"I will proclaim Your Name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise You among Your assembled people." - Psalm 22:22
Khen Lim
Image source: chinachristiandaily.com
A testimony is a way of honouring the Lord. We do so by being
a witness for Him to others to tell them about His work in our personal lives
or in the corporate life of our church, whichever applies.
Psalm 22:22 is one such example in which the Psalmist
expresses his promise to tell others of the greatness of the Lord. Often too,
he would ask the Lord to deliver him in order that he could be a witness to
God’s salvation.
So here’s the rub. Arising from Scripture is the truth that
one of God’s purpose in saving us is that we honour Him by being His witness,
testifying the power of His Name, love and truth.
The value of testimonies
Testimonies are Gospel truth made real. They incarnate the
Word of God by taking on flesh and blood in the portrayal of life of His
people. Hearing a sermon is fine but a testimony brings one’s experience of
God’s grace into the imagination of those who hear it. A sermon teaches but a
testimony invigorates, excites and reminds us that God is very much alive and
at work in our lives.
The testifier obeys the Lord by ‘praising Him among His
assembled people’ (Ps 22:22). In turn the congregation of believers hear and
obey Him by willing themselves to listen attentively to the testimony of the
Lord’s grace and goodness. And when they do, everyone’s hearts are stirred and
thrilled to praise the Lord, the One whom they are proud to call their Father,
God Almighty. They may then be moved to also reflect on His work in their own
individual lives.
Testimonies also have traction to unite the church, binding
the people together by the power of their personal experiences. So, rather than
keeping distances, testimonies have a strong pull factor that help one another
to open their lives and pray in unison. And if we factor in an unbeliever in
our midst, a compelling testimony can draw him emotionally to Jesus as the
living Saviour for all sinners.
Prepping your own
testimony
More
often than not, when someone is asked to share his testimony, fright grips and
consumes him. In his petrified state, he wonders where he would begin from and
how to say everything in his life in the course of perhaps quarter to half an
hour. What exactly should he focus on? Would it be interesting for others to
hear?
When
my late mother gave her testimony in November 2013, it was the very first time
in her life she spoke to a gathering of people, let alone in church. She spent
weeks preparing what to say. She asked me to proofread it for her as well. She
might have been nervous but she never showed it. She wanted to use the
testimony to give thanks to God for the bonus years He gave her in the face of
a destructive cancer.
On
the day, she went up to the pulpit to begin her testimony. After reading
straight from her prepared script, she came to an abrupt halt. She left the
script behind and proceeded to allow her spirit to speak freely.
From that
point onwards, she spoke movingly from her heart. Every word was unrehearsed
but beautifully expressive of her new life in Christ. For the first time, she
didn’t care much for the effort she put into the script. More importantly to
her was the ability that she suddenly found in her to heap praise on her God
for the wonderful work He had done in her life.
From
the Biblical examples given earlier (notably Acts 22:1-21), ask yourself if
there is anything that strikes chords of similarity between Paul’s testimony
and yours. How does he use his testimony to direct the listeners to Jesus?
Would you be able to do the same?
Next,
when you reflect on your previous unbelieving life, step back and compare to
how God’s hand has moved your present life. Can you see the Lord at work in
upholding you? Can you find the Lord’s work that transformed you? Now, in
simple words, can you describe what you see?
When
it comes to testimonies, openness is as important as keeping things simple. Be
upfront with your awareness before and after your encounter with Christ. Come
to terms with your neediness in Him and how, in humbleness, you submitted
yourself in repentance by God’s grace. You might not have to be overly detailed
about your sins but a brief overview would often do.
Tell
the people how you came to faith in Jesus. Tell them who He used to bring you
to Christ and where you can, try to articulate on that fateful
life-transforming incident that ultimately led to your conversion. Next, tell
how your life changed after you began to pursue Christ. What parts of your life
changed? What struggles did you now encounter in your life and how did you
become victorious in them? How does the Gospel equip you to continue in your
daily life and how does it impact the way you live today?
Lastly
talk about the role the church plays in handholding you through your walk with
Christ. Share with the people how God is continuing to work in your life even
as you speak. What areas is He working on? And how are you coping with them
every day?
Be yourself
In
the end, my late mom knew that no matter how polished the script might have
been, it wasn’t the real her. As she had come this far in preparing for the
day, she threw away her carefully scripted words and became her natural self in
that, she let her heart speak the unembellished truth.
And
in all of that, Jesus was her glowing hero and she felt the happiness and pride
in sharing that fact with all who came to witness hers and my dad’s remarkable
baptism in their eighties. My mom succeeded in pointing the people to God and
His amazing grace and by doing so, she made them understand that this was not
hers but His story (Jn 3:30).
Note: For the eulogy I wrote for my mother on her funeral, click here or go to Vale - Pooi-Cheng Leong (1931-2015) or manually type the following URL: http://hosannaefcluxmundi.blogspot.my/2015/10/vale-pooi-cheng-leong-1931-2015.html
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