(The Matthew Needham
Story)
By: Matthew G. Needham
I want to share with you
the story of how God saved my life, so that you can know the reasons why I
believe in God’s amazing power and why I have to show people that Jesus Christ
is the Saviour of the world. Read the facts for yourself, for there is a God who
wants you to enter His kingdom.
From a young age I was
serious to find the true meaning of life. It took some time before I got a real
breakthrough, but this turning point took place when I was sixteen years old at
a Christian youth camp. Just before this time I had gone through some problems
in my life. I had so many problems that I was feeling miserable and I didn’t
think that I had a real purpose to live. I believed in God and I wanted to be
close to God, but something was still missing. Because of my problems I thought
that it would be better to die and go to Heaven than to live
on this earth. The
devil used this to make me think that my life was worthless. Then it was like a
spirit of death was always calling me to die. I had allowed this stronghold to
be built up in my mind, that whenever something went wrong, I thought that it
would be better to die.
My father had a gun in the
cupboard of his room, so without anyone knowing I took the gun, climbed out of
the window, and found a place where nobody could see me. I put a bullet into the
gun, put the barrel of the gun in the middle of my forehead, said a prayer, and
then pulled the trigger to blow my brains out. I pulled the trigger but nothing
happened. What saved me from committing suicide at that moment was the fact that
this gun had a safety lock and the gun did not fire. I was in tears and I was
afraid because I thought that it was the end. Really I didn’t want to die, so I
was crying out to God because I wanted a purpose to live. No matter who you are,
God has created you for a special purpose and you need to find the special
calling that God has for you.
When I went to this
Christian camp, a man was preaching about how God saved his life. I felt the
presence of God and a strong pressure come upon my chest that made me feel that
I had to go forward for prayer. The feeling became stronger and stronger, until
the preacher asked for those who needed prayer to come to the front. I went
straight up and found myself crying and crying; the most I had ever cried in my
whole life. Something amazing was happening. My eyelashes were blinking
incredibly fast and when I closed my eyes it looked as if I was seeing a bright
light. Whenever I closed my eyes I could see this shining light. When the
preacher came and prayed for me, he made a funny ‘whoossshhh’ sound and some
power went through my whole body. Something like an electric shock of power and
warmth went right through my body like a wave. It was powerful, but also gentle.
It was like an electric warmth. It was the supernatural power of the Holy
Spirit. When I looked around most of the people who had been prayed for had
fallen to the ground. I didn’t know what had really happened. I just kept
crying. That was the first time that I literally experienced God’s power and my
life was totally changed.
Jesus said, “I am the light
of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the
light of life” (John 8:12). Being touched by God’s power opened my eyes. I saw
the light and from the day God’s power went through me something was different.
My priorities in life had changed. I really wanted to know God and it gave me a
great hunger to pray and study the Bible. I heard about the Holy Spirit, that
when Jesus went to Heaven He sent the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins and
to give us power to be a witnesses for Christ (John 16:8; Acts 1:8).
I knew that I had received
that power to preach the gospel. I began to talk to my friends about Jesus. I
also heard that the Holy Spirit gives the gift of speaking in tongues, so I
prayed and asked God to give me this supernatural gift of speaking in other
tongues (Acts 2:4). As I finished praying I could see words written up in my
mind, but I couldn’t understand what these words meant because they were from
another language. These words were written in front of me. I could see them in
my mind. I started to speak them out and that’s how I began to speak in tongues,
which is one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is with us
today (1 Corinthians 12:10).
Another strange thing
happened after God touched my life. I saw the devil’s power like never before. A
person fell to the ground when he was being prayed for and somehow something
took over him. Suddenly his hands twitched up in a distorted way. He went a
funny red color and an evil voice began to speak through him in a foul language.
It was talking so fast that the possessed person was foaming at the mouth. The
voice speaking through him was an evil spirit and his body twisted as the demon
was fighting inside of him. There was an evil presence and the Christians were
praying, “In the name of Jesus I command you to come out.”
It looks very horrible when
you see the demons refusing to let go of a truly demon possessed person. The
demon didn’t want to come out, but he had no choice because his power is broken.
Peace was restored and the person was set free. There is an evil spirit called
Satan and he is the leader of the demons who work to destroy people’s lives. The
devil is the total opposite of God. God is pure, true love, holy and righteous,
but the devil is filled with hatred, wickedness and complete evil. He is a liar
and a thief, and he’s trying to stop people from following the one true God.
Many people even hear voices telling them to do evil things. Satan is not
a myth ...
The devil came to steal,
kill and destroy, but Jesus came to set us free and give us the fullness of life
(John 10:10). Thoughts of suicide were still coming to me, but this bondage was
broken as I prayed, “O God, give me a desire to live.” Suddenly my mind was
completely free as I was praying that God would give me my true purpose. A lot
of addictions, depression, nightmares, mental illnesses and falling into all
kinds of sinful activities, are the work of evil spirits. Many people even hear
voices telling them to do evil things. Satan is not a myth, his handiwork can be
seen throughout the world. Satan is an evil dictator and he loves war, death and
famine. He also uses the love of money to stop many people from knowing God.
Those who are rich are often deceived by the devil, as he makes the most of our
natural physical desires to lead us to sin.
One morning I woke up and in
my mind came some pictures of naked women. Then I heard a voice speaking to me.
The voice said, “This is not the devil.” At once I knew that it was a lying evil
spirit, so I rebuked the devil and commanded it to leave. The devil wants to
lead people into sexual immorality, but God has called us to honor the marriage
covenant and to be faithful. The Bible says, ‘Marriage should be honored by all,
and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the
sexually immoral’ (Hebrews 13:4). Prostitution, addictions to pornography,
homosexuality, rape and sexual abuse of children come about because people have
allowed themselves to be led by the devil. Millions of people have been led
astray by the devil into sexual immorality, but those who belong to God do not
listen to the devil’s voice.
There are only two kingdoms:
the kingdom of darkness which is ruled by the devil and the kingdom of light
which is ruled by the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ. There are only two
paths: the wide path to Hell or the narrow path to Heaven. We have to choose
which path we are following, for when people follow their sinful nature they
fall into the traps of the devil. Jesus has power over the evil spirits, but
whoever mocks the Lord and uses witchcraft will be thrown into Hell forever and
ever. Jesus Christ has the greatest power and just as I was set free from
Satan’s attack to destroy my life, you can be set free as you call upon the name
of the Lord and surrender you life to become a servant of the living God. You
have to turn away from the devil’s power and turn to the power of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The power of miracles, the power of healing, the power of deliverance,
and the power of the Holy Spirit belongs to Jesus Christ.
Knowing the reality of God’s
power caused me to have an extreme desire to know God. It was like my heart was
burning on the inside. I had such a hunger to know God and I was praying over
and over again, “God reveal yourself to me. Reveal yourself to me face to face
like You did with Moses.” I wanted to be like Moses because he spoke with God
and saw His glory (Exodus 33:11). I knew that Abraham was called God’s friend,
so I was praying that I would be God’s friend. I knew that the Lord Jesus had
appeared to the apostle Paul in the brilliance of a shining light (Acts
26:12-18). I knew that the Lord Jesus had appeared to the apostle John with eyes
like blazing fire (Revelation 1:12-16). I had been touched by the same power and
that was what I was looking for.
I came to the conclusion that knowing
God and getting closer to God is the greatest thing we can do.
As I have thought about the
meaning of life, I have come to the conclusion that knowing God and getting
closer to God is the greatest thing that we can do. We all need a desire in our
heart to get closer to God and we need the desire to see the glory of the Lord.
We live by faith, but the fulfillment of our faith is to live with God face to
face. After the final day of judgment, the people of God will enter the heavenly
city and the Bible says, ‘They will see His face’ (Revelation 22:4). We are
waiting for the return of Jesus. He is seated at the right hand of God the
Father, but once the gospel has been preached throughout the whole world, to all
creation, then the end will come and we will see the fullness of Christ’s glory
(Matthew 24:14). The purpose of God is for His people to enter through the gates
of Heaven and to behold the full manifestation of the glory of the Lord. We will
stand in awe, but those who do not know God will be separated from the majesty
of His power (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). We have to obey the gospel before it’s
too late. The law came through Moses, but the gospel came through Jesus Christ
and you have to follow the gospel. Being religious is not enough to save you.
You have to give your life to Jesus Christ and be serious in making sure of your
salvation.
We need spiritual hunger.
When you eat food it gives strength to your body, but more importantly you need
spiritual food. You need the word of God, and the word of God will give you
spiritual strength. If you don’t eat food you will starve to death and die, but
if you eat food you will live. If you don’t eat spiritual food you will die
spiritually. That’s why you need the word of God. When the devil came and
tempted Jesus to turn some stones into bread, Jesus said, “Man does not live on
bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
Many people are spiritually dead because they don’t care about spiritual food. I
want you to know the extreme importance of getting closer to God. Have a hunger
in your heart to seek after God and be a friend of Jesus Christ. Ask Jesus to
forgive you of your sins. Ask Jesus to set you free and surrender every part of
your life to Him.
When I became a fully
committed Christian, there were two things that really helped me to become
strong in the Lord. The first was learning how to pray and the second was going
out to tell other people about Jesus. I used to go out and preach on the streets
and give out tracts, telling many people to believe in Jesus. I traveled
throughout my country to preach the gospel. Some people would listen, but many
just wanted to get drunk and follow the ways of the world. They didn’t care
about obeying God or their need for salvation. The devil has used alcohol and
drugs and other sins to destroy lives. Many families have suffered because of
these sins and many people have gone to Hell because they never truly submitted
themselves to God. You have to give your life to the Lord Jesus and then Jesus
will break the power of sin off your life. We have to warn the people to be
saved before it is too late. If you truly repent, you will be free, but everyone
who sins is a slave to sin.
I had a group of friends who
used to listen to their loud music and drink alcohol to get drunk all the time.
I could speak to most of them about God, but there was one who didn’t want to
listen to me because he seemed to have anger in his heart. Whenever I tried to
share with him about the Lord he wouldn’t listen. He closed his heart towards
God. The last time that I saw this young man, I didn’t know that he would soon
be dead. He went to a party with his friends and he was getting drunk. He got
into his car, but was in no condition to be able to drive. He crashed just a
short distance before arriving at his house. Through drunk driving they had to
pull out his dead body from among the ruins. The devil comes to steal, kill and
destroy, and the most precious thing that the devil wants to steal is your soul.
I used to go out to many
places where people were sinning to tell them to repent and come to Christ.
There was a young girl that I often saw getting drunk. I talked to her about
changing her path. She was always trying to get into the nightclubs to get more
alcohol. Often she wasn’t allowed into the clubs because she was a short person.
It seemed as if she was always wasted and staggered around hardly able to walk.
I tried to tell her but she didn’t listen. When she died suddenly, her friends
were very shocked and never looked the same again. She tried so hard to get into
the nightclubs so that she could party and drink more alcohol, but she never
tried to get into the kingdom of God. She never tried to make sure of her
salvation and now it’s too late.
We Cannot Waste Our
Lives
We cannot waste our lives.
We have to lay hold of God’s kingdom. The Bible says that the kingdom of Heaven
has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it (Matthew 11:12).
You have to live for God while you have the chance and lay hold of the high
calling that God has for you. You don’t know how much time you have to live.
Many people wake up on the morning of their death, having no idea that today is
their final day. They expected to do the normal things they had to do, but
without notice they were gone. The Bible says that ‘man is destined to die once
and after that to face judgment’ (Hebrews 9:27). We will all be judged for what
we do with our time on this earth and the books of Heaven will be opened. If
anyone’s name is not found written in the book of life, they will be thrown into
the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). See how important it is what you do with
your life and how important it is what you do with Jesus Christ. The only way to
get into Heaven is to have your name written in His book. Jesus came to shine
the light of God into this world and He came to call sinners to repent. We can
see how the devil has brought death to this world, but by faith we can see that
those who belong to Jesus Christ will live forever.
I was talking to a young man
who was interested in giving his life to Jesus, but he had been a thief and had
stolen many things. He had with him a stolen radio. I told him that if he wanted
to follow Jesus he would have to return the radio because no thief will enter
the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:10). He wanted to keep the radio and he made
his decision not to follow Jesus. All I could do was warn him, “Why lose your
soul for the sake of a radio?” Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain
the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for
his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37) Jesus said, “He who is not with me is against me”
(Luke 11:23). You are either living for Jesus or you are living against Him. You
have to make your choice. You cannot follow God and the devil at the same time.
On the day of judgment we will see that there are only two groups of people -
the friends and the enemies of Jesus. There is no middle ground. Jesus said,
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my
Father in Heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my
Father in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).
To enter the kingdom of God
you must walk the path of truth and righteousness. You must be set free from the
power of the devil and you must come into the kingdom of light. Jesus broke the
devil’s power out of my life and that is why I proclaim the good news of
salvation. There is a mighty Saviour who rose from the dead. The devil had the
power of death, but Jesus Christ broke that power and Jesus Christ lives forever
and ever. That is why you can have your place in Heaven. You can have eternal
life because Jesus has defeated Satan. Jesus is calling every person in the
world to make sure of their salvation. When you open you heart to Jesus, you
receive the light of God, but those who deny Jesus are walking in darkness.
God has done His part. What part are we playing in leading people to
heaven or hell?
There was a time when I was
in prayer and I knew that God’s presence was with me. I had the joy of God in my
heart. At the end of the time of prayer I looked out the window and I saw a man
down the road checking over his truck. I casually said to God, “What are you
going to do to save that man from going to Hell?” Then I heard God speak to me,
clear as can be, straight into my heart: “I’ve already sent My Son. What are you
going to do?” It was one of the clearest times I had ever heard the voice of God
and it made me realize afresh that God has already provided the way of
salvation. Jesus Christ hung on the cross and shed His blood to pay the full
penalty for our sins. God has done His part and now we must do our part. Every
person in this world is helping to lead their friends either to Heaven or to
Hell. I walked down to that man and found out that he was already having Bible
studies, but that challenge from God has remained. We must preach the gospel so
that more people can be saved. We must do the work that God has called us to do.
Another time I clearly heard
the voice of God was when I was praying with a pastor. The town had many young
people who were falling into drunkenness, drugs and sexual immorality, so we
were praying for a true Christian revival. I was also praying for a friend that
I had recently met, who was partially crippled through a bike accident. He had
been knocked down just outside his house, so his parents were right there as
they waited for the ambulance. As I was praying for him, I clearly heard the
words of Jesus, “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink
the cup I drink?” (Mark 10:38) For some strange reason I then doubted that God
had actually spoken to me. But then the pastor quoted the very same words from
the Bible and I knew it was from the Lord. Here I was praying that God would
bless and save this person and then Jesus said that I don’t know what I’m
praying about. That’s because there is a price to pay. Jesus Christ had to
sacrifice His whole life and if we want to drink from the same cup, we have to
be willing to do whatever God wants us to do. Many people never hear God
speaking to them because they are unwilling to make the full sacrifice for the
sake of the gospel. Are you willing to drink from the cup of the Lord?
Jesus Christ is the only way
to God. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus said, “I am the gate; whoever
enters through me will be saved” (John 10:9). Jesus Christ is my Lord, my
Saviour, my King, my Ruler and Master. Whoever believes in Him shall never
perish but have eternal life. If you have never made a full surrender to give
your life to the Lord Jesus, now is the time to ask Him to be your Saviour. The
sinful desires of the world will pass away. What really matters is how you stand
with God. I can truly say that I love the Lord and I will do my best to call
every person who hears this message to come and follow Him. If you have never
taken Jesus Christ as your Saviour, I am giving you the opportunity right now to
call upon His name.
First of all, you have to
admit that you have sinned against God; that you cannot save yourself; you need
a Saviour and His name is Jesus. Sin includes disobedience, hatred, murder,
abortion, pride, arrogance, jealousy, unforgiveness, lying, stealing, foul
language, careless words, drunkenness, impurity, homosexuality, fornication,
adultery, prostitution, self-indulgence, greed, disrespect, rebellion,
witchcraft, fortune telling, and worshipping man made gods such as idols. Jesus
said that you will die in your sins if you do not believe He is the one He
claims to be (John 8:24). But if you confess your sins to God, He is faithful
and just to forgive you of all your sins and purify you from all
unrighteousness. If you walk in the light, you will be purified by the precious
blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7,9). If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved... For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans
10:9-13).
Where will you go when you die? You can be
CERTAIN!
I have a couple of questions
to ask you: ‘If you were to die today, are you sure that you would go to
Heaven? Are you a good witness for Jesus or are you still denying the Lord?’
The Bible warns us about people who claim to know God but by their actions they
deny Him (Titus 1:16). To follow Jesus is a serious decision and today is the
day to make sure of your salvation. It is time to pray to the Lord Jesus, so I
want you to pray this prayer with me:
“Lord Jesus, I call upon
your holy name. I know that I have sinned, but I don’t want to be lost. I don’t
want to die and go to Hell. I want to have eternal life and go to Heaven. Lord
Jesus forgive me of all my sins. Teach me to follow You. Thank You for dying on
the cross for my sins. Thank You that You love me and care about my life. I ask
You to come into my heart and I ask you to be my Lord and Saviour. Fill me with
the power of the Holy Spirit. Let me overcome all the works of the devil and in
Your name I rebuke every evil spirit and I rebuke every lie of the devil. Let
the truth of God fill my life and let the presence of God touch me right now. In
Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
God has a special calling
for your life. Jesus has called you today. He has spoken to you so that you can
know your purpose to live. You are called to be a friend of God, but many people
who have started to follow Jesus have fallen away. There was a man called Judas
who was one of the Lord’s disciples, but he was unfaithful and he denied the
Lord. It is very important that every Christian is faithful to God, that you
persevere in your walk with the Lord, that you get closer and closer and know
Jesus as your best friend. To get closer to God you need to study the Bible and
learn more about Christ. You can always talk to Him and He will always listen to
your prayers, so pray to Jesus every day, walk with Jesus every day, hunger and
thirst to learn more about God. When you become a Christian it is only the
beginning.
God has so much for you.
It’s a high calling and you need to be in a strong Christian church that can
help you in your walk with Christ. Do not be afraid to tell others about what
Jesus has done for you. Do not be afraid to sacrifice your life for the sake of
the gospel. Be a strong Christian, a Christian who loves God with all their
heart. Be a Christian who’s going to be a powerful witness for the Lord and
allow God to do a great work in your life. If you do these things, you will
never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our
Lord and Saviour (2 Peter 1:11).
If you have just said that prayer sincerely from your
heart, we encourage you to print out this little portion below here to help you
remember the date you did so. This is nice to have in our personal prayer
journal and also to remind the devil he has no more claim on you, amen?
Thank you and be blessed in Jesus' name as you now live your life for Him!
I have decided to follow
Jesus
Yes No
all the days of my life!
[___] [___]
For God so loved the world
that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever (your name)
_____________________
believes in Him shall not
perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Date of birthday into God’s
family: ___________________
(The day you accepted Jesus
as your Saviour)
When you received Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you made the most important decision of your
life. New Christians are likened to newborn babies, who must crave spiritual
milk. Then you can grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the
Lord is good (1 Peter 2:2-3). To reach spiritual maturity, you must be trained
to walk in obedience to the commands of Christ (Matthew 28:19-20). God is to be
obeyed and Jesus is to be closely followed, so that more people can be saved.
May God bless you as you grow into the fullness of the heavenly calling.
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