Sunday, May 14, 2006

Forth-coming Project: "The King and His Army".

After finishing my last transcript project; "The Priestly Clothing", I took a few months break from an extended transcribing to concentrate on getting shorter articles available on the website. However my fingers have been itching for some time and it was just a matter of deciding which series would be best next to get into print and make available. When I finished the 'Priestly Clothing', I gave a number of hard copies to various church leaders as gifts, hoping that they would be of encouragement and benefit to them - one of whom was Greg Haslam, the minister of Westminster Chapel. When my pastor friend Peter Day gave the manuscript to him, Greg immediately suggested that my next project "had" to be; "The King and His Army"!

One does not ignore Greg Haslam lightly ... so therefore I began transcribing last night.

Why "The King and His Army"?

Ern Baxter preached this series at the Lakes Bible Week in 1975. The Lakes Bible Week was the precursor to the famous Dales Bible Weeks that would begin the next year. It was the first time he had come to the United Kingdom and the Charismatic Renewal was beginning to steadily grow. Many people have pointed to this series as being key for giving foundation to their charismatic experience.

Nigel Scotland, author of "Charismatics and the 3rd Millenium" wrote of Baxter at the Lakes:

"During the Lakes Bible Week Baxter’s teaching on ‘covering’ met with sensational responses. The audiences went wild every time he came on stage ... ".

It was noted in Arthur Wallis's biography; "The Radical Christian" that;

"Ern’s ministry at the Lakes (Bible Week) made a tremendous impact. He was a gifted and effective communicator and his inspired talks on Saul and David were very well received … Ern ministered with great power and authority".

And Terry Virgo speaking on "The Story So Far" at Stoneleigh Bible Week 1998 said;

"(Ern Baxter was) An extraordinary man of God – a huge vision of God … have you heard Ern Baxter on the King and His army? … The power of the Holy Spirit was on him so powerfully … many of us were fired by that vision”.

The impact of "The King and His Army" clearly stayed strongly with Terry Virgo because that series went on to inspire his incredibly prophetic two-part keynote series at the Brighton Leaders Conference in 2004. Writing his 'Firstline' article in the Newfrontiers magazine following the conference, Terry said;

"About 25 years ago Ern Baxter, a remarkable prophetic preacher from the USA, spoke powerfully at a number of the early British Bible Weeks. None of his messages was more telling than a series he entitled The King and His Army ... Ern’s expectation was that just as Saul’s kingdom collapsed, so would the religion that regarded the Bible contemptuously, explained away its unique authority and inspiration, and failed to honour the activity of the Holy Spirit ...

In contrast, David represented a ‘new anointing’ that would ultimately inspire a new army and establish a new kingdom. Ern expected churches to emerge in our generation reflecting this new anointing and enjoying God’s favour and success, and which would ultimately replace the defunct church".

Terry saw "The King and His Army" as clearly more than simply a conference series. He said;

"Suddenly one becomes aware that Ern Baxter’s prophecy has great relevance. When he spoke 25 years ago there was little proof that what he was saying was true, but now we see the closure of multiplied church buildings and the opening of new churches. Those that don’t honour the Bible or welcome the Spirit, or glory in the blood of Christ and His cross, are closing across the UK, but churches that proclaim Biblical truth and fervently worship Christ are springing up".

With such commendations, there really is little choice in getting to work on "The King and His Army". I was greatly impacted by the power and significance of what Ern was saying, just in the first talk. Here is a taster of the series that is to come:

"And now a Word is coming of structure. A Word is coming to say, “I have not given you My Holy Spirit just to give you tickles up and down your spine, make you play tambourines, learn new choruses and dance in the aisles”. This is all part of the whole thing but the great deep meaning of this movement of the Holy Spirit has blood on it. And that sobers us. You see the Day of Pentecost was also something of a disorderly business. God has always done it this way – He shakes you all up so that you think, “What in the world is going on?” and He says, “When you really get inquisitive enough I will tell you” (*laughter*).

Now on the Day of Pentecost there had never been that much noise in the temple for years. And God was shaking things and when He got through shaking, they said “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”. Then the Word came forth. When the Word came forth, it structured what God was doing in the Spirit. I would be very disappointed if out of this so-called Charismatic Renewal nothing came of responsible divine structure. I believe that we are living in probably one of the most significant days since the days of the apostles. I think that quantatively and qualitatively we are seeing a visitation in the earth that is unparalleled. I know that those who take a negative attitude to what is happening don’t like that kind of language. But I think the language fits the event because this visitation has not just been a visitation of people getting converted. It has been a visitation of people getting the whole Peter package. They’ve been getting the whole thing! Repent, believe, be baptised and receive the Spirit and have spiritual gifts. It’s been a total dimensional thing and again I think it has been unparalleled since the days of the apostles".

So watch this space ...

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!

You don't know how excited you have just made me. I spent a very frustrating afternoon wandering around Wesley Owen and getting really cross at the JUNK there is stocked there. And I realised that I want to limit my diet of books to those that will fire me up and increase my passion for God.

Ern Baxter is one of the few who does that - and I have re-read "Life on Wings" and "Priestly Clothign" so many times.

So praise GOd that you are moved to begin typing what sounds like a monumental series. I'm going to be praying for express speed on your typing so that we can get it soon!

Thanks for doing this so much.

Anonymous said...

Amen to that!!

Where was that photo taken of Ern Baxter and is it Bob Mumford?

Anonymous said...

Wow - this will really be something to look forward to. This message series from the Dales Bible Week is one of the few preaching events that people still remember a generation on. Thanks so much for making this your next project. Are you recruiting any help?

Dan Bowen said...

The photo of Baxter and Mumford was taken in the USA at the Shepherds Conference in Kansas City I think. I found it in the Archive.

Yes, you are right Hugh. It is the one series that people keep referring to! It clearly was so significant then and I hope will remain so today, especially as we hunger for God to move again in a mightier way.

In terms of recruiting help, I do want to take things "up a gear" on the website so am looking for someone who is IT-literate (as I am not) and am really praying to be able to form a team with whoever God brings along! I've got definite dreams of what I would love on this website!

Anonymous said...

This manuscript will most definately be a major inheritance to ensure this prophetic revelation is remembered many generations on - not just one! We so easily forget! And that is the downer of audiotapes - they get dusty and wear out. We need this material in print so that we can access it easily!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I would agree with that. How easily we forget. It's getting the balance right isn't it between remembering how God has moved in the past, and thanking Him for that and using that as a spur to make us intercede for more - and not allowing those past moves of God to become tabernacles where we stay and allow the move of God to become static. Thank God for this teaching. But like Spurgeon said, it must be let loose.

Anonymous said...

I love all your unique pictures that you get of Ern and Terry and the others!! Where on earth do you get them all!?

Dr S A J Burgess

Don said...

Dan, somehow I'd forgotten about your earlier transcription, and just found the link to it a couple of days ago & downloaded the whole thing. How amazing that teaching is!

Now, you're coming out with the piece de resistance! I'd better start reading quickly, to get through the Priestly Clothing & prepare myself for the next round!

Like others, I'm very excited about this for the same reasons: in Ern's teachings I see the foundations of what we were taught in 1976 and the few years following, in the TAG meetings in Washington DC in which Larry Tomczak & CJ Mahaney taught their way through mounds of Scripture, dispensing practical as well as visionary/prophetic knowledge that almost no one there had ever heard before -- certainly not me!

I don't remember hearing Ern Baxter's name mentioned much back then, but I wasn't familiar with him, so it probably didn't stick in my mind. But the teachings you're constantly presenting here we got in bits and pieces, sprinkled throughout Larry's and CJ's teachings, and they were immensely powerful in terms of giving us vision for much, much more than US denominational congregations were experiencing at the time. We began to see that it is possible, in this lifetime, to become like Jesus -- to achieve degrees of sanctification in progressive glory, that would cleanse foul mouths, change selfishness to kindness and compassion, and bring hope and joy in Christ to our lives.

What a difference from what so many of us had grown up with! And then there was the manifest presence of the Spirit then, bringing forth tongues and prophetic words, doing healings and deliverances, and actually *changing* us as we worshipped, listened and tried to obey the Word.

The Lord bless and protect you, and give *you* great joy and revelation, as you work to transcribe this latest work for the world!

Dan Bowen said...

Hey Don!

Glad that you got the "Priestly Clothing" downloaded - I do pray that it blesses you so richly. I've just finished reading a book on the "Shepherding Movement" by S David Moore and it was very helpful for showing how the teachings of Ern and the other brothers affected the wider body of Christ.

C J Mahaney of course wrote a couple of articles for New Wine magazine!

I never heard Ern Baxter mention Mahaney, but both he and Bob Mumford spoke very highly of Larry Tomczak so I guess there was some measure of relationship between them!

I think the key thing is that we have no measure of control whatsoever over the Presence of the Spirit in the church. That is upto Him and Him alone. But what we can do is pray - pray for more of the Spirit in our church meetings and in our lives - and we can open our hearts to foundational teaching like this so that if and when He comes, we won't "miss the moment"!!

Oh for more of Him.

Anonymous said...

Yes He is sovereign indeed. But praise God that the divine pattern seems to be that He takes delight in breaking into time and space and invading us and changing us. May He do that soon!

Anonymous said...

I want to take a slightly more critical note ... sorry! Just had some questions in reading what you are intending to do.

It says somewhere in the Bible that there are "times and seasons" - and I am just wondering whether this particular series was meant for a "time and season" - ie the beginning of the surge of the Charismatic Movement.

The other two manuscripts that you have given to the Church universal seem to me to be timeless. The interviews "Life on Wings" give us the most valuable biographical insight into Ern Baxter, and the "Priestly Clothing" is just superb Bible teaching.

But I am just wondering whether the "King and His Army" was meant for a place that we are not at, at the moment?

Now of course, I haven't read or heard these sermons so I could be wrong? But that is just my thoughts - and I know you won't shoot me down in flames!!

Thanks for hearing me!

Dan Bowen said...

Yes they are fair points to be sure. But it is interesting, I have just finished transcribing a section of Ern's first sermon where he is talking about the "timelessness" of the Word of God. God inspired the Word of God OUTSIDE of time. Therefore He knew that Scripture would apply directly to the situation that was written about. But He also knew the situations that we would face as His People thousands of years later. And Ern's point was that therefore as long as we are honest and faithful to Scripture, and the Spirit of God is stirring in our hearts a "Yes!" when we read sections like 1 Samuel then it is fair and right that we apply it to ourselves.

I do take your point that we are not (as yet) at the swell of something like the Charismatic Movement. My prayer is that we are at the swell of something greater! But I think that there is a great deal to be said for LEARNING the lessons from the past. I don't think a lot of what Ern Baxter taught was put into practice - and as a result possibly a lot of potential was missed.

My passion is that if we are to see God move again in my lifetime, then I don't want to be a generation that has to confess that we blew it!

So therefore I transcribe this unashamedly because of hope. Hope that God will move again. Hope that when He does, we will truly be God's Heart Men, not the Head and Shoulders Men.