Shout It Out!
A moment I’ll never forget happened almost thirteen years ago. I was sitting at a table in the fellowship hall of a large church in San Antonio. I was there for a time of continuing education. It was lunch time and several friends from seminary days were sitting with me at the table when I received a text from my wife. It was just a picture. A picture of a positive pregnancy test. I shouted with excitement, “hey, y’all look at this!” “Kimberly and I are having another baby!” I couldn’t contain my excitement! I just had to tell everyone there the good news. Of course, I quickly received another text, “Don’t tell anyone yet.” Oops! Too late. I couldn’t help myself. I just had to tell someone. Well, everyone, I had to tell everyone!
There’s a verse from Revelation that comes back to me now. Let’s consider that verse for a moment.
“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11 NIV)
Think about the three parts of the verse. First, ‘They overcame him…’ If you look at the previous verses, you’ll see that the ‘him’ being overcome is the ‘ancient serpent’ ‘the devil’ ‘Satan, who leads the world astray.’ In the contemporary modern church and world, we don’t talk about the enemy very much anymore. Maybe because of how that has been exploited and overdone in our past. Or maybe because we live in a culture that minimizes the supernatural. Or maybe, because we struggle with the idea of evil, especially a personal evil. Or maybe because we just don’t want to think about it. The Scripture teaches, and the Christian tradition affirms, that evil is real; that the enemy is personal and active. But more importantly, that the enemy is already defeated. Which leads us to next part of the verse…
Second, ‘by the blood of the Lamb.’ It always comes back to what Jesus has accomplished on the cross. The victorious atoning work of the cross is central to the faith. It can’t be avoided or minimized. The cross changes everything. The enemy is defeated because of what Jesus does on the cross and in His bodily resurrection. Jesus, the second person of the Trinity goes to the cross on our behalf and the enemy is defeated. Sin and death are defeated. Evil is defeated. This is the good news! This is the hope we have in Jesus! Life, love, hope, forgiveness, mercy, redemption come through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. This is the unique message we have for the world!
Third, ‘by the word of their testimony.’ This good news spreads by us sharing what Jesus has done for us. We can’t hold it in! Like a ‘fire shut up in our bones’ we simply must shout it out, “Jesus is alive!” “Jesus loves you!” “Jesus saves!” We just have to tell somebody this incredibly good news that changes everything! Now, I know that someone out there is thinking, but St. Francis said, ‘go out every day and preach the gospel, if necessary, use words.” I love that quote too. I think in our time and culture, we’re going to have to use words. We can do great works of mercy, but if we don’t tell folks in whose name we are doing these works, they won’t know. We must tell people the good news! We must share the Gospel with the world. We must shout it out from the rooftops! How will they know unless someone tells them?
Maybe this week you could invite someone over for a cup of coffee and simply share the difference Jesus has made in your life. Maybe you could write out the ‘word of your testimony’ and post it on your favorite social media. What do you think? How could you share the Gospel this week?
Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see people as you see them. Help us Jesus, to love people as you love them. Come Holy Spirit and empower us to share the Good News with a world in such desperate need of Jesus. Give us wisdom, discernment, and opportunity share what Jesus has done for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
-Rich Jones
