“Right from childhood I used to think it was foolish to say there is no God. At the age of 21 I had a desire to know God personally. I started praying”.
I was born into a Jacobite Syrian Christian family.
Believed the existence of God after seeing God’s creation
Right from my childhood I used to watch the butterflies, flowers and other wonderful creatures and would think that it was real foolish to think that there is no God.
Obeyed the truth of Water Baptism
At the age of 21 when I had been serving in the Indian Air Force, in the year 1966, I heard about water baptism from a pastor. When I examined the Word of God, I understood that baptism should be by immersion. After a week, on the 1st of January 1967 I took water baptism in New Delhi, and started attending a Christian fellowship.
Desire to know the True God: Heard a voice – my first Spiritual experience
During those days I had a desire to know the true and the living God personally. One night I started praying. Within a few minutes I heard a voice in my room that a sinner’s prayer won’t be heard by God. After I heard this voice I had a real conviction that I was a sinner, and repented of my sins. I confessed my sins with tears till 1:30 am. At this time an angel of God appeared in glory in front of me. The angel made me utter the Lord’s Prayer and disappeared.
Heard God’s voice as thunder
After this incident I felt that God was my father, and would often hear His voice which was like thunder, and whenever this happened I would become like a dead man.
Saw a dream
One day in my dream, I saw many saints clad in white sharing their miracle-filled testimonies with one another. As I kept watching them I heard a thundering voice “O son of man prophesy”. I prophesied, “Go ye everywhere into all the world and preach the gospel to all the creatures”.
Deliverance from piles – my first Divine Healing experience
During that time I had been taking medicine for piles bleeding which was real painful. Since the Air Force hospital could not cure me, they referred me to the Army hospital. I was fed up with this sickness and one night I casually prayed to the Lord, “Lord, You are my Creator God; please remove this sickness out of my body”. With that simple prayer a miracle took place in my body and I was completely healed. On that day, I took a firm decision that I would never resort to medical treatment or check-up even for a vaccination and would completely depend on God. I also submitted my unwillingness to accept inoculation and vaccination.
Deliverance from tetanus infection through Spiritual electric shock!
During those days I had a tetanus infection from a rusty nail and it was so severe that I could not even sit in my office. I thought that it would be good to go to heaven if it was God’s will. I went to bed and prayed “Lord, take my soul if it is Your will, if not please cure me”. Right then I felt a powerful shock in my body which resulted in a complete healing.
Introduction to ‘The Pentecostal Mission’
Till then I had no idea about ‘The Pentecostal Mission’. I spoke about my experiences and visions to one of my friends who was a Marthomite. During our discussion I expressed my opinion that a true child of God should completely depend on God for healing, else there would be no meaning in calling God our Father. I also firmly believed that a true servant of God should live by faith and not by sight. My friend told me that there was a group of people who did not take medicines and had experiences similar to mine and referred me to ‘The Pentecostal Mission’ in New Delhi. Incidentally, a believer from this church who served in my Air Force station invited me for a meeting there and I accompanied him the next day. When I reached there I found everyone getting filled in the Holy Spirit. I was fascinated by the white raiment worn by them but did not like the way they shouted and moved about while in worship. When I questioned about this, I was told that this was the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The following week, after the Tarrying meeting, when I prayed with a young boy, the Lord anointed me with the Holy Spirit.
Joy unspeakable
From that day I started praying in tongues for long hours almost the whole nights. Because of joy unspeakable, I could not even sleep for few days. I realized that if I continued like this in prayer without sleep I would lose my mental balance. That night I prayed to the Lord to help me sleep.
Seeing Jesus
Suddenly the Lord Jesus appeared in my room in glory and I could see Him with my eyes open. The roof of my room had disappeared and He was there in white and glorious raiment. His feet did not touch anywhere. His face was entirely different from what I had seen in pictures. Suddenly I heard a voice that said, “This is Christ Jesus”. While looking at Him I had a deep feeling of wretchedness and humility to the extent I could no longer bear it and I jumped out of my bed, and He disappeared.
Visit to Heaven & Hell
After a few days two angels came to me and I was in a trance. I flew along with them and reached heaven’s gate. Suddenly I heard a thundering voice: “Let him come in”. The gate opened on its own and an angel come with a book and wrote my name in it. We continued to travel to several placed. I heard a thundering voice that related all details to me. I kept praying with tears, humbling myself. Another similar voice said, any person who had lustful desires even in his heart, would not be able to enter here. Here Jesus personally told me “My child, no one should see you and you should be hidden like a baby mouse hiding in its hole”. He also assured me that He was with me as Emmanuel.
Lastly, the angels took me to see the hell fire. It was just like an ocean of fire and when the waves of fire came, one after another, the pathetic cries of the souls was so unbearable, that I thought I should go and tell everyone on earth with tears that no one should go to hell.
Suddenly my soul came back to my body and I opened my eyes.
Trials and temptations
After this experience I was led through different trials and temptations but I had the assurance that my Lord is always with me as Emmanuel. Once I had bad stomach for three days, my body got dehydrated, and while in the office I fainted. I saw a vision of Jesus standing beside me and He instantly healed me and disappeared.
In the beginning, God gave me quick answers, but afterwards, He started leading me through trials which were answered only after a period of time.
Children
I did not get a child even after five years of my marriage. My wife and her mother were strong in faith and they had visions that a tumour had been growing in her uterus. After a few days, when my wife was praying, God performed and healed her completely. In 1975, a son was born to me. Of my two sons and two daughters, the Lord separated my elder daughter for His glorious ministry.
Divine Physician
I experienced miraculous healing first when I was in the Air Force. On that day I decided I would not resort to any kind of medication for healing. Since then I have been experiencing the Lord as my Healer.
In 1971, my body became yellow in colour and my palms got swollen and started collecting pus. I was not even able to stand on my feet and was completely bed ridden. It was a Saturday morning. On Monday I had to report to duty, but I was not able to stand on my feet. The Lord spoke to me “If the Spirit of Him that raised up Christ from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ shall also quicken your mortal body”. I prayed, I believed and came down from my house, got into our Air Force bus and reached my office. So many times when I had wanted to come home because of my illness, the Lord provided a means of transport for me, most miraculously. On the fourth day, although my office is in a restricted area, I was picked up and dropped home by civilians on two wheelers. I believe they were the angels of God. The presence of the Lord was with me in my sufferings. The next day I was miraculously healed. This miracle had taught me that the Holy Spirit can resurrect my mortal body as He resurrected the body of Jesus, and increased my faith in the Lord.
Fistula
After a year, I suffered from fistula or piles cancer. After two years, I thought that it was not necessary to pray any more for that sickness. Then God spoke to me one night that I should be brave like a lion in faith and should continue praying for it. By then I was extremely weak and the pus had gone deep to reach the large intestine. In the Air Force it was mandatory to report sick and take medicine or report for duty. I continued to report for duty by depending on the resurrecting power of the Holy Spirit. Every morning I would pray in the Holy Spirit for at least one hour to get strength to do my duty. After four and a half years of my sickness, one night when I was sleeping on my bed, I felt shock after shock in my body and I opened mine eyes to see what it was. I saw Jesus standing in front of me and the shocks were the result of His touch to strengthen me. He told me, “I can’t heal you now, unless my heavenly Father permits”, after which He disappeared.
After five years of my sickness, one morning while I was praying, God spoke to me in a thundering voice which I could not understand. I felt a big shock in my body and the wound with pus for five years disappeared and not even a drop of pus came out after that. There was only a scar in the place of the wound. God healed me wonderfully and perfectly.
Healings experienced by my eldest son
In 1983, the Lord healed my eldest son who had been suffering from jaundice. All the believers and servants of God prayed for him and God healed him wonderfully. The Lord also completely healed him from malaria.
In 1997, my eldest son had a tumour on his head which was as big as a lemon, skinless and red in colour and which would often bleed. I prayed for him that night and by 1:30 am God spoke to me that He had healed him. The next morning, when I checked after removing the cotton, I found a black spot right on top of the growth. Within two weeks time, the whole growth became black and dry and got separated from the head.
Later, he was also attacked and bitten by a rabies infected dog. The Holy Spirit urged me to command the rabies to go out of his body and the Lord wonderfully healed him without any vaccination.
Healings experienced by my youngest son
Once my youngest son, when 13 years of age, had fever which seemed like typhoid and one side of his bottom got swollen. When I prayed, the Lord showed me two visions and said that He had healed him. But after I saw this vision, his sickness became worse and one side of his, got paralysed. In the evening, he asked me with tears “Daddy, you saw the vision that Jesus had healed me. Why did the opposite happen to me?” Suddenly the Holy Spirit urged me to tell him “Jesus has already healed you by His stripes, but unless you believe and confess it, you cannot experience it in your body”. Hearing this he broke into tears and confessed the same. Suddenly he felt a great shock in his body and jumped out of the bed and started running inside the room. After two days, the swelling had a hold and all the dirt and pus came out and he was completely healed.
Healing experienced by my wife
My wife got paralysed due to a plague(rat fever) to the extent that she could not even move her hands. Her eyes were very red. I prayed one whole night and rebuked the spirit of sickness, by the urging of the Holy Spirit. She suddenly got up and started walking and the Lord completely healed her.
Deliverance from Asthma
I had been suffering from chronic asthma for many years, and on many occasions I had to spend the whole night without breath. Once, when I had the asthma attack, the servants of God prayed for me and by morning, my breathing became normal. But the next day I had fever and when I went to the bathroom, I became unconscious and almost fell down. By God’s grace I was helped to my bed. I had the feeling “Why do such trials come to a child of God, one after another?” To get rid of the unbelief from my heart, I meditated on the promises especially from Isaiah 49:13-16 and praised God claiming this. Suddenly I heard a very sweet music in my ears. I heard six songs, which I had never heard before. The theme of all the six songs was the supreme sacrifice of our Lord Jesus on Calvary. When I heard that Jesus suffered the cross personally for me, my heart was broken and tears streamed down my face. Early morning there appeared a great glory in my room, and seeing it I closed my eyes and when I opened my eyes, I was perfectly healed.
I understand that I did not stand in faith, but the Lord made me to stand by His grace and by the prayers of His saints, for the last 47 years. I believe that He who started a great work in me is faithful enough to keep me until the end.
Uthappan Mathew
Kerala
(copied from ‘Voice of Pentecost’ March 2014 and April 2014 issue)
My Conclusion
While I was in Delhi I personally heard this brother give his testimony in Delhi Convention.
God was able to work in Brother Uthappan Mathew’s life because of his interest towards God. His interest in God enabled God to slowly draw him to deeper experiences. At any stage had he decided not to listen to the voice of God, he would not have had these wonderful experiences. God was able to give all these wonderful experiences to him and thereby become a testimony throughout the world only because Brother Uthappan Mathew was willing to pay the price of going through the trials patiently trusting on God. Had he lost his patience and resorted to medical help, he would have lost all these wonderful experience and also the privilege of being a testimony for Jesus.
