One Plants, One Waters, But God Gives the Increase

It may come as a huge surprise to some people to learn that the day of their salvation, the day that they invited the Lord into their own life, was no surprise to God. Yes, He was aware of the day when each of us who is saved would open our hearts to Him.   He knew it before we were born.  The Bible tells us in John 6:44 that we could not even come to Christ if the Father had not drawn us.

44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

That means that He was the orchestrator of our Salvation all the time.

Here is some additional news that may be shocking.  In every individual’s life, a time will come when each person is presented with the truth of the Gospel. He will be allowed to know that God is real and that the individual needs to be saved. How that individual responds to the truth will determine their eternal destination. Titus 2:11 says:

11 For the grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared to all men,

How God draws an individual is within the province of God who has more than a thousand and one ways to reach each person. For some it may be a testimony of a saved person or a message presented by a preacher or teacher. Others may begin to search for God because of an unexplained longing in their heart. The starting point could be circumstances such as illness or hurt by another person. God could use a tract from a street preacher or even a blog such as the one you are reading. God is infinitely creative, and He knows just how to reach every single person. Sadly, He also knows the individuals who will reject the truth and turn away from His offer of Salvation. But that person does not have to be you.

In today’s post, we have a young woman’s testimony that God started to draw her to Himself when she was in the third grade. Her name is DN, and she can pinpoint the day when God first introduced Himself to her.

Growing up, I was not raised in the church. I knew about God, but I didn’t know about God’s power, how he could save, how he could deliver, and fill you with the Holy Ghost.

One day, while at recess in third grade, my classmate shared something with me that would forever change my life. She said, “If you get on your knees and cry out to God, he will hear you and answer you.” After hearing that, I was eager to get on bus 532 to my Haven Street home in Toledo, OH, for the remainder of the day. Upon getting home, I didn’t want to stop at the kitchen for a snack or greet my siblings. I went straight to my room, closed my door, got on my knees, and cried out to God.

Though I was only a child, I experienced things early in my life that I did not understand. I had a hole in my heart, with irregular heartbeats. I had to see a cardiologist and wear a heart monitor at night to keep records of my irregularities. I knew God heard me that night. Though I didn’t see an immediate change, God heard me, and I knew it. As I grew older, I began to face many other challenges in my life.

Not only did I have physical challenges, but I was also living a life of sin. I was diagnosed with neurocardiogenic syncope at the age of 15. This became debilitating to me as I would suffer from instant drops in blood pressure, fainting episodes, dizziness, and vertigo issues. At the age of 21, I began to suffer more in my body. Not only did I suffer from this neurocardiac issue, but migraines also grew worse. I would have numbness, tingling, and loss of sensation as if I was having a stroke, weakness, and other issues that I could not explain.

Things continually took a turn for the worse. Since I was an infant, my stepfather had been in my life. Tragically, he was killed in a car crash on my 21st birthday. The next week, my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer, and a close family member had died of a brain aneurysm.

Shortly after seeing a cardiologist, ER doctors, and a neurologist, I was diagnosed with Arnold Chiari Malformation, a rare congenital brain disorder. Talking about scary times, I just knew I was the next to leave this earth. But God sent someone my way to tell me about the power of God yet again. This time on a deeper depth than before.

I heard my Pastor, Apostle Herman L. Murray, say, one plants, one waters, and God gives the increase. The young woman who witnessed to me shared the power of the Holy Ghost, its deliverance power, and the importance of trusting Him in everything. I was given a Bible, and I would lay in my room and read my Bible for hours at a time each night, sometimes into the middle of the night.

By the Fall of 2007, because of my brain disorder, I was recommended to have a decompression surgery of the brain to relieve the pressure pressing against my brain stem, causing the reactions in my body.

Through it all, God has been with me. God saved me and filled me with the Holy Ghost, and my life has never been the same. Looking back, I see how God’s Hands have been over my life since a young child. What the devil meant for evil, God meant for good.

Reading this young woman’s testimony may have caused you to realize that God has been dealing with you for a while. You may look back over your own life and see that God was there all the time. Please realize that He loves you and wants you to be saved. May I encourage you to reach out to Him in repentance and receive Him as your Lord and Savior? God sent His only begotten Son to die for your sins so that your final destination after death is Heaven and not Hell.

John 3:16 says For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

All you have to do is open your mouth and say these words or similar ones and mean it with your whole heart.

Father, I’m sorry that I have sinned against you. Please forgive me of all my sins. If you save me, Lord, I will live for you for the rest of my life.

If you say these words and mean them with all of your heart, you are saved. You have opened your heart to Jesus Christ to come in and make His abode in your heart. Next, you need the power to live as God requires. Ask Him to fill you with the power of the Holy Ghost. Say,

Father fill me with the Holy Ghost.

God will endue you with power from on high, giving you the power that you need to resist the devil and to live for Him. There are many posts in this blog that will help you to understand God’s plan for your life, His plan of Salvation, and the power of the Holy Ghost. I strongly encourage you to read them. Here is one link to a post that explains who the Holy Ghost is and what He can do for you.  It is entitled, The Promise, Purpose and Power of the Holy Ghost. 

Also, you need a church home where you can learn how to live a clean and holy life that is pleasing unto God. I recommend the church that the young lady of this post and I attend, Full Gospel Holy Temple Church World Headquarters in Dallas, TX or one of the other 30 or so FGHT churches throughout the country.  If you are not physically able to join us, please join us online at http://www.FGHT.org and on YouTube. May God continue to bless you on your journey.