Paul said to the Christians at Corinth:
“And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
I Corinthians 2:1-5 NKJV
The testimony of Jesus from the mouth of the believer in Christ does not necessarily need to be in persuasive words; but it has to be simply and firmly declared for the least educated person to understand. Jesus often used ordinary imageries and elements that the people could easily relate with, to teach them and also preach to them. There was never a moment when the crowds did not understand what He was saying.
The Lord has called every believer in His name to testify about Him only. It’s not up to us to convince the people with our testimonies. The Holy Spirit is the One Who brings conviction to the people (John 15:26-27 and 16:7-11).
People sometimes may be complicated to convince with the testimony of Jesus. That’s why our testimonies must always leave room for the Holy Spirit to do His work in people’s lives. He will finish the work in those lives, that has received your testimony as a seed of faith.
However the lost world of sinners needs to hear about what Jesus has done for you. They had probably heard many Bible stories before about Jesus. But those scriptural stories needs your current personal testimonies, so as to make those biblical stories and narratives real to the unsaved, the sick and the captives.
Our lost world is longing to hear about what Jesus has recently done for you. What has Christ done for you lately as a Christian? Are you testifying to people about it?
It’s that very testimony about what Jesus had done for you, which the Lord will use to ignite His power in your life. God’s power can’t flow if you are not going to open your mouth to testify about the Lord. If only you will yield your tongue to the Lord, He will use you.
Your testimony comes in the demonstration of His Spirit and of His power, if only you will dare to step out of your comfort zone, so as to start telling others about what Christ has done for you. Then the sinners will be saved as you testify, about the goodness of the Lord in your life. The sick will be healed and the captives will be delivered, as Jesus is being glorified in it.
God’s goodness in your life can only be shared with others, when you are testifying about it to them. And the Lord is eager to manifest His goodness to others, if only you will yield the way for Him, to start using your personal testimonies to touch other lives.
The power of God can be released through your personal testimony to change other peoples’ lives, if only you will release it through your lips. As long as you are keeping it to yourself, you are preventing others from giving glory to God, for what He has done in your life.
The tongue of the believer in Christ is his or her vehicle of spiritual force, which can be used to set all other things in motion, for the salvation, healing or deliverance of others.
Life or death can be released from whatever you are used to talking with people about. You can become whosoever you are saying you are with your tongue:
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Proverbs 18:21 NKJV
The fruit of life or of death are on your lips. What you are testifying about is who you will become. If you are testifying about healing, you will be healed and be stronger in your healed and well body. If you are testifying about how sick you or others are, you will definitely reap the fruit of what you are testifying about.
Your ability to stay healed and stand strong with your healing, has everything to do with how effective you are with the use of your personal testimony and the sword of the Spirit (word of God). Whatever you are using your tongue to glorify now, will determine many things that will happen later in your life.
Are you witnessing about God’s goodness in your life? Or are you one of those who likes to talk about what the devil is doing?
If you are used to joining the bandwagon of the unsaved world, with their negative confessions about what the devil is doing, you will definitely reap the fruit of it. Be careful about what you are testifying about with your mouth. The devil is working all the time to create scenarios, that will push you into testifying about what he is doing.
Lift up that shield of faith against the enemy
There are times also when the faith confession of a Christian has to be silent. It’s important to know when and how to use your weapons of spiritual warfare in silence. The shield of faith as an example, can be used as the silent weapon of spiritual warfare against the enemy.
You can use the shield of faith to silence the enemy, without even uttering a word with your mouth. Whenever he sees you lifting up your shield of faith to wade off his fiery darts against your mind, he flees away without you having to say or do anything.
The silent shield of faith is powerful against the enemy. He fears you from afar whenever he sees that shield.
But if you are not standing firmly and strongly with your testimony about Jesus, you can’t be effective in using your shield of faith against the devil in silence. That was why David was able to say:
“Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.”
Psalms 119:89 NKJV
David was standing firmly and strongly on the promise of the Lord to him. He knew that the source of the promise to him was heaven. He had trained himself to be strong in the promise of the Lord on this earth, by affirming that it was not of men or of this world.
David knew that his descendants would sit on the throne of Israel forever. That was why he affirmed that promise on the earth, in order for him to be established in it. He was assured that God’s promise which he was proclaiming on the earth, was already settled in heaven.
Whatever you are standing firmly and strongly upon with your testimony about Jesus, is what Heaven will use in manifesting God’s power.
The shield of faith is however meant for your protection against the enemy. The devil wants to steal your personal testimony away from you.
He will come always to test your shield of faith. He wants to see how strong it is, before attacking you. And you will need to learn how to be quiet in dealing with him and his tactics at that moment.
You don’t even need to say a word, but your silence with the shield of faith being lifted up, speaks louder enough to terrify the enemy. He knows where you stand on the matter. You can silence him with the look of your face, and your stance with the shield of faith lifted up. Your silent stance terrifies him enough for him to flee in terror. He knows that any word of command that you say with your mouth will devastate him. That’s why he will flee away before you can even say anything.
The silent use of your shield of faith puts the enemy in a dilemma, about how he can best target you. He is clueless about the man of faith who is silent with his faith, when being attacked by him with his fiery darts into the thoughts of that man.
There are moments when you do know that you do know, what you do believe. And you are prepared to stand up for it; even when every other things around you are contrary and against you.
As an example you may have been confronted with the negative report of the doctor about a sickness diagnosis. But at the same time you do know that the report of Jesus says, you had already been healed. The enemy will attack you with everything possible in that negative report of the doctor, so as to make you fall into unbelief about what Christ had already done for you.
That’s the moment when you need to pull up your shield of faith, against those negative thoughts that are trying to control and take hold of your mind. The shield of faith is what you use to wade off every fiery darts of the enemy, in the attempt of the enemy to get you into unbelief concerning your healing. It can only be used when you are standing firm and strong on the promises of the Lord.
The Bible made us to see how Jesus once taught Jairus, how to use his shield of faith against the thought of the fear of death. One day as Jesus was on the way to Jairus’ house to heal his daughter, a servant had come to him informing him not to bother Jesus anymore, because his daughter was already dead. The Bible says:
“Overhearing but ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear; only keep on believing.”
Mark 4:36 AMPC
In other words Jesus instructed Jairus to lift up his silent shield of faith, to fight the fiery dart of the enemy through that latest development. The enemy wanted to use fear in preventing his faith, from being productive so as to get his daughter healed. And as Jairus followed the instruction of Jesus – to not allow the fear, he received his daughter back to life eventually.
In other words how you are making your daily confession of faith can determine how effective you are, with the shield of faith against the enemy whenever he attacks. Your daily confessions will eventually determine how strong and impenetrable your shield of faith is.
Are you firmly and authoritatively making your confession of faith daily? Or are you the Christian who is sloppy with that daily confession of faith? The way you are standing up against the enemy can be determined in this way by you.
Stand up and remain unshakable
As Paul once said to the Philippians:
“Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.”
Philippians 4:1 NKJV
Are you standing fast and rooted in your testimony about Jesus? Or are you being sloppy and edgy about it? The power of God can only be demonstrated through your testimony, for as long as you are standing fast and strong in it.
This was the reason why Paul advised Timothy:
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,”
II Timothy 1:6-8 NKJV
The spirit of fear brings shame to the believers in Christ concerning their testimonies about Jesus. The fear of what the negative consequences will be, if you are witnessing about Jesus, can cripple your faith in Christ Jesus.
The spirit of fear is of the devil and he uses it, to hinder the faith of the believers in Christ from being used against him. Fear is the direct opposite of faith.
That’s why the Bible says:
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
I John 4:18 NKJV
There is no fear in the love of God working through your faith with your testimony about Jesus (Galatians 5:6).
Fear brings torment and shame. And it is of the devil. The perfect love of God (agape) casts out fear. God’s love has no fear in it. And fear can hinder you from testifying about Jesus. Fear is the spiritual weapon of the enemy, to prevent you from testifying about Jesus. But the perfect love of God works through your testimony about Jesus, in power and with a sound mind.
Paul made Timothy to understand above that he was never ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He encouraged Timothy also not to be ashamed of his testimony of Jesus Christ, nor be ashamed of him as a prisoner for preaching the gospel.
Timothy was encouraged by Paul to share with him in the suffering of Christ, because if any Christian is able to share in the suffering of Christ; that Christian will be empowered to share in His glory also (Colossians 1:24-29).
Therefore whether or not you are silent with your shield of faith by lifting it up against the enemy, or you are bond with the restrictions and lockdowns of C19 in declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ; know very well that God’s word is never bond in your life.
It is during this moment of the restrictions and lockdowns from C19, that your silent shield of faith is powerful against the enemy. I had seen it worked on several occasions during this pandemic. And it will work for you also.
This is the moment when your silence is golden in defeating the enemy. Don’t let him push you in joining the world’s bandwagon with their confessions of unbelief. When they are speaking too often about C19, they are getting exactly what they are confessing; because they are not confessing the truth. The truth is that they had been healed and delivered from C19. But the enemy is hindering them from using their faith against the evil report.
Don’t fall for the tricks of the devil. Use your shield of faith to silence him. He recognizes you whenever you are lifting it up against him. He will move away from you, for as long as you are lifting it up.
The Apostle Paul said again:
“Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.”
II Timothy 2:8-9 NKJV
Paul was in jail when he made this statement. The enemy wanted to use the jail term to silence him. It’s just as the restrictions and lockdowns are being used, in the attempt to silence your testimony about Jesus.
But God’s word and the testimony of Jesus is not bond in you. So stir it up by praying in the spirit during the ongoing pandemic. Lift up your shield of faith, as you are praying against the enemy.
The power of God is being worked out through your silence, so as to get it released not in the wisdom of men; but in the demonstration and the power of God as you are praying. God is working something powerful in your life as you are doing this.
You are coming out of this pandemic stronger than you were when it began. The devil knows it and he is unstable and confused about you.
