10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
Pastor: Dr. Lester Hutson

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The Key to Achieving and Maintaining
a Christ-Like Testimony

In this series we've talked about the ideal Christian testimony: one which is Christ-like. We discussed how our testimony should bring glory to God, promote faith and trust in His Word and how it should be Christ-like. We discussed the sometimes negative results of emphasizing the 'do not's' and so we focused on the positives; the 'do's'. However, we were using a perfect model of a good testimony with which to make our own personal comparisons. Let us now talk about the real world where few of us have model testimonies.

Let me start off by saying that my Christian walk has been a roller coaster ride up over short peaks of Godly service and down through long valleys of self-indulgence. I have made mistakes which have scarred me for life and left permanent black marks on my reputation. However I have also experienced first-hand how God can use a person for His honor and glory despite the mistakes and the soiled reputation. He doesn't erase the problems but He can turn those bad experiences into positives. How does this transformation take place?

The answer to the above question is the key to achieving and maintaining a good testimony: one that is Christ-like and God honoring. We must fall in love with the Lord and put Him first in every aspect of our lives. Christ said that 'where your treasure is, there will your heart be also' (Matthew 6:21) and that 'a good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things' (Matthew 12:34-35). It is only after we seek Him with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our might that we will have and keep the right kind of testimony.

It is a fact of human nature that we become like the people we mix with. How we dress, act and speak is greatly influenced by those with whom we spend the most time. We can also be influenced by those we admire, respect or wish we could be like.

We are especially susceptible to the influence of someone we are in love with. We go out of our way to do things for that special loved one. We spare no expense to get them what they want. We dress to please them. We change any mannerisms they find annoying. We say the things they like to hear. We avoid hurting their feelings. Their desires become our desires.

When we fall in love with the Lord His desires become ours and we will seek to do whatever we can to please Him. David said, 'Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart' (Psalm 119:2). And God says, ' I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:   That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures' (Proverbs 8:17-21).

The 'fruit' God speaks of in the previous verse is not riches or worldly possessions. He says it 'is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.' It is the fruit of the Spirit as described by Paul in his letter to the Galatians. It is 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  meekness, temperance' (Galatians 5:22-23). It is the treasure 'laid up in heaven' spoken of by Christ as recorded in Matthew 6:20. It is the fruit spoken of by Christ in John chapter 15, 'abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples' (John 15:4-8).

Now, in order for Christ to influence us we must spend time each day with Him in prayer and in God's  We must be faithful to attend our church's services where God's Word is preached. Moses said, 'thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up' (Deuteronomy 6:5-7). It is through His Word that the Lord talks to us and it is by learning and applying His Word that we will become like Christ. Which is what Paul said in Colossians 3:10, 'put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him'. It is through obedience to the knowledge we gain through the study of God's Word that we are changed into Christ's image.

Putting God first in your life is the key to achieving and maintaining a good testimony. But what about the mistakes we have made in the past? Well, consider the apostle Paul's dilemma. Before his conversion he persecuted and murdered Christians. Yet God used him to build many churches and to write a good portion of the New Testament. Did his past disappear? No. God used him in spite of his past.

'But,' you say, 'that was something he did before his conversion. What about something we do after our conversion?' The answer is the same. Just as God forgave Paul he also forgives us. Remember 1 John 1:9? It reads, 'if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' He doesn't erase the error from our past but He does erase it from His record. As far as He is concerned it never happened. The Psalmist put it this way, 'as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us' (Psalm 103:12).

There are some mistakes we make that will never go away and our reputation will always be marred by them. However, how we currently live our lives greatly affects how others think of our past. Paul could never escape the stigma of being a persecutor of believers but his self-sacrificing, Christ-centered life after his conversion carried more weight in the minds of those he reached than did his past. That is exactly the outcome of the Christ-filled life and the reason Paul wrote, 'and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose' (Romans 8:28).

You may have made some terrible mistakes in your past but as a born-again child of God you have His promise that if you will confess those sins He will not only forgive you them but he will also 'cleanse you of all unrighteousnesses' (1 John 1:9). If you put God first in your life you will build a positive reputation of faithfulness to Him and to what is right which will overshadow the mistakes you have made. Don't let Satan rob you of the joy of living a victorious life for Christ because he dangles your past in front of you. Remember, God forgives AND forgets and so will most of the people you encounter during your service to Him. And remember, today's actions become tomorrow's reputation. Do what is right today and you will be creating a positive reputation for tomorrow.

SUMMARY:

Your testimony is made up of your reputation, your actions, your appearance and your speech. By putting God first in your life and surrendering to the leadership of Christ your testimony will attract others to you and give you the opportunity to share the life saving message of the gospel of Christ with them. Seek God with all your heart, mind and soul. Saturate your mind with His Word. Give Him all you can give and allow the light of Christ to shine through you to a dark and lost world that desperately needs to hear what you know. God bless you and help you to put and keep Him first in your life. 

NEXT LESSON:

The next lesson will begin a new series which I think you will enjoy. I would like to share with you some of my more memorable experiences as a missionary kid in Brasil. As God was leading my parents in their service to Him He was also working in my life. Some of the experiences were humorous and others frightening but through it all I could clearly see His hand of guidance and protection.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"