My wife has always kept her words pure, even when I wasn’t saved. Back when we first got married, we were both heathens, but within three years, Cathy was born again and the only Christian in our marriage. I was still a heathen, and she thought everything I did was a sin. She saw everything as heathenism—especially me.
And I made sure she saw plenty of it too. I wanted her to see me sinning, because I figured if I could show her enough of it, I could stop her from praying for me. I thought if I could just get her depressed, she’d stop praying for me.
I used to think to myself, I know what I’ll do. I’ll get more drunk. I’ll smoke more dope. I’ll do more crystal until it’s in her face all the time. I’ll even do some cocaine! That’s what I need to do to get her attention. Get me some cocaine. I can snort it from fifty yards through a $100 bill. Let her just try to talk to me about Jesus while I’m on drugs! I’ll just sin more to depress her.
Isn’t that horrible? But that’s exactly what I did. I sinned until I couldn’t sin any more. I was getting tired of sinning. My body was tired – it could handle only so much abuse. Finally I just got sick of it. I literally got sick of sin.
When I was sick was the only time when I would agree with my family’s prayers of healing. All the other times, I would oppose their prayers. But when I was miserable and sick, I would agree with them. I could be throwing up my guts and, at the same time, agreeing with prayers of healing. I would have my head over the toilet – a place where it should never be—and Cathy would come in and say, “Heal him, Lord.”
And I would say, “Heal me, Jesus. Heal me, please.”
Every time this happened, I would lie and promise never to do it again. But my wife knew I was lying, and so did God. The Lord would tell me I was lying, because He knew I would do it again.
Even though my words were lying words, Cathy’s words were a sacred trust. Her words were being recorded in heaven and on earth. Eventually those words that Cathy spoke over me hit their mark. It wasn’t long before I got saved.
Your destiny is in your words. God does for you what you say. God gives you what you allow Him to by the words you’ve spoken. You live your life by what you speak. It doesn’t matter if you speak sound words, unsound words or no words at all—God is keeping track.
I realize that even the little, idle words I speak are being written down. God keeps the books. He doesn’t forget. Sometimes I’ve wanted Him to forget. But the only time He forgets is when you ask for forgiveness and repentance. Then your idle words are washed away.
Words are a sacred trust to God. That’s why He knew I was lying all those times when, as a heathen, I told him I would never sin again. I didn’t mean it, and He knew it. Now that I am saved, I watch the kinds of words that I speak. I’ll have to stand before those words I spoke in that great day. Why? Because words are a sacred trust between you and God.
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.”