Testimony

Believe it or not Dominic and I played paper, rock, scissors to see who would go first tonight….I would love to say that I won, but I am such a gracious person that I said “you know what let me go first”. Thats not not. Obviously I lost!

Pastor asked me to prepare a testimony to sum up a little of my past, my salvation, and how we ended up here so thats what I am going to try and do.

I have said this in some mens events, and probably my life group, but a set of verses I always come back to are in 2 Timothy.

2 Timothy is a letter written by Paul to Timothy a young pastor, who at the time was leading the church at Ephesus. 2 Timothy is believed to be the apostle Paul’s last letter, at least what has survived history. Paul is writing from prison in Rome, and this is not like his first imprisonment that would have been more like house arrest. Here he is most likely in a dark damp dungeon awaiting his death.

He writes a letter to young timothy and it is filled with instruction and hope on his spiritual journey.

Here is the beginning of the letter.

2 Timothy 1:1–7 “1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

These are beautiful verses, but Its not so much the context or the application that I want to look at, its the description. Paul describes Timothy as having genuine faith, that was found in his grandmother, and his mother.

That is a great description of me, except you have to add in a great grandmother.

I grew up in a home that was loving, but my father did not attend church and was not a believer in any way that I could tell until my later high school years and even that was only short lived. My father was an alcoholic, drug abuser, and later in life a drug dealer. I was accustomed to him spending short stints in jail and eventually prison.

What I am saying is that I did not have a father to direct me spiritually at all.

But, I had a mother who despite circumstances and difficulties, always made sure my sisters and I were in church when the doors were open. I had a grandmother, who would take me on weekends, and bring me to her church, and church events. And I had a great grandmother who was a prayer warrior who I am sure prayed for me often. She went to be with the Lord at the age of 99.

My spiritual story is one in the same as Timothy. I had Godly women in my life that helped guide me through this life.

At an early age I developed a love for God and a love for his word. When I was 7 years old I understood the repercussions of my sin, and the sacrifice of my savior at calvary and accepted Christ. I don’t have a time or place so to speak, due to life circumstances I have some fuzzy memories around that time frame. What I do know is that my relationship with the Lord from that time has been personal and real.

Fast forward several years, and in college I was sitting in a revival service and felt the tugging of the Holy Spirit that I needed to surrender myself, my will, to God’s will. I felt His leading to work in ministry. At the age of 20 I surrendered my life to full time ministry, to work and do what God would ask of me.

Almost immediately after that I met my wife Courtney. We fell in love quickly, and within I think 4 months I asked her to marry me. I wanted to be sure that no one else had a chance to swoop in and mess this up. I put a ring on it. When we met she already had a son named Isaac, thats a story for her to maybe share one day. Once we were married, we quickly had three more children. Chandler, Xavier, and Madeline.

I had surrendered my life, and worked at a large church in Wilmington, OH. I worked there for a couple years and decided to step away and look for other opportunities. As life does, it began to pile up, so I went into a secular work force at an electrical engineering firm. All the while waiting and looking for when that ministry opportunity would pop up.

Long story short I ended up starting a business. I owned an engineering company that focused on electrical safety and operated in all 50 states. All the while in the back of my mind wondering about ministry. I was part of a Christian owned business organization in Charlotte, NC we would meet once a month to discuss how to make the marketplace “like Paul this morning” our ministry. I had honestly gotten to the point that this must be my ministry.

We moved to KY during COVID. We were happy where we were at but felt a compulsion to move to Lexington area. We found Grace and started attending. We built our dream house, full custom to our liking in Richmond.

Everything was great in the business, we were blessed beyond measure. We had all we ever wanted.

I remember sitting in my garage, in our beautiful home, and saying to God thank you for all the material blessings you have given in our lives, but I want you to know that you mean more to me than all this stuff, in fact I would get rid of it all if you asked.

Within a couple months of that moment, Courtney and I began to talk and pray, and we both came to the conclusion we were supposed to sell everything in a sense and move into full time ministry. That began the process of talking with Pastor Pat, selling our house, our furniture, many of our belongings, my business that I had founded and operated…etc.

We are absolutely excited to see the potential here at Grace, to see the team that is coming together and shaping up, and to see what God is going to do in this place.

In the OT when Solomon finishes the temple he has this beautiful prayer of dedication, its far to much to read for our time, but it makes much of the Name of God.

1 Kings 8:27–29 “27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! 28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: 29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.”

We know that each and everyone of us who is a born again believer is the temple. The dwelling place of God in each and everyone of our lives. Its our goal to work in ministry see people walk into a deeper understanding and relationship with Christ, see the lost come to meet Christ, and for His name to be exalted in this place.

Thats our prayer, and what we want to strive for while working on the staff here at Grace is to make much of the Name of Jesus.