Tuesday, April 05, 2005
AOTGA - Act 8 Cont'd
The first time I spoke at Angelus Temeple (built by Aimee Semple MacPherson) was at an international convention and the church was crammed with people. Jean Darnell (their Associate Pastor, who has since become famous speaking to Anglicans -- isn't that a twist?) was on the platform with other ministers. When they stood to sing, she and I were sharing a songbook. Suddenly what must have been several thousand people all began to clap their hands while they sang. I was completely shattered. Jean said, "Would you like me to hold the songbook so you can clap?" I quavered, "I don't think I've come that far yet." She came back with, "Well, I have. You hold the songbook."
When Christian Advance came into being it gave opportunity for more amusing episodes. It was a series of meetings designed to acquaint people in the established churches with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Ministers from several denominations would speak briefly, the congregation would sing a few songs, and gifts of the Holy Spirit were welcome -- provided they were brought in moderate tones of voice. Afterward, responsible leaders were put in charge of various rooms where interested people could come to have their questions answerred, receive prayer for healing, become Christians, or receive the fulness of the Holy Spirit. I was strong on everything's being proper and orderly but I couldn't be in more than one place at a time. One evening when Father Harvey was in charge of prayer for healing, I asked how it had gone: if it was quiet, orderly, etc. Father Harvey said they had some difficulty. It appears that when he prayed for a woman who had been crippled for many years, she was completely and instantaneously healed. She was so delighted that she began running around the building shouting, "Hallelujah." We couldn't help laughing, thinking of her joy and wondering how it would be possible to ask anyone to contain hmiself when God had come down and accomplished something so wonderful for him. As a joke we said that from then on we would allow anyone who was healed to run around the church three times and shout, "Hallelujah." (Referring to St Paul's allowing three messages in tongues in the church.)
My husband has since told me of something that happened at a Christian Advance that would have sent me into orbit if I had known at the time. Fortunately I did not. Rita Reed was praying for a minister for the baptism in the Spirit. He was a rather emotional fellow and was oriented toward an emotional sort of worship. While he prayed he rocked back and forth rubbing his hands on his knees and moaning. This frightened Rita, and she said to Father Harvey, "He has a demon." This was all new to Father Harvey (Rita's family are Pentecostal) and he said, "What do we do?" Rita said, "You have to cast it out."
"How does one do that?"
"In the Bible they asked the demon's name and then commanded it to leave."
Reluctantly Father Harvey prayed over the poor fellow and sternly demanded, "Demon, what is your name?"
"Jones. Jones," came out between heavy breaths, and the man continued rocking, praying and moaning.
Father Harvey, determined to see it through if this was the proper procedure, commanded, "Jones, come out of this man in the name of Jesus!"
When the evening ended I rode down in the elevator with the personable young pastor and the others. We talked and I inquired his name. "Jones," he happily replied. "Reverend Jones."
As you can see, we had our little problems.
At another Christian Advance we had invited an Episcopal doctor to speak. At the end of a meeting he was praying with a woman to receive the gift and he was strangely demonstrative about it. He had his hands around the woman's neck and appeared to be shaking her. A woman watching said in a frightened voice to a Reformed Church minister, "What is he doing to her?" The minister calmly replied, "Why, can't you see? He's wringing her neck."
Yes, indeed, we did have our problems.
But on the other hand marvelous things happened. People were healed of almost every affliction and disease one could name. Individuals loved their families and other members of the Body of Christ in a way they never had before. Many became more sensitive about such things as honesty, purity and duty. One man told me that Christians frequently talked about giving up possessions and losing friends for Christ's sake, but to the contrary he had discovered a new and wonderful life with more friends than he ever had before. Further, he revealed that since he began setting aside ten percent of his income for the church, charities and individual ministries and missionaries, he was better off financially than ever before.
We learned a lot as well. Morton Kelsey (the author of Tongue Speaking: An Experiment in Spiritual Experience) recorded the following in one of his books but it might be worth repeating. I was speaking in an Episcopal church many miles from home. At the conclusion of my talk, the bishop's wife approached me and expressed a desire to have the gift of the Spirit. Because I knew she was reserved I wished to pray for her alone and was told I could use the house adjacent to the church. A young man followed and asked to be included. The three of us went next door. I knew the bishop's wife was a serious Christian as we had talked over dinner the night before and there was no doubt of her dedication. However, I didn't know anything about the handsome, debonair young man. I questioned him to ascertain if he had ever consciously committed his life to Christ. Although he had been a member of the church since infancy and an acolyte (one who assists a priest at Holy Communion) for many years, he stated he had not done that. He then did so in his own words, beautifully and clearly. Then they both received the Holy Spirit.
The following morning the young man sought me to confess he had been a practicing homosexual and had stolen $2,000 from the Air Force. I was new and green and stunned. All I could think was, "And I prayed for him at the same time as the bishop' wife." Then the words of Jesus came to mind, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
The airman served six months at hard labor, during which time the prison chaplain reprimanded him for being happy. The chaplain felt it was a serious offence and if he were properly penitent a somber attitude would be more in keeping. The airman wrote that he couldn't be sad -- that he had passed from death to life and his only sorrow was the way he had grieved our Lord before he knew Him. Through the years I have heard from him several times; he is completely rehabilitated. He lives in another section of the country, has a responsible job, is married and happy, and knows what God has done for him. What I learned is "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy" (NASB version).
But with the coming of the Spirit to the Church came the unexpected -- although we were really too naive to really expect it -- the charlatans, the crooks, the opportunists. Sometimes they were obvious, but usually they were coated with a veneer of super-piety that frequently expressed itself in long and passionate appeals to God. After I came to know of some of them, I wondered what God felt about it, and if they really believed He was there, and if so how they dared to do some of the things they did.
One of the smaller operators came to the office once and told of just returning from a trip to the eastern part of the United States. Without mentioning himself in a forward way, he spoke of visiting an Episcopal church on a weekday basis and discovering the minister reading charismatic literature. Supposedly he answered the minister's questions and the minister was then baptized in the Spirit. He then met the leading lawyer of the town, a Mr Stone, and the lawyer's wife began a prayer group in their home. He enumerated numerous healings that occurred. At no time did he claim he had done the healing -- God was always given the credit. It sounded good. I couldn't understand why I wasn't more enthusiastic. I silently berated myself, "Why aren't you pleased with what God did? Is it sour grapes? Can't you stand for anyone to do anything but you?" I looked at the associate editor who was listening and thought, "He's going to go for this and want me to have the fellow speak in the chapel and I don't want to. What's wrong with me?" Sure enough, the man specifically requested permission to address the people at the chapel. I put him off by telling him I would discuss it with him before the meeting. He left and I waited for the associate editor's burst of enthusiasm. He said, "I hope you're not going to have him speak."
"Why not?"
"I don't know."
I telephoned the minister in the town in the East. He had never heard of the man, none of the incidents mentioned had occurred, and no lawyer named Stone resided in the town. Monday when the taleteller appeared I asked him about it. He said it was all a dreadful mistake and he would get it straightened out to my satisfaction. I never saw him again. I wish all charlatans were so easily exposed. Certainly the fellow's story had been told well. It must have been the Spirit warning us through a gift of discernment. Many times since, I have known the Holy Spirit to work in this way, but I regret to admit that I have not always had ears to hear.
Click here for the Table of Contents
When Christian Advance came into being it gave opportunity for more amusing episodes. It was a series of meetings designed to acquaint people in the established churches with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Ministers from several denominations would speak briefly, the congregation would sing a few songs, and gifts of the Holy Spirit were welcome -- provided they were brought in moderate tones of voice. Afterward, responsible leaders were put in charge of various rooms where interested people could come to have their questions answerred, receive prayer for healing, become Christians, or receive the fulness of the Holy Spirit. I was strong on everything's being proper and orderly but I couldn't be in more than one place at a time. One evening when Father Harvey was in charge of prayer for healing, I asked how it had gone: if it was quiet, orderly, etc. Father Harvey said they had some difficulty. It appears that when he prayed for a woman who had been crippled for many years, she was completely and instantaneously healed. She was so delighted that she began running around the building shouting, "Hallelujah." We couldn't help laughing, thinking of her joy and wondering how it would be possible to ask anyone to contain hmiself when God had come down and accomplished something so wonderful for him. As a joke we said that from then on we would allow anyone who was healed to run around the church three times and shout, "Hallelujah." (Referring to St Paul's allowing three messages in tongues in the church.)
My husband has since told me of something that happened at a Christian Advance that would have sent me into orbit if I had known at the time. Fortunately I did not. Rita Reed was praying for a minister for the baptism in the Spirit. He was a rather emotional fellow and was oriented toward an emotional sort of worship. While he prayed he rocked back and forth rubbing his hands on his knees and moaning. This frightened Rita, and she said to Father Harvey, "He has a demon." This was all new to Father Harvey (Rita's family are Pentecostal) and he said, "What do we do?" Rita said, "You have to cast it out."
"How does one do that?"
"In the Bible they asked the demon's name and then commanded it to leave."
Reluctantly Father Harvey prayed over the poor fellow and sternly demanded, "Demon, what is your name?"
"Jones. Jones," came out between heavy breaths, and the man continued rocking, praying and moaning.
Father Harvey, determined to see it through if this was the proper procedure, commanded, "Jones, come out of this man in the name of Jesus!"
When the evening ended I rode down in the elevator with the personable young pastor and the others. We talked and I inquired his name. "Jones," he happily replied. "Reverend Jones."
As you can see, we had our little problems.
At another Christian Advance we had invited an Episcopal doctor to speak. At the end of a meeting he was praying with a woman to receive the gift and he was strangely demonstrative about it. He had his hands around the woman's neck and appeared to be shaking her. A woman watching said in a frightened voice to a Reformed Church minister, "What is he doing to her?" The minister calmly replied, "Why, can't you see? He's wringing her neck."
Yes, indeed, we did have our problems.
But on the other hand marvelous things happened. People were healed of almost every affliction and disease one could name. Individuals loved their families and other members of the Body of Christ in a way they never had before. Many became more sensitive about such things as honesty, purity and duty. One man told me that Christians frequently talked about giving up possessions and losing friends for Christ's sake, but to the contrary he had discovered a new and wonderful life with more friends than he ever had before. Further, he revealed that since he began setting aside ten percent of his income for the church, charities and individual ministries and missionaries, he was better off financially than ever before.
We learned a lot as well. Morton Kelsey (the author of Tongue Speaking: An Experiment in Spiritual Experience) recorded the following in one of his books but it might be worth repeating. I was speaking in an Episcopal church many miles from home. At the conclusion of my talk, the bishop's wife approached me and expressed a desire to have the gift of the Spirit. Because I knew she was reserved I wished to pray for her alone and was told I could use the house adjacent to the church. A young man followed and asked to be included. The three of us went next door. I knew the bishop's wife was a serious Christian as we had talked over dinner the night before and there was no doubt of her dedication. However, I didn't know anything about the handsome, debonair young man. I questioned him to ascertain if he had ever consciously committed his life to Christ. Although he had been a member of the church since infancy and an acolyte (one who assists a priest at Holy Communion) for many years, he stated he had not done that. He then did so in his own words, beautifully and clearly. Then they both received the Holy Spirit.
The following morning the young man sought me to confess he had been a practicing homosexual and had stolen $2,000 from the Air Force. I was new and green and stunned. All I could think was, "And I prayed for him at the same time as the bishop' wife." Then the words of Jesus came to mind, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
The airman served six months at hard labor, during which time the prison chaplain reprimanded him for being happy. The chaplain felt it was a serious offence and if he were properly penitent a somber attitude would be more in keeping. The airman wrote that he couldn't be sad -- that he had passed from death to life and his only sorrow was the way he had grieved our Lord before he knew Him. Through the years I have heard from him several times; he is completely rehabilitated. He lives in another section of the country, has a responsible job, is married and happy, and knows what God has done for him. What I learned is "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy" (NASB version).
But with the coming of the Spirit to the Church came the unexpected -- although we were really too naive to really expect it -- the charlatans, the crooks, the opportunists. Sometimes they were obvious, but usually they were coated with a veneer of super-piety that frequently expressed itself in long and passionate appeals to God. After I came to know of some of them, I wondered what God felt about it, and if they really believed He was there, and if so how they dared to do some of the things they did.
One of the smaller operators came to the office once and told of just returning from a trip to the eastern part of the United States. Without mentioning himself in a forward way, he spoke of visiting an Episcopal church on a weekday basis and discovering the minister reading charismatic literature. Supposedly he answered the minister's questions and the minister was then baptized in the Spirit. He then met the leading lawyer of the town, a Mr Stone, and the lawyer's wife began a prayer group in their home. He enumerated numerous healings that occurred. At no time did he claim he had done the healing -- God was always given the credit. It sounded good. I couldn't understand why I wasn't more enthusiastic. I silently berated myself, "Why aren't you pleased with what God did? Is it sour grapes? Can't you stand for anyone to do anything but you?" I looked at the associate editor who was listening and thought, "He's going to go for this and want me to have the fellow speak in the chapel and I don't want to. What's wrong with me?" Sure enough, the man specifically requested permission to address the people at the chapel. I put him off by telling him I would discuss it with him before the meeting. He left and I waited for the associate editor's burst of enthusiasm. He said, "I hope you're not going to have him speak."
"Why not?"
"I don't know."
I telephoned the minister in the town in the East. He had never heard of the man, none of the incidents mentioned had occurred, and no lawyer named Stone resided in the town. Monday when the taleteller appeared I asked him about it. He said it was all a dreadful mistake and he would get it straightened out to my satisfaction. I never saw him again. I wish all charlatans were so easily exposed. Certainly the fellow's story had been told well. It must have been the Spirit warning us through a gift of discernment. Many times since, I have known the Holy Spirit to work in this way, but I regret to admit that I have not always had ears to hear.
Click here for the Table of Contents
# posted by LeeSun @ 2:25 pm 
