Ben

Hiya gang. A new guy here, just registered today. Looking forward to adding my .02 cents worth to some postings.

Recently I had a very deep and moving spiritual experience in my pastor's office. There is absolutely no doubt that it is a "God thing" but quite frankly I never believed in it before it happened to me!

Ben

Mark_18

Hey, great to have you. We might need a whole 2 cents here though, not .02 cents.

This is amazing to hear Ben, care to tell us about it?

Mark

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Luke 15:31 - And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
Joel 2:28 - I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Matthew 7:7 - Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Psalms 126:5 - Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

JOKE POLICE

Ben

Mark,

I've only got just a few moments but I will give it a shot. I received Christ in 1975. No doubt about it I was (and am) saved. Baptised by immersion a couple of weeks later. I have always attended bible believing, Jesus loving, God fearing, "ya gotta be born again or ya ain't gonna make it to heaven" churches ever since. By God's grace I quit smoking and drinking liquor shortly after receiving Christ. Racism bit the dust several months later. Porno, lust and all that sexual temptation "guy stuff" took a little longer but eventually it also died under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (and LOTS of prayer.) Other "little" sins fell by the wayside every so often over the years of this marathon called The Christian Walk. BUT, using filthy language (yes even God's name in vain), extreme rage and anger, hatred for myself, holding grudges was the norm in my life. Also I felt like I was the # 1 hypocrite all the time because I simply did not love our heavenly Father like the scriptures say I was supposed to.

Then I had an absolute breakthrough about 90 days ago. I basically did nothing different than what I had been doing for 33 years. I made no "deals" with God, no begging Him, I wasn't annointed with oil, had hands laid on me or anything, I just had a "second touch" from God the Father in my pastor's office. All of the above "stuff" vanished in one split second. I have not cursed, gotten angry, said anything innapropriate, or basically done anything sinful for over 90 days. I now love my heavenly Father like you would not believe, I even love myself, my wife, and EVERYONE more than I ever have before. No more grudges or hating myself (or anyone else for that matter!) My "bear robbed of her cubs" temper is now more like a pink teddy bear from Toys "R" Us.

I remember years ago a Nazarene gent asking me if I had "ever received a 'second touch' " and I said no. He said it was like getting saved all over again. I asked my pastor (at that time) and his response was "Sure I believe in a second touch.....and a third, forth, 500th etc." We both lauged it off and ever since then I was a little leary of "those holiness" guys ever since. NO MORE, now I am one of them, even though I never believed in a "second touch."

Am I sinless? No, but I sure sin less than I ever have in my life, and I am praising God (and loving Him.)

Thanks for listening.

Ben

Whirlwind

That's beautiful testimony! Welcome to the forum!

Back when I still wasn't sure, I would pray. I'd ask God or this, ask Him for that. I was take, take, take. Why can't I have this? Why did you give that guy that? I wanted one of those!

I was treating God like a genie instead of the Father.

Today, I give just as much as I take and the world is balanced. Your story brought back those feelings for me, and I thank you for that.

God bless you.

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Chapter-by-Chapter, verse-by-verse.
Jesus is the Living Word.

Ben

Now that I'm no longer in a hurry, I can give you "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey says. What precipated me going into my pastor's office was I had a flashback to my childhood. My father beat my mother up in front of me (I was six years old.) It bothered me so much (because the flashback was so vivid) I called my pastor and gave him a brief synposis. He told me to write everything out exactly as I remembered it and to meet him in his office the next morning. The next morning he read it back to me verbatim. It was not a pretty sight. I was a mess, but God stepped in and healed my damaged emotions (or something.) I have not been the same since, PRAISE GOD!

Ben

univac

Wecome Brother

SweetSurrender

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Boanerges

Welcome to the family Ben!

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“Neither skill nor knowledge is needed to go to God, all that is necessary is a heart dedicated entirely and solely to Him out of love for Him above all others.”
Brother Lawrence

Fluffy

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Be transparent before God, He sees right thru you, anyway!
http://www.likepreciousfaith.org/testimony_val.htm
Please pray for your local emergency responders, daily.

Boanerges

Hallelujah! Sometimes we choose not to face things like these but God knows better- He brings it to the surface to be dealt with so that we may experience more of His love and freedom. Hallelujah! What a wonderful and merciful God we serve!

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“Neither skill nor knowledge is needed to go to God, all that is necessary is a heart dedicated entirely and solely to Him out of love for Him above all others.”
Brother Lawrence