“The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

“One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (John 9:11, 25)

Every Sunday evening at Morgan’s Point United Church we have been offering what we call a Good News Gathering. The format is very simple. We begin with a time of refreshments at 6 p.m. At 6:30 we have a time of praise and worship. Then we go around the room and ask anyone who has a praise report to share it. Following this time of sharing, one of our members shares their personal testimony. Then we break up into small groups and pray for one another.

The primary purpose of this gathering is to share with those who have not yet made a commitment to follow Jesus fully how their lives can be changed when they choose Him to be their Lord and their Saviour. “If He can do it for me, He can do it for you as well!”

As an added bonus, it also provides an opportunity for those who are further along in their faith walk with Jesus to make connections with those who are just on their way (or about to get going) and disciple them.

When I tell friends outside our congregation about the Good News Gatherings, the first question they ask is: “How do you find so many people who are willing to share their testimony in a relatively small community such as yours?”

My answer is very simple: We teach them to keep it simple. This way it does not seem foreboding in any way to those who are not used to sharing their testimony to put it all together.

As a matter of fact, the verses quoted at the top of this post provide the framework for an effective testimony. You know the story of the man who was born blind receiving his sight. This causes quite a stir among the religious leaders. They question him repeatedly to discover how exactly this amazing change had come about.

The blind man’s response is very simple. There are three distinct parts in his response that constitute the essential elements of a testimony.

“I was blind.”

“Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed…”

“Now I see.”

We have made it easy to remember by teaching everyone who shares their testimony to use the following format:

B.J—What life was like Before Jesus.

E.J—How you Encountered Jesus.

A.J—How life has changed After Jesus became your Lord and Saviour.

Pretty simple, isn’t it? But don’t let the simplicity fool you. It is simply powerful when you put all three elements together.

Last Sunday, one of our DWOD subscribers, Lori Fournier shared her testimony using this format. Just so you know, when I first asked Lori to do this a couple of months back, she was very reluctant to comply with my request. She was not sure that her testimony would have much of an impact on anyone else. She was not ready. So I just left her alone.

On Sunday afternoon, Sulojana asked Lori to consider doing it that very same evening. She had a sense that the timing was the Lord’s. Thankfully, Lori, who hears well from the Lord herself, agreed.

We had four first-timers at the GNG that evening. Two of them were powerfully touched by Lori’s testimony. Great freedom came to them during prayer ministry.

Dear DWOD friend, do you have your testimony ready to be shared with others at short notice? You may wish to prepare it using the B.J., E.J. & A.J. template. You never know when a door will open up for you to share it with someone who needs to hear it at that particular moment.

Jesus wants your testimony to be shared. The world needs your testimony to be heard. You got it?

Last Sunday, as we were reading from Acts 2 about the Holy Spirit coming upon the 120, I was struck by this description of the bystanders’ reaction to all the commotion:

Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:12)

“This” refers to the inexplicable phenomenon of people from a number of language groups being able to hear the “wonderful works of God” declared in their particular language. What made this even more astounding is that the speakers were Galileans!

To get the full impact of the reference to Galileans, we need to remind ourselves that Peter, a fisherman by trade, was a Galilean, as was his brother Andrew. Ditto for James and John. In other words, these were not linguistics majors from a renowned university 🙂 As a matter of fact, fisherfolk were “sea” students who did not go to school as a rule!

No wonder these visitors to Jerusalem were amazed and perplexed by “this.”

The one positive attribute of this group was their desire to find out what it really meant. This is in stark contrast to another group of people who simply mocked the proceedings as a case of “too much new wine.”

Peter seizes the opportunity to provide an explanation of what was actually going on. He shows the Jewish pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem for the harvest festival of Pentecost how prophecies delivered by Joel were now being fulfilled in this most unusual manner.

For Peter to even have the opportunity to provide an answer however, first there had to be a reason for the people to ask the question. The inexplicable demands an explanation.

It is instructive to note that according to Peter’s explanation, the premier manifestation of the Spirit of God falling upon someone is the gift of prophecy. This actually would not have been too much of a stretch for the Jewish mind to grasp.

In Numbers 11:24-30, we read about how the Lord took a portion of the Spirit that rested upon Moses and gave it to 70 of his elders. What happened as a consequence? “When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.” (v. 25)

Similarly, when Saul encountered a group of prophets, we are told that “the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.” (I Samuel 10:10). In verse 13, we read that he had stopped prophesying after a while.

The Jewish experience was of the Spirit of God coming upon a select few. Some prophesied for a short spell. Others wore the mantle of the prophet. But now Peter declares that the Spirit of God was being poured out upon ALL people.

This explanation seemed to answer their question, as they now listen intently to the rest of his message.

To this day, quite often when we prophesy over someone who has never experienced this gift in operation, their response is very similar to that of the visitors to Jerusalem on that day of Pentecost: “How did you know that about me? You do not know me at all!” Or when God shows up and miraculously brings healing to an unbeliever, it shakes them up and they wonder how this is possible!

It is only when they are amazed and perplexed that they ask the question and are eager to receive the answer that the Lord gives them through us. No occurrence of the inexplicable, no requisition for an explanation which could potentially lead to their salvation as it did that day for 3000!

Dear DWOD friend, when the Spirit of God comes upon you, do you realize that you too are now a conduit through whom He can flow and cause signs, wonders and miracles to follow? This could potentially open the door to many meaningful conversations and life-transforming decisions.

So, let me ask you now: “Do you leave them amazed and perplexed?” What is your answer?