The following excerpt is a continuation of the chapter entitled ‘Eyes on the Harvest’ from Wayne Cordeiro’s book “Jesus: Pure & Simple”.
Eyes on the Harvest – Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4a
Tell the Story of Your Life
A person’s testimony is one of the most powerful things he has. People can’t deny or disbelieve your story, because your story is indisputably yours. A testimony involves three simple components: what your life was before your came to Christ, how you came to Christ, and how your life is different today.
There’s an old hymn that reminds me of my testimony before Christ and after He came into my life. It proclaims, “This is my story. This is my song!”
I encourage everybody to be able to tell their testimony in sixty seconds. Do you remember that thrilling movie with the fantastic race scenes called Gone in 60 Seconds? If you take longer than sixty seconds, the person you’re talking to is gone. Be able to quickly articulate the spiritual story of your life.
[Wayne goes on to explain his story – if you want to find out more, read the book]
Some people say, “Oh, that’s nice for you,” and that’s all there is to their response. But for other people, it’s an eternal beginning. They simply need an example of a life transformed.
Maybe you think you don’t have a testimony because you’ve always lived a moral lifestyle. In your mind a testimony is a highly dramatic story about how evil a person was before coming to Christ, and then how a person’s life was miraculously changed. Perhaps you became a Christian when you were four. Every believer has a testimony. The focus of a testimony is not what you were; it’s who you are now in Christ. Why is Jesus important to you now? Talk about that.
It doesn’t matter what end of the pit we’re from. We’re all from the pit. It doesn’t matter. Just stay near the door.
Sometimes we give the greatest applause and adulation in our churches to those who have come a long way out of the muck and mire, but we don’t pay any attention to those who have one of the greatest awards heaven will ever present.
Revelation 2:27-29 describes the reward as “the morning star.” It’s given to those who have overcome and who never involved themselves with the “deep things of Satan.” What a wonderful thing for a young person to say: “From an early age, I knew that Christ was the way. And if I had to choose Him all over again, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
We all have a story to share – be it a life that Christ has had to work in to transform, or a life that has only ever known God’s blessings… Both are worth sharing with those around you to help bring them a step closer to Christ.
The life and times of Perry... 