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Issue No: 858 Published: 02 Apr 2018
WHOSE CHURCH IS IT ANYWAY? Part 36
SOME LATER 20TH CENTURY SPIRITUAL MOVES
RANDY CLARK
Rodney Howard-Browne returned to Lakeland in January 1994, where a Vineyard Church pastor from St Louis, Missouri attended, seeking a new level of spiritual power in his life. Clark was profoundly impacted and experienced a burning sensation in his hands.
THE TORRONTO BLESSING
Very shortly afterwards, Randy Clark went to minister at the Airport Vineyard Christian Fellowship, pastored by John and Carol Arnott. On Thursday evening, 20 January 1994, the 'Toronto Blessing erupted. Hyatt again records.....
Characterized by holy laughter, falling, shaking, divine healings and other unusual spiritual phenomena, this revival soon captured the attention of both the Christian and secular media. During the first year of the revival, cumulative attendance exceeded two hundred thousand, with people attending from almost every nation. A secular magazine, 'Toronto Life', billed the revival as Toronto's top tourist attraction of 1994.
TESTIMONY: My pastor at the time, a man well versed in the Charismatic, attended and was impacted. Another pastor/teacher in the church, who also attended, came back and reported to the church that God dealt with him in terms of his attitude to his wife, which was not good. Nothing changed and after that his ministry quickly diminished.
By the fall of 1997 attendance had reached the two million mark, with pastors comprising forty-five thousand of this number. The Toronto Revival has had a global impact. It was especially well received in Great Britain where it is estimated that over seven thousand churches have been impacted, not only independent, charismatic churches, but also many Anglican churches, including London's Holy Trinity Church Brompton.
By the turn of the century, the revival faded.
CRITICISM OF THE REVIVAL
On December 5 1995, John Wimber disassociated the Vineyard Movement from the Airport Church, because of what he considered 'exotic practices' of the revival services, in particular the animal noises that occurred occasionally. John Arnott insisted that these occurred only rarely, perhaps 1 in 10,000 cases, and insisted neither he nor his staff encouraged such manifestations.
Undoubtedly, among many, there was a concentration upon the manifestations rather than upon God Himself. This, together with man taking over from God, has been the ultimate scourge of all revivals. However, as already mentioned, the Toronto Blessing had a big impact on many believers and churches worldwide.
HOLY TRINITY BROMPTON, LONDON (Sandy Millar - Vicar, Nicky Gumbel - Curate) Now for a British experience through the eyes of historian Richard M. Riss.....
One of the first and most highly publicized "hotspots" for the awakening in England was an Anglican Church, Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), in London.
At about 11:30 a.m. on May 24, 1994, Eleanor Mumford, assistant pastor of the South-West London Vineyard and wife of John Mumford (pastor of South-West London Vineyard and overseer of the Vineyard Churches in Britain) met with a group of friends, many of whom were leaders of other churches, to describe her recent visit to the Toronto Airport Vineyard. As she explained her remarkable experiences of the power of God and prayed for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, everyone was profoundly affected. Nicky Gumbel, Curate of Holy Trinity Brompton, suddenly realized that he was very late for a staff meeting at his own church, and rushed back from this meeting with his wife, Pippa, to HTB church office in South Kensington. The meeting was getting ready to adjourn, so he apologized and spoke briefly about what had happened. He was then asked to pray the concluding prayer. He asked the Holy Spirit to fill everyone in the room. According to the church newspaper, "HTB in Focus," 12 June 1994:
The effect was instantaneous. People fell to the ground again and again. There were remarkable scenes as the Holy Spirit touched all those present in ways few had ever experienced or seen. Staff members walking past the room were also affected. Two hours later some of those present went to tell others in different offices and prayed with them where they found them. They too were powerfully affected by the Holy Spirit -- many falling to the ground. Prayer was still continuing after 5 pm.
At 4:00 that day, HTB's Vicar, Sandy Millar, received an urgent phone call while attending a meeting of the Evangelical Alliance, chaired by General Secretary Clive Galver. Glenda, a member of the HTB church staff was calling to report that all of the members of the church team were on the floor of the office, unable to get up, after having received prayer. When Sandy asked how she had managed to get to the phone, she said that she had crawled. At
I've never had such a message in my life. I was at a very serious meeting in the Evangelical Alliance, and we were talking about very serious things. And the telephone went, and Clive Calver, who's the chairman of the Evangelical Alliance, went and answered it and then he looked over at me, and he said "It's for you," he said, "and it's urgent." So I said, "Oh, thank you very much." And I went over and I took the call, and this was Glenda. Now Glenda works here most of the time -- by which I mean she wasn't working that afternoon, and she said, "Oh hello," she said, "I'm sorry to interrupt the meeting," she said, "but I thought you ought to know that the entire staff is slain in the Spirit and lying on the floor." And these other seven solemn men and women were watching me because they wanted to know what this urgent news was, and they hoped it wasn't too serious. I wasn't quite ready to tell them, because I wasn't quite sure what it meant. So I just rushed back to find people rather startled at what had happened. The church leaders invited Eleanor Mumford to preach at Holy Trinity Brompton that Sunday, May 29, at both the morning and evening services. After both talks, she asked the Holy Spirit to come. Wallace Boulton in The Impact Of Toronto (Crowborough: Monarch, 1994), p. 21, wrote of the morning service: "There was a time of silence. Then slowly, members of the congregation began to cry quietly, and some to laugh. As the Holy Spirit came, Eleanor asked people to come forward if they wanted prayer. Many did so. As Eleanor's team and members of the church ministry team started to pray, people began to fall in the power of the Spirit. Soon the whole church was affected. There were scenes that few had ever seen before. The children arrived from their own groups and many of them were deeply touched and began praying for each other." People lingered for a long time after each service. Audiotapes of Eleanor Mumford's evening talk soon gained wide circulation in over one thousand churches of all kinds throughout England and served to pave the way for a massive reawakening among Anglicans and others.....
And in the time that I was there, I have to tell you, I heard not one mention of the devil. I heard not one word about spiritual warfare. Nobody mentioned a principality or a power, and I cannot tell you how refreshing that was. And the truth is that the people there, and I ever since, have been so consumed with the person of Jesus and with the work of the kingdom that quite honestly there is no time to give any attention to the enemy or to all his works. Because the power of Jesus is so great, and the person of Jesus is so preoccupying, and our passion for Jesus is on the increase to such a degree that it is a wonderful thing.......
At the end of September, 1994, Mike Fearon wrote of Holy Trinity Brompton in his book, A Breath Of Fresh Air (Guildford, Surrey: Eagle, 1994), p. 4, "At the time of writing, four months after the 'Toronto Blessing' made its unexpected but very welcome appearance, services there are so full that the choir stalls and chancel area behind the speaker have to be used as overflow areas, with scores of people standing in the gallery and around every doorway. Nearly 2,000 people pack into the building every Sunday."....
TESTIMONY: In 1998, Kathy and myself and 2 of our kids, flew to our eldest son’s wedding, in Aberdeen, Scotland. On the way, having landed in London from New Zealand, we decided to go to Holy Trinity, Brompton for a Sunday service. It was a big disappointment to me, the service being like a normal Anglican service anywhere. I asked the Lord, "Where is the Holy Spirit?" He told me that he had been there but had now departed. The whole emphasis of the church was centred round the wonderful 'Alpha Course', developed over a period of 20 years by today's Vicar, Nicky Gumbel. It has been responsible for presenting the Gospel to huge numbers of people worldwide. The revival had ended.
However many thousands of churches throughout Britain had been revitalized by the Holy Spirit through this revival.
(Continued next week)
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Jesus’ Messages to the Seven Churches (Revelation 1:1-3:21)
Through the apostle John.
To the Church in Pergamum
“Write this to the angel of the Pergamum church: This is what the One holding the sharp two-edged sword says: 13I know you’re living where Satan has his throne, and that you have stayed true to me. You have not denied your trust in me, even when my faithful witness Antipas was killed right among you there where Satan lives!
“But I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak how to entrap the children of Israel by means of eating food sacrificed to idols and committing sexual sins. Similarly you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. So repent, or soon I will come to you and fight against them using the sword of my mouth. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. I will give the hidden manna to those who are victorious. I will give them a white stone with a new name written on it that nobody knows except those who receive it.
To the Church in Thyatira
“Write this to the angel of the Thyatira church: This is what the Son of God says, the One who has eyes like flaming fire and feet like polished brass. I know what you have accomplished, your love and faithfulness and service and perseverance, and that you are doing more now than when you first believed. But I have something against you: you are allowing the woman called Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess to teach my followers, leading them astray into sexual sins, and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent of her sexual sins, but she’s not willing to repent. So I’m throwing her into a bed together with her adulterous partners and they will suffer terribly unless they repent of what they have done with her. I will put her children to death. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who examines thoughts and motives. I will repay each of you according to what you’ve done.
“For the rest of you there in Thyatira who don’t follow this teaching, who have not learned Satan’s “deep depravities” as they are called, I don’t place on you any other burden. I say to you, ‘Just hold on to what you have until I come.’ I will give authority over the nations to those who are victorious and who do what I say until the end. He will rule the nations with an iron rod, breaking them into pieces like clay pots. In the same way that I received authority from my Father, I will give them the morning star. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches.
To the Church in Sardis
“Write this to the angel of the Sardis church: This is what the One who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says: I know what you have accomplished, and that you give the appearance of being alive—but in reality you are dead. Wake up, and try to revive what is left that’s about to die! For I have discovered that from the perspective of my God, nothing you’ve done has been finished.
“So remind yourselves of how this message came to you, and what you heard. Observe what you were told to do, and repent. If you don’t watch out, I’ll come unexpectedly like a thief, and you won’t know at what time I’ll come to you!
“But there are some among you in Sardis who have not ruined their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed in white, for they deserve to do so. Those who are victorious will be dressed in white like this. Their names will not be removed from the book of life, and I will speak for them in the presence of my Father and his angels. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches.
(Concludes next week)
You can download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.
OUR AFRICAN EXPERIENCE
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A KENYAN TRADITION
Every country has its traditions. One of the most obvious in Kenya is shaking hands when you meet and again when you say goodbye.
Our staff on duty this Good Friday meeting shaking hands after our devotions and staff meeting first thing in the morning.
THE END OF AN ERA!
A sure sign construction has just about come to an end - for now! Moses, our contractor's night watchman, has gone home!
He has been a permanent fixture, day and night, since last October. Always friendly and obliging, even when he does things wrong through a lack of understanding of English. His English prevented him getting a security job with us, as an essential requirement for all staff is that they speak English.
Seen here on the bike, and on the way! Note the chicken, given by Jonah the Contactor, for all his good work.
MORE FROM THE MEDICAL CAMP
The best way to advertise the presence of the Kingdom Clinic. Offer FREE services!
Here, giving away some free drugs as prescribed by the doctors. Not the expensive ones though.
DIGGING THROUGH TO NEW ZEALAND!
No. Rather digging holes for power poles that we finally, after 5 months of trying, are going to get power through in a fortnight! (well the line to be on them, that is! LOL!)
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'THE WORDS OF JESUS' REMAIN AVAILABLE FOR PDF DOWNLOAD
Join the many who have downloaded the 'The Words of Jesus'. I am sure you will be blessed by it, as I have been.
One key element here is the setting out in chronological order (as far as it is possible to do so) our Lord's words drawn from all the Gospels, and the elimination of repetition between Gospels.
You may be surprised by the different perspective this presentation gives you both in understanding of His life and ministry, and in achieving a closer relationship with Him.
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
115. You must clamber over the rocks of failure in order to ascend the mountain of success.
116. It takes the Holy Spirit to transform a 'churchian' into a 'Christian'.
117. The world will meander, as long as men philander.
118. Sleep refreshes body, mind and spirit, but you have to wake up to experience the benefits.
119. Failure is often the first rung on the ladder of success.
120. 100% success is unattainable, but 100% effort is available to all.
121. Easy success breeds arrogance, but success hard-earned, builds character.
122. God accepts us as we are. As we learn to accept this, he develops us into what we can be.
123. Let failure breed experience, not despair.
124. A failure learned from is a step towards success.
125. God specialises in turning worldly failures into heavenly successes.
126. Worldly success is fleeting, heavenly glory, eternal.
127. Worldly success is like the rainbow ' beautiful for all to see for a short time. Heavenly glory is that elusive pot of gold, which once found never decays.
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK: THE ADAMIC COVENANT
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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***
*** Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others. ***
QWIK QWIP: “To make a long story short, don't tell it.”
125. A Letter to God
Dear Lord,
So for today, God; I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or even indulgent. I'm very thankful for that - But in a very short time, God, I'm going to get out of bed, and from that moment on I'm going to need a lot of help!
Amen
126. Take A Break
A clergyman, walking down a country lane, sees a young farmer struggling to load hay back onto a cart after it had fallen off.
"You look hot, my son," said the cleric. "Why don't you rest a moment, and I'll give you a hand."
"No thanks," said the young man. "My father wouldn't like it."
"Don't be silly," the minister said. "Everyone is entitled to a break. Come and have a drink of water."
Again the young man protested that his father would be upset. Losing his patience, the clergyman said, "Your father must be a real slave driver. Tell me where I can find him and I'll give him a piece of my mind!"
"Well," replied the young farmer, "he's under the load of hay.
127. Many a True Word...
On his Key Life radio program Steve Brown told of a friend who attended a meeting of a local civic club. One member who was the pastor of a local congregation normally gave the invocation. Since the pastor was absent and there were no other ministers in attendance, the President asked the guest speaker if he would offer the blessing. The speaker stood up and started his prayer, "Being no ministers present, We thank thee Oh God............."
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can now download the book 'Laughing At Ourselves' in PDF format at LAUGHING AT OURSELVES One of the most comprehensive sources of Christian Humour on the Net with 800 sermon fillers for your entertainment and use at ..... https://www.wwj.org.nz/content/wwj18p47.pdf
A DAVID MUSING
Easter here in village Kenya has none of the accompanyments found in the West No hot cross buns or Easter eggs as found in New Zealand, or other special gifts produced in other countries. Like Christmas it is a family time, but not to the same extent.
Church services are held, but as in most places, the Good Friday one is not well attended.
Africa being Africa, I got asked to speak at the Good Friday service here about 2 hours before it started!
Fortunately I am used to this, so I was able to after some quick preparation. A presentation of the times the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross had been illustrated in the Old Testament through sacrifices of pure, perfect lambs accompanied by bread and wine plus Communion, was very well received.
So well received, they want me to continue on Sunday!
Operating a Clinic/ Hospital here, people still get sick, so the staff worked on Good Friday as usual.
Jesus has got lost in the West in the pressures of commercialism, but here in the villages, I am not sure that it is that much better. Virtually everyone on our staff can preach, as Bible reading is widespread. However, I have been disturbed by the lack of understanding of how significant Easter or Passover really is. For without the death of Jesus we would not have forgiveness, and if not for the Resurrection, eternal life.
May we never forget.
Until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.
His servant and yours
David Tait
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ABOUT US
WALKING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES is a non-profit, non-denominational, Bible based ministry located in Hastings, New Zealand. A ministry dedicated to developing discipleship, fostering unity amongst God's people to achieve the Great Commission, and in doing so, preparing for Christ's return. It is securely based upon the foundational principles of the Apostles Creed while recognising the wide and rich diversity of beliefs amongst Christians in other areas. In accordance with the Lord's direction, materials produced by the ministry are available, free of charge, to genuine enquirers upon request. The ministry is solely funded by donations, as the Lord provides. A list of materials available (plus some fun!) is obtainable and freely downloadable from our websitewwj.org.nz or by contacting us as follows.
Walking With Jesus Ministries
7 Bull Street
Ahuriri
Napier
New Zealand
Phone: (06) 835 0567 International (+64) 6 835 0567
Email: enquiries@wwj.org.nz
Web: wwj.org.nz
Our role is to bless and encourage those in ministry while promoting co-operation and unity of direction amongst the body of Christ, as emphasised 3 times by Jesus in His longest prayer, immediately prior to His arrest and crucifixion. "... so that they may be one as we are one." (John 17:12, 21, 23-4) Our website is currently being developed to encourage your participation one with another, to share resources, and to enable you to promote events and items of interest to the body as a whole - and have a smile while doing it!
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