The Apostle Paul wrote this to the Corinthian Church:
"And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." 1 Cor 2:1-5 NASB
|
Note that Paul also said: "I was with you in weakness, and in fear...". It's sometimes tempting to think that if we fully walked in the power of the Holy Spirit, that we would be invulnerable.
But this isn't Paul's story, even though he saw God do powerful things through him.
Instead, he declared:
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;" 2 Cor 4:7 NASB
The treasure is the Person of the Holy Spirit living in us - even in our vulnerable human condition!
Here is a story of what the Holy Spirit and our human spirits can do together. It's a story told by John. G Lake. I'll add a few comments in italics.
|
 "In 1912, I was pastor of the Apostolic Tabernacle in Johannesburg, South Africa.
One of the cardinal teachings of our organization was the ministry of healing through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The sick were brought from all parts of the land; and thousands were healed through the prayer of faith and the laying on of hands of those who believed.
Our church was then enjoying a great period of spiritual blessing and power. Various remarkable manifestations of the Spirit commonly occurred.
At a Sunday morning service before public prayer was offered, a member of the congregation arose and requested that those present join in prayer on behalf of his cousin in Wales (7,000 miles across the sea from Johannesburg), that she might be healed. He stated that the woman was violently insane and an inmate of an asylum in Wales.
I knelt on the platform to pray and an unusual degree of the spirit of prayer came upon my soul, causing me to pray with fervor and power. The spirit of prayer fell upon the audience at the same time.
(Note that this involved the entire congregation "entering in" with the Holy Spirit)
The people ordinarily sat in their seats and bowed their heads while prayer was being offered, but on this occasion 100 or more in different parts of the house knelt to pray with me. I was uttering the audible prayer; they were praying in silence.
A great consciousness of the presence of God took possession of me. My spirit rose in a great consciousness of spiritual dominion, and I felt for the moment as if I were anointed by the Spirit of God to cast out demons.
My inner, or spiritual, eyes opened. I could see in the spirit and observed that there was a shaft of seeming light, accompanied by moving power, coming from many of those who were praying in the audience.
As the prayer continued, these shafts of light from those who were praying increased in number. Each of them reached my own soul, bringing an increasing impulse of spiritual power - until I seemed well nigh overcome by it.
While this was going on, I was uttering the words of prayer with great force and conscious spiritual power.
Suddenly, I seemed out of the body and, to my surprise, observed that I was rapidly passing over the city of Kimberely, 300 miles from Johannesburg. I was next conscious of the city of Cape Town on the seacoast, a thousand miles away. My next consciousness was of the Island of St. Helena, where Napoleon had been banished; then the Cape Verde lighthouse on the coast of Spain.
(Note: Our spirits can travel outside our physical bodies. There are stories and references to this in the Bible. But, unlike those who "astral project", neither John G. Lake nor we should ever seek to make this happen. We can however, choose to welcome or allow it when
we know that it is the Holy Spirit Himself empowering us.)
By this time it seemed as if I were passing through the atmosphere observing everything, but moving with great lightning-like rapidity.
I remember the passage along the coast of France, across the Bay of Biscay, into the hills of Wales. I had never been in Wales. It was a new country to me; and as I passed swiftly over its hills, I said to myself, These are like the hills of Wyoming along the North Dakota border.
Suddenly, a village appeared. It was nestled in a deep valley among the hills. Next I saw a public building that I recognized instinctively as the asylum.
On the door I observed an old-fashioned 16th Century knocker. Its workmanship attracted my attention and this thought flashed through my spirit: That undoubtedly was made by one of the old smiths who manufactured armor.
I was inside the institution without waiting for the doors to open and present at the side of a cot on which lay a woman. Her wrists and ankles were strapped to the sides of the cot. Another strap had been passed over her legs above the knees, and a second across her breasts. These were to hold her down.
She was wagging her head and muttering incoherently.
I laid my hands upon her head and, with great intensity, commanded in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that the demon spirit possessing her be cast out and that she be healed by the power of God.
In a moment or two, I observed a change coming over her countenance. It softened and a look of intelligence appeared.
Then her eyes opened, and she smiled up in my face. I knew she was healed.
I had no consciousness whatever of my return to South Africa. Instantly, I was aware that I was still kneeling in prayer, and I was conscious of all the surrounding environment of my church and the service.
Three weeks passed. Then my friend who had presented the prayer request for his cousin came to me with a letter from one of his relatives, stating that an unusual thing had occurred. Their cousin, who had been confined for seven years in the asylum in Wales, had suddenly become well. They had no explanation to offer. The doctors said it was one of those unaccountable things that sometimes occur.
She was perfectly well and had returned home to her friends."
Source: John G. Lake: His Life, His Sermons, His Boldness of Faith pages 246-248
|
I love that story! As we're focussing on the Holy Spirit this week - and also next week in the Home Groups for Winds of Change, I wanted to encourage you about what is possible.
You may get to consciously participate in the way that God answers a prayer! And, may we all be aware of the grace that is available when in a meeting, our spirits come into agreement with God's Spirit for extraordinary things to be done on earth as they are already decreed and desired in Heaven.
|
Pastor Russ Fochler
|
No comments:
Post a Comment