The Holy Ghost Said!
Tell Sister Shelba
Shortly after receiving the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, two notable things happened in the Baptist church that I was pastoring. The first was the day the glory fell. I have seen and heard of several things of God since I was young and ask God for those same things. In time God has given me every thing that I have asked for which was of him.
One of the first things that I saw and knew that it had to be God, was seeing Christians getting happy in my home church. There would be rare services that people would shout, cry, and hug everyone's neck. I knew that was God, because otherwise in my home church they were usually bickering and fussing. Oh how glorious it is to get caught up in the love and joy of God when you love everybody and forget about your petty differences! I knew a deacon who prayed out loud fervently as though he was caught up in God's presence. It was obvious that he had no concern about the congregation hearing him, and I wanted to pray that way also. Due to the fear of man, it's not easy to pray fervently when others are listening, but I kept pressing in until one day a dam broke never to be bottled up again. I had also heard James Kelley, a Baptist preacher, tell of getting caught up in the glory while he was preaching and walking the backs of the pews. He wound up preaching outside on the back of a pickup truck and didn't know how he got there. It was such a glorious service that the church always talked about that day. When I heard the Brother Kelley's testimony of that day, I told God that I wanted that also. He answered that request one Easter Sunday morning after visiting with a neighboring church that Brother Kelley was pastoring.
I had received the Holy Spirit in February and it wasn't but just a few weeks until Easter. That Easter morning, we attended a sunrise service at a neighboring church that had breakfast afterward. Since the pastor was a friend, Libby took her keyboard and we sang several songs as a family for the church after we had eaten that morning. When it came time for our Sunday morning service, I was full of the spirit. I got caught up in preaching about Lazarus being raised from the dead. In John 11:40 Jesus said, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" As I preached about seeing the glory of God manifested in our lives, homes, and churches, I got caught up in that glory. I got up on top of the backs of the church benches and walked them from the front to the back preaching. Before I even gave an altar call that day, the altar filled with people repenting.
One Sunday morning as I sat down on the front bench of the Baptist church that I was pastoring, the Holy Ghost said, "Tell Sister Shelba that I am going to send her husband a job." Sister Shelba's husband was a pharmacist and had been out of work for several months due to illness. Once the cause of his problem was found, it was corrected through surgery and he was wanting to go back to work. Since he had been looking for some time without any offers, Sister Shelba asked the church to pray that God would send him a job. We had prayed about it that previous week, so I knew why the Holy Spirit might say that, but I wasn't sure it was the Holy Spirit.
While I wondered whether to trust that what I had heard was the Holy Spirit instead of my own thoughts, I heard him say, "If you don't, you will miss a blessing." He was going to send her husband a job whether or not I told her, but I would miss a blessing if I didn't tell her. Her husband was a member of the Church of Christ and only visited our church occasionally. Since the Church of Christ doesn't believe in these things, apparently God wanted him to know that they are real. I went ahead and told Sister Shelba what the Holy Ghost had said to me.
About 10:00 A.M. the next morning, which was Monday, I received a telephone call at work. It was Sister Shelba and she was rejoicing. Her husband had received two calls that morning from prospective employers wanting him to come to work for them. It indeed was a great blessing to know that God specifically answered our prayer and spoke to me so that we would know it without a doubt.
I preached for about six months in that Baptist church after receiving the Holy Spirit. Most of the members were glad for me, but didn't seem to want that much fire for themselves. Most people had rather watch others burn than to be on fire themselves especially if it means giving up their traditions. During this time, I really felt handicapped in trying to minister to the sick without any training or experience in that area.