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We Have God's Testimony

John Crowe, M. Div., D. Min.

Number 167

Once, I was looking for a cash register with a short line. Soon, a cashier called me over. I told her that I had not come earlier because her light was not shining. Once she turned her light on, many people came into her line. She had the title of being a cashier, but she did not have a testimony until her light was shining.

 

The Bible tells us we have a testimony. It's the testimony of God's blessing His Word as it works through His called people.

 

In Genesis 11 and 12, the people of Abraham's home town had the title of being the advanced place of culture, but Abram had the testimony of being called of God to go where he had never been before. In Genesis 13 through 15 Lot had the title of living in the city, but Abraham has the testimony of God's covenant to bless the whole world through his seed. In Genesis 39-50, Potiphar's wife had the title, but Joseph had the testimony of how God turns evil into good.

 

In Egypt, the Pharaoh who did not know Joseph had the title, but Moses had the testimony of knowing who really is God. In Egypt, the river Nile, the frogs, the gnats, the flies, etc. all represented the title of some Egyptian god, but the Israelites had the testimony that the Lord alone is God.

 

In the wilderness, Aaron had the title of high priest and build a golden calf, but Moses had the testimony about how to worship God. In the conquest of the promised land, Achan had the title of having a valley named after him whom Israel stoned after taking the spoil of the battle, but Rahab and her house had the testimony of being saved from the destruction of Jericho

.

In the days of the Judges, Israel had the title of being without a king and everyone doing as they saw fit, but the judges had the testimony of God being Israel's King. During the days of Samuel, Saul had the title of being King, but David had the testimony of defeating Goliath.

 

During the later days of the united kingdom of Israel, David had the title of being the conquering king, but Solomon had the testimony of building the Temple to worship God.

 

While Ahab had the title of being the King of Israel who married Jezebel, but Elijah had the testimony of defeating the prophets of Baal and God feeding him by the ravens. (I Kings. 17-18).

 

While Hoshea had the title of being the king while the Israelites were exiled by the Assyrians (now northern Iraq), the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah had the testimony of proclaiming the Word of the Lord about judgment and the promised restoration.

 

While Josiah had the title of being the last king of Judah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel had the testimony of God's promise of a new covenant and a new heart. While Nebuchadnezzar had the title of being king of Babylon, Daniel had the testimony of being delivered from the Lion's den.

 

While five different men over a period of 100 years had the title of being king of Persia, the three prophets: Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi, the priest Ezra and the governor Nehemiah had the testimony of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem.

 

In the Gospels, Herod the Great had the title of being king of Israel, but John the Baptist had the testimony about God's Kingdom being at hand. Augustus Caesar had the title of being the emperor of the Roman Empire, but Jesus had the testimony of being born the King of the Jews. Pontius Pilate had the title of being the Roman Governor of Judah, but Jesus had the testimony of having a higher authority over his life.

 

During the events in the book of Acts, the Romans had the title of being the builders of society, while the church had the testimony of turning the world upside down with the Gospel. During the writing of the NT epistles, Satan has the title of being the god of the kingdom of this world, but Christians have the testimony of being redeemed from the domain of darkness and living as the children of light.

 

During the writing of Revelation, the Roman emperor Domitian took the title 'Lord God', but Jesus has the testimony of being the Alpha and the Omega, "who is, and who was, and who is to come," the Almighty. In Revelation, the "latter days" empire of darkness gives itself the title of being victorious over the church, but the church has the testimony of being victorious by the blood of Jesus and the word of their testimony.

 

The record is clear. In every case, the testimony of God's Word was superior. In the face of all odds, it as the testimony of God's Word that overcame and made the difference in the lives of God's people.

 

We have the testimony of God's Word. It's our calling to continue giving that testimony. Like the cashier, turn on the light of God's testimony in your ministry and watch God begin to change and transform their lives by His power.

 

John Crowe

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