Chester Brown

I thank the Lord for this old-time Gospel and what it means to me. It’s true that I wasn’t down in the depths of sin like some. I lived a moral life that caused people to say I was all right, but the Lord was faithful to me and told me I was all wrong.

As far back as I can remember, my parents taught me to reverence God. They told me of the grosser sins of life, and that you couldn’t do those things and make Heaven your home. They told me about being born again. I knew that I didn’t have that experience and the Lord showed me that it was what I needed.

Some Gospel workers came over the mountain in the wintertime, when snow blanketed everything, to hold meetings in the little community where we lived back in the hills. The more of the Word I heard, the more conviction settled down on my soul. I would go about my work and something would say over and over again, “Except you make your peace with God, you are lost—eternally lost!” I began to pray.

One morning, I went out to the barn to feed the stock. I needed deliverance. I went down on my knees in the horse stable and called on God from the depths of my soul. I said, “Oh, Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.”

That morning, I felt I was the worst sinner that ever lived. I told God that if He would save me, I would serve Him the rest of my life. I don’t remember what all I prayed, but right then the glory of God came down through that old shake roof, right into the very depths of my soul. Every bit of condemnation, every worry, every care was gone, and I felt as happy and as free as a bird in the air. Wave after wave of joy flooded my soul. I had that sweet assurance that I was a child of the King. That was a long time ago, but I’m glad I have that assurance in my heart today.