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Burying the Past

 

As the days moved along, things got brighter and I looked forward to my water baptism—a


full immersion the way Jesus had done in the Jordan River. To my surprise I was being accepted by the brothers and sisters in the church, because at one time they did not know how to relate to me because of where I came from. They were either afraid or shy about approaching me. But I thanked God that things were looking up.

“Hey, John, you’re being baptized in a few days. How do you feel, man?” Tony said as he greeted me in Bible class.

I smiled. “I feel great and I’m looking forward to it. I’m glad it’s coming along and that the Lord Jesus Christ is giving me an opportunity to be baptized.”

“Amen to that, John.”

A woman named Evelyn turned around and said, “John, we’ve all been praying for you, and we’re so happy you’re being baptized.”

The warm responses from the people in church touched my heart.

The day leading up to the baptism, we had one final meeting with the pastor. He went over everything that needed to be said and what time we had to be at the church. “The church where you’re being baptized is located at Prospect Avenue and 168 th Street. Be there on time. The baptism starts at 4:30, so we need you there about four o’clock.” I felt a little nervous, with butterflies in my stomach, but the baptism excited me because it was something so different from what I knew for twenty-five years of ceremony after ceremony. This was something that would actually be good for me.

Saturday morning dawned bright, and I jumped out of bed, excited and eager to get to church

—so excited I got there at three o’clock in the afternoon. I gathered my belongings in a bag, the extra clothing I would wear after the baptism, and made my way to Prospect Avenue. As I got to the church, the pastors were there along with those who were going to help with the baptism. They separated the men from the women, put us in different rooms, and got us ready for the baptism.

As the service started, I heard the pastor announce to the congregation that a baptism was about to take place. My heart racing at 90 miles an hour, I peeked through a crack in the door of the back room and saw the auditorium filled to capacity with family members and friends gathered there to watch. I breathed a prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to calm my nerves, and then gestured to the other men to go first so I could give myself a chance to calm down.

Finally I looked around the room, and to my amazement I was the only one left there. It was time. As I walked out to the baptism pool in the main auditorium, the entire congregation stood to their feet, cheering and applauding. It was a standing ovation. That day was truly a miracle, that God could take a devil worshipper out of hell and get him baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That is truly a miracle—only God can do that.


 

 

‘I See Jesus in You’


Chapter 17


 

 

I was a new creation in Christ. Never again to let anger drive me to get back at people. During one church service I heard a voice say: Leave the church and return to us. We can forgive and make things right.



I refused to speak to the demons the way I had done in the past. Instead, I prayed to God in Jesus’ name, asking Him to wage war on my behalf. I envisioned a host of heaven’s angels surrounding me, giving me the courage to keep pushing myself into the things of God: praying, worshipping, and seeking His face.

Not long after this the Lord released me from Grace and Mercy Fellowship, but I did not return to the devil. Instead I found a wonderful new congregation on Manhattan’s west side called Times Square Church. The church was founded in 1987 by David Wilkerson, a pastor whose story became famous worldwide when he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to gang members in New York City, and most notably one named Nicky Cruz. Nicky’s conversion is described in the books The Cross and the Switchblade and Run, Baby, Run. It was there, at Times Square Church, that I started to settle in, making new friends and signing up for discipleship classes. I was feeling like my old self once more—confident—not intimidated by the sea of faces surrounding me. God’s favor was shining down on me like the noonday sun, and eventually the loneliness that gnawed away at me for the longest time lifted.

 


Date: 2015-01-11; view: 775


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