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Discussion Forum : Articles and Sermons : Frank Bartleman on the Azusa Street revival

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 Frank Bartleman on the Azusa Street revival

Wonderful and fearful words from the past...

The truth must be told. “Azusa” began to fail the Lord also, early in her history. God showed me one day that they were going to organize, though not a word had been said in my hearing about it. The Spirit revealed it to me. He had me get up and warn them against making a “party” spirit of the Pentecostal work. The “baptized” saints were to remain “one body,” even as they had been called, and to be free as His Spirit was free, not “entangled again in a yoke of (ecclesiastical) bondage.” The New Testament Church saints had already arrested their further progress in this way. God wanted a revival company, a channel through whom He could evangelize the world, blessing all people and believers. He could naturally not accomplish this with sectarian party. That spirit has been the curse and death of every revival body sooner or later. History repeats itself in this matter.

Sure enough the very next day after I dropped this warning in the meeting I found a sign outside “Azusa” reading “Apostolic Faith Mission.” The Lord said: “That is what I told you.” They had done it. Surely a “party spirit” cannot be “Pentecostal.” There can be no divisions in a true Pentecost. To formulate a separate body is but to advertise our failure, as a people of God. It proves to the world that we cannot get along together, rather than causing them to believe in our salvation. “That they may all be one; that the world may believe.” - John 17:21. And from that time the trouble and division began. It was no longer a free Spirit for all as it had been. The work had become one more rival party and body, along with the other churches and sects of the city. No wonder the opposition steadily increased from the churches. We had been called to bless and serve the whole “body of Christ,” everywhere. Christ is one, and His “body” can be but “one.” To divide it is but to destroy it, as with the natural body. “In one Spirit were we all baptized into one body,” - I Cor. 12:13. The church is an organism not a human organization.

They later tried to pull the work on the whole coast into this organization, but miserably failed. The work had spread as far as Portland and Seattle, under Sister Crawford. God’s people must be free from hierarchism. They are “blood-bought,” and not their own. An earlier work in Texas, later tried to gather in the Pentecostal missions on the Pacific Coast, and Los Angeles, but also failed. Why should they claim authority over us? We had prayed down our own revival. The revival in California was unique and separate as to origin. It came from Heaven, even Brother Seymour not receiving the “baptism” until many others had entered in here. He did not arrive in Los Angeles until the “eleventh hour.” The great battle from the beginning, both in Los Angeles and elsewhere, has been the conflict between the “flesh” and the Spirit, between Ishmael and Isaac.

Sunday, August 12, we opened up at Eighth and Maple streets. The Spirit was mightily manifest from the very first meeting. He was given complete control. The atmosphere was terrible for sinners and backsliders. One had to get right in order to remain at Eighth and Maple. “Fearfulness” truly “surprised the hypocrites.” For some days we could do little but lay before the Lord in prayer. Sister Hopkinson was a great help to me in the beginning,

The atmosphere was almost too sacred and holy to attempt to minister in. Like the priests in the Tabernacle of old we could not minister for the glory. We had terrible battles with fleshly professors and deceivers also. But God gave victory. The Spirit was much grieved by contentious spirits. The atmosphere at Eighth and Maple was for a time even deeper than at “Azusa.” God came so wonderfully near us the very atmosphere of Heaven seemed to surround us. Such a divine “weight of glory” was upon us we could only lie on our faces. For a long time we could hardly remain seated even. All would be on their faces on the floor, sometimes during the whole service, I was seldom able to keep from lying full length on the floor on my face. There was a little raise of about a foot, for a platform, when we moved into the church, On this I generally lay, while God ran the meetings.

They were His meetings. Every night the power of God was powerfully with us. It was glorious. The Lord seemed almost visible. He was so real. We had the greatest trouble with strange preachers, who wanted to preach. Of all the people they seemed to have the least sense. They did not know enough to keep still before Him. They liked to hear themselves.

 2012/5/9 22:55









 Re: Frank Bartleman on the Azusa Street revival

"There can be no divisions in a true Pentecost"

But there will be. Those who have been baptised in the Spirit, and I am refering to the real thing not the counterfeit which we see in the charismatic world, will be `cast out of the temple` unless he keeps his testimony to himself but therefore lose the blessing. Any believer who claims that Christ has taken away his sin in a literal practical sense will suffer this rejection and if there are a number of believers in his vicinity or if there has been a large scale pouring out of the blessing aka revival, then this is the body not the apostate ones who plead for sin.

To the contrary, what we see in the counterfeit form, are those who seperate themselves and don`t want to associate with or feel themselves superior with their possession of `the gift of tongues` which shows the originator of the party spirit and hence the need for the rebuke in the article.

If they really had received the baptism they would not need the rebuke. Their fruit shows the spirit they are in.

 2012/5/10 5:40





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