My Testimony Pt. 9 Revived, Refreshed By God's Spirit

The circumstances of my job loss resulted in my wife working lots of overtime, and me becoming a full time college student at age 54. I took 18 or more credit hours each semester and with my wife's overtime and my heavy load, we were disconnected from our church. 

There few times we were able to attend, but it felt as if we no longer belonged there, and the directional shift seemed more pronounced. 

I worked very hard to graduate with honors. However, knowledge "puffeth up" and I was becoming prideful. I graduated 6th in my class and I am ashamed to say that my ego was inflated by this.  

I always told people I would not be one of those who went to college and ended up working in telemarketing or fast food. However, I also mentioned that the Lord was going to deal with my pride.

I graduated in December 2005 and was hired by a telemarketing firm! I began that position in January 2006. At the same time, we decided to attend a small Baptist church started by the families who left the church I was saved in.

Psalm 100:1-5  A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2)  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3)  Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4)  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5)  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. 

This text from Psalms really describes what our spiritual life has been since we began coming to Heritage Baptist church. Our hearts are full of joy, gladness, praising, singing, and basking in His truth and grace and mercy. 

We walked into Heritage Baptist Church that first Sunday, and I immediately noticed that all the men (probably about 75) were on the platform, practicing a hymn. Two of my friends from our previous church spotted me and a warm welcome was extended. 

Sunday School began, and at the opening line of the first hymn, we were amazed at how strong the congregational singing was. The harmonies were very good as was the diction. I remember thinking "These people are singing as if they really believe what they are singing about!" 

Then, Pastor Alvis preached. Our souls responded to God honoring music and strong preaching. We did not know how empty we were on the inside until that Sunday Morning. We looked at each other and said "We should have come here sooner!"

It was very much like the hymn "There's Within My Heart A Melody" 

There's within my heart a melody, Jesus whispers sweet and low:

Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still, in all of life's ebb and flow.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know,

Fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.

We both knew that this church was "home" for us, and the Lord began a transformative work, reviving us, strengthening our inner man and filling us with the joy of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. 

The morning worship service began with the choir singing, and what a joy to hear such strong, Godly, sacred music sung heartily to the Lord. Right before Pastor Alvis preached, the All Men's chorus sang. 

Our previous church had 1,500 people, but congregational singing was weak, and on the rare occasions men sang a verse or two, it also was weak. 

God honoring worship was something that the spirit of God immediately used to stir up our hearts and infuse fresh passion for Christ. 

We were like the dry, dead bones that Ezekiel saw, lifeless, and useless. But, Jehovah asked His prophet, "Son of man, can these bones live?" Then, the bones came together to form complete skeletons, with flesh, muscles, tendons and organs. After this, Jehovah's Spirit breathed life into them. The dead bones revived and lived!

God's Spirit revived and reinvigorated our spiritual lives!

Colossians 3:16,17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17)  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. 

Why is this church so vibrant? Because Jesus Christ was elevated for all to see, as the scriptures were carefully opened and taught to us. The Spirit of God was taking the Word of God and doing heart work in us. 

Pastor Alvis is a careful expositor of the scriptures and his preaching and teaching mightily stirred up our hearts and filled us with wonder, joy and zeal for our God. 

My vocational training was conducted on first shift, Monday through Friday, so my schedule did not interfere with attending church. 

However, the last week that I worked in telemarketing, I listened in on phone conversations as employees sought to solicit donations. The company required their employees to read scripts and this particular one made them lie to prospective donors. 

Proverbs 12:19  The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. 

Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.

Proverbs 19:5  A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.  

Lying is one of the seven things God hates (Proverbs 6:19). The employees read a script on a screen, and they were telling those from whom they solicited funds, that they were also dues paying members of the NRA, when in fact, they were not! 

After this, I was given my telemarketing work schedule, which meant that I could only attend Sunday school services, and would be missing three services a week.

Between the deception in their solicitation pitch, and the awful work schedule, the Lord had put me to the test. I am grateful that He led us to Heritage, because I did not hesitate. I resigned, and began looking for another vocational situation.

Well, I still had some pride that needed to be purged out. So, you probably already guessed, the next job that opened up for me, was with a fast food hamburger chain! By this time, I needed to earn an income to support us, so I began the training period.

I had a better schedule in terms of being able to attend church, but had to miss a Wednesday or Sunday here and there. The training facility was run by an over bearing woman who yelled loudly at all of us during the rush periods. It was a hard to keep working there under those conditions, but I needed to have an income.

Meanwhile, in March of 2006, an older Christian friend reached out to me and said that the County Board of Developmental Disabilities was seeking to hire a Habilitation Manager. He had retired from the energy sector, but worked as a sub for this organization. He brought me the application forms, so I filled them out and turned them in. 

I did not know anything about the field of developmental disabilities, but I was familiar with the school and adult workshop operated by the County Board of DD. I did not hear anything back from them, so I kept working in fast food. 

Then, in June, I received a call from the Admin Assistant for the County Board of Developmental Disabilities, asking me to come in for an interview. She said I was not qualified for the position of Habilitation Manager but they had an offsite Production Manager slot open.

I had a great interview on Monday, and toured the offsite production center. The Workshop Director said that they wanted to make a decision by Friday. 

Well, Friday came and went, and I consoled myself that at least I had an interview with decision makers. Then, the second week of July, I got a call for a second interview. 

They offered me the Production Manager position, and the shift was perfect. Day shift hours, Monday, through Friday and a substantial increase in pay and benefits, compared to my fast food position. I started July 16, 2006 and I retired in December 2017.

I was discovering again, the goodness of the Lord in His choices for us. I realized my duty is simply to trust and obey. He will always do what is right and keep His promises. 

Meanwhile, God was working in my wife and me. He revived us , and refreshed us to that we were again, serving the Lord and praising Him for all of His goodness to us. 

Our Father provided for our needs physically and spiritually, my wife and I were growing and thriving believers in Christ.

In my next post, I learned to trust the Lord while facing a serious health issue. 

Bob