This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief [1 Tim. 1:15].

(I think Apostle Paul would make good company) but "to whom much is given, much is expected"

But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more [Luke 12:47–48].

I was raised in a very Catholic family. I was an alter boy and saw how man could make his own rules. What was a sin yesterday became OK today, and don't worry about it because if we don't make it into Heaven the first time, we'll get cleaned up in purgatory, after all we were baptized as babies and confessed our sins to the priest, and ate the actual body and blood of Jesus everyday at mass (Catholic teachings) During my college years I became a drug addict, rock musician in a popular band and a motorcycle "biker", I was called an "enforcer" because is someone wanted someone hurt or "taken care of" they would tell people that Bill would take care of them. I couldn't look at women without thinking of how to take them, and I contributed to countless abortions.

I was at death's doorstep at least six times that I can recall, and with all the drugs that I took my mind should be like a sieve. I was married in 1976 by the Grace of God to a wonderful girl. In 1977 my wife Sandra (who I led to drugs) and I bought a bar / restaurant which fed my passions for drugs, alcohol, rock music, and women.

When we came home from the bar late in the morning around 3:00am I would turn on the TV and have another drink, do some more drugs, while my wife would go to sleep. In those solitary hours I came across programs by Pastors Chuck Smith, Dave Breese, Ray Brubaker etc. talking about prophecy and Jesus’ soon return. You see I graduated from college with a bio-chemist and psychology degree (only by the Grace of God) and I could relate to the earth changes and "signs of the times" they preached about.  THEN I REALIZED THAT IF WHAT THESE MEN OF GOD WERE TELLING  WAS THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS RETURN, BEING BORN AGAIN, REPENTING AND BEING REGENERATED (contrary to what I was taught as a Catholic) I WAS LOST AND HEADED TO HELL!!!!!!

I cried out to the Lord and prayed the "sinner’s prayer" dozens of times because (like in Catholic teaching of repetitious prayer) I didn't think that just praying once could wash me of all my heinous sins.

Immediately my drug addiction was taken away and I could look at women as creations of God and not as things to use. I changed from wanting to hurt people, to wanting to help people. I picked up a St. Joseph Bible (Catholic version) from our closet and read it from Genesis to Revelation, learned to get on my knees every day in prayer, Bible reading, and asked the Holy Spirit to work in me. Then slowly over the years the Holy Spirit refined me (and that is a continuing process).

At first I shared my faith with all those in the Catholic Church that I could, but they only wanted to hear about the "miracles" that the Lord was performing around us in answer to our prayers, not about having a saving faith to be "Born Again". I shared with everyone I could and found that God makes the appointments (I call them God-cidences) and asked for Him to give me the words to speak at those times. We left the Catholic Church in the late 1980's for an Evangelical church. I learned that I had two passions: 1) to share my faith with everyone I could (I understood the "Gifts of the Spirit" and that I was blessed with the gift of being an evangelist.

 2) To go with my children through the youth ministry as a youth pastor, and by helping the teenagers to come and know Jesus, they brought the Gospel home to their unsaved family.

            This continued until the "church growth" marketing came to that “Bible believing” church, and I was asked to leave because I couldn't find a Scriptural basis for what the watered down church was doing. The elders were told “if anyone is a pillar of the church, get rid of them because their holding things up”. I came to realize that the majority of people sitting in our pews were "walking still born" that they had head knowledge but not heart knowledge of the Lord. Elders cared more about the dollars coming into the collection plates, and for their hot tubs and football games, then going out and knocking on doors "to seek and save the lost".

But as the Lord had His hand on my family for years He kept putting me in front of a little county church (Calvary Chapel Lake Villa, IL. Calvary Chapel was founded by Chuck Smith in ~1975 and he was one pastor from TV that helped mentor me) that I took them there, and felt as if we came home. A ministry grew with the association to Ray Comfort (The Way of the Master) and "Hells Best Kept Secret".

I learned that the Lord has a sense of humor, and one amazing things is that before I was “born again” I was an awful bigot. I made fun of Indian / Asian / Middle East people, and now I not only love them, I have spent that last five years preaching and teaching in India and the Middle East. I see them as needing God's Mercy and Grace as anyone in this country. I have witnessed to Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Mormons atheists, new age etc., and have found that man knows that he has a conscience: the internal sense of what is right and wrong that governs somebody’s thoughts and actions, urging him or her to do right rather than wrong (what we would call conviction by the Spirit). And even though most people have heard of Moses, they may not have heard of the Ten Commandments, but as you walk them through “thou shalt not steal” “Honor thy father and thy mother” you can see the conviction come over them. This is what Jesus did, He brought conviction not by dong away with the law, but to fulfill the law because after a person realizes their sinful nature, and they will stand before a Holy God in Judgment that they are doomed, then you present the Gospel of Salvation, and you watch their eyes actually have a new light in them and they become joyful in accepting Christ.

Our country is selling "cheap grace" and we as pastors and ministers have a serious responsibility in standing firmly on God's Word. Revival can only occur when people’s hearts are broken in conviction by the power of the Holy Spirit, and cry out to be washed in the Blood of the Lamb. We are called to be fruit inspectors. I'm sorry to digress from my testimony but I could go on for hours. The Lord has given me a "gift to gab" so to speak. I just pray daily to be filled and refined by the Holy Spirit, offering myself to Him as a vessel that He can use, that He would put me in places to serve and give me the words to speak for Him as His ambassador.

I was saved in 1980 but my family (Sandra, Little Bill, Thaddeus, Lydia & I) were all baptized together as a family together in 1995, after all my children finally came to commit their heart’s to the Lord. God has taken us through many unusual hardships and trials, and He has delivered us. I count it a privilege when a co-worker or acquaintance says "I don't know what it is you got, but I want that in my life" Praise the Lord"

Your brother in the Lord,

God Bless

Bill Liniewicz