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| Superintendent, CAC Amazing Grace Zone, Lagos, Pastor T.O.A. Yeorkun |
NEW YEAR (2025) MESSAGE
TEXT: Psalm 119:22b
INTRODUCTION – All glory to God for the privilege of this moment. Wherever you are, can you give thanks to God for the journey of the New Year (2025) that meets us in good condition despite the turbulent situation wallowing round our nation. James 1:17 summarizes that every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Year 2025 is a great gift from God. It is our year of New Glory – Isa. 43:7, Rom. 8:18. It is very necessary to use this medium to appreciate the leaders of Christ Apostolic Church, Nigeria and Overseas, headed by our father, Pastor Samuel O. Oladele, for the theme and watchword of this year from which the theme of this message is derived. I found it a rear privilege to write on this topic, and I sincerely celebrate our fathers as I pray that they shall be endued with more wisdom, power and Grace in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
BACKGROUND -
It is no more a news that our present society rimmed and adjoining with series of atrocities. We are presently living in a society where the fear of the Lord is far away from the minds of people and the content of retaliation jabbering in the heart of every one. The laws of the nation have been rendered to nothing due to unethical intervention of well-to-do in the nation.
Presently, the faithful people are not recognized. They are subject of reproach while the unfaithful, dubious and corrupt are exalted daily. Through this message, emphasis would be laid on the concept and exegetical meaning of Testimony, meaning of Testimony in contemporary society, reasons for not keeping God’s testimony in this present society and how to keep God’s Testimony in the New Year. It is a great belief that this message will change our orientation and attitudes, and direct us back to God in the New Year (2025).
The Concept and Exegetical meaning of Testimony
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, testimony is a solemn declaration usually made orally by a witness under oath in response to interrogation by a lawyer or authorized public official. It is the whole revelation of God, testifying to man what he is to believe, do, and hope (Psalm 19:7). From the Old Testament concept, testimony is the two stone tables of the law that were visible such as "testimony" or witness of God's covenant with his people; and hence the ark of the covenant was called sometimes the testimony, or the ark of the testimony (Exodus 25:22; 34:29).
The Hebrew word for testimony is ‘edut’ with a derivative from Hebrew word ‘eda’. This word is always used in reference to the testimony of God. It is most frequently connected with the tabernacle (Exo. 38:21), resulting in the expression, ‘tabernacle of the testimony’ and with the ark (Exo. 25:22), resulting in the phrase ‘ark of the testimony.’ Moses was instructed to put the testimony in the ark and he did so (Exo. 16:34; 40:20). In New Testament Greek, the testimony means marturia from which we get the term “martyr” use to refer to witness about the Gospel, and testimony about the birth, ministry, persecution, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. A vivid look into the writing of the scripture, ‘testimony’ explains the law of God, and the affirmation relative of his person and purpose. In the Old Testament, the written words of God constitute his testimony and the proclamation of the Gospel which is the essence of the testimony in the New Testament.
The identification of this word with the law is seen even more clearly in Psalm 19 and 119 where it is used as a synonym of the law. In Psalm 19:7, the testimony is said to be trustworthy. This word is used nine times in Psalm 119 (14, 31, 36, 88, 99, 111, 129, 144, and 157) where the psalmist reflects on his great delight in, and his great respect for the law of the Lord.
Meaning of Testimony in Contemporary Society
A Christian testimony can be about a person’s journey to becoming a Christian and it is also known as a conversion story or it can be a way in which God has shown up in a person’s life. Perhaps it is a lesson God has taught them or a reminder He gave. Sometimes it’s an answered prayer or a victory over sin. Sometimes it’s a way in which God provided extraordinarily in a tough situation.
Testimonies come in all shapes and sizes. Some are very dramatic, with wide turning points and big “Ah-ha! I get it!” moments; some are far less so and have a slow build, but they are no less compelling. Some testimonies may involve great struggle and the story of how God helped the person through it. Some may involve different incidents that make more sense extraordinarily after reflecting on them. You may not realize something is a testimony until much later, but when you think back, you can see the hand of God working in your life.
A testimony, in its most basic sense, is a declaration or affirmation of a truth. In the context of the Christian faith, a testimony is a personal account of how one has experienced divine grace, mercy, and transformative power of God. It is a witness to the reality of God's work in an individual's life, often shared to encourage, edify, and evangelize others.
Moreover, testimonies serve to build up the body of Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Paul exhorts believers to "encourage one another and build each other up." When Christians share their testimonies, they provide encouragement and hope to others who may be facing similar struggles or doubts. Hearing about God's faithfulness in someone else's life can strengthen one's own faith and resolve.
Having said the above, the major important issue or incident that ought to be testimony of everybody should be:
· How I had an encounter with God and gave my life to Jesus Christ.
· How I realized that I was sinner.
· How I abandoned my sinful lifestyle.
· How I started living a life of good emulation.
· How I genuinely and wholeheartedly started working for God.
· How I genuinely started working for God without compulsion and mandatory.
· How I was able to return many sinners to God.
· Is my life in conformity with my master, Jesus.
Testimony is not about houses, cars, cash in different accounts, traveling to different countries, or possessing numerous accessories. Testimony is about how many lives you have raised. It’s about how many people can say, ‘if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t go far in the journey of life.’ It’s about the lives on whose faces you put a smile. It’s about living a life of emulation, separating yourself from worldly desires and living a holy life that will end up in Kingdom of God. So, as a minister of God, our testimony should be, with my years of service, I had never slept with any church members, nor converted church properties to mine or used any ungodly means to influence or push my ministerial assignment forward. Pastor should be able to talk based on Exodus 20:17 that I had never coveted someone’s house, wife, and belongings as my own. Series of atrocities are recorded in the church of God today because we give reference to and exonerated those that bring money to the church than those that win soul for Christ. Meanwhile, a critical scrutiny of Apostle Paul’s statement to Archippus in Colossians 4:17 expatiates that human lifestyle is not just about success but about fulfillment, which has to do with fulfilling all righteousness – Phil. 2:2; in the sense of fulfilling the word of Yahweh – Micah 6:8; II Chronicles 36:21. I don’t say success is not good, it is very good but it will still be counted as part of ephemeral things. Nobody takes house, cars, big churches to Heaven, once we die, we leave everything behind. We are sojourners on earth to live right, make people happy, raise destinies from the dungeon of sin, and direct them back to God. That’s a great fulfillment God expects from us. All of us might not be able to build houses, buy cars, have huge amount of money in our account or travel to various nations to preach the Gospel, but it is mandatory for us to live right and save soul.
Reasons for not keeping Testimony in the present society (Joshua 24:18-25)
Just as Israel could not serve God because of the strange gods that were with them, there are also things that will hinder our ability in keeping the testimony of God. The things that will hinder our ability in keeping the testimony of God’s are:
1. Self-will: This is the quality of obstinately doing what one wants in spite of the wishes or orders of others (Mark 8:34-35). Meanwhile, you cannot do your will and keep God’s testimony. You will find it difficult to keep God’s testimony because of your willingness to acquire worldly possessions. Other times, you may want to do what he wants you to do, but you want to do it your way, according to your own terms. Also, we’ve noticed that people will surrender to God, and then shortly after they encounter a difficulty or a trial, they back off. God sends the difficulty to test whether you are sincere about doing his will. That’s why Jesus told the disciples to take up their cross. Too many people run from God’s will when they find out it’s going to cost them.
2. Worldliness: Romans 12:1-2 - You must be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The process of not being conformed to the world but being transformed by the renewing of your mind is a very gradual process. It is ongoing in your life, as you grow in the Lord. God’s testimony becomes more satisfying and more important to you over time. But the cares of this world will choke the word. If you approach God’s will with a worldly mind, you will never accomplish his will.
3. Insubordination: 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 - It is an act of refusing to obey orders from someone in authority. Insubordination is ones unwilling ability to follow a man. Paul mentioned to the Thessalonians that when they were following him, they were following the Lord. Paul said the same thing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 11:1. He said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” You cannot follow Christ and do God’s will, if you can’t follow the man God has given you to follow. You cannot rise all by yourself; there are steps to follow. Refusal to do so leads to irreplaceable consequences. In 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul said, “Demas hath forsaken me.” That is because Demas loved the world, he would no longer follow Paul.
4. Hypocrisy: 2 Timothy 3:5 - It is the practice of claiming to have higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case. Hypocrisy is a deceitfully powerless form of godliness. The trouble with some Christians, particularly in their youthful age, is that they learn how to conform to what they perceive are the expectations of other people around them. They pretend to be spiritual when, in fact, they are not. They have the appearance of godliness but they aren’t godly. Therefore, they have no power to keep God’s testimony. When you see them flounder, you immediately ask yourself why this happened so suddenly. The reason is that they are never doing well spiritually; they are never doing God‘s will. They are only going along with what they thought is expected of them. That’s hypocrisy.
5. The devil: 1 Thessalonians 2:18 - The devil is real; we have a very real adversary. He does not want you to keep God‘s testimony. There were times when Paul was hindered from doing what he wanted to do because God wanted him to do something else. But there were times when Paul was attempting to do God‘s will or keep God’s testimony but was hindered by the devil. The devil wants to break the church up, break up your home, break up your marriage and so on. God gave us the whole armor of God to stand against the wiles of the devil. He gave us the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. The devil cannot stop us from keeping God‘s testimony but he can hinder us to the point that we quit and don’t mind about God’s testimony again. You must fight and bear the scars of that fight, if need be, like a good soldier, to accomplish God’s testimony for your life. You cannot stop just because you have an adversary.
How to Keep God’s Testimony in the New Year (2025)
It is quite unfortunate that our present society cannot be compared with the days of our fathers. We keep mentioning God of our fathers but the irony is that most of them had gone 60 to 100 years ago. What now happens to this present generation? Are we not serving God as they did? What will the generations after us say after our demise? For our better understanding, we need to consider some of the things they kept as testimony in their days in order to guide our footsteps in year 2025. The following are testimonies they kept:
1. Contentment: This is the state of being satisfied with who one is or what one has; not wanting more or anything else. Contentment is a matter of accepting from God's hand what he sends because we know that he is a good God and wants to give good gifts to his children. The heroes of faith in their days never ran beyond their shadows; they saw God as all in all. They never used ‘juju’ to help their ministry. Whatever things they never received from God, they never used any other method to get it. Some ministers and believers find it difficult to keep God’s testimony because we find it difficult to live a life of contentment.
2. Selflessness: According to Apostle Paul, selflessness means loving other people. It is the act of being patient and kind. It is not being envious of what other people have, nor being rude to other people. Being impatient, rude and envious are all signs of selfishness, because they put themselves first (1 Cor. 13:4-7). It is very saddening today that many ministers of God are running after their own selfishly desired goals. They are not after winning souls for Christ. They want to be wealthy, despite the fact that souls are perishing every day. Bishop David Abioye said, “God is not after cathedral or gigantic edifices that we build, but after souls. The society is not receiving what they ought to have received from ministers. Today’s ministers are just saxophones. They rob and dupe church members with different styles.” Meanwhile, a critical look at the way the heroes of faith behaved, they loved God’s work wholeheartedly to the extent that some of them died as a martyr.
3. Sincerity: This can be defined as the eagerness to do what is right, with transparent motives. God’s word tells us what is right and that we should desire to eagerly do His will. Psalm 119:32,34 says, “I will run the way of thy commandments…I shall observe it (Thy Law) with my whole heart.” Sincerity, however, looks beyond one’s right actions and examines the heart’s motives behind them. Motives are the reasons why we do what we do. Sincere motives are based on God’s standard of righteousness, not on what the society or culture finds acceptable. It establishes in our hearts how to please the Lord, not to be wealthy at the detriment of the less-privileged. This is God’s expectation from us in 2025.
4. Faithfulness: Faithfulness means steadfast loyalty that isn't easily swayed. Our faithfulness to God means trusting in Him and loving Him through all circumstances (II Thess. 3:3; Heb. 13:8). This connotes that we must remain faithful to God at all times. Christianity never means that we are not going to have challenges but we must remain steadfast. It is not for better for best, but, for better for worse. Life is full of ups and downs. We can’t will our wishes on God. In every situation, we must keep our testimony in the Lord.
Conclusion
If you want to keep your testimony in God in the year 2025, it is compulsory for you to do away with your self will, worldliness, insubordination, hypocrisy and the devil and run after contentment, selflessness, holiness, obedience, sincerity and faithfulness. If God has shown you an area in your life that is hindering your ability to keep your testimony, you need to address that hindrance now at the beginning of this year, so that God can get his will done in your life. This new year can start differently if we will act differently by believing the truth and doing the good we already know that we should be doing (James 4:7).
Pastor Timothy O. A. Yerokun, PhD
Zonal Superintendent, Amazing Grace Zone, Ikorodu, Lagos State