TESTIMONY

Amen

The Bible says there's power in testimony

I, uh, I grew up in a Christian family, I didn't miss a Sunday or a Wednesday

Uh, my mom was in the worship team, and, um

Yeah, I started to, started to kind of live this secret life, started to give into sin

Sometime around junior high and just started to get, I don't know, really curious about, like

All the things that weren't in this, you know, kind of Christian Church bubble, and

So I went out to explore and, um

Really watered a, a, a, a seed of sin that, uh, grew and grew and grew, and

Uh, long story short, by the time I got into my freshman year of college

I, uh, I, I remember I went into college saying, "I'm not gonna go in as a Christian

Like, I believe, I believe God is real, but I'm just gonna put that off till later

Because I want to go see what the world has to offer me

You know, I want to go have fun, I want to go do what, what everyone else is doing," that I felt like I couldn't

And, um, so that whole year, I just, I just let loose

And, uh, I, I did everything that I wanted to and, um

I led myself down a path of destruction

Every single decision that I made for myself led me not only nowhere, but led me just to the end of myself

And so I woke up my sophomore year just completely broken, fully insecure

I, I mean, I was not full of joy, I was—, it's, it's laughable

If you see me now versus who I was back then, I, I, I was not the same person

It's hard to even look back at pictures of myself, the, the facial expressions I'm making, it's just, that's not me

And, um, in that lowest, lowest point, I was sitting at this coffee shop

And, uh, I heard this gentle, uh, voice in my head, and it was telling me to go to a church service

And, uh, I, I tried everything and you know, all right, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll see it through

So I, uh, Googled where to go to church and I, I saw this church service had a, a Wednesday night service for like a, the college ministry, and so

I showed up like an hour late to that

And, um, I walked out, the parking lot was empty, the foyer was empty, everything, and I opened up the doors

And just this, I walked into this rich, uh, aroma of worship, really, it was just the, the

It was like this spirit-filled thing where, like

The whole church had fasted for three days and they were doing this like extended six hour worship, and I walked right, right into the middle of that

And uh, I just remember walking through the doors and being like, "Man, I feel lighter already, like, I feel like"

You know, I feel like this baggage left me, And then I, I

Walked into the sanctuary, and

I c-, I c-, I can't explain it, I can't, I can't explain it, but I encountered Jesus, I encountered the Holy Spirit

And, uh, yeah, amen

Yeah, I mean, just to pause there, it's like the, the, the spiritual realm is so interesting because

We can't see, we can't see Him, but He is a person

And, uh, yeah, So I walked into that room and I met a person

I spoke to a person, I, I was held by a person, I was breathed life into by a person

And, uh, see, I got on my knees, and I cried out to Jesus

I said, "Jesus, I, I'm, I'm sick and tired of living life for myself, I'm sick and tired of the decisions I'm making, I want You to

Come in to my life, I want You to make me a new person, I'm living my life for You

Whatever, whatever this is, whatever I just found, I, I found home, I found life, I found, uh"

Amen

And, um, yeah, Lord, take, you know, take, take all my stuff

Take my, take my career, take my house, whatever, but just give me Jesus, I'm telling you, it's, I'm

He's been so good, and, uh

Here I am, I mean, I'm whatever, eight, eight years or so into my walk with

My, my true walk with the Lord, and I'm telling you, from the bottom of my heart, it is the only way, it's the only source of life

Jesus is the only source of life

Everything else fails, and uh, I just think it's so powerful

I can't believe that my granddad

I found that video of him on YouTube, I didn't even realize

It's just crazy, so yeah, he's like 93 now, and you

I ask him, I'm like, "Granddad, what, what is the—

What's the meaning of life?" You know, what, when you look back on your life

It's a pretty heavy conversation

He, he handles it lightly, he's just like, "I, I

I really, I just would've spent more time with Jesus"

Which is crazy 'cause he's about to, you know

Be spending more time with Jesus, and he's saying, hey, on Earth, I wish I would've just spent more time with Jesus

So, yeah, if, uh, if I could summarize all that into

Two words

It would be "Don't wait"

Because Jesus is coming back soon

And when He comes back, are you, are you gonna go with Him or are you gonna stay here?

And I just, I know some—, at least one person out there has that same burning in their chest that I had

And I just wanna let you know

May—, maybe you're resisting Jesus because you think you're, you're too full of shame, you've done too many things

"He, there, there's no way Jesus could love me, there's no, I've done, I've done so many things I can't speak on"

The Bible says that while we were still sinners, He died for us, and

It says that there is nothing that He, that we could ever do to separate His love from us

So there's no

There's no sin too great that He didn't die for, that, that is why He died, He came to die for our sin

And the Bible also says that if you, uh, confess your, with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that He

Uh, died and rose again, uh, you will be saved

So in your heart right now, if, if that's you, if you're feeling that burning

Just say, "Lord, I ask that You would, Jesus, would You come into my heart? Would You make me a new person?

Would You lift the veil from my eyes when I, when I read scripture, would You

Enlighten it? Lord, Holy Spirit, make me a new person

I believe that you died and rose again for my sins

In Jesus' name, amen"