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Chapter 6: The Power of Salvation
2,914 words, about 15 min read
Beloved, if you are truly tired of the life you now live, then the Lord is ready to deliver you out of it. I know that most of you have heard the pleas of the church for you to come out of that lifestyle, but my plea is somewhat different. The Lord is calling you out of sin. Homosexuality is not the only sin in your life. You need God to wash and cleanse you of all sin.
Therefore, I will not bore you with a lot of theology here, but I will site one or two scriptures that I think are most direct and to the point.
Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
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Words such as “liberty” and “prisoners” suggest that the persons were victims. A prisoner has lost his rights to his captors. When one is a prisoner of satan, he or she has lost their ability to be anything different than the will of their captor.
Jesus came to bring complete deliverance to the captives and set them free. There is no way Jesus has freed someone and they still bear the image of the captors. When one is liberated, he or she will no longer walk in the character or mannerisms of the spirit of satan.
Isaiah was allowed a peek into the deliverance that was coming into the world. But Jesus came with a more complete revelation of His origin and purpose for which He was sent.
Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
When you come to Christ for salvation, you must come with the realization that you are a captive of the devil, trapped in a body whose soul is perverted. “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death!” (Romans 7:25).
Jesus came to save us, and this is the posture of the heart He accepts. Christ was sent to deliver the one who hates what sin has done to him. You must also hate what you have become.
Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
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Christ came and brought complete deliverance. Deliverance is beyond the natural realm; it comes from the spiritual realm. When you who were in homosexual lifestyles come to God, there is no need to feel you must be tutored or led out of these lifestyles by natural works. The deliverance that will bring you out is a spiritual work, done by the Holy Spirit. If you accept Christ as your Savior, He will deliver you out of all your sins and the character (mannerisms) of the devil will be done away with. This I promise.
2 Corinthians 5:17-18
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, …
Just as the spirit of satan was able to reproduce itself in you, if you would just surrender to God, He will reproduce Himself in you. Just as you have borne the image of the devil, submit to God and you will become a brand new creature. You will be an altogether new person. Come, oh please, come to the table of the Lord. I know that I am not going to win or convince all of you that God wants fellowship with you through the salvation He offers in Jesus Christ. My failure will not be due to a lack of love and understanding on my part, but the deceivableness of sin on satan’s part. There is pleasure in sin, but it comes with internal anguish and torment.
And even though there might be a still, small voice in your inner man screaming for help, there is also a degree of mental security that has built a wall of protection against the homophobic church. You have been forced to believe that the LBGT community are the only people who understand or even care about you and your struggle to survive in this world of haters and acts of violence, simply because of your sexual orientation. My dear friend, the devil is a liar. There are those of us who know the truth. Many of us Christians have been delivered from homosexuality. But if you are not convinced that homosexuality is not the will of God for your life, then truly I have failed, and my only recourse is to continue to pray that God will help you in your unbelief.
But if you are willing to listen to that voice within that speaks to the love of God for you, then come and taste and see that the Lord is good. He loves you more than you could ever know. He is not eager to cast you into a burning hell. He wants to embrace you and use you to share His love with others.
Humble yourself before Him and ask His forgiveness out of a pure heart. Ask for His mercy and grace. He has been waiting for you. This is your time to come back to your Creator. He will set you free from every sin and remove all guilt and shame. Ask Him to forgive you of all your sins, save you and fill you with His Holy Spirit. If you are truly tired and sincere, He will send His Spirit from
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Heaven to live in your body, destroying all the works satan has done in you. Your desires will change in an instant. Your eyes will come open to a New Kingdom, a world of light, love, and righteousness. He is waiting for you right now.
Testimonies KASHIEF’S TESTIMONY
Isn’t it interesting that as a young boy at the age of four I already knew I was a homosexual? I really believe I was born this way, however, four was the age I could recognize it. I had always felt an attraction for other men, and there was never a moment that I did not. In fact, I never felt like I chose this life for me; I felt like it was given to me. So, I flowed with it. At the age of four I was already sexually curious. No one had to teach me what to do, or how to do it, I simply knew. Growing up I knew homosexuality was wrong. Society was against it. Family and friends were always adverse to it, and I guess my own conscience was too, seeing I always hid the things I did. I would sneak to dress-up in my sister’s clothes. I would model and try to be like the pop stars I saw on TV. I enjoyed the idea of being feminine. There was a certain pleasure to it. There was also the pleasure of having guys interested in you. I enjoyed being flirtatious and being flirted with. When I
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look back, at the root of it all was simply the fact that I craved attention.
Though I knew it was wrong, I never once tried to stop. Instead I hung around people I felt accepted me. I tried to find individuals who were entertained, rather than turned off from my effeminacy. I continued in this way until my mother finally accepted me for the way I was. My father, on the other hand, was secretly ashamed of me.
As life continued, I was exposed to pornography and other lewd things. There was no one around me who I could pinpoint that had the same issues as I did, so pornography was my way of experiencing what I felt I could not physically do at that time. Little did I know it was building in me an insatiable hunger for sexual relations.
TESTIMONIES
So, I beefed up my social media to become more attractive. I posted half naked pictures, and it was not long before the messages began coming in. By the age of 16 I was sexually active with men, moving from man to man. I had a dream of having the perfect relationship. I wanted to be wanted. I was extremely manipulative and enjoyed the whole idea of having them do whatever I wanted them to. I would play games, and delight to see them fall into my trap.
I was always attracted to masculine men, however, I noticed that even when I thought I had found the perfect person, I would still feel empty inside. No one could really satisfy me completely. I did not know what I was missing.
One day I went to a church, and the sermon was about seeking God. I had been to many churches before, but I had never heard a message like this. It sparked a realization in me; I needed to change. I suddenly knew that God was requiring that I stop homosexuality. Though I realized this, I was not ready to let go.
So, I kept coming to church, and the more I came the more I learned. I noticed certain
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things about me started changing. I stopped doing some things, but homosexuality was my pride and joy. I did not want God to change that. I manipulated the ministers there to give me attention, by having them constantly minister to me. It was also a way to fulfill my lust because I was attracted to some of them, even some of the pastors. I did this for five years until one of the ministers said to me, “Kashief, you are acting. You do not truly want God.” This offended me, and because of it I left the ministry for two years. However, one day, the same minster contacted me about a revival the church was having. Of course, I was not into God at that point. Since leaving two years prior, my life had gone downhill, and I was upset at God for not wanting to save me. Why wouldn’t He just look past my preferences and accept me for who I was? I came up with every excuse in the book to avoid going, however, the minister was persistent.
I ended up going to the revival, and I heard someone give a testimony of how God changed their life. It broke my heart. I felt a small hope rekindle in me to seek God again, but I tried to suppress it. I was ready to return home when the pastor who invited me began to talk to me about God. He let me know that every time I breathe, God had to decide to give me mercy. He also let me know that everything that I had ever gone through in my life, including homosexuality, God knew it and saw it as the best route for me to meet Him.
I didn’t believe God loved me or that He could save me.
TESTIMONIES
But the minister went on to quote a scripture that says, “He that is forgiven of little loves little, but he that is forgiven of much loves much. God knows if He saves you from homosexuality, you will love Him more than anyone else. He wants your love.” This cut me to the core. God wanted me, and it gave me hope to seek again. I began to seek, and by the end of the week I found myself in another session.
The same minister was ministering to another homosexual, and at the end of the ministry I watched that person receive the Holy Spirit right before my eyes. The minister turned to me and said, “This is your day, too, if you just believe.”
We all began praying, but in truth I just could not believe. After a long while of praying, the minister stopped me and said, “Kashief, God says you don’t believe. Just believe Him.” It was then that I started to see so many times that God had proven His love for me, even that very moment was an act of love.
Knowing God’s love, encouraged me to believe. Immediately, I felt something come inside of me. The people in the car said I let out a huge scream and went limp, but I don’t remember all that. I just know something came inside me, and I was changed forever! I received the Holy Ghost!
The most surprising thing was that my emotions had completely changed immediately. I had absolutely no
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desire for a male anymore. That lingering presence that would push and compel me to have men, was gone completely. The next thing I noticed was that I immediately gained a desire for manliness. I actually hated effeminacy. I felt free. I didn’t know I was in prison, but now I was free. Salvation changed how I walked, how I thought, how I spoke. I felt joy like I had never felt before.
I deleted all my previous contacts, so I could start afresh. Now I get repulsed when men try to approach me in an impure way. I am truly changed, and I had nothing to do with it. God changed me for real. I even gained an attraction for women, something I thought I would never have.
It has been a couple of years since that day, and I have not returned to that lifestyle. I still have a hatred for sin, and I am enjoying holiness. I was delivered from not only homosexuality but all my evil ways! It is my heart’s desire to be a full-time minister because I love the Word of God so much.
If you are someone who has had similar experiences, just know you can be changed. You can be different. If you really want to change God can change your heart. You do not have to be a homosexual all your life, but
TESTIMONIES
receive Jesus, and you will become a son of God.
DARLENE’S TESTIMONY
If someone were to randomly ask me what my life was like before salvation and why I lived the life of a lesbian, I would have given numerous reasons as to why I believed and lived the way I did. There were certain things that caused me to feel like I was justified in living that way; a lack of affection from my mother, the mental and physical abuse I witnessed my mother go through from different men, men touching me and making me do inappropriate things at a young age, or how I watched the boys in school go for the light skinned, long haired, girls who had all the nice features. Never being approached or desired by boys left me feeling rejected. On top of it all, inwardly I had these emotions, feelings, and cravings for women which I hid for a long time.
See, before Christ entered my life, I didn’t understand the unnatural desires I had for women were not produced by my life experiences but, due to me being born in sin and shaped in iniquity as stated in Psalm 51:5. Neither did I know that it was the lust of satan I was living out because he was my spiritual father at the time. I really and truly believed
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that I was just making my own choices based on the circumstances and situations I encountered. But God . . . He had a wonderful plan for me! He looked passed all the perversions I was in and saw someone worth saving. Just know the scriptures stand true. God says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are new. Yes!!!!! That is just what Jesus did, He came in my life and made me new.
On August 19, 2012, God changed me drastically. The girl who once looked, acted, and sounded like a man was no more. Not only did He completely change my outer appearance but, through salvation God transformed me inwardly: all my desires, emotions, and cravings were gone and are still gone. He left no stones unturned, even my mannerisms were changed. All I can truly say is God has made me new. He changed my heart completely and no, there’s no struggle in me for women nor do I struggle with wanting to return to that lifestyle. All praise is due to God and His great Salvation!
TESTIMONIES DARLENE RICKS BEFORE CHRIST
KASHIEF & DARLENE AFTER CHRIST
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