The Ingredients of a Powerful Testimony

John 4:28-29  So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and *said to the men,
29  "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?"

John 4:39  From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done."

What are the ingredients of a powerful testimony?  Many of the testimonies we hear today in our services, gatherings and television programs are of people who are "blessed" with riches and success, who have experienced miracles and powerful answer to prayers.  Of course, these are things to testify about and give glory to God for.  But are these the only ingredients for a powerful testimony?  Many want testimonies that are "crowd drawers", those that will catch the attention of people.  This is why many Christians feel today that they do not have a testimony to share, because they have not experienced anything exciting or extravagant.  So they end up being quiet about their "simple" experiences with the Lord.
But what should a powerful testimony have so that it is used by God to bring people to Him and glory in His name? 

The story of the Samaritan woman should help us answer this question.  What made these men in Samaria believe in Christ through this woman's testimony?  She was someone who had five husbands, and the one she was living with was not her husband.  Jesus Himself knew this.  She was probably looked down at in the city, a nobody.  And yet, because of a simple testimony that she had just had an encounter with a man who had "told her things she had done" and asked "could this be the Christ?", people believed her and eventually believed in Jesus.
What were the "ingredients" of her testimony? 
Basically, it was in her encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

First, we see the Lord GRACIOUSLY REACHING OUT  to her.
John 4:7  There *came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus *said to her, "Give Me a drink."
Culturally there was a divide that existed that should have stopped Jesus from speaking to the woman.  First, she was a woman, and it was not proper for Jews to just associate with women in public.  Second, she was a Samaritan.  Jews, then, did not think it right to associate with Samaritans, since in their history they had diverted from the law that God had given them.
And yet Jesus reached out to her.  What a blessing to know that even if we did not seek Him, and lived a life of disobedience, yet God, in His grace, reached out to us.
Anyone with this experience of grace, of God reaching out to them, despite who they were and what they had done, will surely have a testimony that is real and alive.

Then, the Lord offered her LIVING WATER.
John 4:13  Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
This obviously touched a nerve in the heart of the woman.  Who doesn't want, need, living water, the kind that will never make us thirst again!  Everything else in this world only offers temporary satisfaction.  Only God can give us a satisfaction, a joy, a peace, that lasts up to eternity.  Do we live with this "living water" filling our hearts everyday?
Anyone who has this living water in their heart will have a testimony people will thirst for.

After that, the Lord REVEALED HER SIN.
John 4:16  He *said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here." 17  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus *said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband'; 18  for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly."
No one can claim a true encounter with our Lord without Him lovingly revealing our sinfulness.  He knows our sin.  It is He we are sinning against everytime we disobey the commands of the Lord.  He opens our heart to know that He knows our sin, and cause us to have godly sorrow that leads to repentance.
Sadly, there are many Christians who purposely keep sin away from their "sharing", hoping to win someone to the Lord, not realizing that this is the main reason why someone is separated from God!
Anyone who has realized his sin before God, asked forgiveness and has repented, turned away from a life separate from the righteousness of God, has a testimony that will speak to people's heart.

Then, the Lord opened her up to TRUE WORSHIP.
John 4:21  Jesus *said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22  "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23  "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.  24  "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
She may have had religion, even her own "special mountain", but she did not know God.  As God opened her heart, He opened her to the right form of worship that God was after - worship in spirit and truth.  It wasn't about their mountain, or the mountain of the Jews (Jerusalem), that mattered.  What mattered for God was a worship that was in spirit and truth, a worship not based on rituals or forms but in the very heart of a person, a worship that stemmed from a revelation of His will, His truth, and not human tradition or beliefs.

Anyone who worships in spirit and truth has a testimony that will minister to men.

Finally, the Lord points her to HIMSELF.
John 4:25  The woman *said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." 26  Jesus *said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
Jesus did not tell her to become a Jew, or to change religion.  He pointed her to Himself.  She knew of the coming Messiah, who would declare all things to them.  Jesus simply said "I who speak to you am He".
It did not matter if she was a Jew or a Samaritan, a man or woman, what mattered was that she recognized who she was having an encounter with - Jesus Christ, the source of living water, the righteous and holy One we worship and adore as our Lord and God.
Like the apostle Thomas we bow down and proclaim "My Lord and My God" (John 20:28)
It is Christ we proclaim - not our local church, denomination or doctrinal leanings.
Col 1:28  We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.
A true testimony proclaims Him...not His blessings, provisions or miracles.  We proclaim Him, who He is, what He has done.

These are the ingredients of a testimony.  If you have these you have a testimony that God will use to bring people to His salvation and life and that will bring glory and honor to Him!  We don't have to be rich and famous to stand up and testify of our Savior and Lord!  All we need is to be available.
Acts 1:8  but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."