It's Your Story - Rev. Tom Brazell

Devotional

Day 1: Blind Eyes and Bold Testimony

The man born blind stood before religious experts, dirt from Jesus’ spit still crusted on his eyelids. When they demanded theological arguments, he simply repeated: “One thing I know—I was blind, now I see.” His story disarmed their debates. Jesus used physical healing to reveal spiritual sight. [01:02:28]

This man’s testimony demonstrates kingdom authority. Concrete experiences with God’s power bypass intellectual defenses. The Pharisees couldn’t refute transformed flesh-and-blood reality. Jesus still uses ordinary people’s stories to confront doubters.

Your story carries the same disruptive power. What healed relationship, conquered addiction, or unexplainable provision have you experienced? Write three sentences summarizing one key work God did in you. When fears of inadequacy arise, remember: your lived experience is unassailable. What “one thing you know” remains unshakable in your walk with Christ?

“He answered, ‘Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’”
(John 9:25, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to highlight one specific work He’s done in your life that someone needs to hear today.
Challenge: Write your 3-sentence testimony on a notecard. Keep it in your wallet/purse.

Day 2: Come and See Disciples

Andrew sprinted through Jerusalem streets after his day with Jesus, breathlessly grabbing his brother Peter: “We found the Messiah!” No polished sermon—just raw excitement about his encounter. Philip later mirrored this approach with Nathanael, refusing debates but insisting, “Come and see.” [01:05:26]

These first disciples show evangelism as shared discovery, not salesmanship. Their invitation flowed from personal awe, not doctrinal expertise. Jesus uses ordinary enthusiasm to build His kingdom—one “come see” at a time.

Who in your life needs an Andrew-like invitation? Your coworker? Neighbor? Teenage nephew? This week, identify one person to invite into a spiritual conversation using three simple words: “Come and see.” What relational connection might God be preparing for your courageous ask?

“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’”
(John 1:45-46, ESV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for the person who first invited you to “come and see” Him.
Challenge: Text one friend today: “I’d love to share how God helped me through ___. Coffee this week?”

Day 3: As You Go Disciples

Jesus didn’t command stadium crusades but daily obedience: “As you go, make disciples.” The disciples’ first post-Pentecost sermon wasn’t in synagogues—it erupted spontaneously in streets as they explained the Spirit’s sudden fire. Ordinary journeys became divine appointments. [50:21]

Disciple-making happens in the friction of daily life—not just mission trips. The cashier, gym buddy, and daycare mom all need to hear your story. Jesus works through organic conversations more than programmed events.

Where does your regular “going” take you—grocery runs? Soccer practices? Dog parks? Carry your testimony notecard this week. Pray for divine interruptions in routine spaces. What familiar location might become your unexpected mission field today?

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
(Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)

Prayer: Confess areas where you’ve limited “go” to foreign lands rather than daily paths.
Challenge: Post your testimony notecard on your car dashboard. Pray at every red light for open doors.

Day 4: Witnesses Start Local

Jesus told the disciples to start testifying in Jerusalem before Judea. Their first converts weren’t foreign crowds but people they’d known for years—the ones who’d seen their failures before Pentecost. Local credibility mattered most. [49:44]

Your most strategic mission field is your existing relational network. Family members and longtime friends may resist sermons but can’t ignore sustained life change. Your consistent transformation preaches louder than words.

Who has watched God reshape you over time—a sibling? Childhood friend? Write their name down. This week, share one specific example of how Christ changed you in an area they’ve observed. What longstanding relationship might God want to awaken through your story?

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8, ESV)

Prayer: Ask boldness to witness to someone who knew you “before Christ.”
Challenge: Call one family member today. Share one way God helped you this month.

Day 5: Never Forsaken, Always Fed

David declared, “I was young, now old—never seen the righteous forsaken.” The pastor testified to fifty years of God’s tangible care—healings, provisions, marital restoration. Each miracle became a stone of remembrance, building unshakable confidence in God’s faithfulness. [44:59]

Your story isn’t just conversion—it’s cumulative. Every breakthrough and sustained blessing testifies to God’s enduring presence. Even ongoing struggles showcase His sustaining grace. Collect these moments as evidence for doubting hearts.

What “stones of remembrance” has God given you? Chronicle five key moments where He showed up. How might rehearsing these strengthen both your faith and others’? Your full story—not just the salvation chapter—declares His lifelong faithfulness.

“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”
(Psalm 37:25, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for three specific provisions from your past that still sustain you today.
Challenge: Create a timeline of 5 key God-moments in your life. Share it with one person this week.

Sermon Summary

Acts 1:8 hands the church a job description in plain words. Jesus says, you shall be witnesses to me. A witness is not a debater, a witness tells what he has seen, heard, and lived. Matthew 28 adds the framework. All authority belongs to Jesus, and as his people go, they make disciples, baptize, and teach everything he commanded. The grammar matters. The verb is not go, it is make disciples. So the assignment lands on ordinary Tuesdays, in homes, at work, at school. It is not only for those who move overseas. It is for every believer, right where life already runs.

Fear often gums up the works. Fear of rejection, fear of not knowing enough, fear of getting tangled by someone’s trick questions. Scripture does not ask the church to win every argument. Scripture puts the weight on witness. In Luke 7, Jesus points John’s messengers to what they have seen and heard. In Acts 4, Peter and John say they cannot help but speak what they have seen and heard. In Acts 22, the Lord tells Paul he will be a witness of what he has seen and heard. First John opens by declaring what the apostles saw, heard, and handled. John 9 gives the model line that cuts through games and distractions. One thing I know, I was blind, now I see.

The call to witness runs on story, not spin. Tell your story. Tell what God did in your body, in your home, in your soul. That kind of testimony meets people where they hurt and opens a door for the gospel to make sense. The pattern shows up early in John 1. Come and see. Then Andrew runs to Peter, Philip goes for Nathanael, and the circle grows by simple invitation marked by real encounter.

Real life bears this out. A man in deep confusion heard a simple report from his uncle about a prayer meeting. I cannot tell you what they have, but they leave happy. That little sentence sent him to Jesus. When the Lord saved him and changed his appetites overnight, he and his wife prayed through a list of friends and told them plainly what God had done. Many believed, not because someone mastered every prophecy chart, but because someone said, one thing I know.

Matthew 28 also keeps the long view. Evangelism brings people in, and teaching grows them up. So identify what God has done in you, pray for an opening, and pay attention. As you go, be ready to share a clear three to five minute testimony, start, middle, and done. Tell it to friends, to kids, to grandkids. One thing you know can change a life.

Key Takeaways

1. Witnessing starts with lived experience [47:23] Experience sits at the heart of Christian witness. The text pushes past argument to what God has actually done in a life that someone can see, hear, and handle. That kind of concreteness gives hurting people a handhold, because it connects truth to need. Testimony does not dodge truth, it delivers it in flesh and blood. [47:23]
2. "As you go" means daily life [50:03] The commission does not wait for a plane ticket. The verb is make disciples as life unfolds, in normal traffic patterns. Ordinary rhythms become mission fields when prayer opens eyes and love looks for neighbors. A life on errands can carry eternity. [50:03]
3. Evangelism precedes lifelong teaching [53:42] Matthew 28 holds both urgency and patience. Evangelism welcomes people into Christ, and teaching walks with them through everything he commanded. Rushing past either one misses the shape of obedience Jesus laid down. A church that holds both will see depth and reach grow together. [53:42]
4. Testimony answers what arguments cannot [01:02:28] John 9 gives a durable template for a tangled age. One thing I know reframes the conversation, moving it from smoke to substance. People may out-debate a Christian, but they cannot outlive a changed life. A clear story disarms distractions and invites honest hunger. [62:28]
5. Start with the people you know [01:11:02] Fruit often ripens closest to home. Praying through a list of friends and simply sharing what God has done honors both providence and relationship. Results belong to God, but faithfulness belongs to the disciple. Proximity plus prayer plus plain speech is powerful. [71:02]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[44:40] - Remembering God’s faithfulness
[46:01] - A practical word on witness
[47:23] - "You shall be my witnesses"
[47:55] - All authority and the real commission
[50:03] - "As you go" into everyday life
[51:02] - Why people feel inadequate
[52:19] - Cutting through distractions
[53:42] - Evangelism and teaching together
[55:27] - Tell what God has done
[61:45] - One thing I know, now I see
[66:20] - From searching to a changed life
[71:02] - Pray through your friend list
[76:48] - Pray, prepare, and watch for openings
[79:22] - Share a three minute testimony

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Acts 1:8 (ESV): "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
- Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV): "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"

Observation Questions

According to Acts 1:8, what does Jesus say believers will become when the Holy Spirit empowers them?
In Matthew 28:19, the primary verb is "make disciples." What practical examples did the sermon give for how this happens in everyday life? [50:03]
How did the man healed of blindness in John 9 respond to the Pharisees’ accusations, and why did this story stand out in the sermon? [01:02:28]

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus emphasize witnessing (sharing personal experience) over debating in Acts 1:8? How does this address common fears about sharing faith? [51:02]
The sermon contrasts evangelism and teaching in Matthew 28:18-20. How do these two actions work together to fulfill the Great Commission? [53:42]
The healed man in John 9 says, "One thing I know: I was blind, now I see." Why is this kind of testimony effective in a culture skeptical of religious arguments?

Application Questions

What specific part of your story (a struggle, answered prayer, or change in your life) could you share with someone this week to show God’s work in you? [47:23]
Make a list of 3-5 people in your daily life (family, coworkers, neighbors). How could you pray for opportunities to share your story with them? [01:11:02]
The sermon suggests preparing a 3-5 minute testimony with a "start, middle, and done." What key moments would you include in yours, and why? [01:19:22]
Think of a time someone’s simple testimony impacted you. How can you prioritize listening for others’ needs to connect your story to their situation? [01:03:25]
Identify one fear (rejection, lack of knowledge, etc.) that holds you back from sharing your faith. What practical step could you take this month to confront that fear?

Sermon Clips

33s

“And and so we might think, well, what if I face someone who can take the bible you know, some of the cults take parts of the bible, and they turn them around in different what if they do that to me? What am I going to do? Now we should all be able to biblically defend our faith. We should do that. And but we don't have to be deep theologians. But sometimes we just feel intimidated. We feel inadequate. And I, myself, I have studied numerous times in my life, various cults and and all of that.”

41s

“Good example of that is somebody who just talking about Jesus, but they'll say, you know, yeah, I I've seen there's just too many hypocrites in the church. Your answer to that is don't say that. There's room for one more, you know, so they that they would feel welcome. There's people will try to confuse and distract, and and you just might not be feel adequate. I'm just trying to explore why don't we take those verses that were given to us as as our commission. Why don't we think more about it? Why don't we see it as as our commission?”

54s

“and I was coming up short everywhere. He just said, He just said, they I don't know what they have. He said, I don't know, but they leave happy. And so the following week, he went to this meeting where he was and we went there. And, it's a long story. Won't take you through the whole thing, but the long and short of it is we we gave our lives to the lord. And and it was like, day and night. Yes. It it was the most amazing thing. Like, on, let's say on Tuesday, I don't know what day of the week it was, but let's say on Tuesday, I couldn't pass a bar without stopping in it. On Wednesday, I didn't want to. It was the most amazing change in my life that took place. It doesn't happen like that for everybody. For me, it just my whole life was turned, like, oh, like, in one experience with the lord.”

36s

“So I I often think there's an old saying that said, something to the effect of a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. Like, we might be able to argue somebody better might be able to argue with someone better than they can argue with us, but that doesn't mean we convince them. But in experience, when you say, wait a minute. This happened to me. This is this is my life. I'm telling you what happened to me. Now we're at a different level. Because if they have a need in their heart, if they have a need in their lives and they say, okay. Well, this happened to you.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Covenant Life Church, Henrietta, New York This sermon · AI assistant

How should Christians share personal testimonies effectively?

Why hesitate to witness among friends and neighbors?

What practical steps make disciples in everyday life?

It's Your Story - Rev. Tom Brazell - May 17, 2026