Sid: We want everyone to understand that the devil is real but there is a greater power inside of every true believer in the Name of Jesus, in the Name of Yeshua. I have in the studio Jeff Burke from Cartersville, Georgia. Jeff was a Baptist preacher at age 21 but he didn’t see the reality of a Bible; the reality of the supernatural. And he definitely didn’t want to look into the charismatic dimension because he was taught tongue’s was of the devil. And so he gradually little by little left the ministry; got into the New Age; got into witchcraft. In the meantime his father who was also a Baptist pastor got Spirit-Filled and his father and mother started praying for him. And I’ll tell you something there is nothing stronger than a mother and father uniting in prayer for their unsaved children. And so while they were praying for Jeff his life got worse and worse. I mean he took a whole bottle of sleeping pills; wanted to kill himself; he couldn’t even fall asleep let alone kill himself. But now you were doing very well at work but all of a sudden as your parents were praying your job just deteriorated to the point where; now you were also into drugs at the time?
Jeff: I was into drugs.
Sid: Drugs and so did you get fired from work or what happened?
Jeff: I wound up I got fired because of an instance they caught me in and so I wound up getting fired. And so I went to a place and then I actually got kicked out of the house and wound up losing everything I had. Even the witch I was living with wanted me to leave; so I had two hours to stay in this trailer and I didn’t know what to do so I fell on my knees and I said “God I don’t know what will happen to me if I die; I don’t even know if you’re real.” And I said “But I know that I need something or I’m to die; so if You’re real I need help. And again I heard a voice and that voice said “Go call your father.” And so I went to a phone and called my father and I said “Daddy, can you come get me I’ve lost everything I got if you’ll allow me to come and stay in your house for a couple of months until I can find a job then it would… I sure would appreciate it.” And they said “We’ll come get you, I don’t have a car anymore.” And I said….
Sid: Well, the devil just really doesn’t play fair; he’s out to kill, and steal and destroy and that’s what he was doing to you. So how did you get home?
Jeff: Well, I got my bags and I went and sat on a street corner and I told my daddy where to come. So my mother and father drove up; they drove up a couple of hours later and picked me up on that street corner; I threw my bags in the back. And I just sat in the back of the car and as we pulled out and left and headed back to their home. My dad finally after some quiet time my dad he said “Son I really do hear God now and he said God has a word for you.” And then at the time I didn’t know what Logos or Rhema you know about all those differences.
Sid: Hmm hm.
Jeff: And I didn’t know what a Rhema Word or a word from the Lord was; but he said I really do hear God and if you don’t believe me you can ask your momma. (Laughing) and our course she’s up there going “Praise the Lord.” And so she… or he looks at me and he says “Son God does have a word for you and he said “This is what he has for you.” And it was this path of just blessing and tremendous things happening in my life that my heart really yearned for and wanted.” But then he said “This is also the word to you; if you don’t turn and walk the path today he said, “You will not mock God’s Name on the earth anymore.” And he said “Either you turn and walk it today or you won’t walk the earth at all and God’s fixing to call you home and you won’t even walk the earth anymore.”
Sid: Did you believe that?
Jeff: I did believe it; inside of my heart I knew that something had to happen and I knew that I was fix-en to die. And I knew that I was about to die from an overdose; somebody shoot me or something was going to happen. I just knew inside of myself that something was going to happen and I was going to die. And so when he spoke the word even though I didn’t know what it was I believed it and it was one thing that I knew about my daddy he didn’t lie. And so and I knew that he believed it and so but on my own heart I believed it. So they took me down to a place called Shawnee, Georgia a place outside of Springfield, Georgia. He was pasturing at the time still a Baptist Church and even though He’s Spirit-Filled. So they were there and it was in the country. And it was 18 miles from the nearest store and I would still like I’d say I was smoking 4 packs of cigarettes a day; I would go out in the woods and smoke but I wouldn’t smoke in the house. I never went through DT’s which always amazed me.
Sid: Hm.
Jeff: I kept expecting and I didn’t know what I was going to do because I didn’t have no contacts or nothing.
Sid: How addicted were you?
Jeff: Well, I was smoking marijuana a good bit; I was taking something called “Eskatrol.” Which is street speed at the time which was basically diet pills but I don’t think they sell them anymore. But it’s amazing that I didn’t go through any DT’s.
Sid: But at what point did you turn your life over to God?
Jeff: Well, they didn’t just come and jump on me about stuff. But they would go in their room and they would pray.
Sid: Well, that was worse. (Laughing)
Jeff: (Laughing) So they left books around though; I remember picking up a book called “From Prison to Praise.” I believe the man’s name was Merlin Carothers; and I began to read in there. And he taught about how people got set free praising God. And I said “Well, I’d like to praise God; I’ll try that.” I did pick up one on demons and I didn’t like that so I said “I’ll put it back down.” (Laughing)
Sid: Those demons didn’t want you to read a book about demons for sure, go ahead.
Jeff: So I went in my room and I would read a chapter and I would practice whatever it’s saying. If it said about raising and I’d never raised my hands above my head before and I’d practice that by myself in my room. I’d say “Praise God, hallelujah” and try to say all of these things. And one night I read about a man going to sleep praising God and I’m going to try that. It said he got up totally delivered from everything. I said “I’d like to be like this man says he is.” So I had been in a lot of rough places but I laid down and I turned the light off and I just began to say “Praise the Lord Hallelujah” and I’m just about to drop to sleep at that place you’re between sleep but you’re still awake. And so I remember as I’m saying these words. All of a sudden a different voice comes out of my vocal chords and it basically said (deep raspy sound) “Shut up that blankety, blank racket.” And man my eyes popped open.
Sid: It must have scared you.
Jeff: It scared me. It definitely scared me; my eyes popped open and I just sat there a minute or laid there a minute and I was shaking. And I was going “That was not me; that was not my own voice; but it come out of me; how could that be in me?” So I slid my leg across the edge of the bed; got my feet on the floor; through the covers back; ran across the room and turned the light on. And I was shaking; sweating; and I’m going “What am I going to do?” Now I’d been involved in all of this stuff witchcraft and praying to Satan and stuff. And here I am I’m shaking and I’m going “But I can’t go through that deliverance stuff they talk about because I’ll die; because I’ve seen “The Exorcist” and I know what happens.”
Sid: And that’s not true; by the way you don’t get die but go ahead.
Jeff: Amen, amen. And so as I’m doing this and I’m shaking and sweating. I heard that voice again and the voice says “Be still, be calm and just go down the hall your mother and father are still awake they’re reading go into their room and tell them what happened.” So I do this and sure enough their light is still on and I knock on the door, I come in and I go sit on the edge of the bed. And I said “Listen this is what I’ve been doing and it’s stuff that I don’t want to tell you all about, but I’ve been doing some very bad things and I don’t want to talk to you about it but this is what just happened to me. And of course my daddy he’s there listening to me and he said “Son, nobody is going to kill you.” He said “Because the Lord is going to protect you.” And he said “We’re going to pray for you. And when we pray for you it will be okay.” And so they prayed for me and he said “Jeff this is what the Lord told me he said “Within 3 days I will come to you and when I come if you still want to be delivered then the Lord said after 3 days he will do it.” And so I’m going 3 days man I got to go back to that room (Laughing). So I went down and grabbed nightlights and I grabbed all the extra Bibles I could find; I turned the lights on in my room. I opened up all the Bibles, put them in a circle around my bed (Laughing) and basically stayed awake all night and sleep in the morning some. And then 3 days later my daddy came to me and he said “Son, do you want to be delivered still?” And I daddy I have to have something; I’m going to die if I don’t have something. And I know that I’m fixing to die unless God does something.” And so he put me in a car and drove me over to a place called Gillisonville, South Carolina with another Baptist pastor who had been spirit filled also. They took me over to the church building; now I didn’t realize it at the time but this was only the second time they had done this and they said “We’re going to take you through a deliverance…” So they set me down…
Sid: Oh, we’re out of time we’ll pick up here tomorrow Mishpochah.
