Denominations
Jerry Exton (Brisbane)
Money was my God and I found that I could make a lot of it as a nightclub singer until I found that it is God who gives us our songs.
God is the song, I'm not sure whether I sang because I was happy or I was happy because I sang I just know that if you wake up in the morning with a song in your heart thanking God, then you can never be depressed. Money means little to God. When we become new creatures in Him, it is His love and joy that means everything"
"My greatest claim to fame, apart from becoming a Christian, was that I was the first entertainer to be seen on Brisbane TV on Channel 9 in 1958 on the Coca Cola Bottlers Show with Johnny James. This was followed by many TV, radio and club appearances.
"My Dad was a wall and floor tiler, and in the 1950s there were few trades which paid as well. I hated the feel of cement on my hands, but the love of money overcame that, so I became a tiler. My brother, Des, at 12 was billed as Australia's Bobby Breen, an American boy soprano, and Des was earning more money than my Dad.. .because I loved money I thought that was the way to go. I became a singing-tiler.
"So I was tiling by day and singing by night, which made me a lot of money because I believed that it was not what you made that mattered, but how much you could save of what you made. So I horded it all up.
"I saved it towards getting married to Elaine.. But three months before that I had a major accident when I was blown up by some highly volatile tiling adhesive which I had been heating. I was blown out of the kitchen and suffered first and second degree burns to my arms and face. I was in hospital for three months and used most of my money. God was very gracious and I didn't suffer any permanent scars.
"Even with that God didn't get my attention then.. It wasn't until we had our three little girls that I started thinking about their future. I thought that girls needed an edge because boys seemed to be somewhat of the monsters and I remembered what I was like. So I thought with God in their lives they might beat the odds.
"I had made a promise to Elaine that I wouldn't do the nightclub circuit, it had a bad name, but there was an economic depression. I was paying 32 pounds a month on my latest Holden.. ..that was a phenomenal amount to keep paying when the tiling fell away. I was forced back into singing.
"Well, it was really through my daughters that I came to find God. They were going to the Assembly of God Sunday School and the pastor decided that was a good enough excuse to visit us." "He said; 'Have you ever thought of taking God into your business?' and I said 'How do you do that?'. He showed me Malachi 3 verse 10: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this." says the Lord Almighty "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room for it.
"Well I didn't understand it much then. The pastor was a motivator and that was his fulltime job outside the pulpit. He used to come around every Friday night and want to know how I was going and I would say 'Terrible'. He would then say come to church on Sunday night because I'll be giving a fantastic motivational talk which will cheer you up. Of course he was preaching the gospel. Anyway I took the bait and have been going to that church for the past 28 years.
"But it was three months before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. There had been a number of altar calls at church but it was at a Billy Graham crusade in 1968 at the Exhibition ground that I went forward.
"I tithed for seven years and gave gladly to the Lord and God blessed me for it. But there wasn t much change in me spiritually. Nothing really changed until 1974.
"I had become quite ill. I had a main arterial by-pass operation and it was unsuccessful. It was a blood disorder and I had a blood clot in my leg and they had to operate. I had moved into real estate and it seemed my business was going down the drain. There was another economic slump and I was blufling that God could get me through. We had been building something like about 100 houses each year.
"So financially broke, strapped and physically poor, Elaine and I decided to go on a Viva California tour while the company still had the money to afford it. I couldn't walk more than about 100 metres without getting a cramp. We went to a Kathryn Kuhlman Crusade at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. I got marvellously healed. I could then walk any distance I liked without any problem and I checked later with the doctors and found that my blood disorder had gone.
"You see God does teach us some spiritual lessons. I got stuck into God's word and found all the passages about healing. I meditated on His word. I tell you I have had a complete healing, with no problems at all"
"But this is what I have found; prayer is not the real answer to financial struggles. The answer to finances is giving. When it comes to healing, the answer is that He sent his word to heal you and deliver you from destruction. You can be supernaturally healed in a meeting but if you don't change your ways then its not worth having.
"Three months later I lost my healing. Within two weeks, Fred Price came to minister to our church. The first thing he said that made me pay attention was that many people get healed in Kathryn Kuhlman type meetings but lose their healing because they don't know how to maintain it by faith. He began talking about a faith walk, which I had never heard before, that you get healed by believing in His Word. In Psalm 107 verse 20 it says, He sent His word to heal us...
"Some people, when they receive God's blessings, say 'Thank you Father', put the Word down, walk away and live as if nothing has changed. All of His promises are dependent on my getting back into the Word. And as I did, I got my healing back. I realised that to maintain my healing I had to stay in His Word. Today I have divine health and I am teaching others what God has taught me.
"For the past 12 years I have been speaking this message that we must change by what God does in our lives. I have felt at times that this has fallen on deaf ears. I got frustrated that I couldn't get the message across and what God had done for me.
"But I have found this ministry in singing. And I know the meaning that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
"I have visited the US 12 times in the past 15 years because I see myself as a missionary to them. They have done so much for me I want to give back every good thing they have blessed me with. I preach and sing mostly around New York State to whoever wants to hear. Music transcends all denominations.
"Before I became a Christian, I used to be a request vocalist. I could sing most popular pieces. In truth I guess I'm what you would call an operatic tenor if I practised. I've got a comedy flair which lends itself well to entertainment. Some of my songs used to be a bit risque but I wouldn't do that now.
"I've got a range where I can sing most things. I grew up with jail house rock to 'Help Yourself', 'Its not Unusual', 'Rags to Riches' and more. I've put Christian words to them. On Sundays, when I'm not preaching at church I sing from the back of a truck at the Mt Gravatt flea market. Everybody stops and listens to the sounds and the different words.
"That's how Wesley got started. He said; 'Why should Satan have all the best music?' I really like Tom Jones music, the best thing that has happened to music recently. I've grabbed a lot of his music... I've done eight recordings recently and just produced "The Holy Ghost Happy Hour.' on cassette and CD... My favourite piece of music is still; 'How Great Thou Art."
"God uses the Holy Spirit to cut right through to the soul with music. God wants to pour blessings upon us. The Bible says that our innermost beings shall flow with rivers of living water. God intended us to be a new creation and talks about putting in new wine. In an old vessel it leaks out. Only if we change into new vessels can the new wine stay in. I try to encourage everyone that through finding Jesus Christ they too can put a new song in their life. Money can never buy that sort of joy."
Do You want to know God and change your life?
Jerry Exton is a Past President of the FGBMFI Springwood Chapter; Queensland, and has ministered in word and song at many Chapters and Conventions.
This testimony was published in the Australian Voice
magazine number 6
Copyright © FGBMFI
Would you like to read other testimonies ?