Approximately 8 years ago i would wake up in a morning with this strange feeling that i should go to a church. None of family were Christians and i knew nothing about Jesus. I was a thief and a weed smoking rapper. But this feeling to go to church would not go away, i remember waking up one morning and saying to myself "why do i keep getting this stupid feeling to go to church, i am not one of those girly type people?" (i actually used a naughty word but i have omitted it for the sake of the younger readers).
My nephew who was 15 years old at the time said to me "i have joined a church youth club, you should go to church".
So i came up with a plan (ha). My plan was to attend a church so that this stupid feeling would go away and nothing would happen and that would be the end of that. One night i was walking past a church and the bells were ringing, so i thought 'ok, i will go inside'. I sat at the back of the church and i began to weep, i could feel the wet tears rolling down my cheeks, i could not believe it, as i used to brag and boast that being a 'real man' i had not cried in over ten years. God had fowled my plan but i was not going to give up, so i came up with another plan (ha). Now my plan was to attend a different church but this time i would be determined not to cry. A month rolled by and i thought 'ok let me try again'. I found a small church and sat at the back and yes you guessed it i was crying again. I turned around to this stranger that was sitting next to me and i said to him "what is happening to me?" he placed his hand on my shoulder and replied "don't worry son this is quite normal in the house of God". I replied "this is NOT normal for me".
So i decided that i must investigate this and i decided to find a church and attend. I found the strictest church that i could because if i was going to do this then i would do it right.
I had been attending a C of E church for about 1 year when a beautiful woman of 84 years of age asked me a question, she said to me "Shaun, have you ever been blessed by the Holy Spirit?". I replied "i do not even know who the Holy Spirit is" but she said "do not worry it will only bless and not hurt you". So i agreed and i sat down and she (Doris) began to pray for me. Now another 'old' woman joined in and this woman began to sing to the Lord over me and then a third old woman joined in and she began to weep over me. Then Doris began to speak in a very strange language and i was getting a little worried thinking to myself 'what is happening to me with these 3 batty old women?'
I left the church and i could feel something around my head, something invisible around my head and on the top of my head, i was so confused i felt like my head was in a bubble. Then my mouth opened of its own accord and i began to speak in this strange language. I was so scared that i placed my hand over my mouth to stop it from speaking.
A few weeks later i went onto a site similar to this and i met a prophet from the USA and he explained to me that i had been filled with the Holy Spirit, that i was speaking in tongues and that the Holy Spirit was a flame of fire and that was the invisible thing that i could feel on my head just like in the book of Acts.
One year later i moved house and 2 different people advised me to attend a youth filled lively church in my area, so i decided to pray about this and this is what i prayed:-
'Dear Lord Jesus i feel that it is my mission to start a website to help people just like this prophet has helped me. I feel like all the jigsaw pieces are falling into place and if this is true Lord then please give me a sign in this new church tomorrow. As i feel like Martin Luther King because i also have a dream'. As i prayed this prayer i was laughing at the 'i have a dream' section.
So the following day i attended this new church, not knowing anyone, i was nervous and i sat at the back of the church. The pastor came out and began to preach. He said "today i am going to talk about your mission for God". I could not believe it, i thought to myself 'wow, i said that last night in my prayer'. Then the pastor said "you cannot pieces of the jigsaw together because only God sees the big picture". I started asking people if they had a pen because i wanted to write this down. Then the pastor went into a bag that was on the floor and pulled out a speech written by Martin Luther King called 'i have a dream'. I nearly fell off my chair. After the sermon i spoke to the pastor and told him that everything he had said today i had prayed the night before and he replied "i wish i had known then you could have got up here and preached". I then asked him (as he was laughing) "when did you write the sermon" and he replied "about 4 days ago". Wow our God does sit outside of time, This was the first time that i realized that God speaks through His sons and daughters.
I began designing leaflets to hand to people about Jesus in my town center, i did this for about 3 years. I would always be worried what i would say if people asked me what the leaflets were about. I was still embarrassed to talk about Jesus in public.
In the mean time the Lord was using me to preach from the altar in my church, although i am not a pastor.
So one day in the town center i said to the Lord "Lord i look around at all the people that are lost and i know that they are going to hell. I would really like to be used by You to preach to them. I am ok at preaching in a church setting but i do not have the balls to preach here in the town. You Yourself found it hard as when You tried to preach in Your town center the people tried to push You off a cliff".
Two days later i was handing out my leaflets about Jesus when my mouth opened and i began to preach the gospel. Afterwards a Christian lady that i knew called me over for a chat. We were standing in the middle of market stalls and from the corner of my eye i noticed a market stall holder struggling with a large cardboard box. The bottom of the box gave way and the contents of the box began to spill out, streaming in between my legs there were hundreds and hundreds of golf balls. It was at that point that i realized that God had given me the balls. Our Lord does have a sense of humor. I know 100% that it was not a coincidence that seconds after i had finished preaching for the very time and that 2 days previous i had asked for Jesus to give me the balls to preach that here i was surrounded in balls.
Since then the Lord has given me a team to lead to win people for Him and His kingdom, we have seen people healed, delivered and saved. Our God is a mighty God. The road has been and is hard, people will mock you for your faith, Christian brothers and sisters will even say harsh things about you. Maybe even the odd pastor will attack you but all this is designed to make us stronger in HIM. Stay blessed body of Christ and i hope that this testimony has both encouraged you and made you laugh and remember God works ALL things for good and what man meant for harm as it today the Lord will use to save many lives.
PS: When i spoke the balls testimony in my current church i thought that were going to throw me out of the window in disgust, that is until i got to the 'punchline'.
My nephew who was 15 years old at the time said to me "i have joined a church youth club, you should go to church".
So i came up with a plan (ha). My plan was to attend a church so that this stupid feeling would go away and nothing would happen and that would be the end of that. One night i was walking past a church and the bells were ringing, so i thought 'ok, i will go inside'. I sat at the back of the church and i began to weep, i could feel the wet tears rolling down my cheeks, i could not believe it, as i used to brag and boast that being a 'real man' i had not cried in over ten years. God had fowled my plan but i was not going to give up, so i came up with another plan (ha). Now my plan was to attend a different church but this time i would be determined not to cry. A month rolled by and i thought 'ok let me try again'. I found a small church and sat at the back and yes you guessed it i was crying again. I turned around to this stranger that was sitting next to me and i said to him "what is happening to me?" he placed his hand on my shoulder and replied "don't worry son this is quite normal in the house of God". I replied "this is NOT normal for me".
So i decided that i must investigate this and i decided to find a church and attend. I found the strictest church that i could because if i was going to do this then i would do it right.
I had been attending a C of E church for about 1 year when a beautiful woman of 84 years of age asked me a question, she said to me "Shaun, have you ever been blessed by the Holy Spirit?". I replied "i do not even know who the Holy Spirit is" but she said "do not worry it will only bless and not hurt you". So i agreed and i sat down and she (Doris) began to pray for me. Now another 'old' woman joined in and this woman began to sing to the Lord over me and then a third old woman joined in and she began to weep over me. Then Doris began to speak in a very strange language and i was getting a little worried thinking to myself 'what is happening to me with these 3 batty old women?'
I left the church and i could feel something around my head, something invisible around my head and on the top of my head, i was so confused i felt like my head was in a bubble. Then my mouth opened of its own accord and i began to speak in this strange language. I was so scared that i placed my hand over my mouth to stop it from speaking.
A few weeks later i went onto a site similar to this and i met a prophet from the USA and he explained to me that i had been filled with the Holy Spirit, that i was speaking in tongues and that the Holy Spirit was a flame of fire and that was the invisible thing that i could feel on my head just like in the book of Acts.
One year later i moved house and 2 different people advised me to attend a youth filled lively church in my area, so i decided to pray about this and this is what i prayed:-
'Dear Lord Jesus i feel that it is my mission to start a website to help people just like this prophet has helped me. I feel like all the jigsaw pieces are falling into place and if this is true Lord then please give me a sign in this new church tomorrow. As i feel like Martin Luther King because i also have a dream'. As i prayed this prayer i was laughing at the 'i have a dream' section.
So the following day i attended this new church, not knowing anyone, i was nervous and i sat at the back of the church. The pastor came out and began to preach. He said "today i am going to talk about your mission for God". I could not believe it, i thought to myself 'wow, i said that last night in my prayer'. Then the pastor said "you cannot pieces of the jigsaw together because only God sees the big picture". I started asking people if they had a pen because i wanted to write this down. Then the pastor went into a bag that was on the floor and pulled out a speech written by Martin Luther King called 'i have a dream'. I nearly fell off my chair. After the sermon i spoke to the pastor and told him that everything he had said today i had prayed the night before and he replied "i wish i had known then you could have got up here and preached". I then asked him (as he was laughing) "when did you write the sermon" and he replied "about 4 days ago". Wow our God does sit outside of time, This was the first time that i realized that God speaks through His sons and daughters.
I began designing leaflets to hand to people about Jesus in my town center, i did this for about 3 years. I would always be worried what i would say if people asked me what the leaflets were about. I was still embarrassed to talk about Jesus in public.
In the mean time the Lord was using me to preach from the altar in my church, although i am not a pastor.
So one day in the town center i said to the Lord "Lord i look around at all the people that are lost and i know that they are going to hell. I would really like to be used by You to preach to them. I am ok at preaching in a church setting but i do not have the balls to preach here in the town. You Yourself found it hard as when You tried to preach in Your town center the people tried to push You off a cliff".
Two days later i was handing out my leaflets about Jesus when my mouth opened and i began to preach the gospel. Afterwards a Christian lady that i knew called me over for a chat. We were standing in the middle of market stalls and from the corner of my eye i noticed a market stall holder struggling with a large cardboard box. The bottom of the box gave way and the contents of the box began to spill out, streaming in between my legs there were hundreds and hundreds of golf balls. It was at that point that i realized that God had given me the balls. Our Lord does have a sense of humor. I know 100% that it was not a coincidence that seconds after i had finished preaching for the very time and that 2 days previous i had asked for Jesus to give me the balls to preach that here i was surrounded in balls.
Since then the Lord has given me a team to lead to win people for Him and His kingdom, we have seen people healed, delivered and saved. Our God is a mighty God. The road has been and is hard, people will mock you for your faith, Christian brothers and sisters will even say harsh things about you. Maybe even the odd pastor will attack you but all this is designed to make us stronger in HIM. Stay blessed body of Christ and i hope that this testimony has both encouraged you and made you laugh and remember God works ALL things for good and what man meant for harm as it today the Lord will use to save many lives.
PS: When i spoke the balls testimony in my current church i thought that were going to throw me out of the window in disgust, that is until i got to the 'punchline'.