Your Story, His Glory: Share the Testimony

Jul 19, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When "But God" Rewrites Sealed Tombs

The woman left her water jar. The demoniac begged to follow. Both walked away as living proof that Jesus interrupts dead ends. Their stories didn’t end at the grave or the well. A "but God" moment occurs when human hope expires, yet divine authorship begins. What tombs have you declared final? Jesus still speaks to sealed places, turning funerals into revival meetings. [01:04:05]

Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The man who had died came out. (John 11:39-44, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you accepted a "sealed tomb" in your life—a situation you’ve stopped praying over? How might Jesus be asking you to confront it with His voice instead of resignation?

Day 2: Your Story’s Main Character Isn’t You

The demoniac’s healing wasn’t about his strength. The woman’s redemption didn’t hinge on her reputation. Like toys in Andy’s room, our value comes from whose hands hold us. Testimonies lose power when polished into self-help tales. True freedom erupts when we stop narrating our victories and start proclaiming the Victor. [01:53:04]

They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. (Revelation 12:11, ESV)

Reflection: What chapter of your life feels too messy to share? How might that very chaos highlight Christ’s sovereignty rather than your shortcomings?

Day 3: Middle-Class Testimonies Matter Too

Not every story involves prison breaks or prodigal returns. Sitting through a decade of quiet dinners with your spouse? That’s warfare. Showing up sober to a job that drains you? That’s revival. The enemy mocks "ordinary" faithfulness, but Jesus builds His kingdom through daily yeses—not just dramatic rescues. Your normal is someone’s miracle. [00:47:47]

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe. (Psalm 107:2, ESV)

Reflection: What "unremarkable" area of faithfulness (patience, consistency, forgiveness) has God sustained this week? Who needs to hear that ordinary obedience is possible?

Day 4: Demons Fear Your Unshared Victory

Legion begged to stay in the man. Satan still seeks tenancy through silence. Every unspoken testimony becomes a boarded-up house for darkness. The Decapolis region marveled because one man traded shame for a megaphone. Your healed marriage? That’s a demon’s eviction notice. Your peace through grief? That’s hell’s defeat in stereo. [00:55:12]

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:38-39, ESV)

Reflection: What victory feels "too small" to share? How might declaring it aloud dismantle lies someone is believing?

Day 5: Your Current Chapter Is Someone’s Survival Guide

The woman ran to her village mid-transformation, water jar abandoned. Jesus didn’t demand a polished ending. Our culture worships closure, but God uses cliffhangers. That tense family dinner? Someone needs to know they’re not alone. That unanswered prayer? It’s a lifeline for those still in the storm. Your unresolved story is still sacred text. [00:59:21]

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, ESV)

Reflection: What unfinished chapter of your life could encourage someone if you shared it this week? How does trusting God’s authorship free you from waiting until "everything’s fixed"?

Sermon Summary

Mark 5 and John 4 place two totally different stories side by side, one looking like an action flick with demons, tombs, chains, pigs, and a violent deliverance, and the other looking like a wounded woman’s story full of pain, cynicism, and rejection. The demon-possessed man lives naked, isolated, out of control, and beyond everybody’s help until one encounter with Jesus leaves him free, clothed, and in his right mind. The woman at the well carries emotional wreckage, failed relationships, sharp questions, and a lonely water jar until one encounter with Jesus leaves her known, loved, accepted, and restored.

Both encounters land in almost the same place. The man goes back home and tells everybody what Jesus did. The woman leaves her water jar and tells the town, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.” Testimony stands at the center because a believer’s story is not just where a person has been, but where that person is and where God is taking that life.

The enemy tries to make a past feel disqualifying, boring, embarrassing, or not good enough. Silence enhances darkness, because a miracle kept secret becomes a miracle unavailable for someone else to hear from. God answers every lie with one declaration: “But they need it.” A testimony may not reach thousands, but it may reach the one person a pulpit never will.

The Toy Story picture makes the point plain. The toys may tell the story from their point of view, but Andy is the main character. God is the author and the main character of a believer’s life, and when that gets settled, the mountain in front of a person does not look so big anymore. The story is not about self-promotion. It is God promotion: “Look at what Jesus did.”

Revelation 12 says the enemy is conquered by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of testimony. The blood saves, and testimony proves the blood still works. Arguments can debate theology, politics, and religion, but a transformed life is hard to argue with: “I was addicted, but now I’m not. I was broken, but now I’ve been made whole.”

The phrase “but God” changes conditions, circumstances, and outcomes. Lazarus looked finished, sealed behind a stone, surrounded by mourners, but God stepped into the story. No grave is too deep, no situation too dead, and no chapter too unfinished for God to turn it into hope for somebody else. A testimony simply says: this is where life was, this is where life is, and this is what Jesus is doing.

Key Takeaways

1. Testimony is not self-promotion Testimony does not put a spotlight on the person telling it. Testimony points away from self and says, “Look at what Jesus did.” The right heart does not use the story to impress people, but to make Jesus visible in the middle of real life. [57:11]
2. Silence enhances the darkness Silence can make a real miracle unavailable to somebody who desperately needs courage. The enemy does not always have to destroy a life if he can keep that life quiet. A hidden victory may be encouragement withheld from someone standing in the same kind of fight. [46:20]
3. God is the main character The believer may tell the story from a personal point of view, but God is still the author and center of it. When self becomes the main character, every struggle looks like the main plot. When God becomes the main character, even a mountain becomes part of a bigger story He is writing. [51:03]
4. “But God” changes outcomes “But God” is the turn in the sentence where defeat stops having the final word. Lazarus was dead, the stone was sealed, and the mourners had gathered, but Jesus saw an opportunity for glory. The same God still steps into situations everybody else has already written off. [63:21]
5. Unfinished chapters still give hope A testimony does not have to wait until every problem is fixed. Faithfulness in the middle of the chapter may speak louder than a polished ending. Someone else may need to hear that God is still writing, even while the page still feels painful.

## [59:21]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[39:59] - Two Stories, One Ending
[41:47] - The Demoniac and the Woman at the Well
[44:21] - Testimony as a Kingdom Weapon
[46:20] - The Enemy Tries to Silence Witness
[48:31] - People Need What God Has Done
[51:03] - God Is the Main Character
[54:10] - Conquering by Blood and Testimony
[57:11] - Testimony Promotes Jesus, Not Self
[59:21] - Every Chapter Can Help Somebody
[60:13] - Ministry Across the Street
[62:23] - The Power of “But God”
[65:51] - No Situation Too Dead
[70:02] - How to Share a Testimony
[78:29] - An Altar for Transformation and Boldness

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Mark 5:18-20
“As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, 'Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.' And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” [40:48]

John 4:28-30
“So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?' They went out of the town and were coming to him.” [41:27]

Revelation 12:11
“And 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.” [54:50]

Psalm 107:2
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble”

Observation questions

In Mark 5:18-20, what exactly does Jesus tell the delivered man to do, and who is he told to go to?
In John 4:28-30, what does the woman leave behind, what does she say to the town, and what is the town’s response?
What similarities can be seen between the demon-possessed man and the woman at the well after each one encounters Jesus? [43:27]
Revelation 12:11 names two things connected to conquering the enemy. What are those two things, and how are they joined together in the verse? [55:12]

Interpretation questions

Jesus sends the delivered man home instead of letting him travel along. What might that show about how personal witness works, especially among people who already knew someone’s old life? [01:00:25]
The woman says, “Come, see a man,” and the man in Mark goes and tells what the Lord has done for him. What do these stories suggest about the heart of a testimony? Is it mainly about the person speaking, or about Jesus? [57:11]
Revelation 12:11 says the enemy is conquered by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of testimony. Why might testimony be described as a weapon, not just a personal story? [55:20]
“But God” changes the direction of a story. How does that phrase help make sense of painful, unfinished, or even hopeless chapters in a person’s life? [01:02:32]

Application questions

What part of a personal story has been hardest to say out loud: where life was, where life is now, or where God is leading next? What tends to create the most hesitation? [44:46]
Silence enhances darkness. Is there an area where God has been faithful, but that faithfulness has stayed mostly hidden? What might it look like to share it with one person this week? [46:20]
God is the main character, not the person telling the story. When sharing something personal, what helps keep the focus on “Look at what Jesus did” instead of drifting into self-focus? [51:25]
A testimony does not have to wait until every problem is fixed. Is there a current struggle, healing process, or unfinished chapter where faithfulness right now could encourage someone else? [59:21]
Sometimes the greatest ministry is not far away but close to home. Who in everyday life might be more ready to hear a real story of God’s mercy than expected: a family member, friend, coworker, neighbor, or someone else? [01:00:30]
Every believer has a “but God” moment, whether dramatic or quiet. What is one sentence that could describe that moment simply and honestly? [01:08:53]
Testimony is not about having all the answers; it is about telling what Jesus has done. If there were only two or three minutes to share, what would be important to say so that the story points clearly to Him? [01:10:02]

Sermon Clips

36s

#MinistryNextDoor

“Sometimes, your greatest ministry isn't across the world, it's across the street. It's it's somebody in your current life now. And your story gives hope. Even if you feel hopeless, your story gives hope. Sometimes, we're going to refuse to witness and share the story of what god's doing in our life because we we we don't know enough. You don't need all the answers. You don't have to have it figured out. You simply need to share your story. People don't need another debate. They just need hope.”

36s

#GodWritesChapters

“God writes our stories in chapters. Yes, we talked about last week. Some are painful, some are victorious, but every chapter matters and even if in you're you're in the middle of one right now and you're not at the end of one, still share that he's writing the story. What is our verse our our key verse for the year? Romans eight twenty eight remind us that everything works together for good. Even the worst chapter in your life is the survival guide for someone else because you're still, even if you're not through it, you're still here.”

72s

#TransformedAndTrue

“This testimony, it proves the blood still works. It proves yes, people can argue theology. They can debate politics. They can question religion. They they can do all of that stuff, but they cannot argue with a transformed life. They cannot combat your witness and your testimony. So, when somebody says, I was addicted but now I'm not. I was broken but now I've been made whole. I was depressed but now I've been restored. I was angry but now I'm filled with peace. I was lost but now I'm found. I was blind but now I see. Those was, man, that's a powerful statement was. Was is a powerful statement because this is what I was but if that's what I was, then it can no longer be what I am. Jesus changed me. He transformed and there's fruit to show. When there's fruit to show what you're saying, it's undeniable evidence.”

34s

#BloodAndTestimony

“If you're willing to die for the lord, you're probably going to have to acknowledge you're not the main character in the story. Notice what defeats Satan in that passage. It's not intelligence, it's not talent, it's not influence, The blood of Jesus, check. If you're saved, check. Box is checked. the testimony of believers. Not or and. Both of them together help completely silence and defeat the enemy.”

35s

#ShareDontSilence

“not all of us are called to preach but all of us are called to share. have a story to tell. Your story may reach the one person that my sermon never will. Satan can't destroy your life, he will try to silence your testimony. Right. Why? Because silence enhances darkness. You know, every miracle that's kept secret is a miracle that's unavailable for someone else to experience.”

32s

#TellWhatHeDid

“Jesus delivers this demon possessed man. The man wants to travel with Jesus and Jesus says, no. Instead, Jesus tells him, you're going to go back home and you're going to tell everybody you know about what I did in your life. Jesus doesn't send him to Bible College. He doesn't tell him to memorize theology. He says, just go and tell everybody what you've experienced because people who knew the old hymn are going to automatically recognize the new hymn.”

38s

#TestimonyIsWeapon

“Your testimony isn't just about where you've been. Now, there's part of it but it can't just be about that. It's about where you've been, where you are, and where god is taking you. See, the enemy wants to wants you to believe your past disqualifies you or that nobody cares. He will remind you, you're not a preacher. Nobody's going to listen but god says, your story is not just an epic tale that you're experiencing. No, your story is an an awesome, unstoppable weapon in the kingdom of heaven. Now, you may never preach to thousands.”

60s

#YourStoryMatters

“every great movie has a great story. Toy story. Rocky, Remember the Titans. The Shawshank Redemption. Jaws, stories that's like these are epic stories that you can follow through the whole time. Every best selling book has a story. Every superhero has an origin story but as crazy and as epic and as in as awesome as some of these stories are, there's no story that's more powerful than the one that god is writing in your life today. So, let's talk about this word called testimony. You have a story and it's your testimony. Your testimony is vital to your everyday life as a believer. A lot of people don't lean on their testimony near enough.”

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