Telling Your Story Effectively Part 2
In my last article I offered you some keys for sharing your testimony with others from Acts 26. We remember that Paul was standing before King Agrippa in a Jerusalem court and in the course of his own defense he set forth five key principles of an effective testimony.
From last time we saw that the first three principles involve an introduction that draws your listener into your story. Like a porch of an attractive home, the introduction should make your listener want to hear what you have to say by being drawn into your story.
Secondly, we talked about identification. Here is where we make key connections with our listeners from both our early life and religious background. Without this kind of important information about ourselves our listeners will not have the necessary context for digestng our story, especially as it relates to the third element of impact.
The impact portion of our story involves the telling of how we heard the gospel and how it transformed us when we believed the message of Christ dying for our sins on the cross. Can you imagine the reaction of someone if we simply started our story there? We would immediately lose our audience. There is something else very important about the impact element. No one can understand the essense of the gospel message without understanding the gospel as the remedy for sin. Jesus said He did not come to call the healthy but the sick to repentance and faith in Him. He did not come to save the already righteous person but the person who recognizes that he or she is unrighteous and has the need of a Savior. The gospel means good news and that means that sharing the bad news about sin is vital or else the good news makes no sense!
Fourth, Paul adds the element of illustration. I think it's interesting that the apostle took the time to show how after he was converted to Christ his life actually changed. The Bible says that,
When a person is in Christ, they are a new creation. (2 Cor 5:17)
When we share the gospel, our listeners need to know how our lives have been transformed through the power inherent in the gospel. They need to understand that we did not just "add Jesus" to our lifestyle or become a better version of ourselves. Jesus actually delivered us once and for all from sin's power and penalty and our life was transformed as a result! When sin is broken, habits are changed, power over human issues is realized, and character is built like never before. I remember the day I received Christ, I went that same night to a bar to get drunk and ended the night walking home because the bar scene was no longer an environment in which I felt comfortable. That night was the last night in over forty years that I put myself in that environment, and it wasn't because I turned over a new leaf. It was because my new nature in Christ was repelled by the things I thought and did in that place!
Finally, Paul added one last thing to his testimony and that was an invitation. When Paul had finished telling his story that day, he asked Agrippa, along with all the other listeners if they believed the prophets and then told them how much he wanted them to have the same assurance in Christ that he possessed. The point here is that when we have told the story of our salvation we should invite those who have listened to us to respond in faith for themselves. It's only when people have been impacted by the gospel that they can then take that step of faith to believe on Christ, so don't miss this important element of inviting your friends to believe once they have heard.
I trust this will help you in the presentation of your story in Christ. My hope is that as you frame your story in this way, God will make your testimony a more powerful tool for His glory.
From last time we saw that the first three principles involve an introduction that draws your listener into your story. Like a porch of an attractive home, the introduction should make your listener want to hear what you have to say by being drawn into your story.
Secondly, we talked about identification. Here is where we make key connections with our listeners from both our early life and religious background. Without this kind of important information about ourselves our listeners will not have the necessary context for digestng our story, especially as it relates to the third element of impact.
The impact portion of our story involves the telling of how we heard the gospel and how it transformed us when we believed the message of Christ dying for our sins on the cross. Can you imagine the reaction of someone if we simply started our story there? We would immediately lose our audience. There is something else very important about the impact element. No one can understand the essense of the gospel message without understanding the gospel as the remedy for sin. Jesus said He did not come to call the healthy but the sick to repentance and faith in Him. He did not come to save the already righteous person but the person who recognizes that he or she is unrighteous and has the need of a Savior. The gospel means good news and that means that sharing the bad news about sin is vital or else the good news makes no sense!
Fourth, Paul adds the element of illustration. I think it's interesting that the apostle took the time to show how after he was converted to Christ his life actually changed. The Bible says that,
When a person is in Christ, they are a new creation. (2 Cor 5:17)
When we share the gospel, our listeners need to know how our lives have been transformed through the power inherent in the gospel. They need to understand that we did not just "add Jesus" to our lifestyle or become a better version of ourselves. Jesus actually delivered us once and for all from sin's power and penalty and our life was transformed as a result! When sin is broken, habits are changed, power over human issues is realized, and character is built like never before. I remember the day I received Christ, I went that same night to a bar to get drunk and ended the night walking home because the bar scene was no longer an environment in which I felt comfortable. That night was the last night in over forty years that I put myself in that environment, and it wasn't because I turned over a new leaf. It was because my new nature in Christ was repelled by the things I thought and did in that place!
Finally, Paul added one last thing to his testimony and that was an invitation. When Paul had finished telling his story that day, he asked Agrippa, along with all the other listeners if they believed the prophets and then told them how much he wanted them to have the same assurance in Christ that he possessed. The point here is that when we have told the story of our salvation we should invite those who have listened to us to respond in faith for themselves. It's only when people have been impacted by the gospel that they can then take that step of faith to believe on Christ, so don't miss this important element of inviting your friends to believe once they have heard.
I trust this will help you in the presentation of your story in Christ. My hope is that as you frame your story in this way, God will make your testimony a more powerful tool for His glory.
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