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DEAR
PASTOR BODDY, |
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“Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter
rain.”--ZECH. x., 1. |
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Since I heard
of the wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit throughout the world, as in
the days of Pentecost, my heart got very hungry for this blessed experience,
for I knew that when I should receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, as the
early disciples, my life and work should be more measured up with the Word of
God. |
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Since the
day of my conversion, twenty years ago, I have worked for God and have won
many souls for Him. |
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I am so thankful
to God that I can look back on my life as a life spent for Jesus. |
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Not that I
am satisfied, but Jesus has helped me all the way along. |
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I praise
His Holy Name that I never have gone back when He called me to obey. It was
often with great sacrifice, and often with great pain, that I gave everything
up for Jesus, and often I suffered much for His Name’s sake, but oh, the love
of Jesus has always been enough for me, glory to His Name, He has always
given me power to go forward and to follow Him wherever He wanted me to go.
Hallelujah. |
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I knew
that I had received the Holy Spirit in a measure, but when I read my Bible
and the life of the early Christians, I always felt I lacked something. I was
living far beneath my privileges. It was the Pentecostal Baptism that I
needed, power from on high, to be a witness for Christ, as He Himself had
commanded. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come
upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto Me.”--Acts i., 8. |
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The 29th of
October last year my dear wife received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with
signs following. That was a great joy for me. I shall never forget that
evening, it was glorious, and from that time I began to seek more earnestly. |
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The first
days after my wife was baptized, God blessed me very much, and I received
many anointings of the Holy Spirit, but did not receive my Pentecost. |
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I never
stopped praying. I was sure the promise was for all. Acts ii., 39. |
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Once in a
prayer meeting a message came in tongues, “Pray
on, continue in prayer, all your prayers are kept in God’s bank, and one day
they will come back to you with large interest.” |
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I prayed
on and said, “If I have to pray ten years, I will pray ten years, until I
have the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. |
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There was
such a blessing in waiting upon God. He was teaching me wonderfully all these
eight months. I saw some going back, but it never discouraged me. I was sure
that I was in God’s way, and seeking after God’s best, and to-day I thank God
for these eight months of waiting. |
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When I
received your invitation card for the Conference in |
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My dear
wife, who was always praying for me, said, “You must go to the Conference,
don’t trouble yourself for the meetings, I will preach for you. You go to |
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God opened
the way in every respect, and our dear Bro. Kök, who was baptized in January
last, and I went together to |
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Dear
Pastor Boddy welcomed us and invited us to come to the evening meeting, which
was held for baptized ones only, but, being a visitor, I could come too. |
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I
testified there, and asked the brothers and sisters to pray for me, that God
would baptize me during the Conference. |
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A short
conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Boddy after the meeting troubled me very much,
because Mrs. Boddy said to me, “You must believe that the Comforter has come, that He is in you; you know
that you are sanctified, and now you must glorify Jesus and praise Him,
because the Holy Spirit is in you.” |
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*** |
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The next
day, in the afternoon, we had a little prayer meeting in the Vicarage, with
about seven of us. I went on my knees and said, “Lord, here I am,”
acknowledging that the Holy Spirit had come into me, and I praised Him and
waited on God. I knew my heart was right with God, and I had only one
desire--to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, as did the first disciples
on Pentecost. I did not want this precious blessing for my own honour or
glory, but only that I might be more used in the saving of souls, and above
all, I wanted the blessing to glorify Jesus. “He shall glorify me, for He
shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”--John xvi., 14. |
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Mr. and
Mrs. Boddy were led by God to lay hands on me, and prayed. I was waiting on
the Lord, and after a few minutes I felt that my body was shaking a little
and the warm streams of fire were flowing through me. |
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A great
joy came in my heart, and I felt the wonderful presence of God very near me.
I had to praise Him, and praised Him for the simple way He came to me. Then I
said, “Lord, give me the Bible evidence that I have received the Baptism as
the first disciples did, and suddenly my tongue began to move in my mouth. I
tried to stop it, because it was so strange to me, but Mrs. Boddy said, “Be not
ashamed, yield your tongue to the Holy Spirit.” I did so, and began to speak
a few sentences in tongues, and sang. |
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Oh, what a
great love for the world came into my heart. When I went out, I felt I had to
go to everyone on the street and tell them about the love of Jesus. I was so
happy that God had given me my heart’s desire before the Conference began. We
had a blessed time during the Conference. It was wonderful. |
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I was very
much touched by the testimony of a lady in a meeting during the Conference,
whom I had never met before. She said, “There sits a brother,” pointing to
me, “whom I saw in a vision in the month of April, and the last fourteen days
I had to pray for him when I went on my knees. His face came before me, and I
felt burdened with prayers for him.” |
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She told
me that as soon as she saw me she knew me from her vision, and a brother, to
whom she had described me before she went to |
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The
Conference has been a great blessing to me, and God has taught me very much
by all that was spoken. There was a spiritual fellowship between the baptized
brothers and sisters of the world. God bless the happy English, Scotch,
Welsh, and Norwegian brothers, and others from different parts of the world. |
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After the
Conference I went to |
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During these
weeks a few brothers and sisters received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and
about sixteen decided for Christ in the open-air meetings. |
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I am now
back in |
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Yours
wholly for Christ, |
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G. R.
POLMAN. |
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DOMSELEARSTRAAT
15, |
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From: Confidence, No. 5, |