I was raised in a Christian family here in the Philippines. I believed in our Lord Jesus and tried my best to be a good Christian. I have a twin brother who is a minister in our church where I am also serving as a worship leader and musician. We spent half of our lives in the church. But after serving for many years, we were both burned out.
We did not know why and we certainly were not aware that something was lacking in our lives.
But thank God my brother chanced upon a YouTube video of Pastor Joseph Prince. The video excited him so much, he shared it with me. Initially, I had my reservations about watching the video but I decided to watch after noticing changes in my brother’s outlook on life. When I heard Pastor Prince preaching that I was the righteousness of God in Christ, my tears immediately started to fall.
I finally realized that this was exactly what I needed, to know that God was not angry with me.
This really was good news! From then on, my brother and I would check up every available resource that had Christ-centered grace messages.
This amazing gospel of grace changed me. I had an addiction to pornography that started in my high school days. I tried to stop the addiction but without success. I thought that if I listened to Christian music, it would help my behavior. But it did not and I felt so condemned. Whenever Sunday came, I tried to lead worship with a happy and anointed face but in my heart, I was crying and asking God to help me.
But thanks to our Lord Jesus, after believing that He is my righteousness and confessing it, my desire to watch pornography has been replaced with a new desire to watch Destined To Reign on Trinity Broadcasting Network. I have also begun reading Christ-centered books, including those by Pastor Prince, and listening to all his MP3 sermons.
I cannot believe it but at last I am free!
Hallelujah! Now, I can lead worship on Sundays with gladness, without condemnation, and with all confidence in Jesus’ finished work, and most of all, with full knowledge of God’s love for me. It has been two years now and I know it has not been because of my self-control or efforts. It is all because of God’s love for me. He gave His beloved Son to die on that cross for me.
In addition, I was given an opportunity to preach for six months in my church. Everybody knows that I’m not an experienced preacher but with God’s grace, I took the position. I knew then that God was opening doors for them to hear the pure gospel of grace. Using one of Pastor Prince’s books as my guide on what to preach, I was able to finish that six-month task. The result was that our pastor rediscovered the gospel and he is now preaching pure grace messages instead of a mixture of law and grace. Hallelujah!
Thank you, Pastor Prince. God bless your ministry! Your ministry helps us to see Jesus only, to rest in Him, and to trust in Him. All glory and honor to our Lord Jesus!
Ariel Bermido | Philippines
