When I first got out into the ministry, I faced some pretty hard times. But I was just happy to be serving Jesus. I was so glad to be in the ministry that it really didn’t matter how rough it got. Let me tell you, it did get rough, but I was still able to enjoy myself.
I used to go around preaching in different cities, and I would have to sleep in some pretty strange places. Sometimes I would stay at someone’s home or in a church or in whatever else was available at the time. Some of these places were real rat holes, but I just enjoyed doing the work of the ministry-even when the rat holes had real live rats living in them!
I’ll never forget this one place I had to sleep, man. This was a true rat hole, and I got the opportunity to meet one of the rats that lived in that hole! I was trying to get to sleep one night when I saw him. He was watching me, waiting for me to fall off to sleep. I’d close one eye to see if he was checking me out, and he’d look at me. So I rebuked him in Jesus’ name, and he ran off for a minute or two.
But pretty soon I’d be trying to fall asleep again, and he’d run back in. I was lying in bed, trying to sleep, and that rat came over, climbed up and sat right on top of my belly! There I was, trying to sleep, with a big rat sitting on top of my belly!
“God,” I said, “I have a rat on my belly, and it’s looking at me.”
I figured God would have to get me out of this situation since it was His work I was doing in the first place. God told me to do something really spiritual about that rat. I heard the Lord say, “Spit at him.”
I couldn’t spit at that rat! I was so frozen with fear with him sitting there on my belly that I had no spit. I mean, how would you feel if you had a rat on your belly while you’re trying to sleep? I didn’t know what to do. The rat was just sitting there looking at me. I knew I was bigger than the rat, but I was scared spitless. Finally I saved up enough saliva to spit at him, and I yelled, “I rebuke you!”
All that did was make the rat stand up on his back legs! So now I have no spit left in my mouth, and a giant rat is standing on his back legs on top of my belly. I didn’t know what else to do. Maybe I should have laid hands on him, and he might have fallen out in the Holy Ghost! (I probably would have done that, too, but there was nobody there to catch him. I didn’t want him to fall and hurt himself, you know.)
So I got mad at that rat. “I bind you!” I yelled at him.
That did it! He took off and ran all the way down my leg. I jumped up and started praising God – “Whew, Jesus! Whew! Whew!” Then I turned the light on and saw three of his little cousins in the corner. I took one look at those other rats and could tell what they were thinking. They were thinking, This is a Cajun chicken we got here! I bet this boy tastes good!
I spent the rest of the night praying in tongues. I didn’t get a wink of sleep. The next morning I got out of there and told somebody about it.
“Yeah,” he said, “those are church rats.”
“I know,” I said. “I can tell they are, because of the way they’re prospering. They’re the fattest rats I’ve ever seen in my life!”
I’ll never forget the night that rat sat on my belly, just looking at me. What a night! The devil was trying to run me off, but I wouldn’t go.
You see, I was happy to do those things for Jesus. I didn’t complain either, because I was just happy to be in the ministry serving the Lord. I knew that if you persevere, the Lord would bless you. He will take care of you for being faithful and doing your part.
Now my part was to go into all the world and preach, so that’s what I did. And I did it with a cheerful attitude. I figured that if Jesus could sleep in a manger, I could sleep in a rat hole.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”