Personal Testimony
2 Cor. 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
Oh the mercy of our Lord Jesus to cause His power to shine into the darkness of sin to bring us out into marvelous light. The greatness of His mercy through the new birth after conversion to keep disciplining us and teaching us through grace to deny ungodliness and walk in the newness of life. Oh the love of God to patiently long suffer with His children and perfect them all along the way for His own good pleasure. My life is definitely a witness to nothing else but the mercy of my Lord Jesus Christ. Raised a little while as a Roman Catholic with a respect for the things of the Lord but no knowledge of salvation nor the need for it. I could have never known this kind of life existed. I lived a very rowdy young life of sin and drugs and at the age of 19 was living with my girlfriend Tracy. (Now my wife of 19 years) I had never been to a Pentecostal church in my life until this time. My wife’s mother pastored a small church where the Lord was very present. The things I saw and felt in that little church began to really get a hold on my heart but my pride and sinful lifestyle would not yet give way. Tracy during this time began to get sick and after six months of vomiting she was about 80 pounds and doctors had no answer. She went to see Brother Franky Declue, a Man of God who lived by us and he prayed the prayer of faith for her and she began to heal. A few days latter she really gave her heart to the Lord and told me in no uncertain terms I’m not drinking, smoking, dancing, cursing and you will not touch me until you marry me. What a stand, what a commitment! After this I began to see her pray and get many miracles one of which was for our dog I ran over and broke its jaw and after she prayed it was healed. I was still going by myself to the bars and drinking continually but my wife was praying for my salvation. She would hang notes on the walls claiming my salvation and declaring I would preach the Gospel all over the world. I thought she was crazy even though I had seen the Lord working for her. One night I came home and told her she was going back dancing with me like she used to but she said she could not and would not. I mean this girl was no hypocrite. I got mad and went at her and before I could get to her something hit me in the gut like I never felt. I could barely breath and knew I was in trouble. Days previous to this I had punched and broke her Jesus picture and threw her bible and as I laid on the floor I whispered pray and I knew this time I must have went to far and later I found out what happened. Psalm 105:15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. As I asked her to pray she knelt beside me but told me later God told her not to pray because He was teaching me a lesson.
This was only the beginning of my lessons of what is possible if a wife stands for the salvation of her husband. It was still a couple more years before I yielded after much more heart break to my wife and me running out of rope to run. I thought if I could get away from her He would leave me alone I went totally to the bottom and it was only His mercy I didn’t die in my senseless actions and go to hell. It got to the place where sin was not even fun anymore and my wife’s prayers had won and I was just a shell of a man. I put a note on Brother Pat and Sister Linda Boyster’s car in the church parking lot asking them to come and see me. I was at my end and didn’t even know if God still would forgive me after all I had done. I said to the Lord I would ask this couple to see me and if something didn’t happen I would take my life after they left. As soon as they entered my house I broke and I felt amazing heat leave my body which I believed to be a demon. By this time I had so destroyed my body by drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sexual perversions and was filled with fear of aids and all other sexual diseases. Oh the mercy of the Lord I couldn’t speak but just wept and wept what seemed hours and I thank Jesus He understands the language of tears. No matter what you have done He stands ready to not only forgive and pardon but heal. This is the day of salvation and there is so much love from the Lord for lives that have been so messed up. After this I began to go to church and my wife came home when she saw the Lord was getting my heart. After I repented and was baptized in the mighty name of Jesus I began to do what the preacher said and seek for the Holy Ghost. I had never seen anyone for the first time pray through worship, prayer and fasting. I was their long awaited victim after all the services my wife had interrupted seeking prayer for me and now they had me. I just knelt and asked the Lord Jesus to fill me and began to do what they said and call on the name above all names: The lovely name of Jesus. Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. As I worshiped in the Lord I felt like electricity was shocking me and I got up scared and wondered what they were doing to me as I sat in the nearest pew and thought this thing through. Only a few moments passed as I watched them continue to pray that I realized that felt good, better than any drug I had taken and I determined they were not crazy and I wanted more! I made my way back to the alter and knelt and this time I got my mind off of the people and just began to think of Jesus on His throne and my lips were praising His name. Before I knew it, I heard this strange language only to reach up to my mouth to realize it was coming from my lips. This began months of intense Bible reading, prayer, fasting and such experiences in the Holy Ghost that I stayed so high in the spirit about every service they would have to peal me off of the carpet nightly to send me home at 1, 2, 3, 4 in the morning night after night revival after revival. All the while I was still leaving for work at 5:30 am and don’t tell me God won’t consume you because he will fill you to the uttermost! The Lord started to use me more and more I could hardly testify without the scriptures coming out. Now the Lord was wanting more and more of me but I was still fighting against an addiction which I had since I was 13 which was pornography. This to me was the worst addiction against which my marriage had suffered and from time to time I would loose a battle even after I was saved. I had been saved around two years and was working as a union labor making good money, had a new baby son and all was well but I was still allowing this addiction to control me.
The Saturday my life really stopped was about 14 years ago as I was in a ditch of around 13 feet deep in St. Louis, MO when I heard the foreman yell but it was too late and in a flash I was buried alive in a ditch cave totally over my head. In a moment I was being crushed from my belly down and my forehead up. A dirt clot against my shoulder had me pushed into the ditch wall leaving just enough room from my stomach to my forehead to barely breathe. I could see a crack of daylight from above as I watched dirt settle into my breathing space and as the dirt settled the pressure was pushing my neck around past my shoulder and I felt muscles and things in my neck pop and there was nothing I could do. Immediately I said Jesus please forgive me as I had lost a battle with lust the night before and knew I was dying. The pressure was so amazing but as soon as I said forgive me there was such a peace that came over me as I knew I was to die. I could hear the men above cussing and screaming and I thought on my little new son and said, “Jesus if you will get me out of this I will do what you tell me, just let me raise the boy!” I felt such peace and then spoke to my fellow workers as they were amazed to hear me say I was alright. Later they told me I had 10 tons of dirt on me and it usually pushes your guts out of your mouth when it just comes to the waist. My foreman to this day weeps when I see him because he knows he saw a miracle. He said I had a wall of dirt the length of his house fall on me. After 20 minutes of two men digging like wild men they dug me out. Fire trucks and ambulances came and as I was stepping out, a man setting on a high lift shouted down and said, “Son, the Lord must have a work for you.” I looked down in the hole where I was and heard the Lord say, “THE OLD MAN DIED THERE NOW LEAVE HIM!” I should have died there in sin but I learned about his mercy that day. The ambulance driver tried to get me in the ambulance but I knew I would be alright and signed his papers saying I refused treatment, as he sternly said I probably had internal bleeding and could die but I just wanted to leave and obey God. I had a few troubles in my back after that, but I should have died. I never went back to my job from that time on and the Lord has blessed me and taught me a life of faith and dependence on Him.
That was many years ago and many revivals, dreams, visions and appointments from the Lord have come and gone. He has given us churches, tents and many souls since. The Lord Jesus appeared to me by dream about 8 years ago commanding me to lay hands on the sick and through these signs many would be turned from unrighteousness. The deaf hear, the blind see, the paralyzed walk, the brain dead have come back to life and all manner of sickness and disease are healed in the name of Jesus. All He needs is faith. He can help if you will only believe. There have been hundreds of miracles of mercy. I am so glad the Lord Jesus sends us with a word of power and help for the suffering and dying. So many have received real life changing gifts of mercy from our precious Jesus. We have been in many cities, different nations and Jesus is the same everywhere. Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Don’t doubt what Jesus will do for you. There is no sin to dark for Him to forgive, no sickness he can’t heal, no life to messed up to be fixed. Call on Jesus in humble prayer. He is knocking at your hearts door and ask Him in and confess Him as Lord and expect His direction and allow him to lead you one decision at a time. I know Him in mercy, love and in power. Mercy is so great all of the temple was built around the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Testament dwelled. God’s centerpiece and power point is the mercy seat on top. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
