Taking New Ground

Or 'Follow my Leader'
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One Amazing Man!
Kind of a Billy Graham of his day, only combining a salvation message with healings. John Alexander Dowie had an amazing ministry and founded Zion City, however, he was toward the end of his life a very much flawed character, though one wonders if this was simply a mental illness. Dowie influenced many people and his ministry was going on around the time of the Welsh Revival. Alexander Boddy, a C of E minister from Sunderland (Sunderland Revival), visited Zion City in 1913 and this article from a magazine of the time is very interesting and includes something about Mrs Woodworth-Etter as well (last email's 'Amazing Woman'). This from the article, “Thousands have been made whole of every disease known at this age of the world, including one case of leprosy. Most of the cases that were healed were considered chronic by physicians. Many were brought on beds in a dying condition, given up by the best physicians; and many of them are living today, well and happy. Hundreds were saved and healed at the same time, otherwise they would have died in their sins ,and thousands of unbelievers of all classes were brought to Christ by seeing the mighty works of God”


John G Lake also visited Zion City and the Azusa Street Revival. The picture above is a common one from the time of Dowie's ministry and such pictures often had a banner saying, 'Captured From the Enemy!'

I wanted to look at Psalm 85

6 Will You not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your mercy, Lord,
And grant us Your salvation.
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
3 Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway.

Surely our heartfelt prayer for our nation is verse 6, 'revive us again'. The, 'why', is a bit surprising perhaps, 'that Your people may rejoice in you'. Not so we have reformation? justice? an end to crime? an end to poverty?, families restored? No, primarily that we may rejoice in Him! All these other essentials do follow, righteouseness, truth, increase because of God's goodness. Now verse 13 is interesting. It's as if someone is beating a path through the undergrowth, we are meant to follow that person. It's very hard for our leaders to both have the vision, then the courage and strength to begin beating a path forward, they need us to catch the vision, to help to push forward, to support. Even if sometimes they are mistaken. It's like sometimes they beat and hack a path through and we follow and then we have to turn round because it turns out it wasn't that way - we deviated a bit is all that happened. So we must try again in a slightly different direction.

If we look at these people's lives, they suffered hardship and personal loss. John G Lake's wife died on the mission field in South Africa, many of John G Lake's commissioned workers faced death from starvation. Mrs Woodworth-Etter lost children. Yet these people saw things happen that we can hardly dare believe for today! Yet these things are happening in countries like Mozambique today, so what's the key ? Is it all just about God's sovereign will or can we bring about revival again in our lives and in the lives of those around us? See these testimonies from recent IHOP meetings in Manchester and Bolton testimonies - so maybe we can and we can rightly expect. We know anyway, that we are to lay down down and consecrate our lives . .

Dowie got everyone to say this prayer of consecration (or similar) at the end of his meetings, 'My God and Father in Jesus name I come to Thee. Take me as I am. Make me what I ought to be in spirit, in soul, in body, no matter what it costs. Give me thy Holy Spirit. Lead me to thyself my Father. Take away my sins, and give me a pure heart that I may fervently love Thee and all things pure for Jesus sake. Amen.'


God Bless you

Andy Harper

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