NOTE ABOUT the WORD & THE SPIRIT JOINED:
The world awaits a move of God that truly brings together the strong, piercing preaching of the word along with miracles and healings. For too long these have been separated into rival camps.
Smith Wigglesworth prophesied about a last great Revival- "There will be evidence in the churches of something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit. When the word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest move of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed, the world has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and Welsh revivals of former years..."
In connection with the Welsh revival there is no preaching, no order, no hymnbooks, no choirs, no organs, no COLLECTIONS, and, finally, no advertising... Mr. Stead was asked if he thought the revival would spread to London, and he said, “It depends upon whether you can sing.” He was not so wide of the mark. When these Welshmen sing, they sing the words like men who believe them. They abandon themselves to their singing. We sing as though we thought it would not be respectable to be heard by the man next to us. No choir, did I say? It was all choir. And hymns! I stood and listened in wonder and amazement as that congregation on that night sang hymn after hymn, long hymns, sung through without hymnbooks. [Welsh revival]
The piece below makes some interesting points about this:
THE WEDDING of PURITY AND POWER
by Paul Holdren
The wedding of purity and power is a concept that the Holy Spirit is promoting among believers in these latter days. As stated earlier, in the late 1860s after the Civil War, a wave of the Holy Spirit came like a mighty wind moving across the land bringing a fresh awareness of the requirements of God to live a life pleasing to Him. This was to be accomplished by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the 1906 Azusa Street outpouring in the City of Los Angeles, the church began to be reawakened to the powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit. This too was to be accomplished by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Since the advent of the Azusa Street outpouring, the body of Christ has been divided into the purity and power camps.
For the past 100 years the Body of Christ has gotten as much attention from its wild fires as it has from its Holy Ghost fire. For the power camp the emphasis upon purity was almost anathema.
For the purity camp the emphasis upon power was almost anathema. This was because each camp expressed doctrinal positions that were unacceptable to the other. They vehemently rejected each others' positions. The power camp noticed that purity expressed without power became both legalistic and limiting. The purity camp noticed that power expressed without purity became both carnal and limiting. Only by the wedding of these two beautiful doctrines can the Spirit of God gain full authority and appreciation within the Body of Christ.
In the present time, the Spirit of Christ is calling the Body of Christ to be reunited in a mighty outpouring of His Holy presence - the Spirit's wedding of purity and power. Each doctrine has something the other needs to hear, a compliment to and completion of God's design for the wholeness of the church. The power camp needs to know of an exclusive holy love that is expressed out of a pure affection for the Holy ONE. The purity camp needs to know a holy power being expressed out of a manifestation of the Holy Spirit's gifts. The purity camp needs to share the beauty of holiness in the spirit of humility. The power camp needs to share the gifts of power in the spirit of humility. The purity camp needs to exercise the power of Christ in "signs and wonders." The power camp needs to exercise purity in "laying one's life down" for another. With a discerning spirit, each can benefit from the other, for these are perilous times in which we live.
Ezekiel added this dimension when he wrote of the prophecies involving the requirements of how the priests were to keep the holy law of the temple (Ezekiel 44-45) and when he wrote of the river flowing from under the threshold of the temple (Ezekiel 47:
1-12). The purity of the priests was revealed in that they were to have a certain appearance, conduct themselves in a particular manner, and serve others in a specific way. Everything about the Holiest of All is pure: pure oil, pure clothes, a pure man placing the lamb's pure blood on the pure gold of the mercy seat.
This was to be a pure presentation of righteousness, given to a pure and Holy God. The "Holiest of All" is the place of purity. It is here that the river of life has its head waters, emanating from the holiness of God.
The power of the river of God continually increased. The farther away from the temple it flowed, the deeper and wider it became.
As the river flows, healing comes to everything in its path. Notice, however, it is the purity of the waters that allows it to contain healing virtue. It is the river's purity that allows the river to be saturated with holy power. By comparison, only powerful men can serve, but powerful men must serve with a pure love for God and their fellow man. It is time for a wedding of purity and power.
-From "The Wedding of Purity and Power" by Paul Holdren.
My name is Paul Holdren. I am an American who was one of the untold millions that wandered from God. By the Lord’s infinite mercy I am now a messenger of hope in God’s restoration grace. May the Lord bless this work as our lives become cleansed and empowered by the Spirit of the living Christ. Our prayer for you is that you are encouraged to fight the good fight of faith walking in all of the light that the Almighty has for you. God bless.