THE POWER OF TESTIMONIES

We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important. And this is what God told us: He told us the truth about His own Son.

1 John 5:9 ERV

When the Shunammite woman's son died she went to the man of God in faith not mentioning to her husband that her son had died she didn't call a friend who probably would've intensified the situation anyway. This lady needed a word, she needed to hear God's prophecy for her, she needed a miracle. That might be you today in search of a word from God for your life, for your family, or your business. I would like to share with you a personal testimony. One of my closest and dearest friends reached out to me some years ago I wasn't sure why then, yes we were friends but it always seemed as if there was more that she wanted or needed but wasn't revealing to me. I didn't enquire but weeks turned into months and months turned into a year or two. Finally, we were able to speak and spend some time together through this I was able to see some hindrances and frustration in her life. Unknowing to me she had never given her life to Christ but she grew up in church knew the word and spoke like a kingdom kid. Finally, I had the courage one day to ask her if she wanted to give her life to Christ at the time she was not ready but later she did through my Pastor. A few months later she was baptized and the power of the Holy Spirit began to fill her life. She lived a life prior in pain from unknown sicknesses, diseases, was constantly tired and lacked zeal. By God's grace, all of that has changed and we can see God manifesting in every aspect of her life praise God! Can you imagine your life turning around? No need to worry about if there would be the next meal or not being able to see, walk or hear. Remember, the widow that Elijah met who only had a hand full of flour and a little bit of oil? She had her mind made up that she and her son would eat their last meal and die. God knew her plan to die and sent a man of God to show her just how much He loves her. Over some time her house continued to be blessed because of the man of God but her son got sick. She started to let the situation overtake her, she knew the man of God was staying with her, he could save him. She did not know what happened in that room but her son lived. 1 Kings 17 Every week before any of our services at church there is a time for testimonies. The time slot is always filled with such amazing words of encouragement and inspiration of what God is doing when it was done and the crazy ways it happened. This principle is not only used in the church but look in businesses. They use testimonials to let others know how people are benefiting from that business. Jesus started the conversation by asking for a drink of water, it was to the Samaritan woman's surprise that He even spoke to her. If only she knew who she was speaking to; Jesus was offering her a life with Him where she would not have to thirst anymore and that enticed her. Jesus told her what she had done and that was enough for her to be impacted, she went into the town and told the people that there was a man who told her everything. John 4:1--42 The man at the tombs was demon-possessed his family didn't want anything to do with him, he was tied in a burial area left in hopes that he would probably die and no longer be a burden to anyone else. He was being tortured and Jesus came and the atmosphere changed. The demons cried out why have you come to Son of the Highest to torture me? The demons recognized Jesus, they knew the power Jesus has and begged to be cast into the pigs that were nearby. Those spirits found an empty vessel and filled him with many other spirits about 2,000 of them. It is so important to fill yourself with the word of God and create an atmosphere where the enemy is uncomfortable. Jesus just stepped off the boat and the enemy was being tortured. After years of torture, this guy was normal again, he was clothed and in his right mind. Jesus told the man that was once possessed to share his testimony with his friends. Mark 5:1-20 Can you imagine how powerful that testimony is, if you have a family member on drugs or battling with mental issues this is a testimony to hold onto on behalf of that family member. Matthew 12:43-45 says when an unclean spirit goes out of a man when a person has been delivered and set free the spirit that is left goes through dry places. The spirit is looking for another vessel to inhabit, another soul to devour but if it does not find a place to dwell it goes back to the place of origin, back to the person who was delivered and if that person has not to fill themselves with the Holy Spirit that demon or evil spirit now knowing the person could be delivered before will bring more evil spirits, friends or occupants to take over that person with more power than before. Deliverance for no one is final because the enemy is out to devour, he came to kill, steal and destroy. When you look at your family history and every woman has died from the same sickness, when you look at the males in your family and they possibly died at the same age or no one in your family graduated from high school that is the enemy destroying that family and it is time to tap into what God has been given us as children of God. Ohhh boy, I am ready to start preaching ya'll when you get the word and see it's the truth you will understand why seeing people walking into the trap of the enemy will stir up the spirit and it should do the same for you. Understand that we carry what Jesus carried when we are children of God. 1 Corinthians 12 by the grace-help of the Holy Spirit we can use diverse gifts. Jesus was able to use wisdom; when His haters came He knew how to answer them. He used words of knowledge, He knew what was in their hearts. He had faith to believe things can be done, He was able to heal the sick, make the impossible possible, He could foresee or foreknow. With the same spirit and many different gifts, Jesus used each gift, He was able to discern and understand what others were saying in any language or even interpret the tongue. We have access to these many gifts with clarity and security because of who our Father is. God did not leave us out here to fail but He wants us all to live victorious lives. When we look at the testimony of the widow who had only the hand full of flour she was ready to die because she had no hope for the future, that was the enemy deceiving her. The Father sent someone who came and blessed her home. When I think about generational curses or bondage let's look at a lineage of Kings in 2 Kings. King after king came and did was wrong in the sight of God, until there was king Josiah but after him, his son went back to leading the people into idol worship that is a stronghold from the enemy that kept a group of people from getting ahead. They lived in a delusion. A life of fun and disobedience to the word seemed better although they kept having famines and wars. The Bible is a living testament of testimonies of people that were tested and tried, that had to live through the mess to get a message to see where mistakes were made for us not to do the same thing. I can imagine God on the edge of His seat when we are out here making the same mistakes that Jacob did. God changed Jacob's name to Isreal and the guy kept going back to calling himself, Jacob. What God was doing was helping Jacob get rid of past pain, and curses that were tied to the name Jacob. There are some mistakes we can miss out on when we pay attention to the testimony in the word. Find a word that is for you and hold onto it! We have to know what God has said to receive some of the blessings that await, we have to have faith and declare breakthrough, we have to recognize where the enemy has set up camp and be delivered and set free from those spiritual, cultural and generational bondages. It is no longer time to be sitting on the phone telling your friend what has happened in your family, it is time to be angry with the enemy and wage war on the attacks in your family. The spirit of the Lord God hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound- Isaiah 61:1.

#BLESSINGS #BREAKTHROUGH #BREAKINGBONDAGE #BREAKINGGENERATIONALCURSES