It was nearly 11 years ago that my wife
and I first walked into an Apostolic Church. Both coming from
denominational backgrounds this was different and at first, scared
us. It was different, people shouted, people lifted their hands in
worship....and then there was those tongues that I was always taught
were not of God. But how could all of these people be wrong? They
weren't!
So began our walk with God. It was a
new dimension, it was more than tradition-it matched the Church that
was in the Bible.
Fast forward to July 19th,
2013. We accepted our call to ministry, we accepted the call of God
to start a Church and now we have our 1st “big”
Revival scheduled. Our little Church that has been labeled
backslidden by some in our town was serious about this revival. We
prayed, fasted and sought God. We experienced great opposition. We
experienced spiritual attacks during the week leading up to the
Revival. But we continued praying, fasting and seeking God.
Bro. Tim Greene's name was given to me
by a good friend in St. Louis. I was given a list of names but there
was something that grabbed me and wouldn't let go when I heard Bro.
Greene's name. Up to that, to my knowledge, I don't know that I've
even heard his name. I picked him up on Friday morning without even
really knowing what he looked like. We had a few previous
conversations about the pick up times, pricing and such. That was it.
We arrived at the Church Friday night
for Church. Really not knowing if anything great was going to happen.
I was fighting a very tough Spiritual battle leading up to the
Revival, to the very minute that service began. Major attacks of the
mind was going on. Did I choose the right man or did I miss God? Will
we have the breakthrough that we need as a Church? What's going to
happen? Was the outreach and the Social Media Ad campaign just a
waste?
It wasn't until the altar call that I
knew something special was transpiring right before my eyes. After
the music, after the announcements, after the exhorting from guest
ministers...Bro. Greene got on the floor. He began to preach. I was
expecting the Pentecostal fluff. The screaming that's generally
called “good preaching”. The cookie cutter, recycled messages.
But his approach was significantly different.
He preached a phenomenal message that
touched the people. Did he get exuberant? Absolutely. But he
connected to people. As he was finishing his message he asked
everyone to get into a state of worship. That's easy for Apostolics,
right? Right. But this worship opened the doors for the miraculous
and the supernatural.
I feel great sorrow for the folks that
haven't experienced Pentecost. There truly is nothing else that I
would rather be. As Bro. Greene began to minister to individuals and
prophesy to them I was taken back to I Corinthians 12 when Paul began
to expound upon the gifts of the Spirit. Specifically verse 7, “But
the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal.” To
profit, or to gain. I witnessed people profiting from the
manifestation of the Spirit that was in our sanctuary. It wasn't a
show. It wasn't a put on. It was a genuine, heart felt move of
God...like none that I had witnessed up to this point.
Folks
began to weep as he spoke what God was revealing to him. As I
overheard the prophecies I couldn't hold the weeping back. I stood in
awe of God's wonder-working power. I've been to a lot of conferences,
revivals, camp meetings, this meeting and that meeting. However, I
never witnessed the pin point accuracy of prophecies and the gifts
that's often not sought after, the Word of Wisdom & the Word of
Knowledge. There's some things that folks had shared with me that
only them and myself knew. But when God began to use His man that He
sent to Maysville, KY there were things that transpired that I only
heard talk of until then.
People
were having breakthroughs that they thought were never possible. Some
folks received long sought for confirmation for their lives. Others
were placed on mountain tops after being in valleys for far too long.
I've
been asked many times since the revival, “how did it go?”. I
couldn't answer them with great detail due to the magnitude of the
Heavenly bombshell that fell on all 3 Revival services. I'm still
trying to sift through everything that God done...though I truly
believe that eternity will be the only medium to convey the full
effects of what transpired.
There
were many that weren't there that needed to be. A few left without
receiving what God wanted to give them. But most left with the
greatest experience that they've ever had with our Savior. Regardless
of what has been-TurningPoint Apostolic Church is marching towards a
closer walk with God and ultimately authentic Apostolic Revival in
our city and region.
To
all the folks that read this that haven't received or has
reservations about this Pentecostal stuff, allow me to assure you
that it's really real and I urge you to experience it. If you are
hungering and thirsting for more of God don't hesitate to contact
me...I just so happen to know Him! I can tell you how to be filled
and quenched!
Still
in awe,
Pastor
Brian D. Young
