Set Free with the Truth of God’s Word

I was about ten years old. I had just lost my father and I was miserable. My mother had received many sympathy cards, but one in particular troubled me. It read something like, “He is not gone, he is just away.” I thought to myself, “What a lie!” At the time I didn’t know the truth of God’s Word, but I knew that my father was GONE.

It wasn’t until I was witnessed to almost ten years later that I was set free with the truth of God’s Word. The reality that when people fall asleep, they don’t immediately go to heaven, cleared away all the fog of deception. I no longer was troubled with the thought that my father might be watching me. I believed that my father was born again, so to realize that he was asleep and awaiting the return of our lord Jesus Christ, set my heart at peace.

I was so blessed to have a clear understanding about what happens when a person who knows that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is born again falls asleep. They have no consciousness. Their next waking moment will be the return of Jesus Christ.

The Way Ministry and the book Are the Dead Alive Now? set before people who want to know the truth regarding this subject so that they can be free in their hearts and minds about what happens when believers fall asleep.

Free to Enjoy a Life More Than Abundant

When I got witnessed to, I was wearing a T-shirt with John 8:32 printed on the front.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

At the time, I didn’t know the magnitude of this verse until I started attending a home Bible fellowship, participating in our ministry’s classes, and applying God’s Word that I was receiving. The more of God’s Word I understood, the more John 8:32 became a reality to me. As a result, I have experienced deliverance and freedom from bondage in many categories of my life.

One particular category that I am thankful to know the truth about is the subject of death and what really happens when someone “falls asleep,” as God’s Word so gently puts it. To me, there is no greater pain than that of losing a loved one. But God, Who is the God of all comfort and Who comforts us in all our tribulation (II Corinthians 1:3 and 4), lets us know that when Jesus Christ returns, the dead in Christ shall rise first (I Thessalonians 4:16)!

Having lost a teenage sibling in the early stage of my Christian walk and recently my dearly beloved mother, knowing these truths has freed me from having a broken heart and has allowed me to stay thankful for all that God has done for me and continues to do. It is the truth of the Word that we experientially know that makes us free—free to enjoy a life more than abundant that Jesus Christ came to make available!

I Am Not Going to Hell

When I was around four or five years old, I was told by an authoritative figure that if I broke one of the ten commandments one time that I would go to hell. I realized that I had broken more than one of them, and some of them more than once. Then within two months of hearing this, my family of seven, of which I was the youngest, went to our city’s museum of art. As we walked through and saw all the pictures hanging at various heights on the walls, I came to a picture that was at my eye level (I was the shortest of our group), which was an artist’s rendition of hell. I cannot tell you what that did to me. That picture of my possible end stuck in my mind for a long time.

By the end of my freshman year in college, I was still wrestling mentally about whether there was a God or there wasn’t. It couldn’t be both. If there was no God, then all there was in life was a miserable existence for about seventy-two years, then a hole in the ground. I then said to myself, “Well, why postpone the inevitable? Why not just bypass all the crap and just get right to it?” After briefly considering that, I said to myself that maybe there is a God. If there is a God, then He had to be smarter than me, and He would have to make Himself, along with His will for my life, known to me. I couldn’t figure it out by or for myself. I needed His help if He did exist.

The summer after my freshman year didn’t get any better. I was still unsure about God and my future. Then I visited my sister and her family for one week before I went back to college. She and her husband witnessed to me and led me into speaking in tongues the night before I was to go back home and then back to college. Saturday morning, my brother-in-law left to go to a fellowship coordinator meeting for the state. An hour later, I left to go back home. Sunday, I went back to college.

On Monday, I went to the Student Union to buy my books, and on the way back to my dorm room, I stopped at a tent that had booths from different churches and religions. I knew about The Way Ministry because of my sister, and I had been to ministry events like the Rock of Ages, so I went through that tent to see if the ministry had a booth set up there. Well, I walked the length of that tent and nothing. I knew I could call Headquarters or The Way in my state to find out about a local fellowship, but I wanted God to prove to me that The Way International was where I needed to go. I was definitely seeking a sign from God.

I got back to my dorm room and there was a note on my door to call this individual. I didn’t know them, but I called them and said, “Hi, I had a note on my door to call you. Why do you want me to call you?”

He answered, “I heard you want to go to fellowship.” I couldn’t believe it, because not even my mom knew I wanted to. I asked him how he knew. He told me he was from the same city my sister lived in and that he heard about the meeting for all the fellowship coordinators in the state, which was in the same city. He wasn’t a fellowship coordinator, but he wanted to be one, so he decided to go to this meeting without being invited, and he “just happened” to sit next to my brother-in-law!

Well, I was at fellowship that night! When they talked to me about taking the Foundational Class, they showed me a green card. On the back of this card were listed several benefits of the class. I went through that list, which included health and prosperity, but the one benefit that caught my attention and the only one I really wanted was, “Makes life meaningful.” If this class could do that, then my prayers were answered.

When I sat through that class, it was an audio class with flip charts. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! I learned that I was born again of God’s spirit and that I would spend eternity with God, His Son Jesus Christ, and all other believers. I was not going to burn for eternity in hell! What joy that brought to my heart!

I can only speculate concerning what I would have done had I not gotten involved with The Way International. I honestly believe that I would not be alive today if it were not for the ministry of Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille, which taught me how to rightly divide God’s Word and how to practically apply God’s Word in my life. I am not going to hell—I am going to “ever be with the Lord.”

Set Free and Fulfilled at the Same Time

I am alive today because of the truth I was taught in the Foundational Class in The Way Ministry. Perhaps many families are like this: certain expectations are passed down from generation to generation. In my family, what I had seen in my parent’s generation and in my generation was that someone dies prematurely. The family I was brought up in had a deep love for God, and they were faithful to worship God. However, some thought it might be good to suffer for God. Their beliefs were based on tradition and wrong teaching rather than truth.

In my first Foundational Class I heard the truth taught.

Psalm 116:15:
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

A light went off in my head. I grabbed on to this promise which was explained to me. The word “precious” means “costly.”

My aunt had died at an early age with three small children to raise. I had known her and loved her. Everyone said I looked just like her. We even had the same name. All my life, it bothered me that maybe the same thing would happen to me. When I heard the truth about this verse in my early twenties, my thinking and believing began to change as I studied the truth.

I Peter 2:24:
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

I learned that the Word of God had integrity and that I could claim and elevate it above what I had seen growing up. I began to understand all that Jesus Christ had accomplished for me. I began to trust my sonship rights. I learned that I had been redeemed and sanctified and justified. I learned that I was righteous. With these truths so lovingly supplied, I was no longer in bondage; I now had something to do! I had the ministry of reconciliation. So, while being set free, I found one of the sweetest jobs of my life—my lifetime “something to do” for God.

II Corinthians 5:20:
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

I am set free and fulfilled at the same time. My service career is lived for God and in the ministry that taught me these life-changing truths. I am forever thankful.

The Word of God Gave Me Stability

The Word of God has given me stability. I know that I know what the truth is, and I can stand on it and be proud to stand and speak of it.

Isaiah 33:5,6:
The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.
And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear [respect] of the Lord is his treasure.

Growing up I asked, Am I going to heaven? Why don’t we sacrifice animals like in the Old Testament? I wondered, What happens after death, and where were the dead if they were alive? I wondered so much that I did my high school senior research paper for English on the topic of life after death, and I concluded there was life after death because of the experiences people had had while they were “dead” and then came back to tell the story. At one time I could predict when the phone was going to ring. That was something fun, but it got old because I didn’t see the practical application for that (thank God). Life became for me about sacrificing my life for others, but at twenty-seven I had had it. All that stuff was just getting me depressed. I left my hometown and was witnessed to in less than two weeks. In eight months I took the Foundational Class! WOW, not only was it there in black and white that I was born again in the uncomplicated formula of Romans 10:9 and 10, but I learned I do not have to sacrifice anything for God, but had a perfect sacrifice for me, and I’m not a servant, but a son!—of God! The class showed me where spiritualism came from and that the dead in Christ will be made alive at the return. Oh my, well, I’m so blessed for what the Word has done for me; it saved me. I still am thrilled to find that the Bible makes sense and that there are people like me that love this Word for its soundness and that it is the stability of our times.

A Way to Know What Is True

Growing up I was a very shy child, afraid of making mistakes and lacking confidence. When I was in the eighth grade, a friend told me that her mother said I had an inferiority complex. With that comment I grew even more self-conscious and insecure.

As a young adult, I followed what was popular culturally, looking for peace and happiness. I became involved with sorcery and occult practices, such as automatic handwriting and palm reading, and I sought out fortune-tellers.

My family went to church, but I didn’t know much about the Bible. God only seemed to be a part of my life when I was in the church building.

My father’s mother was a very devout Christian. She read her Bible at home and was a very giving and loving woman. But when I would stay at her house overnight, I would often have nightmares about something trying to “get me.”

My mother also became involved in the occult. When I was twenty years old, my mother’s sister came to my house and gave me a book to read. She said that the things my mother was involved in were devilish and not from God. I thought my aunt was just a religious prude and scoffed at what she said. But her boldness planted a seed, a question that I eventually desired to have answered.

I prayed to God five years later, asking, “Who is right and who is wrong? Is there really any way to know You, God? If You are there and if You can, please show me.”

Within three days I saw an old high school friend who had moved back to town. She was involved with The Way and was having fellowship in her home. I wasn’t searching for something that agreed with what I already believed, I wanted a way to know what is true.

The Word shared at fellowship was logical and inspiring. I began to believe that life could be good. I learned how to stop the flood of thoughts that left me anxious and afraid. I became excited about living, knowing that God loved me and would help me overcome my challenges. I didn’t have to be anxious about not being perfect and not knowing everything. I could live and grow from stage to stage and enjoy the grace of God in my life.

The Word I was learning made sense, and I saw that the Bible had integrity; so I began to trust God and change. The Word regarding “are the dead alive now?” was vital for me. Even though it was logical, it took time for me to become convinced.

I read the book Receiving the Holy Spirit Today and spoke in tongues in the privacy of my home. Immediately after I did, I clearly perceived that I had been deceived by counterfeit spiritual phenomena. It was amazing. There was not heavy sorrow, just an acknowledgement that I had been wrong and tremendous thankfulness to know I was born again and a child of the one true God.

For the first time in my life, I experienced genuine peace and began enjoying the fruit of the spirit. I had joy overflowing and a heart full of love. My demeanor changed dramatically. I was set free from my prisons and began to experience life and the goodness of God. It was such a blessing to have something to give, knowing I could pray for others, share the Word, and help others experience God’s goodness.

I am so thankful God heard and answered my prayer, showing me The Way and how to know God’s will from His Word.

Set Free by the Truth

Learning the Truth Regarding What Happens When We Die

Learning the truth regarding what happens when we die was one of the most liberating moments in my life. Growing up I had been taught the “truths” of the world about death. These teachings were confusing and brought much fear to my life, to the point that I would go into a state of distress with the thought of dying. When losing a loved one, it was hard to love a God that “could cause that much pain.”

When I was shown directly from God’s written Word what our heavenly Father had written for us to understand on this subject, a great peace filled my entire being! God does not want us to be ignorant about this subject, and knowing the truth directly from God’s written Word truly set me free (Hebrews 2:14; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:26; Psalms 6:5; Ecclesiastes 9:5,6,10; Psalms 146:4).

Saved from Confusion

Having been raised Southern Baptist in a rural part of the United States, I felt condemned to fire and brimstone based on actions beyond my control. When given the opportunity, I elected to not attend any religious or secular organizations, as I found them confusing and unfruitful. I knew that other family members found a sense of peace in religion, and I felt that there was a God, but He was still unattainable for me.

In 1993 my mother died, and I was left even more confused and angry. Why would a loving God allow my mom to die at the age of fifty-seven?

In the meantime, my wife had been witnessed to by a coworker and had begun to attend fellowship. She had started taking a series of classes and had asked me to go. I told her to go ahead, that I was tired of religion. As the anger and confusion built in me, I finally asked her, “Why did God let my mother die at such a young age?” She said, “Come take the class.” The class was Dr. Wierwille’s Power for Abundant Living. In this class I was taught not only the idiom of permission but also that the dead in Christ are only asleep and awaiting the return, when we will meet again. As Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 4:13: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” I now have that hope.

I have since watched as my first and second wives have also fallen asleep. They are now awaiting the return of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

However, I now have the peace that was written about in Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

When I was hurting and confused, God placed The Way Ministry and an understanding of His Word and will, through the class series, in my path and heart. I now know that I will see my loved ones again at the return. Until then, I look forward to being able to share the peace that I have come to know.

I thank God for Dr. Wierwille’s hunger for the truth and for The Way International’s diligence for the accuracy of God’s Word for over seventy-five years.

I Was No Longer Afraid

I grew up going to a denominational church that teaches that the dead are alive, and that they watch over us and take care of us. As a child, I was afraid of this teaching; I didn’t like to get up during the night because I was afraid that I would find a dead person somewhere in the house watching over me. As I got older, it made me mad to think that those dead people could come in and out of my life anytime they wanted without respect for my privacy.

When I got in the Word in The Way Ministry and was taught the accuracy of God’s Word, I learned that the dead are dead, that they are not watching over me, taking care of me. I learned scriptures like:

Psalms 6:5:
For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Ecclesiastes 9:10:
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

After I was taught this truth in God’s Word and continued to grow in my understanding of it, I was no longer afraid to get up in the middle of the night. I knew that the dead are dead and that I could speak in tongues anytime, including at night, and talk with my heavenly Father, God. That gave me great peace and comfort.

This is one of the many things God has done for me because of the Word of God I have learned in The Way Ministry.

Exactly What I Needed to Heal My Heart

I started going to church at the age of seven. I was born again at the age of nine. I grew up in the church and attended faithfully three or more times a week.

The first moment I ever questioned my belief in God was when I was in my senior year of high school. I was seventeen, and my youngest sister passed away at the age of fifteen. I was hurt and heartbroken. The pastor told us we were not supposed to question God as to why He took my sister to heaven. She was up there with Him now and was looking down on us. I got angry at God. I did not see how He needed her in heaven. I also did not see how she could be looking down, watching over me, when I was so hurt and bad things were still happening in the world. I knew the Bible said that there wasn’t supposed to be any sorrow or tears in heaven.

When I was twenty-six and still attending that same church, I met a man who witnessed to me. He was preparing to take the Advanced Class as part of a series of classes through The Way Ministry. He asked me a few questions about the Bible. I responded with what I knew of the Word. He then showed me from the Word the correct answer. I was intrigued. I then explained to him about my sister and what the pastor had to say. He gave me the book Are the Dead Alive Now? by Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille to read. It was exactly what I needed to heal my heart. It showed me from the accuracy of God’s Word, scripture by scripture, what God says about what happens when you die and when you will be resurrected from death.

That was over thirty years ago, yet I can still remember the peace, comfort, and healing it brought to my heart and life. I am still standing strong in the household of God and with The Way Ministry. I thank God daily for this ministry that has taught me the rightly divided Word.

I Finally Understood

My first fellowship was a Branch meeting on July 4, 1979. This was the first time that I saw the love of God manifested by all the believers and saw the manifestations of holy spirit. This was the first time that I walked into a room and was loved and totally accepted for who I was. I was impressed that of about forty believers, every one of them made the effort to greet me and made an impact upon my life. What I saw was what I wanted in my life.

I took the Foundational Class in September, and that class showed me how to get rid of fear in my life. I had been brought up with the belief that when you die you go to heaven. This really bothered me because when I was nine my mom died. Many people told me that my mom was watching over me, and that made me angry. My thinking was that if she was watching over me, then why didn’t she live to be there with me and help me to grow up? Then the Foundational Class taught me I Thessalonians 4:13-18. Being taught these verses delivered me and healed me from wrong teaching and fear. I was electrified at what I was being taught. I soared with delight and was no longer angry at my mom. I finally understood that she was asleep, awaiting the return of Jesus Christ, and that brought great peace.

Another verse that brought so much deliverance in my life is John 10:10: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” I gained understanding of the goodness of God and that He wanted to bless my life, and I gained understanding of the adversary. I now have the knowledge and understanding that I am born again and can speak in tongues and that the adversary no longer has any rights to my life.

This ministry has taught me how to work the Word of God and prove that the rightly divided Word of God works every time. God has brought deliverance and healing and wisdom and understanding to my life because of the rightly divided Word of God that I have learned in The Way Ministry.