Murray's Story
I grew up in a non-churched house, where my parents had no affiliation to church or anything. My mother died when I was 14, and my father and I never got on. The only way we could talk and communicate and have a relationship was through alcohol. So from the age of about 14 to 17, Dad and I used to drink a lot. I got involved in marijuana and I ended up getting caught with marijuana. I went to court and nearly went to jail.
From there, I entered into a life where I was dealing drugs, growing drugs. It drove me into a spiral down that I couldn't get out of, and the only way I knew to get out of the lifestyle that I was in was to commit suicide. The guy who sold me the marijuana that I got caught with met me randomly one day on the street, and he told me where he worked and what he was doing. He was living at the New Life Bible College in Thorrington Road, and he was doing an internship at Majestic House, which was a New Life church in Christchurch.
I was walking down Manchester Street, and saw Majestic House and I thought, I'm not going in there. The next thing I remember I was coming out on the third floor of the loft and there I was in the building. I didn't know how I got there, didn't know what was going on, didn't know anything, but I heard a voice and this voice said to me, "You've come this far, carry on." So I did. I said to them behind the counter, "It's a matter of life and death, can you get Lindsay to ring me?" It was a matter of life and death because the next night I was going to overdose. They said, "He'll ring you by eight o'clock."
I waited for the phone. Eight o'clock came, no phone call. I had a snack, no phone call. Nine, ten, no phone call. So I went to bed, and I was just deflated, again. Then somebody called out, "Murray, phone for you." I went down and it was Lindsay. We made a time we were going to meet the next day for morning tea.
The next morning, I went to a pub that used to be open down Manchester Street, and I went to the pub, had a few joints and a few jugs by morning tea time, then I went down to see him. I got to the gates, walked in and there were two big wooden concrete posts. Now I'd been stoned for 12 or 18 months, on alcohol and drugs. I was just a wreck all the time.
As soon as I walked past these two concrete posts, white painted concrete posts, I was straight and sober. No sign, no taste, no influence of marijuana in my life. I talked with Lindsay, had morning tea, had lunch. After tea and a worship time, it was amazing. This is an unsaved person, all these people that love Jesus and worship him. I went and sat outside, and I was sitting there and I was feeling so good because you just can't help but feel good when you're in the presence of God.
I was sitting out there, and this woman, she was the youth leader, she came out. Her name was Jane. She said, "Murray, you need to make a decision. Do you want to ask Jesus Christ into your life?" I said, "Yes, please," and it was just amazing. They started praying over me in tongues, and I had a deliverance. I had a demon leave me, and freed my tongue up.
I was able to confess my sins, confess Jesus as my savior and became born again, but not only just born again, I was actually delivered of drug addiction, I was delivered of alcoholism, I was set free.