Your Testimony Is Powerful, Don’t Let Anyone Destroy It

Your testimony, the life you are living for Jesus, is one of the most powerful tools there is for bringing other people to Him. That is exactly why there is an enemy who wants it destroyed.

There is a detail in the Lazarus account that I do not think gets enough attention. After Lazarus was raised, the chief priests did not only plot to kill Jesus. They made plans to kill Lazarus too.

Think about what that means. They were not trying to silence a man. They were trying to kill the evidence.

What You’ll Hear In This Episode

Why Jesus told the delivered man to go home and tell his family, and what happened next
The verse in John 12 where the plan to kill Lazarus is spelled out
Why your transformed life is your own Lazarus, and what happens when you put your name in that story
What it tells you about your effectiveness when the enemy comes after your reputation

Scripture In This Episode

Mark 5:19. Go home and tell your family all that God has done for you.

John 11:45 and 11:53. Many believed because of the miracle, and from that day on they plotted to take the life of Jesus.

John 12:9-10. “The chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus, because many Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in Him.”

Full Transcript

Transcribed from the episode audio. Names, places and scripture references have been corrected, and caption noise has been removed.

Do you know that your testimony, your life that you are living for Jesus is one of the most powerful tools to bring others to Christ? Scripture is clear that our personal testimony is a light to the world and we are instructed to let our light shine before the world. In Mark 5:19, when Jesus delivered the man possessed by demons, he told him to go home and tell all of his family and friends all that God has done for him. Why? Because his testimony became a powerful instrument that God used to bring others to Christ.

Our personal testimony is particularly powerful because sharing our sincere experience can be deeply disarming to unbelievers. But beware, there is an evil one who wishes to destroy your testimony and your effectiveness for Christ. Why? Because he knows if he can destroy your testimony, he dilutes your effectiveness for the Lord. We know those who hated Jesus, the chief priests and Pharisees, wanted to kill Jesus.

But there is a story that shows us how far the enemy will go to bring you and your testimony down to make your life ineffective. When you look at John 11:45, when Lazarus was raised from the dead, his testimony that news spread like wildfire and many came to Jesus because of that miracle. And in verse 53, it tells us that the high priest plotted from that day on to take the life of Jesus because many were believing in him. And it didn’t stop there. When Lazarus was raised from the dead, the Pharisees sought not just to kill Jesus, but to also kill Lazarus.

They wanted to kill the testimony of Jesus’ power to raise the dead. John 12:9 tells us that large crowds continued to come and seek Jesus. and Lazarus as well. And verse 10 says, “The chief priest made plans to kill Lazarus because many Jews were going over to Jesus believing in him.” Why kill Lazarus? They wanted to destroy the testimony of Jesus.

It was a powerful testimony that was being used to bring others to the Lord. So remember, if the devil can get you or anyone to destroy your testimony, it’s only because he knows that it’s powerful and that the Lord is using your testimony and your story of salvation and deliverance for his glory. Your Lazarus is your transformed life in Christ. So if you substitute your name in place of the name Lazarus throughout that story, it becomes even more real how powerful your life is for Jesus. We are all dead until Christ gives us life.

But I encourage you to draw closer to Jesus every day and guard your heart against the enemy who wishes to kill your testimony for Christ. We know that Jesus gave his life for us. It was not taken. I challenge you to give your life daily to the Lord. Stand strong in him.

Grow deeper in your walk and allow God to use your testimony to bring others to Christ.