|
The Importance of Your Testimony II CORINTHIANS5:14-21: I TIMOTHY 4:7-12; I CORINTHIANS 9:19 -2 7 INTENT OF THIS LESSON: To lead to the conviction that all those who are saved are to be "ambassadors" for Christ upon the earth. To help understand the importance of having a good testimony before others. To lead to the understanding that we bear not only our own reputation but also the reputation of Christ Jesus. OUTLINE: I. EVERY CHRISTIAN IS CALLED TO BE THE LORD'S AMBASSADOR II. THE AMBASSADOR'S LIFE AS AN EXAMPLE III. THE MOST DIFFICULT DUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN AMBASSADOR INTRODUCTION: Proverbs 22:1 is a wonderful verse with a tremendous Bible principle to teach every child of God. That verse says, A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold. NKJV For the Christian, a better word than reputation may be the word testimony. Your testimony is one of the most important facets of your Christian life. Proverbs 22:1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, teaches that our testimony should be more valuable to us than silver, gold and great wealth. It takes only a few moments to destroy a reputation or testimony that may have taken many years to build. Once lost, it's very difficult to regain our testimony before others. Therefore, we must learn the great value of our testimony, and we must learn how to develop it into a "We also have the duty to learn how to protect our testimony. We who are saved carry not only our own name; we also bear the name of Christ before the world. This is a great responsibility summed up in the words of the Apostle Paul, "Now then we are ambassadors lor Christ. " Let's Consider The Importance of Our Testimony: I. EVERY CHRISTIAN IS CALLED TO BE THE LORD'S AMBASSADOR: 2 Cor. 5:17-21 The Bible says that believers are ambassadors for Christ on the earth. Every Christian, every day, in every place, is moving under Divine orders! Its vital, therefore, that we understand our obligation in this business of representing our Lord before others. A. The meaning of the term, ambassador. 1. An ambassador is an envoy of the highest rank, sent by a sovereign ruler to be his representative to another nation or another people. As ambassadors of Christ, we have been commissioned to serve God here upon the earth and to bear His name before others. 2. We must remember that, even though we live in this world, this world isn't our home. -We who are saved have citizenship in Heaven. Colossians 3:2 3. We who are the Lord's ambassadors ought not set our heart and affection upon the things of this world. When compared to eternity, we won't live here very long. The ambassador may be called home at any time by his ruling power. a. We are told this truth in the Bible. Proverb 27: 1 b. Our life is very uncertain, and we must make the most of every opportunity to be a good representative of our Lord to others. B. The mission of the ambassador. 1. The whole mission of an ambassador can be summed up this way: He goes to all places, to all people, at all times and in all circumstances. a. A good ambassador goes wherever he is sent. b. He goes cheerfully and willingly. 2. The Lord sent His ambassadors into the world to carry the good news of the gospel to others so they could be saved. a. We know from the Bible that "the field" is the world. . b. We can't go to the wrong place. Everywhere we go, we'll find those who need Christ in their lives. c. We, as the ambassadors of Christ, must be willing to go wherever He sends us. d. A good ambassador is the one who is content with his station in life. He doesn't complain about his mission; he serves to the very best of his ability. e. We haven't all been given the same mission. The work of the Lord couldn't get done if that were the case. We ought not envy the position that our Lord has assigned to others. He has placed us where He wants us; this should cause us to be content. f. Let each of us fill his or her post with joy and contentment. C. The manners of an ambassador. 1. An ambassador is required to behave himself in a manner that won't bring shame upon his ruler. a. The similarity isn't too difficult for us to see in the life of a Christian ambassador. b. All that we say or do reflects upon the One who saved us. Therefore, we must remember to carry the manners of a good ambassador. 2. The ambassador's dress should reflect the proper message to others. 1 Timothy 2:9 3. Not only should the ambassador's dress be a good testimony for the Lord, but the ambassador's demeanor must also bring glory to God. a. Your demeanor is your temperament and your attitudes. b. Many Christians need to work more on their "inward" adorning than they do on their outward adorning. c. I Corinthians 6:20 teaches us that we are to glorify God in our spirit, or our temperament, and attitudes. d. God looks upon our hearts today. What does He see when He looks within our lives? e. Many try to make excuses for their ill spirit and unpleasant demeanor by saying, "That's just the way I am." They forget however, the Holy Spirit lives within to change them into what the Lord wants them to be. To resign yourself to live with less than a Christhonoring temperament is to deny the power of the Holy Spirit at work in your life. A good ambassador will consistently display the grace and character of Christ likeness. It may not always be easy; but it is always our duty! D. The message of the Lord's ambassador. 1. Every good ambassador carries the message he has been given by his commander. One of his greatest duties is to communicate this message properly and clearly. 2. Sometimes our message as the Lord's ambassadors is one of reconciliation. Note 2 Cor 5 and Galatians 6: 1 E. Sometimes the message we must carry is the message of salvation. -This message demands our urgent attention, for life is uncertain and many are dying without Christ as their Savior! It must be uncomplicated, unconfined, unconditional (as far as who can be saved : anyone can be saved) Romans 10:13 Hebrews 7:25 II. THE AMBASSADOR'S LIFE OF EXAMPLES: I Tim 4:7-12 Read I Timothy 4:7-12. As found in this passage of Scripture, there are at least six important areas in which we are to be living examples before others: A. The ambassador is to be an example in word.- Psalm 19:14 and Matthew 12:34 Ephesians 4:29 B. The ambassador is to be an example in lifestyle: Philippians 1 :27 C. The ambassador is to be an example in love: Jn. 13:35; I Thess. 4:9 I Peter 1:22 and I John 4:11. D. The ambassador is to be an example in spirit. It refers to our attitudes-or to use a word easily understood by everyone today, "moods." Ephesians 4:30-32 E. The ambassador is to be an example in faith. For an excellent defInition of faith, you must read Hebrews 11:1.
You'll find that real faith is trusting God even in the times when you cannot "see" how He is working. F. The ambassador is to be an example in purity. Illus. Consider Lot's testimony: III. THE MOST DIFFICULT DUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN AMBASSADOR As ambassadors for Christ, we often face difficult tasks. But the most difficult isn't fighting the world, the cults, the humanist or even the devil. The most difficult duty is that of keeping the flesh disciplined. The sign of maturity is self-discipline. For instance, the more children learn to discipline themselves, the less they need their parents involvement in the control of their behavior. Surely it must please our Heavenly Father when we grow in the area of self-discipline. It's a certain sign of "spiritual maturity" in our lives. It may not always be easy to control the flesh and to discipline self, but it is always right, and it is beneficial to our character and testimony before the world. There are four primary areas of life that we must learn to discipline ourselves in if we are to live a good testimony before others. A. We must discipline our devotions. 1. We've discussed this before but let us be reminded that we MUST have a daily, quiet time of personal and private devotions, alone with the Lord, if we are to maintain our spiritual health. a. There is no way for our spirit to grow without good spiritual nourishment. I Peter 2:2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, NKJ 2. We must remember that Jesus is a person, and we need to walk in a close relationship with Him. a. We need to seek Him in the first part of our day. Proverbs 8: 17 b. If we are to be His ambassador, we must know Him and walk with Him. How can we be a representative of Him whom we do not know? 3. The two primary ingredients of a good devotional time are prayer, and the Word of God. a. In the Word of God we hear from God; in our prayer time we speak with Him directly! b. Daily discipline in this area of life will payoff in a closer relationship with the Lord Jesus. B. We must discipline our doubts. 1. Some people harbor doubts and negative attitudes constantly. a. A doubting Christian will be a discouraged Christian, and a discouraged Christian will soon be a defeated Christian. b. This is no way for the Lord's ambassador to live! 2. To avoid the snare of discouragement, one must learn to discipline a doubting mind. a. The first step is to avoid those who are, themselves, undisciplined in this area. b. It only took 10 defeated, negative spies to keep all of God's people out of the Land of Canaan. Surround yourself with people who are always discouraged and defeated, find their attitude will "rub off'; on you. c. You must learn to practice controlling your thoughts. According to the Bible, you can accomplish this with God's help. II Cor. 10:5 d. God made our minds in such manner that we cannot possibly think two different thoughts at the exact same time. Therefore, we must learn to "cast out" the negative, hindering thoughts by replacing them with that which is good. By persisting in this exercise, you will learn to control your mind and direct its thoughts. C. We must learn to discipline our desires. I. Salvation doesn't destroy our old nature. We must understand that the "flesh" (the old nature) will battle the "spirit" (which is the new nature given to us by the indwelling Spirit of God ). a. If we're to live a good testimony, we must learn to disciple and control the flesh along with its desires. 2. According to I John 2:16, these desires fall into three main categories. Note these categories. a. The lust of the flesh deals with things like sensual desires and love of pleasure. b. The lust of the eyes deals with the desire to accumulate more and more of the world's wealth-materialism! c. The pride of life is to have a haughty spirit-to desire the praise of men and to want to be popular in the eyes of the world. 3. To discipline these areas of life we must learn to resist at the point of temptation or desire. This is where all sin finds it's beginning. a. Read James 1: 13-15. It's at the moment of enticement that we must learn to resist in the power of God. b. Each time a Christian stands up and resists at the moment of enticement or temptation, he or she grows stronger for the next attack of temptation by this particular sin. If he continues to resist, the victory over that sin will come. c. The devil cannot make you sin; he can only lead you to the point where. you will be enticed. Even that comes from your own lust (flesh), according to James 1.
D. We must learn to discipline our duties. 1. The word "duty" is the word that separates the good Christian from the average Christian. a. Read and copy Ecclesiastes 12: 13. b. The Christian's whole duty to God is to fear (reverence) Him and to keep His commandments. 2. The undisciplined Christian is motivated to serve the Lord out of "inspiration." a. If you can keep him inspired, you can keep him serving the Lord and being a good ambassador. b. The only problem with this motivation is that inspiration often runs out! It's extremely difficult to always keep people inspired. 3. The disciplined Christian is the one who serves not out of inspiration, but out of obligation. a. He sees his service to the Lord as a soldier sees his service to his country. It's his duty! b. He is a child of God. He represents the Lord before the world, He is His ambassador. It is his duty and obligation to keep his testimony clean and to serve God even when he doesn't feel inspired! c. Whatever God has commanded in His Word, that is what he will do for he is an ambassador of Christ. SUMMARY: Of all the people who have ever lived since Adam was created and placed here, upon this earth, very few ever had the privilege to physically meet the Lord Jesus face to face. He lived in a very confined area of the world for a very short period of time. The millions of people in the world today will never see Jesus if they don't see Him in those of us who are saved. That's why the Bible says, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ " He left us here in His place to represent Him before others. That's the duty of every saved man, woman, teenager, boy or girl. It's vital that we understand the importance of our testimony, and our duty to guard it carefully. Many times a testimony that has taken years to build only takes minutes to destroy. This thought should so guide us each day that we may learn how to resist the attacks of the devil and protect our valuable testimony. Did people see Jesus in you this week? Did they see Him in your life? "Show Him" to others by the way you live, the places you go, the things you do, the attitudes you display and the words you say. This is the duty of a good ambassador! |