“I Used to Get High From Five in the Morning Till Midnight”

Read Gino's Powerful Deliverance Story

I had a broken heart, not just from relationships but also from disappointments in life. If I saw a woman with everything going on, all the men wanted her; if she was beautiful, you know, and had all the attention, I would target her out. I would make it look like I cared about her, make her feel nice, maybe a certain way that nobody else had, and then project that onto her and make her feel the same way somebody else made me feel.

I had a click of guys I used to run around with and do drugs and extort people. I had five or six jobs and was fired from every single one of them. One time, a lady threw ice at my eye, and I picked up a bunch of plates and threw it at her. I would grab people and pin them up against the wall. I was carrying a lot inside of me.

A friend, who I used to stay over in his house, his father was a pastor, and they used to bring me to their church on Sundays. I had this desire to know God. But one day, when we were inside that church, the older brother of the pastor came inside, and he had a bag, and he gave it to me. I went to the bathroom, and they were like, make sure that you drink it all because it will know if you put it in the toilet or threw it away.

So, I ended up drinking all the alcohol. Actually, I think that was my first encounter with drinking. That‘s when I really started to drink. And then I would go over to my sister‘s house, and she was an alcoholic, smoke weed, smoke cigarettes. And I used to get high from five in the morning till midnight.

I used to just be smoking weed. I met a friend of mine, and she would always come to me and just testify and give me a word of encouragement because she‘d seen something inside of me that wasn‘t happy.

I would open myself up, and I would start to want more and more to know more and more. So I asked around for a Bible, and one of my friends ended up giving me a Bible. I started to read the whole thing, and things just started to change.

Eventually, she introduced me to The Universal Church. I made my Chain of Prayer for deliverance. I was there every Friday. I didn‘t miss one Friday. Sometimes even there five days a week, you know, strong. And the pastors push you to continuously use your faith. If you have a problem, you sit down and talk with them. They talk to you.

The first result I noticed was just my mind, you know, my body, emotions, everything was just much, much lighter.

When I would go around from church to church, I would see people “speaking in tongues” and “prophesying”. But then I would look at all the evil and suffering in their lives. I knew there was more to it. I knew something wasn‘t right. So when I came to The Universal Church, they helped me to understand that it‘s more about your representation than putting on a show.

It took time, but I had to empty myself of everything: evil thoughts, anger, pride, the love of life, everything. I had to empty myself. The day I received the Holy Spirit, it was like a relief that God had really loved me and had forgiven me for all the stuff I‘d done. And it‘s like my greatest accomplishment.

It was like a student studying and studying in order to graduate. And I had felt at that moment that I graduated. I was just happy. I was telling everybody, ”I received the Holy Spirit. I received the Holy Spirit.”

After I received the Holy Spirit, I stopped living based on emotions. Now, I just live by faith in the Word of God. I don‘t do schemes. I don‘t rob people anymore. I don‘t take people‘s money. I don‘t try to deceive or manipulate people. I don‘t have the desire to drink or smoke or do any of that stuff anymore.

Before, I was angry, broken, and hurt, and I wanted to give others what I had. But now, being in The Universal Church, receiving the Holy Spirit, and living for God, I also want to give people what I have, but in a positive way.

—Gino Mazzie