Stand And Testify, Part 1
Greetings Brothers and Sisters in the Lord. After a wonderful Revival week at my church, I'm so blessed to be sharing stories of personal spiritual revival with you this week. Thank you to all of you who took the time to reply to my request for a personal testimony. Let me tell you the truth…nobody puts broken lives back together better than Jesus! You will be blessed by the stories I'm going to share with you this week. I apologize that some of them are a little long, but I'm sure you'll be blessed to hear how God is still in the healing business. This story, figuratively speaking, is right out of the Prodigal Son verses in Luke:
Luke 15:31 (NKJ)
“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
"I started a Christian Heavy Metal band in 1986. We wore eye liner and toted songs such as “Fighting The Beast” and “Blood of the Lamb”. There was simply nobody else doing it that hard and wild back then. We paid a huge price for the style as every club and organization laughed at us and the youth groups and churches boycotted us saying we were “satanic”. One youth group actually held a prayer vigil praying that we would fail.
I met my girlfriend who eventually became my wife at the time. I gave in to the pressure of everyone misunderstanding our group and decided God did not have a calling to me in ministry and decided I was just a rock n roll guy, keeping my Christian beliefs internal. I vowed to always keep the original band name since it came from God, and nobody needed to know that part. I switched the band to secular heavy metal music and we enjoyed some quick fame. Through the years however, I lost my faith, I lost my wife, and while I avoided drug use, I became a fan of drinking alcohol. Life was a struggle with a few highs, a lot of lows, and I felt as though I was just always down on my luck.
A year and a half ago I met my ex “life partner”, an LA blonde from the world of Hollywood who appeared to be everything I ever wanted. As drugs took her down a dark path, and I continued drinking, everything started caving in. As we walked down my street together after a weekend of drinking, a man (later finding out he is part of one of the churches founding families) came out of his house wearing a “Fender” guitar shirt. He started testifying to us about God and telling us about Celebration Covenant. When we got home we joked about it saying that “Jesus freaks like that, Christian nuts, just make you want to drink more” as we guzzled down more alcohol.
The drugs and drinking of my life partner and my drinking took control and with it came lies and deceit about her party habits. We were shattered, and I was broken from her lies and hidden drug use as it got worse. Then one night, when it became too much for me to handle, I fell to my knees and said “God, I won’t go through this. I won’t lose her! I am sorry! I need you! I can’t do this alone anymore”. I got in my car and headed to Celebration Covenant that Sunday night to find it void of an evening service.
I remember saying “I knew it; God doesn’t want me in church”. I said “God… I’m going to pass several churches along the way to the bar and either call me into one of them or I’m going to the bar”. So I drove past a bunch of churches, one after the other and didn’t get a calling into any of them. I went to the bar instead, ironically, the same bar where there were the group of people who supported my ex-life partner’s drug problem hang out. I sat down and ordered my first of what was planned to be many drinks and began talking to the girl next to me.
It was then that I got the shocking message… God had brought me there that night, to the same place that was destroying us, to meet someone who would help save me… the girl at the bar was actually with Celebration Covenant that night and picking up pizza for their once a month Sunday night home group studies. I explained to her what had happened, why I ended up at that bar, how I had searched for God that night and basically given up, and she demanded that I go with her to the group that night. I left with her, hurt, broken, and very confused… to her home group, which was the beginning of my rebirth back into the arms of Christ, and left my tab still open at the bar.
God showed himself to me that night and from that point on, I was back with The Lord. I began going to Celebration Covenant, almost every service, began tithing, and got plugged into servant leadership immediately, asking about the “stage crew” at my first service (which lead to me joining The FEW Manovation, parking crew, and media team). From that point forward I quit drinking and haven’t touched it since. My ex life partner went back out, doing more drugs and eventually stumbled into church on a Wednesday night. She asked as she walked into the foyer with two bags, hung over from a drug bender “Can I come in your church” telling me that she put the drugs down because nothing was worth loosing me.
I thought we were back together and things would be perfect! It was then that I realized that I couldn’t any longer, Christian or not, be a part of a rock band which supported the exact things that had almost destroyed the only relationship with a woman that had made sense to me. I immediately decided to recommit my band back to God and I prayed that my band mates would be okay with it. I found that my band mates had been praying for the same thing, so the decision was an easy one.
The rest wasn’t easy, in fact, the battle had just begun. My ex-life partner found her fellowship in a local Alcoholics Anonymous group who assisted her in slowly and very painfully ending our relationship as she met fellow AA people to be intimate with instead of me, eventually ending all of our communications, and ultimately leaving our church as she became “one” in the body of AA. I even started reducing my church and group participation to attend AA meetings as an alcoholic, in hope that I would win her back. The loss of her in my life was heartbreaking, and thankfully the “Crazy Christian” who testified down the street from us and his family have since become like my own in helping me to give my ex and the relationship back to God through the heartache and the faith wounds.
I didn’t get to hear my original dream of my ex and my birthday love greetings to each other this September (both September birthdays), but on my birthday, September 17th, I got to hear something even better. That was the cheers of my family as our pastor read my name as a one of the new members of Celebration Covenant church. And similar to the Abraham and Isaac story, while I paid the sacrifice of giving my ex-life partner and that relationship back to God, He has blessed me by bringing my brother, his wife, their daughter, and my parents back into the arms of Christ and into Celebration Covenant as a family (all planning to become members). This is the first time since we’ve been kids that we are going to church again.
Onward I go, with Xceleration, Favor, and Breakthrough, into a new world with Christ in my life, and for once…in my whole, entire life. As I grow as a warrior through Him, I know he will someday bring someone special into my world… someone who I will call my wife in Christ’s name, not a life-partner in mans name, and I will rejoice and lead that relationship. The band will be releasing our first Christian demo CD since 1987 within the next few months with 6 newly written songs in Christ’s name. Big things are happening and I know this is just the beginning. It all started with my surrender to God, and my deliverance to Celebration Covenant Church."
Thank you Jesus that you love us so much that you'll take us back when we venture off on our own. We praise you for this soul that was lost, but now is found!
Blessings,
Bill
Luke 15:31 (NKJ)
“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”
"I started a Christian Heavy Metal band in 1986. We wore eye liner and toted songs such as “Fighting The Beast” and “Blood of the Lamb”. There was simply nobody else doing it that hard and wild back then. We paid a huge price for the style as every club and organization laughed at us and the youth groups and churches boycotted us saying we were “satanic”. One youth group actually held a prayer vigil praying that we would fail.
I met my girlfriend who eventually became my wife at the time. I gave in to the pressure of everyone misunderstanding our group and decided God did not have a calling to me in ministry and decided I was just a rock n roll guy, keeping my Christian beliefs internal. I vowed to always keep the original band name since it came from God, and nobody needed to know that part. I switched the band to secular heavy metal music and we enjoyed some quick fame. Through the years however, I lost my faith, I lost my wife, and while I avoided drug use, I became a fan of drinking alcohol. Life was a struggle with a few highs, a lot of lows, and I felt as though I was just always down on my luck.
A year and a half ago I met my ex “life partner”, an LA blonde from the world of Hollywood who appeared to be everything I ever wanted. As drugs took her down a dark path, and I continued drinking, everything started caving in. As we walked down my street together after a weekend of drinking, a man (later finding out he is part of one of the churches founding families) came out of his house wearing a “Fender” guitar shirt. He started testifying to us about God and telling us about Celebration Covenant. When we got home we joked about it saying that “Jesus freaks like that, Christian nuts, just make you want to drink more” as we guzzled down more alcohol.
The drugs and drinking of my life partner and my drinking took control and with it came lies and deceit about her party habits. We were shattered, and I was broken from her lies and hidden drug use as it got worse. Then one night, when it became too much for me to handle, I fell to my knees and said “God, I won’t go through this. I won’t lose her! I am sorry! I need you! I can’t do this alone anymore”. I got in my car and headed to Celebration Covenant that Sunday night to find it void of an evening service.
I remember saying “I knew it; God doesn’t want me in church”. I said “God… I’m going to pass several churches along the way to the bar and either call me into one of them or I’m going to the bar”. So I drove past a bunch of churches, one after the other and didn’t get a calling into any of them. I went to the bar instead, ironically, the same bar where there were the group of people who supported my ex-life partner’s drug problem hang out. I sat down and ordered my first of what was planned to be many drinks and began talking to the girl next to me.
It was then that I got the shocking message… God had brought me there that night, to the same place that was destroying us, to meet someone who would help save me… the girl at the bar was actually with Celebration Covenant that night and picking up pizza for their once a month Sunday night home group studies. I explained to her what had happened, why I ended up at that bar, how I had searched for God that night and basically given up, and she demanded that I go with her to the group that night. I left with her, hurt, broken, and very confused… to her home group, which was the beginning of my rebirth back into the arms of Christ, and left my tab still open at the bar.
God showed himself to me that night and from that point on, I was back with The Lord. I began going to Celebration Covenant, almost every service, began tithing, and got plugged into servant leadership immediately, asking about the “stage crew” at my first service (which lead to me joining The FEW Manovation, parking crew, and media team). From that point forward I quit drinking and haven’t touched it since. My ex life partner went back out, doing more drugs and eventually stumbled into church on a Wednesday night. She asked as she walked into the foyer with two bags, hung over from a drug bender “Can I come in your church” telling me that she put the drugs down because nothing was worth loosing me.
I thought we were back together and things would be perfect! It was then that I realized that I couldn’t any longer, Christian or not, be a part of a rock band which supported the exact things that had almost destroyed the only relationship with a woman that had made sense to me. I immediately decided to recommit my band back to God and I prayed that my band mates would be okay with it. I found that my band mates had been praying for the same thing, so the decision was an easy one.
The rest wasn’t easy, in fact, the battle had just begun. My ex-life partner found her fellowship in a local Alcoholics Anonymous group who assisted her in slowly and very painfully ending our relationship as she met fellow AA people to be intimate with instead of me, eventually ending all of our communications, and ultimately leaving our church as she became “one” in the body of AA. I even started reducing my church and group participation to attend AA meetings as an alcoholic, in hope that I would win her back. The loss of her in my life was heartbreaking, and thankfully the “Crazy Christian” who testified down the street from us and his family have since become like my own in helping me to give my ex and the relationship back to God through the heartache and the faith wounds.
I didn’t get to hear my original dream of my ex and my birthday love greetings to each other this September (both September birthdays), but on my birthday, September 17th, I got to hear something even better. That was the cheers of my family as our pastor read my name as a one of the new members of Celebration Covenant church. And similar to the Abraham and Isaac story, while I paid the sacrifice of giving my ex-life partner and that relationship back to God, He has blessed me by bringing my brother, his wife, their daughter, and my parents back into the arms of Christ and into Celebration Covenant as a family (all planning to become members). This is the first time since we’ve been kids that we are going to church again.
Onward I go, with Xceleration, Favor, and Breakthrough, into a new world with Christ in my life, and for once…in my whole, entire life. As I grow as a warrior through Him, I know he will someday bring someone special into my world… someone who I will call my wife in Christ’s name, not a life-partner in mans name, and I will rejoice and lead that relationship. The band will be releasing our first Christian demo CD since 1987 within the next few months with 6 newly written songs in Christ’s name. Big things are happening and I know this is just the beginning. It all started with my surrender to God, and my deliverance to Celebration Covenant Church."
Thank you Jesus that you love us so much that you'll take us back when we venture off on our own. We praise you for this soul that was lost, but now is found!
Blessings,
Bill
posted by BreadBakers at 12:27 PM
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