Blood and Testimony

Blood and Testimony

April 13, 2015
Revelation 12:11  "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony . . . "

 

Having just come away from celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus, the blood of the Christ is fresh on our minds.  He shed His blood so we all might be saved.  His blood gives us power over death, knowing there is no hold on our lives into the grave.  We may have eternal life and enjoy the peace in our hearts being confident of this fact someday.  This doesn't make our lives easier, however, on earth.  We will still face trials, tribulations, difficulties, and suffering.  The blood of Jesus washes away our sins and gives us eternal life, but it does not negate the physical effects of this earth on our lives.  We will still have conflict, pain, and sickness.  We will still face temptation and attacks from the enemy.  The Bible says there is a second item needed, to make it on this earth.  It is the power of our testimony.

 

In Revelation the Bible discusses what happened in the beginning, before Adam and Eve.  It then discusses what happens in the middle (now) and what will happen in the end.  It speaks of all three time-periods as if they have already occurred.  Since the Lord knows the beginning from the end, we will submit to this line of thinking.  The Bible says that they only way people made it through life on earth (that middle time-period being now) was by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our Testimony.  Apparently there is power in the Word of our Testimony.  It is a weapon of combact to be used in order to make it through this life.  Seldom do we think of it as a weapon.  We think of prayer as a weapon or we think of the Word of God as a weapon, but rarely does someone begin to speak their testimony as a weapon against the attacks of the evil one and this world.

 

A testimony is defined as a public declaration of a firsthand actual experience.  A testimony is a story, your story, of the Lord's work in your life!  Before you claim a life of boredom and deny any work of the Lord in your life, remember you have experienced much in this time called life.  You cannot possibly be where you are if the Lord did not bring you here.  This gives you an opportunity to tell the story of how you got here.  If "here" is not where you'd like to be, consider you are here, in the middle of the making of your testimony.  You WILL have a story to tell, if you don't already, and it is a powerful story of the Lord's work.

 

As you come through the difficulties of life, begin to write down what the Lord did for you.  Maybe He saved you from a life of addiction or healed your close family member of sickness.  Maybe He forgave you for poor choices in life or brought you through unexplainable difficulties.  Whatever the story, you have a story to tell, a testimony of the Lord and His active participation in your life.  This is your opportunity to tell it and retell to anyone and everyone who will listen.  I challenge you to have two versions of your story ready at all times, a two-minute version for those times in the check-out line at the store and a twenty minute version for those times sitting over coffee with someone. 

Your testimony, whether you believe it or not, has power to counteract the work of the evil one.  If you doubt this, I challenge you to read the words the angel spoke in Revelation, declaring the only way people made it through was by the Word of their Testimony.  It has more power than you realize and if you begin to verbalize it today, you will see how it can change things.

 

Nothing defeats satan more than the power of your testimony.  Nothing glorifies the Lord more than the power of your testimony.

 

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Ex 25:16, Ps 19:7, Is 8:20, Matt 10:18, Lk 21:13, 2 Tim 1:8-9, Rev 12