Romans 10:8-10

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

I want to tell you about how I came to know the Lord. During my lifetime, up until 1980, I was always inquisitive. My constant questioning didn’t gain me much acceptance among adults. They seemed to have thought me to be impudent. But I’d ask questions, because I wanted to know. There were three significant events that lead me to accept Jesus as My Lord. Once when I was very little, I would watch a move called King of Kings on television at Easter time, and never understood why Jesus was beat so badly. Another was a friend I had in middle school. Although she was my friend, she was very confident (during puberty) in who she was and knew what she wanted. Then, finally, I just wanted to know more about God. I wanted to know Who is He and why am I here. What I found was more that I ever dreamed God could be.

At the age of about 5 or 6 years old, there sat a little girl watching television in the mid 1960’s, a movie called King of Kings. That little girl was me. I sat there as I watched the things Jesus did. I didn’t understand much of the movie, but one thing I did understand, was that eventually the people beat him and hung Him on a cross, and it just didn’t see fair. I remember saying within myself, “But He did’t do anything wrong.” I never understood that.

As I got older, about 12 or 13, I had a girlfriend at school. I’ll call her Lucy (that is not her real name). Lucy and I, as well as a group of other girls, had become very close friends. However, there was something different about her. She seemed to be so confident in who she was and what she wanted, even at the age of puberty, when the rest of us were chasing boys to validate our very existence on the earth. As we reached high school, Lucy remained the same. She focused on her studies while the rest of us were more interested in parties and hanging out. She was another mystery that I didn’t understand. I knew that she was “saved” whatever that meant. But, I didn’t know that her salvation had anything to do with the confidence she had as a teenager.

Finally, I became a young adult. I was with a group of people working in a pacesetter’s group with a multi-level-marketing group. We did all we could in order to stay motivated and increase our sales and recruiting, including listening to cassette tapes about personal growth. One particular tape got in our collection. It was a preacher preaching about family values, the role of the husband and the role of the wife in a marriage. It was so good, that we began to look for his church. Much to our surprise, his church was in Las Angeles, California. But, behold, there was one just like his in Detroit. We continued the search.

Each week, after our weekly meeting we would take an inventory as to who found what about this church. Eventually, someone found it. It was in a small storefront building in a spot that was easily missed as you pass by. It must have taken six weeks for everyone to find it. I believe I was the last to find it. But, when I did, I was so glad.

It was in March, 1980. I parked, got my 18 month old son out of the car and carried him in the front door. I heard a lot of happy singing as the door opened. That was the first surprise – happiness at church? The greeters were sooooo friendly that it scared me – again, happy people at church? I had never seen such joy in people. The greeter ushered me in the very small, but crowded room and quickly offered to take my child to the nursery as she swooshed him out of my arms and off into the next room. It was okay, because I could clearly see where he was taken. Then the greeter found a seat for me right in the middle of the crowded room, where the people were still singing and clapping their hands – clapping in church? Unbelievable.

Finally, the music slowed down and the people began to lift their hands as they sang this song: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there is something about that name. Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all heaven and earth proclaim. Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away, but there is something about that name.

All I could think was, “What is it about that name?” It was so true what they sang, it is like the fragrance after the rain. I have always loved the fragrance in the air on a spring morning after a good rain as the sun begins to shine. So, I at least surmised that knowing Jesus was something very good.

Well, shortly after the song, the music continued to play, but the people stopped singing and began chanting in a strange tongue. I was a little freightened and would have left immediately if I wasn’t in the middle of the crowd and my son wasn’t in the other room. I could see a friend across the room and we looked at each other in doubt. As strange as it seemed, I stayed anyway, because I wanted to see the whole service. I wanted to hear the preacher.

The preacher preached a message that was like a symphony to my ears. In that 45 minute message, he answered every question I had ever had about God, Jesus, the Bible, the devil, heaven, earth and hell. After he was finished, he gave an invitation for anybody who wanted to receive Jesus as Lord. I must have been the first to raise my hand. I wanted God so badly.

Then the preacher invited the audience to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the Bible evidence of speaking in other tongues. I thought, now, I want to receive Jesus, but that is all I want. I heard that that ‘tongues stuff’ was of the devil.

Well, everyone who raised their hand was invited to go into a separate room so that we could get what we came for. After the helpers explained to us salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit according to the Bible, I left that little place saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. I was so glad and so satisfied. I found out the, what it is about the name of Jesus.

But, I have to tell you. That was then, about 30 years ago. God has been so good to me through my lifetime, and He is still good today. I can’t tell you how many times sickness has come on my body. It doesn’t matter if it is a headache, or a severe burn, or some other illness. I have called on God, my healer and He has healed my body, from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. He has kept me through financial crisis. My family has stayed employed and moved forward during times of recession. When I don’t know what to do, I can ask God has the answers. When people try to come against me, and say all manner of evil against me, the Lord always causes me to rise above the top. My enemies come against me one way and flee before me seven ways. God is on my side. There is nothing I can’t do, there is no mountain I cannot remove, because the Greater One is in me helping me to win all the time.

I can sum my testimony up like this,

The light didn’t shine from heaven

Nor did I hear angels sing

There were no shouts from glory

No outward spectacular thing

But this one thing I know

I saw in His holy word

I came, I believed and was saved

Because of what I heard:

A man proclaiming Jesus

It was like a symphony to my ears

He said Jesus hasn’t changed

Through the hundreds and hundreds of years

He said that Jesus is the same

He is a close as the mention of His name

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there is something about that name.