Does anybody know which sermon by Paul Washer talks about his life before coming to Christ? I remember listening to one about a year or so ago and he talks about the music he used to play in his pre-christian days.
Thanks
John

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John

if you go to i'll be honest .com they have an interview about his conversion and everything. You will have to look through all the videos though, it very well might be on this site too.

Three minutes into "preaching to reformed rappers" he will mention the old music but I have heard a sermon in the past where he addresses this in greater length. Might I suggest you tube?

I came to Christ 4 years ago after being in the church for 33 years. One night I was listening to Paul Washer online teach about marriage. He started with God's Sovereignty and a few minutes into it, alone and on the floor of my bedroom, God brought me to my knees and His Son's feet.

Hey brother if you don't mind expounding more on your salvation testimony I am interested in hearing it for encouragement for myself. Hey brother I recommend you listening to David Wilkerson A Call to Anguish it is powerful.

Dear brother, I have listened to David Wilkerson's call to anguish. Paul Washer led me to Ravenhill. Ravenhill led me to Tozer, Havner, and Wilkerson so on and so on...
I have depended considerably upon Sermonindex for spiritual food. Both in the sermons of the saints as well as the discussions that are teaching many things including patience, consideration, and grace. I am also greatful that I can hear the voices in the writing of those who have really experienced the grace of our Lord God and Savior.


Here is my testimony. You have asked for it that it may be an encouragement. I can definitely say it is all Gods work and in that I hope you are encouraged.

I was led to salvation by a youth pastor via a form of short Roman walk when I was sixteen. Having been baptised (this is one of the largest churhes in the south today)I gave my testimony on Sunday to a group of around 500. Back then this church was in its infancy. The truths I accepted I had already known having been in and out of church due to my Dad being a soloist for hire. I knew God was creator of all things and He was perfection in every sense of the word. The separation caused by sin and the need for the spotless offering to bear the wrath that I deserved. It was made personal when my youth pastor pointed the finger at me and it was now between me and God. My conscience could not bear the guilt of the sin of which I was guilty. So with a prayer and a handshake I was no longer destined for eternal separation but rather paradise.

I attended worship services, youth, bible studies, and even chosen to lead the bus ministry and camp counselor . My life was good and along with what I knew was right I lived very wrong. I satisfied my lust with women and even the church was not off limits and I will leave it at that. All the while, being the Southern Baptist in decent standing that I was, my life was that of a carnal Christian as it is believed in the church. The good news was that I was a Christian and as was the often repeated saying,"Once saved, always saved". So while I lived with one foot bound in heaven I could dance upon the precipice of hell without falling in. I married my wife 30 and we attended several churches until we decided around eight years ago to try to find a local church in our community so that we could draw closer to other individuals. We had 4 children and I even started teaching the youth. Our marriage was not great but I was in for the long haul. I even started teaching High School Sunday School. I continued studying the word and attended faithfully. The teaching forced me to study more than I had in the past and I was able to carry on conversations with the best of my brothers in Christ. So if you were to ask me if I loved God more than anything else I would have replied absolutely yes. I believe I was studying more than most and started listening to sermons from modern day preachers but none of them from this site. I even happened upon this guy named Paul Washer and played him for my wife but I turned him off half way through thinking him a legalist.

It was late one night about four years ago that I went into my bedroom and scrolled down to a sermon on Heartcry Missionary. Of all the sermons or teachings I could listen to this was the last one I would ever choose. It was on marriage and mine was a bit rocky at the time. Since everything was my wifes fault(kidding) you must understand that when I say it was the last thing I wanted to listen to I mean it. For some strange unknown reason (although I do know now) I clicked on it. I think it was 5 minutes into it still yet to speak on marriage Paul Washer is talking about the sovereignty of God. A subject I had read and taught a lot about. More so than anyone else in our church. He was talking about how God can place people in your life that you may not appreciate and even struggle with because he is about growing you up in Him.

It was at this point that God took the blinders so to speak off my eyes and revealed Himself in His Righteousness and Holiness. I was now standing in the presence of God almighty (not physically) and He was overwhelming. I was dead still and frozen and overcome by His presence. He was the all powerfull one. He was right, perfection, and power. He was Holy, and Righteous and as I began to recover from my fixation upon Him I began to realize that I was now standing there. I was standing in the same proximity of His presence. I knew this was wrong, very wrong! I should be no where near Him. The end of creation would not be far enough distance between us for me to not foul His space. It was now that I began to realize for the first time in my life who I was. For some reason my mind saw myself as two people. I was there with God pointing to myself across the room saying he is not worthy to be here. He is vile and depraved. He is selfish and greedy. He lives for his own pleasure and loves sin more than anything else in this world. This man needs to be out of your site now! Then all of the sudden my mind went to the Son of God. I saw Him as the innocent son and I knew what he bore for sinful men. I could not stop crying for it was the most tragic and unjust thing in the universe that He would die for me. No! No! not me! Look at my life and look at who I am. I'm not worthy of the perfect lamb or the innocent Son.

I was floored. Literally floored. I mean on the floor. Now for the first time in my life I knew what repentance was. Now that I had seen Him and had been shown who I was I knew my life was no longer my own. This was a graceful act of God. You must understand. I was the last one in the world looking for this. I had already been saved at 16. What had just happened to me? I must admit that I was somewhat confused by all of this. Holding to once saved alway saved for 33 years does not prepare nor even allow for the possibility of this kind of thing to happen. In my accessment there was no making a decision or choosing of Christ. There was no asking him into my heart. God worked upon me and how could I reject what He had reveiled. What choice did I have. The alternative is no choice if we were to even consider choices. I desired nothing but Him. If someone were to offer one dying of thirst a choice between two bottles of water with one being disclosed as containing cyanide which would you choose? Is there a choice? I have no love for cyanide. There was no considerations or ponderings. Just Repentance that can naturally as a result of Him bringing me to life having been dead for 47 years.

Almost immediately I began researching what happened. I was occupied by this so much I could not sleep well. I came across the word regeneration which was never taught in our church. There was the term regenerate membership but what occurs at regeneration was never divulged nor described. After all one merely has to do what I did at 16 and they are saved. The changed life was never taught. I was only able to find these things out after listening more to Washer and eventually this site.

I wish I could tell you how good this went over at my church but it went downhill from there. My Pastor did not take well to all my questions concerning how this could have happened. I came to find out that he told my wife that I just caught a case of zeal and that it would wear off before long. I tried to explain to him that I was saved but he would not believe it. Nor would all of the elders except one. I was now becoming recognized as a trouble maker as I would later come to find out. I could not help but question everything. If this could happen to me then it could also happen to others. I now held contempt for the cheap gospel and what it was doing to others who were like my old self.

I began to give my testimony to others. I could not hold it back. What God had done. How could I not talk about it? I went to my Pastor and asked if I could tell the church what had happened. He was still of the mindset that this was a product of temporary zeal. He said I could get up for 10 minutes and tell the church what happened to me. I was excited and greatly hurt at the same time. It was not personal but rather a grieving of the spirit. I knew this was wrong to limit this to 10 minutes not for myself but for God. He told me they wanted to keep it to 10 minutes for several reasons. One, the greater importance to preach the word. Two, if they give me more time, then they will have to do that for everyone and then no one will hear God's word. What so grieved me about this is that I had been in this church for 7 years and was yet to hear anyone stand up and give their testimony. The Pastor thought it such a good idea to start giving testimonies he said we should do it weekly (10 minutes) I was still struggling as to violate my conscience and force this miracle into a ten minute addition to the bulletan. I could not. The weekly testimony addition lasted two weeks and no testimony has been heard from a member since. Around this time 12 strangers walked into our service to hire this Pastor away. I knew in my heart this was wrong and saw no precident for it in scripture. I went to the elders and presented my concerns of the things going on and asked them to get back with me on issues and questions I had. As soon as the interim Pastor came in and gave the cheap gospel I quit attending the service for fear of what it would teach my kids when I was teachig them the very opposite. Unless I started attending the service again they would no longer let me teach as I was too visible and it would be disruptive to the church not to have me in the service. I could not support that which had given me a false assurance for 33 years so I had to leave the church. One of the elders Sons caught this same so called zeal and left 3 weeks after we left. We have become close since then. The Lord has been faithful and has not left me ill equipt since my leaving. We are now reading books on the home church movement and I have come to recognize the need to be the man I should be for my wife and my kids.

So that is the miracle God wrought in my life. Praise the Lord Oh my soul.

Awesome testimony brother, I am confused if I am saved or not too, I have been for 2 years after listening to Washer but also comparing myself to scripture and other true believers. I look at first john and know their is hatred in my heart so I must be a liar and not have God. Pray for my salvation brother. God bless you brother.