Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Welcome to the Crema Chaj podcast.
[00:00:11] Thank you. Grab a seat.
[00:00:16] So we're going to talk a little bit about testimony this morning and it's something I've been thinking about over the last few months. I think we've learned some much as a church, you know, seeing people saved, healings.
[00:00:34] And I think the Lord wants to take us on the next part of the journey.
[00:00:39] How we bear witness, how we talk about all the things the Lord is doing.
[00:00:45] When John is caught up in the revelation that we read in the last book of the Bible, we read this. Then I heard a loud voice saying, in heaven now, salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down.
[00:01:10] And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives unto the death.
[00:01:22] This incredible declaration from heaven, the salvation, it's not the normal sozo word, soteria, it's a noun. It's the condition of being saved.
[00:01:40] It's the fact that you are saved.
[00:01:44] Your greatest enemy was sin. But the real.
[00:01:49] Oh, excuse me. The reality is you are now free.
[00:01:55] Let's take a.
[00:01:59] There you go.
[00:02:01] The strength dunamis, the explosive power of God in your life to live a new life or the kingdom basilea, the rule and reign. The place where you are going to live this new life with Jesus under his reign. And then he sees the power, the exousia, the power of choice.
[00:02:31] Every day I get to choose where and how I will live. And all of that has been won for us by the blood of Jesus.
[00:02:43] And John goes on and says they did not love their lives to the death.
[00:02:49] And what he's talking about is the reason you are saved is because you are dead.
[00:02:56] You are dead in Christ and you are alive in Christ, but it's always about right.
[00:03:06] But the accuser, Satan, the devil comes and accuses you. Now, I don't know if you've ever experienced this.
[00:03:16] You hear this little voice in your head. You know, you can even walk out of an amazing time of worship and prayer and you're walking out and you hear this voice. You're not a very good Christian.
[00:03:28] Yep, yep. You know what? What?
[00:03:33] You call yourself a Christian.
[00:03:36] How could God ever live in you? How could he walk with you?
[00:03:40] You know what I'm talking about? Yeah, we've all heard it. And the problem with that voice is, in essence, it's true.
[00:03:49] If you were Alive, but you're not.
[00:03:55] You've died with Christ. You are dead and you have been raised a new person in Christ.
[00:04:04] You're not the same person that went down.
[00:04:08] You have a new identity.
[00:04:11] This is why, you know, in this country we talk about Christian names.
[00:04:16] You remember Simon? Jesus says you're now Peter because you're a new person.
[00:04:24] The name we now have in Christ.
[00:04:30] Pack, a few weeks ago, Pac was collecting some testimonies just here.
[00:04:36] We did some baptisms, I think two weeks ago in the evening. And he shared some of his testimony, his story that included what he was rescued from and where. He's over there somewhere.
[00:04:50] There he is. I just didn't know he was that bad.
[00:04:54] I mean, it's, you know, you and some of the rest of you, you start sharing your testimony. Well, I was walking with God and I turned away from or. I got stuck in this. I got stuck in this. I had no idea you were so bad. If we'd have known, we wouldn't have let you in.
[00:05:10] Okay?
[00:05:11] It's shocking, but Paul writes this. Romans 5, 8. But God demonstrates his own love towards us. The that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[00:05:24] For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
[00:05:39] So when we baptize people, what we do is we put them under the water and we kill them.
[00:05:45] Okay? Now we could. It's a bit like digging a grave.
[00:05:49] And we use water because we couldn't get the earth off you in time to get you back out. Okay?
[00:05:56] So pack, come here. Come and help me. Come here.
[00:06:00] Yeah, go on. Welcome him.
[00:06:03] Okay, Pack, we're going to put you under the waters of baptism, so play dead.
[00:06:10] Okay?
[00:06:12] Here we have a dead Pack, okay? No matter what I do, I cannot hurt him anymore because he is dead. The money he owes me, he's dead. He can't repay it anymore. The accusations, you know, Pack, you were a terrible person.
[00:06:33] You let people down, you let family down.
[00:06:37] The accusations now have no more power. Why he is dead.
[00:06:43] Dead people can't feel guilty. Dead people can't repay debts. He is dead. Dead. So we put him under the waters of baptism so he will die to himself. But we're gonna raise him up as a new person. Yes. So be raised in the name of Jesus. Rise up, Pack.
[00:07:05] There you go. You're alright now. But what Jesus does is okay. What he does is Jesus covers Pac's new person with himself.
[00:07:17] Now look, secretly, all Pac's life. He's wanted to look like me.
[00:07:22] Okay, so now when you look at Pac, you think. You think, that could be Steve.
[00:07:27] He's got his old jacket on. See, your first thought is not, that's a wicked Pack. It's a holy Steve.
[00:07:35] All right, this analogy breaks down a little bit, all right?
[00:07:40] But what Jesus does is as we come out of the water, he clothes us with himself.
[00:07:46] So now it's not Pack the wicked person.
[00:07:51] It's Pac, the new person who is brand new in Christ. He has a new identity now.
[00:08:00] And so when the accuser comes, he's trying to accuse pack.
[00:08:04] But Pac's dead. He's now alive in Christ.
[00:08:09] Thank you. Carry on being alive.
[00:08:21] We probably better move to me from Pac. Otherwise it will be, you know, when I.
[00:08:27] When I was bad and hated God, he loved me so much that he gave his son to die on the cross.
[00:08:37] So how much more now I've opened up my life and said, would you come into my life and be my Lord and savior? Does he love me and forgive me?
[00:08:49] So the accuser who accuses the brethren day and night, who's whispering in your ear, comes along and he tries to remind me about my past, and I just remind him about his future.
[00:09:05] See, my past is dead, but he's going to burn.
[00:09:08] There's a place prepared for him. And actually, do you know what? I've walked with Jesus now for nearly 50 years. 49 years. It's 50 next year, I can't even remember my past.
[00:09:22] It's gone, stunned and dusted.
[00:09:27] But another. But he doesn't stop there. What he says is, you might be a Christian, you may have a new Christian name, but yesterday you did this. You lied. You didn't love that person. You were harsh with that person. You watched something you shouldn't watch.
[00:09:46] And we go, oh, oh, oh. And now this is Paul's point.
[00:09:53] How much more now we've opened the door to Jesus?
[00:09:57] Does he love and forgive us, but also give us the power to overcome because we overcome the devil by the blood of Jesus, he has forgiven us.
[00:10:14] Now, a lot of Christians stop there.
[00:10:19] But there's more.
[00:10:21] John says this. I heard a loud voice from heaven saying. What John is describing is heaven shouting. A loud voice from heaven is people listen to this.
[00:10:37] I've got something important you need to know.
[00:10:42] They overcame him. Who? The accuser. By the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony.
[00:10:51] And they did not love their lives to the death.
[00:10:54] So if you were here last week, I'd Actually, I didn't know Paul was coming. I heard he was coming. They were celebrating their anniversary, Paul and Sue. So I said, oh, would you speak? And he was talking about how words have changed their meaning. Well, I'm going to show you another word that's changed its meaning. The Greek word for testimony is martyria, and it means testimony, witness, to give evidence.
[00:11:21] It's where we get the English word martyr via the Latin.
[00:11:26] But its meaning has shifted over time. So Paul talked last week about being perfect.
[00:11:32] The word means to be complete, the not faultless.
[00:11:36] Okay. With this word martyr, it originally simply mean. Meant to be a witness. And so the apostles were called witnesses because they bore witness to Jesus.
[00:11:49] They told his story.
[00:11:52] But early Christian history tells us that many of these witnesses were killed for their testimony.
[00:12:00] So as they gave testimony of what Jesus has done in their life, people either loved it or hated it. And those that hated it would often put them to death.
[00:12:11] So the meaning shifted and the word gradually came. Martyr, instead of being a testimony of life, gradually shifted to someone who dies for their faith. But when John is seeing this incredible picture in Revelation, this. This word means a testimony, a witness to new life, not death.
[00:12:30] He's not talking about that.
[00:12:33] So originally, martyr was not defined by death, but by bearing witness to their new life.
[00:12:39] Everything that Jesus had done in their life, death became associated with the Word because of what had happened to those witnesses.
[00:12:49] So you overcome the devil by the blood.
[00:12:52] You are forgiven. Your sin is completely removed from you. And your testimony, your story of life.
[00:13:02] This is what Jesus has done for me. Does anyone have a testimony of life?
[00:13:09] All of you, if you've given your life, Jesus, you all have a testimony of life.
[00:13:15] And they did not love their life to the death. Why? Because they were already dead.
[00:13:21] Their testimony was what God had done in their new life.
[00:13:28] So often I hear testimonies and, you know, this is what I was.
[00:13:32] But actually, the way we defeat the devil and what I was is part of it because I've been rescued from it. But this is now who I am.
[00:13:41] He gave me the right to become a child of God.
[00:13:45] I'm under his rule. His power now rests in me. I have a choice every day how I live, because I have been raised to a new life. And I'm now wearing Steve's coat. No Jesus coat, not Steve's.
[00:14:01] I now look like Jesus when people glance at me. Oh, that's Jesus.
[00:14:07] It's not Old pack. Oh, sorry, Young pack. That's dead.
[00:14:13] Oh, that must be Jesus. Why? Because we look like Him.
[00:14:23] You should be excited now. I know you are inside. You just haven't let your faces know. Okay, let me.
[00:14:33] Let's get a little practical. Find your Bibles, okay? Find Luke. James, chapter 17, verse 11.
[00:14:42] Let's stand to read.
[00:14:47] If you've been around church anytime, you'll know this story. It's the story where Jesus heals the 10 lepers. Here we go.
[00:14:53] Luke, chapter 17, verse 11. Now, it happened as he went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as he entered a certain village, there met him 10 men who were lepers and who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
[00:15:14] So when he saw them, he said to them, go show yourselves to the priests.
[00:15:19] And so it was as they went, they were cleansed.
[00:15:23] And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice glorified God and fell down on his face at his feet and giving him thanks.
[00:15:34] And he was a Samaritan.
[00:15:37] So Jesus answered and said, were not 10 cleansed, but where are the 9?
[00:15:44] Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?
[00:15:51] And he said to him, arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well. Grab a seat. Amen. Okay, what is the purpose of this story?
[00:16:01] Well, look, Obviously, Jesus healed 10 lepers.
[00:16:05] But Jesus healed many lepers. Why does Luke highlight this one?
[00:16:11] You see, lepers were outcasts. No one would go near them for fear of catching leprosy. Even the law says, put them out. And these 10 men cry to Jesus, jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
[00:16:25] And he commands them, he says, go present yourself to the priests. And as they're going to the temple to present themselves as a priest, a miracle happens and they're cleansed.
[00:16:37] I remember we were doing an outreach a number of years, many years ago, actually. But I think we were in this building, but we were out on Abbey Estate. And we would go and we would worship in the middle of the estate, and people would come out and we would pray for them. I remember a girl coming out and she had eczema all down her arms, really bad. She was young, young, young girl, and she was in real, real pain. We prayed and we went away, and we came back a month later. She said, look.
[00:17:05] Look at my arms.
[00:17:07] They're completely healed. You see, sickness destroys lives.
[00:17:15] That's why we pray for the sick. It really. It really.
[00:17:19] Sickness doesn't come from God. It comes from the devil.
[00:17:22] Okay? And Jesus came to undo the works of the devil. So these 10 men were. Their lives were completely destroyed by leprosy.
[00:17:33] And Jesus heals each of them. But the reason for the story is only one comes back to give thanks.
[00:17:41] And if you read the text, he really knows how to give thanks. He comes back with a loud voice, thank you, Jesus.
[00:17:50] You've healed me. And Jesus is puzzled and he goes, wasn't everyone healed?
[00:17:57] Why has only one come back to give testimony?
[00:18:02] To say thank you for what has happened? You see, I'm reading between the lines, but I think the other nine thought religion had healed them.
[00:18:10] I think they thought doctors had healed them. I think the priests. Maybe it was when the priests pronounced them clean, they. They'd been healed. Only one really understood, and it was a Samaritan. He wasn't only unclean bodily, he was unclean by birth. And Jesus says, arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well, because he knew whom his healer was. You see, when we give testimony, we are confessing life. I know who my healer is. I know who my redeemer is. Is Job writes this. He says, I know that my redeemer lives, and he shall stand at last on the earth. And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.
[00:18:58] You see the problem? What was the problem with the nine lepers?
[00:19:02] They took the healing, but they didn't want the healer.
[00:19:08] You know, I'll take the cleansing. I'll take anything you've got, God, but I don't want you.
[00:19:15] You are inconvenient for me. I'll take the blessing. You see, without testimony in our lives, our lives are simply healing without the healer, provision without the provider, and salvation without the Savior.
[00:19:33] You see, we are called to the healer, to the provider, to our Savior.
[00:19:43] So how do we defeat the accuser? Well, the blood cleanses us. Sin has no hold over you anymore. You now have the power to make a choice how you will live. But testimony is our evidence that we need the healer. Look, I don't believe the devil can read your mind.
[00:20:04] Only God knows what you're thinking and what your heart is like. The devil doesn't.
[00:20:10] So he has no clue. And you go, wow. But some of the things he says, he must know. No. He's just been doing this a long while. Him and his minions, they just, you know, there's only girls, gold and glory. I mean, there's one, you know, or guys, golden glory.
[00:20:25] They just know.
[00:20:27] What they don't know is your testimony.
[00:20:31] And when you speak out what God has done, they have no more Power, you know, why write the story of this church?
[00:20:40] So that everybody will know what God has done.
[00:20:44] Everyone will know what happens when you gather around the presence of God and you surrender yourself to him and what he does, the miracles he does. It's not about us making it work.
[00:20:57] Because without him, nothing else has purpose. I think I said this at Easter. What's the point of forgiveness without resurrection?
[00:21:04] What's the point of every being forgiven if we don't know him who forgave us?
[00:21:10] If we don't know him who gave his life for us, what's the point?
[00:21:15] And see, when God moves in your life, the devil will whisper in your ear, it isn't true.
[00:21:23] And as you give testimony of what he is doing now, it's not just what he did, it's what he's doing now. No, you don't.
[00:21:34] When he says, you know, God doesn't love you.
[00:21:38] He can't get you through this situation.
[00:21:41] And he's clever. He says, you know, this is your own doing. This is your own making. Problem is, it's often true. It is our own making. But God, you see, that's the big but. But God, and he loved him. You go, no, you don't understand, Devil. You don't understand.
[00:21:56] He gave me a new name. He gave me a new identity. And I've walked with him now, and I've seen Him again and again and again. Bring me through. And this mountain ahead of me is just going to be like all the others of life. He's going to do it.
[00:22:11] And the testimony, as we speak it out.
[00:22:14] But the temptation is just to say it quietly. That this leper comes and says, thanks be to God, I've been healed.
[00:22:24] This is what I came for this morning.
[00:22:27] This is why I came to church.
[00:22:31] You see, you give your testimony by walking forward. When you give your life to Jesus, we could do it in so many different ways. You could hide at the back, put a little hand up, say, well, I might. I'll do my best. I'll try. No, no. Walk down here and say, jesus, if you're worth following, you're worth following the whole way, I am coming after you.
[00:22:50] You give your testimony when you acknowledge healing. Now hear me. This is not naming and claiming.
[00:22:55] You're either healed or you're not.
[00:22:58] And there's not like second class healing, you know? You know, whether.
[00:23:03] Look, when. When I'm sick, I just want to be made well.
[00:23:07] And I don't mind. Lord, heal me, Nurofen, heal me. I just. Somebody heal me.
[00:23:13] I just need to be well. And you're thinking, you should get healed by the Lord all the time? No, Sometimes I just take a Nurofen. It's all from heaven. Every good and perfect gift comes from God.
[00:23:24] You know, it's funny. I was giving an illustration. One of our girls is doctor and she's a surgeon. She's shown up and I said, you know, when she's carving someone up, do you not think she's praying in tongues?
[00:23:37] God heal them. Why? Because he is the creator.
[00:23:41] Do you know, we're. I'm sure she's not. She'll be really like that, so don't worry. But I'd be like this. Oh, God, I'm cutting someone open that you made.
[00:23:51] Give me the skill, give me the ability.
[00:23:54] You see, it's part of the testimony. And sometimes the Lord will say, yeah, but he might also say, she cuts it open. Speak to that kidney, Tell it to restore.
[00:24:04] How cool is that?
[00:24:08] The knowledge of heaven with the word of heaven.
[00:24:12] And we give a testimony of what God is doing.
[00:24:20] Checks in the post. Your tithe. What are we actually doing?
[00:24:25] Well, we.
[00:24:27] We believe that God is our provider.
[00:24:29] He is the one that enables us to make wealth. And so we take a bit of it and some of our. That we have and we give it back. That lovely story Juliet told about. Don't you love Elijah? I'm hungry. Give me something to eat. And the widow.
[00:24:44] This is our last meal. We're about to starve to death. He said, ah, don't worry about it. Just give me some.
[00:24:49] I mean, how rude. No English person would do that.
[00:24:54] They would go, oh, you eat and we'll starve together.
[00:24:57] But you had a prophet and he says, thus says the Lord, the flour's not going to run out and the oil's not going to run out.
[00:25:08] Testimony.
[00:25:10] And she had a testimony.
[00:25:12] He wants to give you a testimony. And so what we do is. Sorry, I was talking about, you know, we bring our money, we bring the offering, and we take a little bit of it that he's given and we put it in and we go, God, this is my testimony. Everything that I have has come from you. And I'm giving my 10%.
[00:25:28] Thank you, Lord, because you are the provider. I know this isn't me, this is you. And I honour you with my giving. Just as I honor you with my healing. Just as I honor you with my family and my friendship. I honor you because it all comes from you, God.
[00:25:48] You see, God, God wants us to learn how to respond to him. And I'M going to quickly do this. You know, the English are very understated. Have you noticed that?
[00:26:03] You know, we don't like to hype anything. You know, excellence is almost a word of hype. Everything that's just good, good. Everything's good.
[00:26:15] However, you get what you state. Let me say that again. English are very understated, but you get what you state.
[00:26:22] So do you need healing? Well, respond, oh, well, God can just heal me wherever I am. You know, I don't want him to run out of healing. No, James has drawn into God, and he'll draw near to you.
[00:26:35] Step towards him. You need healing, Come to him.
[00:26:39] You remember the blind guys, Jesus, son of David. And they're going, shh, shh, shh. And Jesus said, no, bring them over.
[00:26:46] Bring them over. Bring them over to me.
[00:26:49] You want to get healed, you need to respond. And you go, but God can heal me anyway. Yes, he can, but he's looking for heart.
[00:27:00] You know, you receive healing, give testimony. This is what God has done in my life.
[00:27:06] And, you know, sometimes, oh, well, I. You know, it might come back. It might do this, and it might come. I don't know about that. All I know is, what has he done? Be quick to give testimony, because you're speaking out what God has done and you're cementing it.
[00:27:21] Do you know when the Americans went to the moon? As long as you're not a conspiracy theorist, all right, they did actually go. Do you know what the first thing they did is? They put a flag in. They said, this moon belongs to us. I mean, it's so American, all of it. And the Chinese are going, no, we're going to get there. We're going to put another flag there. But when we give testimony, we go, this belongs to us. This is what God has done. This is what he's done in my life. And I'm giving him all the praise, and that's why it's important.
[00:27:56] And so in our English now, some of you have come from all over the world, but you're picking up one of our worst traits, understatedness. Well, I just want to be like them. No, we want to be like you. When I went to South America and, you know, they'd be preaching and people are just standing up all over the room, and I'm looking around going, are they protesting? You know, what's going on? I mean, you know, is he going on for too long? No, they're going, preach it. But. Preach it. Preach it. Yeah. Some of you.
[00:28:27] Some of you come from a Pentecostal background, right? Have any of you got in some Pentecostals? Yeah, there's a few.
[00:28:33] Oh, we need you.
[00:28:36] All right. You know, because sometimes when the preacher's preaching and they're trying to preach, and sometimes they're good and sometimes they're bad, right?
[00:28:46] It's all right. It's all right. We know, okay? Because what we're trying to do is find the anointing, all right? And sometimes we're on the cusp of it, but we don't know we're on the cusp of it. And that's why the Pentecostals are going, preach it, preach it, preach it. They're just going, if he doesn't get there, we're going to stay here. We need the word of God. So that's what they're calling out. Give us the word of God. Give us. What does God say in our lives so that we can take God's word and change and be transformed.
[00:29:15] So there's a response.
[00:29:18] And there.
[00:29:25] Oh, all the English have left because we're now citizens of the kingdom and we're declaring God's word.
[00:29:39] See, she could well be protesting.
[00:29:54] That's more like it.
[00:29:56] Good church. You see?
[00:30:00] You see? Do you need the Holy Spirit? Ask Jesus says, how much more will my father give you his spirit? You see, there's this.
[00:30:10] This running towards God and this desire for God, and we're breaking through. We've seen it with salvation. We're seeing it with healing. This unbelief, this reticence that God wants to move in our life. And our testimony speaks out. This is what God is doing. And if he can do it for me, he can do it for you. And you hear someone get healed and you go, why? I mean, if he can raise Pac from the dead and he was really bad, he can raise me from the dead.
[00:30:41] Do you get it?
[00:30:46] You see, we're learning to be eager to respond because he is eager to save. Your testimony is your evidence of life. And your response is your heart of worship, your heart towards him.
[00:31:03] And so I believe that all 10 lepers were healed because God is good. He loves to do it. But there was only one that wanted the healer and that wanted the Savior. And it was him who came back with a testimony, and that is his evidence.
[00:31:26] And you see, I don't know what happened to the other nine, but I know that that man was healed and transformed because Jesus says, your faith has healed you. Go and be free.
[00:31:39] And I think what I'm asking us all is, will you be people of testimony and response. You know, every opportunity, respond to what the Holy Spirit is saying. Why does he bless us so much in our worship? Because you're up dancing. And now we need to be dancing in the whole of our life, in the word of God, in the preaching, in the healing, and in the testimony and declaring the goodness of God.
[00:32:03] And John said, I saw that as they gave their testimony, the enemy fled. The accuser of the brethren, who's going for them, was out of here. Why? Because he has nothing to say to what Jesus can do in your life. He has no answer for it. And Jesus has every promise, every miracle ready for you. But he's saying, will you embrace it and will you give testimony? Deal.
[00:32:30] Right. Stand up. I'm done.
[00:32:33] Thanks for listening to the Cromer Charge podcast. If you enjoyed this message, you can like and subscribe. You can also join us in person or online every Sunday at Cromer Church. For more information about us, including our ministries, events, worship, and how to donate, visit our website at Cromer Church.
