Over the past few weeks we've been looking at some Biblical principles of healing.  And now we come to another interesting principle - that of personal testimony.  You may ask:  how do we find personal testimony from the Word of God?  Remember in John, chapter 9, Jesus touched and healed the blind man.  After his healing the man said "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know.  One thing I do know.  I was blind but now I see." (John 9:25).  That is the personal testimony of the blind man who was healed.  "One thing I do know.  I was blind but now I see".  The Scribes and the Pharisees were trying to question him about who healed him, about the fact he was healed on the Sabbath and they were getting at him from a legalistic point of view, a religious point of view, a doctrinal point of view.  But the man dismissed their questioning quite simply by saying he didn't know what they were talking about.  He knew only one thing - he was blind but now he could see.  End of story.  Personal testimony that nobody could argue with.  People can argue about different things, doctrine, theology, whatever you like, but nobody can argue with the personal testimony of somebody standing in front of you saying "one thing I know ... this is what happened to me".

"Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony" (John 4:39).  This was the personal testimony of the woman at the well.  Jesus told her about her whole life story and she was a changed woman because of it.  And the bible tells us that many people from her town came to believe in Jesus because of what she told them He had done.  The power of personal testimony.  The secret of the gospel.

I remember a visiting minister preaching here a few years ago and after the service we were chatting and he said to me: "You folk here in Banbridge have not got this thing sussed at all.  You're asleep.  You have a secret weapon right here in this church that could convert this town in a fortnight, but you're not using it. Gospel gossip!"  He explained to me that personal testimony is basically gossiping the gospel!  People eager to spread the news about what Jesus has done for them and how He has changed their life.  We all need to stop being worldy gossipers and become gospel gossipers instead.

In Acts 8:6-8 we find "when the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.  With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many and many paralytics and cripples were healed.  So there was great joy in that city".  I wonder how many of you can recall the Sunday we had the Rev Trevor Dearing here.  He told the story of how he'd been asked to go along to the Oxford University's Debating Society to discuss the relevance of Christianity today.
He gave them all his best arguments both from a scriptural point of view and from a theological point of view but he wasn't cutting any ice.  He knew he wasn't getting through so he silently prayed "what do I do now Lord?".  God told him to pray for the sick.  He did so and when someone came forward the Lord healed them immediately. That person was healed and declared it and there was no more argument or debate.  It's impossible to argue with personal testimony.

In Acts 3:11-13 when Peter and John healed the crippled beggar sitting at the gates of the temple, "all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade.  When Peter saw this he said to them: Men of Israel, why does this surprise you?  Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?" and scripture tells us that the healed man went into the temple courts "walking and jumping and praising God".  You couldn't tell that man that Jesus does not heal today.  You couldn't tell that man that healing is not part of the Gospel.  He knew because it had happened to him personally.

The power of personal testimony.  Let me ask you:  when was the last time you gave your personal testimony to someone?  When was the last time you shared what God has done in your life with another individual?  I remember working some years ago with a fellow who was what we'd call here in Northern Ireland, a real wildman!  Wild in his language; wild in his drinking; wild in his womanising; every aspect of his life.  How he managed to keep his job I don't know!  However, on one occasion we were working together and there was a couple of hours break-down in the system and so we decided to go and have a cup of coffee.  We sat in a small coffee house and began to chat.  "Cecil, I suppose you don't think too much of my lifestyle" he began.  "I didn't say anything about your lifestyle" I replied, but that opened up a conversation between us.  I didn't preach at him.  I didn't tell him he needed to get saved.  I simply shared my own personal testimony with him and, as a result, this "wildman" decided to give his life to the Lord!  Personal testimony is an amazing tool.

If we have no relationship with Jesus, we have no testimony, and if we have no testimony, we have no relationship with Jesus.  It's the strongest implement the church has and it's the one the church uses least.  Think about that.  If we share our own personal testimonies people will say - he's an ordinary person ... if God can do that for him, He can do it for me too.  And the power of personal testimony is phenominal, especially when we're flowing with the Holy Spirit.

You know, I come into church on Sunday and I sit down there towards the back and I hear conversations going on all around me about sports, aeroplanes, motor bikes, "yer man has it up in the yard and that's where yer man's workin' from".  Now exactly who "yer man" is, or what it is he's got up in his yard, I don't know, but that's the kind of conversations that go on here on a Sunday morning. There are never any conversations about Jesus.  I seldom hear His Name mentioned.  So many folk come into our churches today and they can talk about the weather and all kinds of other things, but they can't talk about Jesus Christ.  We need to learn to talk about Jesus.

Everytime you give your testimony you put down a marker.  It's another milestone along the road.  It's putting your heel down hard on the devil again, reminding him and reminding yourself where you have come from.  What God has done for you.  The more you share your testimony, the stronger you will become in your assurance and in your belief as a believer.  Scripture says in Revelation 12:11 "they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony".
It's that powerful!  Romans 10:9-10 says "If you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."  Get hold of that!  It is by your mouth that you confess and are saved.  Therefore going through the born-again experience needs to be sealed by the confession of your lips.  That's why when I lead somebody to the Lord I always tell them to go and tell somebody else -  their spouse, or a friend or their minister.  Tell it, speak it out, confess it.  That's the clincher when it comes to making salvation real.  "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess His name" (Hebrews 13: 15).  It's a sacrifice you give to God; it's something that pleases Him; it's something that adds to your born-again experience.

 You might feel shy about sharing your testimony at first, but remember in Acts 1:8 we're promised "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth".  God gives us all the power to witness, to share our testimony, and our witnessing should initially be the sharing of our own personal testimony. "Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord..." (2 Timothy 1:8).  When we testify about what God has done in our lives we affirm it as truth. You can preach at people for a lifetime and make no impression on them, but when they hear your testimony and know what God has done in your life it breaks through.  We're told to be ready, always prepared. "For in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15).  Be a person of one book, obedient to the Word of God, willing and able to give an answer, your testimony, for the hope that you have in Christ.