What is an example that demonstrates the power of the Gospel in the life of an unbeliever?

Paul Carrington explains in this video that he became a Christian at 20 years old. His wife had just become a Christian, perhaps weeks before. Someone had lent him a Bible. He had never opened one.  

One night, while he was sitting in his room, he decided to open up the Bible. He opened to the Sermon on the Mount. He remembers sitting there and being blown away. He remembers having a desire to know who Jesus was. He went through his entire room and tossed all of his cassette tapes in the trash.

He came back to his room and began devouring the Word of God. He went to church. He could not put down the Word of God. He also desired to share what he had learned with anyone who would listen to him. 

Ezekiel 36:26 (NKJV) – “ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Well, perhaps speaking of true repentance, the story closest to my heart would probably be my own story. I became a Christian at about the age of 20 years old. My wife at the time, my girlfriend, she had already just become a Christian perhaps maybe weeks before. Someone had lent me a Bible. I never ever opened up a Bible as far as I could remember by myself.

I'd never Read I'd gone to Catholic school my whole life, but never really opened and searched the scriptures Well, someone led lent me the Bible And one night as I was sitting in my room, I was sitting there again at the age of 20. I was listening to hip hop music. And as the hip hop music was playing, I said, let me open up this Bible and see what it has to say. And I opened it up to the book of Matthew, specifically the Sermon on the Mount. And I began to read the Sermon on the Mount as I was listening to hip hop music.

And I remember very, very vividly just sitting there and every so often I would pause reading and I would listen to the music and I would say, what are they saying? And then I would go back to reading as the music was still playing and being just blown away with who this man is, who is this person who has spoken in such a way. And then I would listen to the music and it dawned on me that every song is the same. They switched up the beat and the lyrics might be slightly different, but everything is the same. The themes are the same.

But here I'm reading about something that I've never heard before. And I remember sitting there in my room and I actually got angry. I said, how come nobody ever told me there was another way? I actually said this out loud as I was sitting there reading. I felt like I had wasted 20 years of my life.

I didn't understand anything about the sovereignty of God at that point, But I remember very vividly just having a sense of anger, but at the same time, a desire to know who this person was that I was reading these words that, to me, at this point, were just life. And I ended up turning off that music. And I went through my whole entire room and this was 1996 so at that time there were cassette tapes and I gathered up an entire bag full of cassette tapes at that time and I had a garbage bag I walked out across the street to the basketball court. In our neighborhood there was a basketball court right there. And it was nighttime after midnight and I dumped all of those cassettes into the garbage bin.

I didn't want to give them away. I thought of them at that point as poisonous. And I came back to my room and I just began devouring the Word of God. It wasn't just a one night thing, I started going to church as a result, but even more I think than that was my appetite for God. I could not put down the Word of God.

I would be reading it until four in the morning. I would be waking up with thoughts. I would be writing down questions. I would be constantly wanting to know who this God is, that I might be brought into closer relationship with him. And so that began my journey in terms of knowing God and then not only that but wanting to share him with everybody I could meet even though I didn't know much at that time perhaps zeal without knowledge but wanting to share what I have found with anyone who would listen to me even for a moment.