“Many coals make a good fire, and that is a part of the communion of saints.”
—Samuel Rutherford
Last week, The Road met on our Buckner-Tarsney property for a special service. It was a great time of worship and fellowship. At the end of the service, I mentioned to our church that the Family Meeting was coming up (July 29). The Family Meeting will be a time for sharing food together, hearing reports from the building committee and the stewardship committee, holding a vote of affirmation for new members and finally, giving the body a chance to share brief testimonies of the activity of the Lord in their own lives. It is this last item that I want to address today.
Sharing a testimony of the activity of the Lord in your life is one of the best ways to strengthen your own walk with the Lord and to encourage fellow believers in their pilgrimage as well. Pastors in seventeenth-century England (the 1600s) urged their people to meet together for the purpose of challenging and comforting each other. Pastor Thomas Watson cited Malachi 3:16 and then encouraged his flock with these words, “You that are the people of God, do…often associate together, Mal. 3:16, ‘They that feared the Lord, spoke often one to another.’ Christ’s doves should flock together; one Christian will help to heat another: a single coal of juniper will soon die, but many coals put together will keep life in one another.” (The Godly Man’s Picture, 239). How do we “keep life in one another”? One way is to share a word of testimony with an individual, a small group, or in a larger gathering.
Some might ask, “Pastor Dale, I would do that, but I don’t like to speak in front of crowds. I am uncertain of what I should say. Can you help me?” Yes, regarding speaking in front of a group, please remember that these are fellow believers who love you and are ready to rejoice with you. They are not there to criticize but to comfort you as you share your experience with the Lord. Then lastly, what are some helps a believer can think about when trying to determine what the Lord has been doing in their life? Here are some questions to ask yourself: 1) in what areas lately have I seen the Lord demonstrate his faithfulness to me? 2) have I experienced an answer to prayer that really seemed to capture God’s care over me or someone else? 3) what promise or verse in the Scriptures has really been significant to me lately and why? And finally, 4) seek to complete this sentence, ‘In the past few weeks, Christ has grown more precious to me because _________________. There are many other questions that could be asked but these will provide you with a good start as you contemplate God’s faithful activity in your recent walking with him. If after reading this list, you feel led to share a brief (two minutes at most) testimony at our Family Meeting then please contact Pastor Dale or Charles so we can schedule it. Thank you for considering this and have a blessed week. See you Sunday!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dale