The Goal is Whole: One Together, Part 1 Community Witness, O1.5: The Power of Testimony

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“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, 27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” (John 15:26-27)

One of the meanings of the word “witness” is to testify. Testimony builds on evangelism, and is specifically linked to prophecy:

“For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10)

Prophecy is a ministry of the risen Jesus. Traditional evangelism is focused on the cross. Of course, the message of the cross is powerful, and we always need to hold on to that as a foundation. But prophecy is a demonstration that Jesus is alive, and that He is present. Other signs and wonders do the same, but prophecy is especially relevant here.

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Testifying about Jesus and what He has done opens up the prophetic. Prophecy proclaims the word of God, what He is saying and doing in a situation. Testimony carries creative power, as one person’s testimony leads to another person’s breakthrough.

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” (Revelation 12:11)

This tells us how we can maintain victory over the devil. Three things,

• The blood of the lamb
• The word of our testimony
• Not loving our life even when faced with death

The blood of Jesus is our victory in the new creation. By His shed blood He bought us forever, and the devil can have no claim against us.

“Not loving our life” means we are yielded to the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God in our lives. We let go of the attractions of this temporal life, in favor of the glories of eternal life. Someone that lives like that is prepared for persecution and even martyrdom in His amazing grace.

The middle bullet above is the one we want to focus on today. “They overcame him by the word of their testimony.” Holding fast to a testimony of what Jesus has done for us is a powerful weapon in warfare. It can also be a weapon to unlock eternity or manifest blessing for someone else.

Later in the chapter, John clarifies what the testimony is, at its root:

“So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 12:17)

Whatever testimony we might have of the Lord’s work in our lives, ultimately every testimony is “The testimony of Jesus”. This means that our testimony is a confession of who He is to us, and of what has happened in our life.

When Jesus does something in our life, we have a testimony of Him. This is a new creation manifestation! It gives us a specific identity – we are one who holds to the testimony of Jesus. It also gives us a weapon to overcome the devil, and becomes a seed that can potentially open up ministry to others – “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”.

Testimony is a vital part of witness, both on a personal and, even more powerfully, on a community level. Testimony of how Jesus works in and through the community, how He envisions and forms the INN, how He leads, guides and empowers, and all the fruit that results, all has tremendous power. Taking that testimony forward can open up other lives to hear and receive Jesus. Testimony is part of our community witness.

Testimony can also be powerfully used by those who receive Jesus, especially in the early days. Whenever someone receives Him they carry a tremendous opportunity to be used to reach others. They have people all around them – friends, family, co-workers, fellow students, or room-mates, etc, who have all known their life up to that point. Receiving Jesus changes us, and those around will almost certainly notice.

We are potentially the most potent for evangelism as soon as we receive Jesus. And yet we are the most vulnerable, and least developed. In the  Vision, we bridge that gap, by surrounding the newcomer with loving community and helping them give voice to what has happened to them. Look at this example with Philip and Nathanael:

“The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” (John 1:43-46)

Notice Philip’s testimony, and also his response, “come and see”. There are various ways of making the most of this, but one is some kind of “friends and family party”, where the INN hosts an event with the one who has just received Jesus. Ideally, this would be at the new believer’s house to make it less threatening for the guests. There can be food and relaxed fellowship, where the presence of Jesus is allowed to fill the space. Then the one with the testimony tells their story of what happened. Questions follow, and the community shares the revelation of Jesus and His ways, as He leads.

Another example of the power of testimony is the woman at the well.

“So the woman left her water pot, and went into the city and *said to the men, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” 30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him…39 From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” (John 4:28-29 and 39-42)

The woman encountered Jesus in a supernatural way, including His prophetic revelation about her life (e.g. you have had five husbands and the current one is not your husband…). When she went home, she told everyone what she had experienced.

Here we see the pattern of how a prophetic encounter with Jesus got her attention, and opened her up to Him. And then her testimony was powerful in touching many others lives. Notice that Jesus is central in everything. When people see the change and hear the passion in a life that has encountered Jesus, they are likely to show interest. Creating environments where this can be tapped is vital in community outreach. As friends and family are brought to a place where they can encounter Jesus too, there will be those who receive Him and declare like the woman’s friends, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Of course, sometimes the person themselves will be able to share their testimony of Jesus, and lead their close connections to encounter Him. But many find this difficult. Having an INN community that can create a non-threatening, non-religious environment can help multiply the fruit. This is powerful community witness.

Another benefit of the community approach is it creates a sense of authenticity, and allows others to share their stories too. As Jesus leads, things might open up with opportunities for more prophecy, word of knowledge, or healing. Testimonies of Jesus are the Spirit of prophecy! They are fruits with many seeds.

Embracing the vision of community witness removes the awkwardness and burden of handling evangelism and outreach alone, and allows a much fuller, richer manifestation of Jesus, in the midst of loving friendships:

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

This demonstration of unity and His manifest presence helps convince people of the reality of Jesus:

“That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21)