Revelation 12:11. Rev.- And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Testimony is the Statement or declaration of a witness under oath or affirmation, usually in court. It is an evidence in support of a fact or statement of proof. It is a declaration of a profession of faith.
There is power in testimony, testimony help one to recover and brings you closer to others. There are reasons why we give testimonies because it gives God glory. It brings healing and sustains revival It is a miracle of the moment and will help in impacting on the hearers because the same anointing which has been released is available also to touch people around and the name of God will be glorified.
The psalmist in Psalm 136 testified of the faithfulness and the powers of the Lord when he narrated the never ending ensuring goodness and Mercies of the Lord in verses 1-26 which are cheering testimony for us to continually give thanks to the Lord.
Testimony emboldens and empowers the one who has been impacted by the enduring miracles that may be hard to believe but is true like in the case of King David in 1samuel 17:32-37, he was very bold to boast and said of the Lord who delivered him from the paw of the Lion and from the paw of the Bear will also deliver him from the hands of the Philistines.
1 Samuel 17:32-37
[32]And David said to Saul, Let no man\’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
[33]And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
[34]And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father\’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
[35]And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
[36]Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
[37]David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
The Apostles of Jesus with authority and power of boldness were given testimony of the resurrection of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ in Act 4:33. \”And with great strength and ability the Apostles delivered their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace (Loving-kindness and favour and goodwill) rested richly upon them all\” Amp.
What happens when the circumstances of life push you to where your faith is tested. In Hebrews 11 the scripture told us what faith is all about and how through Faith good reports are obtained.
[1]Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
[2]For by it the elders obtained a good report.
[3]Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
John Baptist through Faith gave good report of our Lord Jesus when he proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah. When the Jewish leaders sent the priest and the Levites from Jerusalem to go and ask John if he was the Messiah John answered them thus:-
John 1:20-23
[20]And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
[21]And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
[22]Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
[23]He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias..
Later on the Pharisees came to test John and they asked him
John 1:25-27
[25]And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
[26]John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
[27]He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe\’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
John 1:32-34
[32]And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
[33]And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
[34]And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
As John Baptist was tested beyond his comprehension, he suddenly forgot about his testimony of Jesus Christ, he began to doubt if really the man he earlier testified of being the Messiah who had come to save the world and baptise with fire and holy Spirit that \”He is preferred before me, whose shoe\’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose\”.
He sent his disciples while in prison to go and find out if Jesus Christ was actually the Messiah he thought or they are still expectant of a Messiah who is yet to come. His faith was tested from the foundation when he was put in prison. Though he had heard of all the numerous miracles Jesus was performing yet his being restricted and confined to prison life despite his exploits as a prophet made no sense in any way more so when he had not committed any known felony.
Matt.11.2 – Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
Matt.11.3 – And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
Matt.11.4 – Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
Matt.11.5 – The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Matt.11.6 – And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
The Bible says \”No one having put his hands to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). When we are faced with difficulties our best bet is to hold tight on what we earlier profess so that the devil will not mock and say where is your God now. In giving testimony our lives shall equal reflect our testimony so that people around you will not be discouraged.
\”Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, let perseverance finish it\’s work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything (James 1:24).
\”For by grace you have been saved through Faith and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God not because of works lest any man should boast\” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
It is by His grace that we are able to be more than a conqueror when we are tested so that we will testify of His enduring loving kindness and His goodness and faithfulness because through Him we live and take our bearing.
Thanks for Reading, Remain Blessed
✍️ Blessingonugha❤️