Stephen HewittMy New Life in Christ
First of all I just want to thank God for allowing me to share my testimony on this website and I pray that through you hearing of what Jesus has done in my life, that it will do something in yours. Firstly, my name is Stephen Hewitt and I am 19 years of age. I have been a born again Christian for three years – it has totally changed my life. Simply by putting my trust in Jesus and asking Him into my heart. See, I find that your heart is like a room with a door and the door handle is on the inside and Jesus waits patiently on the outside, waiting for you to open the door and invite Him in. Because God is a gentleman He won't barge into our lives. He gives us this little thing called free will and with it, we can do whatever we want. Now there was a time in my life, at the age of fourteen and I was in a state of depression. I didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't care for anybody and I hated my parents. I couldn’t even look at my father - we used to argue constantly. I wouldn’t even have cared if he had left home and never came back again. I really hated him - from the depths of my heart. I couldn’t bear the sight of him - and all he would ever do was love me and boast about me. But when he would try and talk to me - I would walk away in disgust. Even with my mother, I used to take advantage of her by treating her like a piece of rubbish and calling her every name under the sun and for absolutely nothing. I even thought about hitting her a couple of times, and then I would walk away and cry someplace. I didn’t like who I was becoming. I was in my own little world and I knew that if I didn't do something about the situation I was in, I was going to do something that I would regret. Anyway, as time passed by, I got older and even more stubborn. I was never a violent person, but if I had to fight I would. That was just the way I had been brought up. But I was very 'mouthy' and I didn't care what I said to anyone because I was never frightened. Plus, I never thought of the consequences. I couldn’t talk to anyone without having an argument. But there was one person I really loved - and that was my old grandfather, Charlie. I could talk about absolutely anything with him and he would never tell anyone about what I had told him. That to me was everything. He was a person I could trust and he wasn't just an old grandad to me - he was my best mate. At the age of fifteen I started going to night clubs and pubs - drinking and smoking. I thought I was a little man – with a fag on my lip and a pint in my hand. And I thought I had everything going for me. But little did I know it was going to get worse. A little later down the line I got in with some boys that dealt with drugs. Even though I was totally against taking drugs I didn't let it get to me that my mates were, because I thought 'What they do is their business and what I do is mine.' But each time I'd go out with them they would always be out of their heads – stoned and paralytic and I'd always feel left out. So I thought 'If you can’t beat them, join them'. So I did. Going out all through the week and every weekend was my life. I used to love getting drunk, stoned and going out womanising. I couldn't get enough of it. But as time went on I was drinking every night and the drugs were taking hold of me. I'd come in every night about three o'clock in the morning and roll through the front door. I used to be so drunk and stoned that I didn't know how I got home. And when I got in, my mum and dad used to argue and go mad. I could see that if I kept on doing what I was doing, that it was going to break my parents and my home up. I knew I needed a change but I never had the power to do it. I knew I need something but I didn’t know what it was. Every time I had a problem at home or somewhere else I turned to the drink and the drugs. I knew it wasn't helping but it was the only thing that took my mind off everything. Well, for a little while at least. At home at this time, things were miserable, especially with my mum and dad arguing all the time over me. But with my grandparents living next door if anything happened I would go over there and lie low for a couple of hours. With everything going on as it was, the thing that used to 'get right up my nose' the most, was my granny would always come over and keep on and on and on about God and Jesus to me. And it really drove me mental. Every time she mentioned it I would swear and go mad at her and tell her to get off out of it. And I would pretend and say it was a load of rubbish. But deep inside I knew it was true. Anyway, a couple of weeks later my granny came to me and she asked me if I wanted to go to church. Normally I'd laugh and tell her to go away but something inside of me was telling me that I should go, so I did. When I got there I thought 'Whatever am I doing here with these idiots?' Everywhere I looked people had a big smile on their face, and I thought this is no church – this is an asylum. So anyway I sat down and watched them all lift their hands and close their eyes and sing while I was in the corner laughing my head off at them. But little did I know that something was going to happen to me. After all the singing was finished they all settled down and the preacher got on the stage and he preached about what Jesus had done for me. That He died on an old rugged cross for my sin, and that if I didn't ask Him into my heart, I was eternally condemned. I was going to a place called hell, where there is eternal darkness. A place where there is eternal pain, sorrow, wickedness, suffering - a place of depression and loneliness. But then he said that I don't have to go there - I didn't have to go to this terrible place. He said it says in John 14 v 6 (Jesus said) "I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." And he said that through your putting your faith in Jesus Christ, asking Him into your heart to take over your life, but you've got to mean it, he said and if you do, Jesus will perform a miraculous change in your life. He would deal with the things that you can't deal with. He'll mend the broken heart. He will deliver - He will heal. After it was all finished I went home, and all that night I couldn't sleep because I kept remembering what the preacher said about hell and about what Jesus had done for me. And I knew that deep in my heart, that this was what I was looking for all along. So that night I decided in my heart, that I was going to give my life to Jesus and give Him a try. I thought I have got nothing – so I have got nothing to lose. And since I decided and I asked the Lord into my heart – immediately He took the desire away from me to drink and smoke. He took the smoking away. I even stopped swearing. He took the drugs away, He took the womanising away. And He has replaced all that with goodness. You know, God has given me a love for my parents that I have never had before. I have become a better son; I have become a better person altogether. He has cleaned me up. And what Jesus has done for me He can do for you. For you have heard the Gospel - you have heard of what Jesus has done for you. He died on the cross at Calvary for your sin and He shed His precious blood. After He died they laid Him in a tomb and after the third day He rose from the dead, proving that He could defeat death. Today, He sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for me and for you. But you must be born again of God's spirit – you must ask Jesus to come in to your heart. Because if you don't you too are eternally condemned and I can assure you that you will be going to that place called hell, if you don't invite Jesus into your heart. You also can find help and advice by contacting us through the e-mail link on the home page of this website God bless!
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The Church at Gun Hill is an Elim Pentecostal Church