Fulfilling Testimonies

Two passages in the Bible are about fulfilling testimonies. The first is in Isaiah and the second is in Exodus. In both passages we read about God fulfilling His promises in the lives of people called to serve God.

Isaiah Chapter 6 is about Isaiah’s call and commission.¹

Isaiah 6:5 - 7 (Moffatt Bible) Then I said, “Alas! I am undone! Man of unclean lips that I am, living among a people of unclean lips! I am undone, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” ⁶But one of the seraphs flew towards me with a live coal in his hand, which he had lifted with tongs from the altar; ⁷he touched my mouth with it, saying, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt is gone, your sin forgiven.”

Isaiah is called to serve the Lord. He protests that he is not worthy to serve. There is good news in this text. Those the Lord calls, He cleanses, prepares, trains and supports.

The call of the Lord can invoke fear in the hearts of some people. The fear can be as intense as the fear of coming out as a gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans person. For those feeling the Lord‘s call, but paralyzed with fear, relax. Just as you got through the early stages of coming out, God will get you through the early stages of responding to the call.

The Lord is fulfilling you. That means He is filling into you. And the less you feel you have to give, the more He can fill you. The more empty you feel, the more you will feel God's power as you are energized to serve the Eternal. The Lord can pour more into an empty or a hollow vessel than a full vessel. And when He fills you up, you are clean and equipped to serve.

Exodus 18:8-12 (Moffatt Bible) ⁸Moses told his father-in-law all that the Eternal had done to the Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the distress they had suffered in their journey, and how the Eternal had preserved them. ⁹Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness of the Eternal to Israel, in rescuing them from the Egyptians. "Blessed be the Eternal," said he, "who has rescued you from the Egyptians and from the Pharaoh, who has rescued the people from the grip of the Egyptians! ¹¹I see now that the Eternal is stronger than all other gods, for he has routed the haughty foes of his folk." ¹²So Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, brought a burnt-offering and some sacrifices for God, and Aaron and all the sheikhs of Israel came to join the sacrificial meal made by the father-in-law of Moses before God.

The power of a testimony. Moses’ father-in-law is blown away by how the Lord has protected Moses and the children of Israel. In fact, through Moses’ testimony, Jethro understands that the Lord is above all gods.²

Moses gave his father-in-law a testimony. There is a form of advertising that is called testimonial advertising. The goal of testimonial advertising is to get people to buy the product advertised. So if you see a famous person advertising Ford pickups, that person will spend his time talking about Ford pickups and all of the good things about Fords. Nothing will be said about Chev pickups, because the goal is not selling Chevs. The best way to sell Fords is to talk about all of the good features of Fords, not to run down the bad features of Dodges.

You may remember the song, "Lift Jesus higher. Lift Him up for the world to see." The song reminds us that the point of a testimonial is to lift up the Lord. We are not trying to promote sin or promote ourselves, so most of what we talk about should be about God. That is what makes a good testimonial.

And Moses gives a good testimonial. Verse 8. He tells of how God delivered the children of Israel from hardship. You will notice, Moses does not talk about the time when he killed an Egyptian. Nor does he tell us about all of the worldly things he learned at the University of the Nile in Egypt. Moses does not talk about himself. His story is about what God did, not what Moses did.³

Moses story is a story about a God who fulfilled Moses, when He filled His vessel, Moses, completely and equipped Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. It is also a story how the Lord fulfilled His people by supplying them abundantly and fulfilled His people by fully rescuing them from slavery.

Today, we are seeing a living testimony. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people worshiping God. They are lifting Him up for the entire world to see. We are also celebrating a baptism. That means we are celebrating the Lord’s filling these people with the Spirit, supplying them abundantly with God's ability to serve others. We are also celebrating that the Eternal performed on their behalf all of the requirements for salvation.

In our congregation, we celebrate baptisms as an expression of what the Lord has already done for us. The Lord planned our salvation before the world was created.⁴ This is not an exclusive celebration, because salvation is not exclusive. The Word says, “Whosoever believeth”⁵ and that is inclusive. Because salvation is not limited to the people who attend a local congregation or a certain denomination, we will baptize people, regardless of their intention to join or congregation.

When we celebrate God‘s fulfillment in these people, we are reminded of what fulfillment means in Ephesians 2:5-6 (Moffatt Bible) But, dead in trespasses as we were, God was so rich in mercy that for his great love to us he made us live together with Christ (it is by grace you have been saved); together with Christ he raised us and seated us within the heavenly sphere in Christ Jesus.

Prayer:
Lord, as we celebrate how you have fulfilled us completely, we ask that celebration will draw people unto You, as we lift Jesus higher.

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