REASONS 4 BELIEVING

FROM GOODNESS TO GRACE

(How God saved a “good boy” from going to hell.)

In the summer of 1969 a mother of four was pregnant with her fifth child.  She noticed one day that her baby quit moving.  Scared and concerned for the child inside of her she sat down and prayed.  Not knowing if the child was alive, dead, or if there were complications she prayed for her child and asked the Lord to give her the ability and grace to take care of her baby if there was something wrong.

On August 28^th 1969 her child was born, a little baby boy named David.  A few moments later after the birth the doctors came in and told the parents that there was a major problem with the baby.   The baby boy was born with an undeveloped rectum and urinary tract difficulties.  The child was not expected to live much longer than 18-20 hours.  Not given much of a chance by men, the Lord had different plans.

Little David was immediately taken to Louisville KY where an emergency sigmoid colostomy was performed at 15 hours of age.  The odds were that the baby boy was not expected to live through the surgery, and if he made it, how well would his little body accept the colostomy.  Not given much of a chance by men, the Lord had different plans.

Hospitalized again for gastritis at the age of 2 months with a severe urinary tract infection, it was found that little David had the absence of his left kidney and adrenal gland.  At the time, things did not look good and continued to get worse.  One month later the baby boy was readmitted to the hospital for a right hernia repair and severe bronchitis.  Not given much of a chance by men, the Lord had different plans.

* If David’s mother were carrying him in her womb in today’s technological advanced medical age she would have been given “the choice.”  Based upon the false drawings of the different evolutionary stages of the embryo in the womb by Ernst Hackel, which are in the school text books and taught at all levels of academia, it would appear that David did not fully develop in the evolutionary stages within his mother’s womb.    

* According to evolutionary biologist, that would make him an evolutionary through back.  A mutational misfit so to speak, therefore David would have been a candidate for an abortion in today’s society.  Nevertheless, the Lord had different plans, and the times and habitation of David’s being was directed by the Lord God.

“For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.  By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of  my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.”  Psalm 71:5-6

Being continually monitored by physicians and specialists, over time David survived while struggling with extremely dangerous urinary tract infections.  Slowly he started to strengthen in the midst of difficulties.  At the age of two, a post abdominal pull through was presented to his parents by a team of surgeons in an attempt to correct the young David’s condition.  At this time, this procedure was never performed upon a young child in this region of the country.  It had only been performed upon adults and his parents were not given the option for David to mature and have the operation later in life.  As David’s parents were being pressured, his mother asked the leading surgeon, “If this were your son, would you do it?”  He quickly said, “Oh, yes I would.”  The day of the surgery came, and while waiting for hours to hear the results from the doctors.  To the parent’s surprise one of the leading surgeons came out and told them that, “The surgery was now over, go and pray because 9 out of 10 children do not live through this surgery.” The extreme danger of this surgery was never explained to David’s parents by the surgeons, not until after the fact.    Not given much of a chance by men, the Lord had different plans.

The surgery was unsuccessful and it actually caused more nerve damage to David than what he had from birth.  It became obvious that little David was used by ego-centric surgeons to be the “first” to successfully perform such a procedure upon a toddler.  From the time of David’ birth up to about the age of eleven he lived in and out of the hospital.  He had multiple surgeries, some of which included the correction of multiple hernias, an appendectomy, and at least two experimental surgeries in which he was not expected to live.  In the midst of all these procedures and surgeries the Lord spared David beyond the amazement of the surgeons and physicians.  Nevertheless in the face of amazement he continually struggles with extremely dangerous urinary tract infections, even now in adult-hood.  The latest was during the holiday season of 2010 and 2011 in which David suffered with a life threatening urinary tract infection. While experiencing chills, fever, and going into shock he was unable to move, the doctors could not help him, medication was not working, and natural alternatives were not strong enough.  This was the worst infectious attack that he had ever experienced, and he even thought that this was finally it, but God had different plans.  In just a short period of time, it was the miraculous touch of God that raised him up again.

“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”          Job 33:4

 It has been the good pleasure of the Almighty God to deliver David many times from death’s doorstep, but one day David will have to go through that door.  This testimony is not just about how God Almighty spared David’s life, but it is about how God saved David’s soul.

Raised in what society would call a “Christian home” with God-fearing parents who trained their children up in the word of God and in the church.  Throughout his life he was outwardly a good person.  Taught loyalty and morality.  Taught to be polite and courteous.  In every instance, in the eyes of the world, David was a good, moral person.  However, deep down in the dark corners of his heart was sin as black as could be.  Know one could see it – except God.

You see David was not some “skid row sinner” strung out on drugs that God cleaned up.  David was not a thief who was stealing from family and friends to support his addictions and made a miraculous turn around.  David was not an ex-con who came to know Christ on a prison cell.  David was not a murder on death row that repented and became a Christian.

David was the worst sinner possible.  David was an undetected lost-sinner that quietly and politely was headed down the path of destruction and eventually into the eternal flames of hell. The worst possible lost-sinner is an outwardly good, moral, polite, “church-goer” who doesn’t know Christ.  That was David!

David knew that he was a sinner, and he was not as good as people were telling him because he knew Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”  David knew about Jesus Christ, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit.  David knew about Jesus Christ being the only way into heaven.  David knew about the Bible stories.  David knew about Ephesians 2:8,9 that salvation is “by grace” and “not of works.”  In all of David’s knowing about, he did not know Him!  David knew all of this in his head, but he did not know Christ in his heart.

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  Romans 10:10 

David knew in his heart that he wasn’t trusting in his own goodness, but he also knew that he wasn’t trusting in Christ in his heart either. In fact, he wasn’t trusting in anything he was just living life for the moment.  Dealing with whatever comes, as it comes, and he tried not to think about it.  He was just going about his own business being socially moral and polite maybe getting into a little mischief here and there, but it wasn’t that bad – according to the world’s standards.  David was never expelled from school, never was arrested, never on drugs, never out on a drunken stooper, never was fired from a job for misconduct or anything like that.  David would just live life, while God and going to church was just one of the right things to do in life, but David was not right with God.

Dear friend, the worst possible sinner is the one who is socially considered an outwardly good, moral, polite, “church-goer” who knows about, but doesn’t know the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation that He purchased by His blood on the cross for whosoever will come to Him.  That was David!

David came to the point in his life that he knew his life wasn’t working and that he personally needed Christ, so David started on a path of the “do-betters.”  David made the decision to try and do better, live better, and then he would make a profession of faith and be baptized.   David’s heart was deceiving him!

 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jer. 17:9

The harder David “tried” to be better in order to be baptized the worse he became.  David started to see more of the sin that was in him and that he could not clean himself up enough to where he felt that he could be baptized.  The harder he tried to clean himself up, the dirtier he saw himself.

Then one day in his driveway, while stepping out out of his truck, God revealed the gospel to his heart and it came to David clear as a bell.  “No, I can’t do better that’s why Jesus came, and that’s why salvation is by grace.”  Right then David surrendered, and was made free!  So, David threw his decision and religion out the door and simply “trusted” in Jesus Christ alone in child-like faith. David quit “trying” and started “trusting” – trusting in Jesus Christ – trusting in His life, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension.  David repented of his sins and gave up trying to get better for his salvation, and in the fall 1989 he exercised faith by openly confessing Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in believer’s baptism.

Salvation is so simple, that it’s confusing, just because by nature we have this inward yearning, this inward desire to do something, but the only thing required is to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,” Acts 16:31.  Believing is not a “knowing about,” but a “knowing Him” and following Him in believer’s baptism simply because salvation is by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone.

 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  John 14:6

There are many testimonies of terrible, wicked people who became Christians, but David’s testimony is how God saved what society called a “good boy” from going to hell.  Simply put, David came from goodness to grace.

“That in the ages to come He (God) might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.”  Eph 2:7-9

* * * This is an abbreviated version of David’s testimony. * * *

David is available to share his complete testimony as well as introduce REASONS 4 BELIEVING and how this ministry began with your church or church group at no charge.  Also you are invited to attend Christ Community Church in Lewisburg, TN (located behind Walgreens and Governor’s Plaza) to hear the teaching and preaching of God’s sovereign grace by Bro. David.