ccm Cross 0316 Leesville AOG Church Leesville, LA

ccm Cross 0316
Sunday March 7, 2021 

Pastor Jack Osteen
Leesville First Assembly of God Church
1204 S 5th St
Leesville, LA 71446
ccm Cross 0316

GPS/DMS GPS/DMS 31° 8′ 36.6684” N  93° 15′ 39.5928” W

Additional Photos After Testimony

5341 cdd The Promise
Cyber Daily Devotion
Volume 21 Number 064

Today’s Author: Pastor Bill

Scripture: Matthew 5:33
“You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘Don’t break your promises, but keep the promises you make to the Lord.’” NCV (Bible Paraphrase)

Hello, my name is Pastor Jack Osteen with the Leesville First Assembly of God Church in Leesville, Louisiana. This is my Cross testimony of how Jesus Christ chose me for His service and I never saw it coming.

I was born in Valdosta, Georgia, growing up in a hostile environment. My original dad and mom split when I was 4 years old which took mom and me and my younger sister on an interesting journey of moving back and forth between Georgia and Florida. Ultimately I ended up with one mom and four step fathers.

At age 14 I challenged my mom to find my original dad. Little did I know the search would turn my life upside down. I located my dad and called for a visit. The Lord’s timing was perfect. Two weeks before I called my dad gave his life, along with his current wife, to Christ. The morning of my call he was pronounced dead in the hospital from a massive aneurysm. You could say Satan did not want me to meet my dad!

Soon after being pronounced dead the paramedics began to prepare my dad for transfer to the morgue. That’s when he sat up and asked them, “what’s going on?” He was released from the hospital giving God the Glory for being born again two weeks before, and now being born again on the gurney.

I asked my dad if I could visit. He invited me to come at Christmas. When I walked into his house the peace of God overwhelmed me. I was accustomed to a chaotic life of everyday unknowns and abundant trouble. I wanted more of this peace in my life. I moved in with my dad, step mom and Jesus. I needed to know if this peace was real. I challenged Jesus, “Jesus if you are real I want Your peace in my life.” Labor Day weekend 1989 I received Jesus as Lord of my life.

I was an athlete and manipulated sports to vent my anger growing up. The more violent the sport the more I drove myself to participate. I excelled in football, wrestling and track while aggressively weightlifting to direct my anger. Living with dad changed my perspective through a youth pastor who cared for me. I even began to get good grades! The chaos was behind me and my future was football.

My Pastor said I had a call from God in my life and directed me to a scholarship at Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri. My freshman year I excelled at everything to do with grades and football. I began running from Jesus for a future in football.

In preparation for sophomore year, I turned up the heat in weightlifting to take me to the next level. Everyone said the sky was the limit for my talent. Then I blew out my knee in a freak weightlifting accident. Without a scholarship I could not attend the school. I dropped out. Things were rolling downhill when I met one on one with Jesus saying, “Lord, if you heal me I’ll never run from you again!” I promised.

4 days later my knee was perfect with no pain. Even to this day!

Keeping my promise to Jesus took me to places I never imagined. I didn’t end up in a college football New Year’s Day bowl game — But my life has been special with Jesus as He has directed to win after win in my life.

My life once directed to Jesus brought me into Pastoring. One night in May 1994, I had a dream. In the dream a dragon was heading straight for me and just before it could consume me, two large hands rescued me. Then I saw a tall young lady standing off in a distance with her back toward me with long black hair. She looked back over her left shoulder at me. I had no idea what all this meant.

In my home church, we had an elderly 82 year old lady who kindly explained what the dream meant. She said, “The dragon approaching you was Satan trying to snuff you out, but the hands of God protected you for such a time as this. The tall young lady with the long black hair will be your wife.” I thanked her and never gave it much thought.

A few weeks later I’m introduced to a youth group I would be leading. Everyone in the youth group was there except one young lady. I walked into the church and there was a young lady at the altar with her back to me. She had long black hair and looked over her left shoulder at me. One year and eleven months later we married. Christina and I have two boys. Jeremiah and Jonathan and both of them are married and serving in full time ministry as well.

We have Pastored several churches along our journey but perhaps the one in Cincinnati, Ohio, tells our story best. We were asked to start a new work in the inner city. Our answer was, “yes we will.” In research for a location, we interviewed many people asking where the highest crime rate was in the Cincinnati area. They all agreed it would be Price Hill.

We started in Price Hill with 12 people in our congregation. Soon we were one of the fastest growing Assembly of God Churches in Ohio. Jesus redeemed drug dealers, prostitutes and the like for His Kingdom. 150 kids joined our sports outreach as the Cincinnati Bengals NFL Football Team took us on to help rejuvenate the area for Christ. For seven years the Lord lifted kids out of poverty and provided sport scholarships.

Today we are Pastoring here at Leesville First Assembly of God Church in Leesville, Louisiana. Here our worship team, assistant Pastors and elders are all active throughout our community bringing Jesus to life.

We host a Bible College Campus for SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary where we teach the word of God for ordinary people to lead others to Christ. We have just opened a satellite branch in Zwolle, Louisiana 40 miles away and we have plans for more in the immediate future.

In Leesville we are experiencing an outpouring of the Spirit of God. Dreams, visions and miracles are just the beginning. Demons flee, people are set free, and Jesus Christ abounds. We stay on our face in humble adoration knowing that we are just the vessels as Jesus is driving the bus!

Editor’s Note: Leesville, Louisiana and the surrounding communities have been recently pummeled by two Hurricanes and two tornadoes. Yet, as their church is still draped with a plastic sheeting roof to protect from the spring rains, it is clear that our God Reigns over Leesville in a special way that we’ve not seen for a very long time. To God Be All The Glory!

Prayer: Father thank You that we all have the opportunity to keep our promises to You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!