Inspiration of The Heart

Grace and shalom(perfect peace and wholeness) to everyone here in the precious Name of Yeshua HaMashiach(Jesus the Christ).

My name is Jonathan Powell, and I am from South Carolina, USA.
I am 32 years old, and I deeply love the Lord. Enclosed below is a copy of my testimony. It is a honor to share about the fact that HE has delivered me out of the kingdom of darkness, and has transferred me into the Kingdom of His dear Son.

yours in Him,
Jonathan

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"My Testimony"

When I was growing up, I was pretty much raised by my loving Christian mother, since my dad was mostly on the road driving an 18-wheeler truck to pay our bills. Since right after I was born on up until into my teenage years, I was taken to Pentecostal churches on a regular basis. In them, I had seen the awesome manifestations of the power of God on display from time to time. Some folks who were blind were restored of their sight. Some who were deaf could hear again. Financial burdens were relieved by prosperous breakthrough. Demonic spirits were cast out of people and their minds were restored, enabling their lives to return to normal.

Out of the miraculous things that I saw as a kid, the most awesome one to me was when a friend of my mom's who was paralyzed from the neck down because of a stroke, was healed during a service, and he stood up out of his wheelchair and was able to walk around. As wonderful as these experiences were, in time, my heart grew callous and hardened because of the lack of love by some of the "Christians" and the finger-pointing and judgemental attitudes that they had towards me and others. I was put down and frowned upon whenever I did not succumb to the traditional man-made rules of these churches.

Eventually, I quit going to church altogether and "ran away" from God in rebellion. From my early teens on up until I was 28 years old or so, I had a lifestyle of heavy drug use, promiscuous sex, and spent much time in playing at parties as a drummer/percussionist in a rock'n'roll band. I was also deeply involved in mysticism and the occult. At first, I dabbled in Satanism and different forms of black magic, since I was incredibly selfish, wanting self-empowerment, at the expense of others. Me and another person repeatedly conjured up demons through the circle to do our bidding, etc. Several times, spells were cast on our enemies and were effective in accomplishing our will and desire. I cannot go into any details about that. Anyway, on one occasion, a snake with no head, that we killed 3 days previously, was possessed by a spirit and began to dance for several minutes until someone "accidently" said the Name of Jesus, and then the snake dropped and quit moving. However, I did'nt practice in the dark arts(black magick) for longer than a few months, and on several occasions, was terrorized by dark spirits. I then switched over to working "postive" white magick and energy of the Craft. After a while, I got tired of all the "rules and regulations", such as being proper in rituals, celebrating the esbats and sabbaths, etc. Instead of following the words within the grimoirs and different versions of the so-called "Book of Shadows", I then shifted to self-styled spiritualism. I used the ouija board a lot, to conjure up spirits for the purpose of communication and the gaining of knowledge, and spent a lot of time in haunted places. I would communicate with the spirits in different ways, such as asking them to make knocking sounds in response to my question, etc, or to blink the lamps and other lights, or to touch us in a way that could be physically felt, move objects, etc. During that time, some of my friends became heavily involved in divination, such as the casting of runes, pendulum swinging, reading astrological signs and the hands/lifelines, tarot cards, tea leaves, , etc. I did'nt do anything but watch, since I felt that my calling was in other areas of spirituality.

After several years of this, I moved on to what I call "self-styled" shamanism. I hung around a lot of hippies and gypsies, and went to "Rainbow" Gatherings in the National Forests, also living in the woods in my hometown with my pagan friend. I wanted so much to be "one" with nature, and to leave "Babylon", the world system. Huge bonfires were built, and I and/or we played in drum circles(withcongos,bongos, marracas, etc), dancing and chanting, for the purpose of achieving a state of ectasy, a deep trance into a higher state of mind/consciousness, raising psychic power, and tapping into the spirit of Mother Earth(Gaia). I had already taken huge amounts of drugs by this time, but delved a lot deeper into psychedelics, such as acid(LSD), ectasy(MDMA), mushrooms(Psilicybin), Morning Glory seeds, etc. As if I had'nt already killed half of my brain cells, I wanted to expand my mind to the point where I would become enlightened and awaken my own godhood, my own divinity, thus being completely merged in the "Great Link" of universal consciousness. This went on for at least 10 years or so, until I almost lost my mind. My thoughts were continually evil and dark, and I would stare into space for hours on end. The visions of "light" that used to "enlighten" me were now darkness. The voices that used to "guide" me were now taunting and mocking me, trying to drive me insane and to kill me. I would stare into that abyss, and that abyss was beckoning me to jump in. In my heart of hearts, I knew that I was in deep trouble and I did not know how to escape it's grasp.

One day, after coming home from a friend's, I took some painkillers to relax me. Before I came home, (as she later told me) my mother had felt led to anoint my room with sanctified anointing oil, and prayed in the Spirit for hours. That night, as I was in bed, I was tossing and turing miserably, and then...all of a sudden,...I knew that Someone was in the room with me. At first, I wasn't sure about who it was, but eventually, I knew that it was the same Holy Spirit that I had known as a child. His Presence filled my room and HE hovered over me as I was laying on the bed. In my spirit, I heard Him say, let go of the darkness and let Me back into your life. I resisted for a while, because of my rebellion, but deep in my heart, I knew that I needed Jesus. I was soooo hungry and thirsty for His Light, His peace, His love, and was soooo sick and tired of feeling evil, dark, and empty of true peace, love, etc. I knew that if I did'nt change, I would be dead or in prison soon from my recklessness. I had already barely escaped death, and incarceration to prison on MANY, many, occasions, but was spared by the grace of God and my faithful mother's prayers. Anyway, I could not speak aloud to the Lord, because my jaw was "frozen". The demonic spirits within me would not allow me to speak, so therefore, I thought out the prayer, "Lord Jesus, I receive You, I'm sorry for my sins, and I ask for forgiveness, come into my heart and life." Within a few seconds or so, I felt as it were, Fire starting to burn on the soles of my feet, and then It slowly came up my legs, into my loins, my torso, and up into my head. My whole body started to shake, due to the intense Power of the Holy Spirit that was taking over and possessing me. As for the demonic spirits that had me bound,...I felt them release me, and then they went out of me, through the top of my head. It was a very strange sensation, and when they were gone, all of a sudden, my mind was clear for the first time in a long time, and my body was relaxed, and I was finally at peace again. I wept peacefully for hours and sang to the Lord in the Spirit. I was instantly delivered from my bondages, such as heavy drug and sexual addiction.

The God that I had ran away from, many years previously, had drawn me back to Him. The true nature of the so-called "good" spirits that I had served during the rebellion was revealed. I already knew about the dark ones that I worked during the black magick days, but the other spirits that I channeled and worked over the years were in fact demons all along and I did'nt know it. White magick, black magick, shamanism, etc., is all the same coin, only different "sides." There is only one true God, Jehovah/Yahweh Elohim, the "I AM that I AM", the One who was, and is, and is to come. HE manifests Himself as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as One. I have done spiritual warfare and prayer since then, with the Name of Jesus and the power of His Word and Blood, and the other spirits that I used to serve always flee in terror. So therefore that proves to me that the power of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ) is superior.

He is God, and the only Way, Truth, and Life. He is the "Enlightment." One day, we will leave this mortal shell and be totally one with Him, with no weakness or limitations, but for now, we walk in the earth, clad in mortal flesh, channeling the most precious Holy Spirit, and living out the power of His Word to help overcome our fallen humanity. Our life begins at the Cross, for therein we "die", denying the fallen self, and through and behind the Cross is the path of "resurrection", of restoring that which was lost when Creation succumbed to the sin/dark nature. Step by step, day by day, we draw closer to the fulfillment(totality) of our Redemption (in spirit, soul, and body), which will be complete on Resurrection Day. Hallelujah. Glory to God in the highest, for HE alone is worthy. HE is soooo good. Bless His Name forevermore.

For a season of 2 years or so, I played drums in a praise and worship band in one of the local churches in my town. Since then, the Lord has drawn me into other areas of ministry. Nowadays, my main ministry is the "ministry of reconciliation", intercession, and at times, the Lord draws me to certain individuals and groups of people so that I may teach them the Word of God, according to what His Spirit has revealed to me in the past several years. It is a honor to serve His Majesty. It is a honor to have my place as a member within His Church, His Body, His Bride. Praise be to the Lord forevermore, for HE alone is worthy.

In HIM we live, move, and have our being,

Jonathan