This was shared by another Mike, who God has called to the deliverance ministry:
I was called to preach at age 14. I went and told the pastor what God was calling me to do. I figured that I would have to finish High School, go to college, before I preached a sermon. When the pastor told me that his office and library were at my disposal and that he expected me to have a sermon ready in the coming weeks, I was scared silly! I began running from God. I could no longer attend church. Every time I went, I was under such conviction that I couldn’t stand it! So, I ran. I began to drink, heavily, to drown out the conviction. I ran for 10 years. By the time I was 24, I was a full blown alcoholic. I was demonized by a demon of addiction. At age 24 I could run no more. I fell to my knees and cried out to God! I told the Lord that I knew that I had messed up my life. If He would clean me up, that I’d go where He wanted and do whatever He wanted. Before I said, “Amen”, the demon of addiction was gone! From that day on, I’ve had no desire to drink! God had set me free! I didn’t realize I had a demon until years later. After all, I was a good Southern Baptist, and we didn’t have demons.
I surrendered to the Gospel Ministry in 1984. I grew up in the Southern Baptist Denomination. I was on staff, or pastored Baptist Churches until 1996. In 1996 I switched to the United Methodist Church. I was a Methodist pastor until 2003. From 2003 to present I have been in a non-denominational Pentecostal Church. Why so many denominations? Well, when I was in college I had an encounter with a demon. However, Southern Baptists do not have demons! So, there was a problem with me being confronted by a demon. Friends and co-workers tried to convince me it was my imagination. By 1996, I’d had enough of the constant fights over Spiritual gifts and the reality of demons. I was too “pentecostal” for the Baptist Church. A Methodist pastor, friend of mine, asked me to check out the United Methodist Church. He told me that they were more accepting of Spiritual gifts and the reality of demons. In 1996 I began pastoring Methodist Churches. Things were great until I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1998. The Spiritual gifts that had been operating in me were increased, greatly! Soon, I began to have the same type of disagreements with the Methodist Church that I had with the Baptist Church. In 2003 I left the Methodist Church and began ministry in the Non-Denominational Pentecostal Church. That, in short, is how I arrived at my destination.
Praise God for the work of the Holy Spirit in our brother’s life!
Robert L.