Pastor John,
What a wonderful, wonderful meeting it was on Sunday morning! I feel like it was the best one I have ever been a part of, but then, I’ve felt like that quite often in the past two years : )
The things I saw, heard and felt during the meeting brought up some thoughts and memories in me.
- After Brother Billy stood up and started, well… “preaching”, it stirred up a testimony in one person, which then stirred up something in someone else, and the whole thing was just sweet and glorious. I loved Sister Beth’s testimony, followed by Brother Keith’s response and then Sister Tracy walking in the middle, letting the Spirit testify through her, and everyone having an amen in their hearts and on their lips, standing up and raising their hands. I loved seeing all of you blessed under the Spirit. Thank you, God!
So, this whole “scenery” reminded me of something Paul said to the Corinthians:
“When you come together, each of you has a song of praise, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let everything be done for edification (…) Let two or three prophets speak, and then let the others judge. And if a revelation is given to another sitting there, let the first one be silent. For you can all prophesy, in turn, so that all may learn and all may be encouraged” (1Cor 14:26, 29-31).
I feel like this is exactly what happened on Sunday morning. Everything in order, and all for the edification of the Body. Not because you carefully followed some words written on a piece of paper, but because the Spirit was in charge, and he is not a spirit of confusion, but of peace.
- The second thing that I was reminded of, by a number of the testimonies (including Brother Keith’s, Brother Brad’s and Sister Diane’s), was how, after God touched my life through a powerful, life-changing, dream-like experience back in 2000, I started looking for a church to attend, so I could somehow get “more of God”. And, naturally, I first went to the local Catholic church, but the way that turned out was not what I had expected.
I walked up to the church building, expecting to meet the priest, so I can ask him questions, etc., but to my surprise I found no one there, because it was not “mass time”. I could still enter through the big main door into a small location with a Jesus sculpture on the one side and a bulletin board with various announcements and information on it; but the main part of the church, with the pews and the altar in it, was closed down with a metal gate with bars on it.
I can’t remember how it happened, but the big wooden door behind me got shut while I was in there, and as I was ready to leave, I realized that the door handle wasn’t a regular door handle from the inside, but some kind of mechanism and I needed to figure out how to open the door with it. But… I couldn’t. I was trying for minutes before I gave up, and then I started thinking: What now? First, I thought I might need to wait there until the next mass (I had no cellphone at the time), but that seemed nonsensical, so I ended up trying one or two more times until finally I was able to open the door and get out.
I can’t recall the exact feelings I had, but one thing was certain: I wasn’t gonna go back to that place anymore because it was such an unpleasant experience. I can’t remember if it lasted for 10 or closer to 20 minutes, but I was feeling trapped, and somehow I knew that it was a sign from God that it was not the path for me to take.
Knowing what I know now about “The Church”, it makes even more sense what and why God did what He did then, at the very beginning of my journey in the faith.
I thank God that He ended up leading me to a church where they taught me to appreciate and respect the Bible, to read it and study it for myself, because eventually that led me to realize that what they teach about the baptism of the holy Ghost is not right, which then led me to you all.
I hope you all will have a wonderful week.
Zoli