This Is That

Testimonies Reveal God Working In Us

A lot of the life among Christians comes from sharing testimonies; Jesus said: "And so you will bear testimony to me" (Luke 21:13). Testimony is our witness of what we have seen and heard and know to be true. And "truth" is Jesus:

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). 

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6). 

"In him was life, and that life was the light of all humankind" (John 1:4).

Often the changes we see in our lives are not so much material, (though they often include improvements in our material well-being), but are changes to our self, to our soul, our person, our memories, our will and emotions, and more importantly, to our spiritual life. If one denies the reality of the spiritual world, then one also denies the possibility of this fabulous improvement. Many, many experiences and testimonies convince me that the spiritual world is real and it powerfully affects our physical and personal worlds. The Bible describes us as "spirit, soul and body" (1 Thessalonians 5:23), spirit first, then emotional and thinking self and lastly, our body, our physical self.

When I was younger I felt bullet-proof. I'm a six footer, grew up with lots of sport and outdoor stuff, and really great New Zealand food. My spirit was not fully alive and I would have doubted what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. But, now I'm older. My body, though still bullet-proof (thank you Jesus), has had many hits and is affected by age. Now I know that my spirit is my most important part. Happily my spirit is connected and aligned with Jesus. 

I still thank Jesus every day for my wonderful body; despite many health issues, I know that I am "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14). I now have to fuss about doctor visits and have experts guide me in exercise programs to reinforce those parts of my body which are less reliable. I seek ways to do things which do not need that young man's strength. I'm now much more thoughtful and spiritual (I have lots of time to think and ponder). I have also become kinder and more generous!

As we see our lives change in the days and years after we come to Jesus we notice that almost all the changes are for the better. Some (eventually, all) of our (previously enjoyable) sinful activities may go from our lives, but these are more than replaced by things which are very satisfying and rewarding. We are all so different from one another that I see no point in sifting through my past sins and sharing them with you, but I will say this: this morning, almost the first thing I did was to sit in bed and read my Bible; some verses from First Corinthians were brought to my mind and I spent a delightful half hour or so with Jesus contemplating His word. This has been warming my heart all day. I am connected to the Creator God of the whole universe, and He loves me (1 Corinthians 2:9-16). He even brought me into His family and made me His son (Romans 8:15).

Christian life is experiential, we live a new kind of life with Jesus (Acts 5:20). All of us soon have true stories to tell of what our awesome God, Jesus, and our heavenly Father, and Holy Spirit, do in our lives. I have known many people who had been badly beaten by life before they came to know Jesus; early in their Christian walk they say very little, but soon enough the presence of Christ in them gives them courage to speak up. 

Some of their stories make your hair stand on end .. yet Jesus is able to rescue and heal even the hardest and most broken of people. Paul, who had been an enthusiastic enemy of Jesus and killed many early Christians, said: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:24).

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

This is where "this is that" comes in. This life we now live is so very like that which is recounted in such great variety and power in the Bible and in the testimonies we hear. The phrases "this is that" and "this is what" appear in various places in various English Bible translations, the writers back in Bible times are reminding their hearers that the revelations they have received and their great new experiences are in line with the promises that earlier people of God wrote down at the Lord's direction.

The Bible is full of promises for us and for people like us from every generation. Though the newest parts of the Bible are nearly 2000 years old, (and the oldest, thousands more than that), the promises are still true; the Bible is the living Word of God (1 Peter 1:23), who is Jesus (John 1:1).

And we know that Jesus is alive; death could not contain Him (Acts 2:24, Revelation 1:18). Historians from that time wrote that Jesus did live on the earth, was crucified, and that many people saw Him ascend as a living man to heaven; there is actually a written record supporting the Bible (1 Corinthians 15:4-8). Indeed, these events are among the most thoroughly documented of all of our ancient history. There is a whole section of the Bible we refer to as "The Prophets" which starts with Isaiah and runs through to Malachi. God told these prophetic people what to write; He wanted us to know that He has a plan and that it is ultimately for the good of all humankind, for ever.

God's plan is being worked out. Today our media paint a very dark picture of the world and high-light (and often glorify, or ignore) the many, many terrible things going on. But there are also countless good and lovely events and encounters between people which never see the light of TV, yes, and many miracles too, every day.

A miracle is something which occurs outside of what science can explain, in other words, a supernatural event. This is God's realm. I have experienced many miracles and witnessed hundreds, possibly thousands more. Trish and I were once at a city wide Christian meeting where a man had a heart attack. A doctor was there and immediately did what he could; after a time he announced that the man's heart had stopped and he was now dead. This was shocking to us who were gathered to worship Jesus. We all prayed, together as one; the heart began to beat again. Soon the person was able to be taken to hospital by the ambulance which had arrived. The doctor said the man had a good prognosis. Praise Jesus who tells us: "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give" (Matthew 10:8); this is that teaching realised, in our city, in our time and witnessed by hundreds.  

I think I understand something of how there is so much trouble and pain in the world: many people do not want to acknowledge that God is, that He is in charge, Lord of all; they prefer to think of themselves as ruling their own destiny and providing their own wealth and wellbeing.

I was one of these, when I first came to know that God exists and cares for me, I still could not allow Him to be my Lord, I would not bow my knee to Him. Trish and I were at a conference in a country town, the teacher was a well educated Episcopalian (Anglican) pastor from a very wealthy town in Connecticut, USA. He had a fabulous testimony. On the way to our friends' house the second evening, Trish asked: "So you are ready to say 'yes' to Jesus? I've been watching you during the sessions". I replied that I was nearly there, "but I know that I cannot bow my knee to Jesus". The next evening as we drove to our friends' house I told Trish what had happened and asked "would you buy me a Bible for my birthday"; that day while I was silently saying "not just yet" to Jesus, He had come to me, taken a firm grip on my wrist, and pulled me gently to Himself. This was totally real. I found it irresistible. I became a Christian that day! I can still remember His fingers and thumb around my wrist, gently tugging. Jesus had chosen me! What kindness, this was the beginning of me being set free. Hallelujah ..

So our testimonies and our stories are the evidence of promises being worked out. We can say "this is that of which the Bible promises", or, "this is that which Joe talked about at the house meeting last week". It's everywhere amongst God's people and it never stops.

Praise Jesus.

Favorite Scriptures

"This is the Bread that came down from heaven. It is not like the manna which our forefathers ate, and yet died; he who takes this Bread for his food shall live forever" (John 6:58) Amplified.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).

"However, as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived" -  the things God has prepared for those who love him - these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:9-16).

Praise Jesus. Amen.

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Blessings.