This is an excerpt from Jesse’s book, “Heaven – Close Encounters Of The God Kind” in which he tells of the wonderful things he learned during his trip to heaven in 1988.
When I was with Paul in Heaven, I was so excited to be with a man who did so much to teach us about God’s will for our lives. I’m an information man and I have wondered about Paul’s family. He was a Sanhedrin, so people say he was married.
“Can I ask you a question?” I inquired.
“Yes,” he answered.
“Some people said you had a son. Were you married?”
Paul smiled and looked straight at me. I’ll never forget his words as he said, “What I would rather give people is my life, my life’s work. I’m a dead man, Jesse.” He continued, “The reason why you don’t know much about me and my personal life, is because it wouldn’t help anybody.”
I listened closely, as Paul explained, “And if you notice, you don’t know much about Jesus’ personal life, because it really doesn’t help anybody. It’s his work that we need to know.”
Looking back, I see how funny it was for me to have thought Paul was going to tell me he had a wife and two kids. We don’t even know what happened to Jesus between the age of twelve and thirty years. Whatever happened was not relevant to our lives or it would have been written down. Others who have truly given their lives to the Lord have very little recorded about their personal lives.
Paul reminded me, “It isn’t them that liveth, but Christ that liveth in them.”
After that conversation, David told me I had to leave. I turned around and thanked Paul, “I appreciate your time.”
He clenched his hand into a fist and said, “Preach this gospel. Preach this gospel!” It was obvious that he was stirred. His voice was strong and bold.
“I will preach this gospel.”
“That’s why you’re here,” Paul confirmed.
David interrupted us and said we had to move on. I can still hear Paul telling me to “preach this gospel.” Preaching is my life. If I can’t preach in a church, I preach it to myself. People laugh when I tell them that I preach my own revivals to myself. More than anything I think about completing my destiny. My mind never rests; I’m a driven man.
I’ve got boldness, too. I’m not embarrassed to preach the gospel and tell people about heaven. We died with Christ to the basic principles of this world. Dead people can’t get embarrassed. In the Scripture below Paul was writing to the Colossians, but it’s to all believers. I know it’s talking to me, and it’s talking to you, too. Consider his point about being dead to things in this world:
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules…Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory.
(Col. 2:20; 3:1-4 NIV)
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.”