying to make is that the best testimony is a life lived for Jesus Christ and not so much in what we say but in what we do. Actions speak louder than words right? Of course this is true. But if we believe the lie then none of us would even be able to share our story. This is the whole point of the testimony. We can shout to the world what Christ did for us. He forgives us. He died for us. He stood in our place and took our iniquity upon Himself. We are justified through Christ. If it were up to our own righteousness then yes, our testimony would mean nothing. Integrity is important. We don’t want to live a hypocritical life. But if we are following Christ we are constantly being sanctified. We are all works in progress. We cannot and should not believe the enemies lies of feelings in inadequacy or guilt. These are not from God. That we are saved should be manifest in how we live our lives and what we share about our faith in Jesus Christ. This is what we call our "Testimony." Besides our focus should be on Christ; not ourselves.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Why do we need a testimony?
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
1. We can overcome the enemy.
Revelation 12:11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
2. We always need to be prepared to give and answer for the hope that we have.
1Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
3. We should care about those souls who are lost without Jesus.
Our eternal destination is important and so it is with others. Jesus came and died for all people. So by sharing your testimony you are sharing the “Good News” or gospel; which means good news. Our Father in heaven is not willing that any should be lost.
Mat 18:10-14 See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
4. Several places in the Bible we are told to witness to others.
• Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
• 2 Corinthians 5:19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Now that you know why we need to develop our personal testimony, let’s take a look at how we can go about doing it. These are just some suggestions that hopefully will help.
It is a good idea to have a short 5 minute or less testimony as well as a longer version about 10-20 minutes that can be shared more in depth. Both are valuable and can be used in many different circumstances. Both also have highlights, main points you want to cover.
The longer one just has more details which may be helpful in a small group setting or to a family member of friend. Maybe they can relate to some experience you went through that affected you in a certain way.
When people hear your story some will say I went through something very similar. Don’t assume that your stories aren’t important or can’t be used by God. Your story is exactly what it is for a specific reason. To be used by God. Don’t listen to the lies of the devil that our story doesn’t matter. God says it does.
Start with an outline. Answer these three questions.
• BEFORE: Describe what your life was like before Christ
• HOW: Describe how you came to know Christ as savior.
• AFTER: Describe what your life is like now after you accepted Christ.
If you are having troubles try separating each topic out on an individual sheet of paper. Just write down the highlights, the main things that stand out.
For your 5 minute testimony you can refine these main points down into a one or two sentence summary for each point. So after you are done you will be able to put your testimony on a 3x5 card. And eventually memorize it. It’s not hard to do since it is already your story.
For your longer testimony just expand a little bit on each highlighted point you wrote down.
There really is no special formula in writing your testimony. Just be yourself. Be honest and open. It shouldn’t contain overly detailed accounts of things but a brief overview. Also be prayerful. Ask God to give you the words and the accounts that He wants you to share. Be mindful of others. You don’t want to do damage to others in bringing up hurtful events. This should be a witnessing tool. Sometimes there are things that shouldn’t be brought up if they will be damaging to others who might have been involved in something in your past.
Generalize where you can. Remember this story is meant to be heard by non Christians as well as an encouragement to other believers. Don’t sound too preachy or use overly religious talk. Your story is meant to be a door opener to relate to people, not a final convincing argument to lead them to Christ. Let them think on it. Don’t try to play the part of the Holy Spirit. Make it personal, don’t preach. Just be you and let God be God.
Testimonies are powerful! Your story is powerful. God wants to use it. Here is just one example in scripture.
Jesus heals the blind man.
John 9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, "No, he only looks like him."
But he himself insisted, "I am the man."
"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.
He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."
"Where is this man?" they asked him.
"I don't know," he said.
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."
Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath."
But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.
Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened."
The man replied, "He is a prophet."
The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. "Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"
"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God,” they said. "We know this man is a sinner."
He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"
Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."
The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."
Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."
Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
The blind mans testimony was powerful! He simply told people what Jesus did for him. He said “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" How can anyone argue with that? That’s what we are to do with our own personal testimony. We are to simply tell people what Jesus did for us. Our lives, whether full of calamity or not, are to be used to bring God glory and to manifest His good works! What a privilege.
2 Timothy 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
One popular excuse some Christian’s come up with not to share their story is that they say they aren’t worthy to share their story. Many times Christians use this as a cop-out. In reality they are believing Satan’s lie. He is the accuser of the brethren. He tells them they aren’t good enough to be used by God. However there is some truth to the feeling behind the lie. Meaning that we all have fallen short. We all are guilty of sin. But it doesn't mean our story can't be used by God. The point I’m trying to make is that the best testimony is a life lived for Jesus Christ and not so much in what we say but in what we do. Actions speak louder than words right? Of course this is true. But if we believe the lie then none of us would even be able to share our story. This is the whole point of the testimony. We can shout to the world what Christ did for us. He forgives us. He died for us. He stood in our place and took our iniquity upon Himself. We are justified through Christ. If it were up to our own righteousness then yes, our testimony would mean nothing. Integrity is important. We don’t want to live a hypocritical life. But if we are following Christ we are constantly being sanctified. We are all works in progress. We cannot and should not believe the enemies lies of feelings in inadequacy or guilt. These are not from God. That we are saved should be manifest in how we live our lives and what we share about our faith in Jesus Christ. This is what we call our "Testimony." Besides our focus should be on Christ; not ourselves.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Why do we need a testimony?
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
1. We can overcome the enemy.
Revelation 12:11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
2. We always need to be prepared to give and answer for the hope that we have.
1Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
3. We should care about those souls who are lost without Jesus.
Our eternal destination is important and so it is with others. Jesus came and died for all people. So by sharing your testimony you are sharing the “Good News” or gospel; which means good news. Our Father in heaven is not willing that any should be lost.
Mat 18:10-14 See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
4. Several places in the Bible we are told to witness to others.
• Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
• 2 Corinthians 5:19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Now that you know why we need to develop our personal testimony, let’s take a look at how we can go about doing it. These are just some suggestions that hopefully will help.
It is a good idea to have a short 5 minute or less testimony as well as a longer version about 10-20 minutes that can be shared more in depth. Both are valuable and can be used in many different circumstances. Both also have highlights, main points you want to cover.
The longer one just has more details which may be helpful in a small group setting or to a family member of friend. Maybe they can relate to some experience you went through that affected you in a certain way.
When people hear your story some will say I went through something very similar. Don’t assume that your stories aren’t important or can’t be used by God. Your story is exactly what it is for a specific reason. To be used by God. Don’t listen to the lies of the devil that our story doesn’t matter. God says it does.
Start with an outline. Answer these three questions.
• BEFORE: Describe what your life was like before Christ
• HOW: Describe how you came to know Christ as savior.
• AFTER: Describe what your life is like now after you accepted Christ.
If you are having troubles try separating each topic out on an individual sheet of paper. Just write down the highlights, the main things that stand out.
For your 5 minute testimony you can refine these main points down into a one or two sentence summary for each point. So after you are done you will be able to put your testimony on a 3x5 card. And eventually memorize it. It’s not hard to do since it is already your story.
For your longer testimony just expand a little bit on each highlighted point you wrote down.
There really is no special formula in writing your testimony. Just be yourself. Be honest and open. It shouldn’t contain overly detailed accounts of things but a brief overview. Also be prayerful. Ask God to give you the words and the accounts that He wants you to share. Be mindful of others. You don’t want to do damage to others in bringing up hurtful events. This should be a witnessing tool. Sometimes there are things that shouldn’t be brought up if they will be damaging to others who might have been involved in something in your past.
Generalize where you can. Remember this story is meant to be heard by non Christians as well as an encouragement to other believers. Don’t sound too preachy or use overly religious talk. Your story is meant to be a door opener to relate to people, not a final convincing argument to lead them to Christ. Let them think on it. Don’t try to play the part of the Holy Spirit. Make it personal, don’t preach. Just be you and let God be God.
Testimonies are powerful! Your story is powerful. God wants to use it. Here is just one example in scripture.
Jesus heals the blind man.
John 9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, "No, he only looks like him."
But he himself insisted, "I am the man."
"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.
He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."
"Where is this man?" they asked him.
"I don't know," he said.
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."
Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath."
But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.
Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened."
The man replied, "He is a prophet."
The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. "Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"
"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God,” they said. "We know this man is a sinner."
He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"
Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."
The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."
Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."
Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
The blind mans testimony was powerful! He simply told people what Jesus did for him. He said “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" How can anyone argue with that? That’s what we are to do with our own personal testimony. We are to simply tell people what Jesus did for us. Our lives, whether full of calamity or not, are to be used to bring God glory and to manifest His good works! What a privilege.
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