What Jesus Told This Marine Left Him in Tears YouTube

Hi, my name is Rick Jimenez, and I want to share with you a vision that I had of Jesus that changed my life But before we get into that story, I want to tell you a little bit about where I was and how God met me I'm not big on dates, but there's a date that I will remember for the rest of my life, and it's January 23rd 2005 and that's the day that I met Jesus and gave my life to him At the time I was serving on active duty in the United States Marine Corps I had served for a total of 12 years on active duty I was an infantry Marine by trade and at the time I was serving as a Marine Corps drill instructor in San Diego, California Now this time was very significant because I was serving as a drill instructor During a time where our country was at war The towers had gone down in New York, and we had launched the initial invasion in Iraq So the responsibility of training Marines that were going to go fight in this theater was a huge Responsibility that every Marine specifically every drill instructor was facing at the time so I was putting in countless hours as a drill instructor time away from my family and my two children and this created a great tension in our marriage Among other things this was probably the critical piece that created a wedge in my family and in no time at all My marriage began to dissolve and after five years of marriage my wife and I separated My wife decided that it would be better if she moved back home to Fresno, California Where she was from which was about six hours away from San Diego, which was my duty station So my wife relocated with my two children and so we were living separated at the time not fully divorced, but we were Marriage very fractured very splintered and we were barely on speaking terms So on this one particular day January 23rd 2005 it was a Sunday to be exact I drove to Fresno to visit my children at the time my wife and I were barely communicating But my wife had found a local church that she had been attending and she basically gave me an ultimatum that day She says if you want to see the kids you can see us at church That's where we're gonna be. So Reluctantly, I went with her. I remember sitting in the last row of this church I'd never been to before with my arms folded very resistant. I'm listening to this preacher share a message on financial stewardship but at the end of that Sermon, he gave a call to salvation and he preached the gospel in a very clear way But I had never heard it preached before I didn't make a decision to follow Christ that day but that gospel truth Resonated really deep inside of my heart And I remember it was at the end of that day. I was getting ready to drive back to San Diego mind you a six-hour drive and as I was driving Normally, I would listen to the radio or listen to you know, some music or a podcast or teaching of some sort on This particular day the radio was in the off position because my heart was so heavy as I was contemplating the the brokenness Of my marriage. How how did we get here? How did we come to this place where we're living in these two different cities? thinking about the idea of Another man coming into my home marrying my wife and raising my kids That was a that was a possibility if I continued down this path and then furthermore I had just learned that I would be checking into an infantry unit within a couple of months and we would be deploying to Iraq and I knew that That would be a year-long deployment. And so trying to reconcile how how do I restore this marriage and Balance it in the midst of a combat deployment. So as I was driving to San Diego thinking about this In that moment I had a vision now some of you may call it a daydream But it was really the Lord Drawing all of my attention to him and it happened in a in a blink in a flash. Nothing that was gonna Create a dangerous scenario while I was driving home but I remember going into this vision and I could see very clearly this green pasture this open field and Dividing this pasture was a a white fence one that you may see on a on a ranch And I was I was sitting on that fence straddling that fence and on one side of the fence It represented my life up to that point and there was a strong visceral sense of all of my pain all of my brokenness all of my regret all of my Dissatisfaction was on that side of the fence and on the other side of this fence was Jesus and there was such a sense of peace and tranquility and In that moment. I knew instantly that My life was broken Simply because I didn't know him and I wasn't walking with him. I didn't belong to him I had lived my life up to that point making every decision From my own will my own strength My own desires and I knew in that moment. The answer was Jesus now It would have been safe to say that Yes I needed Jesus to restore my marriage and it would be safe to say that I need Jesus To protect me and my Marines on a battlefield and in that moment I only wanted him I knew that I needed him and so in my car on a drive From Fresno to San Diego. I cried out to the Lord. I Surrendered my life to him not even knowing what that entailed or what that would look like I just knew that I wanted him and I needed him so I cried out to the Lord surrendering my life I Didn't hear Music I didn't hear angels. I didn't have some other supernatural encounter other than the vision that I just had and I finished my drive to San Diego six hours later. I arrived to base It's around midnight on the same day and I I walk into my room I had a single room all to myself on base and I remember laying in my bed still contemplating the heaviness of My broken marriage and this combat deployment that I would be embarking on in just a few short months and I remember wanting to conclude This thought so I could go to sleep and in that moment. I remember in my heart convincing myself coaching myself That my family would have to wait that the deployment Was more important than Whatever was happening. I concluded that my role and my responsibility as a leader of Marines was Was more vital and more pressing and so I I just in my own thoughts Said that to myself The deployment is more important. Your family is gonna have to wait and just as I had that thought there was another thought greater clearer and More precise and it was the voice I believe the voice of God through his Holy Spirit not audibly but right to my heart and his words seemed to pierce Directly into my soul and this is what he said to me He says these are not the battles that I've called you to fight He said your battles are here for your wife and for the souls of your family When I heard those words, I sat up in my bed and I wept Uncontrollably what seemed like for hours I don't recall crying like that ever in my life And I wasn't crying because I was sad and I wasn't crying because it was traumatic. I Wept because my heart had no other way to articulate What I was feeling when I heard the voice of God speaking to me You see I was ready in that moment to forfeit and sacrifice my family for a call of duty and God in that moment spoke directly to my heart and showed me number one that he knew who I was That he knew where I was and that he knew the condition that I was in but most importantly he had the remedy to my problem and he spoke it directly to my heart and I wept and I remember even during that that time of weeping coming to such a clear Revelation that Jesus is alive and he's real and he's alive in me That ladies and gentlemen was my born-again moment where I surrendered completely to the Lord. I remember waking up the next day and it would have been so easy to look back on the events of the night before and Think that was strange. That was so weird, but I remember waking up For the very first time in my life. I was 33 years old when this happened waking up with this very keen Awareness of the presence of God Trust me when I tell you the condition of my heart at that time was very hard and very dark and very cold I knew all too well What my nature was like and how I felt but this particular morning was different. I felt new I Felt peace. I felt his comfort and strength. I felt his love and That began a journey that changed my life Some of you may be thinking Rick what happened with your marriage? Well, there were so many people in my proximity that were noticing the difference in my life My wife was one of them even from our two geographic locations her being in Fresno me in San Diego During phone calls or brief moments together. She was noticing a gentleness on me. The Lord had done such a work in my heart This began a journey of restoration and healing But the deployment quickly came and we embarked on this combat deployment There's a lot we can say about War and what happens but specifically what was going on with me as a new follower of Jesus in a battlefield was simply this there was such a dependency that I had upon him a Dependency that I learned with walking with him in a time of uncertainty You know, I don't know where you are in this situation and where you are in your life And if this resonates with you, but no matter where you are and what you're going through. Maybe you're in real Danger, maybe danger is eminent and and maybe there's uncertainty in your life I'm telling you this that if you are a believer in Christ Jesus and you are filled with his spirit I'm telling you that that is enough to save you and to sustain you and Bring you peace in the midst of any storm Yes, we engage the enemy on many occasions, but the Lord got us through every single Situation I learned something about the protection of God is that yes, he can protect you from danger, but God is a bigger than that He mostly walks you through the danger He doesn't always pull you out of it, but he goes with you through the fire through the storm Through the circumstances so that when you come out on the other side your faith is deeper and stronger in him And this is exactly what the Lord did with me Now there's so much more to the story because once we return home from the deployment Yes, God was healing and restoring my marriage but this is really where some of the trauma that I experienced in warfare began to settle in and to be brief there were some things that happened on the battlefield that Were very traumatic. There was a lot of guilt Shame and regret associated with those decisions the responsibility of a infantry leader leading Marines resulted in lives lost resulted in casualties a lot of horrific scenes all that to say that the guilt was overwhelming and I got to a place in my life where I Felt like God could not forgive me for some of those atrocities And I remember one particular day. I was this was probably the worst day I had encountered if the enemy ever had me on the ropes and could take me out of my journey with Christ This was the day And I remember being in a church service with my wife as we were trying to get back into the rhythms and the routines of Our life it was during worship and the whole church had their hands raised and they were singing the songs and on this particular day I felt very guilty and very heavy and I walked out of the church service into the parking lot a good friend of mine saw me and he followed me outside and He just began to share with me the truth of God's Word yet again And he shared with me 1st John 1 9 and he says Rick This is what the scripture says that if you confess your sins to God He is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. I And I'll never forget what my friend told me next he said Rick See I'd never contemplated that thought before My friend began to share with me that when God forgives me he forgets my sin But when he cleanses me he removes every stain and every blemish from my life To the degree that when I stand before Jesus on Judgment Day I will not be responsibility and charged for those sins on that day. I Surrendered my life yet again, and I confessed my sins to the Lord. I received his forgiveness and here it is I forgave myself and I no longer gave attention to the lies of the enemy that were trying to talk me out of my Inheritance and my sonship. I just want to pray with you as we close today Maybe this story has resonated with you in some way. Maybe you're in the midst of a separation or divorce maybe you're in the midst of real danger and an imminent threat Maybe there's a sickness that is attacking your body and the symptoms are screaming louder than your faith Listen to me, whatever the issue is God is enough and his blood speaks a better word over your life. I just want to pray with you father I just thank you for every person under the sound of my voice God, I just thank you by your precious Holy Spirit that you are drawing them You are wooing them. You're a friend that sticks closer than a brother You're you're you're near to the brokenhearted and a broken and contrite spirit. You will not despise so God I thank you that we can come to you broken. We can come to you in our human frailty We can come to you with our sickness and even in our sin and Lord you are so so good and you are so faithful God we just surrender this Situation to you we give you our lives because you gave everything for us What I just pray for healing for every person that needs it in their physical body and I speak Restoration to every marriage that is that is on the rocks and father more than anything I pray your salvation that people will call upon the name of the Lord When they are in trouble you hear them and you rescue them and you will show them your salvation and you will satisfy Them with long life in Jesus mighty name. We pray. Amen