Paul Jamison (3:02)

Alrighty. So I'm a little bit more on the introverted, quiet side. Brandon invited me to breakfast and I'm thinking I'm gonna get to eat A pancake, maybe a couple of strips of bacon, sit in the corner. That was my game plan. So we're all hanging out at Ben's and Brandon's, like, yeah, Paul, why don't

Paul Jamison (3:20)

you go ahead and share?

Paul Jamison (3:20)

And I'm thinking, share. I was just going to sit in the corner and eat, you know, eat bacon. So I didn't have any time to, like, plan or think of what I was going to share. And I'll keep it PG because it looked like Josh had his little kids on his lap. But I was very, very vulnerable and honest of, you know, what Jesus has done for me. Back in my senior year of high school, I had no intentions of following Jesus. And I was, you know, partying like crazy and, you know, living that lifestyle. And this lady that lived in our neighborhood, her name was Debbie Draper, and I was a senior in high school. Her daughter was a freshman. And long story short, her daughter had got involved with boys and all of that stuff, and her mom had found out, and her mom is a prayer warrior, intercessor lady. And she got so mad that her daughter was making these poor decisions. And so she's like, that's it. I'm going to fast and pray until all these knuckleheads get born again. And so she literally started fasting from food. She only was drinking water, and she did this for 10 days. I. I found this out afterwards. But she was fasting and praying for her daughter to get saved, for me to get saved. I was kind of like the ringleader in the neighborhood, and we're all partying and acting a fool. And so she was praying for all of our, like, group of of, you know, high schoolers to meet Jesus. And her husband was a businessman. They were in Canada on a business trip. I grew up in Ohio. She's literally not eating food, and she's staying at, like, a nice hotel where you can eat nice food and everything. And she's telling her husband, I can't eat, and she's fasting and praying for us. And while she was in the hotel, the Lord spoke to her and said, paul's mine. And she felt like a release. And so, anyway, I was a senior in high school, and she showed up at my graduation party when I graduated high school. And she had this suitcase, and most people gave me, like, a little card with a $25 check. And she comes up, and she has a scary look in her eye, and she gave me a suitcase. She's like, you're going to need this suitcase because the Lord's Sending you to the nations. And she's saying all this stuff. I'm not a Christian. I don't even know what she's talking about. I'm just. I had a bottle of whiskey in my pocket. I'm like, this lady is so crazy and weird and, like. And she stuffed the suitcase with Bibles and devotional books and all of this stuff. And she's like, you're going to need all of this because Jesus is sending you to the nations. And so I was like, well, thanks for the suitcase. We're actually going on our senior trip to party. I'll use the suitcase. And we flew. I was from Ohio, not sure if Duane's on here. He was making fun of Ohio when I had the breakfast. But I get to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We're on our senior trip where we're. You know, we have intentions of having fun and all of that stuff. And the Holy Spirit convicted me so strongly, I started, like, the. The fear of God was on me. Like, eternity was so. Hell was so close, and it was so real. And, like, I felt like it was just like, I live in Tampa. It's, like, right over there in the town. Over. Like, hell was right next to me. And I had the fear of God all over my life. Like, I did not want to go to that place. And cold turkey. I stopped drinking. I stopped smoking. I stopped. I know there's kids around earlier. So I stopped the extracurricular activities with women. And I was out on the beach, and someone from Campus Crusade for Christ, this little high. I think she's actually in high school from Cincinnati, Ohio, and she gave me a little booklet that had the bridge of, you know, separation from man to God. And it, I mean, pierced me. And I'm reading the prayer in the back. I'm like, jesus, I'll live for you. And I had no idea that the neighbor lady was fasting and praying because her daughter ended up getting saved, too. And so I just had this radical encounter with the Lord in June of 2004 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And we get on the airplane, and I had no experience flying on airplanes. So we flew from Myrtle beach to Atlanta, then Atlanta back to Ohio. And connecting flight from Myrtle beach to Atlanta was a small little airplane. And I didn't know what turbulence was, so I thought the plane was crashing because we were, like, shaking and stuff. And I was like, I'm serious, Jesus. I don't want to go to hell. Like, it was. I thought the plane was going to crash, and hell was right there. And I was like, please save my soul, Jesus. Please. And then we, like, hit blue skies, and there was no crash or anything. And I landed in Atlanta airport. It was June 17, 2004. And I. I did business with God. This was before cell phones and everything. So I just walked in the Atlanta airport, and I was like, jesus, I promise you the rest of my life, as long as I have breath in my lungs, I'll live for you. You know, I'll tell everyone about you. Like, just, you know, I prayed. I didn't know the sinner's prayer, whatever, that I just. I just knew Jesus, and I didn't want to go to hell. And I was like, you know, here's my life. And so that moment, he put his finger on, you know, I couldn't touch my. You know, touch women anymore. I had a girlfriend back then, and we broke up, and there was no more of that activity. That was June of 2004. So since then, I've never done that. I'm. I'm not using the. The words I use Saturday morning because I think there was kids on earlier. But anyway, I gave my body parts to the Lord. And, you know, I've kept myself free from those sins since 2004. And I'm 40 years old now. I just. I just turned 40 years old. So that was a big thing that I shared on Saturday morning about sexual purity and offering my body to Jesus as a living sacrifice. And I still have those desires, and I have a strong desire to actually get married, which, if it's okay, Steven, I wanted to share a little bit more of my testimony. That was just.

Stephen (Apostle Stephen) (8:53)

Yeah, absolutely.

Paul Jamison (8:54)

Okay. So that was on 2004. I got radically saved, and I get back to Ohio, and. And I go to the neighbor lady who, before the trip, I thought was crazy, and I was like, you'll never believe what happened, Deb. She's like, oh, I already knew. And she's like, the Lord spoke to me in Canada. You're his. And she's like, tell me what happened. And then I. So my new. My best friends now were these old women that prayed in tongues because she had a whole bunch of friends, and they'd get out anointing oil, and they just pray in tongues. And I'm like, you know, I'm sitting there praying with them, and these. These were my new best friends now, these old ladies that. That prayed. Hey, prayed, prayed. And so I told him how Jesus got a hold of me, and it was awesome. So that was kind of the beginning of my life in God and then he really started stirring me up for business. And in 2011, I started my first business, cutting that grass and making that cash. And I started a lawn care business. I moved to Atlanta because that's the airport I got saved in, and I like that city. So I just moved there, and I started a lawn care business, but I didn't know anything about business, and so my prices were too low. I was doing yards all over the place, and I really struggled, actually, my first few years, it was rough. I had to go get a job at a restaurant, Carrabba's Restaurant, in the evenings. And I was just trying to figure out this business thing. But I wrote down a scripture I wanted to share. It says, do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings. He will not stand before obscure men. Do you see a man skillful in his work? So I was very passionate about my work. Like, I really like making landscaping look pristine and nice and as excellent as possible. And so I quickly started getting nicer and nicer yards. And my customers were in this fancy country club, and I was taking care of the Atlanta Falcons head coach and the defensive coordinator and a bunch of the players and doing some really nice yards. And my business started, you know, shifting and getting a lot better, and I started figuring out how to charge enough and, you know, became profitable and eventually successful and all of that stuff. So in 2018, I started a podcast talking about how to grow a successful lawn care business. And that was a game changer, because then companies like John Deere and Lowe's and the Toro company and all these big lawn care companies started wanting to sponsor the podcast. And it was. It was. Is awesome. So I still do that today for my job, but I started that back in 2018. And then one of my customers was a very successful CFO from Silicon Valley, San Jose, California, area by San Francisco. And they had a second vacation home in the neighborhood that I took care of. They're just very rich people. And so they knew. They knew I liked the Cleveland Browns. So they're like, hey, the Cleveland Browns are playing San Francisco 49ers out in California. We can fly you out if you want to go to the Monday Night Football game with us. I was like, sure. So I get out there, and on a Sunday, they're like, hey, we know you have a podcast. We want to show you Facebook and Google and YouTube, and we want to show you all these places. So on a Sunday, they took me to Facebook in the morning, and then we went to the Google park. And then they took me to YouTube, like, the actual YouTube buildings and Facebook and all these social media places. And it was cool. Like, I checked it all out or whatnot. And then the next day, they had to go to work all day on Monday, and we went to the Monday night football game at night, but they gave me their fancy car and the beach was nearby, and they're like, yeah, just. Just go to the beach and we'll meet you at the football game. So I went to the coffee shop to grab a coffee before I went to the beach. And I sat in this wooden chair and Jesus just encountered me and started showing me about social media, how it was. It's hard to explain, but he started me showing me, like, Facebook and YouTube and how he was going to encounter all these people on Instagram and Facebook and YouTube. And I never even made it to the beach. I was just stuck in this chair in this vision, seeing social media and how Jesus is going to touch people through social media. And here we are tonight. We're on Zoom. Like, but I saw this in 2019, and it. It really pierced me and it really stirred a passion in me for. For social media and for business and things of that nature. So quick, Fast forward to 2020. I was on a business trip in Arkansas, and I was listening to a lot of Derek Prince, and he was teaching and stuff like that. And I didn't know anything about Deliverance up until this point. And he starts talking about Unforgiveness and all of this stuff. And I started growling. I mean, growling, growling. And I went to the hotel in Arkansas and, like, I could not stop growling. And so I called. I only knew one person who knew how to do Deliverance as a pastor back in Atlanta, Pastor Otha. So I called him and I said, pastor Otha, I said, I'm on a business trip in Arkansas, and I'm growling like an animal. And I was like, I don't know what's going on. And he started laughing. He's like, oh, it's a demon wants to come out. He's like, that's low level. He's like, swing by the church when you get back to Atlanta. We'll. We'll cast that joker out. That's. That's nothing. I was like, I have business meetings. I was like, I can't stop growling. And he's laughing at me. He's like, just swing by the church when you get back. And so anyway, when I got back to Atlanta, I was like, what is going on?

Stephen (Apostle Stephen) (14:10)

And.

Paul Jamison (14:11)

And I ended up getting a five and a half hour deliverance session. And they cast all kinds of demons out of me. And then when they got done, it was five and a half hours. I believe they're like, all right, now we got to fill you up with the Holy Spirit, because now the things are gone, but you got to be filled up so that they don't come back. And you, you know, you got oil and everything. And so they started praying for me, and when they did, the Lord just started showing me my assignment and showing me my destiny. And it was. It was related to business and how all these guys that have these private jets and these Bentleys and Rolls Royces, they're living immorally and they're cussing and they're. They're wicked. They're these wicked men out there. I was at a. I went golfing today at this fancy country club, and these guys have these Bentleys and like, I was sitting there eating lunch with all these guys, and they're cussing and they're just the way they're talking. And I just. Anyway, God put it, like, on my heart. We need to raise up Christian businessmen who have the wealth, not just these wicked men with the wealth. And so he just, he really gave me a passion for business and for us to rise up as Christian men and, you know, take. Take our authority in the business world as well. So that's. That's a big part of my, like, calling now and passion. I just. I love small business and I. I love helping men, you know, grow in. In business and things of that nature. I'm debt free. I paid off all my debt, and I'm debt free, and I love business. So anyways, I was up in Atlanta and I shared all this stuff with my pastor because their social media was about as raggedy as you could imagine. They had like 800 followers, and they. Their content was absolutely pathetic. So I shared with them everything that I encountered in. In California, Facebook and YouTube and everything like that. And then they ended up getting million. They have millions of followers on Facebook and all their social media blew up, and the church is busting at the seams with new people every week and all this stuff. So anyway, I felt released from Atlanta because I got them going on, on all the social media stuff, and I've felt like I shouldn't be living in Atlanta anymore. And I love coming to Florida because I like playing golf. I like the warm weather. I like Florida. So in 2004, I moved to Sarasota, Florida, and I got me a nice Little apartment I could see out into the Gulf. And this is. It was nice, but I was lonely because I was like, man, I'm. I don't have a wife yet. And I really, you know, it's nice watching the sunset, but it'd be a whole lot nicer watching the sunset with a wife. You know what I mean? And so I shared with the guy Saturday morning, there's a lot of fine women in Sarasota, but I'm, you know, I want a Christian woman who knows how to cast out a demon, who loves Jesus and all this stuff. So I was really praying when I lived in Sarasota, like, who is my wife? Like, who should I marry? Like, you know, lead me to her. And I was kneeling on that couch right there. I was just on my knees, like kneeling on that couch right there. And the Lord spoke to me as clear as I've ever heard him. He just said, tampa. That was it. It's Tampa. I mean, it was like, it was amazing. But I heard one word and I heard the word Tampa. And so shortly after that, my buddy who I golf with, he up in Tampa. We golf a lot. He's like, why don't you just move up to Tampa? You're always driving up here to golf. He's like, it'd be a lot easier if you just moved up here. And I was like, yes, sir, I'm going to move up to Tampa. So in July, I, I packed up everything from Sarasota and I moved up to Tampa with pretty much no friends other than my golfing buddy. And so when I moved up here on a Sunday, he invited me golfing. So I went out golfing with him. And we got done about 4:00'. Clock. I'm all sweaty and hot and all this stuff. And I'm driving down Interstate 4, brand new to Tampa, and I saw a billboard. Apparently Brandon put it up and it said, come get a touch from the Lord. And I thought it was like a one off conference. Like this is like my only chance. Like, you know, it was tonight at 6pm Like, I didn't know it was a church. It's every Sunday at 6pm or I would have just, you know, came the next Sunday. But I was like, I got to get there. I got to get a touch from the Lord because I got. It wasn't false advertising. I just thought this was like my only chance to get the touch of the Lord. So I rushed home, I got a shower, I, you know, got changed. And I'm rushing over to this, you know, What I thought was, like, an event. And I came in, like, hungry for a touch from the Lord because the billboard said and that's what I wanted. And I got, I mean, the Lord, what you guys have prepared. Apostle Stephen at Core Revival center, like, from the time I pulled in the parking lot, I felt the presence of the Lord. Everything about the whole night, I felt the presence of the Lord. And I was like, this is awesome. And so I had to travel a lot for work, but once my travels kind of cleared up, I've been coming every Sunday night and literally just encountering the presence of God every Sunday night. And it's. It's been awesome. Justin greeted me and gave me a hug, and, like, I've been meeting so many of you guys, and it's been awesome. So I'm, I'm very humbled and thankful to be in the house of the Lord with you guys and very inspired to live squeaky clean and live right before the Lord. You guys pumped me up to, to want to, you know, live for. Live for Jesus. And I'm still single, so I, I, I told everyone Saturday morning, like, I need your accountability, and I need your help to, you know, select the right woman and pursue her the right way and, and get married and, and start having some babies.

Stephen (Apostle Stephen) (19:22)

Come on, man. That's an amazing testimony. That's exciting to hear. Well, I can tell you this. She's on the way, because God don't make mistakes. And apparently she's in Tampa. Since you heard the word Tampa, she's got to be in Tampa, man. I'm excited to. I'm excited to see, you know, who the Lord brings to you, because we already know he's one who does it. So what an amazing testimony. And that's so funny that you literally seen the sign and thought, this is my only chance. But guess what? If everybody had that same urgency, every single person driving by would meet the Lord every single Sunday. You know what I mean? It's that faith. That's what it takes, man. So welcome to the crc. Welcome to Corpsmen Tonight. Hopefully you'll be joining us every week.

Paul Jamison (20:03)

Absolutely.

Stephen (Apostle Stephen) (20:04)

We have a tight group. This is our brothers. I mean, we have a tight group of men who we hold accountable, we pray with one another, and you got my cell phone number if you need me, man. I'm always here. I appreciate you.

Paul Jamison (20:15)

Cool. Thanks for the opportunity to share that.

Stephen (Apostle Stephen) (20:17)

Yes, sir. I'm looking forward to hearing what God does in the next few months, man. Thank.

Paul Jamison (20:29)

You.

Paul Jamison (20:42)

Hey, it's Marty, producer of the Green industry podcast. This episode is over, but check the episode notes for links to products and services that you heard about during the episode. And thanks for listening.