Skip to content Get a Real Testimony! - Part A Jan 19 · 26 min ...more
Get a Real Testimony! - Part A
January 19, 2026 · 26 min
Why must faith be personal? Pastor Skip explains that God has no grandchildren—only children—and that your relationship with Him can’t be inherited but must be your own.
Series Connect with Skip Heitzig Podcast January 19, 2026 · 26 min · Connect with Skip Heitzig Podcast
Why must faith be personal? Pastor Skip explains that God has no grandchildren—only children—and that your relationship with Him can’t be inherited but must be your own. ...more Show the full description Show less Why must faith be personal? Pastor Skip explains that God has no grandchildren—only children—and that your relationship with Him can’t be inherited but must be your own.
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Skip Heitzig ministers to over 15,000 people as senior pastor of Calvary Church in Albuquerque. He reaches out to thousands across the nation and throughout the
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0:01 This is connect with Skip Heitzig. Thanks for joining us today. Here at connect with Skip, our mission is to help you know God's word and apply it to your life through clear, practical bible teaching and real0:13 encouragement every day. And if you'd like to keep growing in your walk with Jesus, sign up for pastor Skip's free weekly devotional. You'll receive biblical insight, teaching highlights, and exclusive0:24 resource offers straight to your inbox. Everything designed to help you stay strong in your faith. It only takes a minute to sign up. Go to connectwithskip dot com and join the list today. That's0:36 connectwithskip dot com. Now let's dive into today's teaching from pastor Skip Heitzig.0:43 In the Christian world, a testimony is the story of how a person comes to believe in Christ. You've heard people say, let me share my testimony with you, or you've done0:54 that. It's how a person has come to believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be. Now, there are some churches that have testimony meetings or testimony times1:06 before a meeting. Typically, they're smaller when you can hear everybody out. But sometimes a testimony includes not only how a person came to Christ, but how God was faithful in a1:18 particular situation. Maybe they went through a trial or a sickness, and they want you to know what God did for them, through them, during that time. And I've always found that1:30 personal testimonies are uplifting and very inspiring, usually. Sometimes testimonies can seem drag on and1:41 on and on as more details are given, and sometimes testimonies morph over time. They change. And it's like if I've heard a person's testimony, I've1:53 noticed that there's a tendency, not always, but sometimes, to make those stories grow bigger than they really are, sort of like fish stories. Every time you tell a fish story, the fish2:05 keeps getting bigger and bigger, till pretty you're out on the ocean and you caught Moby Dick or something. And so testimonies can be like that, and that's because as human beings, we2:17 typically like to talk about ourselves, and we like to outdo other people's stories. So it's like, oh, wait till you hear my testimony. So there was an old guy who2:28 loved to talk about how he was delivered from a local flood, the Johnstown flood. And he loved to tell the story about God's deliverance and told it in great2:40 detail. And he always looked for testimony meetings where he could share. Well, this old guy died 1 day and was taken to heaven. And Peter introduced himself and said,2:52 well, I just want you to know that tonight we're getting everybody together in heaven. They're going to tell their testimonies, their stories. Well, his eyes lit up. He thought, man, I died on the right day. He said,3:04 Peter, you've got to let me tell the story of how I was delivered by God, my testimony how God saved me from the Johnstown flood.3:16 It's a great story. Everybody's going to love this story. And Peter hesitated a moment. He said, sure, you can tell your story about the flood, but just remember Noah will be in the audience tonight.3:30 As we think of our personal testimonies of how we came to Christ, let's just imagine Paul the Apostle is in our audience today. Because in the verses that we're about to3:42 read, essentially Paul gives his testimony. He talks about his past and then something that happened to him. He mentions that, or he points to that with a word, and3:54 then how things have changed. So what I want to share with you today in principle form are 3 ingredients in building an effective testimony. 3 ingredients4:06 on building an effective testimony. First, you need to shred your religious resume. Number 2, you need to have a spiritual encounter. And4:18 number 3, you need to learn how to count. Let me explain once we get into our text. Let's look at verse 4 of Philippians chapter 3. Paul continues his thought, Though I4:30 also might have confidence in the flesh, If anyone else thinks that he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of4:41 Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, concerning the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is4:53 in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed, I5:05 also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I5:17 may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God5:29 by faith. That is Paul's personal testimony in a nutshell. I'll never forget my high school reunion. I only went to 1. That was my 10 year reunion. But I remember it5:40 because I was saved, and I wanted to share my testimony with people, which I did. They were kind of shocked. You're a what? You preach the gospel? You're not loaded anymore?5:52 But I remember at my high school reunion a guy by the name of John Booth. Now, John Booth in my high school was like the jock, the football hero. Everybody loved him and looked to him. And6:04 what I noticed when I went into the reunion, it was John Booth across the room with a big smile on his face. And I never saw him smile in high school. You know, he never needed to. He just sort of grunted his way out to6:15 the football field. But he's smiling. And I was talking to him, and he started telling me his personal testimony, how he came to believe in Jesus Christ. And it was awesome. He was going from table6:27 to table sharing his testimony. What do you think it would be like to go to Paul the Apostle's high school reunion? So imagine yourself at Tarsus High.6:39 That's where Paul graduated. It's a 10 year high school reunion. There's Saul of Tarsus. And you know him, so you walk up and go, hey, Saul, so are you still into that rabbi thing? You6:51 still going to Jerusalem with Gamaliel and all that? And Paul might look at you and say, well, a funny thing happened to me on the way to Damascus. And he would talk about an encounter that he7:03 had with the Lord Jesus Christ, and now he's traveling the world and preaching the gospel. Today, what I want you to do is take off your 20 first century glasses and put on your first century glasses.7:15 Instead of just thinking of Paul as the great Christian apostle, remember that he had a Jewish religious background. He was very well educated, and he was7:27 very well trained in a religious system. But he had an encounter with Christ that changed everything. I have a book called The7:39 Jewish 100. It was by Michael Shapiro. That's the author. And this is a biographical study of 100 of the most influential Jewish people of all7:51 time. Now what's interesting to me is who's in the top tier. So number 1 in the book, the number 1 influential Jew of all times, according to Michael Shapiro in his book, was Moses. Moses8:03 is number 1 on the list. Now, I understand that because Jewish people look back to Moses as the great lawgiver, the covenant giver. Number 2 on his list is Jesus Christ.8:15 Because even as a Jewish person, he recognizes that Jesus changed history. So he gives him the number 2 slot. Number 3 on the list is Albert Einstein, interestingly. Number 4,8:27 Sigmund Freud. I wouldn't put him in the top tier, but he did. Number 5 was Abraham. And number 6 on the list of most influential Jews of all time, according to Michael Shapiro in his book,8:39 Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul the Apostle. Very interesting background. We know that Saul was a Roman citizen.8:52 That's huge because it meant that he had the right to have a trial before Caesar. And he pulls out that card when he is on trial in Caesarea. He said, I appeal my case to9:03 Caesar. We know that he was born in Tarsus of Cilicia, which was a Roman province. If you were to look today on a map, you'd have to look to southeast Turkey to9:15 find Tarsus. The area he was born in was known for its black cloth called Cilicia. And siliceum was used to make9:27 tents and other items. And we know that Paul professionally was a tent maker. He could go from place to place and make these black and leather9:38 tents that were sold on the marketplace. But what makes him so unique is his testimony. So let's look at it a little more carefully and9:50 notice these 3 ingredients. First of all, if you're going to have a real testimony, at some point you're going to need to shred your religious resume. Now I need10:02 to explain that. Because some of you have had no religious background at all, so this isn't really an issue. I mean, wasn't an issue with my wife. My wife had no10:14 spiritual baggage whatsoever. She was raised an atheist. And so she just came out of atheism to an encounter with Christ. But if you were raised in a religious home,10:26 and you have trusted in the fact that you were raised in a religious home by spiritual parents, then you're going to need at some point to tear up your religious10:38 resume. And here's why. Because God has no grandchildren. He only has children. As many as received Him, John chapter 1 tells10:50 us, He gave them the right to become children of God to those who believe in His name. You can't go to heaven because your parents took you to church and11:01 they themselves had a personal relationship with Christ. It always has to be personal. It's always 1 generation at a time. So11:13 Paul has a huge religious resume. And what we notice here in the text is he tosses it out the window, throws it away. Now, in looking at his resume and we want to11:25 look very carefully beginning in verse 5. There are 6 words that would describe Saul of Tarsus and his spiritual religious resume. Number 1, heredity.11:37 Heredity. Notice what he says in verse 5, Concerning himself circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel. In other words, he wasn't11:48 converted as a Gentile into Judaism. He wasn't a proselyte. He was a Jew by birth and by ritual, circumcised the eighth day of his life.12:00 You're listening to connect with Skip Heitzig. Every day, your generosity helps reach more people with God's word, changing lives through clear, practical Bible teaching. And this month, as you grow12:12 in your own faith and leadership, we wanna thank you with a powerful new resource, the making of a biblical leader, a practical guide to leading others by Robert L. Furrow. This12:24 inspiring book featuring chapters from Skip and Lenya Heitzig, Gary Hamrick, Daniel Fusco, and others shows how to lead with integrity, humility, and a servant's heart following12:35 Christ's example. Request your copy when you give 50 dollars or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 8 0 0 9 2 2 18 88 or visit connect with skip12:47 dot com slash offer. Now let's return to today's teaching.12:52 So he could say, I'm a true blue Jew. I'm a Jew by birth. I was born into this. And my circumcision wasn't13:04 as an adult proselyte, but it came when I was in that covenant relationship as a child. And it's funny, if you do make it to Israel with us, and when13:16 you go to Jerusalem and they take you to the Western Wall and you see that enclosure of where the temple once stood at the time of Jesus. The locals will tell you to go up and pray at the Western13:28 Wall. And they sort of say this tongue in cheek, but I think they kind of believe this at the same time. They say, you know, we understand you can pray to God anywhere in the world, but here it's a local13:40 call. You're in Jerusalem, man. You're in the holy city. You talk to God here, and it's just a little bit better. It's a little bit closer. Paul could13:51 boast that he was circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel. He had 1 time trusted in that. And there's a lot of people like Saul who trusted in14:03 some ritual of their past to be right before God. We mentioned this last week. It could be baptism. It could be confirmation. It could be christening. And I've even noticed that people say, not only was I14:15 baptized, but I was baptized by this person in this church, like some special form or formula. So there was a little boy who was going to a Baptist14:27 church, and he decided to turn his cat into a Baptist. So he filled up the bathtub, and he was going to do it the Baptist way, full immersion14:38 baptism. You know, you're going all the way under, not sprinkling. I'm going put you all the way under. So he filled up the bathtub. Well, you know how cats feel about water. So as he's filling it up and he14:49 accidentally sprinkles just a few drops on his hand, the cat. The cat freaked out and ran down the hallway. And the little boy yelled after him and said, fine, be a Methodist then.15:02 Paul would say, I'm not a Methodist or a Baptist. I was circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel. That's his heredity. A second word that would describe him is nobility, for he says, I was of the15:14 tribe of Benjamin. Now, if you know your Jewish history, you understand that Benjamin was 1 of the noble lines because the very first King of Israel came15:26 from the tribe of Benjamin. His name was King Saul. In fact, it could be that Saul of Tarsus was named after Saul, the first King of Israel, who was also a Benjamite. Also, the tribe of15:38 Benjamin was the only tribe loyal to the tribe of Judah when the kingdom split. So heredity and nobility. Third word that would describe him is15:49 pedigree. For he says, I was circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin now notice the next phrase a Hebrew of16:01 the Hebrews. In other words, I was a Hebrew born of Hebrew parents. I wasn't raised a Hellenistic Jew, a Greek cultured, Greek speaking Jew. I was16:13 raised in the Hebrew style. Let me just explain it this way. In ancient times, in that Greco Roman world, there were Jewish people in the diaspora, the16:25 dispersion where you had Jews all over the world. They were raised in that culture and often with pagan customs. But those who learned Hebrew by Hebrew parents in16:37 Hebrew speaking synagogues felt themselves to be a little bit more superior than the rest, a Hebrew of the Hebrews. Now, I'm going give you a quick little biographical16:48 sketch of Saul of Tarsus growing up and his educational background. As a toddler, he would have learned to recite the Shema. Have you heard of the Shema? Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse17:00 4. He learned it in Hebrew. So imagine little Saul as a toddler saying the words out loud, Hear, O17:12 Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is 1. He learned that as a toddler. At age 5, he would begin studying the scriptures. At age 6, he was sent to the synagogue to learn17:24 to read and write the scriptures. At age 10, Saul would already have memorized large portions of the oral law. That is, not just the17:36 scriptures, the traditions of the elders. At age 12, he would be preparing for his bar mitzvah, which would take place at age 13. Bar mitzvah means son of the commandment. It was a17:48 rite of passage where you were now considered an adult member of the Jewish community. At age 15, he would have more rigorous study, where he would study the codified oral traditions, the Talmudic17:59 writings. And somewhere in those adolescent years, shortly after that, he was sent to Jerusalem for 5 to 6 years of rabbinical study. So18:12 heredity, nobility, pedigree. He's giving his background. A fourth word that would describe Saul of Tarsus is piety, because notice what he says. He says at the end of verse18:24 5, not only a Hebrew of the Hebrews, but concerning the law, a Pharisee. Now, I know. I know that you, as a Western Christian in this modern era, you18:35 have read enough of your New Testament to know that Pharisees weren't great people. You're thinking, oh, that's why would he put that on his resume? Because Jesus spoke against the18:47 Pharisees, right? He called them whitewashed sepulchers. He called them hypocrites. However, the original word Pharisee, parashim, means to be separated. And when they started around 200 BC, they18:59 continued into the first century, they believed that they would give their whole life to studying and obeying the written law, as well as the oral19:11 law. They started off really good. They just evolved into a hypocritical group. According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, the Pharisees were the leading19:23 sect among the Jews, the most accurate interpreters of the law. As a Pharisee, he studied under a very particular mentor. Do you19:34 remember his name? It's given in Acts 22. Gamaliel was his mentor. Gamaliel is 1 of the most famous scholars in Jewish history, regarded even to this day.19:48 What Gamaliel taught him to do was to argue. There was an ancient form of discourse called the diatribe, question and answer20:00 format, to learn how to think and talk on your feet very persuasively. He would have had to memorize large portions of the Old Testament, which would become very profitable as20:12 time went on in his ministry. So heredity, nobility, pedigree, piety. A fifth word that would describe him is intensity.20:25 This dude was intense. Look at verse 6. Concerning zeal, if you want to talk about my zeal, persecuting the church. Saul of Tarsus, as you know,20:37 was a zealous defender of Judaism. Now, why it's important to understand a little bit about Gamaliel is understanding that he sat under Gamaliel's20:48 mentorship helps you understand him. Because Gamaliel was hateful toward the Christians. He called Christians Christian heretics. And a very famous21:00 prayer uttered by Gamaliel goes this way. Let there be no hope to them who apostatize from the true religion, and let these heretics, how many soever they be, all perish21:12 in a moment. He prayed that concerning Christian heretics, those who left Judaism and turned to Christ as their Messiah. No wonder then we read21:23 about Saul in Acts chapter 8, verse 3, these words. Saul was going everywhere to devastate the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into jail.21:36 He learned that in part from Gamaliel. No wonder we read Acts chapter 9 about Saul breathing out threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.21:49 So this dude was so intense that he measured his religious zeal by his hatred. You know you're bad off when you're22:01 known more for what you're against than what you're for. A sixth word that would describe Saul of Tarsus is morality. Look at verse 6 again. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church,22:12 concerning the righteousness which is in the law, I was blameless. That is, nobody could accuse me. I live by the book. I did everything the law22:24 demanded, not just the written law, but the oral law. So get this, Saul of Tarsus had a righteousness by rule keeping. How many people do you22:36 know who have a righteousness by rule keeping? I do my best, man. I try really hard. I work really hard at getting God to love me, doing all22:48 the right things. I'm a religious person, righteousness by rule keeping. This is why religious people are the hardest people to see converted,23:01 because they don't see that they have a need for anything. You share the gospel with them. Look, I've gone to church all my life. I've been baptized. I've been confirmed. I've gone through other sacraments.23:13 I try really hard in going to church regularly. It's all a righteousness by rule keeping. They have enough morality to keep them out of23:25 trouble, but not enough righteousness to get them into heaven. So morality. Now here's the question. Why is Paul rattling off23:37 all of the things he's done in his past? Because there's this group we talked about last week called the Judaizers. Remember the Judaizers? They mixed law and grace together. They were telling Gentiles, non Jews in23:49 Philippi, you have to go back and keep Jewish laws and Jewish rituals to be right before God. So go back to verse 3 where we studied last week.24:01 Paul says, we are the circumcision, true believers, true followers who worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.24:12 Though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so. And then he lists all these things. As if to say,24:24 I can beat these silly arguers at their own religious game. Here's my background. Here's my pedigree. Which leads me to a question. What are you boasting24:36 in? What are you trusting in? What are you confident in to be right before God?24:44 Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember that your generosity helps share God's word around the world, bringing truth and hope to people who need Jesus.24:56 And this month, we'll send you the making of a biblical leader, a practical guide to leading others by Robert L. Furrow as our thanks for your gift. With chapters from Skip and Lenya Heitzig and other25:08 trusted pastors, this book will equip you to lead with integrity and purpose in 20 26 and beyond. Give now at connect with skip dot com slash offer or call 80925:19 2 2 18 88. Thanks for spending time with us today, and we'll see you next time on connect with Skip Heitzig.25:49 Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.
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