iasparrow
04-23-2003, 11:27 PM
Brothers & Sisters,
This will be long, please bear with me, I am wondering what happened to me 14 yrs ago, and I am looking for some insight as to what it could've meant.
I was 17 years old and currently attending the Lutheran church in which I had been raised. I had gotten a job with a fast food chain and began dating an older man about 20, he was what he called "Charismatic" and was aspiring to be a pastor after his fathers footsteps. He was very nice and respectful and I liked him alot. He called me about an hour before a date we had set and asked could we go see one of his friends sing in the choir at a church called "World Harvest", I was familiar with it from commercials saying they were Non-Denominational and I knew how much different the service would be from my strict Lutheran worship, so I said yes right away and he warned me no to be afraid if things got a little "rawdy".
As soon as we walked through the door folks were shaking my hand and asking me how I was and hugging me, I was embarassed but I liked it, I had gone to the Lutheran church for 17 years and barely knew any of the members, they were not friendly. Here goes.....As we watched his friend sing he told me he will not be a member to this church, but he wanted to support his friends singing, then Pastor Parsley asked that we pray in silence for a moment. Being that this was not my church and I was not like them, I did not pray - instead I looked around in awe of the massive size of this church and it's congregation. While doing this I had an experience unlike any I've ever had.
While looking around while the rest prayed, I began to feel a burning heat at the very top of my head, the heat slowly began to spread to my forhead, but there was no sweat, as the heat reached my eye level, water falls fell over my eyes so I could not see, which really freaked me out big time, the spread throughout the rest of my body until it left the very tips of my fingers and toes. I thought for sure my boyfriend would have noticed me struggling to wipe sweat from my face and trying to wipe tears from my eyes, which was all in vain because there were no tears or sweat, but as the waterfalls left my eyes I immediately looked over at him and he was still praying! No one had noticed me struggling!
I kept this to myself, waiting for some type of sickness to take me over, but it never happened. I became increasingly interested in what could have happened, so I asked my father who didn't attend any church and he slapped me on the back and said as he laughed "you just had heartburn!" I said "Heartburn don't put waterfalls over your eyes!" he said "I don't know, sorry honey".
I had another date with my boyfriend that evening and decided to break it to him risking that he might think me crazy and break up with me right then and there, instead of looking at me like I was crazy he smiled larger than I had ever seen him, and he said
"Peggy, don't you read your bible?" and I said "Yes, all of the time" and he said "What then is the symbol for the holy spirit?" and I thought about it and said "Fire" and he said smiling "Well... didn't you feel like your were on fire!" and I said "Yes!". But this was the extent of the conversation.
He and I broke up when he went away to school, and I married at the age of 18, and I kept going to the Lutheran church until I was about 23, I began noticing more and more that I didn't feel spiritually fed there, and why did they not teach about the Holy Spirit in more detail. I began watching John Hagee on the tv and realized, how could I keep attending there knowing that I am totally against all of what they teach. I believe in the Holy Ghost and other gifts, and laying on of hands and water baptizm.
I left and then experienced some really trying times in my marriage, in which I called on the Lord day and night to bring my husband out of "Bondage". Right before these trying times I had another strange occurance. I was praying and giving the Lord honor and praise and I told him I exalted him above all others and asked him to reveal himself to me even though he does not have to just to let me know he was there with me, my husband was asleep, just as I was finishing up my prayer I saw a flicker of a flame right in front of my face, I about jumped off the bed and I grabbed my husband but he didn't wake. My grandmother is Apostolic and I asked her what that could've meant and she said " Peggy, I don't mean to scare you but it could be one of two things, maybe the Lord revealed himself to you because you are about to experience something so devastating in your life, that he gave you the reassurance he knew you were going to need to overcome, or he may be giving you a gift" Sure enough two weeks later my husband left me and I had to fight the Lord and I had to fight the devil to free him out of his bondage!
Everything changed for me when I finally decided to try another church, named Turnpoint Apostolic. I wrote the pastor a letter to tell him what happened to me at World Harvest when I was 17 and how my husband and I have gone through alot to stay together. I told him I was ready to take back what the devil had stole from me and I was ready to be baptized as an adult. And a few weeks later he addressed me in church and said he got my letter and he wanted the church to pray for me and they did, he came out in the congregation and layed his hands on my head and prayed over me, he told me that the Lord will heal all that had been undone in my life, that he would answer my prayer for restoration. A couple of weeks later, I was baptized - but I did not recieve the Holy Ghost, and I was sad that I had not. The Lord has restored my marriage and it is better than ever, I didn't know it at the time but when I was baptized I was 3 weeks pregnant with a new baby that the Lord had blessed me with, I still believe that he was part of the Lord's plan to restore my marriage, my life has never been sweeter and what joy I have now!
I didn't stay in this church because I had not gotten the Holy Ghost yet and other self issues, am now sad that I allowed those self issues to stand in my way, I am thinking about going back. My mother and her brother have just been baptized there and before they were baptized they both recieved the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues, when my mother told me that over the phone, I will admit I was jealous, I am now asking what can I do to prepare myself to recieve the Holy Ghost? Why do some get it without having a relationship with the Lord right away and some like me still have not.
This leaves me with confusion and eagerness to recieve, but most of all - if I have not gotten the Holy Ghost, what happened to me that peculiar night when I had waterfalls over my eyes?
Sis Rodgers
This will be long, please bear with me, I am wondering what happened to me 14 yrs ago, and I am looking for some insight as to what it could've meant.
I was 17 years old and currently attending the Lutheran church in which I had been raised. I had gotten a job with a fast food chain and began dating an older man about 20, he was what he called "Charismatic" and was aspiring to be a pastor after his fathers footsteps. He was very nice and respectful and I liked him alot. He called me about an hour before a date we had set and asked could we go see one of his friends sing in the choir at a church called "World Harvest", I was familiar with it from commercials saying they were Non-Denominational and I knew how much different the service would be from my strict Lutheran worship, so I said yes right away and he warned me no to be afraid if things got a little "rawdy".
As soon as we walked through the door folks were shaking my hand and asking me how I was and hugging me, I was embarassed but I liked it, I had gone to the Lutheran church for 17 years and barely knew any of the members, they were not friendly. Here goes.....As we watched his friend sing he told me he will not be a member to this church, but he wanted to support his friends singing, then Pastor Parsley asked that we pray in silence for a moment. Being that this was not my church and I was not like them, I did not pray - instead I looked around in awe of the massive size of this church and it's congregation. While doing this I had an experience unlike any I've ever had.
While looking around while the rest prayed, I began to feel a burning heat at the very top of my head, the heat slowly began to spread to my forhead, but there was no sweat, as the heat reached my eye level, water falls fell over my eyes so I could not see, which really freaked me out big time, the spread throughout the rest of my body until it left the very tips of my fingers and toes. I thought for sure my boyfriend would have noticed me struggling to wipe sweat from my face and trying to wipe tears from my eyes, which was all in vain because there were no tears or sweat, but as the waterfalls left my eyes I immediately looked over at him and he was still praying! No one had noticed me struggling!
I kept this to myself, waiting for some type of sickness to take me over, but it never happened. I became increasingly interested in what could have happened, so I asked my father who didn't attend any church and he slapped me on the back and said as he laughed "you just had heartburn!" I said "Heartburn don't put waterfalls over your eyes!" he said "I don't know, sorry honey".
I had another date with my boyfriend that evening and decided to break it to him risking that he might think me crazy and break up with me right then and there, instead of looking at me like I was crazy he smiled larger than I had ever seen him, and he said
"Peggy, don't you read your bible?" and I said "Yes, all of the time" and he said "What then is the symbol for the holy spirit?" and I thought about it and said "Fire" and he said smiling "Well... didn't you feel like your were on fire!" and I said "Yes!". But this was the extent of the conversation.
He and I broke up when he went away to school, and I married at the age of 18, and I kept going to the Lutheran church until I was about 23, I began noticing more and more that I didn't feel spiritually fed there, and why did they not teach about the Holy Spirit in more detail. I began watching John Hagee on the tv and realized, how could I keep attending there knowing that I am totally against all of what they teach. I believe in the Holy Ghost and other gifts, and laying on of hands and water baptizm.
I left and then experienced some really trying times in my marriage, in which I called on the Lord day and night to bring my husband out of "Bondage". Right before these trying times I had another strange occurance. I was praying and giving the Lord honor and praise and I told him I exalted him above all others and asked him to reveal himself to me even though he does not have to just to let me know he was there with me, my husband was asleep, just as I was finishing up my prayer I saw a flicker of a flame right in front of my face, I about jumped off the bed and I grabbed my husband but he didn't wake. My grandmother is Apostolic and I asked her what that could've meant and she said " Peggy, I don't mean to scare you but it could be one of two things, maybe the Lord revealed himself to you because you are about to experience something so devastating in your life, that he gave you the reassurance he knew you were going to need to overcome, or he may be giving you a gift" Sure enough two weeks later my husband left me and I had to fight the Lord and I had to fight the devil to free him out of his bondage!
Everything changed for me when I finally decided to try another church, named Turnpoint Apostolic. I wrote the pastor a letter to tell him what happened to me at World Harvest when I was 17 and how my husband and I have gone through alot to stay together. I told him I was ready to take back what the devil had stole from me and I was ready to be baptized as an adult. And a few weeks later he addressed me in church and said he got my letter and he wanted the church to pray for me and they did, he came out in the congregation and layed his hands on my head and prayed over me, he told me that the Lord will heal all that had been undone in my life, that he would answer my prayer for restoration. A couple of weeks later, I was baptized - but I did not recieve the Holy Ghost, and I was sad that I had not. The Lord has restored my marriage and it is better than ever, I didn't know it at the time but when I was baptized I was 3 weeks pregnant with a new baby that the Lord had blessed me with, I still believe that he was part of the Lord's plan to restore my marriage, my life has never been sweeter and what joy I have now!
I didn't stay in this church because I had not gotten the Holy Ghost yet and other self issues, am now sad that I allowed those self issues to stand in my way, I am thinking about going back. My mother and her brother have just been baptized there and before they were baptized they both recieved the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues, when my mother told me that over the phone, I will admit I was jealous, I am now asking what can I do to prepare myself to recieve the Holy Ghost? Why do some get it without having a relationship with the Lord right away and some like me still have not.
This leaves me with confusion and eagerness to recieve, but most of all - if I have not gotten the Holy Ghost, what happened to me that peculiar night when I had waterfalls over my eyes?
Sis Rodgers