When we were kids my family didn’t attend church on a regular basis. I’m sure we, like many other families, attended only during special occasions. I knew very little about God, but I was told that He existed. Romans 1:19-20 (KJV) tells us that God has revealed Himself in His creation so that everyone will be without excuse in the future about His plan for man.

During one of these special occasions we attended a local denominational church during the spring. The preacher ministered a message which seemed to be a little different to me; although what I knew about God was very minimal. I had been in church services before, understood generally what to expect to a certain point, but this service was a unlike the others. It seemed to me that during the service everyone had become distant, or muted, and there was a calm, a peace. The music was muffled in the background... and although I could see everyone, they appeared to be far away. Everything quieted, except the words the preacher was saying. They were crystal clear.  I later realized the Spirit of God was revealing Himself to me. I had never sensed this before; I began to say to myself, "what is this...?"  The preacher continued to preach his message that God had a plan for us, and after hearing those words I began to think about my future for the first time. Romans 10:14 (KJV) says:

“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

God reveals His plans through the preaching of the Word. Wondering what that meant after the preacher said the words “God has a plan for my life,” I then heard a still, small voice speak to me, and it began to tell me, “I have assigned a specific position in the earth for you and it is your job to find out what that destiny is: study the bible and I will reveal it to you.” Then suddenly WHAM!-- I’m back in the church, I hear folks shuffling around, kids making noise and my siblings talking.

I had never experienced anything like that-- as a matter of fact, it scared me a little bit. Towards the end of the service the preacher asked everyone to bow their heads and he gave an invitation for those would desire to be "saved." I had seen this before, but didn’t understand what it was. No one was looking around or moving, and I didn’t know what to do. I had no idea that I needed to be saved. Then the preacher said something else; “if you are here today and God has been talking to you; raise your hand and we will pray for you.” I raised my hand immediately because I now knew what that voice was, it was God talking to me. The preacher then said, “Someone help that young boy and bring him down to the front.” Once I got to the front of the building I was asked if I wanted to be saved. I didn’t reply, because I didn’t know what that meant. So the ministers just prayed for me and asked God to reveal His plan to me. I returned to my seat. We left the church and went about our normal routine.

My family never said anything to me about that experience, how could they; they had no knowledge of God, either. So I grew up and lived my life and learned more about church attendance and I even told folks I was a Christian. Years later I joined a local church and was baptized. It was like being a football fan: it’s just something you do in America. Right? I didn’t know any better; how could I? I wasn’t born again. I had never surrendered my heart and life to Jesus, and recognized Him as Lord and Savior. It wasn’t until years later, while teaching a Sunday school class, that I really became a born-again Christian.  I was asked to teach the class because I was a member of the local church, a professional in the marketplace, I appeared to dress well, and seemed to have it "together." 

I had enough integrity to at least study the bible on Saturday evenings before teaching the Sunday school class; you can only talk about fishing or the weather for so long... This is where I truly found the Lord and began to find His destiny for me. After studying the Word I developed a relationship with the Lord and was born again through studying the Word. I then publicly walked the aisle of my local church and told the believers there that I had met the Lord and was born again. Many were surprised because like others, they thought I had already "been there, done that."

Things changed after that day. I began to see what God was saying thousands of years before about my position in the earth. I was called to a position in the Body of Christ. Now I was a part of something bigger than myself and my desires. I began to see God was a family man, and that He has a plan for those who love Him and each of us are members jointly-fit together to accomplish those family plans. I saw that I was a part of a master plan that had been set in motion long before I existed. God saw me before this plan and had a specific position for me to fill. Ephesians 1:4-6 (KJV) says:

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he (Jesus) hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

The key to walking in His plan for your life is that you must choose to receive what He has already done for you. Your will is involved, it is you that must take the first steps to receive the work that has been planned from the foundation of the world. Say yes to Jesus, say yes to His Word, and receive Him into your heart, for with the heart man believes and is saved. Then with the mouth man receives his salvation.

For more information, download the message "How Salvation Works in the Believer."

How Salvation Works in the Believer