Combining the Blood and our Testimony for victory

MESSAGES FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, 2015

Theme: The overcoming power of the blood of the Lamb and our testimonies

Message for Sunday 20^th Dec. 2015

Topic: Combining the Blood and our Testimony for victory

Introduction: Last week, we saw some ways the blood can help us to work out our victory in the conflicts of life. Today, we shall be looking at how we can combine the blood with our testimonies for explosive results in the conflicts of life. We shall be relying on Revelation 12:11 which reads thus:

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

What are testimonies? According to the Farlex English Dictionary, a testimony can be defined as evidence in support of a fact or assertion; proof. It is also defined as a public declaration regarding a religious experience. For our purpose, testimonies are the acts of God we or others we know have experienced and we gladly tell ourselves and others about. We tell our testimonies by utterances when we tell it or by our actions when we live it.  A very good example of this could be found in the book of 1Samuel 17 where David testified of God giving him victory over the lion and the bear because of the blood covenant of circumcision God cut with the nation of Israel to which he belonged. The result of his testimony was that it triggered his faith to create another testimony by bringing down the head of Goliath.

Why Testimonies work

1.     Testimonies are the acts of God. When we give them voice by telling others and ourselves about them, we are encouraged and it enables us to build enough resilience to tackle any future challenges along that line knowing that God who does not change would make it happen again if need be like in the case of David when he challenged Goliath. See [Mal.3:6; Ps.78:9-11]. The children of Ephraim on the other hand were unable to withstand their enemies because they breached the blood covenant and did not testify to God’s acts.

2.     Testimonies are examples of acts of God meant to give us hope: Hope in our hearts is what begins us on the journey of faith. When we have faith, victory is sure but without hope, we cannot begin to talk of faith. When we understand that faith pleases God and makes Him respond to us swiftly, we would see how important it is to our faith and that of others for us to testify of God’s acts. Don’t forget that the entire bible is a compilation of the testimony of people who had spiritual experiences of which they testified. [Rm.15:4; Heb.11:1; 1Jn.5:4]

3.     What we keep talking about all the time comes to pass. So if we keep giving voice to what God has done before based on what we desire, it will happen again. Testimonies replicate themselves even in the lives of others who believe and act on them like the case of the woman with the issue of blood. One of our team members heard the testimony of another team member who began to hear God and document what he heard. This challenged her and she prayed to God to have the same experience and started to hear God’s voice as well. People began to touch the Lord for their healing after hearing the testimony of the woman with the issue of blood and they were all healed. [Mk.5:25-34 and 6:54-56]

4.     It energizes us to take delivery of God’s promises to us: Testimonies that we call to mind all the time would energize us to take delivery of God’s promise to us. See [Deu.7:17-24 and 1Sam.17:33-37, 48-51]  

5.     Declaring the acts of God glorifies God and when we give Him glory, our blessings are perfected and cannot become curses. [Mal.2:2; Luk.17:12-19]

6.     Testifying of God’s acts in our lives is a means of thanking and praising Him: In thanksgiving, you are testifying to what God has done for you and thus giving him the glory. In praise, you are testifying to who God is and these are very powerful things to do especially as this year comes to an end. It is a very good time to call to mind all that you can recall that God has done for us this year. When we do this:

·        We receive access into God’s presence in prayer – Ps.100:4 & Matt.6:9

·        We invoke the presence of God that guarantees our victory as he takes over the fight on our behalf. See Isa.30:29-31; Ps.22:3 and Acts 16:25-26

·        God will bring to pass every of His promise to us for this year that is still awaiting fulfillment because He must crown the year with His goodness. [Ps.65:11]  

How Testimonies work with the blood

Blood is usually the seal on the covenant that God cuts with man. When this is in place, man comes into partnership with God and is expected to live by the word of God. Some of the things expected of man in this covenant include glorifying God in gratitude and praise and in remembering all the acts of God in his life; not taking anything for granted. When man plays his part, God who is too faithful to fail will also fulfill His obligation to man. [Heb.9:12, 18-22 and Joshua 1:8]

Testimonies together with the Blood are the activators of God’s covenant: Understand that every promise of scripture is conditional. When man fulfills his part through obedience in words or deeds, the promise is then upgraded to a covenant and God does not break His covenant. God keeps His covenant because the blood of the covenant is a constant reminder of His grace achieved by the Lord through his sacrifice on Calvary’s Cross for us. Every promise in the covenant becomes activated by man’s obedience. For instance, whereas the New Birth experience is freely offered to all, we must repent to actualize it. See Jn.3:16-18; Rm.10:8-10; Ps.89:34; Deu.28:1.

The blood of the covenant shields man against the onslaught of the wicked. Thus we can be under the protection of God while we deal heavy blows on the enemy of our souls with our testimonies. All his efforts do not get to us because of the blood shield ensuring our victory. This is why Apostle Paul calls our fight the good fight of faith. 1Tim.6:12; Ex.12:12-13

The blood is what gives value to our testimony because it cleanses us from all sins and authorizes us to use God’s arsenals including His testimonies in the conflicts of life. The weapons of our warfare only become mighty through God; not in our own strength. We have boldness through the blood and with boldness we can command the supernatural and that puts us ahead of our enemy. See 2Cor.10:3-6; Acts 4:29-33; Isa.40:28-31; Heb.9:11-12 & 4:15-16.

Anyone who is going to testify to God’s acts effectively must have a legal right to do so. If he does not, he could provoke God’s enemy and without being in league with God through a blood covenant, could become a casualty of spiritual warfare. In some cases, this could be really fatal. See Acts19:13-17; 8:9-24. That is why being a Church member and being very active in Church does not guarantee victory for you. You must belong to God’s family to be able to benefit [Jn.3:3-7; Acts 2:37-38]. If you are reading this and have not yet become a family member, you can do so right away by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you will immediately belong:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name!

Amen.

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.   

Remain on top of your challenges in Jesus’ name!