Andrew made a Stand for God at a Young Age

My parents separated when I was 5 years old. With nothing to lose, my Dad decided to attend a Revival Fellowship meeting after he saw a change in his brother and sister-in-law’s lives after having received the Holy Spirit and being baptised. Dad was also baptised and received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues.

My brother Simon and I really enjoyed going to Sunday School and Bible class. The custody agreement between our parents meant that we could only go to church every second weekend and this remained the case up until we were 18 years old. Our mum was always against us going to church. As time went on, I realised I needed the Holy Spirit for myself. Our mum went to the family court and put an order on us so that we were uanble to to listen to people speaking in tongues. Every time the spiritual gifts were operated or at prayer time, we had to get up and physically move ourselves from the meeting - I found this very embarrasing and hated doing this! But this didn’t put me off, I knew the Holy Spirit was something I really needed. I finally received it at the age of 12, and knew because I spoke in tongues. Mum went back to the court and put another order on us that we weren’t allowed to be baptised until we were 18 years old. I was devastated when I was told that I had to wait another 5 and a half years until I could be baptised, it felt like 10 years! Anyway, we had to wait. We always prayed quietly in our bedrooms at night and it always felt like God was right there with us. In Hebrews 13:5 it talks about God never leaving or forsaking you. This scripture was so important to me.

2 days after my 18th birthday I was baptised at the Sunday meeting, it was the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, I was so relieved that I had finally ‘sealed the deal’. Mum still didn’t want me to get baptised, but as a legal adult I could do whatever I wanted and baptism was right at the top of the list! When I look back now I can see that going through those tough times really made me stand and fight for the gospel and to make a stand for the Lord at a young age. The whole experience has made me really appreciate my relationship with God, it’s definitely some thing I don’t take for granted!

Andrew is a member of The Revival Fellowship - Adelaide, South Australia