I thank all of you for joining me here today.
Can we just give a shout of Praise to the Lord!
Praise His Holy Name for all that He has already done!
Praise for what He is doing presently!
Praise Him, for all that which will be done in Faith Believing!
Hallelujah!
Heavenly Father,
We gather today to worship and praise You!
Lord, forgive us, for all the times, we've doubted You.
Because our eyes and minds said it was impossible..
For the times, we couldn't see past our circumstances.
Lord, forgive us!
Help us in our the times of unbelief.
As we study Your Word today, open our hearts and minds, that we may increase in our faith in You, O gracious and merciful God!
In Jesus' Name we ask and pray
Amen and Amen!
"Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children."
Matthew 14:19-21
Jesus fed more than five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fishes. Five thousand people had the opportunity to experience the miraculous that day. They held a miracle in their hand, ate it, and it satisfied their hunger.
I came to preach the Word to you today because, You Need a Personal Testimony!
How many of you know what a testimony is?
A testimony is an account of something God did for you that was out of your control!
But before you can have a personal testimony, you have got to go through a test! Can I get a witness?
The hungry people that ate of those five loaves of bread and two fish
and became living testimonies when they took the first bite of their
miracle. Everywhere they went from that point on, they could testify of
the miraculous things that God did for them that day.
When you leave church today, you need a personal testimony.
I believe those
people left that day saying,
“Let me tell you what happened at church
today!”
Unfortunately, a lot of Christians these days don’t testify about the victory they’re promised, but they sure do moan about their test!
They praise Resurrected Christ, but they sure don't testify about Calvary!
"Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe."
Philippians 3:1
I know, oftentimes it is extremely difficult to rejoice in
our circumstances. In fact, I think sometimes it is nearly impossible to rejoice in
circumstances.
But you can always rejoice in the Lord, because He is above
circumstances. So, the exhortation in the Scripture is always that of
rejoicing in the Lord.
Have you ever heard somebody say,
“I don’t feel good, or I’m going
through a hard time with my family, I’m not coming to church today…?”
"But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed,"
Isaiah 53:5
"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19
"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
Romans 8:37
Let me just say..
We cannot be victorious if we don’t believe that we have the victory.
We have to confess with our mouths,
“We are more than conquerors through him that loved
us.”
Doubt is defeat.
Say that with me,
Doubt is defeat!
But Jesus gave us something to use; it’s called faith!
"Behold, I
give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over
all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Luke 10:19-20
After Jesus did a miracle for the five thousand hungry people, He
went to the mountain to pray, and sent His disciples across the sea to
the other side. In the midst of the sea, there was a storm…
Doesn't it seem that after every miracle we are blessed with, there is a
storm that follows.
Isn't that true?
I believe that God allows this to happen intentionally.
"But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea."
Matthew 14:24-25
Just about the time your test starts getting out of control, here comes Jesus, walking on the sea.
He knows what you need before you ever ask. Remember, Jesus was on
the mountain praying when the storm came, but Jesus still came to their
rescue.
That day, Peter walked on water with Jesus. His faith allowed him to
take the first step out onto the water, but his doubt caused him to
sink.
God wants you to rise above your sinking situation!
Say that with me,
God wants you to rise above your sinking situation!
"And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Matthew 14:31
If you're sinking in your storms, if you’ll cry out to God for help. Your doubt doesn’t alter His love for you.
When Jesus showed up in the storm, the disciples problem was already
solved. The storm ceases, your troubles and fears are calmed, when Jesus
shows up to the scene.
He knows how much stress we can withstand. He knows our greatest fears and He comes during our test to give us a testimony!
When your problem meets your power, the miraculous happens.
When the disciples saw that figure walking across the water, they didn’t think it was Jesus, they thought that it was a spirit.
When you’re in trouble, God may come in a disguise, but He will always come!
He will be there if you'll call out to Him.
Blind Bartimaeus would’ve never been healed if he hadn’t screamed, “Thou son of David have mercy on me.”
The ten lepers would have never been cleansed if they hadn’t asked, “If thou will.”
The woman with the issue of blood would’ve never been healed if she hadn’t crawled over and touched the hem of His garment.
Jairus’ daughter would’ve never been raised from the dead, except Jairus asked.
Lazarus would’ve never been raised from the grave if his sisters hadn’t sent for him.
In closing...
You've got to be tested, to have a testimony!
You can’t just be a recipient of a blessing, you’ve got to call out for His help! And believe me He will help!
My very being here today, is witness to that fact!
God’s already done as much as He’s going to do...
If you don’t cry out, invite Him into your situation, and believe His promises, written in His Word, you’re never going to come out of it.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus had the disciples gather up the
fragments of the leftover bread and fish?
I've got news for you!
It wasn’t for them to eat, but
to serve as a reminder for them of God’s power.
Even though you have a testimony right in front of your face, you forget about His miraculous power when you are in a storm.
When God brings a miracle into your situation, don’t leave the scene until you’ve considered all the leftovers.
Remember the victory in your trials!
Let your test become a testimony!
Claim the victory!
I know that you might be in the midst of the greatest storm you’ve ever experienced in your life..
But where you are seeing the problem...
I'm seeing a Savior walking across the water!
You Need a Personal Testimony!
I can't give you eyes to see,
but I can, through the Word of God
open your eyes, so that you can see!
Don't you see Him standing there...
In the middle of your storm..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Brian Monzon Ministries