There’s a story told of a man named John Currier who, in 1949, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He was later transferred and paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, TN. In 1968, Currier’s sentence was terminated, and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him. But John never saw the letter, nor was he told anything about it, he just continued the hard work on the farm, without any hope for the future. Ten years went by. Then a state parole officer learned about Currier’s plight, found him, and told him that his sentence had been terminated. He was a finally a free man. Wow. How would you feel if someone had sent you an important message—a message that would change your life—and the message was never delivered? Actually, we have been trusted with such a message: the Good News of Jesus. It is a message that can truly change lives. How faithful are we in delivering it to others?

Interestingly, one of the scariest things for most Christians about Christianity is witnessing. Just the thought of it makes some people cringe. Of course, fear rises when we have the wrong idea of what witnessing is. In order to rid ourselves of these fears, we must see the Biblical definition. Jesus said in John 3:11, “We speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen.” You can only be a witness of something you have seen or experienced. You can only talk about what you know. God is not asking you to explain all the mysteries of the Bible (who can do that?), He is only asking that you share your experience of Him. This is your testimony, and it is powerful. Acts 1:8 helps us to understand the power in our witnessing. The secret to witnessing is clear: the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave us this promise: “Do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11). Any time Jesus calls us to witness the power of the Holy Spirit is on our side. The Spirit will give us the words to say and will work on the heart of those listening. Truthfully, the responsibility of success is on the Holy Spirit—we just have to be willing to speak. Our job is to be a witness; the Holy Spirit’s job is to do something with our witness. Jesus also said, “you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8, emphasis mine). In other words, our testimony will consist of what we have learned and experienced with Him. We are to share Him with others. This, of course, requires us to walk with Him so we can regularly experience Him. You see, the moment we met Christ—also known as our conversion story—is just the first page in our testimony. Every experience with God since then adds another page. Our testimony grows the more we walk with God. As we study God’s word and learn more about Him, we will be able to share more about Him. This means that our testimony is dynamic. It is not just one moment in history—it will change over time as our experience with God changes. Our testimony will also adapt to fit the needs of the listener: our experience with God during a moment of trial can help someone else going through a similar trial. Therefore, the more we experience God, the greater our witness can be. Being Jesus’ witnesses also means that it doesn’t matter the subject, or the situation, our testimony will always center on Him. Isaiah 43:10 says, “‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.’” This is why our witness is so powerful and valuable. It has the ability to reveal God to someone so they can learn to love Him as well! To whom, then, are we to witness? Acts 1:8 says we would be witnesses “in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” In other words, to everyone! The disciples started in their home town, Jerusalem, and went out from there. It didn’t matter the nationality or background of the person, they were to share Jesus. Likewise, we start right where we are with the people in our lives and then move out from there. Friends, your experience with God, when shared, can be used by the Holy Spirit to give others freedom in Christ. If someone could find hope in your testimony, why would you not share it? If someone could find freedom and salvation from your witness of God, why would you keep quiet? There is eternal power and value in your testimony. Someone needs to hear your experience with God. So tell them!