Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS THE LORD TOOK HOLD OF BUGBROOKE
I saw my own hypocrisy and got tired of saying the way of revival
is to get filled with the Spirit. I wasn’t living in the fullness
and felt quite incapable of leading my people into it. A determination
grew within me to get into the reality of God at all costs.
His kingdom was hardly established in power amongst us at
Bugbrooke and I felt a poor shepherd. 4
Noel knew of revivalists like Moody and Finney who had
experienced a ‘baptism of power’. He had also heard something
of the recent ‘charismatic movement’ and its emphasis
on baptism in the Holy Spirit. In fact, old friends from Bedford
were now ‘speaking in tongues’ and praying for him to
get the blessing. Noel wasn’t so keen!
But as the manse group continued to study the New Testament
they kept coming across tongues. Even Paul did it —
more than all of them (1 Cor. 14:18)! As Noel got more and
more desperate, his theological reservations crumbled. At last
he picked up The Cross And The Switchblade by Dave Wilkerson
and read again how God gave this young pentecostal
minister such amazing breakthroughs with the gang fighters
of New York. Noel was impressed by their sudden deliverance
from drug addictions.
‘When did it happen?’ Dave Wilkerson had asked them. And
one after another they gave him the same answer: ‘When I
was baptised in the Holy Spirit!’ 5
One Saturday, the chapel teenagers visited a charismatic fellowship
in Rugby. They sat waiting for someone to start the
meeting. No one did! Everyone just started singing, dancing
and speaking in tongues. It was all a bit overwhelming! How-
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