Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone said, Amen. Amen.

So I got a question for you to start off this morning. I want to see how good you are at your own self perception, how self aware you are about yourself. So let me start with a question here. What is obvious about you? Now, I don't mean your appearance. I don't mean like your race, or your skin color, or your hair color. I mean from your life, what is obvious about you. Like for instance, if you were to complete this sentence, if you were gonna say, if you were gonna say and complete this sentence, I'm wondering how you would fill in the blank. If you said something like this, well as you can tell, I'm, how would you fill in the blank, because something is so abundantly obvious in your life, so clear that people can virtually know it right away. Some of you, many of you, I'm seeing a couple of you, it would be something like, as you can tell, I'm a hunter because I wear camo to church and I'm gone every other weekend on a hunt and I have more pictures of dead animals than my kids on my phone. What would you say? Hopefully for me it's things like, as you can tell I love my wife, as you can tell I love being with my kids, as you can tell God comes first in my life. How would you answer something like that?

Now, as a pastor, I have many awesome things about my job, but one of them is that I get to hear so many amazing testimonies from people. And when people share their testimony, I learn some fascinating, amazing, wonderful things that people have done and experienced in their life. But I can tell you this, I've never heard a testimony from a true Christian and was surprised to find out they were a Christian. I'll say it again. I've never heard a testimony I've never heard a testimony from a true Christian and was surprised When they said in their testimony that I am a Christian. I'm a Jesus follower Why? Why? Because when you truly follow Jesus It's self-evident or to put it another way when you truly follow Jesus It's obvious. Now listen, whether or not people actually have the language to say something like, oh I can tell that you've repented of your sins and you follow the risen Lord, whether or not they have the language to say that, what's obvious is that something is different about your life. They may not be able to identify what it is, but they can clearly see that you are different from the rest of the world. You follow a different order, you use your money differently, you treat strangers differently.

And today we're going to talk about the power of Christian testimony. So if you have your Bibles, would you please turn to Colossians chapter one. Also really praying that if you're part of the Peace Church family, that you have your devotional packets with you. You can follow along in today's message. So Colossians chapter 1, this whole proclaimed spiritual journey that we're going through is a walkthrough of Colossians chapter 1. If you're using the Bibles we've provided, really happy for you to do that. That's on page 1251. Now again, this whole campaign walkthrough of Colossians chapter one, put your bookmark in your Bible. That's what we're looking at every single Sunday.

And so if you are just joining us just for context, as you're turning there, here's some context for you. St. Paul, the apostle is the one who wrote Colossians. It was actually a letter that he wrote from prison because he was in jail for preaching the gospel. It's a letter he wrote from prison to this church, to this Colossian church, which was in what was called Asia minor, but we call it by a different name today, Turkey. Now he's writing to this church. He's writing to give them encouragement, to stay the course. He's going to highlight the power of Jesus. He's going to clarify what it means to follow him. But in our section right now, verses 9-14, Paul's writing to help these people understand who they are in Christ, what it means to follow him and what Jesus has done for us. And I'm going to warn you. I'm going to warn you now. I'm warning you here. I'm warning you who are in the chapel I'm warning you who are in the venue morning you who are online and I'm warning you who are listening later on a podcast. I'll warn you now the things he says about being a Christian are things we can not hide They're too wonderful. They're too powerful. They're too life-altering. It's too obvious. And so with that, would you hear the Word of God? Colossians chapter 1, we're going to read verses 9 to 14. Would you hear God's Word?

Colossians 1:9-14

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

This is God's mighty word. Let's pray and let's continue. But here's what I ask you to do Bible says lift holy hands in prayer So we're gonna pray together, but I'm gonna ask you at least to raise one hand. Can we all just do that together? Let's raise one hand. Father we thank you for being such an amazing God, an amazing God to us. Lord, this campaign is a weighty and heavy thing that our church is going through. We ask God that you'd sustain us and our world is going through a weighty and heavy thing right now. Over in Middle East with Israel and Gaza, Father, we pray, Father, for innocent life. Father, we pray, Lord, that your peace would transcend. Father, we pray, God, for Israel. Father, we pray that everyone over there, everyone across the world would call on the name of Jesus. We pray these things in his mighty and precious and powerful name. It's in Jesus' name we pray and everyone said, Amen.

So first fill in if you've got your devotional packets with you is this. It's the title of today's sermon and here's our title. We are to proclaim for the power of our testimony. We proclaim for the power of the testimony. Everything in this message series is we're proclaiming for something. It's some of the big things that we're doing as a church. And today we're talking about the power of our testimony. Church, why are we expanding our building? So we can have more bricks and sticks? No, it's so that our ministry can expand. We wanna see our building expand so our ministry can expand. And we are being reminded today that we are doing this proclaim campaign so that we can hear more testimonies of people coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Amen? This campaign is a spiritual journey. If we're going to see God expand our building and expand our ministry, I'm telling you, our church family needs to spiritually prepare for what that means. And that's part of what we're doing. That's why we as a church family are to be doing our devotionals together throughout the week, so that we can all strengthen spiritually in preparation for what God is gonna do in our midst. And so, here's our main idea for today. Here's your second fill in for your, in your outline. Here's our main idea.

The truth we profess must be evident in the lives we live. Yup, yup, part of what we're doing is raising money. If you want to boil this all down to just raising money, you're missing the entire point. Yes, raising money is a huge part of what we're doing, but it's not the only thing we're doing. We're spiritually preparing for what God is going to do when this money comes in, and that's expanded ministry. If you only are thinking through the lens of raising money, you're missing half of what this campaign's all about. This is a spiritual journey to prepare us all so that when more ministry comes, we are prepared, but we also understand that it starts with us. It starts with us who are here now, and the truth that we profess must be evident in the lives that we live. And so, as we consider that, here's what we're gonna learn from our passage. The evidence of our lives.

1. Our lives must demonstrate discernment.

That's what verse nine says. Our lives must produce fruit. Verses 10 and 11 will show that. And we'll close up our passage by looking at this, that our lives must embody gratitude. So let's just dive in right now. Number one, our lives must demonstrate discernment. You know what discernment is? Let me help you understand. Discernment is having a Christian worldview from which we are able to make decisions about what is right and wrong before the Lord. The sermon is about knowing how to conduct our lives according to God's plan. Let's look at verse nine. It says, Paul writes and he says, and so from the day we heard, meaning the day we heard about the faith in this Colossian church, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you. That's great, thanks Paul, thanks for the prayers. But look at what he's praying for. Look what he says he prays about. Verse 9 continues, We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will, of God's will, and all spiritual wisdom and understanding. He's basically saying this. He's basically saying, I'm praying that you all can demonstrate your faith in the ways that you follow God because you know what God's will is for your life that You seek the Lord God revealed his plan and will for your life and you follow that according to Scripture according to God's Spirit.

So let me ask people in this room and other venues you can play along, too I'm curious here Who here is a parent or a grandparent parent or grandparent raise your hand up? I know bent elbows here loud and proud parent or grandparent. Okay, let me ask you a question here. What's a big prayer you have for your kids? Now, I've spent a lot of time in many different churches, being a part of youth ministry, being a youth pastor. I've seen teenagers and the ways that family operates pretty up close for a number of years. And I'll tell you this, it really seems like, just from the way that parents kind of conduct their family life, and the ways that they go about things, and the ways that they hear their kids talk in youth group, it really seems like a big prayer that families have for their kids is that they'll be popular, that they'll make a lot of money, that they'll be good at sports. Really seems like that's a big thrust of teenagers' life these days, at least as far as I've spent time in youth group. But I know this, whether you are a Christian who prays it or just a good parent who hopes this, we pray that our kids will be protected from harm. I mean, every parent wants that.

But if you want to pray for something for your kids, I'm telling you right now, what Paul prays for the Colossian Church is a great guide for what we should should be praying for our kids. He's praying that they'll be able to fully follow God because they'll have such godly wisdom that they'll know what the right thing is to do at all times. You won't always be there for your kids, but the wisdom and the intelligence and the faith that you instill in them, that's what they'll bring with them. So are you training and equipping them now? Christian parents, when was the last time you ever pushed pause on a movie or a show to process what you were watching. So that you can help your kids discern what entertainment is teaching them. Have you ever done that? Or are you just letting them fend for themselves and how to process what the world's throwing at them?

We need to be teaching and training our kids to have the spiritual wisdom and discernment that the Holy Spirit wants to make available to us, but parents, we are the conduits to bring into their lives. It's the age old giving a fish versus teaching someone how to fish. I can tell you now, we are among the most affluent people who have ever existed. You have no shortage of resources. The toys at your disposal are great and many. I know many of us, we want our kids to have everything. And so we give them everything, but we're giving them fish without teaching them how to fish. We give our kids, we give our kids the unbelievable, incredible responsibility of having a cell phone before they've demonstrated the discipline to be able to handle the power and influence of a phone.

Church, I know you want God to protect your kids. I know you do. But here's what I'm going to tell you It just seems like a lot of us aren't praying for that because here's what I mean The best way to stay protected by God is to stay close to God If you want your kids to be protected by God Then you best be praying that they stay close to God you want protection from God protection is found in the shadow of his wings And that's when we stay close to him if you want God to protect your kids Are you praying that they grow close to God? Are you bringing them close to God if you want God to protect your kids? Are you praying for that? Because here's I'm gonna tell you right now when we train our kids to make God-centered and wise choices That's a form of protection.You're teaching them to protect themselves from their own bad choices in the ways that you teach and train them To follow God to honor him above all else, to set themselves aside for the glory of God.

But here's the question, parents and grandparents, before we teach this to our kids, are we living this ourselves? Does your life demonstrate a godly discernment? You may be asking me, pastor, how do we do that? Pastor, what does that look like? Great question. I'm so glad you asked. Read your Bible. Read your Bible. Get to know God's word. Maybe join a Bible study. Join a small group where you can talk this Christian life out with other Christians. Come to church, not just periodically. That's going to do nothing for you. You want church to mean something? Get involved. Don't just attend. Be connected. Do devotions. We're providing you a devotion for the month that we can all do together Here's the other thing I'd say to you - share your faith with a non-believer. Here's why this is so important because here's what ends up happening Christians end up staying in their own little Christian enclave and you wonder what's really dangerous about that is you can have a false Sense of how strong you are in your faith when everyone around you is a Christian. You want to see where you are at in your faith?

I'm telling you right now, I have a master's degree, I have decades of ministry experience, I'm the pastor of a large, growing church, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. When I talk to a non-believer and they challenge me in my faith and they ask me a question and I don't know the answer I'm like let me get back to you on that one and then I search the scriptures and I consult our elders and I talk to the fellow pastors and guess what and guess what not only do I provide them with an answer but I grow in my faith this is why we need to be sharing our faith with a watching lost world because they will challenge you and by their challenge it will help you grow. We need to be doing this and above all pray, pray, pray because the truth we profess must be evident in the lives we live. And this is shown when our lives demonstrate a godly discernment that we know God and we know his will and we act accordingly. And second, our lives must produce fruit.

2. Our lives must produce fruit

This is the focus. Listen to the focus and hope of Paul's next section here, verses 10 and 11. He says, So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy. Real simple here, people, real simple. Christians serve God. Real simple, Christians serve God. And when we do that, the Holy Spirit lets good things happen from that, and we call that fruit, spiritual fruit. So let's make sure we're all on the same page. Let's take this phrase by phrase. Keep your Bibles open here. Verse 10, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him. Okay, this is very clear. If you're a Christian, act like it. This makes God happy and it's honoring to him. Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. If you're a Christian, act like it. Bearing fruit in every good work. Christians in the house, don't answer me, because you have to answer before the Lord.

Again, don't answer me. You don't answer to me. You answer to the Lord. But listen to this next phrase, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Here's what I'm going to say to you. You can't just be a workhorse for the Lord. You can't just be a workhorse for God. Here's what I mean. I know my church, I know my community, I know myself. If I was to say to a group like this, if I was to say to you, church, for the next six weeks, we're a little short-handed, I need five guys to come to church early for the next six weeks, and I need you to help stack chairs. By the end of the day I'm telling you I'd have 50 men on that list. But if I said, church, for the next six weeks our church is going through a massive spiritual journey and we need we need people we need men praying. So I'm asking for five men to come to church early for the next six weeks and pray before the service. I I don't think I'd get such a big turnout.

Guys, you can't just be a workhorse for God. You have to be seeking Him on your knees, praying and increasing in the knowledge of God. Are you searching the Scriptures? Are you with a group of men helping you to grow in your faith? Ladies, I'm asking the same thing. Teenagers and young adults in the room, I'm asking you the same thing. Look at verse 11, verse 11, so that we are being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might. Okay, this is not just about having the power of believing in yourself. This is not just the power of self-confidence. This is not just the power, so you ladies in the room can say, I am woman, hear me roar. This is more than that. This is the power of God that we are to live in before God. And this is not discovered within yourself. This is not about coming to grips with who you are on the inside. This is an external power that the Holy Spirit places in you through faith in Jesus.

When you're holding that phone and that temptation comes whether to look at bad pictures or to continue a gossip type thread I wonder do you operate in the power of God and say no in Jesus name I rebuke this because I operate by the power of the Almighty that is what it looks like that's what so many more Christians need to stop start acting like and stop operating that we operate with all power according to his glorious might. This is an external power from God that he gives us for his glory and for our good. Again, why is God giving you this power so that you can be confident in who you are feel good about yourself. No, look at what the passage says verse 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might why here's why? for all endurance and patience with joy. In this world, living the Christian life will take endurance and patience. And let me just give us the Middleville translation here, what this means. Endurance and patience. Here's how we might say this in Middleville, that you have grit for the long haul. That you operate in God's power so that you have grit for the long haul. Endurance and patience.

Because here's the thing, in this world men you will be ridiculed when you speak the name of Jesus on the job site. Teenagers, you'll be called terrible names when you stand up for Jesus on social media. But guess what? Jesus was called terrible names. Jesus was ridiculed. And so when you stand ridiculed for the name of Jesus, I'm telling you, you stand with Jesus. That's better company, y'all. But with God's power, here's what the beautiful thing is, that we can go through this life, no matter what hardships you face, no matter what obstacles or heartache, God's given us the ability to go through this with grit for the long haul, but not just grit for the long haul, but grit for the long haul, look at with joy. How can you do this with joy? I'll tell you exactly how you can do this with joy, because God is with you.

The Holy Spirit is alive within you. You can do this with joy because he is with you. And this leads to a life of bearing fruit. Again, what that means is that we show the qualities in our lives that we live for God's glory, for our joy, and for the good of our neighbor. Christians in the house, hear me. Christians, listen up. You don't get a choice in this. This is what we do. This is who we are. This is the life God commands us to live. You don't get a choice in this. We are to serve God and bear fruit in our lives and it must be evidence. So be challenged. Definitely be challenged. Where are you serving God? How are you serving God? Where can you say there's fruit in your life being born because you follow God? And listen to me, if you're sitting right now and you're thinking, I'm a pastor, later on I'm kind of sick, I don't know. Here's what I say to you. That's okay. As long as you do something about it right now. It's okay. As long as you do something about it right now, that you obey the leading of the Spirit and you respond to the moment God's given to you.

So here's the first thing I'm gonna say to you, pray. Pray. Second thing is this, if you are truly ready to start showing a level of fruit in your life, to get connected in our church, I'm gonna ask you, after the worship service, go to our welcome booth. There's a gal named Chelsea. I've spoken with Chelsea. She's prepared to have people come and talk to her about how you can get more involved at peace, where you can serve, where you can maybe join a Bible study, or maybe join a small group, where you can take that next step. Again, we want every Christian who calls Peace Church home to be involved. We don't want people just to attend, we want people to be involved. Now let me just say real quickly, if you've come for a place of her or you need a time out, then definitely come and just attend and hear God's word and experience the love of Christ. But that's a very, very, very, very rare few. For most of us, we need to get connected, involved, and grow so that we can bear fruit, so that it's evident in our lives. And this will definitely result in an outpouring of thankfulness, which leads to number three.

3. Our lives must embody gratitude.

Look at verses 12 and 13. It says we need to give thanks to God who's qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He's delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, meaning Jesus, in whom we have the redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Let me sum it up for you. We grow in God, we serve God because of who he is and what he's done. And this is the gospel that we have been delivered from our sins. And listen, not just delivered from our sins, but transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. That will be obvious. Not that you're better than anyone else, but that you're different.

I'm going to tell you right now, the USA has a president, and I love this country. The USA has a president, but I have a King, and He's whom I serve. And if you follow Jesus, then you are a son or daughter of the King. Listen to me, you are not your failures. You're not your addictions. You're not your criminal record. You're not your past. You know who you are? You are who God says you are. And you are redeemed. Church, this is the type of testimony that we want to see more of at peace. And I want to share with you one such amazing testimony from a guy named Trevor. So would you please watch the screen.

Trevor

I had this feeling come over me that God was talking to me, telling me not to give up. And this pressure and weight seemed like it was lifted off my shoulders. Before September of last year, I did not know the Bible. I never went to church. I never prayed. My marriage and my business were failing. Everything seemed like they were getting worse every day. In August we had found out we were expecting another child, and September 21st we lost it. It seemed like every day was getting worse, and I didn't want to be around anymore. After we lost the baby, it was the first time in my life I went to my knees, asking God what to do. In the time, I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew I had to go to a church, and we decided to come to Peace Church. I was just going to come and listen.

When we came, September 25th, Pastor Ryan came up and the first thing he said was that he had changed his sermon. And the sermon he ended up giving was about what a man should be, what a father should be, and what a husband should be. At that moment, I knew it was exactly what I needed to hear, and I knew I was at the right place. I instantly jumped into the men's Bible study to start learning more and be more surrounded by good Christian men. My life did a complete 180. I continue to grow in my faith every day with prayer and studying the Bible. I'm excited to be a part of the Peace Church Wayland Campus and hopefully help other men come to Christ someday as well.

Nate

All right Trevor, well here we are again. We've asked you to share your testimony before, and we shared it on video. Thousands of people saw it. It was a really powerful moment. And so when we ask you again to come back on camera, I know it's not your favorite thing in the world, but why are you passionate about sharing your testimony?

Trevor

I definitely don't like being on camera, but if my story can affect anyone who had heard it, I will share it anytime. I'm just so grateful for what God has done in my life and I'm not just going to keep that story to myself, I'm going to share it to as many people as I can so that they can hear about God and also be transformed in their life.

Nate

Awesome. Praise God, man. And a lot of people think that your testimony is just that story of the first time you came to know and follow Jesus, but we have testimonies throughout our life, walking with Christ. So since you shared your original testimony with us, what are some more ways that God's been working in your life and growing you?

Trevor

Definitely. I've joined the Men's Bible Study, which helped me learn so much more about God and just building that brotherhood group up and having other men to go to with advice and rely on. But I've also joined the high school ministries and just helping out with the Wayland launch team. My wife and I also started a community group here in Wayland for couples around our age and it's been awesome. We've been meeting every other week throughout the summer and being a part of these groups has helped me build my faith as I learn more about God and who he is and how he helps in other people's lives too. It's been amazing to just be a part of their journey as well.

Nate

Trevor, so how would you encourage others who don't feel comfortable sharing their testimony, have never done that before, how would you encourage them to use this powerful tool of sharing the testimony or testimonies of our lives?

Trevor

Well, when I shared my testimony for the first time, it was very hard, and I was very scared of what the group that I was with would think about that, and they were more than welcoming, especially in Peace Church, with the men's groups that we have here, and even some of them were able to share what their past had been like to me. And I know that it can be very frightening to share something so personal, and I encourage anyone who's afraid to share to just be bold, be brave, and even pray before giving your testimony because God will be with you, the Spirit will be with you when you are sharing that testimony, and people will hear it and also be transformed in their life.

Ryan

Amen. Church, we want to see more testimonies like Trevor's. Amen. Amen. And this is another reason why we are doing proclaim. There's many reasons, but this is why so we can see more testimonies like the one you just saw. Testimonies of people getting saved. You know, Pastor Nate said it in the interview that our testimony is a powerful tool. That's just not a practical reality. That's a spiritual truth that the Bible itself recognizes. When the when the Apostle John is given a vision of heaven, he sees this like worship service happening and he sees the martyrs, these Christians who gave their life for their faith. He sees them celebrating in heaven and they're celebrating their triumph over Satan and this is what it says. It says, and they have conquered him, meaning the devil, they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony for they loved not their lives even unto death. Church, there's power in the blood of Jesus. Amen? Amen.

There's power in his sacrifice and there is power when we share that truth in our lives. Here's the thing I need you to know. Testimony is what a witness does. Okay, we're not asking you to be a lawyer or argue anything. We're saying that you as a witness, you just share your testimony to what you've seen God do in your life. Because we proclaim for the power of our testimony. We wanna be challenged. Challenged that the truth we profess, that it's evident in the lives we live.And so every sermon in this series, we end with a focus on a spiritual challenge for our finances as we consider how much God's calling us to give towards this campaign. We're gonna look at our finances through a spiritual lens. And so let me just give you one challenge for you to think about this week. This spiritual and financial challenge. Is our financial testimony, how you use your money.

Because make no mistake about it, part of our fundraising is not just to see more bricks and sticks, it's to see more people in heaven. That's part of what we are doing and why we are doing it. Peace Church, did you know that from two years ago until last year, from two years ago to last 400% increase in the amount of adult baptisms. That is amazing. Somebody said yeah, here we go. I Love that but who wants to see that continue Church, let me hear you. Do you want to see that continue? Yes or no? That's why we're doing this. So we're asking you to consider what your part is to play in this If you call Peace Church home, here's what I want you to do. I Don't want you to ask God. How much do you want me to give? I don't want you to ask that. I want you to alter that just slightly and here's what I want you to ask. God, how much do you want me to sacrifice for this? Giving keeps us comfortable, sacrifice makes us uncomfortable. Ask God, how much are you calling me to sacrifice for this. This is why we are doing proclaim so that we can see more testimonies of people like Trevor coming to faith in Jesus. Church, I'm telling you, if you have salvation in Jesus' name, then you have a testimony, and Christians share your testimony. And you know what Christians do? We respond in worship. Amen? Amen. So let's do that now. Would you please stand? Would you bow your heads and let's prepare our hearts to worship.

Father, we come before you. Father, we are thankful that our testimony, our salvation is secure because it's about what Jesus has done, not about what we do. So Father, I pray God that you would fill this place with the power and presence of your Holy Spirits, that we would respond as people who are saved, thankful for our salvation in Jesus' name. And Lord, as we sing this old hymn now, blessed assurance. Let it come from voices of your people who are filled with the Spirit, who respond to the truth of our testimony that you've given to us, that because of Jesus, our salvation is secure. Because of Jesus, we have blessed assurance. We pray these things in his mighty name. We pray these things in his mighty name. And everyone said, Amen.