Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord. – Isaiah 43:10
For several years, it has been my privilege to select and lead teams for outreach meetings we hold, including mission, care home, and jail services. Each individual on these teams has a testimony of God’s saving grace and a personal technique for delivering that testimony. Some have been alcoholics or bartenders; others were saved in Sunday school or in a young people’s meeting. Yet each has the same basic message: Jesus saves!
A man in our group tells that growing up, he had heard nothing of salvation or being born again, and thought “Jesus saves” was just a saying. When he passed a mission service, he would open the door in mockery and shout, “Hallelujah!”
One day, as he was walking down a street in San Francisco, California, he suddenly realized he had nothing to live for. He felt that his life had been totally wasted. Lying in his room (which he called a “flophouse”) later that night, his mind turned to God. He had been in jail many times and once heard a testimony he could not forget. In it, he was told God demands that we be honest in our prayers and confessions to Him. After some time passed, he got out of his bed, knelt on his knees, and got honest with God. In a few minutes his prayer was answered! He tells that when God met him, he saw bright light from Heaven as his life was changed in a moment of time.
Years later, when he stood in a mission meeting to share his testimony, everyone became quiet and attentive. Many wiped tears from their eyes as he gave God the glory for what He had done for him. However, one man who had become a Hindu priest scoffed and left the meeting, thinking such a change was impossible. He went to his dorm room, but he could not get this amazing testimony out of his mind. That night he also prayed and became a believer in Christ!
The testimonies of God’s witnesses are one of the most powerful tools we have in the Gospel work. They can and will cause lives to be changed, so may we use them as often as God gives us opportunity!