Personal Testimony: November 16th, 1994

Personal Testimony  November 16^th, 1994

I was raised Roman Catholic and Mormon (Dad & Mom), and really never was interested in religious things growing up. When I was in fifth grade, I experimented with pot for the first time, when my baby-sitter let me smoke a joint, but around thirteen, I began to experiment more heavily with marijuana and other party drugs and rebelled there in Boise Id. My parents divorced when I was two, so I was the odd guy out in public school at that time. Boy things have changed nowadays, regarding divorce. I overdosed on some natural drugs (mushrooms), and went into cardiac arrest when I was eighteen. I saw a bright white light appear in the sky behind the sun, (that was much brighter and filled the sky). I began to cry because I was no longer able to breathe and there was a weight on my chest much like a heavy stone had been thrust on it. My body and spirit began to separate, and I called out and said “if there is a god, help me now!”  The bright white light filled my room and then something touched me, and the pain went away, I was able to take a breath and I heard a voice tell me to do several things (go to church, get a Bible, stop using drugs)…. Several months later I encountered a demon in my dreams which was a result of a family member on my mother’s side who was married to a witch and was involved in Satanism. After this encounter, I called on God again and the evil presence fled, and I put the Bible on my breast and slept through the night better than I had slept in many years. I still was not born again yet, but I knew there was a devil and a God. Several months earlier someone I smoked with gave me a gospel tract from Chick Publications, which I threw on my desk at home for several months (I guess around five months). After these two experiences, The Lord Jesus Christ began speaking to me in very subtle ways and impressed me to watch a film on Jesus. During the film I fell under Holy Ghost conviction and repented of my sins, and wept bitterly over my transgressions. The Lord spoke to me by his Spirit and he said, “I welcome you with open arms,” and he appeared in the corner of the room with the nail prints in his hands and feet in a white robe (probably a vision)! He embraced me and I wept much, but not for my sins anymore, but that he had forgiven me, and loved me! I went to work the next day not knowing the terminology that Christians use to describe their experiences of regeneration. I was asked, “Damian what are you on? You have perm-a-grin!” I responded, “I have been reborn,” not knowing the Bible describes this experience as being "born-again!" 

Not long after this experience, I was arriving at my job after high school in my jeep and the Lord Jesus spoke to me by a still small voice while I was getting ready to lite up right before work, “son, I do not want you to smoke anymore.” Of course I immediately put out the cigarette, and crushed the Marlboro Reds in the box that remained, that was nearly full! I promised I would not smoke anymore, which God has been faithful to keep me these many years, but I struggled with the nipping desire of the nicotine biting at my ankles for the next month. I would do so good until the man who gave me the gospel tract, now tempted me at my breaktimes to come and smoke with him, I had never noticed his yellow stained fingers before due to chain smoking (most likely from his service in Vietnam), but I would at times succumb and feel ashamed of myself for yielding to this temptation. I can remember going back into the restaurant I worked in and falling on my knees in the walk-in-cooler and praying to Jesus to forgive me and hoping he would remove the guilt I felt in doing something he told me not to do any longer. Of course he did and the peace of God returned to my heart and mind and I slowly became stronger, but still struggled with this temptation until the first of the next year. Moreover, my friends asked me to go to a party and so I bought some beer at eighteen, and as the pot pipe went around the car we were driving in I declined for the first time in my life since I was in fifth grade. I opened the case of beer I had purchased and again the Lord spoke to me in a still small voice, “son, am I in that bottle?” I was surprised again because my priests always smoked, and drank in my dad’s restaurant. I slowly answered, “well no LORD,” and he quickly responded back to me, “then why would you drink that?” Of course I did not have a good reason to drink it, but later God showed me (1 Cor 3:16-17, I Cor 6:19-20, Prov 23:23-29). For those who would argue against this, let me remind you that priests in the Old Testament where never allowed to bring alcohol in the temple, nor to do God’s service drunk! We are to be sober, and vigilant, and are called priests and the very temple or sanctuary now in the New Testament! The same evening I was about to say a profane word (cuss word) and the same sweet voice spoke to me again, “son, would Jesus speak like that?” The answer was of course, “well no LORD!” God gently responded to me, “son, should you then speak like you were going to?”  I needed help for these were things that just had been apart of my life for many, many years. I asked the LORD to help me and the next evening while at work I decided to turn off the Classic Rock that I normally worked to and put on the Moody Broadcasting Network. That evening they were playing rather slow and operatic music. This of course aroused my customers curiosity, many of which said, “well it sounds like a church in here tonight.” They would awkwardly laugh and make their orders. That evening was rather a strange evening of many temptations, but I was attempting to not smoke, and listen to Christian music, and asking God to help me with the twinges to go out with one of my friends who stopped by at slow times to take a drag off their cigarettes. Strangely, I had a girlfriend who I had not seen in years call me and ask me directly if I wanted to come over after work and stay the night, which I quickly declined and shared how I had become a Christian. My best friend from school stopped by and said that LSD was in town and he dropped off four hits in aluminum foil for free, he said he just wanted to share the trip. I believe that would have been my last trip if I had yielded to that temptation, and I quickly poured water over the hits in the foil and threw them in the trash. Maybe, an hour later another friend brought me an eighth of mushrooms for free, the very drug that almost killed me a month and half before. Again, I threw them away and soiled them so that I would not be tempted to use them. When I finished my shift I went home, read my Bible had my nightly prayers, and suddenly the presence of God entered the room, my eyes filled with tears and I cried out, “LORD I want more of you,” God’s presence flowed over my body like warm oil, almost like a tingle through my whole body, from the top of my head to my feet! I began to experience joy unspeakable, and I laughed with such freedom, that there is no way to explain! When using LSD or mushrooms there is a moment where the drug hits what users call a peak and most of the time they will laugh uncontrollably and see tracers. The issue is that once the experience is done and the user comes down, like riding a roller coaster, most of the users felt the filthiness of the impact on the body like an alcoholic does the next day referred to as the hangover. This experience I had was the opposite I laughed freely, and purely, and felt clean and refreshed within, and mind was fresh and clear! Most importantly, I was completely delivered from these temptations that I had felt nagging me for the past month or so and was filled with great joy and I wanted to be in church as much as possible so I could praise Jesus for delivering me, and giving me his Victory he won on the cross by his blood. It has been over 25 years and I still have victory over these alluring temptations. Christ Jesus’ blood is sufficient for any need!  I later learned from my Bible that I had been sanctified by the blood of Jesus.

    Shortly, after this experience  I went to a church and they asked for young people to commit to leadership, I felt compelled to respond and was overwhelmed by God’s love in the service. That evening I experienced my first trial after being sanctified, and Satan came to me in temptation telling me, “God had forsaken me,” I at first was startled and was not sure what to do, it was then I heard the voice that welcomed me into his kingdom speak again through a verse in Hebrews, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” I spoke that verse outloud and I had a vision of a sword swinging, the evil presence fled, and I saw myself in a foreign country with dark children all around me and I was sharing the gospel and God was healing them in this arid land, possibly Kenya or Ethiopia? I saw grass huts, cracked earth from many dry summers, and children of African or Indian descent. It was here that Jesus called me to preach his wonderful gospel. I have preached now for almost 26 years, pastored almost 20 years and evangelized here in the United States, Canada, Israel, Turkey, and Greece. My wife at the age of sixteen also had a night vision of her and I in the same location and she was walking in front of me carrying several books in her arms. When she had this dream, we did not know one another. She has been saved since she was about fourteen. 

About eight days later from this experience of being holy sanctified in my room, I went to a home prayer meeting and the song leader had the small congregation singing right out of their Bibles, I was struck with how awesome this was and again I felt the presence of Jesus, and fell upon my knees and lifted up my hands to the ceiling, I fell under the power of the Holy Ghost and for about an hour and a half I cried, wept, and laughed as the presence of God touched me in that place between earth and heaven! He healed wounds that no one could see and filled my mouth with laughter, right before I arose from the floor of this meeting, I saw in a vision the three crosses of Calvary and I was kneeling under the middle cross, the sky behind the cross was black, which frightened me, but I later understood this meant I was under the cross of Christ. I heard someone speaking another language and felt fire in my bosom and around my heart, that bubbled over in love that is hard to express with words for God and my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and for a lost and dying world. I then realized that the person speaking in a foreign tongue was myself and I felt such a flame of love or fire, and I felt as the Bible expresses tongues of fire, and a drunkenness though completely sober, joy unspeakable and I was full of glory!  This experience caused my prayer life to increase and gave me a hunger to read, study, and share the Bible with whosoever will! This experience is what the Bible calls the Baptism of the Holy Ghost! It was, and is real, powerful, and life changing!  God is so good!  Not one person who knew me before would have ever thought I would become a preacher, or a pastor, let alone a Christian! No not even the Devil! Praise God, He does things beyond all our comprehension!

He can and will, friend do it for you! If you have never had these things occur before! What you read about in Acts is for you, and I today, if we can believe and take God at his Word, he will allow us to partake of his good Word even TODAY!

Desiring to Give Christ his Inheritance (Eph. 1:17-19, Psa. 2:8),

Yours in Christ,

 Bro Damian

If you have never accepted or if you have fallen away from Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:

You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And tell someone what Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)  

May God through Christ bless you!

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