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.