Praise Builds-up our FAITH!
Psalm 147:1-3 (KJV)
147 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
2 The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Praising God is more than just saying a few words. This psalm tells us about God’s love and his power. There are three parts in this psalm:
· verses 1 – 6: God’s power in Israel and Babylon and in the skies above;
· verses 7 – 11: God’s power on the earth with plants and animals;
· verses 12 – 20: God’s power in giving his people what they need.
Sometimes, we are in a habit of using; such phrases (anthems) as, “praise the Lord”, “hallelujah”, or “glory”, but what does those really mean? Does that edify God? If those anthems truly come within the heart they are permittable, but if the anthems are said for attention one needs to keep their mouth shout. God knows everything about us and He recognizes lip service. According to verse seven, the third thing that the king did was to recall all the good deeds God performed for His people! Therefore, the praise from our lips should begin with thank you Jesus for Calvary and thank you for saving my soul. Then, we should include other problems that God has brought us through. I’m sure you have heard of the song count your many blessings count them one by one. What this does is praise the Lord for all that He has done for you. This type of praise recognizes God for being the creator God who is good and merciful.
Next, read Psalms 147 in it’s entirety, because I want you to notice how to recall a list of events that improves our faith. Praising God improves the faith of ourselves and of all the people that are listening to our testimonies. When we read scripture like 147 we know that God has been with his people from the beginning and is still with us today. In the space provided, generate a list of events recalling past events that praise God. This action will help increase your faith.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
God impressed on my heart that, some of my readers, would be facing a battle today. I’m supposed to fill in the gap, because I’m supposed to tell you not to fight this battle alone. We need to follow the same steps Josaphat followed when he was facing the largest most serious battle of his life. So, when you are in a battle the first thing you need to do is bring it to Jesus through fasting and prayer. Next, get others to come to your aide by also fasting and praying. Then, remember who God is by studying scriptures and singing hymns. Finally, wait for God. Today, we will discover what step to take next. But, first let’s look back into our story of Jehoshaphat. In verses three and four we find Jehoshaphat praising God. After we have come through the battle we can also praise God in the form of our testimony.
What is a testimony? A testimony is your personal story that God has given you. this story reflects how God has worked in your life.
Then, the story expresses how God has changed your life for the better. Your personal story is a statement that glorifies God. The goal of your personal testimony is that it shares a piece of who God is and encourages others.
In scripture we can find what a testimony is by reading 1 John 1:1! So, we see here that a testimony reveals our experiences with the Lord. These stories always bring glory and magnifies the name of God. Often times, these stories encourage others and builds faith.
What are the benefits to praising God through our testimonies? For the answer to the above question I want us to consider the scripture that is found in Revelation 12: 10-11!
It is here, that we find a concrete reason to why we should share our testimonies. Our testimonies reminds us and others of just who God is and how he cares for us.
It’s totally awesome, that with our testimony we can bruise the head of Mr. Satan. We can triumph over the devil and his demons with our testimonies. That my friend, makes our testimonies crucial and powerful. For me, my testimony reveals the power of God. What would your testimony say about our God?
A testimony does not have to be about a terrible event in your life that changed you for the better. A testimony is a theme of your life that brings glory to God. A testimony reveals how God has been at work in your life. this could be through travesty, a really sad time in your life, a great healing, your story of salvation, a story of how God loved you through, a time you walked away from God and He brought you back, or an overpowering story of faith.
Tips:
1. In a short period of time; we can’t include everything!
2. You can’t write about every Little step in your life.
3. You have to focus on the main events.
4. For your narrative, you want to choose an event, that you can focus on and portray a big idea.
5. As you’re writing your narrative, think of an arch, and keep all of your points under the arch.
6. Perhaps, using the following format will help you set up your narrative. First, speak about the beginning days. Deliver the problem you had to the audience. Next, present your message about what was going on in your life during this significant time. Do you have a couple personal points or story elements at this point in your narrative. thirdly, leave a lasting impression that glorifies God. tail or illustrate how God totally changed your life for the better. Finally, tell how that struggle has made your walk closer to God.
Testimonial Writing (Brainstorm):
Beginning Middle End
Even though, our testimony should take days to write; we just don’t have that much time. When delivering your message to a person their attention span for you is most likely to be five minutes. Now, in written expression your testimony could be longer, but when speaking or conversing with someone else your testimony should be five minutes at the max. Therefore, all of the details that glorify God count.
7. Be very concise and straight to the point.
8. You do not want to use your current struggles for your testimony. You want to use a past struggle that God has brought healing and restoration to you for your testimony.
9. You do not share your deepest darkest secrets. Keep those sins private. Everyone does not need to know your personal business. These types of thoughts and actions need to be only between you, your counselor, and Jesus Christ.
10. Remember, God will use your testimony for his glory. We do not have to be anxious or worried about having eloquent speech. We don’t have to worry about making personal connections with the audience. The Holy Spirit will do all of those things for us.
Example of what should not be in our testimonies:
Eating Disorder Testimony
Our testimonies should not include the nitty-gritty parts of our life. For example, a young woman wanted to share how God had delivered her from an eating disorder. She asked me if I would teach her how to write and share her testimony. She came to me with about four pages front and back. The main parts that we decided to strike out was about how much weight she lost, her daily eating habits, her clothing sizes, hair loss, her doctors name, and her treatment facilities name. We decided to omit these things, because we felt others might compare their stories to the details in this one and diminish it’s a effects. We also decided that these were minute details that really did not glorify God.
Examples you may use:
1. I’m not good enough! (Explain how God showed you his love.)
2. The feeling of unworthiness (Explain how God gave you your worth and purpose for life.
Step one: Make a statement such as the following: I am not good enough to love. Or I felt as though I was not good enough for someone to love me.
Step two: choose a few points in your life to bring glory to God. For example, when I was a child I tried to please my parents and teachers; so, that would invoke them to love me. Next, as I became an adolescent I searched for ways to please the young men, because I felt I was not good enough to love. I became obsessed with how Hollywood thought I should dress, wear my hair, and use make up to hide my true self. Finally, as I became a young adult God showed me in his word that I was good enough. Through ladies retreats, I learned that God created me and loves me for who I am.
Step three: You want to deliver the punchline and leave a lasting impression on your fellow believers. In this example, we could use the following statement: The goodness of God removed a huge weight from my shoulders. Through my trails God not only loved me, but He filled me with his love.
Example number two:
how to share and write your conversion story.
Step one:
Determine your title. perhaps, one of the most important testimonies is the answer to the following questions: “how I became a Christian or why am I a follower of Christ?”
Step two:
Read how Paul shared is testimony of his conversion in acts chapter 26. Instead, of having a beginning a middle, and an end, Paul divides his conversion story into the following three parts: my life before Christ, (Acts 27:4-11), how learned about Jesus (Acts 26:12-18), and my life after I became a follower of Christ (Acts 19-23).
Step Three:
In the first part of this testimony you want to include words that a non-believer will understand. You don’t want to glorify your sin; instead, you want to state facts like the following: I was guilty, I felt hopeless, or I was really angry.
Step Four:
In the middle part of your narrative do you want to include why you gave your heart to the Lord. For example, did you feel guilty or were you sorry for your sins? Tell your audience how that came to pass. For example, did someone invite you to church, did someone invite you to A revival, did you turn your TV on and listen to preaching or singing, or did you read the scripture for yourself and the Holy Spirit teach you about the Savior? In addition, you can include scriptures that speak about no one is righteous or God sent his only son.
Step Five:
The final part of your narrative testimony should include your statement of belief. in this section of your testimony you should be explaining the change that Christ has made in your life. For example, if you were angry do you need to explain how Christ help you defeat that anger. Furthermore, if you were selfish or guilty explain to your audience about how God delivered you from those situations. Finally, do you want to speak about how you are now serving the Lord. Include something specific about how you serve Christ that is affecting your life and the lives of other people.
Other Ideas for testimonies:
1. God gave me protection like he did for David from Saul.
2. God gave me hope like the hope Moses had in the wilderness.
3. God has given me babe like he gave Abraham.
4. God defeated the Giants in my life like he did for David and Goliath.
5. God gave me a second chance like the prodigal son.
6. God healed my body like he did for the woman with the issue of blood.
