Read Acts 26
I will praise you to all my brothers; I will stand up before the congregation and testify of the wonderful things you have done. Psalm. 22:22
Acts 26 records the story of the Apostle Paul brought before King Agrippa to receive an official pronouncement of charges against him. If you’re reading from one of those red letter Bibles, you’ll notice Paul uses Jesus’ words as part of his defense. These words came from Paul’s supernatural revelation on the road to Damascus and Paul uses his humiliating and life-changing encounter with Jesus to testify to what happened when he had to answer to the God of the Universe. Here, Paul stands before the court of an earthly king and doesn’t hesitate to speak up on behalf of how the king of all kings intervened for his deliverance.
Paul’s influence from this moment on has shifted the way Christians define the noun “testimony.” Where once testimony was a formal statement given in the court of law, Christians now apply “testimony” as a spoken proclamation of what the Lord has done in their lives.
In a letter to his protege Timothy, Paul wrote, “never be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, his prisoner.” (2 Timothy 1:8a) Similarly, the disciple John writes in his prophetic word to those in the last days, “They triumphed over [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” (Revelation 12:11a)
Testimony triumphs. Speaking up on behalf of what God has done in our lives won’t necessarily rescue us from the hands of our earthly captors, but it will free us from our battle against the real enemy. When we speak aloud as God’s children, we agree with the King of all kings and take back our rightful authority overcoming the devil and his schemes. So, how have you personally experienced Jesus recently? Ask Jesus to arrange a moment for you to speak up on behalf of what God’s done in your life and intentionally take the opportunity he’s set before you today.
By Yvonne Biel
