YOU'RE NEVER TOO DEAD FOR A RESURRECTION
The day I was born, my parent's dream seemingly died. I am sure that when I came out of my mother's womb, she cried. I was born with a cleft palate, a hole in the roof of my mouth and my upper lip
had a section missing. This was before the time when husbands were allowed in the birthing room. My father, a man of faith, came in with words of comfort as soon as he could. But even though their faith was in Christ Jesus, their dream had been crushed.
My parents were given a bad report by the doctor. They were told I would not hear without some type of hearing apparatus and would not speak properly without years of speech therapy. They refused to believe the devil's lie. They stood upon the Word of God which says their "seed shall be blessed". Thank God, they refused to rewrite their theology to accommodate their tragedy.
At two months of age, my parents took me to an Oral Roberts tent meeting in Mansfield, Ohio. At this meeting Brother Roberts took me into his arms and prayed for me. I can testify to the fact that I have never had any speech therapy and have no problems with my hearing. Growing up, hearing specialists could not understand why I heard so well. "For this purpose was the Son of God manifest but to destroy the works of the devil." I was always aware of the great miracle that I received through Oral Roberts' healing ministry. I give God all the glory.
At age fifteen, while attending an Assemblies of God youth camp, I knew that God had called me to preach the Gospel. Although I was not antagonistic toward Jesus Christ, I did not respond to the call on my life at that time.
At nineteen, while working a summer job, I decided to go to a camp meeting two and one half hours from my house. I wanted to get out of work early and knowing my boss was a Christian, I knew he would allow me to go. I was not really interested in hearing the Gospel, but I knew cute girls would be at the meeting. Little did I know, the minister, that night would preach on "The Prodigal Son". He "read my mail". He did not personally know me, yet by the Holy Spirit, he knew me. At the close of that service, I responded to the Altar call and recommitted myself to Christ and accepted the call of God on my life.
When I told my parents about being called to preach, they said they already knew but were waiting for God to bring it to pass. They then informed me that not only was I healed when Oral Roberts prayed for me at two months of age, but he prayed that I would preach the Gospel throughout the world. I have since proclaimed the Gospel in more than 20 nations, seeing hundreds of thousands of individuals come to know Jesus in these meetings.
I was invited to give my testimony on "The Hour of Healing" with Richard and Lindsay Roberts. Because I was so young when Oral Roberts prayed for me, I asked my dad to write down as many details as he could, and to provide me with pictures and doctor's reports. I wanted to be able to testify on the program as knowledgeably as possible. My dad sent an overnight package with the information. In the package was a letter written to my mother and dad, dated the year I was born. I thought the letter got into the package by mistake. It was from the Division of Foreign Missions of the Assemblies of God. I opened the letter. It read, "Dear Brother and Sister Eccles, we are sorry to hear about your son. We understand you will not be coming to Africa as missionaries as planned." I had never heard my parents talk about Africa, not even once. I immediately called my sister. She me told that our family was planning to go to the Congo as missionaries very shortly after I was born. Because of complications associated with my birth, my family did not go to Africa. The dream was crushed. The dream seemed dead. You're never too dead for a resurrection. My parent's dream is still alive in me. I am now preaching to all of Africa, via short wave radio. According to the Bible, Proverbs 6, when a thief is found, he must return seven fold. My parent's dream was stolen, but the thief, the devil, is paying back with interest.
When I talked to my dad about not going to Africa as a missionary, he said, "What the devil meant for bad, God turned for our good". At the time my family would have arrived in the Congo, there was a revolution and political unrest. We would have lived in a compound with another missionary named Tucker. Guerillas or terrorists came into that compound and took Brother Tucker and fed him to the crocodiles. Again, what the devil meant for bad, God turned for our good.
My father has been a pastor for 56 years. He is still active in ministry. I am believing one day he and I will minister together in Africa. "If one can put a thousand to flight, two can put ten thousand." You're never too dead for a resurrection.
For ministry information contact:
Holy Ghost Celebration Ministries, Inc.
Evangelist Doug & Laurie Eccles
PO Box 36
Bixby, OK 74008
www.dougeccles.com
The day I was born, my parent's dream seemingly died. I am sure that when I came out of my mother's womb, she cried. I was born with a cleft palate, a hole in the roof of my mouth and my upper lip
had a section missing. This was before the time when husbands were allowed in the birthing room. My father, a man of faith, came in with words of comfort as soon as he could. But even though their faith was in Christ Jesus, their dream had been crushed.My parents were given a bad report by the doctor. They were told I would not hear without some type of hearing apparatus and would not speak properly without years of speech therapy. They refused to believe the devil's lie. They stood upon the Word of God which says their "seed shall be blessed". Thank God, they refused to rewrite their theology to accommodate their tragedy.
At two months of age, my parents took me to an Oral Roberts tent meeting in Mansfield, Ohio. At this meeting Brother Roberts took me into his arms and prayed for me. I can testify to the fact that I have never had any speech therapy and have no problems with my hearing. Growing up, hearing specialists could not understand why I heard so well. "For this purpose was the Son of God manifest but to destroy the works of the devil." I was always aware of the great miracle that I received through Oral Roberts' healing ministry. I give God all the glory.
At age fifteen, while attending an Assemblies of God youth camp, I knew that God had called me to preach the Gospel. Although I was not antagonistic toward Jesus Christ, I did not respond to the call on my life at that time.
At nineteen, while working a summer job, I decided to go to a camp meeting two and one half hours from my house. I wanted to get out of work early and knowing my boss was a Christian, I knew he would allow me to go. I was not really interested in hearing the Gospel, but I knew cute girls would be at the meeting. Little did I know, the minister, that night would preach on "The Prodigal Son". He "read my mail". He did not personally know me, yet by the Holy Spirit, he knew me. At the close of that service, I responded to the Altar call and recommitted myself to Christ and accepted the call of God on my life.
When I told my parents about being called to preach, they said they already knew but were waiting for God to bring it to pass. They then informed me that not only was I healed when Oral Roberts prayed for me at two months of age, but he prayed that I would preach the Gospel throughout the world. I have since proclaimed the Gospel in more than 20 nations, seeing hundreds of thousands of individuals come to know Jesus in these meetings.
I was invited to give my testimony on "The Hour of Healing" with Richard and Lindsay Roberts. Because I was so young when Oral Roberts prayed for me, I asked my dad to write down as many details as he could, and to provide me with pictures and doctor's reports. I wanted to be able to testify on the program as knowledgeably as possible. My dad sent an overnight package with the information. In the package was a letter written to my mother and dad, dated the year I was born. I thought the letter got into the package by mistake. It was from the Division of Foreign Missions of the Assemblies of God. I opened the letter. It read, "Dear Brother and Sister Eccles, we are sorry to hear about your son. We understand you will not be coming to Africa as missionaries as planned." I had never heard my parents talk about Africa, not even once. I immediately called my sister. She me told that our family was planning to go to the Congo as missionaries very shortly after I was born. Because of complications associated with my birth, my family did not go to Africa. The dream was crushed. The dream seemed dead. You're never too dead for a resurrection. My parent's dream is still alive in me. I am now preaching to all of Africa, via short wave radio. According to the Bible, Proverbs 6, when a thief is found, he must return seven fold. My parent's dream was stolen, but the thief, the devil, is paying back with interest.
When I talked to my dad about not going to Africa as a missionary, he said, "What the devil meant for bad, God turned for our good". At the time my family would have arrived in the Congo, there was a revolution and political unrest. We would have lived in a compound with another missionary named Tucker. Guerillas or terrorists came into that compound and took Brother Tucker and fed him to the crocodiles. Again, what the devil meant for bad, God turned for our good.
My father has been a pastor for 56 years. He is still active in ministry. I am believing one day he and I will minister together in Africa. "If one can put a thousand to flight, two can put ten thousand." You're never too dead for a resurrection.
For ministry information contact:
Holy Ghost Celebration Ministries, Inc.
Evangelist Doug & Laurie Eccles
PO Box 36
Bixby, OK 74008
www.dougeccles.com