While a member of the Pentecostal Holiness Church meetings, I started taking the Old Testament class at the local community college that Pastor John was teaching. While taking the class, God kept having the same part of a Bible verse come to me. It was "having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof" (2Tim. 3:5). During this time, he never gave me the last part of the verse to repeat.
I had been taking the Old Testament class for about 6 or 7 months when God gave me a dream. In the dream, I was getting into a taxi cab. I could see the driver and knew him. There was someone setting next to him, but I could not see this person. When I opened the door to get in, there was a woman sitting in the back seat. After closing the door and heading down the road the woman started making advances toward me. The more I told her, "NO!", the stronger her advances. While resisting her, I tried to open the car door to get out, but it was locked like a police patrol car. When I realized I could not get out, I thought, "Why can't I get help from the men up front?" As soon as I finished this thought, the passenger up front turned around, and it was the face of the Pope smiling at me. At this point the dream ended.
The next time I went to the Old Testament class, during a break I went to Pastor John and Earl Pittman to tell them about my dream. At the same time, another instructor we all knew stopped to speak to us. I began to tell the dream to them all. I told them about me being with that harlot, and the Pope sitting in the front seat. As soon as I finished, Pastor John said, referring to the Pentecostal Holiness Church, "That's where you are, Jim." Without any hesitation, the other instructor that we knew said, "He's absolutely right."
I still did not fully comprehend Pastor John's answer, or why the Lord had been giving me that part of a scripture, until several Sundays later. While attending Sunday service at the Pentecostal Holiness Church, the power of God began falling, and people were being blessed. In the midst of that wonderful move of the Spirit, I saw the Pastor spring up from his chair, step to the podium, quieten everything down, and say, "Time for another song." He had a schedule to go by, and that, to him, was more important than what Jesus was doing for those people whom I knew and loved. At that moment, God asked me, "What are you going to do now?"
At the end of this meeting, I went to the Pastor and explained to him that from now on, I would be going to the home prayer meetings at Pastor John's house.
Jim, when did the following thing happen?
God gave me the rest of the verse: "Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: FROM SUCH TURN AWAY" (2Tim 3:5).
Jim Gregory