testimony | peace-in-believing

PASTOR PATRICK'S TESTIMONY

I was born in a family of thirteen people. One in the family died and we remained twelve up to date. My parents were not Christians neither did they go to church. From the time of my childhood to school life, both primary and high school we all lived as pagans.

My dad was abusive and harsh; he never invited visitors in our home. He hated church ministers and talked ill about them. He castigated that those servants of God were just out there to make a living by collection of money and other material support from the flock of God.

He added that they were a crop of lazy men who wanted to eat where they have not planted. He believed that they wanted to eat from the sweat of others. So this tradition or misguidance was inherited by all of us in the family. Like dad, and like son, so I became a great persecutor of Christians.

Therefore, I lacked knowledge of God until after high school. During school life I despised people of God whom I thought were cowards as well as misfits in the society who were running away from their daily human responsibility to idleness to extort the public. I took alcohol and other hard stuff. I was full of humanity/self justification/self righteousness. I had no regard of God nor His church.

I belonged to the company of evil men (lost humanity) which love to walk in darkness rather than light. I lived a life full of lies and deceit as well as hypocrisy. My way was leading me to death. My mind was full of corruption. I was empty, senseless, fool and dry devoid of understanding.

Though boastful in the flesh, but I was a dead lion. A proverb goes, “A life dog is better than a dead lion.” I read in Psalms 116:15 that precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. In Philippians 1:21 to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Through many years I lived in ignorance of God’s word. The Bible says, “Where there is lack of knowledge people cast restraint or perish.” So I was a moving corpse and what was remaining was wholly to be absent from the body, then physical burial in the land of oblivion to be totally forgotten forever, waiting judgment on that very great Day of the Lord.

But thanks be to the Lord God for sending His one and only begotten Son to die on the cross for the remission of our sins. There came a time when I took much alcohol. I was in a drunken stupor to the point of death. I developed a deadly disease called hypertension. Then I went into a stroke with body paralysm.

I was taken to Moi hospital, which is a teaching and referral hospital, one of the leading hospitals in the nation. I was admitted for one month. While there, a close relative visited me with prayer versus witnessing about Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit convicted me of sin, of righteousness and judgment.

Eventually I surrendered my life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then a miracle happened to me. God healed me to the surprise of all medical staff. All pain/trauma left me. I experienced total peace like that of a weaned child. This was in early March of 2003.

The Bible says that if a man is in Christ Jesus he is a new creation, all things are passed away, behold all things are become new according to 1 Cor. 5:17. The Lord gave me a new heart, and filled me with His Holy Spirit to guide me into all truth. The fruit of the Holy Spirit now reigns in my life. The fruits of righteousness overwhelm my life.

Today I walk in the blessings of the Lord according to Psalm 103: Who forgives all our iniquities, who heals all our diseases, who redeems our life from destruction, who covers us with loving-kindness and mercy, who satisfies our mouth with good things so our youth is renewed like the eagle’s, who executes justice for all who are oppressed.

Finally, I write this testimony to encourage someone outside there that the Lord is our chief Shepherd according to Psalm 23. We are priests, kings, nobles/princes, ambassadors, special envoys of God here on earth. Come to the Lord as the Lord is coming soon (Maranatha). Blessings.