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Personal Testimony
Of Prophet Robert C. Blakes, Sr.
As I
reminisce over all that God has done in my life, I find
myself in a state of awe at the wondrous working power of
God. I am truly amazed as I meditate upon the various
stages of my life that God has ushered me through. It has
truly been a blessing to see the plans and purposes of God
move forward from the point of His spoken word, to the grand
manifestation and fulfillment of His vision and preordained
destiny for my life. Because of His greatness and saving
grace, I am compelled to rejoice and thank God for the
miracle of His ministry unfolding in my life.
It is often
said that it can take some people a lifetime to arrive at a
point of certainty and fulfillment in their lives. However,
let me share with you the secret to a lifetime of
fulfillment – “knowing that your steps are ordered and
ordained by God”. Having a desire to hear from God and
complete His will for my life, I have learned how to walk as
a bare-footed priest, led solely by the voice of God’s
direction. During my life in ministry, God’s guidance and
direction has led me all over the world to minister the
gospel in places I never even dreamed of. Yet, God knew the
needs of His people and sent me forth as a Prophet to
minister His healing touch, His abundant blessings and His
everlasting grace.
Please
understand that it is the perfect will of God that we each
come into the knowledge and understanding of His plans and
purposes for our lives. It has truly been my life’s delight
to walk hand-in-hand with God on this awesome journey called
life. However, I must be honest with you and say that it
has not always been this way. Even though I was saved and
had a personal relationship with God, like many of you, at a
certain time in my life I found myself at a point of great
despair. Because of the saving grace of God, I am alive
today to share my personal testimony with you. I need you
to understand that without a doubt, God can turn any
situation around, in spite of the circumstances. God, and
only God, could have taken a “nobody” and made ME into
“somebody.”
When I think
of where my life was headed and how God’s love and
compassion intervened on my behalf, I want to shout from the
highest mountaintop – I’M FREE!
Revelation 12:10-11
And I heard a
loud voice saying in heaven,
Now is come
salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God,
and the power
of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused
them before our God day and night.
And they
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and by the
word of their testimony; . . .
I believe
that liken to this scripture, the blood of the lamb (Christ)
and the words of my testimony will encourage you and place
you in a position to overcome the devices of the enemy.
Allow me to share with you how God took an alcoholic
preacher, placed him in the office of a Prophet, changed his
life forever and sent him forth to heal a nation.
Over the
years, I had experienced a measurable level of success in
ministry and by 1970 had become a well-known pastor with a
small, but prominent congregation. The ministry hosted a
radio broadcast, which aired every Sunday morning and we had
become known throughout the community as “The Little
Church With A Lot Of Fire, as coined by a local gospel
radio announcer.
One evening,
as I sat in my church office, vaguely listening to the
melody of the choir rehearsal that was in progress, a fellow
preacher stopped by and invited me to take a ride with him.
While driving through the streets of the New Orleans, my
friend pulled out a bottle of alcohol and offered me a
“taste.” Having a desire to be accepted, even in spite of
everything I knew in my heart telling me that this was
wrong; I eagerly accepted the bottle and took a sip.
Ironically, that first sip opened the door to a yearning
desire for more. As with any temptation, my appetite for
alcohol increased and surprisingly was not easily
satisfied.
After a
short time, the ‘tasting”, as we called it, became so
excessive that I found myself needing a drink for breakfast,
lunch, dinner and even sometimes in between. There actually
came a time when I was always in need of a drink. No matter
how I tried to hide my addiction from others, I would often
drive all over the city looking for someone to share in my
temptation, simply because I did not want to drink alone.
As a result, my uncontrolled and reckless behavior led to
some very serious problems and a number of automobile
accidents. However, I was never seriously injured, nor was I
ever arrested or taken to jail. Looking back on that time,
I can say without a doubt that God was truly with me.
One day in
1976, after consuming quite a number of drinks with a fellow
preacher, I was driving home alone with only the radio to
keep me company. The Lord spoke to me through the words of
a song, which played subtly on the radio. I can still hear
those words, as if it were only yesterday – “What a
wonderful change has come over me”. Overtaken by the
words of the song, I immediately pulled over to the side of
the road and began to weep. As I continued to listen to the
recording, the song ministered to my very soul, as it went
on to say, “He changed my life and now I’m free.” By
the time the song had ended God Himself, spoke to me so very
clearly and said, “Son, I am now
ready to deliver you!”
A few days
later, I remember becoming gravely ill and being admitted to
the hospital. Doctors diagnosed me as a diabetic with an
elevated blood sugar level of 400 plus. As the doctors
explained the severity of my condition, I was informed that
I could have gone into a diabetic coma, suffered a stroke or
even a heart attack. So many things could have happened to
me at this time; however, God was keeping me. He only
wanted to get my attention, and I must admit that He did
just that! While lying in the hospital bed, looking over my
past, I began to talk to God and seek His direction for my
life.
Early one
Wednesday morning around 4:00 a.m., as I lay in the hospital
bed, the door of my room suddenly swung open. What appeared
to be the figure of a tall man stood before me with an aura
of light surrounding his head? Amazed at the mere sight,
the intensity of the light, and not to mention the
anxiousness I was feeling, I instinctively sat straight up
in my bed. The very first thing that he spoke to me was,
“I have come to deliver you.” He then told me to lift
my right hand and immediately I obeyed. Then he said, “I
bless this hand, for it will be used to bless many.”
He went on to say, “I am taking the taste of alcohol from
your lips, sanctifying you and filling you with the Holy
Ghost!” Let me tell you, the whole experience had my
hair standing up on my head, my flesh trembling upon my
bones, my heart pumping rapidly!
Oh, what a
glorious experience to have a visitation from the Lord God
Almighty! As I sat there in a state of awe, the Lord spoke
to me again, saying, “I have set you aside, I have
sanctified you, and called and ordained you to be a PROPHET
in these last days. You have been chosen to deliver my
people from bondage. Just as the Prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah
1:5), so you were also called before you entered your
mother’s womb. The dark period you have experienced was
necessary in order to prepare you for the task that is set
before you. You have been chosen to bring the healing and
deliverance ministry to my people.” At that very moment,
something touched my entire body as I felt a sensation;
different from anything I had ever felt before. Feeling the
heaviness of my past being lifted off of my shoulders, I
suddenly felt light all over. Praise God, the yoke had
finally been broken and by God’s hand my life had been
restored. No longer in bondage, I was truly set free!
Glory Hallelujah – I was finally set free!
A few days
later I was released from the hospital and right away the
strangest things began to happen to me. The Lord had given
me a new pair of eyes; as I was now seeing things that I had
never seen before. Like the Prophet Isaiah, God began to
reveal things to me, which I in turn would share with others
concerning their lives. The amazing thing was that without
the revelation of the Holy Ghost, I had no real way of
knowing any of these things on my own. In addition to the
gifts of prophecy and the discerning of spirits, God also
anointed me with the gift of the laying on of hands. I
really could not say when it started; however, when I
realized it, I was laying hands on people in the Name of
Jesus. Healing, the working of miracles, and deliverance of
every kind began to take place throughout the ministry.
Although I came under much scrutiny and criticism, I
continued to obey God in the area of prophetic ministry.
At the
beginning of 1977, the Lord led me to begin a Saturday
morning miracle service. People have come from all over the
United States to receive miracles from God in this special
service. We have witnessed bodies healed, minds set free,
broken homes and relationships restored, financial blessings
received and most of all – souls saved, and the working of
many other miracles, all to the glory of God.
To this day,
I never cease to be amazed at the many wonderful things that
God has done and continues to do with me and through me on
behalf of the ministry. Our church ministry has grown
tremendously, with the establishment of churches throughout
United States and the spreading of the true Gospel
throughout the world. When I think about all that God has
done, I walk to the edge of my spiritual mountaintop and I
shout -
I’M FREE!
THANK GOD I’M FREE
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