Today, I have a testimony of a young woman whose story will tug at your heartstrings. She longed to live for God at the very young age of seven, and God blessed her. Because of the length of this powerful testimony, it will be presented in two parts. From her testimony, you will learn several key concepts about living for the Lord. Let’s listen as Sis. Tiffany Green speaks to our hearts.
Testimony of Sis. Tiffany Green : At Seven Years of Age, I Wanted to be Saved
(Part I)
Way back in the late 1970s, two of my aunts joined the Full Gospel Holy Temple Church in Dallas, Texas. They got delivered from the ungodly things that had them bound. We all witnessed a visible change in them and their lifestyles. I personally witnessed them give up boyfriends, cussing (one aunt cussed like a sailor), clubbing (even though they didn’t do much of that), liquor and other ungodly things for Christ’s sake. I saw them come out of pants and makeup (gasp!) and just totally surrender to God. I never shall forget that, because it was the change I saw in them that made me decide that I wanted to have what they had. I was only seven years old at that time. At the age of seven, I knew that there was something different about what they had and what we were doing. Age seven.
A lot of people were resistant to Full Gospel and holiness preachers like Apostle Lobias Murray, saying that he was brainwashing folk, just like Jim Jones. (Some of you may have to Google him). When my aunts got saved and truly delivered (add to it zeal and possibly a lack of wisdom on their parts), it caused a division in my tight-knit family. Because of this division, my folks were naturally protective of me. They didn’t want me to be exposed to “those crazy folks” and didn’t want me to be “brainwashed”. It didn’t help that, during my mom’s first visit to Full Gospel, Apostle Murray stood and declared that women needed to come out of their “hot pants” as he expounded on the word of God (LOL). On my first visit, I knew that the spirit of God dwelt in that place.
Never had I seen the Spirit of God manifested in such a way. I’d never seen/heard of people speaking in tongues. Everyone looked so clean and at peace. Apostle Lobias Murray would stand flat-footed and preach the Word of God in a manner that I’d NEVER witnessed before. He KNEW that some wouldn’t like it….and he DIDN’T CARE. He was more concerned about souls being delivered with the truth than he was with making friends. I wanted what they had. I cherished every opportunity that I was given to visit Full Gospel Holy Temple as a child. I wanted to be saved, and I wanted to be filled with the Holy Ghost. I wanted to be around the saints. I remember many frustrating attempts to convince my mom to allow me to join the church. “We’re already saved,” she’d say. “We’re (a particular denomination) in this house. “Your aunts have gotten the wrong understanding of the Bible; it doesn’t take all of that to be saved”. As a kid, I didn’t know scripture, so I wasn’t equipped with the word. I just knew that, even though we went to church EVERY Sunday, to choir rehearsal, we traveled to fellowship churches for 3 o’clock programs on Sundays, there was something different about what was going on at Full Gospel, and I wanted it. I knew, at that young age, that there was a difference between being religious and being delivered.
When you’re religious, you go about your Christian duties (church, Bible study, usher board, choir rehearsal, community service, etc.), but there is no CHANGE in your life. You’re still doing the same sinful things you did before you joined the church. You still hold on to your old ways and habits, even though you KNOW they’re wrong and you WISH you had the strength to let them go. At times, you tried. But you couldn’t. You may still be shacked up. You may still have a little nip e’er now and then. You may still have a foul mouth. In other words, there is no deliverance FROM sin because you’re still IN sin. When you’re delivered — well, that’s just it; you’re delivered. You repent (become Godly sorry AND TURN AWAY from your sins). You come out of those things that had you bound, and with the help of the Holy Ghost, you move forward. There’s one or the other. Not both.
I learned that it’s not good enough to just be morally good and do good works — but that you must turn AWAY from sin and be delivered
Matthew 7:21-23 KJV “…Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity…”,
Now these are CHURCH FOLKS that the Bible is speaking of. People who are actively working in ministry that are turned away from the presence of God. So, just dutifully attending church and or working in the church isn’t enough. You can’t make it into Heaven in sin. But the good news is that you CAN be delivered.
I remember hearing my saved aunts talk about the Rapture. (You don’t hear too many people talking about the Rapture much these days). And how the saints of God would be caught up in the sky in the twinkling of an eye and what a terrible day it would be for those left here on earth. I remember Apostle Murray vividly illustrating how cars would be abandoned right on the street when the Rapture takes place. I remember hearing my aunts discuss how the sun would turn black, the moon would become as blood and the stars would fall out of the sky. All I knew is that I surely did NOT want to miss the rapture.
Revelation 6:12-13 KJV “…And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind…”
I remember wanting to be saved and feeling as though I couldn’t because my folks wouldn’t “let me”. (Please hold off your judgment – I’m just recalling my thought process as a child). I remember that I would be afraid to look up at the sky because I was afraid that I’d see Jesus, coming back for the Saints and that if I wasn’t ready, I’d be left behind. I remember that my NIGHTLY prayer ended with, “…and God, please don’t let Jesus come back before I get the chance to be saved”. I lived this way and prayed this prayer from approximately age 7 until approximately age 12.
Now you may wonder why a kid would be concerned about such heavy matters. What could she POSSIBLY have gotten into at that age? I’ll tell you that by the grace of God, I never got drunk. I never got high, and I never fornicated. But that’s not to say that I wasn’t exposed to it. I grew up around weed. I ALWAYS had access to alcohol in the home if I wanted it. My stepdad had two 5-foot trees growing in our backyard. Yes, we were living the American dream. We were a young black family in a two-story home in an all-white Pleasant Grove neighborhood. Two cars. Two parents. Two marijuana trees in the back yard. Watching my stepdad, I knew how to pluck the leaves and place them in the windowsill to dry, chop them up, separate the seeds with a small piece of cardboard (because the moisture in the seeds pop when smoked), and roll them. In my early childhood, it was NOTHING to be surrounded by that smell. I vividly remember my stepdad bragging to his friends that they didn’t have to put their joints away around me because I was “used to it”.
I was exposed to liquor in the home. I remember stealing sips of my stepdad’s TJ Swan from the fridge as a kid. I was a latchkey kid and the oldest of three at home, so I had a lot of unsupervised time. During the summers, I was responsible for taking care of my two younger brothers while my parents worked. I remember one day, when I was around 8 or 9, my older cousin (who was probably about 15 at the time) was at home with me. My brother was napping. We decided that we would smoke. She knew what she was doing. I followed her lead. She made contact, but I didn’t, only because I hadn’t learned how to properly inhale. Sometimes I look back at that day and realize that my life could have changed from that moment on.
In the 7th or 8th grade, my classmate showed me a baggie filled with pills and offered to share. This happened on the school bus. So yes, kids are faced with real issues and can get into real devilment. With that being true, why then are they so easily dismissed when they come to the realization that Hell is real and that Jesus requires salvation of them as well? I was around 8 years old when I rolled my first joint, folks. And of course, I repented at night, along with my nightly requests.
When I was twelve, I visited Full Gospel Holy Temple and I sat down front, next to my aunt. When Apostle Murray made the altar call, I surrendered my heart and got saved and filled with the Holy Ghost. I was excited, but nervous at the same time because I knew that my folks would not approve. I wanted so badly to be an active member, but at that time, the best I could do was listen to the radio broadcast. I remember that Apostle Murray would encourage us to read the Bible along with him as he preached. He’d say, “Take notes and go home and read them so that we can see for ourselves.” Because of this, I became more aware of what preachers were saying across the pulpit. I remember going back to my home church and actively listening to one message that the preacher was delivering. At the height of his message, I realized that I had yet to hear a scripture and that he was whooping about different mattresses. (“You’ve got the King-sized and, *AHA!* you’ve got the Queen-sized, and *AHA!* theeeeen there’s the TWIIIIIN! *AHA!*….) And I remember feeling like he hadn’t actually TAUGHT us anything, but boy, the folks sure were excited.
After a while, Mom noticed that I was wearing skirts all the time, so she insisted that I wear pants to school. Out of obedience, I’d wear the britches to school. What she didn’t know was that I’d switch into my skirt as soon as I got to school. I would put my britches back on just before she came to pick me up from my aunt’s house. I had and HAVE a CONVICTION about the things I do for Christ.
Because I never stood up and told my mom what God had done for me, I briefly let go. I didn’t really get into anything. I believe I went to a school dance and wore make-up and some Jamz *gasp!!!*. A few months later (in the 8th grade), I came home, went up to my bedroom and cried out to God. I asked Him to forgive me of my sins and asked Him to fill me with the Holy Ghost. He did just that. This time, I was alone. I had no prayer warriors in my ear. It was just me and God. Again, I heard myself speak in an unknown tongue. The pastor of my old church told me that only the twelve disciples spoke in tongues, and yet there I was, just a thirteen-year-old kid…being filled with the Spirit of God, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I no longer had to ask God to wait for me to have a chance to be saved. I knew that I was saved and filled with the Holy Ghost. This time, I knew that I would stand up and tell my mom what God had done for me.
Please navigate to A Seven-Year-Old Child Desires To Be Saved, Part 2, for the conclusion of this compelling testimony.
