From the desk of Steve Shultz:
Our testimonies are the most powerful tools we can share! I sure get excited when I hear what God has done for others... how He delivered, saved, and healed them. This latest word by Al Thomas will encourage you to believe for the MIRACLES that you need today.
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Al Thomas:
The Power of a Testimony - Re-digging the Wells of Faith
I've been privileged to witness a fair amount of miracles and many healings. "Thou art the God that doest wonders" (Psalm 77:14). In gatherings where I share these testimonies, many are encouraged and some receive their own healing or miracle. Instead of being mum and glum, we need to boldly declare what God has done for us in the past and use it as a bridge to believe for new and greater things. If you're struggling with the now, recall what things God has done for you in the past. This is Biblical and powerful. "The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies" (Psalm 119:95). They are your testimonies and God's.
Why do we need this now more than ever? Surely you've noticed it: So many people today are walking around in a general malaise. It's as if some were hit in the head and they were walking, living and going about their life in a daze or a semi-coma. More than a few seem beaten down by life and struggle to be positive or victorious, as a Believer should be. "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57). Re-digging your testimonies of past victories inspires you to believe for yourself and others today.
Paul wrote, "For the Kingdom of God is not meat or drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" in Romans 14:17. Then he tells us in verse 19, "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another."
Testimonies edify us and lift our spirits. They build us up. We so need this today. Any of us can slip into discouragement, but God does not want us to camp there. It's okay to have a pity party once in a while, but don't stay there long. Most of the world is spitting out bad news, and just when the Church seems to catch their collective breath, there is another run of negative reports. Beyond the basics of staying in the Word, prayer and fellowship, the Scripture tells us that the testimony of the saints is powerful.
"We have the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, 'I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak'" (2 Corinthians 4:13). It's a simple way to stay above the sewer of discouragement: Give testimony of the wonderful things of God – as often as you can. Even if you've told it a thousand times, tell it again. It's a faith builder for you and the hearers.
Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul. Psalm 66:16
The best witness is a personal witness. Yes, you can tell someone that they should be a Christian because it says so in the Bible, but when you begin to say, "Jesus did this for me," or, "I used to be a drunk, but Jesus delivered me," or, "I was sick and God healed me," or, "God brought my family together," etc., you are beginning to connect your faith with Christ to a personal experience and the person hearing you will think about their personal life also. And they will wonder, "Can God do that for me?" The answer of course is yes!
Peter and John said, "...for we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20).
Perhaps these testimonies will encourage you to receive your breakthrough:
I Had a Vision of a Boy With Asthma, He Seemed to Be Wearing a Red Hat
I was so sure it was God, I announced, "There is a young boy with asthma and I believe he has a red hat. If you bring him up here, God will heal him." There was no response. I said it again. Nothing. The service ended and I thought maybe I had missed God, but inwardly I grieved in my spirit. As I'm getting ready to depart the church, a woman comes up carrying her son. He had asthma so bad he had to stay away from the service in another room. After a simple prayer, the asthma immediately disappears. The mother rejoices and is crying at the same time. As I looked at the child again, I noticed he didn't have a red hat, but a huge mess of bright red hair. My spirit no longer grieved.
A Woman With Back Pain So Bad She Had a Pump With a Morphine Drip
A woman had back pain so bad she had a pump with a morphine drip attached to her body for relief. I felt led to rebuke a spirit of pain or torment (Matthew 4:24). She never needed the morphine again. She told everyone she knew and even some strangers. "My mouth will tell of Your righteousness, of Your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. I will come and proclaim Your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim Your righteousness, Yours alone" (Psalm 71:15). No more morphine drip instead a of healing.
A Man With Two Blown Out Knees Disobeys Church Rules – and Runs in Church
After hobbling up to the front and struggling to keep his balance, the man leans on the front chair, lest he fall. He had been on disability for years. The Holy Spirit hit him after a brief prayer for healing. This formally reserved Believer was so excited it was hard to get him to slow down. He ran right past the "Do Not Run" sign.
During a Healing Service a Man Comes Up with a Piece of Metal Stuck in His Eye
While waiting to be prayed for, he feels a burning sensation so acute he raises his hand to his eye. The metal either melts away or disappears immediately. He calmly walks back to his seat with his healing. His faith was released as he saw others healed. No one even prayed for him. What a testimony! "[They] all were amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We never saw anything like this!'" (Mark 2:12).
During a Stormy Sunday Morning (Many Cancelled Their Services) I Showed Up
During a stormy Sunday morning (when many had cancelled their services), I showed up at a small Pentecostal church. Oddly, most of the people who did show up were elderly women (you can't keep some of those older saints down). During worship I have a vision of a young woman grasping un-successfully for an embryo. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what it meant. But who was it? I opened my eyes and saw the only young couple in the place. It was either them or God was doing a "Sarah thing." I chose the former. I told of the vision, prayed for them, and they had their first little one shortly thereafter. I'm very careful about those "baby calls," but this was clearly God. This testimony was spoken of to many and shown to increase for nine months, and still growing.
Your Testimonies are Reminders and Evidence of Future Blessings
We should not just pray for people in church surroundings. Most days I try to reach out to people and ask if I can pray for them, whether they are saved or not. Jesus rarely asked someone's spiritual condition before He healed them. Often, I'll stop strangers on the street and gently ask if I can pray for them. Some say no, others think I've gone mad (Acts 26:24), but occasionally someone will allow me to pray for their healing. Once I saw a woman bent over, walking in front of our down town Post Office. I convinced her to let me pray and believed for her to straighten up. She reluctantly said "Yes..." I believe she just wanted to get rid of me. After praying, she immediately stood up straight and went on her way rejoicing (Luke 13:10-13). Seek people out, you never know what God will do.
Think about the wonderful things that God has done in and through you in the past. Re-dig the wells of your testimonies. They are evidence of future blessings and are reminders of His faithfulness to deliver you in your current situation.
Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name. Malachi 3:16
Al Thomas
Celebrating His Life Ministries
Email: a.thomas@myactv.net
