After my mamma and daddy got saved when I was little, they didn’t want my brother and I to watch television anymore. Instead they got us those Bible storybooks and that kind of stuff. They said, “We want you to read the Word of God.”
Well, one night I sneaked out to watch a program, and I saw Dracula, with Bella Lagosi, you know. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, he was scary! I was eight years old, and I freaked out. I mean it was scary stuff. I came back home that night, and every time I was about to fall asleep, I’d remember something from the movie and get freaked out. Every time I closed my eyes, I’d see that bat. I’d just see that bat, and it scared me.
I remembered that Mamma had told me, “If you ever get scared, boy, just say the name of Jesus.” I remembered that as I was freaking out over that bat. So I said, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”
I closed my eyes, and that bat came back. Man, I said “Jesus” all over the place! I said it so much my brother asked, “What’s the matter with you?”
“Wayne,” I said, “every time I close my eyes I see Dracula.”
“You been watching television?” Wayne asked.
“Yeah, man,” I said.
“Wow, what was the picture about?”
“The guy sucks blood like you’ve never seen,” I told him. “He’s going to kill both of us tonight. It’s going to happen, Wayne. I just want to let you know that.”
Then I closed my eyes again and said, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” I mean, I must have said that for 40 minutes: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”
Finally Wayne said, “Shut up, man! I can’t even sleep.”
“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”
“I’m gonna tell Mamma.”
“No, no, no. Jesus, Jesus.”
Finally, Wayne hollered out, “Mamma, Jesse watched Dracula, and he’s saying, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.’ I can’t sleep!”
Mamma came in and said, “You been watching Dracula, boy?”
“Mamma, every time I close my eyes, I see that bat,” I said.
“Well, plead the blood,” she said.
“Noooooo! He likes blood! We ain’t messing with no blood. Ohhh, nooo, forget the blood-huh-uh. I ain’t dealing with blood. This guy likes blood.”
About that time my daddy came in from work, and I told him about Dracula. “Daddy, Dracula’s coming, and he’s going to kill us all!”
I’ll never forget my daddy. He picked me up by my T-shirt. I was a little fellow. He said, “Do you think I’m more powerful than Dracula?” Then he looked at me and said, “Boy, Jesus is in this house, and so am I. And Mamma is too.”
“Well, Daddy, that took care of it when you said Mamma is too,” I said.
“Now go to sleep,” he said.
“I ain’t messing with Dracula no more,” I said. And I fell off to sleep.
That night I learned who was more powerful. Daddy told me Jesus was with him and Mamma and the three of them weren’t going to let anybody mess with me. That made me feel safe, because I knew Dracula or anything else that was evil couldn’t get to me.
The devil is like that Dracula I watched on TV. He roams around like a roaring lion trying to attack people (1 Peter 5:8). But as long as you’ve got Jesus, you know the devil can’t get to you. The devil may be able to roar, but he can’t bite you because Jesus is on your side! The devil’s roars are always a false alarm.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”