Our Guest Gary Carpenter
Sid: This week we’re going to clear up some mysteries that should not be mysteries to you anymore. I have on the telephone Gary Carpenter I’m speaking to him at his office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And Gary got saved in 1980’s God immediately in the Word of Faith teaching it did not work for him until in the early 90’s he began attending Dave Roberson’s church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And Dave the first time made it clear as to why it’s so important to pray hours in unknown tongues and how the ministry God has for you is being stopped and blocked, the revelation knowledge the direction. And it can all be unclogged by praying in unknown tongues. And so Gary was a truck driver and after really analyzing this he decided the Lord told him…well did you decide or the Lord tell you to pray in tongues all of the hours that you were in a truck?
Gary: No that was my decision after listening to Pastor Dave and reviewing and analyzing all of the verses and checking them out for 6 months I came to that decision on my own.
Sid: So he began to pray in tongues 10 hours a day. And on February 1994 he heard people say “Oh I wish I heard that from God.” But he heard almost an audible if not an audible voice say “I call you to full time work for Me” instead of the world. And this is your last run quit your job and come work for me. But pragmatic Gary he’s got an engineering background and what do you expect? And he did not do this for 10 months and then on December 4th 1994 he’s in a cold foggy night in Arkansas he’s in the truck and he pulls off the road he could hardly breathe what was going on Gary?
Gary: Well I am normally a very healthy person I had never had any kind of heart problems in my life but on that night in Arkansas the road was so foggy I decided I was going to have to get off the road it just wasn’t safe to keep traveling. I pulled into a rest area parked the truck for the night and was preparing to get a night’s sleep and then leave the next day. All of a sudden I could not get my breath I couldn’t breathe I remember I was sitting in the driver’s seat of the trunk I opened the door and turned sideways facing the open door just so I could get some air. And apparently what happened I blacked out I have no remembrance of the fall. But you know those truck cabs are pretty high and apparently I was unconscious I blacked out and fell and without being awake or conscious I didn’t block my fall with my arms or anything and I landed right on the top of my head right on the asphalt.
Sid: Woo.
Gary: Well I laid there for 6 hours on icy asphalt pavement on a foggy night in Arkansas and thank God it was so foggy because and no traffic was moving in that rest area because the way I fell I was about half out into the street.
Sid: Now you made the point on your yesterday’s broadcast and for those that are listening for the first time you have to reinforce this you said that “This wasn’t God’s form of punishment for not obeying His voice what was it?”
Gary: See the Good Shepherd was leading into ministry that was His call for Gary Carpenter and He had already told me 10 months earlier to the day by the way February 4th He told me and this was December 4th almost the same place in Arkansas by the way (Laughing). And He had told me to come you know follow Him in the ministry to go to work for Him that’s the path that the shepherd was leading the sheep but the sheep refused to go down that path. I was going off on some side trail on my own. Well you know the thief is out there that’s where the wolves are there’s no safety for the sheep if he on purpose goes away from the path where the shepherd is leading. The Psalmist said “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Well I’ve learned it’s best to stay within rod and staff length (Laughing).
Sid: Hm.
Gary: You need to follow the shepherd close enough you know to be in His protection so it wasn’t God that did that to me but by my own disobedience to…I mean it was nothing about what if…nothing about His instructions that I did not understand. I understood what he had told me to do but I was just not obeying Him. He protected and covered for 10 months but eventually I got myself out there far enough where the wolf had a shot at me. And I’m convinced he devil was intending to take my life that night I landed right on my head. The next morning the trucks started coming you know the fog was lifting and the trucks were beginning to move and I’m still unconscious on the payment I laid there for 6 hours. The first one around thank God he didn’t run over me but he stopped and him and some other truckers come over and they CB’d they radioed for an ambulance an ambulance came and they put me in it and they took me to the hospital. I vaguely had some recollection I was sort of in and out of consciousness at that time. They notified my wife and my daughter who came down to the hospital in Arkansas. But I came very close to dying Sid for 2 days I was just in and out of consciousness I’d be awake for a few minutes and I’d drift off again. When I finally came to enough to where my mind was working and I could understand what had happened almost the first words out of my mouth to my wife that I have come to a conclusion I think it would be best if I obeyed God (Laughing).
Sid: Okay thanks so actually what was wrong with you physically?
Gary: Well that’s another interesting thing that the little hospital in Arkansas did all they could but their diagnostic equipment was not very very modern. So they never really you know find the source of the problem that wasn’t discovered until I come back to Tulsa. And to make a long story short they called in supraventricular tachycardia.
Sid: Sounds bad to me.
Gary: Yeah and what that is it’s the opposite of arrhythmia. Arrhythmia is when your heart misses a beat now and then supraventricular tachycardia is where it does a super beat every so often. That in itself is not dangerous but when you start getting a sequence of those all at once like boom boom boom then it vacates the heart of blood and you black out. And that’s what had happened to me and that’s a pretty dangerous thing for a truck driver as you could imagine.
Sid: Do still have that condition?
Gary: Well no what was interesting too they told me too that condition is always genetic. I come from a very large family and no one on either side of my family in history has ever had supraventricular tachycardia. So I knew that this was just a blatant attack by the devil. They put me on medication after they discovered what it was that regulated my heart beat and again because of the time factor and they just tell you and of course Pastor Dave prayed for me several times and over a 2 year period again since I had learned to hear the voice of the Lord the Lord weaned me off of that heart medicine a little at a time a little at a time. I took the last dose of it in May of 1998 I’ve never had another symptom since.
Sid: Question.
Gary: Yes Sir.
Sid: How did you learn to hear the voice of the Lord?
Gary: Primarily through those long hours of praying in other tongues. The whole relationship changed. We started off Monday talking about starting off in the word of faith movement.
Sid: Yes.
Gary: Now the difference was I was coming into intimate contact with the Lord where He was giving me His mind for my life. See I kind of again whether they intended it or not I kind of had the impression when I was in the word of faith movement that faith is great but it was mainly to get me what I wanted in this life.
Sid: To make you a millionaire?
Gary: Or whatever you know rich, famous or…
Sid: Who would say no to that?
Gary: Give me a giant ministry or whatever it was that you wanted you know but what I found out was if you’ll spend that time in fellowship with the Holy Spirit He brings you in personal contact with the Lord Jesus Christ and you start finding out what He wants for your life. And I started to find out hay it’s best to follow Him.
Sid: Okay you come to your senses 10 months later you almost die, the devil tries to knock you out and then you say “Okay God I’m all Yours.” And now you’re in full time ministry no income you’ve quit your job. Not only that you have plastic debt credit card debt up around $25,000 did you starve?
Gary: Well I have to admit it was pretty rough in the beginning but would you like to know the reason why?
Sid: Why?
Gary: My continued disobedience (Laughing).
Sid: My goodness would you learn? (Laughing) Where were you disobedient?
Gary: Now aren’t you glad you had me on your program? (Laughing) a great man of faith you know.
Sid: We’re learning a lot I think it’s going to be so…I know you’re teasing me Gary.
Gary: But not really I’m not Sue and I tell people once they every see us in person one thing they find out right away we are as plain as dirt. We are just your average people with the extraordinary God. And we give people great hope everywhere we go because it doesn’t take them long to realize if God can use Gary and Sue he can use me (Laughing).
Sid: Hm. So I mean you owe this money so did you almost starve?
Gary: Well it was very rough we got behind on everything. See He gave me some more instructions and now that I had firmly decided that we’re taking Step l then instructions for Step 2 came and it’s not at all what I expected. I felt a little bit like Peter must have felt when the Lord told him to go fishing and take up the coin in the fish’s mouth. It is what He said to me made no sense Sid. He gave me 3 verses and His instructions to me He said “I want you to walk the floor and speak out loud with your mouth these 3 verses for 4 hours a day.”
Sid: What were they?
Gary: Psalms 34:10 which is “The young lions do suffer and lack but those that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” And 2nd Corinthians 8:9 “For we know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ though he was rich yet for your sakes He became poor that you through His poverty might be rich.” And the 3rd one was a very familiar one Philippians 4:19 “My God shall supply all of your need according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.” Now again His voice was very clear that’s the difference when you start pray a lot in other tongues you start hearing His instructions to you it’s not just formula it’s a relationship now. And I understood what He said, I understood those 3 verses that He wanted me to say them out loud with my mouth for 4 hours a day. Now the question is did I do that? No here’s my continued disobedience I did not do it.
Sid: Now had you followed instructions what would have happened?
Gary: Well I know what would have happened because again roughly 10 months later I did start obeying those instructions and I know what happened.
Sid: What?
Gary: Sure enough at that point my mind after…
Sid: Oh we’re out of time Mishpochah come on back tomorrow.
