I hate to make anyone feel guilty but if you missed Good Friday’s service here at BBC you missed a lot.  No, there were no skits or plays.  There were no guest preachers or singers.  The sermon was actually only 5 minutes long.  So you say, what did I miss?  You missed God working through the power of our testimonies.

I can’t tell you how many testimonies were given but I can say just about every person in the room testified.  And these were not “fluffy” testimonies.  They were testimonies filled with passion and joy.  There were stories of deliverance from drugs and alcohol.  There were stories of the Lord rescuing people over and over from the brink of death.  There were stories of God delivering us from ourselves.  These were real people telling the reality of God’s deliverance and miraculous works.  There were rivers of tears streaming through this building.  There were pains and hurts that were healed through those testimonies.  People couldn’t stay in their seats.  One person’s testimony brought another to tears and they had to stand and give their testimony.  It seemed as if everyone wanted to proclaim the goodness of our God.  There was realness in the testimonies that could only come from the Lord.  The Presence of the Lord was so strong that many of us stayed for hours afterward speaking to each other about how powerful the testimonies were.  As I said before, I don’t write this to make anyone feel guilty but to encourage you concerning the power of our testimonies.  It is an awesome tool of the Kingdom that is so often overlooked.

Rev 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

Our testimony is a powerful thing.  As the book of Revelation tells us we overcome by the word of our testimony.  Can you believe that?  The WORD of our testimony.  When we speak our testimony to others we overcome the enemy.  Let me explain.  When we, as God’s people, stand up in the face of Satan and say how our Lord, in the midst of trials, pain, and heartache, showed Himself strong on our behalf we overcome over the enemy.  Satan wants us to sit around feeling sad and sorry for ourselves.  But God wants us to stand and share how great He is!  I know many of us like to just hold things in our heart.  Yes, we may be grateful but is it necessary to tell everyone?  Yes, it is!!!  It doesn’t help just to have it in your heart.  We must tell others.  It is what the Lord has commanded us to do.  We do not overcome only by our testimony but by the word of our testimony.

Can you imagine the impact we can have on people just by our testimony?  You don’t have to have the bible memorized.  You don’t have to be able to expound on Greek and Hebrew translations.  All you need to do is share the things God has done for you.  Having trouble witnessing, not quite sure what to say?  You can witness daily by just making a point of sharing your testimony with someone.  It doesn’t have to be long.  It can be as simple as “I’m happy to be saved”, or “I’m so happy I woke up this morning”.  It’s so easy to share what God has done and once you start it’s almost impossible to stop.

The second part of this scripture tells us that the people who overcame did not love their lives to death.  As we testify and overcome we are able to let go of the things of this world.  When you get to a place where everything is falling down around you and you can still stand and say, “God is good all the time”, you are letting go of your life.  Even the thought of death doesn’t bother you because you are so busy proclaiming all the good things the Lord has done for you.  Once again we overcome by the WORD of our testimony.

So the next Wednesday night when you are at church and you know that God has done something for you, not matter how small it may seem, share it.  Jump up and run to the front.  Encourage the rest of us by your testimony and through it you will overcome.  Be an overcomer!

Rev 12:11 Amp “And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing].