The Power of Your Testimony
By Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam
Oh, sing to the Lord a
new song!
Sing to the Lord, all
the earth.
Sing to the Lord,
bless His name;
Proclaim the good news
of his salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory
among the nations,
His wonders among all
the peoples.
(Psalm 96:1 – 3)
David in these verses is saying that we should not stop
singing His praises. And he goes on to say that we should proclaim His goodness
from day to day. There is emphasis here to testify and declare the goodness of
God. There is no limit as to how effective your testimony can be.
Let me share with you a Bible account of a man who was
willing to proclaim the goodness of His salvation. The story begins with him
being demon-possessed. When Jesus asked what his name was, he answered
“Legion”. Jesus commanded the demons to come out of him and when they had done
so, they went into a herd of swine. The man was completely delivered.
While the demons dwelt in the man, he lived in the cemetery.
He was also naked; but he was not ashamed. When you allow yourself to live in
sin and walk in your own lust, you don’t know what shame is. There are many
people who do wrong, but they do not feel ashamed. Sin has hardened their
hearts, so it was with the demon-possessed man.
The man lived among the tombs. It is true, when you have sin
in your life, you don’t live among those who are spiritually alive. You live
among those who are spiritually dead – dead in their trespasses and sin. They
are struggling to survive, searching and hoping to find some kind of
fulfillment and purpose.
Clothed and in His
Right Mind
But Jesus cast out the demons from him and made him whole.
His lifestyle changed. He was properly clothed in his right mind.
“Now the man from
whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.” (Luke
8:38). But Jesus said, “Go back to your own house and tell what great things
God has done for you” (Luke
Do you know that when you become a child of God, you are
also called to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ? You don’t have a choice.
The Bible tells us that we are commanded to go and tell. We are under the
command to testify for Him (Matthew 28:19 & 20)
I don’t believe the man who had been demon-possessed was a
great preacher. He just told what happened, “Once I lived in the tombs. I
didn’t wear any clothes. I was full of demons and people were afraid of me. But
one day, Jesus Christ of Nazareth came by, saw me in my pathetic situation and
hopelessness, and the kind hand of Jesus reached down and picked me up. He
drove those demons from me and today I’m clothed and well.” That was his
testimony.
He must have gone from house to house and published it
widely, because when Jesus returned, “the multitude welcomed Him, for they were
all waiting for Him” (Luke
There is another Old Testament illustration: 2 Kings 5:1-14.
Here was Naaman, chief of command of the army of
In the scriptures, leprosy is a type or symbol of sin in
one’s life. Leprosy, like sin, eats into your flesh and finally destroys your
body and life. Do you know that sin has the same effect as leprosy, and that
sin is no respecter of persons?
Willing to Testify
In one of the great wars, Naaman had brought back a maid.
And his maid said, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in
If there was anyone who had good reason not to testify for
the living God, it was this girl. For she was a Jewish girl from
She shared a simple testimony. This simple testimony brought
a change in a powerful man. It only took a little girl who was willing to sing
the praise of God and declare His goodness.
The story goes on to say that Naaman went to see the prophet
who then told him to dip in the River Jordan seven times. (Why seven times?
Naaman had to learn humility and obedience.)
After some protestation, Naaman finally did as he was told,
and the leprosy was taken away from him. There are many like Naaman; they may
not have leprosy but other kinds of sickness and evil habits that are
destroying them. Your testimony can help them come to Christ. Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday, today and forever. He can heal them.
Our
world is starving for the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is full of bad news –
just pick up your newspaper and you will read of catastrophes, disasters,
floods, famine and strife. If there is any good news, The Church of Jesus
Christ has it. That’s why David said, “Declare the goodness of God.” Do you
know that when you share your testimony, Satan trembles? In Luke 10:18, Jesus
said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” What happened? The seventy
disciples had gone out and declared the goodness of God (Luke
We overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb and by word
of our testimony (Rev. 12:10 & 11). This is our weapon.
How long has it been since you shared your testimony? Let me
rephrase the question: How long has it been since God did something for you?
Most likely, nothing has happened – is it because your life is clouded with
your own selfish way of living? There is no time to let God touch you and do
something for you, so that you can say, “Jesus did this for me.” You don’t have
to have a great testimony like “I died and Jesus Christ raised me from the
dead.” Some of us think that that is the only kind of testimony worth sharing.
It is not true. Whatever God does it is worth sharing, big or small.
My friend, tell the simple story of God’s love, His
forgiveness and His cleansing in your life. Your testimony is powerful. We
overcome him (the devil) by the word of our testimony.
Issue No.3, September 1986