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AoG churches are growing North of the Border

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Drugs out, ministry in! Trevor Baker and Revival Fires

Building on Rock Churches find generosity pays

Pulled from pit of hell How faith healed abuse and anger

New leader for AoG? Name put for Conference vote

11/02/2009 09:46:59

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CONTENTS

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CONTENTS NEWS

TESTIMONY

10 GS DECISION TO BE MADE AoG Conference to decide on the appointment of a new National Leader

GRASPED fRom thE Pit of hEll

13 AROUND THE CHURCHES A round-up of the regions

martyn and Sue Sullivan were on the brink of divorce after violence and past hurts had wrecked their marriage. But after a miraculous turnaround, they are now leading a church in West Yorkshire

18 FOCUS ON THE GOSPEL Missionaries warned after couple given hard labour

11 NEWS – AoG and beyond

LovingLy gazing into each other’s eyes, Martyn and Sue Sullivan begin to weep as they recall what god has done for them. the couple know that without god’s intervention, their marriage would have ended years ago and they probably wouldn’t be alive today. but in a miraculous story of grace and forgiveness, the couple fight back the tears to tell how faith helped restore years of hatred, anger, abuse and torment. they describe how they were ‘grasped from the pit of hell’ one night after responding to the gospel message and accepting christ into their hearts. as a child, Sue had suffered ten years of sexual abuse from her father and had begun to tamper in witchcraft. Martyn was known for his violence, sometimes threatening people with loaded shotguns and being in regular trouble with the police. After Sue’s first marriage had broken down, she met Martyn and they moved in together. although there was a mutual attraction, there were constant arguments and violence. Sue recalls, ‘the events of my childhood had turned me into a very sad and bitter person. i’d rushed into marriage to get away from my father and it turned into disaster. ‘i was certainly in love with Martyn when we first met but he was headstrong and I was fiery. In our first two years we must have separated five times, but we al-

ways, somehow, got back together. Martyn was violent, always fighting and he’d trash the house when he got angry. in the meantime, i had developed rheumatoid arthritis and had a big lump on my spine and my feet were crooked. Life was a disaster.’ Martyn meanwhile, was in an equal mess. Despite growing up in a good home in Wales, he soon rebelled after suffering abuse himself. he turned to drugs, drink and violence, gaining a reputation in various towns as a fighter. he says, ‘i was in situations that i’m not proud of. i’d threaten to kill people and put shotguns to their head and in their mouths, and i spent a fortune on

‘I went down to the front and couldn’t believe it when I saw Martyn there. The speaker prayed over us that god would join us together like never before together’

6 february 2009 JOY MagazINE

TESTIMONY

22 DELIVERED FROM DRUGS Former heroin addict Trevor Baker has a new high – miracles, signs and wonders

SPECIAL FEATURE

radical children in Scotland are showing the adults how it should be done. Matthew Murray spoke to those involved in an early start to worship

IT’S noT oFTEn yoU’LL FInd A Christian in church at 7.45am on a Tuesday morning. But a group of Scottish children are showing the adults how it should be done, as weekly early-morning prayer meetings continue to grow. Held at the AoG church in Fraserburgh in the north east of Scotland, the thriving meetings attract about 30 youngsters aged between five and 16 each week. The young intercessors pray for the salvation of their non-believing families

and friends, for those who are sick, for teachers and parents and for international missionaries. Children’s pastor Lisa Ruth, who heads the church’s children’s ministry ‘Kids – no Limits’ says parents drop their children off at 7.45am before the 20-minute prayer meeting. The youngsters then eat breakfast together before walking to school with church staff. Lisa, 32, hopes a ‘praying generation’ will emerge from the meetings. She says, ‘we truly believe that these

'parTy' TIME aFTEr aWard

An AoG CoMMUnITy PRoJECT focusing on educating young people has won a prestigious award and £10,000. outreach organisation youth Alive, based out of Lighthouse Church, dumfries, South west Scotland, picked up the prize at the Mentor UK CHAMP Award Ceremony recently. The group won the accolade for its project Providing Alcohol Related Training for youth (PARTy), which aimed to educate young people on alcohol misuse.

Run by youth pastor Anne Hughes, the project began as a workshop educating young people on alcohol awareness. It became known as PARTy when that initiative combined with a dry bar scheme the organisation was already running. The dry bar aspect gives young people the opportunity to socialise in a pub-style environment, but with non-alcoholic cocktails. ‘The money is great but the honour of winning the award is fantastic,’ says Pastor Sandy Jamieson.

kids can be raised to become world changers, not just to live mundane, boring lives. My heart is to see a praying generation, which believes and has faith for amazing things from God. ‘The kids realise that they can live 100 per cent for Jesus. we want to see missionaries come out of these meetings and radical men and women for God.’ Lisa says there had been clear answers to prayer already. ‘we have seen miracles quite regularly, one of the most exciting is when parents have got saved. There are now families attending our church because of the prayers of the children,’ adds Lisa. ‘we’ve also seen people healed. one of the little girls was in hospital with kidney problems and the kids prayed for her as well as the main church and now she is better. others have said that pain in their bodies have gone after the children had been praying for them on a morning. ‘I am amazed at what God can do with kids. Kids realise that God has a purpose for them and a plan for their life. no matter what is going on around them God has his hand on them. 'They love praying and they really believe. They are not just thinking God might do it, they are thinking he will do

16 MARCH 2009 Joy magazine

The Kids no Limits ministry and, top right, Lisa Ruth

it. They are full of expectation.’ Lisa, who has worked at the church for the last seven years, says God clearly put it on her heart to start the morning meetings. Meanwhile, the church runs children’s groups four-days-

‘We want to show these kids that whether they’re five or 25 they deserve the opportunity to pray and to get to know Jesus more’ a-week, reaching more than 250 children each week. Their Friday night club, which attracts up to 200, is the most popular, with kids being bussed in each week. Lisa explains,

‘we are seeing kids testifying of what God is doing in their lives. They are learning to worship and pray and to understand that they can have a relationship with the Lord Jesus. we want to show these kids that whether they’re five or 25 they deserve the opportunity to pray and to get to know Jesus more.’ The church also has an extensive youth department, reaching thousands of teenagers on a regular basis. Through various school assemblies, around 5,000 high school pupils were reach at Christmas. Church Senior Pastor Steve Ritchie, who joined the church in 2007, adds, ‘Children and youth ministry is a high priority to this church. ‘There’s a lot of churches that are filled with old people and they won’t exist for much longer unless they touch this generation. If we want our church to exist for years to come then this is what we have to do.’

www.newlifepublishing.co.uk

IT wAS onLy A MATTER oF time before a Christian alternative to Facebook came on the scene, and about a year after its launch, it’s fair to say that www.ukchristians.net has been a great success. now topping 3,000 members, the site has become a real hub of social networking for British Christians of all denominations. In some ways, the site has much more to offer than other networking sites. For example, the topic discussion board is constantly full of comments from Christians keen on increasing their theology by engaging in a friendly debate. Issues such as speaking in tongues, healing and deliverance, drinking and smoking, and the pros and cons of war caused particular discussion. Meanwhile, the chat facility is now in operation, meaning users can engage in live conversation with those online at the same time. The site also has an event calendar, enabling users to post information about their church conferences and events, and so attract users to attend. A great way of advertising at no cost! Members can also upload photos and videos, leave comments on other people’s pages, download exciting applications, and have the chance to win regular prizes for recruiting more members. And if you’re feeling you like to mix online with those beyond the UK, don’t worry, because site owner Mark oakes has recently announced the launch of www.usachristians. net – an identical site for those based in the US! So if you’re keen to network with other Christians, this site is certainly for you…

24 WHICH JESUS DO YOU KNOW? Evangelist J John looks at the different views people have of Christ

42 REACH EVERYONE WITH THE NEWS Wolverhampton pastor Steve Uppal urges us to get going on the Great Commission

29 KEN GOTT says the church needs to go back before it can move forward

PROJECT BUILT ON SOLID ROCK Three AoG churches see God move in outreach project to help poor in India

25 MY FIRST MISSIONS TRIP John Andrews

DEVOTIONAL from UCB

30 TREASURE KIDS – puzzles and fun for younger readers

14 KEEP THE FIRE BURNING As AoG’s growth continues in Scotland Andrew Smith calls for continued unity

32 CD RACK – New music

17 WEBSITE OF THE MONTH – we visit www.ukchristians.net

35 GIFT IDEAS – A great selection

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LEADERSHIP & FEATURES

LEADERSHIP

21 COFFEE TIME – fun and puzzles

www.newlifepublishing.co.uk

31 CAVANNA Never take a nightmare to be a sure-ﬁre glimpse of the future

FROM THE EDITOR

The purpose of Assemblies of God is to give every man, woman and child the opportunity of understanding the Gospel and to provide a church where they can grow and develop in ministry for the glory of God.

JOY MagazINE february 2009 7

www.newlifepublishing.co.uk

20 MARION COOPER New grandmother Marion considers passing on God’s blessing

Joy is the ofﬁcial magazine of Assemblies of God

arguments, shouting, drugs and alcohol all disappeared. god took me from the pit of hell, put my feet upon a rock and transformed both of our lives. he made me the happiest person i could ever wish to be and has given me the world’s best husband. ‘i tried self-help groups and tried to overdose three times to get over my abuse, but i was only free when Jesus entered my life.’ Martyn was equally thankful, saying, ‘god took someone that was broken and angry and poured in his peace and goodness. i wouldn’t go back for anything.’ Martyn and Sue travelled as evangelists for a while, sharing their story throughout the uK, before attending Mattersey bible college. they have pastored aog’s St Luke’s church in South elmsall, West yorkshire, for almost 17 years.

36 EVERYONE SHOULD GIVE IN TO GOD When Michael Jardine heard the message from an AoG evangelist his life changed

FEATURES

18 PRAYER DIGEST

and realised that it must have been the audible voice of god. ‘i asked the man to pray for me and it was as if a thunderbolt hit me. My toes were straightened and the lump on my back disappeared. the whole place erupted as god healed me.’ the couple left that night transformed and with a fresh commitment to restore their relationship. Sue soon came to terms with what had happened to her as a child, and Martyn gave up the drugs, booze and fighting. Sue says, ‘I struggled at first to call god my father because a father to me had been my abuser who i hated. but then i saw the Scripture that said unless i forgave then god the father couldn’t forgive me. i eventually told god that i would forgive my father but would need his help. ‘our house became a haven and the

Joy magazine MARCH 2009 17

Children in Scotland are leading the way with early morning prayer

to be forgiven because i knew i had done wrong. i told god i’d give him one chance, but i also told him i would come with all my heart. it was no half-hearted decision.’ at the exact same time, Sue was having similar thoughts. ‘i was listening to this man speak when suddenly i had a vision of Jesus. he was in front of me and i saw him on the cross with blood flowing down his body. he told me that he had died for me,’ Sue says. ‘i went down to the front and couldn’t believe it when i saw Martyn there. the speaker prayed over us that god would join us together like never before and that we would serve god together. ‘i then heard an audible voice saying, “go and be healed” but i didn’t know anything about healing. i looked around

LEADERSHIP

SPECIAL FEATURE & oPInIon SPECIAL FEATURE

www.ukchristians.net

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

children are leading way

read it, love it, pass it on

Sue and Martyn Sullivan are now in a strong marriage and serving god together. Opposite page, Martyn preaches

God brings couple who were on verge of divorce closer for his work

34 NO LIGHTWEIGHT WITH HIS BELIEFS Boxer Manny Pacquiao says God has a knockout way of dealing with problems

GRASPED FROM THE PIT OF HELL Heading for a divorce, Martyn and Sue Sullivan saw their lives turn around

drink. i would trash houses, trash cars and trash people. i was crazy, it was as if i was determined to hurt whatever stood in my way. Myself and Sue loved each other but couldn’t live together. When our relationship was good it was good but when it was bad it was shocking!’ the constant arguing got too much for Martyn and Sue, and one particular week decided it would be best if they separated. Martyn agreed he would move out a few days later. in the meantime however, the couples’ lifeline came in the form of a phone call from Martyn’s christian brother, who invited them to attend a full gospel business Men’s fellowship international outreach dinner at a hotel in retford. they reluctantly agreed to attend, not telling anyone of their planned separation. but as the guest speaker began to talk about god, they both independently found their hearts begin to soften. Martyn says, ‘My brother had given me christian literature before and i had sworn at him and screwed it up in front of him. but i heard this man share the gospel in a simple way and talk about the love of god. ‘i soon saw that there was an opportunity for my life to be changed. i thought that if god was real then i had to know him, but i also knew that the drink, drugs and violence would have to go. ‘nobody had to tell me that i had

WhICh jesus do you knoW?

MY FIRST MISSIONS TRIP john Andrews

his name stirs up controversy and is one that our modern culture uses as a faint, lethargic gag according to evangelist j john, who ponders the man and asks which one you know

WHEn THIRTEEn-yEAR-oLD DAvID was asked what he knew about Jesus, he replied, ‘Why was he named after a swear word?’ Jesus. A name that stirs up such controversy, yet the reputation of this man has withstood scrutiny for 2,000 years. Today, passing a high-street surfing shop, his name is branded across merchandise: ‘Jesus surfs without a board’. A mark of our times, perhaps, that this name of such power and significance can be so casually tossed around. One step even further away from the assumption that this name will evoke extreme reactions: either a trust and acceptance of the biblical view of Jesus as God’s Son or a sceptical view, belittling him to the category of a ‘good man’. Now, it seems our culture has broken beyond that, allowing room for its use as a faint, lethargic gag and nothing stronger. Knowledge of Jesus is commonplace, but can we say that we know Jesus? Certainly, few would deny his existence. Today, a growing body of fifteen hundred million people trace their faith back to this historical figure; historians can verify his existence against Roman records, while theologians prove the validity of the gospels as an authoritative written account of Jesus’ words and actions. We have evidence and confirmation that he lived in Palestine, that he was 24 MARCH 2009 Joy magazine

33 BOOKENDS – New reading

considered to be the Messiah and that he was executed under Pontius Pilate, who governed Palestine from AD 26 to 36. This was the man, a peasant teacher living on the edge of the map in Judea, who made an impression so big that the normal categories of history and biography did not seem enough and a new literary genre developed to do him justice. Still, can our knowledge of this man rest and lie dormant in historical accounts? Reading the gospels, we can know of his life, his teachings and his miracles. This was no ordinary man. He was a man of such power, of peace and of love. This was the man who turned water into wine, drove out demons, fed the five thousand and walked on water. He gave his love and attention to an adulterous woman; he opened the eyes of a man born blind; he taught of his Father in heaven and he called us his friends. Crowds flocked to hear him. A sick woman strained for just a touch of his cloak. A leprous man knelt before him. Wind and waves obeyed his commands. He offered rest for the weary. At the cross, against every human instinct, he offered himself to God as a price for our sin.

This Jesus is a rather unsettling figure, who both comforts those who are troubled and troubles those who are comfortable. A man of love, but also radical, commanding and challenging. He tells the rich man that it is harder for him to enter the kingdom of God than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. He assures us that from those to whom much has been given, much will be demanded. The first will be last and the last will be first, and he professed that anyone who does not give up everything they have to follow him cannot be his disciple. And this is the man who asks us, one by one, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ In 1998, my friend Lee Strobel, a journalist, wrote a book recording his investigation into the evidence of Jesus. He interviewed a scholar, analysed data, and studied the historical evidence and the influence and effect that Jesus can have on one person’s life. Having assessed all of the evidence, Lee, once a confirmed atheist, came to faith and trusted the evidence. Yet what is worth recording is not that he could muster sufficient evidence and facts to believe, but that when he did, his life changed. So much so, that a few months after he became a follower of Jesus, his five-year-old daughter told his wife, ‘Mummy, I want God to do for

me what he’s done for Daddy.’1 The knowledge and facts of the person of Jesus remain on paper and yet it is this man’s life-transforming impact on those who believe today that marks the Jesus I know. Unless Jesus’ transforming power is real today, he can be no more or less interesting than any other historical figure, than Henry VIII or Churchill. The difference lies in the fact that this Jesus is as real today as he is in the historical evidence and, moreover, he connects us to God. This Jesus shows us our God and has made it possible for us to have a relationship with him. ‘If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.’ The Jesus I know turns lives around and turns our world upside down. Faith in this Jesus gives us a depth and dimension that we cannot experience in any other way. This Jesus takes us as we are, making us anew as we become children of God; ‘the old has gone, the new has come’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). He heals bruised, broken and wounded lives, offering us forgiveness, www.newlifepublishing.co.uk

blessing and guidance. He is the ‘Bread of Life’ who gives us food that sustains, and drink that quenches thirst, and he questions each one of us, as he did Simon Peter, asking, ‘Have I not chosen you?’ Like pieces of a puzzle, we fit together a portrait of this man. The man, without ‘beauty or majesty to attract us to him’. The ‘man of sorrows’, who was ‘familiar with suffering’ (Isaiah 53:3), and was despised and mocked by his people. A perfect, pure and holy man, a man of such care and compassion, who promises peace and commands us to ‘take heart’ for he has overcome the world (John 16:33). He reveals to us the perfect nature of our God, the God who prepared, planned and pursues us, offering us life, his way, in all its fullness.  For further information on J.John please visit: www.philotrust.com Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ, Zondervan, 1998, p. 269.

WHEn I WAS boRn, onE oF THE first things my mother said, apparently, was, ‘Look at the size of his feet!’ In 1966, when families like ours didn’t travel much, she announced, ‘This boy will travel far!’ She was right, and the global adventure truly began in the summer of 1990. Through an invitation from Paul Manso, I found myself in the West African country of Ghana on my first serious overseas missions trip. I was 23, two years married and three years in full-time leadership, but no one had warned me about the African experience and what it can do to a man. I ministered 29 times in 27 days, ate fu-fu among other things, travelled in all sorts of vehicles, preached in large churches and under a single light-bulb in the bush, and saw a spiritual hunger that continues to this day to inspire me. But something happened to me on that trip; my heart and eyes were opened to the world and to the fact that my life could be used to make a difference. Some of the truths I thought I believed before my trip, I decided I really believed on my return. My missiology went from theory to reality in just over a month. My first trip to Africa ruined me for ever. I vowed I would never complain again about my apparent ‘lack’, and promised to live my life for God’s dream to save the world, covering the earth with the knowledge of his glory. Since then I’ve had the joy of visiting and ministering in 35 nations, and this month I will lead the first ever Mattersey Hall student ministry team to Myanmar! I believe every Christian and every leader should go on a cross-cultural global mission trip at least once in their life. Be careful, though, it just could ‘ruin’ your life – for ever! Joy magazine MARCH 2009 25

J John wonders which Jesus you know...

41 BLAST FROM THE PAST John Wesley gives a rallying call

Editor: Peter Wreford www.newlifepublishing.co.uk/joy Write to: Joy Magazine, PO Box 777, Nottingham, NG11 6ZZ, England. Tel: 0115 921 7280 Email: editor@newlife.co.uk or for sales, orders@newlife.co.uk Published by Assemblies of God Incorporated, PO Box 7634, Nottingham, NG11 6ZY. Tel: 0115 921 7272 Email: info@aog.org.uk.

All content is copyright and must not be reproduced without prior written permission. Printed by The Magazine Printing Company, Mollison Avenue, Brimsdown, Enfield, Middx. The acceptance of advertising does not indicate editorial endorsement, and articles published do not necessarily reflect the official position of Assemblies of God. Submitted articles are subject to editing. By sending articles you accept this to be the case.

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JOY MAGAZINE MARCH 2009 3

11/02/2009 09:55:39

EDITORIAL

from the editor The Lord Jesus made it very clear that faith matters. He didn’t have so much to say about how nice people were, or how much their social skills shone, and even less about how eloquent their prayers were. But their faith really got his attention. He was deeply impressed by the faith of a professional soldier and went out of his way to make sure that everyone knew. And he regularly congratulated people that it was their faith that enabled him to perform miracles. The interesting thing is this – he could only ever see people’s faith by what they did. Believing is not enough – has never been enough – and yet it seems to be a lesson we find desperately hard to learn. On the one hand, the first disciples demonstrated their faith by leaving their nets and following Christ. The man born blind obeyed and went. Zacchaeus proved his faith by climbing a tree. The friends carrying a paralytic showed off their faith by destroying someone’s roof; meanwhile, Mary sparked off a furore with her faith when she tipped a whole bottle of expensive perfume over the Lord Jesus. On the other hand, it is perfectly

possible to demonstrate your doubt by doing nothing at all. Simon the Pharisee sat quite still when Jesus was being anointed, and the woman got his attention for a completely different reason – until Jesus ripped into him and exposed his hypocrisy. The fact is that most people carried on with their daily lives while the Lord was gathering followers. The crowd pressing in on the Lord was just a crowd; it was one woman with an issue

Asking the Lord to give us more faith really is missing the point of blood who forced her way through and stopped Jesus in his tracks. Eleven disciples sat in the boat – it was Peter alone who grabbed faith by the throat and stepped out on to the water. And for those of us who revel in the thought that faith enables us to do God’s revealed will, this might come as a bit of a shocker... it’s clear from the gospels that Jesus values faith so highly that he responded to it even when it was outside

How strong is your faith? Putting the world to rights in gospel terms is a matter of turning everything on its head. To live you must die; to get you must give. And it’s the same with faith, too. On one occasion when Jesus was explaining just how bottomless Christian forgiveness is, his disciples began to get weak at the knee. ‘Lord,’ they begged, ‘increase our faith.’ ‘Oh, faith the size of a mustard seed will do just fine,’ responded the Lord.

the perfect will of God. Think about his first miracle, when he turned multiplied gallons of water into wine despite having told his mother to leave him out of it! Her faith was too strong for him. You see, asking the Lord to give us more faith really is missing the point. He is waiting to see what we have got! Of course there is such a thing as presumption, and that isn’t faith at all. But, you know, in Britain today, there is so little faith on show that – for

Faith is as strong as the one we put our faith in. No more; no less. When I get on the bus I don’t sweat up the hills any more – someone else is doing all the work. My job is simply a matter of trust. With faith, it’s not so much a matter of how much you trust; it has more to do with who. The early disciples were rightly accused of turning the world upside down. I hope to be guilty of the same charge.

the time being – presumption should probably be the least of our worries. James pointed all this out in his epistle, of course, and earned himself a poor reputation in some quarters. But what he said remains true: we demonstrate our faith by what we do. So what are we going to do? Faith isn’t faith when we walk the high wire secure above a safety net. And faith is just a sham in our health-and-safety obsessed world where it doesn’t much matter whether God comes through for us or not. Faith is only faith where it’s do or die, and we cannot let him go. But get just a glimpse of that faith, which is instantly so glorious, so powerful, so infectious, and suddenly you can see why the Lord values it so highly. This is what the ancients were commended for. So, what are you believing God for? One thing is certain – faith in a vacuum never produced anything. Faith in our heavenly Father might take you to the wire and beyond, but no one in the Scriptures ever found that he let them down. The question is: what are you going to do about it?

4 march 2009 Joy magazine

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11/02/2009 09:53:53

TESTIMONY

GRASPED from the pit of hell Martyn and Sue Sullivan were on the brink of divorce after violence and past hurts had wrecked their marriage. But after a miraculous turnaround they are now leading a church in West Yorkshire

Lovingly gazing into each other’s eyes, Martyn and Sue Sullivan begin to weep as they recall what God has done for them. The couple know that without God’s intervention, their marriage would have ended years ago and they probably wouldn’t be alive today. But in a miraculous story of grace and forgiveness, the couple fight back the tears to tell how faith helped restore years of hatred, anger, abuse and torment. They describe how they were ‘grasped from the pit of hell’ one night after responding to the gospel message and accepting Christ into their hearts. As a child, Sue had suffered ten years of sexual abuse from her father and had begun to tamper in witchcraft. Martyn was known for his violence, sometimes threatening people with loaded shotguns and being in regular trouble with the police. After Sue’s first marriage had broken down, she met Martyn and they moved in together. Although there was a mutual attraction, there were also constant arguments and violence. Sue recalls, ‘The events of my childhood had turned me into a very sad and bitter person. I’d rushed into marriage to get away from my father and it turned into disaster. ‘I was certainly in love with Martyn when we first met but he was headstrong and I was fiery. In our first two years we must have separated five times, but we al-

ways, somehow, got back together. Martyn was violent, always fighting and he’d trash the house when he got angry. In the meantime, I had developed rheumatoid arthritis and had a big lump on my spine and my feet were crooked. Life was a disaster.’ Martyn, meanwhile, was in an equal mess. Despite growing up in a good home in Wales, he soon rebelled after suffering abuse himself. He turned to drugs, drink and violence, gaining a reputation in various towns as a fighter. He says, ‘I was in situations that I’m not proud of. I’d threaten to kill people and put shotguns to their head and in their mouths, and I spent a fortune on

‘I went down to the front and couldn’t believe it when I saw Martyn there. The speaker prayed over us that God would join us together like never before’

drink. I would trash houses, trash cars and trash people. I was crazy, it was as if I was determined to hurt whatever stood in my way. Sue and I loved each other but couldn’t live together. When our relationship was good it was good, but when it was bad it was shocking!’ The constant arguing finally got too much for the couple, and they decided it would be best to separate. Martyn agreed he would move out a few days later. In the meantime, however, their lifeline came in the form of a phone call from Martyn’s brother, who was a Christian and invited them to attend a Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International outreach dinner at a hotel in Retford. Martyn and Sue reluctantly agreed to attend, not telling anyone of their planned separation. But as the guest speaker began to talk about God, they each independently found their hearts begin to soften. Martyn says, ‘My brother had given me Christian literature before and I had sworn at him and screwed it up in front of him. But I heard this man share the gospel in a simple way and talk about the love of God. ‘I soon saw that there was an opportunity for my life to be changed. I thought that if God was real then I had to know him, but I also knew that the drink, drugs and violence would have to go. ‘Nobody had to tell me that I had to be forgiven because I knew I had

6 march 2009 Joy magazine

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TESTIMONY

Sue and Martyn Sullivan now have a strong marriage and serve God together. Opposite page, Martyn preaches

done wrong. I told God I’d give him one chance, but I also told him I would come with all my heart. It was no half-hearted decision.’ At exactly the same time, Sue was having similar thoughts. ‘I was listening to this man speak when suddenly I had a vision of Jesus. He was in front of me and I saw him on the cross with blood flowing down his body. He told me that he had died for me,’ Sue says. ‘I went down to the front and couldn’t believe it when I saw Martyn there. The speaker prayed over us that God would join us together like never before and that we would serve God together. ‘I then heard an audible voice saying, “Go and be healed” but I didn’t know anything about healing. I looked around and realised that it must have been the www.newlifepublishing.co.uk

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audible voice of God. ‘I asked the man to pray for me and it was as if a thunderbolt hit me. My toes were straightened and the lump on my back disappeared. The whole place erupted in praise as God healed me.’ The couple left that night transformed and with a fresh commitment to restore their relationship. Sue soon came to terms with what had happened to her as a child, and Martyn gave up the drugs, booze and fighting. Sue says, ‘I struggled at first to call God my Father because a father to me had been my abuser who I hated. But then I saw the Scripture that said unless I forgave then God the Father couldn’t forgive me. I eventually told God that I would forgive my father but would need his help. ‘Our house became a haven and the

arguments, shouting, drugs and alcohol all disappeared. God took me from the pit of hell, put my feet upon a rock and transformed both of our lives. He made me the happiest person I could ever wish to be and has given me the world’s best husband. ‘I tried self-help groups and tried to overdose three times to get over my abuse, but I was only free when Jesus entered my life.’ Martyn is equally thankful, saying, ‘God took someone that was broken and angry and poured in his peace and goodness. I wouldn’t go back for anything.’ Martyn and Sue travelled as evangelists for a while, sharing their story throughout the UK, before attending Mattersey Bible College. They have pastored AoG’s St Luke’s Church in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, for almost 17 years. Joy magazine march 2009 7

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