Pentecostals are Saved By Grace, Through Faith (Ephesians 2:8)

Grandma Jones with Mother and Dad at the General Assembly
Indianapolis, Indiana

Mom and Dad

As I write these words it occurs to me that many may take it that we are saying we are more deserving of God’s blessings than others.  Not so.  Let me state two things here.  Number one, You do not receive salvation (nor any other gift of God) by doing good works.  It is by grace, through faith that we receive from His bountiful hand.  Number two, speaking in tongues is not as important as being sanctified.  God demands a lifestyle of holiness.  That does not mean we are perfect but that we strive for perfection.

But then, why would God give one person such blessings and not give the same to others?  Is it because one is perfect and the other is flawed?  Is it because one is doing a myriad of good things?  Why would one individual’s life be so full of good and another’s be filled with nothing but turmoil and strife?  I know from personal experience that it is not because of one’s goodness.  And I’m reminded that the Psalmist said, “³ They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”  (Psalm 14:3)   A man came to Jesus in Matthew 19 and – calling him “good master” – asked what he could do to inherit eternal life.  I believe Psalms 14 was in Jesus’ mind when he asked the man, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”   (Matthew 19:17 )  Now all believers know that Jesus was good.  So what did these words of Jesus mean?  I believe that Jesus was saying to him, “If you recognize that I am God, then you have your answer.”

          I learned some years after my spiritual crisis from some well-meaning folks that a person could not even be saved until they were at least 12 years of age.  They just came too late to tell me that because I knew beyond any shadow of doubt that God had saved, sanctified and filled me with the Holy Spirit. I have thanked God for that experience many times in my life as I went through times of doubt. Thinking back to that time even as I write these words gives me strong assurance that God is real. As wonderful as my experience was = there were many other things which I was told later that would have negated all of my experience had my faith not been based in the Bible. Of course I have had questions. I have doubted. I have failed the Lord and had to repent again (more than once) – but I KNOW that God changed my life that night in 1946 and that I’ve never been the same since.

Just A Quick Note

Good Morning!  I have a busy day today but will take time to give you the most inspirational blog I have read in the last few days.  Go to http://littlepetuniaspages.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/let-us-run-with-perseverance-part-i/  and be encouraged.

The Brannen Boys and Brother Wil's 1930 Model A Ford

Pentecostals Speak with “other tongues” (2)

Pastor Lula Lee Pearce Jones ca1938-40
Lacoochee, Florida

Here's the Beauty which Daddy saw through the Church Window
(She was 15 years old)

Louis Alton Brannen
(Recently Converted Saw-Mill Worker ca1938/39)

1 Corinthians 14:21 says, “²¹In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.”

          In 1946 - At the age of eight years, while Dad was pastor of the Church of God at Morristown, Tennessee, I received the “baptism in the Holy Ghost” or Holy Spirit in the "old time way" with the initial evidence of speaking in other (un-known) tongues. The old time way was that after a person was saved from sin, he/she was encouraged to seek to be sanctified and to “pray through” to the experience of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance.  John Calvin had preached the experience of “salvation by grace” through faith.  John Wesley had preached the doctrine of a “second definite work of grace” in a person’s heart which was called “sanctification”.  Since the late 1800's and the renewed out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, we were encouraged to have the “fullness” of the Spirit in our hearts and lives by seeking for the same experience that fell on the 120 believers in the upper room in Acts 2:4.   I’ll never forget the time and the great feelings of exuberant joy which came over me that night in the altar. I remember praying and hearing others praying for me as I knelt at the bench in front of the pulpit which was called the altar.  Those praying for me were saying things like, “Hold on, son. Hold on.” “Turn loose, son.  Turn loose.” “Don’t turn loose.” “Give up.”  “Don’t give up!”  “Keep on praying.”  I  understood their intent.  They were suggesting that I surrender everything to Jesus, and that I should allow God to have His way in my heart and life. 

Maybe you have heard someone else testify to an experience like this before and think that I'm being a Magpie or a parrot – but this is actually how it happened with me. In those days most everyone seeking an experience with the Lord was prayed for (out loud and fervently) by the faithful. This was all done by the most devoted believers, all speaking their words of encouragement at the same time. The encouragers were also patting the seekers on the back enthusiastically.  Some called it "slapping them on the back".  Plus, the musical instruments were playing and the people were singing in the background, something like, “Oh Lord, Send The Power Just Now” or "Send Down The Rain, Lord" or "Jesus, On the Main Line (Tell Him What You Want)". Confusing? No! Not to me. I knew exactly what they meant. So I did exactly what they were suggesting: I held on in prayer until I could not hold on any longer and then I turned loose. I "let go" and gave everything I had (or would ever have) to God until tears of joy mingled with my tears of repentance. I kept on praying and giving everything to God until total deliverance from sin came! I was overcome then with the joy of salvation.
          "Ah...just an emotional experience," someone said. "He'll be the same tomorrow that he was yesterday," said another. God was so good to me that he gave me an “out of the body” experience similar to the passage of scripture from the hand of the Apostle Paul that says, “Whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell.” (2 Corinthians 12:2)  No - I'm not claiming any of Paul's excellence - but I am claiming that the same Lord that transformed him also transformed me. Anyway, as I prayed that night at the altar, the last thing I remembered before being filled with the Spirit was praying and leaning forward and slightly to the right while earnestly asking God to fill me with His Spirit. The next thing I remembered I was standing at the back door of the church with both hands raised while tears of joy were flowing down my cheeks and I heard myself speaking in a language I had not learned! I do not know how I moved from the front of the church to the back of the church. My soul was singing praises to the Lord Jesus Christ who had forgiven me of my sins. I was elated.  After only a few moments I closed my eyes again and next thing I knew was when I opened my eyes and stepped over someone who was lying prostrate in the floor. I was speaking in tongues. I know that I walked (or ran) to the front of the church while under the Spirit’s influence…but I was not aware of what was happening until I was already back down front. I cannot explain why, or how, this happened – except that I knew I had been filled with the Holy Ghost.

William Edward Jones, ca1945
(My Maternal Grand-father)

My Story: Pentecostal (1)

L to R:  Dad, Mom, Sister 1, Sister 2,
Back Row L to R:  Brothers Lowell, Wil and Me

Acts 2:1-4

“ ¹And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  ²And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  ³And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Yes, I was born in and grew up in a Pentecostal Family.  My maternal grandmother was the pastor of the local Pentecostal Church in the little saw-mill town of Lacoochee, Florida.  Hearing people speak in tongues and seeing them dance ecstatically in the spirit was as common for me as drinking water from a glass.  Praying for the sick that resulted in Divine Healing and miracles was not at all strange or different.  I grew up thinking that this was the way “church” was supposed to be.  I have seen people “slain in the Spirit” in the church as far back as I can remember.  Let me give you some background to my faith.

Dad had left home at 15 and had become a “hobo” on the freight trains which traveled up and down the eastern seaboard.  There he learned to smoke and drink and swear with his buddies.  It was 1934-1937.  When he and his friends would come back home after a long trip they would play music to entertain the patrons in the dance hall.  He worked awhile in the Cummers Saw Mill, where orange crates were made, making the fantastic sum of $9.00 per week for a full week’s work.  It wasn’t long until he cut off the first joint of his index finger on the saw.  He refused to go to a doctor but just stuck the joint of his finger on, wrapped it in a wrag, poured on the rubbing alchohol and let it heal back naturally.  “Natural” in this case turned out to be a crooked “pointing finger”.  While playing his guitar in the dance hall in the evenings, slipping a sip of whiskey from the bottle and getting himself generally drunk - the little Pentecostal church across the railroad tracks could be heard with characteristic singing, praying and shouting (in the old time way) for, you see, it was summer and the windows were left open for ventilation in the small wood-framed structure so typical of country churches of that day.  As Daddy explained it to us, “While playing at the dancehall, when we heard a shout break out at the church, we would run over and peep in the windows to watch the show!”  While peeping in the window, Dad saw the “most beautiful girl in the world” and was captivated by her beauty.  He made up his mind that he wanted to get better acquainted and soon learned that this 16 year old young lady was the Pastor’s daughter.

“Sister” Jones was a very charismatic leader.  If you have had exposure to almost any Christian church here in the Southeastern United States, you soon learn that all Christians are called “Brother” or “Sister”.  To me, Sister Jones was Grandma Jones.  She was charismatic before most of us ever knew what that word meant.  She found out that Louis could play the guitar and invited him to play with the church band.  I do not believe that was normal for Pentecostal churches in those days for they were also “Holiness” churches but this may give some insight into the wisdom of Pastor Jones.  [“Holiness”: That will be a subject for a later blog] She eventually won the young man to a deep experience with Christ.  During a Revival, while the house was full of fervent worshippers, Dad had “slipped a sip or two” before the meeting started.  At one high point of leading the service, Sister Jones, removed the fiddle from under her chin and called out to the crowd, “Saints!  I feel the SPIRIT in this place tonight!”  Dad, by now feeling the effects of his “slippin’ and sippin’” shouted back, “MEEEE TOOOOOO!”  Grandma then called to the congregation, “Praise God, Church!  The Spirit’s move is so powerful here that even these old sinners are feeling it!”  I’m not positive that it was the same night – but during that or a similar service, the house was so crowded that there was no room to sit in the back of the church.  After playing his guitar for the preliminaries he looked back for a place to sit down somewhere near the back of the building.  There might have been a place he could have squeezed into but since he was a shy young man he wanted to get into a seat and “out of sight” as quickly as possible.  So – young Louis Brannen sat on the only available seat – the front row!  After the sermon was finished a woman directly behind him leaned forward and half whispered into his ear, asking, “Louis, don’t you want to go to the altar and get saved?”  When that happened, He says, “The Devil said to me, ‘Just back-hand Sister Rosier in the face and tell her NO!’”  “I thought…now that wouldn’t be right.  I’m in the church house.”  So instead of obeying the Devil, he obeyed the Lord and, “took two steps and fell into the altar” where he was gloriously converted. 

Events moved swiftly.  Louis was “Sanctified and Filled with the Holy Ghost” with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as mentioned in Acts 2:4.  This Glossalalia Phenomenon was for the common man.  Louis became a changed man.  He immediately stopped drinking.  No more cursing.  No more smoking.  Just like that.  It was permanent.  I was 60 years of age when he died and I can honestly tell you that I never ever observed my Dad say or do anything that would make me doubt his experience with the Lord.  Soon he became the clerk of the church and asked for the hand of Bonnie Jones in marriage.  He was just 20 years old.  Bonnie was 16 when they married.  True to her oft repeated words, “I’ll NEVER marry a preacher, she married this saw-mill worker.  However, it was only a few short weeks after they were married that Daddy announced to the congregation that he now felt “called” to preach.  This was the beginning of 62 years together in full-time ministry before Dad passed from this life into the presence of his Savior.

Time Flys When?

Where Did the time go?  Could it have anything to do with the old adage: "Time flies when you're having fun"?  We sure have been having fun this month with the Brannen Boys!  My two brothers and I have been meeting every Saturday morning this month to have breakfast together, and then off to practice singing together.  Our good friend and helper is Eddie.  He is a skilled musician, song-writer, who says he doesn't sing.  He plays the keyboard and has been helping us towards more skillful harmony.  If you would like to hear us sing, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7KiYN0p5uc .  We did this on a Friday night in a local singing at "Gaddy's Gospel Barn".  Then on Saturday we drove to Chattanooga and did this number in our denomination's state-wide Senior Talent competition, and then sung again on Sunday night at our local church.  We did have great fun.

Oh - I must tell you that our 91 year old Mom is as good as new!  She has been back to church and singing publicly again after her fall last month.  Then, Frances' sister, Beth, fell in her home and broke her hip.  Beth had to have surgery and have a pin inserted into the bone.  Altho she had to go to re-hab she also seems to have made a full recovery.  Beth is 84.  We went to visit her in Lenoir City and took her out to the Cracker Barrell (a local restaurant) for dinner.

Mama

Mama, Addressing City Life Church, Tampa, Florida

That's what I've always called my wonderful mother; Mama.  She is so specially gifted.  She will reach 92 years of age in March.  She has retained her beauty so well that when we are out together and Frances is not with me, she has often been mistaken for my wife.  However, on Wednesday night, walking from her apartment over to the church (less than 100 yards) she fell flat on her face and ended up in the emergency room at our local hospital.  I was at my church when I received the call and went to the ER immediately after our service.  Stayed there until the doctor finally came (after four hours) and started the two stiches in her lip.  Yesterday, she was up, smiling the best she could, and worrying about the fact that she could not see because the eyeglasses cannot be repaired before next week.  I went to the drugstore and bought her a new pair of 3.25 reading glasses which she says help her a lot.

Interestingly - I had sung a song she taught me that she had learned as a child.  Here are the words: 

 

I Don’t Want To

 

Some men chew their cud – they say it’s oh so good

They urge me the same to do

But this is my reply – as I pass them by

I don’t want to!

CHORUS:

Cause Jesus took the want to outta me a long long time ago

The pleasures of this world – don’t charm me any more

So this is my reply – as I pass them by

I don’t want to!

Some women powder and paint – to look like what they ain’t

They’ll urge you the same to do

So make this your reply – As you pass them by

I don’t want to!

Some men cuss and smoke – tell lots of smutty jokes

They urge me the same to do

But this is my reply – As I pass them by

I don’t want to!

 

Some men drink their wine – they say it’s oh so fine

They urge me the same to do

But this is my reply – As I pass them by

I don’t want to!

Some won’t pay their tithes – they say it’s just not wise

They urge me the same to do

But this is my reply – As I pass them by

(Since I got saved) I JUST WANT TO!
 

Once, I was at a meeting with Mom and we were browsing through books in the bookstore when a preacher friend whom I had known for years approached.  I had been away in Africa for about five years and we had not seen each other during that time.  He said, "Oh, Bro. Fred, I was so sorry to hear about Sis. Frances.  Is this your new wife?"  Boy, did Mama beam!  More recently I took her for a doctor's appointment and the young receptionist asked mother how old she was because she could not believe she was reading the date on her chart correctly.  When Mother said, "I'm 89."  I chimed in and said,  "Don't you think we look pretty good to be in our 80s and 90s?"  To which the young lady replied, "Well, I believe you...but your wife just doesn't look old enough to be 89!"  Those moments are really good for one's ego.  Yeah.  Right.


Ugh! That looks like it would hurt.


Well - here we are with the picture I took yesterday morning.  Looks like the famous "morning after" to me.  Don't ya think?  But don't worry.  She'll be back looking good as new in a couple weeks - or is that months?




Christmas Reflections

Christmas!  What a wonderful time of the year.  This year is especially wonderful as I reflect on all the wonderful things goin on in our lives.  I had another colonoscopy and the doctor's visit last Friday was very affirming.  Dr. B said, "I'm writing this into your medical file.  You are special."  I was happy to tell the doctor that the Lord has kept His word given to me in a dream last year, "I'm healing you."  This is cause for great rejoicing.  Wild.  Crazy.  Exuberant praise!  What a wonderful Christmas gift.  I asked Frances, "Why?"  I know it is not because I am any different than anyone else.  God knows how weak and frail and insignificant I am.  I did not fast a long fast, or give extra money to the church or have a special preacher lay hands on me.  I did have many friends praying for me, I know...but all I can say is that God, in his sovereignty CHOSE to heal me.  I'm grateful.

Family.  This year for the first time in many years I find all of my brothers and sisters and our mother living in the same town.  This is most unusual for our bunch.  I've lived in South America and in Africa for 24 years.  One brother lived in Corpus Christi, TX and one in Louisiana for many of those years.  Mom and Dad lived in different states over those years, pastoring churches.  But now - this Christmas, we were all together for things like caroling, church attendance, parties, gift exchanges and giving thanks for each other and how the Lord has directed our lives.

Our Fred Brannen family - Frances and I and our three girls and their children and their children's children all live in America.  Actually we are most proud to have a daughter married to a pastor...and they are serving the Lord way up north in Watertown, NY.  We were able to talk with them in the past few days via Skype.  How wonderful to see the beautiful faces of our two grand-daughters who are still at home there.  Our other two girls and their children were all able to be with us.  I managed to be there for a Christmas play in which a son-in-law and a granddaughter participated.  What a treat.  Our children make us very proud as they serve the Lord.

Our church - We joined the Victory Drive Church of God here in Cleveland this year.  We both enjoy the fellowship of all the members.  I teach Sunday School part time and have filled in for the pastor when called on.  Music is a special part of our church life and I've been privileged to sing with two wonderful families who are professionals.  The Ray Branham Family and The Vaughan Cunningham Family are really talented musicians.  We are blessed in this spiritual haven.

One of our angels

Daughter Ruthie

Mom with a fruit basket

Brother-in-law, Michael

Our friend, Rob D. that we met in Kenya

Music at our church

Chirch Christmas Party

Our Pastor

 

My computer friends - You - maybe you don't know what a lift some of you give to my spirit when I read your blogs.  I pray for you and yours to have a blessed and prosperous New Year!