Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS THE LORD TOOK HOLD OF BUGBROOKEI saw my own hypocrisy and got tired of saying the way of revivalis to get filled with the Spirit. I wasn’t living in the fullnessand felt quite incapable of leading my people into it. A determinationgrew within me to get into the reality of God at all costs.His kingdom was hardly established in power amongst us atBugbrooke and I felt a poor shepherd. 4Noel knew of revivalists like Moody and Finney who hadexperienced a ‘baptism of power’. He had also heard somethingof the recent ‘charismatic movement’ and its emphasison baptism in the Holy Spirit. In fact, old friends from Bedfordwere now ‘speaking in tongues’ and praying for him toget the blessing. Noel wasn’t so keen!But as the manse group continued to study the New Testamentthey kept coming across tongues. Even Paul did it —more than all of them (1 Cor. 14:18)! As Noel got more andmore desperate, his theological reservations crumbled. At lasthe picked up The Cross And The Switchblade by Dave Wilkersonand read again how God gave this young pentecostalminister such amazing breakthroughs with the gang fightersof New York. Noel was impressed by their sudden deliverancefrom drug addictions.‘When did it happen?’ Dave Wilkerson had asked them. Andone after another they gave him the same answer: ‘When Iwas baptised in the Holy Spirit!’ 5One Saturday, the chapel teenagers visited a charismatic fellowshipin Rugby. They sat waiting for someone to start themeeting. No one did! Everyone just started singing, dancingand speaking in tongues. It was all a bit overwhelming! How-32