MARCH 27 be glad then, you Children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for He has given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month (Joel 2:23). The terms “former rain” and “latter rain” have a spiritual meaning regarding the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The “former rain” speaks of the outpouring of the Spirit from the Day of Pentecost through the time of the Early Church, and then some beyond that. Regrettably, the Early Church went into apostasy, with the Catholic Church coming out of that apostasy. The Reformation took place early in the Sixteenth Century, and completely revolutionized the Church, as the great Message of “Justification by Faith” once again began to be preached. During a period of several centuries, very few people were baptized with the Holy Spirit; in fact, very few people were saved. The Gospel was successfully cut off from the people, which plunged the world into what is referred to as the “Dark Ages.” During that time, the Catholic Church was supreme; during that time untold thousands were tortured to death because they refused to give allegiance to the Pope. But at the Reformation, things began to change. At approximately the turn of the Twentieth Century, the “latter rain” outpouring took place, and continues to this hour. From that time unto the present, millions have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. I have been blessed by the Lord to be a part of this great “latter rain” outpouring. In 1968, the Lord moved upon my heart to begin a Radio Ministry, which actually began, if I remember correctly, on January 1, 1969. It was a fifteen minute program aired Monday through Friday, which we called “The Campmeeting Hour.” In a short time, we were on approximately 600 stations daily. Almost at the beginning of the Radio Ministry, the Lord began to lay it on my heart to teach on the Holy Spirit, which we tried our best to obey. At any rate, the Lord used our Radio Ministry to stir the hearts of untold thousands toward the Holy Spirit. These were Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc. The Lord also instructed me to set aside at least one Service in our Meetings, which were being conducted all over the United States and other parts of the world, for people to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He even told me that, if we would be faithful, He would baptize 1,000 people with the Holy Spirit in one Service. The Lord did exactly what He had promised. We saw tens of thousands baptized with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. It was in the Meeting in New York City, at Madison Square Garden, where the Lord did that which He told He would do, regarding 1,000 being baptized in one Service. That Sunday afternoon we saw many people brought to Christ. And then when I gave the call for people to be baptized with the Spirit, hundreds and hundreds began to come forward. In fact, the line reached down each aisle all the way to the back. I knew there had been a mighty moving of the Spirit and that many, many hundreds had been filled with the Spirit, but I had not bothered to think about the exact number. The exact number, in fact, really didn’t matter. It was the next day that the Lord spoke to my heart, informing me that over 1,000 people had been baptized with the Spirit in that Service. He fulfilled exactly what He told me He would do. At this present time, nearly 20 years after that occasion, even as I dictate these notes, the Church desperately needs an outpouring of power from on high (Acts 2:1–4). MARCH 27 be glad then, you Children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for He has given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month (Joel 2:23). The terms “former rain” and “latter rain” have a spiritual meaning regarding the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The “former rain” speaks of the outpouring of the Spirit from the Day of Pentecost through the time of the Early Church, and then some beyond that. Regrettably, the Early Church went into apostasy, with the Catholic Church coming out of that apostasy. The Reformation took place early in the Sixteenth Century, and completely revolutionized the Church, as the great Message of “Justification by Faith” once again began to be preached. During a period of several centuries, very few people were baptized with the Holy Spirit; in fact, very few people were saved. The Gospel was successfully cut off from the people, which plunged the world into what is referred to as the “Dark Ages.” During that time, the Catholic Church was supreme; during that time untold thousands were tortured to death because they refused to give allegiance to the Pope. But at the Reformation, things began to change. At approximately the turn of the Twentieth Century, the “latter rain” outpouring took place, and continues to this hour. From that time unto the present, millions have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. I have been blessed by the Lord to be a part of this great “latter rain” outpouring. In 1968, the Lord moved upon my heart to begin a Radio Ministry, which actually began, if I remember correctly, on January 1, 1969. It was a fifteen minute program aired Monday through Friday, which we called “The Campmeeting Hour.” In a short time, we were on approximately 600 stations daily. Almost at the beginning of the Radio Ministry, the Lord began to lay it on my heart to teach on the Holy Spirit, which we tried our best to obey. At any rate, the Lord used our Radio Ministry to stir the hearts of untold thousands toward the Holy Spirit. These were Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc. The Lord also instructed me to set aside at least one Service in our Meetings, which were being conducted all over the United States and other parts of the world, for people to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He even told me that, if we would be faithful, He would baptize 1,000 people with the Holy Spirit in one Service. The Lord did exactly what He had promised. We saw tens of thousands baptized with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. It was in the Meeting in New York City, at Madison Square Garden, where the Lord did that which He told He would do, regarding 1,000 being baptized in one Service. That Sunday afternoon we saw many people brought to Christ. And then when I gave the call for people to be baptized with the Spirit, hundreds and hundreds began to come forward. In fact, the line reached down each aisle all the way to the back. I knew there had been a mighty moving of the Spirit and that many, many hundreds had been filled with the Spirit, but I had not bothered to think about the exact number. The exact number, in fact, really didn’t matter. It was the next day that the Lord spoke to my heart, informing me that over 1,000 people had been baptized with the Spirit in that Service. He fulfilled exactly what He told me He would do. At this present time, nearly 20 years after that occasion, even as I dictate these notes, the Church desperately needs an outpouring of power from on high (Acts 2:1–4).
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 17:03:37 +0000
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