Sharing the Story of Jesus

Memory Text: 1 John 5:13

SABBATH: Witnessing will be met with bitter opposition if Christ is not at the center of our message. We have to share what we know about Christ & how He means to us. Personal testimony is better than theology. People may debate about doctrines but not a true life-story of what Jesus has done for you. Men are attracted to Jesus & accept the Word when they get to know how He has changed lives for the good.

SUNDAY: No one enters into the kingdom of God & remains the same—there is a transformation. Our “after” becomes better than our “before”—the sinner becomes a saint (Eph. 2:1-3; 2:4-10). We are lost without Christ but found with Christ. Life is “aimless” without Christ but “meaningful” with Christ John 1:4). True happiness is in Him. In Him, our works complement our faith (see Eph. 2:10; Rom. 3:28).

MONDAY: Christ is meek & loving. His method of witnessing was not a violent one but one full of kindness & compassion. When met with fierce opposition, James & John (Sons of Thunder, see Mark 3:17) desired for fire to consume their opposition but Christ rebuked them. The “Sons of Thunder” became “men of love” (1 John 1:1-4, 3:1, 4:7-11, 5:1-5; DA, p. 22). Imitate His love in witnessing.

TUESDAY: Christ’s first missionaries were not His disciples or longtime followers, they were those afflicted by demons (Matt. 8:28, 29, 32-34; Mark 5:1-5, 13, 14). Christ gave them freedom & they shared Him. The transformed men sat at the feet of Christ at the marvel of all. Unlike the disciples, they were not preachers, but their changed lives preached Christ (DA, p. 340). Every changed heart can be a witness.

WEDNESDAY: It’s difficult to share what you don’t believe. We first have to believe we are saved by Christ before we can share Him. A wise man said; “When I look at myself, I see no possibility of being saved. When I look at Jesus, I see no possibility of being lost.” Christ is our Savior (Isa. 45:22). In Him, our salvation is assured. Hence, we ought to testify with assurance (Rom. 5:1, 8:1, 1 John 5:12, 2 Pet. 2:18-22, Heb. 3:6, Rev. 3:5).

THURSDAY: Accepting Christ means taking up His cross. Taking up the cross comes with pain & sacrifices such as giving up darling sins & lifelong habits (Gal. 2:20; Luke 9:23; Rom. 6:6). Yet, “the rewards far outweigh the pain”. In our witness, the focus should be not what we have given up for Him but what He gave up for us & what He does for us (read John 1:12, 10:10, 14:27, & 1 Cor. 1:30).

FRIDAY: “It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him.” The throng were closer to Christ but none realized the need to touch Him to receive power. The woman with the issue of blood acted on faith and received healing power from Him. Our profession of Christ as the Savior won’t save us, we have to be faithful to Him & believe Him as a “personal Savior”. Share what He has done for you!

—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 347.

Keywords

DA- The Desire of Ages

Captions

SUNDAY- Jesus: The Basis of Our Testimony
MONDAY- The Transformative Power Of Personal Testimony
TUESDAY- Telling The Story Of Jesus
WEDNESDAY- Testifying With Assurance
THURSDAY- Something Worth Testifying About

Discussion Questions

📌 What are the elements of a compelling testimony? Read Paul’s testimony before Agrippa in Acts 26:1-23. What was the foundation of his testimony?

📌 Why do you think our personal testimony of what Christ has done for us is so powerful? How, however, do you answer the question: OK, that is what happened to you, but what if I don’t have that kind of experience? Why should your experience be able to teach me anything about why I should follow Jesus?

📌 What are some of the things you would want to avoid when giving your testimony to a nonbeliever?

📌 Dwell on the question regarding assurance of salvation. Why is this such an important part of the Christian experience? How can we be assured of our own salvation while, at the same time, not being presumptuous?

For September 5-11. Happy Sabbath.

—Michael Adarkwah Agyemang

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