We are in our Give God One Year series, and each month we're introducing a new spiritual discipline that can help you become a more devoted follower of Jesus. In January, we talked about silence and solitude. In February, we covered tithing. This month, the discipline we're focusing on is evangelism.

But stay with me, because I think by the time we're done here, you're going to see evangelism completely differently. You're going to realize you already have everything you need to do it well.

The Battle Is Real, And It's Being Fought Over Your Mind

Before we can talk about sharing our faith, we have to talk about the war happening in our own heads. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God."

There is a war going on, and it's not a physical one. You can't win a spiritual battle with intellect alone. You can't win it through sheer discipline alone. The weapons that actually work are mighty through God. And what we're pulling down are strongholds, which are high things that have gotten above us in our thinking and are ruling over us.

Think about the imaginations this scripture is talking about. Imaginations are the thoughts that say, "The rules don't apply to me." Or, "Everyone else lives this way, and they seem fine." Or maybe it sounds more like an inner voice that whispers, "Your prayers don't work. You're going to end up back where you started. You'll never change."

That voice? That is the enemy functioning exactly as he was designed to. Revelation 12:10 calls Satan "the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before God day and night." That is a legal term. He is the prosecutor. He is constantly bringing charges against you, and he's trying to get you to agree with those charges.

But Revelation 12 also tells us that the accuser gets hurled down. He loses. And the way the people of God get the victory? "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."

Read that again: “The blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.”

What Your Testimony Actually Is

Here's where I want to slow down, because I spent years getting this wrong.

I grew up watching my dad preach his testimony. He would tell the story of how he got signed to a rock band and drifted into the accompanying rockstar lifestyle. I heard him share how he ended up getting arrested and was facing 25 years in prison. A judge gave him a chance to turn his life around, he gave his heart to Jesus, and he never looked back.

That's a powerful story. But for a long time, I thought that was his testimony.

It's not. That's his story. And there's a difference.

His testimony is this: “I applied the blood of Jesus to the doorframe of my life, and I am saved. I am sanctified. I am justified. My life has been changed.”

When I was growing up, I used to think, "I was raised in church. I never went through anything wild. What am I going to tell people?" I honestly thought I needed to rob a bank to get some street credibility before I could share my testimony. That sounds ridiculous, but that's what happens when we confuse our story with our testimony.

Your testimony isn't about how dramatic your before-and-after is. Your testimony is about what Jesus has done for you. And for every single one of us, that testimony is enormous. He took someone unworthy and gave them everything. He gave us access, through his perfect sacrifice, to be justified, loved, and accepted in God's eyes.

Psalm 107:2 says, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." If you're redeemed, you better say it. That's not just a motivational line. That is a command wrapped in an invitation.

The Passover and Why the Blood Changes Everything

To really understand the power of our testimony, we have to understand what the blood actually does. 1 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that "Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us." So let's go back to the original Passover.

In Exodus 12, God told the Israelites that judgment was coming. Death would pass through Egypt. But there was a way out. They were to take a lamb, sacrifice it, and then take hyssop — which was essentially used as a brush — dip it in the blood, and apply it to the doorframe of their homes. The lentil above the door, the posts on either side. When the Lord passed through and saw the blood, he would pass over that house, and death would not enter.

Exodus 12:23 says it plainly: "When he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses."

The blood was the only thing that made the difference. Not which family you came from. Not how religious your household was. The blood, applied to the door.

That is what Jesus has done for us. The blood is in the basin. But just knowing it's there doesn't save anyone. It's the application of the blood to your life, to the threshold you walk through every single day, that brings salvation.

And this is why we need to remind ourselves of it every morning. When I moved into my house, before I ever walked through the front door, I marched around it, declared the promises of God over it, and wrote the names of God above the doorframe with a marker. Jehovah Rapha. Jehovah Jireh. Not because there's magic in a Sharpie, but because I wanted a reminder. Every time I walked through that door, I wanted to remember there is power here.

When you wake up every morning, you need to remind yourself: my life is covered by the blood. That's what changes how you walk into your workplace, your school, your relationships. When you remind yourself of the blood, you can say, "I am not that person anymore. I don't have to live that way any longer."

The Gelato Guy

About ten years ago, Amy and I were in Rome. We were figuring out what to do with our last day when we ran into a guy who started talking to us. Somewhere in the conversation, I asked him if he'd done anything great while he was there.

He lit up.

He told us about a gelato place across town. He gave us directions. And then he said, "If you're on a diet, break it. If you have dinner plans, cancel them. You have never had gelato like this in your life." He was so passionate about it that we couldn't not go. We went back four times that day. And when we were done, Amy and I looked at each other and said, "He was telling the truth."

That man didn't sit us down and explain the benefits of gelato over ice cream. He didn't give us a comprehensive breakdown of Italian dessert culture. He just told us what he experienced. And his passion made us want to experience it too.

That's a testimony.

When you share your faith with someone who doesn't know Jesus, you don't have to have all the answers. You don't have to win a theological debate. You just have to tell them what you experienced. "I have tried everything the world has to offer. None of it satisfied. You have to find Jesus. It will change you from the inside out. I promise you, it's worth it."

And someone is going to listen. And they're going to look at each other and say, "They were telling the truth."

We Must Testify What the Word Says About What the Blood Does

That is the core of this entire message: We must testify what the Word says about what the blood does.

It's not a catchy phrase. It's the theology of overcoming. Revelation 12 tells us the victory comes through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Those two things go together. The blood is what was done for us. The testimony is us declaring what that blood has accomplished.

This is evangelism. Not a program. Not a special skill set reserved for people who have it all together. It's a redeemed person, speaking from their own life, telling the world about the God who changed everything.

First Peter 1:18-19 says, "You were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold...but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

Your testimony is connected to that. It starts there. It is anchored there.

If you've never applied the blood of Jesus to the doorframe of your life, if you've been sitting in the room knowing it's in the basin but never taking that step, today is the day. It's not about your history, your family, or how many times you've tried before. It's about whether you're ready right now to receive what Jesus already did.

And if you have applied it, it's time to start talking about it. The redeemed of the Lord say so. Let your voice be heard. Someone around you is waiting to hear your story.

Go tell them.