The Power of Your Testimony
Welcome to the Holy Spirit Untethered. My name is Amber Beals, and it is my job and my mission to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through me, to help demystify who he is, what his role is, and to deeply encourage you to seek a relationship with him. Alright. Let's get started. Hey, guys.
Amber Beels:So welcome back to the Holy Spirit Untethered podcast. My name is Amber. And today, I wanted to talk about a topic that I think is something that we all think about at one point or another, and that is the power of a story or a power of a testimony. And the reason why I'm bringing this up now is because my pastor, pastor Shane, who's been on this podcast before, shout out to Shane, that asked me I met with him this week. So side note, I've been a part of a class to get my ministry license.
Amber Beels:And so going through that process, pastor Shane is my coach. And so I've been meeting with him more often to kinda go over what I'm learning in my class and all the things. And so it's been really great. I'm almost halfway through, which is awesome. But, anyway, so we were talking, and we have this thing at church.
Amber Beels:It's called Church in the Park. So, basically, we meet at the Center for the Arts, which is in Escondido in California. And we branch out the space, but sometimes they have big events that take up the entire, like, area. So they have what the what's called the are these salons or whatever. And so we rent two of them.
Amber Beels:But sometimes they have events that take up the entire place, and so we're displaced sometimes. And when that happens, we do church in the park. And we have taken that opportunity as a church to make it special. So, basically, what we do is church in the park isn't like a normal sermon where Shane gets up or somebody gets up and preaches the word. It's called testimony Sunday.
Amber Beels:So we have two different people from the congregation that come up and share their story. It's a really powerful, powerful event because we get to hear from people that maybe we don't typically hear from at the church and get to just hear their story, like, how they came to the Lord. Every story has its significance and its importance and its impact, but there's some of them that I'm like, man, you had a rough upbringing, or I would have never guessed that you came from that and look at you today. And it's really cool to be able to see that transformation and and hear it from people, again, that you don't really typically hear from in the congregation. And so this Sunday, this coming Sunday, we're having another church in the park, and he asked me this time to share my story.
Amber Beels:And, you know, it was one of those things that I was like, I know he's gonna ask me one of these days. He's gonna ask me to share my story, which he's asked me before, but it was under a different pretense. And it was at a different location. The congregation was, like, a third of the size that it is now, and it was just, like, a different time. And so if I were to do it again, it would be much longer.
Amber Beels:The first time was only five minutes. This time, I have fifteen, twenty minutes to just tell my story. And so that is what we're gonna be talking about today. That was a really long intro to say that is what the topic today is gonna be on about sharing your testimony, sharing your story, and how important that is and how the Lord uses your testimony. He uses your story.
Amber Beels:So before we dive in to that, let's go ahead and pray. So if you can and it's safe to do so, go ahead and close your eyes and pray with me. Alright. Dear heavenly father, I just thank you so much for this day. I just thank you so much for this opportunity to have this podcast to come on here, talk about you, talk about your holy spirit.
Amber Beels:Holy spirit, I I ask that you would speak through me today. I pray a blessing over every single person that's listening to this podcast. I pray that you would prepare our hearts for this message, Lord. I just pray holy spirit that you would just take this message as like a little nugget and just allow it to be planted into each person that listens to this so that they know that they harbor a story that is impactful and meaning and can influence a lot of people and influence your kingdom. And we pray these things in Jesus' name.
Amber Beels:Amen. Alright. So power of your story. Now when Shane had asked me before to share my testimony, he gave me five minutes because the format of that series was I think the series was called my story. And he would have somebody go up, share their story for five minutes, and then he would go and share a message.
Amber Beels:So it couldn't be very long. Right? So five minutes. And what was funny about that time was he had also asked me or, well, I was considering to become the coordinator for the youth, so for middle school and high school, because we didn't have anyone in that position at that time to take over doing the events, putting them together, doing Friday nights, all the things. And so I was considering it.
Amber Beels:And so he had asked me to do this story, and he had asked me if I wanted to do that. And so he was I had said yes to the story even though it took me, like, three times to say yes because I was like, yeah. No. I don't wanna do that. Because at this time, I hadn't spoken in front of anybody before, like, at all.
Amber Beels:And so I was very nervous about that because, you know, public speaking, it's like the number one fear of people is to speak in front of other people. It's nerve wracking. And plus, it's such a personal thing to to share your story. And my story is very I almost wanna use the word controversial, but I I don't know if that's the right word. It's it's intense.
Amber Beels:How about that? I'll just use the word intense. It's a different kind of story. And so I was really nervous to share it, not only because I was sharing it in front of a bunch of people. At the time, I think we had, like, 75 people as part of the church.
Amber Beels:And not only did I have to share it, but, again, in front of other people, but, like, you know, it was my story. And so it was just a little little nerve wracking to be able to share that. And so I had already had it in my mind to say yes to doing gen h, which is our our youth program to do to be in charge of middle school and high school. And so in my head, it was already yes, but I didn't tell Shane that because I was like, so my head was so wrapped around the story and getting it right and writing it down and practicing it and getting in front of everybody. And, like, I think he thought it was a no about Gen h because I kept, like, pushing it off because I was like, look.
Amber Beels:I don't wanna give you an answer until after I do this story because it was just such a big deal to me at the time. But, anyway so since then, that was only five minutes. Now he opens up the opportunity for everyone at the congregation to share their story, and you have fifteen to twenty minutes, which I believe is a lot easier to share your story when you have a longer amount of time because there's some, like, details and nuances that you can elaborate on that maybe you can't when it's five minutes. Right? So when I had to do it five minutes, I really had to be concise.
Amber Beels:I had to really allow the holy spirit to help me write it, and he did. I just I remember that week, the week before or two weeks before, he got me up at, like, 6AM, which if you know me, I'm not a morning person. And we wrote it. Like, we wrote it together, and it was exactly five minutes. And it was something that I'm really happy I did.
Amber Beels:And I, to this day, still kind of, like, remember that day of, like, yeah. I'm I'm proud of myself that I I got up there and I did it and allowed the holy spirit to use me because I totally every fiber of my being was like, no. No. I don't wanna share my story. And I'm sure a lot of you probably feel the same.
Amber Beels:Maybe not even just in front of in front of, like, your church. Right? I mean, that is another level a little nerve wracking, especially depending on the size of your church. But just even sharing it with a friend or sharing it with an acquaintance or somebody that you know, like, sharing your story is such an intimate thing to do. And it can be nerve racking no matter what size audience you have because it's yours.
Amber Beels:Right? It's your story. It's personal. And I find that a lot of people, they feel like their story is not important or it's not impactful enough or it's boring. Right?
Amber Beels:And I feel like Eric, he's told me that before where he's like, well, yours is like, there's so much to it and, like, it's kind of an emotional roller coaster. But for me, it was just kinda like, yeah. I kinda grew up in the church and just became a Christian. And he's like, it's kinda boring. I know there's probably a lot of people who probably feel the same way where they're like, yeah.
Amber Beels:I grew up in the church and I just kind of became a Christian, and there wasn't, like, a huge impactful, like, moment or I didn't go through trauma when I was a kid or, you know, whatever. I just kind of, like, believed and that was it. And I was talking to Shane about this this week about how some people feel that way like Eric does. And he was sharing with me that everybody has a story. Right?
Amber Beels:Everybody has a testimony. And sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper to find the story, to find your story in your experiences. Because sometimes we just kind of lump some things together, and we don't really put ourselves back in that situation. How did you really feel? Were you going through something?
Amber Beels:Was there, you know, a situation you were in, or did somebody influence you in a certain way that made you come to that decision? Like, you really you really have to dig for it. You have to find the story, find the emotion, find the transformation, find the moment that the Lord touched your life. Because I'm gonna tell you right now, when the Lord touches your life, it's not insignificant. It's not insignificant.
Amber Beels:And you just have to put yourself back there and remember and be able to eloquently tell your story and ask the holy spirit. Ask him to help you remember to go back to that time when you first believed and ask him to help you formulate your story. Put it together. Like, put it in the right terms of events. Put it in the right order and find the impactful moments where when you share it with somebody, they're either gonna relate or just be super impacted and, you know, influenced by it.
Amber Beels:And there's a scripture that I wanted to read. It's out of Revelation. It's Revelation 12 verse 11. Now I wanna give you some context. So in Revelation, if you've ever read the book of Revelation, it's kind of an intense book.
Amber Beels:There's a lot going on there. There's a lot of symbolism. A lot of symbolism there. And in chapter 12, it has it's called the woman, the child, and the dragon. And the woman represents the world.
Amber Beels:The child represents God, like Jesus being born, and the dragon represents the devil. And so it's talking about the woman giving birth to Jesus, which is like, you know, the son of man coming into the world and all the things. But the number one thing that I wanted to highlight was in verse 11. And it says, and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. So what it's talking about is they overcame him by the blood of the lamb.
Amber Beels:So they, in this verse, is talking about believers. They overcame the devil, the dragon, by the blood of the lamb, so by salvation, by the blood of Jesus, and by the word of their testimony, so their story, their point of transformation, their point of when they believed and they put their faith and confessed with their mouth and believed in their their hearts that Jesus was their savior. So testimony is is really referring to your story of faith, your story of transformation, and how God worked in your life. Like, how God showed up for you in a certain point in your life. And it's gonna be impactful.
Amber Beels:Even if you think it's a little boring, again, you just have to dig for it and be like, what was I really feeling at that time? What was the Lord doing in my life at that point? Maybe in my family's lives, in my friends' lives. What was I doing? How old was I?
Amber Beels:Like, what was going on? Because some people, you know, they get born again when they're young, and some people, it's when they're later in life, like, people have their own journeys. And I believe every single person's story is so important because there's someone out there that is going to relate to your story. No matter how boring, quote, unquote, you think your stories is, no matter how intense your story is or how crazy your story is, people are gonna hear that, and they're going to, one, either believe you or think you're crazy. Right?
Amber Beels:There's, like, two options where they're gonna be like, okay. Yeah. I believe you. I believe the Lord did that in your life. I believe the Lord has transformed you.
Amber Beels:Look at where you were. Look at where you are now. I can see the evidence of the Lord working in your life. Or two, they're gonna be like, yeah. That's too crazy.
Amber Beels:Yeah. I don't I really don't believe what you just told me. And you know what? Two weeks ago, we had church in the park, and this one man, his name's Jerry. Shout out to Jerry.
Amber Beels:He was amazing. He gave his testimony, and his story was insane. Like, he came from a gang. Like, he kidnapped people. He murdered people.
Amber Beels:Like like, it was crazy where he came from. Mean, he was so hard. Like, his heart was hardened. He never cried. And as he was giving this testimony, he was in tears because the Lord softened his heart.
Amber Beels:The Lord completely transformed his life, and he gave it over to Jesus. And if you saw this man today, you would never think that he ever did any one of those things. I didn't. I didn't know his story. And so when I heard it, I was like, man, look what the Lord can do.
Amber Beels:It's a testament to how the Lord works and how we can never judge a book by its cover or we shouldn't. And we can't say that a person is too far gone for salvation. We can't say that. Even with our own biases, our own opinions, I mean, a lot of the times, like, we're passionate about things. Right?
Amber Beels:We have opinions about certain things. And so when you see a person or a group of people and you're like, no. They're they're unsavable. No way the Lord can can redeem them. That's not your place to say.
Amber Beels:Right? I mean, that's the Lord's place to say. We're not to judge that the Lord is the judge. And, yeah, we can have our opinions, but if you ever think those thoughts or you you say those words, you need to ask the holy spirit to be like, holy spirit, giving give me a heavenly lens. Allow me to see these people the way that you see them.
Amber Beels:Because the Lord views sin as equal, which is that's hard to believe for me because as a human, and I'm sure you can relate, sin to me is not created equal because, like, a little white lie is not the same thing as murder. Right? Like, I feel like the discipline or the punishment for those two sins should be different. It doesn't match the action. Right?
Amber Beels:But that's not biblical. That's not how God operates. That white lie, the punishment for that white lie is death, and so is the murder. Like, he doesn't view sin as, like, levels or tears. Like, there is no such thing in his eyes.
Amber Beels:All sin is sin, and all sin equals death because he is a holy god, and he can't be around sin. He can't because he is completely holy, and he's completely righteous. And so he can't be around that. And so it doesn't matter what tier, quote, unquote, we think it is. Like, sin is sin and all of the punishment for sin is death, which is, you know, again, a hard pill to swallow.
Amber Beels:But it's something that we as believers have to accept, and we need to have that heavenly lens, those heavenly eyes that the Lord has and ask him to help us see people the way that he does and to love people the way that he does. Obviously, don't be foolish. Don't just give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I mean, be safe. But at the same time, judge don't judge a person just by what you see.
Amber Beels:It's it's not up to you whether that person is is savable or not. Like, that's up to the Lord. Right? And so I know I'm getting off topic a little bit with with the story, but my my point is that no matter what your story is, no matter what your past is, it can be an influence for the kingdom. It can help somebody else that maybe is in a similar situation and increase their faith.
Amber Beels:Because that's what testimony does is it helps increase other people's faith because they see the work that was done in you. You are the evidence that the Lord is working, that the Lord still is working in your life. And it helps increase your own faith when you tell your story. Because I I feel like as humans, we we tend to forget what the Lord has done. Even if he just did it a week ago, like, we tend to forget all the things the Lord has done.
Amber Beels:And I think one powerful thing that we can do is keep a prayer journal and, you know, go back and read it and be like, oh, yeah. I remember when I prayed for that. Oh, yeah. Like, the Lord answered that a long time ago. Or you know what?
Amber Beels:The Lord didn't answer that. I'm glad he didn't. Like, you know, type of thing. It's just we are so forgetful because we are always looking for the next high, the next thing, the next promise, the next blessing. We are always looking for the next thing.
Amber Beels:And so sometimes we need to remember our story, remember what the Lord has done for us, and know that he's done it before, he can do it again. And if he did it for me, he can do it for you. So that's super important. And it's not only important for you to remember, but you for you to share. There's so much power in your testimony.
Amber Beels:Your story matters. And sometimes it takes practice to tell your story. Again, like like pastor Shane was saying, sometimes you gotta dig. You gotta dig for it. And it doesn't have to be hard.
Amber Beels:If you partner with the Holy Spirit, he's gonna help you. Of especially since you're doing this so that you can influence others and impact the kingdom and and do this for other people and do this for yourself too to increase your own faith. Of course, the Holy Spirit's gonna help you. He's not gonna he's not gonna keep that away from you. Of course, he's gonna wanna help you do that.
Amber Beels:So you just have to learn how to yield, which, you know, I've talked about before, yielding and and listening to the Holy Spirit, listening to his voice, and knowing how he he speaks to you and how he can help you write your story. And I would recommend writing it or typing it out, whatever works for you. When if if I'm doing something like that, I'm typing it because I'm a faster typer than I am writing. Though I typically like, if I'm taking notes or something, I always write it down. I prefer to do that over typing.
Amber Beels:But if I'm doing, like, a sermon or I'm writing my story down, like, I'm gonna type it just because as soon as I start getting that download from the holy spirit, I wanna be able to write it as soon as possible, as fast as possible so that I don't miss anything. Right? And the prayer that you pray is really simple. Like, holy spirit, please help me write this. I want this story to be impactful.
Amber Beels:And the number one thing that you really wanna ask is, like, Lord, this is my story, but this is your message. So help me write this in a way that is gonna be the most impactful for people to either relate to or just be impacted by, to be able to have their faith be increased because of the work you did for me. And help me be vulnerable. Help me be able to do these things. And, Lord, please help me be able to do what you want me to do.
Amber Beels:I wanna be a vessel for you. I want to allow myself to be used by you, not just me and my current actions, but me and my past actions. Even if I'm not proud of my past, I want you to be able to use it. Even if I'm sad about my past or I had a lot of anger about it, if you had trauma or whatever it is, like, a lot of the times it can be painful to think back to the past. And if it's still as painful, then there's probably some forgiveness that you still need to do for some people or yourself or whatever it is for back in the past.
Amber Beels:So it can be an eye opening exercise to write down your story. And maybe you don't have, like, an event where you're gonna, like, share your story. It's good to write it down just so you have it, just so you know what it is so that the Lord can remind you all of the things that he did for you. Because that, again, increases your faith as well. And so that can be like a tool in your tool belt, and you just have it so that if somebody you come across could benefit from hearing your story, you have it, and you can just whip it out and be like, you know what?
Amber Beels:This happened in my life, and I wanna share this with you. And it's something that I believe every believer should should know. You should know your testimony. You should be able to share your testimony. If somebody asks you on the spot, you should be able to say something.
Amber Beels:You should be able to tell your story on the spot because you should be passionate enough about the work the Lord has done in your life to be able to share it and share it with such a passion. And so if you're not there, I encourage you. I encourage you to write it down. I encourage you to get to that place where you can be excited about it. You can be excited about sharing your story and about just being and just allowing the Lord to use your past, not just your present and your future, but your past.
Amber Beels:Even if you weren't a believer at the time, just knowing the Lord can use it all for good and giving him that opportunity to do that. So, so important. And, you know, my story has some demonic stuff in it, and I'm always afraid how people will take it, how people will handle that. Because a lot of the times, people either don't believe in the spiritual realm or they're afraid of it or they're not sure what to think about it. And so mine is very much centered around that.
Amber Beels:So when I tell it, sometimes depending on who I'm telling, I preface it or not preface it. After I'm done saying it, I say, okay. If I feel like maybe they don't believe or maybe they're having a hard time wrapping their head around that, what I just told them, then I'll ask. Like, do you think I'm crazy? Do you do you think I'm out of my mind or I'm brainwashed?
Amber Beels:And most of the time, I well, actually, I've never had somebody say, yes. You're crazy. Maybe they were just being polite, but I most of the time, people are like, no. You're pretty level headed. Like, I don't think you're crazy.
Amber Beels:I don't think you're brainwashed. Okay. Cool. Do you think I would lie to you? And then, you know, I'll let them answer.
Amber Beels:No. I trust you. Like, you're you're pretty trustworthy. I I I've developed a relationship with you. Or or if not, then I you seem trustworthy enough.
Amber Beels:You know? You seem, like, level headed and all the things. I'm like, okay. So if I'm not crazy and you don't think I would lie to you, then what's the answer? Well, the answer is I must be telling the truth.
Amber Beels:Right? And some people, they might be like, well, that's your truth. That's that was your experience. That's how you interpreted it. But no.
Amber Beels:There's one truth. Right? Yes. It was my experience, but I wouldn't lie about it. I wouldn't exaggerate it.
Amber Beels:I wouldn't make it what it wasn't. Right? I'm sharing this story because it's true. It's what happened. It's what I heard with my ears and I saw with my own eyes.
Amber Beels:And if that's true, then it must be accurate. Right? It must be truly accurate in what happened and how the Lord worked in my life and how he came through and how he saved my mom. And I don't know if I've actually told my story on this podcast. Feel like I've given bits and pieces.
Amber Beels:So maybe in the next episode, I'll share I'll actually, like, sit down and share my testimony with you guys. I don't wanna do it I didn't wanna do it today because I'm gonna be doing it this Sunday. So I didn't wanna share it because I know a lot of people in my church listen to this podcast. So I want them to be able to listen to it live on Sunday and not have it be ruined. But maybe next week, I'll I'll share maybe next week, I'll share my my story so you guys can hear it.
Amber Beels:But it's it's incredible what your story can do for the kingdom of the Lord, who you tell it to, how it impacts other people, the the faith that it increases. I wouldn't put a limit on your story no matter how, again, boring you think it is. I mean, the scripture says, and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. The word of their testimony. It it was so powerful that it overcame the enemy.
Amber Beels:It overcame the devil. Like, if that's not evidence enough that your story is powerful and it can cause the enemy turmoil and put, like, just affect his plans and literally overturn him. Like, that should be enough to tell you that there is power in a story, and there's power in your story. So I wanna encourage you to, again, write it down. Even if you don't have, like, an event, like, that you're gonna be sharing it, that you're planning on it, it's good to have in your arsenal of things to be able to share so that when that person comes up to you, like, in public at a coffee shop or maybe you're discipling somebody or you're thinking of discipling somebody or somebody's gonna disciple you and they ask you, okay.
Amber Beels:What's your testimony? Like, some I don't want that question to make you sweat bullets because you haven't thought about it. Like, you should be able to answer that question and say it with pride. And say it with pride in the sense that look what the Lord has done. Look how how awesome the Lord is and how he helped me through this trial, how he helped me get through this time in my life, how he transformed me from this hard, sinful, just awful person that I was into what I am now, which isn't perfect by any means.
Amber Beels:I am a work in progress. We all are. I don't think that work is gonna be done until we're sitting in heaven with Jesus. Like, there's always, always gonna be work to be done because we live in a fallen world, and we're still in our old bodies, and we still have to kill our flesh every single day. But we're given hope when we remember what the Lord did, when we reflect and we go back to what we were doing before, who we were, what the situation was back way back when to who we are now.
Amber Beels:And if you are a newly saved Christian, well, welcome to the kingdom. Awesome. I am so happy for you, and I'm so excited that you've made that decision. And maybe you're like, well, I'm just fresh. Like, I I don't really have a story yet.
Amber Beels:Well, journal how you're feeling now. Like, start writing now, like, what your past was. Because it's so fresh, you should be able to write that down and really think about the feelings and the emotions and just how the Lord is impacting you in your life right in this moment. Like, that's powerful in itself too. So please write these things down.
Amber Beels:Really try to capture the moment so that you can articulate a story in the future so that you can be a vessel and that the Lord can use you and use your story. And and, you know, the the Holy Spirit is there to hear. It's a the Holy Spirit is there to help you. He is the helper. Right?
Amber Beels:He is our helper. He's your helper. And so he wants you to be able to articulate what he's done for you when you first accepted the Lord and what he's currently doing for you now Because the Holy Spirit is constantly working. He's constantly convicting. He's helping.
Amber Beels:He is working in your life to make you more like Jesus, and it's such a powerful thing. So invite the Holy Spirit into that process of writing down your story. Invite him in. He's gonna be so excited to write this with you and to put it down into words so that you can use it to help other believers and you can impact the kingdom because that's what it's all about. Right?
Amber Beels:It's about sharing the good news. And what better way to do that than sharing what God has done in your own personal life? So I hope you guys find that useful. I hope that you feel encouraged to be able to write down your story, to be able to share your story, not be timid about it, not be shy about it. Somebody asks you to share it, share it.
Amber Beels:Just just go ahead and say yes. I mean, when Shane asked me this week, I was like, I didn't say yes right away, but as we kept talking, I was like, alright. Alright. I'll do it. But I'm working on having a faster yes, but that's okay.
Amber Beels:So I hope you guys really enjoyed this. I hope you guys feel encouraged. I wanna pray a blessing over you guys. And if you found this helpful or if you found this podcast helpful at all, please share it with a friend. Please share it with, like, on social media or write it a review on Apple or Spotify, wherever you listen to it.
Amber Beels:It really does help the algorithm and help spread the message and grow this podcast. And and I I just wanted to be impactful for the kingdom and and allow others faith to be increased and know who the holy spirit is and and develop that relationship with him because that is he's our helper, and he's the one that we're supposed to do life with. So if you can help me do that, that would be awesome. Alright. Thanks, guys.
Amber Beels:I hope you have a blessed week, and I'll see you next week.
