It is like reading a modern day chapter of the book of Acts.
This is from Dan Rhoten who assists another local pastor now in the St. Louis area.
He a Music Vocals Teacher in one of the St. Louis public schools.
Lengthy but worth reading.
For those unfamiliar with biblical worship, just remember David and his worship. Remember the Lame man in Acts 3. Remember that the expression of worship and praise in scripture was not silent, boring or in a box. Houses were shaking, wind blew, fire fell, people prophesied, spoke in tongues and those unfamiliar thought they were drunk or mad. What would happen if modern day Christianity shook off the chains of tradition and worshipped the Lord in Spirit and in Truth? this testimony is a good example.
Today, Friday October 23rd, was parent conference day so we were only in session a half day. As the morning wrapped up, I went by one of our Kindergarten teacher's room, Ms. Karen Darris...or should I say Sis. Darris. She and several other teachers, as well as our principal, are all spirit filled. I had been sharing with Karen about a choir I had been telling her about and the How Sweet The Sound website. We pulled it up on her computer and clicked the video link to the Atlanta West Pentecostal Church song. Well, as you well know, the Holy Ghost radiates out of the song they sang...and it was only a few moments and the spirit was moving mightily on that classroom. While the song was playing, I turned around, and a parent had walked in. She was standing right behind us, tears streaming down her face. I came up out of my chair...asked her what was wrong. All she could say is, "I want what they've got...I need what they've got". We laid hands on her and began to pray and it wasn't but a couple of minutes until God filled her with the Holy Ghost right there in that classroom. Well, as you can imagine, we were not very quiet by then. My principal heard the sounds of worship and came in to see what was going on. Of course, she was right in the middle of it immediately. Well, there's more... Another woman came in because she heard the sounds of Holy Ghost fire... She had been bothered for years with chronic ear infections and was in the midst of a terrible infection that had cause total deafness in her left ear. She asked us if we would pray for her and while we prayed, God touched that ear...infection began to flow out of that ear (gross yes, but victorious at the same time). By the time we had finished praying, her hearing had been totally restored and could hear perfectly from both ears. But the best part was, while we were praying for her healing, God filled her with the Holy Ghost too! I took both of those ladies to a local church, and baptized them both in Jesus Name! Another teacher, Ashley Nolte, stood outside the door and watched all of this. She told me afterwards, "I never knew that you could feel God for yourself." A couple of hours later, she called me on the phone, and we had a Holy Ghost prayer meeting right on the phone. The Lord really touched her. She has promised to be in church at an apostolic church in the morning. I fully expect to hear that she has received the Holy Ghost tomorrow. To God Be The Glory!!
UPDATE: Sunday, October 25th 4:00 a.m.
Good morning! I wanted to update the story of God's powerful moving here in St. Louis. Another KG. teacher, Ashley Nolte, stood outside the door and watched as God poured out His Spirit on Friday. She told me afterwards, "I never knew that you could feel God for yourself." A couple of hours later, she called me on the phone, and we had a Holy Ghost prayer meeting right on the phone. The Lord really touched her. We gave her church information and reassured her that God was in control. I went to bed Saturday night expecting to hear of her going to church this morning and receiving the Holy Ghost. However, God had other plans.... At 4 am my cell phone rang this morning. When I answered, I heard a sobbing voice, going back and forth between English and tongues...trying to tell me what had happened to her. She asked me, "Is this what it's supposed to sound like?" We rejoiced together on the phone. So, I may get the privilege of baptizing her later today. The miracle goes on!!! God bless you!
UPDATE: Sunday, October 25th 9:15 a.m.
Here goes God exceeding Himself again!!! My cell phone rang right before we left for service this morning. Once again, it was Ashley. This time, it wasn’t her voice speaking in tongues...there was a male voice in the background just going at it in the Holy Ghost. It seems that her husband came out and found her on her knees in the living room rejoicing. He took one look at her face and said, “You know what, it’s not fair that you are feeling this good and I’m not! I want that too!” She told me, “I just did what I saw you guys do on Friday. I had him repent like we did on the phone Friday night and when he got to crying real good, I laid my hands on his head just like you did to those ladies at school. It just happened!” We are trying to get a time set to baptize them both in Jesus Name. Where is this going to stop? I have no idea, but I am ready for this to go on until Jesus comes!!!!! God bless you!
UPDATE: Monday, October 26th 9:30 a.m.
As I returned to school this morning, I knew that things would be “Buzzing” after the events of Friday. The teacher, Ashley Nolte, that received the Holy Ghost at home Sunday, came back to school bubbling about what God had done for her and her husband Doug. It was such a blessing when we got to meet up this morning. The tears flowed among several of us as the word was spread about the goodness of the Lord. I came back to my classroom and sat down at my desk, and thought, “Well, what a way to start the morning!” However, I had no idea what was coming my way next. Here are five more additions to the miracle that began here on Friday.
One of my colleagues, Dawn Cannavo, has a mother who is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. The disease was so advanced that she wasn’t able to know who anyone was, including her own daughter. Dawn had asked me on Friday to give her the website location, because she wanted to play the music at home. She noticed immediately when she played the song by Atlanta West song, that her mother would “perk up” and would start tapping her fingers to the music. This went on throughout the day Saturday. Sunday morning, her mother kept making gestures towards Dawn’s computer. It finally dawned on her that her mother was wanting to hear the music again. So, she brought up the website and played the Atlanta song again. When it ended, her mother who had not spoken for over two months, said, ”Play that song again” and pointed to the computer. By the time she had played the song a second time, her mother was trying to raise her hands along with the choir. When it finished playing the third time, she spoke to her daughter and said, “I know who you are...you are my daughter”. Since that time, several people have come to her house and she has known everyone of them. That’s another miracle by the hand of our Lord.
Nicholette Barnes, the first young lady who received the Holy Ghost on Friday, had a cousin, 27 yrs. old who was terminally ill with cancer. She was discharged and sent home from the hospital with hospice care on Saturday. The cancer had a primary tumor in her abdomen that was grape-fruit sized and had spread to her liver, lungs, and kidneys. Nicholette copied the Atlanta West song onto a DVD, along with a couple of our other apostolic choirs from the competition and took it to her cousin’s home. She shared with her what had happened to her on Friday and how God had healed the other woman’s ear infection. Nicholette started the Atlanta West song playing and they both started worshipping God along with the choir. While the song was playing, her cousin suddenly felt an intense heat come over her. She lifted her hands and began to praise God with Nichollete. As she worshipped, God did it again! Her cousin, Kamara, began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave her the utterance. Nicholette put her hand on Kamara’s abdomen to pray for her healing, only to find that the tumor was no longer there. They pushed and probed and could find absolutely nothing. Kamara had been jaundiced because of the liver failure from the cancer, but they suddenly noticed that the yellow coloring to her eyes had completely disappeared. The hospice nurse examined her and grabbed a phone to call the doctor. Nicholette took her back to the hospital, upon the request of Kamara’s physician. Upon examination by her oncologist and x-rays being taken, there was absolutely no sign of the tumor. Blood was drawn to check the cancer indicators in the blood, and that and all of the other things (liver and kidney function) came back perfectly normal. Who says God doesn’t heal?
Thirdly, Mattie Davis, the other lady who received the Holy Ghost Friday ear was healed, went home and told her family about what had happened. They were all so taken with these events, that both of her daughters and her son went to an apostolic church Sunday morning. All three went to the altar when the invitation was given. The son and one daughter received the Holy Ghost at the altar. They were all three baptized in Jesus Name and the second daughter received the Holy Ghost in the water! God did it again!
Fourthly, I had a Bible study at lunch today with Ashley. She had questions about being baptized. I realized within the first two minutes, that God had already revealed Himself to her. She began by saying, “Do you baptize in Jesus Name?” I told her that we believed the message of Acts 2:38. I asked her why she began with that question. She replied, “I was up until midnight last night studying what the Bible said about baptism. I cannot find anywhere that anybody was ever baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And anyway, Father isn’t a name, is it?” This coming from a new convert, 24 hrs. old, started it all over again for me. So, after school today, Ashley and her husband are meeting me a local church, and I am going to baptize both of them in lovely name of Jesus Christ! Thank God!!!
UPDATE: Monday, 12:45 p.m. And lastly, during my lunch break, I was sitting in my room, speakers turned up and watching several of my favorite songs from “How Sweet The Sound” (that’s my afternoon jump-start!!). While I was sitting there, my principal called and said she was coming right down, as she had something she needed help with. She walked into the room with our Learning Coordinator, Karen Lindsey. Karen has suffered with chronic migraines for years and was in the midst of an attack so severe she could hardly see. My principal said, “Put that song on from Friday and come over here and let’s pray for her”. I clicked “Anthem Of Praise”, and we began to call on The Healer again. As we spoke the name of Jesus over her, the power of the Lord came down in my classroom so strong you could hardly stand. Instantly, God healed her and the pain stopped. Karen Lindsey is a very reserved, unemotional kind of person normally. I opened my eyes to see her wiping her eyes. I said to her, “Why don’t you just go ahead and cry? That’s the presence of the Lord moving on you.” Well, the dam broke! The tear streamed down her face and she just sobbed. We just began to thank the Lord for what He was doing in her life. She said, “I used to feel like this when I was a little girl going to church with my grandmother. She was Pentecostal and went to one of those “sanctified” churches.” I said, “Well, since you know all about this and have felt it before, why don’t you just go ahead and let God do what He wants to do”. She began to tell the Lord thank you for not forgetting about her. In the midst of her thanks, Pentecost happened again and Karen Lindsey began to speak in other tongues as our Lord baptized her with the Holy Ghost. So now, two of our four administrators are Holy Ghost-filled! What a way to spend a lunch period!!!!
Wednesday, October 28th 9:15 a.m.
I received a phone call from Nichollete Barnes, the first young lady who received the Holy Ghost here at school. Nichollete prayed her cousin Kamara Johnson through to the Holy Ghost on Saturday and at the same time, God healed her of terminal cancer. These two ladies and Kamara’s aunt went to prayer meeting at one of our PAW churches in St. Louis Tuesday afternoon. Kamara gave her testimony to the prayer group, and while she was speaking, the Holy Ghost fell in a mighty way. Kamara’s aunt began to cry as the Spirit moved on her and the prayer group gathered around her to pray with her. The Lord touched her as she repented. One of the ministers of the church baptized her in Jesus Name and she came out of the water, threw up her hands, and began speaking in tongues as God baptized her with the Holy Ghost and fire. Kamara was re-baptized as well, going down in the water the right way this time…in the lovely name of Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, October 28th 1:30 p.m.
Larita Henderson, a parent of one of my students, stopped by to see me during my lunch break. She told me that she had been extremely ill with a severe sinus infection and was in a lot of pain. She had no insurance and couldn’t afford to go to the doctor. Larita was in the building Friday when Pentecost broke out. She was sick then, but said she is a little shy about just walking into situations like that and didn’t come in. She was sick enough today that she didn’t care…she just needed help. I went to the phone and called my principal who came right down, and Ashley Nolte (our KG. Teacher who received the Holy Ghost on Sunday at home) came with her. Before we ever began praying, the presence of the Lord was in the room in a mighty way. We laid hands on her and began to call on The Great Physician to come to our rescue again. By the time we finished praying, the sinus congestion was loosening up and the intense headache had completely gone away. We just started praising the Lord and His power just saturated Larita. She began to shake under the power of the Lord. I watched in amazement as Ashley just stepped up and laid her hands on Larita’s head and told her to receive the Holy Ghost in Jesus Name. Larita managed to get the words, “Lord, I thank you” out and then she lost control of her English…and began to utter the sounds of the newborn as God baptized her with the Holy Ghost.
We were still shouting and praising God when our Parent Coordinator, Althea Mosely walked in. Althea was raised in the Church of God In Christ churches, but had been away from the Lord for a good long time. She walked in my classroom and saw what was going on. She said she was sitting in her office, watching the video that I had given her this morning..(you know what it was..LOL) and said she could hardly stand it. Conviction started moving on her heart. She turned the video off, thinking the feeling would go away, but something made her keep going back and turn it on again. Thank God for DVD players that pick up right where you left off!!! She went on and off, on and off. She said the feeling got so intense she could no longer stand it. She got up out of her chair and started across the hall to Holy Ghost Central...which happened to be the Music Room right then. She walked through the door and the tears started. My dear sister Ashley went over and got her by the hand and told her, "Come on, Ms. Mosely, you need some of this!". I barely touched her and Holy Ghost hit that lady and put her on the floor. What a sight it was to see her laying there, laughing and speaking in tongues...refilled, and refreshed. So, that brings it to 12 now!!! God just keeps laying it on!!!!!
Thursday, October 29th 9:00 a.m.
All of the events that have taken place here in the past few days have opened doors to reach out to many of my fellow teachers that I really thought were unreachable. On the way out of school yesterday, one of my second grade teachers, Ms. Frieda May, stopped me and asked if she could talk to me for a minute. She opened up her heart and shared that she was going through a very hard time with her husband, who has been an alcoholic for 20+ years. His alcoholism is so bad that if he doesn't have a drink by early morning, he is already having withdrawal DT's. Frieda asked if I could get her a copy of the DVD with your song on it. I went back to my room and got one, and then pulled a couple of our staff together. We laid our hands on the DVD and prayed that the anointing would follow her and begin breaking the yoke of her husband's alcoholism every time it was played. She told me this morning, that she put it on as soon as she arrived home last night and set it to loop so it would continue playing. Her husband's normal routine was to come home and start drinking again, even before dinner. However, she said he came home and sat down in the living room and watched the entire DVD play. When it looped back to the beginning, he came out in the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door to get a beer. She said that when he tried to reach in to get a beer, it was if something stopped his hand every time he reached in. He stood there and
tried for several minutes and never could get a bottle in his hand. He went back out in the living room and watched the DVD again. Ms. May said that the entire evening went by and he never did get a bottle out of that refrigerator. Before they went to bed, she asked him if he felt okay, expecting to hear that he was feeling some withdrawal. Instead, he told her that he felt good and just didn't want to drink anymore right then. This morning, he was already up before she got ready to come to school. She went out in the living room and expected to find him drinking beer, but instead found him watching the DVD and drinking coffee. He was not experiencing any withdrawal symptoms and to her surprise, she found his Bible lying on the couch beside him. He told her that he was not going to drink anymore. When she went to get juice from the refrigerator, she found that he had removed all of the alcohol from the refrigerator and had dumped it down the drain. All of the bottles were in the trash can. This is just the beginning of what I believe is going to be yet another life-changing miracle. Praise God!!!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Around 3:00 p.m. this afternoon, my principal asked me to sit down with someone who needed help. Moments later, my classroom door swung open with a crash, and a man walked, or maybe I should say stomped in. He walked up to my desk and told me his name was John May. He is the 20 year alcoholic that we prayed for earlier this week. We sent a DVD of the Atlanta choir and several other choirs home with his wife. He pointed his finger in my face and said, “I wish you had never sent that DVD to my house. All it has done is make me miserable and I can’t stand this anymore”. I told him that the problem wasn’t the DVD, but it was the hold the enemy had on his soul. He was shaking from the tremors associated with not having drank in almost 48 hrs. We began to pray, but he just couldn’t seem to break through. He kept holding his head saying, “I can’t take anymore”. I stopped him and told him, “All I want you to do is say Jesus…nothing else, just Jesus”. He struggled at first, but finally got it out…the first time, the second time, but the third time, he touched The Throne. It broke…he threw back his head and began to laugh. “It’s gone, I can think, it’s gone for good”. His wife came in, followed by my principal. She hugged him and they both sobbed and cried. My principal and I wrapped our arms around them and began to pray for the Spirit to fill both of them. The presence of the Lord was so real!!! We got them to raise their hands and just thank God for what He was doing. As the praise went heavenward, the
Holy Ghost came down on both of them, and within ten seconds of each other, English changed to that Heavenly Language!!! What a blessing to know a God who is all powerful and can do ANYTHING but fail!!! That’s 14 filled and forever changed in 8 days time!!! To God be the glory!!!
Sunday, November 1st, 2009
Halloween night did not stop the moving of the Spirit of the Lord. There was no trick to it…it was all treat!!! Ashley and Doug Nolte, the couple who received the Holy Ghost last Sunday, invited two other couples over to their house last night to share what had happened in their lives. Their friends couldn't understand why they didn't want to go out and party last night. So, they had dinner at the Nolte's house and Ashley and Doug shared what God had done for them. The Holy Ghost fell in their living room while they were sharing. Both couples knelt down at their sofa and gave their hearts to the Lord. Within about fifteen minutes, three of the four had received the Baptism of The Holy Ghost. I got a call about 10:30 Saturday night, giving me the good news about Jeff and Dana and Tom and Connie. About 6:30 a.m. this morning, I got another call from Ashley, telling me there was more. She had passed the "How Sweet The Sound" site information to both couples. Tom, the man who didn't receive the Holy Ghost was quite disturbed that he didn't receive what the others did. So, he got up quite early this morning and brought up the website. As you have probably already guessed, he went right to the Atlanta West Choir location and clicked their song. His wife Connie woke to the sounds of “Anthem of Praise” and got up to see what was going on. When she walked into Tom’s office, she found him sitting in the chair at his computer desk, hands raised, speaking in tongues. They will all four be getting baptized in Jesus Name in one of our churches this morning. That brings the number to 18 now. Praise God for His saving power!!
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
9:30 a.m.
I received a call a few minutes ago from Nicholette Barnes. She was the very first girl who got the Holy Ghost when all of this started at school. Saturday night, three of her cousins and Kamara (the girl God healed of cancer) came over to her house. They started talking and they began telling what God had done for them. One of the cousins, Kaziya began to cry. She had been involved in the adult entertainment industry, had gotten mixed up in drugs and alcohol and was at her wits end. The other two cousins had lived a pretty wild life and were feeling the weight of things that they had done. Conviction fell in that living room and they all ended up on their knees, crying out to the Lord. Sunday morning, found them all in an apostolic church. During the preaching, the was a mighty move of the Lord and Kaziyah received the Holy Ghost, sitting in her seat (never made it to the altar). The other two cousins, Samantha and Cassandra, went forward when the altar call was given, repented, and received the Baptism of The Holy Ghost in the baptistry. That brings the number up to 21 now...and is sure to go higher! This is just beginning to fly!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
12:15 p.m.
I receive a phone call from Larita Henderson, the parent who God healed and filled on Wednesday of last week. She filled me in on something that I had no idea was happening. It seems that she is related to one of our third grade teachers. It also seems, that this teacher's son Khalif, who is one of my students, went to church with her Sunday and got to praying and came very close to receiving the Holy Ghost. His mother and my colleague Dina Webber, started getting under conviction and told Larita that she was feeling like some things needed to change in her life. Larita asked me how young children could receive the Holy Ghost. I was so happy to tell her that age had no bearing on a heart being filled with God’s Spirit. I am fully expecting that this teacher and her son are both going to be filled. What is really exciting is that now this is extending to the lives of my students. I was in the car when she called...I almost had to pull the car over!!! Revival!!! I love it!
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
4:00 p.m.
Last Monday, October 26th, I was running DVD’s of our choirs from “How Sweet The Sound”. I knew exactly how many copies I had run. Between classes, I had been checking copies to make sure they ran properly. The copies were left on my work table. When I came back after my second class, one copy was missing. Even though I should have been upset that one of the students had taken one, there was something inside that told me that something good was going to come out of this. The week went by and I didn’t hear anything more about the DVD. Yesterday morning, my prayer time was interrupted by a knock on my classroom door. I opened the door and let one of my fifth grade students in. She informed me that she knew who had taken the DVD and gave me the girl’s name. When I questioned her as to why Kiki had taken the DVD, she said that she had told her she needed it for her brother. It made no sense to me, so I immediately began my own little fact finding mission. Her classroom teacher informed me that Kiki was not in attendance, but supplied me with her home phone number. I called her home and spoke to the aunt. The aunt had the grandmother to call me at school. That call put me into the “shout mode” again.
It seems that Kiki’s 20 year old brother, Malcolm, had been involved in a drug deal that wend bad. The gang members accused him of stealing from them, and beat him violently with baseball bats. He was left for dead in a back alley. Someone found him and called for help. When he arrived at the hospital, doctors found that he was gravely injured. His skull was literally imbedded in his brain. They tried to do surgery, but his brain was so severely damaged, that the doctors told the family there was no hope. The family was being pressured to “pull the plug”. This is where the faith of a child makes the difference. Kiki took my “stolen DVD” home and played it for her mother. She convinced her mother to let her take her portable DVD player to the hospital and play the DVD for Malcolm. Kiki put the DVD on a tray by his bed, and turned it on to play for her unconscious brother. As the DVD began to play, several heard the music and came into his room to watch. The family and medical staff were so engrossed with the video, that no one was watching the patient. About halfway through the video, the mother let out a scream, and everyone turned to see Malcolm, the boy who was not supposed to “wake up”, grabbing at his mother’s hand. The doctors came running and put the family out into the hall. His doctors examined this “hopeless patient”, only to discover the he wasn’t so hopeless after all. They extubated him and removed the breathing tube, only to find a full alert patient, who was able and wanting to talk. When the family was allowed back in the room, Malcolm told them that he heard the music before he woke
up. He said that when the song go to that “lift Him up” part, he heard a voice that told him to “Come on, it’s time to go back”. He said something took him by the hand and led him toward the sound…it got louder and louder until the lights came on and he woke up. To the amazement of the doctors, there are no deficits of any kind from that traumatic brain injury. He has a severely fractured right arm (broken in 3 places) and several broken ribs, but that is all! The Great Physician had taken care of it!!! The doctors moved Malcolm to a regular room, and on Saturday, October 31st, Malcolm went home! If that isn’t a miracle, I don’t know what is. On Wednesday, Malcolm came to see me at school. I sat down with this young man and talked at length with him. God was really dealing with his heart. Thursday evening, he went to prayer meeting at an apostolic church with his grandmother. The group asked him to tell what had happened to him. When he got to the end of the testimony, the Holy Ghost fell on the group. The saints gathered around him and began to pray, and just a few minutes later, Malcolm Jackson the gang member, became Malcolm Jackson the saint of God. God marvelously baptized him with the Holy Ghost! The pastor ministered to him about baptism in Jesus Name. Not only was Malcolm baptized in Jesus Name, so was his grand mother! That brings the number to 22, who have received the Holy Ghost so far! Hallelujah!
Friday, November 6th, 2009
10:00 p.m.
I was sitting in my kitchen eating supper this evening, when the phone rang. It was my dear sister Ashley Nolte. It seems that she and her husband decided to have a prayer meeting at their home and had invited a number of my staff members and their families to attend. She said that the Holy Ghost had prompted her to call me to come over and join them. So, I got in the car and drove over to their home. Upon arriving, I found that this was no little affair. There were 17 people crammed in their living room, and it was “already on” in the Holy Ghost. Ashley had conveniently popped the DVD of Atlanta West into the player and the Holy Ghost was already alive and well in that place!! When the song finished, I simply ministered about what God had in store for each of them and explained this wonderful Plan of Salvation. The Spirit began to move and before long, we had people on their knees all over the living room, including 2 of my students. Well, this wonderful experience began to happen among us again, and within about 30 minutes, 4 more people received the Holy Ghost. I had the privilege of baptizing all 4 of them in the Nolte’s hot tub… That was a first for me!!!! The blessing of it all was that one of the four who were filled with the Holy Ghost was one of my fourth grade students, Khalif. His mother Dina is one of our third grade teachers. She also received the Holy Ghost. So, if my math is correct, that brings us to 26 people, who are forever changed, since October 23rd. To God be the glory!
Monday November 9th 2009
I found out today, that the guy God healed of the brain injury, Malcolm...took his whole family to church out at Bishop Johnson's church yesterday....4 of them ended up getting baptized, and 3 more received the holy ghost. That brings the number to 30 now! Praise God!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
8:45 a.m.
After a couple of days without anything new happening, my phone exploded with an annointed jingle a few minutes ago. The very first lady who received the Holy Ghost when this all started on October 23rd, Nicholette Barnes, called and put me into the shout mode at 8:15 a.m.! Nicholette's family is all baptist and attend a medium sized baptist church in St Louis. She went to their church prayer meeting last night...about 30 in attendance. The pastor asked her to share what God had been doing in her life, and oh did she ever do just that. As she testified, the Spirit began to move across that group of people. You know what happens when the Holy Ghost starts moving....people were worshipping the Lord with all of their hearts. The worship went on for a good long while. When things "settled" a bit, Pastor Benson asked Nicholette if she had a copy of the music she told about (that would be Atlanta West) and she just "happened" to have a DVD in her purse. The sound man fired it up through the multimedia system and it was "on" again in the Holy Ghost. This time though, it didn't settle down...this time the Holy Ghost fell on people. Before it was all finished, 19 of the people gathered (including the pastor and his wife) had received the Holy Ghost. When things died back down, Nicholette shared about being baptized in Jesus Name. Of course, this not the doctrine of a baptist church. Pastor Benson said to her, "I know this is not what we teach but something in my Spirit tells me this is right". He asked her to call me and give me his phone number. I just got off the phone with Pastor Benson a few moments ago. I started to share some scripture with him and he stopped me. He started explaining baptism in Jesus Name to me. I had to put the phone down and get a praise break in!!!! The long and short is...this afternoon those folks are going to meet at the church and I am going to baptize them all in Jesus Name. A baptist church is going to have to change its sign to pentecostal. There are others coming who were not in the prayer meeting last night, so that number is sure to go higher! I never cease to be amazed at how God moves! What a mighty awesome God!
Update 2
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
3:00 p.m.
I just returned from the noon prayer meeting at Friendship Baptist Church in St. Louis. God has begun a mighty work within that local body of believers. When I arrived at noon, there were already a good-sized group there. By 12:30 pm., there were over 50 had gathered. The pastor was absolutely ecstatic, as he said he never has that many for prayer meeting. What had happened, is that some of the 19 who received the Holy Ghost last night, went home and called others. Pastor Benson asked me to preach about the Name of Jesus and Baptism in Jesus Name and not the trinity. What a mighty anointing settled over that group of people. We had church!!! (They even had the church organist there. You preachers know what someone on the organ does when you get to preaching!) We gave the altar call and had a mighty move of God in the area of repentance. Next came the part I like…burying people in Jesus Name. The line started with Pastor Benson and his wife, and went on and on and on. They ran out of robes before we were finished. I know the last four or five got buried in wet robes!! All 19 from last night were there and got baptized first. Then came the newcomers! As person after person came, God confirmed His Word over and over again. When we got finished, 32 people had been baptized in the Precious Name of Jesus. The 13 new folks that had not been filled previously, were filled by the time they left. Most of them received the Holy Ghost right in the water. I tell you what…some of those ladies know how to splash. I think I was almost as wet as most of them. No one that wanted the Holy Ghost left there without it! So, the bottom line is…32 more people filled with the Holy Ghost and that now brings the number to 62 now that have received the Holy Ghost since October 23rd. This is the Book of Acts in action. What a way to spend a Veteran’s Day!!! Praise God!
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
I find it interesting that God's faithfulness is concerned with my temptations. Lord lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Often this scripture is misquoted and misinterpreted.
"God will not put on you more than you can bear."
This is not found in scripture, but is a misquote of the above scripture.
This communicates an idea that everything we deal with is from God. However this scripture does not speak to what God puts on us, rather what God helps us deal with.
In preparing for my midweek message on last week the Lord directed my study to the Book of Daniel. It seemed that highlighted in the text was this trait attributed to Daniel, that being that he had an excellent spirit.
I began to look deeper into this and found that this was said of him specifically on a number of occasions and I knew that I had found something worth looking into a little deeper.
To diagnose the characteristics of a person with an "Excellent Spirit", let us look and see what the scripture show us about Daniel.
He Refused to Compromise
The First Time we meet him is in the first chapter of the Book of Daniel. We are confronted with the situation and circumstance of the environment that he finds himself in. He is a Jew living in Babylon that has been made a Eunuch. He and many others have been carried away from Jerusalem and will for the rest of their days serve at the desire of the King of Babylon. This is far from Ideal. When confronted with what is expected of them, they refuse to compromise. In a situation that would seem they are defeated, still they maintained thier integrity.
When the Chips were down, he stood up.
The second chapter we are confronted with the fact that he along with the rest of those who were gifted and respected in the Kingdom were going to be sentenced to die. Rather than just resign and give up, he stands up and takes it upon himself to be a tool God can use in this circumstance.
Friends of Common Faith with Integrity.
It seems that though Daniel and his friends were not the only Jews in Babylon, they were the only ones that stayed true to their God and the worship to him. When faced with the ultimatum of bowing to pressure or dieing for God... they stood true and were a testimony to the power of people standing up for what is right even when there is a high personal cost involved. This is the kind of friends Daniel Had.
Stayed True when Persecution Came
Daniel being of an excellent Spirit was honored above everyone else. Envy and Jealousy are the product often in this situation and he found himself the target of everyone in power. However even in this situation, being a man of an Excellent Spirit continued in the dedication and devotion of a Worshiper of Jehovah. He continued to pray three times a day... and God honored him and lifted him up and bestowed an even greater level of favor. All while silencing those who chose to try to destroy him.
These are just a few of the attributes that defined this man with an Excellent Spirit. May we all strive to have that kind of spirit and attitude.
This was posted, I do not know who wrote it, but I think it is worthy of consideration. Feel free to share.
Dear Saint,
So, you are a devoted saint in your local church, and support your pastor. You give happily into the church of your time and finances, and don't cause any trouble. But still, there are a few things your pastor wishes you knew that would make his job easier and_ more enjoyable. If only you knew what they were! And as a pastor myself (for too many years to mention), I'm about to reveal those valuable secrets to you! Interested yet?
Hebrews 13:17 instructs us to, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." The first thing you should know as a loving saint is that your pastor wants to take joy in serving you... but it's your job to help him do it.
Here are a few things that will help your pastor enjoy his servant status in the church.
1. Notify him when you aren't going to show up.
Whether you are in a position of leadership or not, you should notify him when you will not be at church, at a church social or other event. Unless, of course, you are afraid your excuse for not being there is too lame. (ahem, ahem.) Put his mind at ease by giving him a quick phone call well in advance of your absence or tardiness.
2. Don't talk him down to other saints.
This includes questioning his judgment and/or decisions. If you have a concern about your pastor, you should talk about it to no one but him. Otherwise, you are unwittingly (or purposely?) destroying the work he is trying to do in the church. I have watched seasoned saints destroy new Christians by eroding their faith in, and respect for, their pastor. I have also, over the years, watched the pastor's authority questioned, overridden, and undermined by people in the church that he has trusted, and given responsibility and authority to. God forbid that this injustice should happen within the church.
3. Don't allow other saints to talk him down.
Stand up for your pastor if other saints in the church begin to "roast him for Sunday dinner". When I was a saint in my pastor's church, I would vehemently protect him from slander from other saints. I would interrupt this enemy of the man of God and clearly remind them that Psalm 105:15 says, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm."
4. Ask for advice before you make a decision, not after you have messed things up.
I can't begin to count how many times I've watched people go to their pastor and ask for advice on how to fix their problem, when they could have completely avoided it by talking to him before it happened. Your pastor is there to give you guidance and wisdom, and help you avoid troubles. Why not invite him into your decisions and let his Godly counsel help keep you from costly mistakes? This will both keep you from unnecessary grief, and make his life a lot easier.
5. Give him some space
If you are a needy person who demands attention from your leaders, do your pastor a favor and find other outlets to help fill this need. You are not the only person in the church that has problems, needs prayer, etc. It's perfectly fine to contact your pastor on occasion, as he is there to serve you, but if you constantly nag him, interrupt his dinner time, family time, personal social time, prayer time, or study time, he will begin to regret helping you. He will no longer be serving you with joy, but rather with grief. Give him a little space.
6. Don't just point out problems, but offer to help fix it
This goes with both interpersonal problems within the church, and broken things in the building. Chances are your pastor already knows of these problems, but has not had a chance to solve them yet... What he doesn't need is another person to remind him without offering to lift a finger to help.
7. Say, "Thank You"
This is a very valuable gift you can give your pastor that will not cost you a dime. Out of the blue, just tell him how much you appreciate the sacrifice he has made for the church... the late night prayers; the times he has sacrificed his own family time for the saints; the money he gives out of his pocket to help someone through a difficult time; the trips to the hospital, funeral homes and open houses. I recall many times I've helped people out with money, food, rent, resolving family fights, and more, and not received so much as a simple, "Thank you." It's true that we, as pastors, serve the saints as though we are serving the Lord, but sometimes the ungratefulness of those we help can really hurt. So, send your pastor a card, give him a phone call or an email, pat him on the back at church. You don't have to over-do it, or even do it often, but just sometimes, it's nice to hear those two magical words.
8. Preach with him
Do you agree with what your pastor is preaching? Then let him know. Don't just nod your head as you're falling asleep during his sermon... do it to let him know he's connecting with you. It's OK to say, "Amen" out loud when you agree with a point he's made. This will both encourage him and others around you. Feel like standing up and giving an enthusiastic fist-pump, coupled with a hearty, "Preach it!"? By all means, please do! He really likes that!
9. Worship Spontaneously
Preaching is an emotional and physical drain. Your spontaneous worship is the grease on the skids of the service. When you worship without prompting, an atmosphere is created where God can have His way in the lives of guests. It also saves the energy of the Pastor for what is most important, the Word of God.
10. Treat his family with love and respect
Your pastor's family sacrifices every time he leaves home to spend time with you... every time he runs an errand on church business, or closes the door to his study to seek God's direction for the church. They put up with a lot so that you have a good place to worship. They sacrifice. Please treat them well. Pastors worry that their family will suffer for the sake of the ministry, and it is a great encouragement to them when the church helps take care of the ones he loves.
11. Check on him and ask if there is anything you can do
Serving is his life. His time is not his own. It belongs to the work of God. Therefore, you need to serve him. Care for his needs. Simple things like serving his table at gatherings. Check to see if he or his wife need anything.
12. Take ownership of the church
This could be a book in itself, but I will simply offer these points... 1. Bring people to it 2. Attend every service you can 3. Keep it clean 4. Give of your finances to it 5. Give of your time to it 6. Respect it 7. Bring people to it (did I already say that?)
I honestly think each of these points deserves an article, or book, of its own, but I will leave it at this for now. All of the above mentioned tips are merely the natural result of a love and respect for the man of God, your pastor.
My Dad gave me some good advice about cars a long time ago that I think fits well here. He said, "If you're good to your car, it will be good to you." Nicely put, Dad.
