- God's Spirit moving for SLO and the ministry

Just to let everyone know the Holy Spirit does move among his people and sometimes we don't even know about it until we all look back.

Here is a chronological timeline of the Spirit of God moving to open my life to see God's judgment upon the ministry and freeing the sheep.

* Granted, my timeline is not perfect to the year. Brent is a the primo example of timeline accuracy, but you'll get the idea: God was working and keeping all of us.

May it encourage you all to see that God was moving in our lives even in the midst the Matrix. We don't want that FILET MINON!! - Gordon

* Five years ago or so
At a Prayer Tower after hearing whispers and catch phrases of the David Geftackys debacle, I was reading that week Ezekiel, and God gave me a revelation: The House is uncleaned. I'm going to mark those in my house who are pretending, and I will mark those who cry because of the sin in the house. One burden came, "Pray for the judgement of the ministry and it's leaders." Did I tell anyone? Are you kidding to come out and say to friends, "I prayed for judgement of the ministry and the leaders." Even IF it was acceptable to say it, I wasn't going to blabber about it.

I freaked out. I thought it was the devil, but looking back, I see it's very clear that was from the Lord.

CONCLUSION: The Lord was already moving against the ministry to cleanse.

* Four years ago
After devotion I sensed a burden from the Lord to pray for a brother who was regarded as doing his 'own thing' as some have said and my roomate was reaching out to him (God bless his heart). We started to pray and suddenly we sensed God's presence and we ended up praying for half an hour and we were weeping like babies, we uttered mercy for our gathering, revival in the ministry and now I realize it was the Lord stirring a groaning among his people. I never prayed like that...it was a dew drop from heaven, and I always wondered, "Why aren't the regular prayer meetings of that effect?"

CONCLUSION: The Lord was working a TRUE spiritual hunger and breaking the illusion of spirituality in the ministry because the people of God longed for the REAL THING. We don't want the NEW COKE FORMULA!

* Three years ago
I ran across a facinating book called, "Torch of the Testimony" -- I wish I had the book, but the book was a facinating book about gatherings similar to the Assembly, but what was interesting it pointed out the potential good, and the pitfalls that a ministry similar to the Assembly might encounter. Well, the pitfalls the book warned about did come true.

CONCLUSION: WARNING came all along for this ministry to turn around back to God.

* About a few weeks before George's visit to SLO
I read in my devotions about King David ordering one of his generals, Joab, to march in the funeral of Abner. David did as much to separate himself from the sin of Joab to say in 2 Samuel 3:35 "David had refused to eat anything the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to eat. But David made a vow, saying, "May God kill me if I eat anything before sundown. This pleased the people very much. In fact, everything the king did pleased them. SO EVERYONE IN JUDAH, and ISRAEL knew that David WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE for Abner's death." I knew I had to bring this up to local leadership.

I did NOT liken George to a king, but the principle of leadership was just for George hear. I didn't know George was in the mess he was in already, but David, his son was not repentant, and I was thinking, George needs to strengthen SLO by standing against sin, otherwise, we'll think he approves of David and is lenient on him.

I entreated the local leadership to entreat George something like, "George, in leadership must come out publicly to say, "David is sinning, and I dont' stand for it. It's wrong, and he's made mistakes that has harmed God's people. I am ashamed he's my son and I take full responsiblity for his actions, but I do want to publicly say, "David is wrong and needs to repent. Please pray for me because I failed in keeping my own son accountable. Please forgive me."

I begged for the sake of the SLO assembly, after all the heartache, that George MUST come to SLO and do something. I knew Danny E made a sincere effort to get to the bottom of things (in my conversations he was straight up with me & I give him props for that).

Well the 'repentance' meeting happened, and as a doorkeeper, at that time, George did not apologize, repent, or stand against David. If there was anything it was a "Sorry, that I got caught for being lenient." He never took full responsibility.

CONCLUSION: George was given numerous warnings to heed to God to repent.

* FINAL WEEKS OF THE ASSEMBLY IN SLO
I finally was driven to seek help in prayer. Twice I made prayer requests to the Brooklyn Tabernacle. They have a 24/7 prayer chain and I asked them to pray for the ministry and named SPECIFIC NAMES to the Brooklyn Tabernacle (it's where Jim Cymbala is pastor). I even wrote to Jim Cymbala myself because I was so discouraged. A GODLY church was praying for us.

FINAL ANALYSIS:
God's Spirit was working. It was working among those who longed for the real pastures of God. I look back at Brent's website, the numerous conversations asking, "Why aren't we growing?"...

In the end God's Spirit opened our eyes, judged the ministry and it was all by God's hand through his people. That's the way it should have been: if the Spirit of God was moving the way it should have been like at the Seminar, people would just die to get in. You wouldn't need a pep talk to go. You would just go. Instead we were dying to get out.

Think of Billy Graham's gospel events, thousands are turned away! If God's Spirit is working - it's undeniable. We don't have to tell each other to say the same thing because if it's one Spirit, one baptism, one God...we will say the same thing without men telling us to say the same thing.

AssemblyBoard

Post Assembly Life => The Assembly Experience => : Gordon August 01, 2003, 10:24:31 PM