Witnessing and keeping Jesus who is the main thing the main thing

You may have come across this statement before. I use it quite often when training people on how to share their testimonies in a real, relevant way. The important point is that our testimonies are about US. The truth is in fact that they are more about Jesus and what He did for us.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” 1 Corinthians 15: 3-7

In the scripture above Paul did what He always did. He kept the main thing, Jesus, the main thing - exactly what we should do when we get the opportunity to share our testimonies of God’s grace upon our lives. It’s all about Jesus!

Recently I convened a meeting where a couple of people shared there testimonies of salvation. The first person had an amazing story of how God had intervened in his life at a time of great desperation. He spoke for twelve minutes in total, eleven of which were all about him, his life, his upbringing, his younger years, his problems all of which were very interesting.

However he spent only one minute on the subject of when he decided to go to a church where he met with the living God who changed his life. 

Our testimonies must point people to Jesus, because without Him at the centre, it is just a story, as true and as interesting as it might be. As a result of that a big opportunity was missed.

In previous blogs I have covered a simple formula to follow which I will go through again. These are rough percentages to follow:

·        35% on your life before you were saved

·        35% on how you got saved

·        30% on what Jesus has done in your life since that time

That means that 65% of your story is around the one that died for you saving you from a lost eternity in a place that was created for Satan and his fallen angels. That is the main thing. Of course your story is intertwined with that, but the focus is on Jesus who saved you from an eternity away from God and not you for no one can save except Him.

The section of your testimony that covers the part on how you came to know Christ is very important and should be described as life changing because receiving Christ as Saviour is an event that will never leave you the same. If it is real it shows!

I have heard testimonies from people who have said they found Christ through going to church a few times and seeing that people were enjoying God, which is great. What they saw in others they wanted to have themselves. Now let me make it clear, there is no problem in that because that situation was real to them.

Part of receiving Christ revolves around repentance, asking for forgiveness of sins committed and making Jesus the Lord of your life. The old saying is so true, “Jesus Christ is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.”

It is important that we understand what Christ did for us at Calvary. How He took our punishment, took our sin upon Himself, how He was mocked, bruised, beaten and yet did not open His mouth to complain. He died the death of a common criminal and was buried in a tomb and rose from the grave after three days defeating death and hell.

This must be referred to in some way in our story. There are many things that can be shared about the pivotal point in your life that made you want to ask Jesus to forgive you. Here are a few examples of what a person could say:

·        I realised that Jesus died for my sin

·        I understood that I was lost without Jesus

·        I realised that I had been living life my own way and needed a saviour

·        I knew I was going to a lost eternity unless I accepted  what Jesus did for me on the cross

·        My eyes were opened, I realised that I needed Jesus in my life because I realised what He did for me on the cross

Key Point: Your testimony must clearly and definitely point a person to Jesus

The final part of your story should be about what Jesus has done since you gave your life to Him. It should cover areas such as:

·        How has your life changed since receiving Him?

·        Examples of answered prayer

·        Significant events that have happened

·        How you grown as a person

·        Why you will never go back to your old life

Let’s keep the main thing the main thing. If you know Him as Lord then it means He saved you, His Spirit dwells in your heart and He is with you always. What a miracle!