Well, needless to say, everything was completely different after that. felt completely brand-new. I remember singing all the way home on the three-hour drive back to Tarpon Springs. I sang and sang and sang. I’m sure my voice was all over the map, but I could have cared less. Something deep had happened to me. Even the air around me felt different. The sky and the trees were more beautiful. I felt like I could fly.
After that, people began coming up to me, saying, “Young man, God has something very special for you. You realize that what happened to you is rare, right?” I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. I was so full of joy that I just smiled at them and kept loving on Jesus. I thought everyone had a similar encounter. Looking back at my life, I am so humbled by the fact that Jesus came to me in such a rare and beautiful way. My friend, the beauty about Him is that He will do the same for you if you open your heart to Him. It may not look exactly like my encounter, but it will be equally as special to you because “He does all things well” (see Mark 7:37).
Now I had a Heavenly Father who gave me a sense of eternal love and belonging. There is no replacing the experience of knowing God as our Heavenly Father. This changes everything. We are not loved more or less based on how much we accomplish. We are loved because our Father is love and we are His children. Moreover, Jesus had become my devotion and model. This could only be experienced with my new friend, the Holy Spirit. And have we ever become friends! Let me say, He is not just any friend. He is God Almighty. He calls the shots and leads the dance. Yes, He wants us to cooperate and work with Him, but life with Him is not a democracy. You know, I love it this way. I trust Him way more than I trust myself. So, after my encounter, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me and nudge my new heart. He began to say things like, “Michael, I miss you today. Why don’t you quit what you’re doing right now and spend time with Me?” Oh, my heart would leap inside me. “This is real! He is real. He is really, really, really real. The Holy Spirit is speaking with me and touching me. He is here, and He is here to stay.”
This began a love affair with Him that would soon become an addiction to being alone with Him in my room. Back then, I had no clue what I was doing when I would go into my room to pray. I didn’t have many books and hadn’t attended any conferences on the subject. I certainly didn’t know much about intimacy with God. But He sure did. I had nothing to work with but a hungry heart and my Bible. I can tell you, that’s all you need to have glorious experiences with the Lord.
He Loves His Word
The Word of God became much more to me than a mere holy history book. It became bread to my soul. I couldn’t put the Bible down. I read the whole New Testament in a week when I was only twelve years old. The best part is that I began with the Book of Revelation. I knew that it freaked most people out, but I wanted to know how the whole thing ended before I began on that path. Don’t you love how kids think? I had opened the Bible before, but it was different now. It was as though the Holy Spirit would sit next me and teach me the Word. Actually, it’s His Word. He is the author of the Bible after all (see 2 Tim. 3:16). Those precious moments felt like He was showing off His favorite book, His Book.
I had noticed that some of the “born-again Christians” liked to highlight the Bible verses they enjoyed. I thought to myself, “Well, these are the people who led me to Jesus and changed my life. I want to be like them.” So, I began highlighting all the verses that jumped out at me. There was only one problem—it seemed like every verse jumped out at me. There seemed to be more passages highlighted than not in my Bible. Little did I know that my young mind was being cleansed and my heart was filling up with Bread from Heaven.
Get My Family, God
After hours of being with Jesus day after day, I felt like I was going to explode with the love of God and His power. I had to tell my family. I had no pulpit or organized ministry, but I had a fresh power that I knew had made me brand-new. So, I went over to my grandmother’s house for some food. When a Greek kid is hungry, there is only one place to go—Yiayia’s (“grandmother” in Greek). My grandmother, Theodora Liolios, was the life of the family. She could cook, clean, and spank all at once. Let me tell you, she was an expert at all three. Her slipper-throwing technique was All-Star status. Those slippers seemed to have infrared heat-seeking devices in them. We would run away from her, and the slippers would turn the corner and chase us down. Her home had an open-door policy. We just walked in and out whenever we wanted. Friends and family made for consistent laughter and endless excuses to eat.
I sat down next to my aunt and was bursting with the Holy Spirit. I said to her, “You know, Auntie, you need to meet Jesus and give Him your life.” “Why?” she replied. I answered, “Because you’re a sinner, and if you don’t meet Jesus, you’ll stay a sinner and sinners go to hell.” I wish you could have seen her face. In our culture, you don’t speak that way to an elder, especially a family member. I can still picture her face today. My aunt said, “If you call me a sinner one more time, I’ll slap your face.” My response was quick and simple: “The Bible says that ‘all have sinned,’” I said, “and that includes you!” Probably not the most loving approach and probably not the exact wording I would use to begin a conversation today. Nonetheless, I was speaking complete and utter truth. The point is that I was burning with a desire to tell people about Jesus, and that, my friend, is proof that you have met the Holy Spirit. As badly as I wanted my aunt to get saved that day, she didn’t. My goal was not to get her to “repeat a prayer.” My passion was to be obedient and faithful to the Voice that was speaking to me. You see, I was doing it with Him and for Him. This is the great secret to a real relationship with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit Gets My Dad
As glorious as my life had become, some of my family thought I had lost my mind. My mom and brother, Theo, had come to Jesus and were filled with the Holy Spirit. So was my cousin, Theo Billiris. A few more aunts and uncles had also come to the Lord. But there was one tough man who absolutely refused to give his heart to Jesus. It was my dad. Yes, even though he was miraculously healed and touched by the Lord four years earlier, he wanted nothing to do with what was happening to us.
You see, as a Greek family, you are Greek Orthodox. Whether you like it or not, in our culture you attend the Orthodox church. In our community and family, any other expression of Christian worship is not considered “true.” This perspective was engrained in us. As a twelve-year-old, I remember riding in a car with one of our priests soon after I met Jesus. I asked him this question: “Father, what about someone in China? Someone who doesn’t know a thing about Orthodoxy but has met Jesus? What if they really love Jesus and have given Him their life. Let’s say they die but never attended an Orthodox church because there weren’t any to attend. What happens to that person when they die? Do they go to Heaven, Father?” His response was quick and to the point: “Orthodoxy is the truth.” I am not at all saying that this is the perspective of all who are Orthodox. I can only say that this is most certainly the perspective of many I grew up around. This is only my personal experience.
Let me say I absolutely love the Orthodox tradition. My personal library is full of the writings of the saints of the Orthodox Church. There is such a rich revelation on prayer and holiness. I so enjoy the Orthodox communion. The symbolisms and liturgy are full of truth and beauty. I think it’s safe to say that I am more familiar with Orthodox spirituality and truth than most people in the Orthodox Church. These precious people have been a defense against radical Islam for centuries. They hid in forests and caves to worship Jesus when communism swept through Eastern Europe. Their value in Christian history is inapprehensible. To this day, I read many of the prayers of the Desert Fathers and others. I’d recommend you do the same. But I want to be clear about one thing: there is no replacing the preaching of the Gospel with clarity. There is no replacing yielding to the Holy Spirit in a service so that He can move and touch those who are suffering. There is no replacing personal reading of the Scriptures so that hearts and minds can be renewed daily in the Word of God.
To be real, my dad was a church attender who was full of himself, and he would be the first to tell you that today. He did many of the “right things” but for the wrong reasons. He experienced what we all did at the time—the power of religion without the presence of the Person. Dad fought us tooth and nail. He was not one to mince words or play games. As I said earlier, he is a tough man. I remember him questioning me if he saw me reading my Bible. I remember the anger he lived with in his heart and mind. Looking back, I believe he wanted what we had, but he was too hard-nosed to admit it. Ultimately, things came to a head, and Dad told Mom, “If you take my kids to the Orlando Christian Center one more time, we are done. I’m divorcing you. You are dishonoring our family.” My mom responded in a way that only she could. She said, “In all these years, have you gone without a meal? Have your clothes ever not been perfectly washed and ironed? Have I not been by your side every step of the way? There’s one thing I can’t give up for you. It’s Jesus. I found Him, and I am not leaving Him.” Needless to say, Dad didn’t know how to respond.
Dad went to visit our cousin Father Sam Kalamaras, who had been filled with the Holy Spirit himself. In those days, there was a large group of Orthodox people who were being touched by God, many through the service at the Orlando Christian Center with Pastor Benny. Father Sam was one of these men. In fact, he was the one who told me about the book Good Morning, Holy Spirit. I remember the day he visited us at one of my parents’ retail shops to pray for us. We all stood in a circle and held hands. As I held his hand, I felt electricity surge through my hand and into my body. He then stopped praying for us and prayed for me. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor. Father Sam was and is incredibly anointed and saw mighty healings in his ministry. When Dad got to Father Sam, he said, “I can’t take this anymore. I am leaving Evelyn [my mom]. She is off at these weird ‘born again’ services, and she is taking my kids there. In fact, she is there tonight. Father, I have had the divorce papers drawn up. I am leaving her!” Father Sam said, “Theo, slow down. Relax. Why don’t you and I drive to the meeting and you can check it out for yourself?” Somehow my dad agreed! So, they took the two-hour drive to Orlando. What a drive that was. Full of awkward conversation and silence. As far as Dad knew, he was going to rescue his children from this cult meeting.
Finally, Dad and Father Sam arrived at the church. We were already sitting inside worshiping near the front of the sanctuary on the left side. I was so caught up in the heavenly worship that nothing in the world mattered to me except for Jesus. A family member informed me that my dad had just walked into the meeting. I remember the nervous feeling that went through me. What would happen? How would Dad react to this setting that was so different than anything he had been exposed to? Not to mention, he had reiterated many times that he did not approve of what was taking place in meetings like these. So, my dad and Father Sam stood with us and the rest of the family. There I was with my eyes closed, singing to Jesus. Well, I guess I was half singing to Jesus and half praying to Jesus that Dad would get completely undone by the Holy Spirit the same way I had months earlier. I remember wanting to peek at him out of the corner of my eye to see his facial expression, but I was too nervous to do so. I couldn’t believe he was there. Little did I know that he had not come to enjoy the meeting. His intent was to divorce my mom for bringing us there but was merely doing Father Sam a favor by sitting through the service.
As the worship ended, Pastor Benny began ministering to the sick. Looking back, I can’t think of two more opposite personality types at the time than Benny Hinn and Theo Koulianos Sr. Yes, they had very similar cultural upbringings, but in all other respects they were polar opposites. My dad was reverent and serious in church. Pastor Benny seemed like a little child and was about as predictable as the wind in those days. My dad was a sharp dresser, but conservative. Pastor Benny wore the loudest outfits we had ever seen in a church service. Not to mention his hair was a world of its own. Dad spoke calmly and directly. Benny, on the other hand, spoke so loudly that his voice echoed in your head for three hours after a meeting. Personally, I could have cared less about these things. All I knew was that Pastor Benny carried the Holy Spirit, and that was enough for me. But my dad’s perspective was a different story. I remember thinking, “What is going through Dad’s head right now? What does he think of all this?” Little did I know something amazing was happening in my dad’s soul.
When the prayer time began, Pastor Benny began to call people forward who had been healed. Once they shared their testimony, he would pray for them. Many of these precious people would fall to the ground under the power of God. This was just too much for Dad. Let’s be real here. He was in a church with no icons, no stained glass, no incense, no robed clergy, no chanting…nothing. The building looked like an auditorium, not a church. Now, add people falling on the ground, people speaking in tongues, music, and the offering to the equation. Dad thought he had gone to Mars. About this time, a young lady carrying a baby on her shoulder walked onto the platform for prayer. This was the moment Dad began to speak with God. In a nutshell, Dad said, “Okay God, I don’t believe in all this falling stuff. These adults can fake it. This baby, however, cannot fake it. Here’s my challenge”—can you picture the God of the universe laughing at my dad’s challenge?—“let the adult feel nothing, and let the baby react to Benny’s prayer.” So, Pastor Benny approached the young lady and touched her. Nothing happened to her visibly. Then, he gently touched the little baby who was being held against the mother’s shoulder. Instantly, the baby’s head fell to the side and gently landed on the mother’s shoulder. The baby was noticeably touched by the Holy Spirit!
Instantly, my dad felt what he described as a sledge hammer hit his chest, and he went flying backward through the air. He hit the pew and slid to the floor at the feet of his entire family! I could not believe my eyes. None of us could. There we were, looking down at this tough, cultured, military man on the floor and completely unable to control himself as he seemingly began to hyperventilate on the floor. Tears were running down his cheeks. My friend, God met Dad’s challenge. Did He ever meet the challenge! I’m sure some of the family were in tears. Personally, I was in complete shock and thanksgiving. Dad had been touched by God, and God knew exactly how to humble my dad with His strength and love. After about thirty minutes, Dad stood up and gave his heart to Jesus. He got saved—I mean really saved. He became addicted to the Scriptures and to prayer. Before we knew it, he was the one driving us three hours each way to go to church. Today, Dad is a full-time pastor and Bible teacher who has seen miracles all over the world. One of the greatest miracles is that he travels with me and teaches in our conferences. Maybe you are believing for a family member to meet Jesus. Don’t ever give up. Ask the Holy Spirit to touch that person just like He touched my dad. If He did it for my family, He will do it for yours.