Ricky

“I was a cessationist who believed the gifts of the Holy Spirit were done — then demons started choking me in my sleep.”

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What they struggled with

Demonic oppression Spiritual warfare (post-conversion)Religious trauma

False refuges

Religion without relationship

What this story reveals about God

Relentless pursuit Patience Teacher's heart Shepherd's heart Faithful to his word

Religious background

Protestant Christian

Main testimony theme

Deepening Faith

Secondary theme

Deliverance and freedom

How they came to faith

Supernatural encounter Relational influence

Content advisory

Before you watch

This testimony contains accounts of demonic sleep paralysis and deliverance ministry, but is told with clarity and without graphic detail. It is primarily a story of a sincere Christian whose doctrine kept him from the fullness of God — and what happened when he finally surrendered his theology to encounter the Author of the book he loved.

What this story teaches

People can be genuinely saved and genuinely wrong at the same time. Doctrine can become a ceiling that keeps a person from the very God they love — and God is willing to send demons to shake that ceiling loose.

How God moved

The lie Ricky carried

The word is all you need — the Holy Spirit's gifts are done away with, and anyone claiming supernatural encounters is either deceived or demonic.

What Jesus showed him

Ricky had built his entire faith on the Bible as a closed system — the word without the Author. His core wound was intellectual pride dressed as doctrine: he had categorised the living God into a book and called the Spirit's present work demonic. Jesus broke this by letting demons attack him in his sleep and then showing him the power of his name.

Go Deeper

If you are a cessationist today and you've just heard my testimony, one thing I'd like to challenge you is just watch these videos that you see about deliverances and just get a broad understanding — how can people still do deliverance today? How can people still do miracles today? Just soften your heart and just say, 'Lord, I surrender all my understanding, my doctrines to you, Lord. Just I know you are true and you will always set me free from your truth and Jesus will definitely guide you on a path where you'll see the truth cuz he says that he is the way, the truth, and life, and the truth will set you free.' Loving the Bible is amazing. God's word is so perfect. But when you have the encounter with the Holy Spirit, when you have encounter with God, that is next level. You cannot replace encounters with God. You just have to humble yourself and to say, 'Lord, I want more. I don't want man's doctrines. I want your truth.' That's when you will receive those things.

People can be genuinely saved and genuinely wrong at the same time. Doctrine can become a ceiling that keeps a person from the very God they love — and God is willing to send demons to shake that ceiling loose.

What you can take from this

If you have a theological position you have never seriously questioned, spend one hour this week reading the primary scriptures on the other side of that position — not to abandon what you believe, but to make sure you love the Author more than the argument.

Unnamed entity

I was having sleep paralysis and it was going on for maybe a couple weeks. I would just have demons choking me, putting me down in the bed. I was having dreams within a dream. It was like demonic encounters within the dreams and it was all going crazy.

Spirit of religion

I didn't believe that the gifts of the Holy Ghost were still around today. I thought that sensationalism was true. I used to say that people were demonic if they used to speak in tongues. I nearly came away from my own encounter not believing it because I was so afraid of the word of God based on his interpretation.

Fear-based control

How is that possible? Like I literally had an encounter, but now I don't believe it because I'm so afraid of the word of God based on his interpretation. I was barely getting any sleep cuz I was just so down and depressed, just not understanding.

Philippians 2:10–11

Ricky cites this to confirm that every knee bows to Jesus and his name carries power over demons.

1 Corinthians 12:1

Ricky discusses the gifts of the Spirit chapter as central to the cessationist versus continualist debate.

1 Corinthians 13:1

Cessationists use this chapter to argue gifts ceased; Ricky argues it says we see in part until we see Jesus face to face.

1 Corinthians 14:1

Ricky explains tongues as edification of the spirit and speaking to God in an unknown language, refuting cessationist interpretation.

John 10:27

Ricky cites 'his sheep hear his voice' as his confidence that God speaks to him personally.

Matthew 12:24–28

Ricky references the Pharisees accusing Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub to challenge cessationists who call Spirit-filled believers demonic.

John 14:6

Ricky quotes 'the way, the truth, and the life' and 'the truth will set you free' as his closing exhortation to cessationists.

John 14:12

Ricky references 'even greater works' as the basis for believers operating in miracles today.

Like Paul, Ricky was zealously committed to a position that opposed the Spirit's work, then had a direct encounter that reversed his entire theological framework.

Ricky's baptism of the Holy Ghost with heat, electricity, weeping, and subsequent speaking in tongues directly parallels the Pentecost outpouring.

Ricky tells this parable himself — the son who loved the book about the father but needed to meet the father face to face — as his own testimony shape.

Ricky's Christian Walk

Wife Ira had her own encounter with God and fell under the power of the Holy Spirit, coming to believe. A son was born. Ricky moved to a Spirit-filled apostolic house church where he found community and growth. He began operating in healing prayer with verifiable results — an electrician's sore foot and a boss's back healed immediately after prayer.

Even for someone who's so against what the Holy Spirit was doing before, I used to say that people were demonic if they used to speak in tongues. But now I speak in tongues.

Prayer

The power of Prayer — South African evangelist encountered while selling a car stood in the gap for Ricky.

A South African evangelist came to buy Ricky's Honda Civic and, noticing his Jesus hat, struck up a conversation. He invited Ricky to dinner, shared his testimony of hearing God's voice, seeing demons manifest, and casting them out with results — including a woman delivered from a spirit of poverty who subsequently became wealthy. His testimony was exactly the supernatural answers Ricky was hungry for, and God placed him in Ricky's life at the critical moment. This encounter launched Ricky's investigation into continualist Christianity.

Is today your day?

Yes — I'm Ready

Absolutely, He will.

You don't have to figure everything out right now.

You don't need to have all the answers.

If something stirred in your heart while you were watching or reading — that's not nothing.

That is the Holy Spirit gently knocking on the door of your heart.

Stay right here. There's no rush. The Spirit doesn't pressure or hurry.

Watch another video. Read a little more. Take your time.

When you're ready — even if “ready” just means a little curious — Jesus is ready to meet you.

You don't have to clean up your life first.

You don't have to pass any test.

You only need to say a simple “yes” to Him.

He will take care of the rest.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Luke 11:9

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