How God Shapes Our Testimony

 Tonight I want to talk about How God Shapes Our Testimony. Now the reason I came up with this and wanted to talk about it tonight is because there was something I said over the weekend where I said that God is still perfecting that Scrapbook of our Testimony. Now when we think of how God is still perfecting and crafting the Scrapbook of our Testimonies, we can see how He is then Shaping and Molding our Testimony in order to grow in our relationship, and our Faith walk with God. We see how God does great works in our lives. We see how we can grow spiritually, and not lose Hope, or Faith, or Love for one another. I want us to now look at some scriptures and the scriptures we are going to look at tonight are 2 Timothy 1 verse 8, Revelation 12 verse 11, Psalm 66 verse 16, 1 John 5 verse 11, 1 John 1-4, Matthew 5 verse 16, Hebrews 2 verse 12. The other scriptures I want to look at tonight are Hebrews 4 verse 12, Acts 1 verse 8, Revelation 19 verse 10, Psalm 19 verse 7, Revelation 1 verse 2, Psalm 26 verse 7, John 9 verse 25, Psalm 119 verse 111, John 14 verse 6, 1 Timothy 6 verse 12, Psalm 119 verse 105, John 3 verse 16-17, Mark 5 verse 19, Psalm 107 1-2, Jeremiah 51 verse 10, and 1 Corinthians 1-9. In the scriptures we see how God continues to Shape and Perfect the Scrapbook of our Testimonies. I want to share a song by Jeremy Camp called Overcome and here are the lyrics I would like to share: Seated above, enthroned in the Father's love, Destined to die, poured out for all mankind, God's only Son, perfect and spotless one, He never sinned but suffered as if He did, All authority, Every victory is Yours, All authority, Every victory is Yours, Savior, Savior, worthy of honor and glory, Worthy of all our praise, You overcame, Jesus, awesome in power forever, Awesome and great is Your name, You overcame, Power in hand speaking the Father's plan, You're sending us out, light in this broken land, All authority, Every victory is Yours, Savior, worthy of honor and glory, Worthy of all our praise, You overcame, You overcame, Jesus, awesome in power forever, Awesome and great is Your name, You overcame, yeah, We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb, And the word of our testimony, everyone overcome. When I think of this song, I think of how God has helped me through different things. I think of how God is blessing my life through the ministries I'm actively involved in, and how I am involved in my church. I think of how I am even involved as a community network leader for teens with Hydrocephalus and do a zoom call with them once a month on Sundays, and every Saturday help with those who are my age, but have become family, just like ministries in Washington and California have become family and the ministries based out in those states, and the Soldiers for Faith ministry have become home for me too. Everyone I've met through these ministries, like this one or the other two I have continuously to be involved in, has been a blessing but I have seen God shape me and continue to shape my testimony daily. I know it's where I belong, and I know it's what God has called me to do. There are some things I want to close on, but before I end and close on those things, here is a question I want to ask all of you. How has God shaped you to be who you are uniquely called to be in His Image? Here are the things I would like to end and close on tonight. The first quote I would like to share says this: ''We all have a story. We all have a testimony. We all have the goodness of God that we can share with others to encourage them. Take a step of faith and share what He is doing in your life!.'' The second thing I would like to share says: ''Everything has a purpose, the purpose of your Trials is to give you a testimony.'' The third thing I would like to share says: If you give it to God, He transforms your test into a testimony, your mess into a message, and your misery into a ministry. The next thing I would like to share is Brand New by Matthew West. The lyrics I want to share say this: When you close your eyes, do you go back there To a bended knee and a "Lord, I need you" whispered prayer? Remember the moment you let Jesus in, Would you give anything to go back there again? You feel like a million mistakes and a million miles, Away from the first time faith of a child, But oh, I want you to know, He's making you new, He's making you new, He's healing your heart right where you are, If only you knew, He's lifting your shame, He's changing your name And when you look back The only thing that you'll see is His grace, Has been making you brand new, He is making you brand new, When it just doesn't feel like the old you is gone, The shame keeps telling your heart that you should be further along, You can fix your eyes now on the truth you know, That you are held by the hands of a savior that won't let go. Anyone in Christ is now a new creation, Every day you're closer to the you He's making, So take one last look back and see your past erasing, You're not who you were, that's over and done, So lift up your eyes to the one, Who's making you new, He's making you new, He's healing your heart right where you are, If only you knew, He's lifting your shame, He's changing your name, And when you look back, The only thing that you'll see is His grace, Has been making you brand new, He is making you brand new. The last thing I want to leave everyone with tonight is, no matter what the enemy tries to say about you, no matter how many times the enemy tries to tell you lies and define who you are, you are not defined by any of that, because the enemy doesn't define and shape you or I's testimony, because the only one that does that is God. God shapes and crafts and perfects our testimony and turns our small victories into blessings. I wanted to end on that last part there because I wanted all of you to know your testimony from God isn't over and still is adding the good parts and pieces to the scrapbook of your testimony, so you can continue to be the light He wants you to be. We may not be perfect but God's ways are perfect, and we know He is Love and there's no greater Love than the Love Of God perfecting our Testimonies.

The Love Of God

 I am going to talk about the Love Of God. This study came about from a song I was listening before church on a radio network and the song was called Heart Of The Father. I thought how can I go about that. How can I really go about it, is what I thought and then while listening to things in church I came up with some things and a scripture, and the title which is: The Love Of God. Now I want to start off with a song before we go into scriptures and the song I want to start with tonight is A Thousand Thank Yous by Sarah Kroger. The lyrics of the song say: How rare, the riches of Your glory. How deep, the Father's loving heart, How vast, the reaches of Your mercy, Stretching wider and further than the stars, More than a million words could say, A thousand thank You's, a fountain of praise, With every breath of all of our days, Jesus, You're worthy of all of our praise, All of our praise, How wild, beyond imagination, How kind, the nature of Your heart, How extravagant, the beauty of Your splendour, We stand in awe of who You are, More than a million words could say, A thousand thank You's, a fountain of praise, With every breath of all of our days, Jesus, You're worthy of all of our praise, Of all of our praise. I want us to now look at scriptures and the scriptures we are looking at tonight are: 1 John 4 verse 8, Hosea 11 verse 4, 1 John 4 verse 16, Jude 1 verse 21, Romans 5 verse 8, John 14 verse 21, John 7 verse 38, Mark 12 verse 30, John 3 verse 16, 1 Chronicles 29 verse 17, Zephaniah 3 verse 17, and 1 John 4 verse 10. In the scriptures we see God's Love for us because God is Love. When we know the Love of God is with us because He is Love, we can begin to see how God not only doesn't give us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind. There is a scripture in Proverbs where it says Trust In The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. I'm sure if we were to look at scriptures in Ephesians or more books of the Bible we would find scriptures on The Heart Of The Father, God's unfailing and infinite love, what it truly meant to have the Love Of God living inside of us, A Father's Love, and the Love we receive from God. We could probably take time going around time and time again quoting the scriptures that talk about this. Tonight, we are talking about The Love Of God. When I think of that, for me personally I think of one of the scriptures we read which is John 3 verse 16, and I think of how amazing it is to know He sent His Son to die on the cross to forgive us of our sins so that we could have everlasting or eternal life. When I was talking with a friend this past weekend, I was talking to them about something I had thought about and they were thinking just the same thing, because I mentioned and I think I mentioned something relating with God's Love and all of what I talked about and shared toward the beginning of how I decided to do this study. It's amazing how God works in us to show us that things can come full circle like that. I want to share some other songs right now with all of you. The first one being How Deep The Father's Love For Us. The lyrics say this: How deep the Father's love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son, To make a wretch His treasure, How great the pain of searing loss, The Father turns His face away, As wounds which mar the Chosen One, Bring many sons to glory, Behold the man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders, Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice, Call out among the scoffers, It was my sin that held Him there, Until it was accomplished, His dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished, I will not boast in anything, No gifts, no power, no wisdom, But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, Why should I gain from His reward?, I cannot give an answer, But this I know with all my heart, His wounds have paid my ransom. The next two songs are by Sarah Kroger and the first one is Belovedness, where some of the lyrics say: You are completely loved and fully known, Beloved, believe he died to make your heart his home. And he says, "You're mine, I smiled when I made you, I find you beautiful in every way, My love for you is fierce and unending, I'll come to find you, whatever it takes", He says, "You're mine, I smiled when I made you, I find you beautiful in every way, My love for you is fierce and unending I'll come to find you, whatever it takes, My beloved", It's time to own your belovedness. The second song is called Run To The Cross and the lyrics say: You were wounded, pierced and broken, I have been redeemed, You were bound for my transgressions, I have been released. Who the Son sets free is free, I am free indeed. I run to the Cross, I fall in your arms, and I know I'm forgiven, yeah I know I'm forgiven. I run to the Cross, I lay down my heart, and I am not forsaken, yeah I am not forsaken. I had wandered far from mercy, still you searched for me. Held as captive, to my failings, oh, you rescued me! The next song I would like to share is So Loved by Matthew West and some of the lyrics say: Some say they're just nothin', But some words upon a page, In a dusty old Bible at a backroad revival, Or a Sunday school lesson from childhood days, Yeah, and some say they're just numbers, Just some numbers on a sign, 3:16, they don't mean a thing, We see it all the time, but the world pays no mind, Well all I can tell you is what it means to me, These are the numbers of my hope, These are the words that set me free, They tell the story of a Savior, Who gave His life for me And with all that is within me I believe, For God so loved, So loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, For God so loved. We see here that God loves us so much and that we are His Beloved and we can own that Belovedness through Him because His Love for us is deep. The last thing I would like to end on tonight is The Father's Heart by Aaron Appling. The lyrics I would like to share is: As I Sing This Song, Heaven Open Wide And Angels Sing Along, Sweet Melodies Wrapped Inside, mmm, My Father's Heart. Oh, Oh, It's in this secret place where Heaven kisses Earth in such a sweet embrace, Angelic Harmonies wrapped inside mmm, my Father's Heart. We see in part of this song that not only are we wrapped in the arms of Him, we are wrapped around His Heart because He loves with unconditional and unfailing love because He is Love. We give our hearts to God in praise, in prayer, and there's no greater Love than The Heart Of God in our hearts with love.