This sermon delves into the concept of God's need for testimony, exploring the creation of man to defeat Satan and bring glory to God. It emphasizes the importance of understanding and embodying the testimony of Jesus, focusing on Christ as the first and the last, the living one who overcame death and Hades. The speaker urges listeners to examine if Christ is truly the center of their lives and challenges them to live a life that reflects the testimony of Jesus.

Will you please turn to Isaiah, Isaiah 43, verse 10, the first sentence, Isaiah 43, verse 10. Ye are my witnesses, says Jehovah. And will you please turn to the book of Revelation, chapter 1, verse 9. Revelation, chapter 1, verse 9. I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience in Jesus, was in the island called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. And again in the same chapter, verses 17 and 18. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead, and he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last and the living one. And I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages and have the keys of death and of Hades. Let's have a word of prayer. Dear Lord, we want to thank thee for gathering us together this morning. We know that thy presence is here. For thou hast promised us, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Thank you, Lord. We are in your presence. Lord, what hast thou to say to us this morning? We are hearing. We open our hearts to thee. And may thy spirit send thy living word into our hearts. Lord, we want to be highly exalted in our midst. We commit this time into your hand. May we be only conscious of thy presence and nothing else. Speak, Lord, thy servants heareth. In thy name, amen. Thank the Lord for gathering us again this morning. Thus, God needs testimony. He is God. He is the beginning and the end. He is His own testimony. But why is it, we find in the word of God, that He says, you are my witnesses. You are my testimony. To enter this question, we have to go back to the very beginning. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. That's how the Bible begins. God is the beginning. And then, in the beginning, He created the heavens and the earth. So this is not the beginning of God. This is the beginning of the heavens and the earth. And we all know that quite when God begins, He never leaves anything half done or undone. So we are assured that when, in the beginning of creation, He began the heavens and the earth, and we are sure that He must have completed it. In other words, it is not a beginning to do something, and it waits a long time for it to be finished. We believe that when the Bible says, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The heavens and the earth were finished. It was a finished product, because nothing out of God's hand is left to be finished. He is the creator. When He built the heavens and the earth, in the beginning, the highest of His creation was not man. It was angel. God had not yet created man. The Bible tells us, when He began to lay the foundation of the earth, the angels shouted for joy. We do not know how long ago this was, but we do know that in the beginning, everything was fine and good as God has created. And among God's creation, the highest was angels. And among the angels, God created one archangel, Lucifer. The angel of light. As we found in the book, that he was created almost perfect. I won't say perfect, but almost perfect, because he was adorned with all the talents and beauty. How do we know? Because we find in Ezekiel chapter 28, when God was speaking of the king of Tyre, he began to say something which the king of Tyre didn't qualify. In other words, he used the king of Tyre as a background, and then he began to describe the archangel that he created. So in Ezekiel chapter 28, we find a very detailed description of this archangel. He was full of beauty, full of talent, and he was to be the anointed angels over the throne of God. In other words, he was supposed to lead the angels in serving God and in worshipping God. In the beginning, everything was right, but gradually, because of his beauty and his talent, his position and his power, he began to be proud of himself. He wanted to be something higher than what God has created him to be. We find both in Isaiah chapter 14, verses 12 to 15, and also in Ezekiel chapter 28, verses 11 to 19. We find that one day, this archangel was dissatisfied with what God has created him for. He began to look into himself. He began to think of himself. He wanted to be someone more than what he was created for. As we find in Isaiah chapter 14, we have five times he said, I want to be this, I want to be that. In other words, he wants to be equal with God. He wanted to take the place of the Son of God instead of the Son of God himself. And because of his ambition, you find that his ways began to be corrupted to the extent that God had to drive him out from the third heaven, from the throne of God. And that marks the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis. In other words, Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 was the former heaven and earth created complete. But in chapter 1 verse 2, it said the earth was empty and void. And he was surrounded by water. In other words, once upon a time, before our time, because of the rebelling of the archangel, the earth suffered a great judgment. Evidently, the earth was under the rule of that archangel. So in the fall of that archangel, the earth went into ruin and it was covered with water. So far as we are concerned, this is prehistoric. We do not know how long that continued on. We only know that once upon a time, there was an ice age. And this ice age, actually, was the judgment of God over the created angel. Now, for God to destroy the angel is an easy thing. He may say a word and it is done. But this does not give God glory. It is as if a big man beating a little child. There is no glory in it. So God, in his wisdom and strength, he wanted to have someone a little lower than the angels. And through that little lower than the angels, he will defeat the angel, the archangel, Satan. And that will be his glory. So this is where man comes in. So the six days in Genesis chapter 1 is actually the restoration of the earth to be habitable. It is not the first creation of the earth. Why did God restore the earth to be habitable? Because he was thinking of creating man. The Bible tells us man was created a little lower than the angels. The angels are spirits. But man has a body, a soul, and a spirit. So brothers and sisters, the reason why God created man is not because of man himself. Man is created for the purpose of God. God wanted man a little lower than the angels to defeat Satan, the archangel. And that will bring glory to God. So this is why man was created. Man was created not for himself. Man was created for the purpose of God in defeating his enemy, in glorifying God. And that is the real purpose of man. So we find, after God created man according to his image, according to his likeness, the image speaks of the inner quality. The likeness speaks of his outward form. Man was so wonderfully created. And God put man in the garden of Eden. He gave man a command. Everything in the garden, all the wonderful trees, fruit trees, he could freely eat. In the midst of the garden, there was the tree of life. And by its side, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said, you should not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Because on the day that you eat, you shall surely die. God didn't say you cannot eat the tree of life. In other words, God was trying to show man that he should eat the fruit of the tree of life. And if you do that, he will have the life of God in him. And he will be able to fulfill God's purpose for him. Otherwise, if he should eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, surely he will have that knowledge of good and evil, which is the highest knowledge. And yet, he will be a sinner. He will be under the enemy of God instead of defeating God's enemy. So thus we find in the scripture, God himself needs no testimony. But for the sake of the glory of God, he wants man to be the vessel and instrument of his testimony. To whom? To his enemy. So brothers and sisters, this is where the testimony comes in. In the beginning of human history, after the fall of man, God did not give up his purpose. Instead, he sent his only begotten son into this wretched world to be our savior. Brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus came into this world to save us and to lead us back to the very purpose of God. You know, in the Old Testament time, God gave his testimony to Abraham. Because even at that time, the whole world rebelled against God. And God chose Abraham. And through Abraham, the nation of Israel. And to Israel, God committed his testimony to them. In other words, at that time in the whole world, rebelled against God. But there was a nation who bore the testimony of Jesus, of God, that only God is God. But unfortunately, the nation of Israel failed in this testimony. So when we came to the New Testament time, you know that God raised up the church. And to the church, he committed the testimony of Jesus. So brothers and sisters, what is the testimony of Jesus? What are we supposed to bear witness to? Not just by word, by life. What is God's commitment to us who believe in the Lord Jesus? So you find how the enemy hated the church. Because the church was to carry the testimony of Jesus. And that would be his downfall. So even in the first century, you find how John, the last of the remaining twelve original apostles, in his old age, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. And he told us that he was exiled for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. Actually, he was at that time the only remaining one of the original twelve apostles. He was serving God in Asia. Not Asia as a continent, but Asia as a Roman province. Asia Minor. And because of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus, he was exiled by Domitian to Patmos, a small island in the Elgin Sea to work among the mines. Then as you turn to Revelation, you find on the Lord's Day, somehow he got some time off. And he must be sitting on a rock, looking across the Elgin Sea to the continent there. Because on a clear day, you can vainly see the coast of Asia Minor from Patmos. John must be thinking about the churches that he served before he was exiled. While he was doing that, he heard a voice behind him. So he looked back and he saw a vision. It is the vision of seven golden lampstands. In the midst of it stands one like the Son of Man. Now we all know that of the apostles, John was the closest to the Lord. He lay upon the breast of the Lord. He knew the Lord more than anybody else. But there on the island of Patmos, he was given a vision of the risen Lord that he had never known before. Brothers and sisters, we all know that our Lord Jesus has risen to heaven. And he is now seated at the right hand of God. Waiting his enemy to be his foes too. But what was he doing there in heaven when an elderly lady wanted to be baptized? And as it was the custom at that time, anyone who wanted to be baptized will be questioned by the elders. So he was seated among the elders and the elders asked him a question. Do you know what the Lord is doing in heaven today? So this elderly lady thought for a while and he said the Lord was seated in heaven looking down upon me trying to find fault with me to see if I have sinned in any way. Now of course, she didn't pass. But we know that the Lord was not doing that. Instead, in Revelation chapter 1 we are told what the Lord was doing. He was as busy as he was when he was on earth. On earth, he was our apostle. He came, he accomplished, fulfilled the work of the redemption. And now in heaven, he is applying that redemption to us that we may be complete in him. So while the Lord was doing that, he was looking into the seven churches in Asia. Brothers and sisters, we all know at that time, at the time of John, the apostle, there were more than seven churches in Asia Minor. For you listen, Colossians was not there. But God chose these seven churches because the conditions of the seven churches not only can represent the churches throughout the first century, but it can also represent the churches throughout the centuries. Even in our time. So brothers and sisters, what was our Lord looking in the churches? He knew their faults. He knew their successes. But this was not what he was looking for. Now what was he looking for? He was looking for his testimony. Because the church is entrusted with the testimony of Jesus. So brothers and sisters, it is most important that we know what the testimony of Jesus is. How can we pass on the touch of the testimony if we do not know what that testimony really is? What could we pass on? So here you'll find in the first chapter of the book of Revelation, John was given in brief what is the testimony of Jesus. Now we all know that John knew the Lord most among the children at that time. While the Lord was on earth. But so far as John has crashed in heaven, John was not familiar with. So when the Lord revealed himself in the vision of Patmos, we know what John did. John fell as one dead. In other words, he realized even he had failed the testimony of Jesus. Brothers and sisters, we are entrusted with the testimony of Jesus. And if the Lord shall tarry, we are supposed to be the ones who will pass the touch of the testimony to the next generation. And if we are in the next generation, we need to know what is the testimony that will be handed to us for us to carry on to the coming of the Lord. There is nothing more important than this. So dear brothers and sisters, it is the burden of our hearts that we may be clear as to the testimony of Jesus, that which we are supposed to keep and that which, if the Lord shall tarry, we are supposed to pass on to the second generation. So my question here is, what is the testimony of Jesus? We must be very clear about it. Not only clear, but we must be involved in it. I think it will be a great surprise when we find that John, the one who knew the Lord so well, when he was faced with the testimony of Jesus, he fell as one dead. In other words, he realized how far short of the testimony he was. Brothers and sisters, if we know what the testimony of Jesus is, we will do the same. Of course, the whole Bible testifies of only one thing. It testifies of our Lord Jesus. But especially, what is the testimony of Jesus? If we want to put it in a few words, I think there is no better definition of the testimony of Jesus than what our Lord Jesus in heaven told John of himself. So that's where we find in Revelation 1, verses 17 and 18. What did our Lord declare himself to be? He said, I'm the first and the last and the living one. That refers to his deity. He is the first and he is the last. And he is the living one. Now what do you mean he is the first? Does it mean that he is the first and you are the second? Not at all. Because when he said, I'm the first and I'm the last, in other words, he is the beginning and he is the end. Everything in between is himself. So the question that is put to us is, is Christ Jesus the first in our life? While our Lord was on earth, he challenged his disciples on this matter of whether he is the first. You know in the Old Testament, in the Ten Commandments, honor your father and your mother. This is the first commandment with promise. And yet our Lord Jesus challenged his disciples, saying, if you love your father or mother, brother or sister, wife or children, even yourself, you are not fit to be my disciples. Brothers and sisters, has the Lord ever challenged you with this? I remember when I was young. The Lord has saved me when I was 15. And I was so grateful to him. I gave my life to him. I wanted to serve him. But brothers and sisters, when the Lord challenged me with whether he is the first of my life, I fell down as dead. And that's what he challenged me. You know I love my father very much. He loved the Lord. But when the Lord challenged me with this, I struggled. Because I did love my father more than he. My father was a Methodist pastor. He was a true Methodist. He loved the Lord. And he wanted all his children to serve God. I was at that time in college. The Lord challenged me. Over this matter of baptism. You know I was baptized when I was a baby. I was sprinkled on my head by my father. And I always considered myself as being baptized. But after I was saved, I was challenged again and again on this matter of baptism. And I always argued with them. I said, when I was baptized as a baby, it was in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I cannot blaspheme the name of God. So I considered my baptism right. I refused to be baptized by immersion. And this happened many years. Whenever people mentioned that to me, I argued with them. I remember the last time I was in college. I was visiting my friend in Shanghai. And he lived next door to what's beneath. He talked to me again on this matter of immersion. I argued with him again. He found that I was hopeless. So he went to sleep. And I was alone in his room. Sitting there, meditating, praying. I said, Lord, I know immersion is right because I have been reading the Bible. But it is not convenient for me. My father was a Methodist pastor. I didn't know that a Methodist also immersed people. I thought it was just by sprinkling. So I told the Lord, I said, Lord, I know immersion is right, but I cannot do it now. After I become independent, then I promise you, I will be baptized by immersion. And you know what? This is the first time in my life I heard a voice. I literally heard a voice saying to me, he who loves his father, mother, and so forth, cannot be my disciples. I always wanted to be a disciple of Christ. But when that word came to me, nobody was talking to me. I heard it. I broke down. I said, Lord, everything, everything, so long I can be your disciple. So I quietly went down from my friend's room, knocked the next door, which is Brother Nee's house. And he came down and opened the door. He knew me. And he said, what do you want? I said, I want to be baptized. He said, did your father know? I said, no. But I felt the Lord told me to do that. And I was baptized by immersion the next day. And that's the beginning of the opening of my eyes. Brothers and sisters, I'm using this illustration just to demonstrate that unless Christ is the first in your life, and not only the first, but he's also the last, and all in between, we are not fit to be his disciples. Who is he? He said, I'm the living one. He is life itself. In him was life. And the life was the light of man. Brothers and sisters, this is what our Lord Jesus was, and eternally is. And the question to every one of us is, is it true with you? This is the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is not just some teaching. It's not some doctrine that you hold. The testimony of Jesus is life. Is Christ everything to you? Is there anything in between? And that is the testimony of Jesus. Unless we are absolutely surrender ourselves to the Lord Jesus, brothers and sisters, we have no testimony. And he said, I became dead. That refers to his incarnation. How he came to this wretched world. How he lived 33 years in absolute obedience to God, his Father. And he died for our sins. He took our sins in his own body. He who knew sin was made sin for us that we might become the children of God. Dear brothers and sisters, what a price our Lord Jesus has paid for every one of us. I became dead. But that's not the end. He continues to say, and behold, I'm living to the ages of ages and have the keys of death and of Hades. He is alive. He lives. And lives forevermore. And not only he lives, but he overcomes. He holds the keys of death and of Hades. Brothers and sisters, this is our victorious Lord. This is the Lord that is our testimony. And by testimony it is not just by word. It is by life. Is our life a testimony to Jesus? In Christian life there is no relativity. It is always absolute. Why? Because the Lord is absolute towards us. So brothers and sisters, this morning my burden is do you know what is the testimony of Jesus? Do you know that you are called to bear their testimony? Have you been faithful to the Lord? Because this will not only be our life on earth, but this will be our life forever. So dear brothers and sisters, this morning we are faced with the testimony of Jesus. We are supposed to want to carry the testimony of Jesus. And we are supposed to want to pass on the torch of testimony. If this is not true with us, we have nothing to pass on. So may we be all before the Lord. And let the Lord search our hearts. May our Lord Jesus look down upon us and be satisfied. This is the prayer of our hearts. Shall we pray? Dear Lord, we are faced with a serious question. Whether we are faithful to your testimony. We pray Lord that Thou will by Thy Spirit ask each and every one of us here this morning. Do not let us go without this question settled forever. Lord, Thou has given Thy all to us. How can we withhold anything from Thee? Take us, O Lord, that we may be those who are faithful in Your testimony. And thus, if Thou shalt tarry, be able to pass on the torch. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.