Well, 2024 is over, and 2025 is here. Welcome to the new year!
My hope, as you’ve already heard, is that 2025 will be “The Year of Evangelism” for our church.
So, on that note, I wanted to be sure that everyone in our church is given the opportunity to learn how to share the gospel effectively.
One of the greatest ways to share the gospel is to share your story. In the church world, we often call this story a testimony.
A testimony is a retelling of something that happened to you. It’s a story. It’s your story.
So, when we speak of your testimony, we’re speaking of your story.
Here’s the thing, friends: If Jesus has changed your life, then you have a story to tell. Indeed, that’s the title of today’s sermon, “You Have a Story to Tell.”
Before we go any further, let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us.
(prayer)
Well, some of us surely have some stories from 2024. I have some good stories, and I have some bad stories.
Let me tell you about one of the good stories. For my birthday, I wanted to do something for my family, so I decided as a present to myself, I would take my family to LEGOLAND. We went to the park one evening, spent the night at the hotel, then went to the park again the next day. Well, LEGOLAND has this screen in the park that lists birthdays of park guests whose family members submit their information. Usually, kids are listed with their birthdays. Well, my son, Jeremiah, was very sneaky, and he got my name listed. Check it out. There I am, listed among all of those kids. Here’s a closer look. That act by my son was so special to me because someone took the time to think of me and put in some work to make me feel special. It actually brought me to tears. I was walking on Cloud 9 that day.
That story is one of my favorites from 2024.
Now, that’s my story. It happened to me. I can tell it to anyone because I’m very familiar with it. Again, that’s because it’s my story.
So also, you have your own stories; some good and some bad. However, if you are a follower of Jesus, you also have the story of how Jesus changed your life.
So, as we look at our gospel story, let’s focus now on three aspects of our story in the gospel.
First of all, as I think about my gospel story, I think about . . .
I. My old life.
For those of us who are in Jesus, there was a time when we were not in Jesus, right?
There was a time when we were walking in sin.
Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
We were all once sinners.
We had fallen short of the glory of God.
Our sin had caused a big problem in our lives, separating us from God, earning us an eternity in hell, and bringing all sorts of brokenness in our lives.
Listen to how Paul describes our state without Jesus in Ephesians 2:1–3: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.”
We talked about this passage some during our Christmas series, but it’s important and helpful to come back to this passage again.
Our “old life” is our life without Jesus.
According to Ephesians 2, in our old lives, we were dead.
In our old lives, we walked in the ways of the world.
In our old lives, we walked according to evil.
In our old lives, we carried out the desires of our flesh.
Now, some of you, like I, were saved from your sins at a young age. You might think, “Well, how much sin could I have committed at eight years old?”
However, we know that we were without Jesus. We know that we did not live for God’s glory. We know that we put our ways ahead of God’s ways. We know that we were cursed by sin.
As you share your gospel story, these are elements for you to keep in mind.
My old life was one of lostness. My old life was one of sin. My old life was one without Jesus.
However, your old life was not the end, was it?
You have been made new.
So, the next part of my gospel story is . . .
II. My new life.
The old life is gone! Right, church? We’re no longer dead! Right, church?
This part is essential to our gospel story. If you were never made new, then you are still lost in your sins; you are still dead in your trespasses and sins.
However, in Jesus, we are made new!
Listen to how Paul continues in Ephesians. Look at Ephesians 2:4–9: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.”
This is the gospel message!
Ephesians 2 reminds us that . . .
God is rich in mercy.
God loved us.
God made us alive in Christ.
God saved us by His grace.
God raised us up and seated us with Jesus.
God is displaying His riches to us.
We did not save ourselves; God saved us.
God saved us by grace through faith.
God gave us His gift; we did not earn it.
We have a new life, and it’s all due to the work of God in us through Jesus!
Listen to how Paul describes this in 1 Corinthians 6:9–11: “Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? . . . And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Without Jesus, we will not inherit God’s kingdom. In our old lives, we were not part of God’s kingdom.
But we’ve been changed. We were washed. We were sanctified (or made holy). We were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
You have not always been a Christian. You were not born as a Christ follower. You have to be changed. You have to be justified.
To be justified means to be declared right before God.
When the judge says you are free to go, you are justified before that judge.
When your boss inspects your work and gives you a thumbs up, you are justified before your boss.
When your teachers gives you bonus points and writes an A+ on your paper, you are justified before your teacher.
When you think you are in trouble with your parents, but they tell you not to worry about it and that everything is ok, you are justified before your parents.
We are justified before God because Jesus has made us new. Jesus has paid for our sins. Jesus has made things right.
When you are sharing your story with others, here are some things you might say in this regard:
You might say, “Jesus set me free from my slavery to the power of evil.”
You might say, “Jesus changed me from loving myself and my sin to loving God.”
You might say, “Jesus gave me a new heart.” “Jesus gave me a new life.” “Jesus gave me a new purpose in life.”
You might say, “I realized that Jesus died in my place, and He paid for my sins.”
In Jesus, we have new life.
So, as you share your story, you might say, “I not only have a new life; let me tell you about . . .”
III. My changed life.
Once we have been made new, we are changed individuals, right? We are no longer our old selves, we are our new selves. We have been sanctified. We have been justified. We have been changed.
Part of what it means to be changed is that we now live our lives for the glory of God.
God has called us out of sin into a new life. He’s called us from something to something else.
Listen to how Paul describes this in Ephesians 2:10: Paul says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
Now that we are new, now that we are changed, we are living with different goals, different motivations, and different desires.
Part of that differentness, part of that changedness, is that we desire to do good works for God.
Paul says we are God’s workmanship.
Paul said that God prepared these good works ahead of time for us to do.
So, now that we are new, we are changed.
So, brothers and sisters, are you new? Are you changed? Do you know what it means if you’re not changed? It means you’re not changed.
That is to say, if there’s no change in your life, then there’s no change in your heart.
If your life doesn’t display that Jesus has changed you, it’s probably due to the fact that you’ve never really been changed by Jesus.
So, live a changed life, and then tell others about your changed life.
Tell others your story: that Jesus has made you new and has totally changed your life.
Ephesians 2 was written by the Apostle Paul. He was one who knew what it meant to be changed by Jesus.
Paul went from a persecutor to a preacher.
Paul was one who participated in bringing harm to Christians, but Jesus changed him into someone who was willing to endure harm because he was a Christian.
You also can live a life of change and share your story of change. You have a story to tell.
Tell how Jesus changed you from someone who only thought of yourself into someone who thinks of others.
Tell how Jesus changed you from someone who was greedy into someone who is generous.
Tell how Jesus changed you from someone who hated others into someone who loves others.
Tell how Jesus changed you from someone who gratified your own sinful desires into someone who now desires the things of God.
Tell how Jesus changed you from someone who was arrogant and prideful into someone who is humble.
Tell how Jesus changed you from someone who gossips and lies into someone who fights for truth and kindness.
Tell how Jesus changed you from someone who complains and is negative into someone who celebrates and encourages.
Tell how Jesus changed you from someone who was dead in your sins and trespasses to someone who is alive in Jesus Christ.
Tell how Jesus changed you from the old to the new.
Brothers and sisters, you have a story to tell. Tell of your old life, tell of your new life, and tell of your changed life.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: Tell your story of new life in Jesus.
Do you have a story to tell?
Are you prepared to tell your story?
1 Peter 3:15 says, “ . . . but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
Do you have a story to tell about the reason for the hope that is in you?
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Write your story.
Remember, it’s your story. It doesn’t have to be impressive; it just has to tell the story of how Jesus changed your life.
Tell of your old life. Tell of your new life. Tell of your changed life.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Share your story.
Share your story with someone this week.
May 2025 be the year of evangelism at First Baptist Church Bartow, and may it start with you sharing your story.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
