Plain Truth 1962 (Vol XXVII No 08) Aug - Lcgmn.com

Page 48
The PLAIN TRUTH
August, 1962
noc spiritual. A rrue and deep spirirual
experience may be, and usually is accompanied
by cenain emmion or feeling.
But {his is the effect, the human
physical reaction or response-and of
itself is 110t spirituality.
True spirituality comes from GOD,
nOt the FLESH!
This man and his wife had, as guests
in rheir small home for rhe duration of
the meerings, a woman church member
from nonhern Colorado, near Cheyenne.
She, tOO, was of the excessively
emotional {ype. They had started having
"seasons of prayer" at rhe minisrer's
house, in which all rhree prayed aloud
al ollce. This man had wanred me ro
incroduce this unscriptural practise 1mo
the meetings. I had refused.
Then he asked me if I would come
to their house and at least join them
in this type of babylon and confusion.
I again refused, and poimed our to him
how God is 110t the amhor of confusion,
and in any "meering" of people rogether,
only Olle is ro speak at a time,
the others keeping silence (I Cor, 14: 15,
23, 26-31, 33, 40),
There was, in this rown, a man of
rhe extreme "penrecostal" variety, who,
rhis local pasroe said, had "backslidden,"
and given up religion altogether. This
was the one 1!Zan, above all others,
whom this minister wanred ro get into
his church. So I wene with him to visit
this man in his home. I S3.W at once
that his heart was nO[ right, and he
should be let alone.
The Fruits: Near-Converts
Driven Away
However, on the last Wednesday
night of the four weeks' meetings, when
I was enroute CO Denver and the local
pasmr conducted the service, things
happened. On my return tbe following
night, stepping off rhe bus, my son
Dick was awaiting me.
"Dad," he said solemnly, ''I'm all
through wirh chose meetings. I've decided
I don't wam any religion, after
all! "
"Why, what's happened?" I asked in
surprise.
The night before they had gouen
this "pencecostal" "backsl ider" into the
hall. The emocionaHy-zealous minister
had given an "altar caU," and this so-
called "backslider" had come to the
altar and began yel!ing, shoming,
screaming, and putting on a ridiculous
insane, noisy SHOW! The audience,
general!y, was disgusted. But the local
pastor and his wife, in rheir misguided
zeal-without-wisdom, were overjoyed.
I tried to explain to Dick that this
was all UNscriptural, and ANTi-Scriptural,
and he should ignore it. But it
was tOO much for a young 15-year-old
boy. He refused to go to the meeting
thar night.
I did what I could to hold the interest
of the people. With me back in the
pulpit they continued to come rhe remaining
four days. Several were baptized,
and a local church was organized,
with twice as many members as rhe
local pastor bad had before his former
"Rock" had moved away.
Then Dick and I tOok the rrain home,
via Salt Lake City and San Francisco.
Later I learned that almost immediately
after 'this campaign, the minister I had
gone ro help rook a vacation in anacher
scate, visiting, I believe, relatives, and
left his new local church to this "pentecostal"
man to pastOr. When he recurned
horne, he had no church.
When misguided zeal rakes the place
of wisdom and the sound guidance of
the livi1~g CHRIST, a lot of hard work
and apparently successful effort can all
go down the drain, and inco the spiritual
sewer! The jf'uits of this false "spirituality"
are the disgust of near-converts
---driven from salvation!
Of course that well-meaning, overzealous
(emotionally ), and misguided
minister apparently has always thought
that I was l10t very "spiricual." Somehow,
it seems always to have been a
MYSTERY to such people that success
"ppears co result from my efforts.
I say "appears" because the success
does not result from my effores at all.
It is the DOING OF THE INVISIBLE GOD!
And, being physicaUy invisible, such
people never can see GOD in the pkture.
Tn rhe next installment I will have
much co say about the histOric Sao
Francisco Conference, at which the
UN ITED NATIONS was formed. and
which I attended as a Press Correspondem,
a.ccredited by the Scate Depanrnenc
-and our sran of permanent every-
1light broadcasting.
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