Get A Testimony

“… and by the word of their testimony …”

Revelation 12:11

Since the release of The Circle Maker, I’ve become a connoisseur of prayer testimonies. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear a story that makes me want to cry or give God a round of applause. Those testimonies have lit a fire under my faith unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Here’s why: If God did it for them, He might just do it for me. Maybe that’s why Revelation 12:11 places such importance on sharing testimonies. And maybe that’s why the enemy wants us to keep our testimonies silent.

When God answers a prayer, no matter how big or how small, we need to share it. It’s a stewardship issue. If we don’t turn the answer to prayer into praise, it may very well turn into pride. Giving testimony is the way we give God all of the glory. But we also need to share it because others need to hear it. If we don’t share our testimonies of how God is working in our lives, then others are tempted to think He isn’t working at all.

Jesus triumphed over the enemy by His shed blood on Calvary’s cross. He broke the curse of sin so we can break the cycle of sin. But the way we seal the victory is through our testimonies. Our testimonies don’t just remind us that the victory has already been won; they also remind the enemy that he has already been defeated.

I wonder if the lack of awe in many churches is directly attributable to the lost art of the testimony. Churches that see people radically saved are usually churches that allow radically saved people to share their testimonies. Is it any wonder that what gets celebrated gets replicated? When a testimony of healing is shared, for example, those who hear it get an infusion of faith to believe God for healing in their own lives. Those testimonies double as prophecies!

When we share a testimony, we are loaning our faith to others. When we listen to a testimony, we are borrowing faith from others. Either way, the church is edified and God is glorified.

Hearsay

In the worlds of criminal law and academic research, we see a big difference between first-person and second-person testimony. A first-person witness is more credible because they actually saw it with their own eyes. Second-person testimony is hearsay. It doesn’t mean it’s not true; it just means it doesn’t hold as much weight.

A testimony is powerful, in part, because we cannot argue with it. It’s irrefutable and undeniable. A personal testimony is our secret weapon, and that’s why the enemy wants us to keep our testimony a secret. It’s not a testimony if we don’t share it with others. If we don’t share our testimonies, we are robbing God of the glory He deserves. And we aren’t just holding out on God; we are holding out on those who need to hear it.

Our churches are filled with hearsay. What we need are witnesses with first-person testimonies. No amount of education can compensate for a lack of first-person experience. We don’t get a testimony in seminary; we get a testimony by being tested. And if we pass the test, we get a testimony. That testimony is worth far more than any seminary degree can afford. And that first-person experience with God will override any of our inadequacies. Peter and John were described^a as “unschooled, ordinary men,” yet the Jewish council was amazed at their boldness. It simply says that “they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Nothing can compare to the power of first-person testimony. The most educated and erudite second-person testimony still can’t compare with a first-person witness! So go ahead and get an education. Study to present yourself to God as one approved. But please don’t just get an education; get a testimony! We don’t change the world by going to graduate school or getting a degree. If we want to change the world, we must spend a lot of time with Jesus.

Remember the Samaritan woman who was totally transformed by a single encounter with Jesus at the well? She went back to her village and shared her testimony. That testimony sparked faith in those who heard, but their faith was secondhand faith. They needed their own encounter with Jesus, and that’s exactly what they got. The transition from secondhand to firsthand faith is evidenced in their words: “Now we believe,^b not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves.”

We cannot live off of someone else’s experience forever. Secondhand faith is as dangerous as secondhand smoke. We need a faith with our own name on it. We need to own it, and it needs to own us. We can’t just know what we believe; we need to know why we believe what we believe. And it must be continually upgraded.

Don’t be satisfied with simply going to church; get into God’s presence.

Don’t be satisfied with hearsay; get a word from the Lord.

Don’t be satisfied with secondhand faith; get a testimony!

Crazy Prayers

One of my pastor friends, and a local hero, is Mike Minter. Mike is the founding pastor of Reston Bible Church, where he has served for nearly four decades. One day over coffee, Mike told me about a missionary friend named Jamie Win-ship, whose mission field is the Muslim world. Jamie travels to Baghdad frequently. He knows the Qur’an backward and forward. And he has led countless imams to faith in Jesus Christ.

Jamie is one of those guys who prays crazy prayers and then crazy stuff happens. Divine appointments happen right and left. He’ll be praying for a particular imam, and that imam will just happen to be on the same plane going to the same place or in the same restaurant at the table right behind him.

One morning Mike was scheduled to have breakfast with Jamie, so he prayed, “Lord, I’m sick of just hearing stories; I want to see one. Do something sovereign that is unmistakable.” When they got in line to place their order, Mike noticed that the woman in front of them was wearing the traditional Muslim hijab with head covering. All they could see was the woman’s eyes. Jamie greeted her in Arabic, which got her attention. Then he said, “I know you.” Even though he could see only her eyes, he said, “I heard you speak at the University of Georgia a year ago” — to which she responded, “I remember you. You sat on the front row.”

Not only was this woman one of the most influential Muslim women in the world, but Jamie had been praying for her by name. In fact, he had been praying that he would meet her, but he didn’t know how to contact her. She happened to be in D.C. from out of town, and evidently God knew they both liked Panera Bread. As a result of the meeting, this woman contacted a number of leading imams, who met with Mike and Jamie to dialogue about faith.

I think Jamie’s prayer, coupled with Mike’s prayer for something sovereign to happen, collided at Panera.

That is a divine appointment of biblical proportions! And it reveals the power of two people praying. You never know when your prayer will collide with someone else’s prayer and result in a miracle. But this is what happened with Mike and Jamie. They tag-teamed in prayer, and it resulted in a supernatural synchronicity. You can call me a simpleton, but I believe that God is still seated on His throne. And if God is ordering my footsteps, and I believe He is, then He is going to make sure I get where I need to go and meet whomever I need to meet.

I hope this testimony to God’s sovereignty is encouraging, but it’s also meant to be an exhortation. Mike wasn’t satisfied with simply hearing someone else’s story. Secondhand faith wasn’t enough. There comes a point when you, like Mike, grow weary of hearing other people’s stories. You need a story of your own. It’s got to have your name on it. You’ve got to see it, hear it, taste it, feel it, touch it, and smell it for yourself.

You need to go get a testimony! Then you need to share it.

Most of us are educated way beyond the level of our obedience.