And Such Were Some of You
Harvestime Message – September 5, 1971
Messages by Nathaniel A. Urshan
Personal Testimony by David Groff, Former Drug Addict
For a number of years on the Harvestime broadcast we have been telling our radio listening audience that the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is able to reach down into the depths of despair and sin and bring a transforming influence to anybody’s life. In declaring the gospel there is something inspiring that gets hold of our heart. We have seen the effects of the gospel of Jesus Christ at work, and of course, as we preach it, I’m sure that those of you who listen to our messages from week to week believe with us in the power of the gospel. However, it is always a very interesting thing to know that there are flesh and blood people who have been down in the despairing areas of sin and then, through the help of the Lord Jesus Christ, they have come from these derelict areas of life and found the solid rock foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. For the next few Sundays we are calling the Harvestime radio broadcasts “miracle broadcasts,” for we will be bringing to you from Sunday to Sunday individuals whose lives have been greatly, remarkably, and miraculously changed by the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. And these are real people – people with names, and definitely people who were out in that place called the world – the empty world, the vain world where there was no hope, where there was no real spiritual life, and in their lost condition and in their desirous condition, seeking after the satisfaction of this life, they came to the Lord and they found that the Christ who walked the shores of Galilee and pronounced a message of hope and life to mankind still lives today and he can reach men. He can touch them and transform them.
This brings to mind a very, very remarkable portion of the word of God. In 1 Corinthians the 6th chapter beginning at the 9th verse the apostle Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth, makes some very vital statements. Notice, as Paul states his position in regard to the work of the gospel: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” And I would particularly like for you to notice that last verse: “…And such were some of you…,” and I would like for our radio audience to know that the church has been made up through the ages of people who were one time lost in the degradation of sin. They did not have the ability within themselves to extricate themselves from the power of the binding influence of sin. But they heard the message of truth, the marvelous gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit; they submitted in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to waters of baptism, and found that their sins were remitted.
That’s why Paul said, “Ye are washed, but ye are sanctified,” letting all the world know that these who were one time idolaters, fornicators, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners, while they could not inherit the kingdom of God in their sad estate of life, when they were washed, when they were sanctified, then they became qualified to enjoy the marvelous heritage of the spiritual life that was given. And today, over Harvestime radio broadcast, we are introducing you to a young man whose life just a few years back was hopelessly wrecked by drugs and dope addiction. Today as he sits across from me, talking to you and answering questions that I believe will be of great and vital assistance to those who listen to this broadcast, he is a picture of the radiance of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a human life, for the Holy Spirit makes a difference. When the Spirit of God comes in it changes the very thinking of man, it changes the very inner feelings of man and it gives him a different kind of outlook as well as a different kind of uplook. And this is what we are bringing to our audience. We want you to know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
In the days of the Apostle Paul, men were saved, and they are saved in 1971 or 72 or 1970 or 1969; go back a few years or go forward a few years if you will. In either of these times our God is more than abundantly able to save and satisfy your soul. I’m introducing to you a young man by the name of David Groff. This young man was hopelessly under the bondage of dope and drug usage. Today he’s a free man. He’s living in a free country, but more than that he’s free spiritually, because he has drunk of the water of life and he is now a child of Jesus Christ and he’s walking in that wonderful way called Christianity. David, I’d like for you in your own words to address our great audience across the world and tell them a little bit about the background of your life. Would you do that right now? David Groff.
DAVE: “It was on March 12, 1969. I was an inmate at the Indiana State Reformatory. I was housed in one of the three hundred two-men cells in Jay cell house. The motivating force that drove me to steal was the habit that I had acquired through the extensive use of narcotics and other dangerous drugs. I had already kicked a number of habits cold turkey in different county jails, and I did a five-month cure at the hospital, Federal hospital, at Lexington, Kentucky. On the night of March 12th in my prison cell it was that my life was dramatically changed. I was lying on my bunk, top bunk, in my cell whispering a prayer. I didn’t want my cell partner to hear me praying. Suddenly, as I was praying, I sensed a strong supernatural presence there in my cell, very strong. As I continued to call on the name of Jesus I received a very strong thought impression. I could receive the Holy Ghost right now! The thought could only have come from God. So I continued to call upon the name of Jesus. I was saying, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” over and over, and all of a sudden I began to speak in other tongues as the spirit of the Lord gave utterance.”
N.A.U.: “And this is how you received the baptism of the Holy Ghost?”
DAVE: “Right.”
N.A.U.: “I’d like to ask you a few questions that I think our audience would like to know about. How many times were you in Lexington, Kentucky prison?”
DAVE: “Well, I was there once. It’s actually a prison hospital. They call it a `hospital’ but there’s people doing time there, so I guess it’s called a prison hospital. I was there once.”
N.A.U.: “How soon after you left Lexington did you enter into a life of drug addiction again?”
DAVE: “Well, I had a needle in my arm twenty-three hours after I was released.”
N.A.U.: “In other words, they gave you methadone, I suppose, to help you come off of the drugs that you had been taking prior to going into the hospital.”
DAVE: “They withdraw this with methadone.”
N.A.U.: “And then as soon as you got out of the hospital you sought the needle again?”
DAVE: “That’s correct.”
N.A.U.: “When you took drugs did they give you any permanent satisfaction?”
DAVE: “Well ah . . . when you was high you was . . . you was all right. When you wasn’t high, which was most of the time, most of the time you was trying to get high, but when you was high you was together. But when you wasn’t high it was a sad scene.”
N.A.U.: “And then you were out searching for some more opportunities to find drugs to keep you in this high condition?”
DAVE: “Right, either after the money or the drugs one. Sometimes you had the money and couldn’t cop, and sometimes you had the ah . . . the stuff but didn’t have the money to make the purchase.”
N.A.U.: “Did your use of drugs cause you to enter a life of crime?”
DAVE: “Well, I was already a little petty crook. I became more professional when I started using drugs, because I started running with the dope fiends and they was . . . they had to make more money so consequently they knew, they learned how and knew how, and I learned from them, and so I became a little more professional at it, I’d say. I had already stolen anyway.”
N.A.U.: “And it was in prison that you received the Holy Ghost baptism?”
DAVE: “That’s correct.”
N.A.U.: “You know, that’s remarkable. That tells us the Holy Spirit is not kept out of a prison cell if a man really, truly wants to seek the Lord with all of his heart. Nobody can keep the Holy Spirit out if the man is willing or the individual is willing to seek the face of God. Now tell me, David, are you holding down a regular job now?”
DAVE: “I’ve worked for over two years at a packing house.” N.A.U.: “And you’re making an honest living?”
DAVE: “That’s correct.”
N.A.U.: “Well, this is good news to us; would you say that Jesus Christ has been the difference in your life?”
DAVE: “Absolutely.”
N.A.U.: “Would you say that if you had not found the Lord that you would be still in this kind of condition?”
DAVE: “If I hadn’t been baptized in Jesus’ Name and received the Holy Spirit I would be using stuff right now, I’d be in the penitentiary, or I’d be dead.”
N.A.U.: “And right now you are absolutely a free man? There is no desire for drugs in your heart or in your system?”
DAVE: “That’s right.”
N.A.U.: “And you absolutely have the presence of God in your daily life?”
DAVE: “Absolutely.”
Well, friends, I’d like for you to know out there in radio land that this man is a living testimonial of the power and the praise of the living God. Like the Apostle Paul said in his writing to the church at Corinth, “And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God.” And it proves to us again and again that the gospel is able to meet the needs of the world and the needy people within the world in this time. Let me say to you, friend out there in radio land, as you listen to our Harvestime broadcast today: “Don’t give up hope; Jesus is on the throne! Don’t give up hope; the Holy Spirit can break the tentacles of spiritual bondage that bind your life.” He, our God, is more than able to reach down to where you are and to completely deliver you, to make you a free soul again.
PLEASE REMEMBER THE WORLD WIDE MINISTRY OF HARVESTIME IN YOUR DAILY PRAYERS
HARVESTIME MESSAGE – SEPTEMBER 12, 1971
“And Such Were Some of You”
Personal Testimony by Clifford Readout, Former Practicer of E.S.P.
For the month of September we are concentrating our attention on the power of the gospel to transform the human heart and the human life. And through these days we are hoping that in radio land, those of you who are listening to this broadcast will recognize that the pure gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel that saves to the uttermost and can do almost the impossible in a power of transformation. In fact, it can do the impossible. We have read to you the beautiful description of the Apostle Paul as he writes it to the Corinthian church: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
I would like for you to know, friend in radio land, that there is no scope of sin that cannot be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ in an individual life, that there is no fettering power than can submerge a soul, but that our Lord and His power can come and break through and destroy the fettering bondage that grips the soul of man. And I would also like for you to know that while in the first century church the miracle of salvation was wrought in the thousands of souls that came to know the power of Jesus Christ in that early church age, there is no difference in the power of the gospel to accomplish its purpose even in the twentieth century. There is no midnight darkness that our God cannot penetrate. There is no powerful sin that He cannot wash away if the soul is obedient and desirous of seeking the face of God. Last Sunday, David Groff told you about dope addiction and how this had sway over his life and how, by the power of Jesus Christ, it was broken. Today we bring to you a testimony of a young man by the name of Clifford Readout. This young man had a background of a practice of Extra Sensory Perception which included telepathy, telekanicist, seances, attempts to contact the ghost world and other matters of this nature. He was attempting to project his mental being into the realm of the supernatural existence. And then one day somebody met him and told him about the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Clifford Readout is with us today and I’m going to turn the microphone to him and let him tell you in his own words from the very beginning of his experience with this power of Satan and how the Lord Jesus Christ came into his life and gave him a new perspective, a new understanding, and a new creation of spiritual life which has made the difference. Our pleasure to introduce to you Clifford Readout.
“I came to I. U. in September of 1966 from a denominational church family, and immediately I quit going to church and began smoking and drinking very heavily. I had several experiences in my life with psychic phenomenon just before entering college, and by the end of my freshman year I had gotten involved with experimenting with ESP and other aspects of mental power. The more I practiced the stronger my own powers of ESP became until I could influence other people with my own will. By talking about my powers and my personal moral and religious philosophy which was centered around ESP and the powers of the mind, I built up a following of students and a small group of close disciples. Within a year I had firm control of their lives and we held weekly meetings. Each week on a different night than the week before and at a different place, but always at 10:00 P.M., we would meet together for teaching sessions about the good of ESP and seances and other supernatural phenomenon. Then our meetings became concerned only with trying to contact the source of my power. Seances became attempts to send my mental being into the spirit world or to summon some spirit to us.
One particular meeting I held with seventeen of my followers; we had never met at my apartment before and I had never done any of the ritual that I performed that night. I sent a message for certain of my followers and disciples to come to my apartment within the hour. They did, all but three of them who never did show up. Some of them that came brought chalk, incense, strobe candles, and a special record of electronic music. We had never used any of these things before in our rituals. I had all the people sit down on the empty floor of my apartment, because we had moved the furniture into the bedroom. I drew a large circle around all of us with the chalk and then some strange symbols in the middle of the circle. I’d never read any of this nor did I know anything about witchcraft or why I was doing these things. Anyway, they all sat down inside the circle facing the middle and someone lit the strobe candles and turned out the lights and the incense was burning and the music started to play. I sat down at the north point of the circle and began. Everyone concentrated on giving me all their mental and physical power, and I began to chant and call out a name that kept coming across my mind. I didn’t recognize the name, but I called out to it. The name was Beelzebub.
I felt a surge of power and fear all over me, and I guess I must have passed out because I awoke to a scream and some other shouting and someone turned on the lights and ran out of the apartment. I asked the others what was wrong, and they told me that a horrible face had appeared in an orange glow over my head. They wouldn’t say much about it, except that its eyes had slits for pupils and the head had several horns upon it. They said it was terrible and that it started to laugh wickedly. And then this girl screamed and shouted out “Oh, Jesus” and the demon disappeared immediately, and I came out of my trance. After one particularly frightening experience, I met a young man from the Campus Ministry group at I. U. He introduced me to the two leaders of the group and they told me about Jesus Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues. They claim that the Bible was the proof of what they told me. I said the Bible was the basis for my belief as well, and to get them to follow me and to follow my ways I tried to make them believe that I was just as right with God as they were and that I got my power from God. I even agreed to go to church with them on the campus, and tried to take over the campus service. And then I came to the Harvestime speaker’s church with them, and I also brought a non-Christian friend of mine so I wouldn’t be the only visitor.
But that night Jesus Christ reached into my heart and convicted me of my sins. I stood up and raised my arms to the heavens and started weeping uncontrollably, and I was really very embarrassed because you never do this in a denominational church. But I felt so bad about my sins, and I realized that I was practicing witchcraft and I was leading myself and all of my friends into damnation. I just had to beg Jesus to forgive me, and I felt a relief then and knew that God had forgiven my sins, so I started to thank Him and to praise Him. And then an urge came over me to raise my arms again and yell out “Praise the Lord” as loud as I could. But I didn’t do it, because I was too embarrassed, and then the urge came again and I did it. When I did, I was filled with the Holy Ghost and a tremendous love, and peace and joy throughout my entire body, and the words I yelled out were in a language I didn’t understand. And I knew that I had just spoken in tongues and received the Holy Ghost just the way the Bible says it would happen. I just graduated in January of this year from Indiana University and received a call to prepare for the ministry of Jesus Christ. I’m also very involved in that same Campus Ministry group that brought me to Jesus Christ and I no longer have any of the powers of ESP since Jesus came into my life. May God bless you all.”
And we want to thank God with Clifford Readout for what we know to be the actual power and presence of God. If you could be with us today to see the radiance on this man’s face and to know the sincerity with which he speaks, it would delight your soul, but more than that, friend, we want you to know that wherever you are and you’re hearing our voice, the same Lord which was such an emancipator for the life of Clifford Readout is your Saviour and your Deliverer. It matters not whether it’s dope addiction, chronic alcoholism, whether it’s Satan, witchcraft, ESP, telepathy or other practices that are foreign to that which is of the Holy Ghost. Whatever it may be that you’re bound with, my God can reach into your life and give you the freedom that you seek, and I’d like to add that if you do not seek the face of God in the very unique, strange world in which you live, you may seek other spirits and other spirits may attach themselves to your life and bind you with a grip that you cannot get free from. The only freedom we know that can extricate you from the grip of Satan and the power of sin is the freedom of the Holy Spirit which comes by faith in Jesus Christ and through His precious name. And we’re glad to say over this radio broadcast “Harvestime,” as it’s beamed around the world, that geographical location does not make a difference. You can find your Jerusalem wherever you are. You can find your Canaan land wherever you are. The only need for your life now is a strong, deep repentance, a willingness to obey the Lord in Christian baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, and then to lay your life prostate before God and say, “Fill me with thy Holy Spirit.” If you will, the Lord can do what He has done for this young man. He can do it for you and He will. And we’d like for you to know that you can receive His gracious blessing.
HARVESTIME MESSAGE – SEPTEMBER 19, 1971
“And Such Were Some of You”
Personal Testimony of Vera Norris, Former Alcoholic
For several weeks now we have been bringing to our radio audience the beautiful testimonies of people who have discovered that the power of the gospel is a power that can reach into any kind of condition where man is bound by sin. As we have declared the unsearchable riches of the delivering power of the gospel, we are hoping that you in radio land are beginning to receive and feel the impact of the power of the New Testament message, and that wherever you are and wherever you hear our voice today, be it known to you friend, that this power is not beyond your privilege. If you should be bound by dope addiction or, as we brought to you last Sunday, by a Satanic power of witchcraft or, as we will bring to you today, a testimony of how the Lord marvelously delivered from alcoholism, we would like for you to know that the power of Jesus Christ is able to meet any condition and to deliver from any bondage and, as the word of God states, “He is able to save to the uttermost.” We are believing that wherever you may be, whether you be up and out or down and out, the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ can perform the miracle as it reaches your life and as you, by faith, look to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think. Let me remind you, as we have from Sunday to Sunday, that the early church was made up of people who had known lives that were not particularly beautiful lives before Jesus Christ came in, but rather they were lives fettered by strange sins, sins that had bound people.
Notice what the apostle says in 1 Corinthians the 6th chapter beginning at the 9th verse: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” And what we are saying in substance to you today is that prior to the coming of the power of the gospel, many men and women were lost on the road to sin, but the gospel gave them new direction and then, contrary to what people are thinking today, you need not live in your sins when Jesus Christ comes into your life. For the scripture says, “Such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified,” declaring to the world that a process of the power of a new birth experience can take the old life and make it over again. Today we have with us Vera Norris, who, in a former life, had been bound by some very serious conditions of sins, but who now sits with me today with a smile on her face, victory in her heart, the love of God in her life, and a complete new horizon as far as her life is concerned. We want to introduce to you Sis. Vera Norris, and let her tell you how long ago, under the bondage of sin and under the bondage of alcoholism, the Lord God brought her into a marvelous experience. Sis. Norris, just exactly what was the condition of your life when you found that you needed a delivering Saviour? Could you tell our fine audience about it today?
“I was just as low in sin as any one could possibly be. I was an alcoholic for, I’ll say, 25 years. I didn’t know what it was really. I started drinking just socially, but I didn’t know what it was to be without a bottle. I had it in my purse. I carried it wherever I went and I didn’t go anyplace where I couldn’t carry the bottle. I got to the place where I drank from morning until night. From night, I would fall asleep and when I woke up, I’d hit the bottle. That’s the way my life went on for at least 20 to 25 years. I didn’t think about religion. In fact, I didn’t think much about trying to quit until I had a sister that was saved, and then she talked to me about my life. But that didn’t really bother me much, only I began to realize that I was drinking too much and I was hurting myself. It wasn’t really faith or anything much at that time, but I knew something was happening to me. I didn’t know what it was, but something was happening to me. So I got on my knees one night and I prayed at the side of my bed. And I asked God, I said, “Make me sick, put me in the hospital, do anything you want with me, but just take away the liquor; that’s all I ask.” I didn’t ask really to be better, but I asked to have that taken away. I tried another church because I knew I had to go to church every Sunday morning. I had to belong, I had to go to mass, so I thought that maybe by doing that I would at least be sober on Sunday mornings, but that didn’t do the trick. I gave my bottle away, and I guess they must have kept it for a few weeks, but that didn’t do the trick. But my sister had some friends in the church that were praying people. When I say praying, I really mean praying people. They just… hit God, they touched God, and these people must have all prayed for me and my sister. The first thing you know, the Lord touched me and I knew I really needed it.
I went to this church drunk as I could possibly be, and I pounded on the door of this church at the side. I knew my help was there. I didn’t know that there was anyone in there, but I knew that there was help in this church. So then finally I did get sick, all of a sudden, just took sick-terribly, terribly sick. I never wanted a drink; the Lord had answered my prayer. I don’t blame him for laying me on my back, because that’s what happened to me. I was deathly sick. They thought that I had sclerosis. I never had desire to drink. I didn’t quit drinking because I was afraid of being sick. The Lord touched my body. The Lord did not let me have sclerosis, but the Lord took every bit of desire of liquor away from my life, every bit. I had no time for social drinking. If it hadn’t have been for the Lord I don’t know what I would have done. I went to the church and was baptized in the name of Jesus, and I was cured of drinking and I have never had that first desire since then. Then I had to work on other habits that I had. I still smoked. I still didn’t have religion like I should have it, and I still smoked. I tried my best to quit, but I couldn’t; you can’t quit anything within yourself. You can’t do it, not if you’re as bad as I was. I don’t believe there was anyone as bad as me.
Well, then I tried and I tried with my cigarettes. I would look at that little piece of paper and think, “Why in the world have you got me so bound?” And they at the church told me I had to tarry for the Holy Ghost to ask God, and let God know I really meant business. I went to the Pastor thoroughly discouraged and I said, “I can’t quit smoking. I can’t, I just can’t get right. I can’t quit smoking.” He says, “When the Lord knows you really want to quit smoking, you’ll quit smoking.” Sure enough, seven o’clock one Sunday night I smoked my cigarette. I went to church. The Lord filled me with the Holy Ghost, and truly I have never, never wanted a cigarette since. I don’t want to do anything in this world that will take me away from the Lord. I know that I’m not perfect, not by a long shot, but I’m trying so hard. There’s none of us, I don’t support, that are perfect. But oh, to anyone who has the disease of alcoholism that I had, or has any of the bad habits that I had, bad ones, if I can be saved and if the Lord will look down and pick me out of the gutter, He will do that for anyone, anyone. A soul is the same to the Lord. It makes no difference who it is. And I just want to thank Him with all my heart and I want to praise His name. I want to do everything I can for Him. This is hard for me to do, but oh, I do hope if there’s anybody that heard me, if you know my problem, if you have my problem, you know my problem and you know what you’re going through, there’s only one answer. It’s the Lord, and I’m telling you He’s the best friend you’ll ever have. I mean doctor, anyone, He’s the best friend that you’ll ever have and He’ll take all those sins away from you. You’ll never have the desire for them, and that’s the thing you’ll have to right is the desire. And I love Him so much.”
Well, that is a beautiful story. It’s a beautiful story of how remarkably the mighty power of the Holy Spirit can reach down into an individual life. And I would like for you to know, friend who’s listening to us in radio land, that there is a marvelous day coming when the Lord is going to rapture a church. He’s coming for a church without spot, wrinkle, blemish or any such thing. He is the one who is going to purify us. He is the one who is going to wash us and sanctify us, and bring us in to the wonderful presence of the eternal preparation that He has made for the church. And I’m so glad I can say to our friends in radio land, as you’ve heard the testimony of Sis. Norris, you heard the testimony of Clifford Readout, of David Groff, you’ll hear next week about the marvelous testimonies of healing that are wrought by the power of God. And we can say, “Such Were Some Of YOU, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” And that same glorious, wonder-working gospel is available to you today. If you’ve tried religion, don’t give up until you’ve tried the power of Pentecost. I’m talking about the Holy Spirit that fell on the day of Pentecost. That marvelous inundation of God’s spirit that can reach to the depths of man’s low estate and bring him into conciliation with God. Wherever you hear our voice today over the Harvestime broadcast, take hope; there is a power that can reach beyond human comprehension, a power beyond human ability that can reach into a life and make new that which is destroyed by sin. Have faith and trust in the name of the Lord. He’s more than able to hear and answer your prayer. We are believing today that as we send this testimony to you that your life is going to be enriched because you believe in the name of Jesus Christ. The God of Vera Norris still lives today. The God of the three Hebrew children lives today. The God of David of yesterday lives today, and He can perform His same marvelous work in the lives of people who will believe in Him. Let me quote to you Acts 2:38, a beautiful scripture, a must on your list of obedience: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” This is a promise to you that if you will obey, the Lord our God will remit your sins and fill you with the gift of the Holy Ghost.
“And Such Were Some of You”
TESTIMONIES OF DIVINE HEALING
By Mrs. E. L. Freeman and Rev. N A. Urshan
For the past several weeks, we have emphasized the great truth that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a miracle-working gospel, and it works in the lives of people of all strata of life, that it reaches down into the depths of despair to lift men out of their troubles of the bondage of sin, and that it is also a panacea for some of the worst kind of ills that inflict trouble and turmoil upon the human soul. We have brought you several testimonies that we pray have been of great blessing to those of you who are listening in radio land, the kind of inspiration that will prove to be the means by which you can get your vision a little higher than that you feel as far as this world is concerned, and place your confidence and hope in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we’re delighted today to bring you testimonies about the Lord Jesus Christ in the matter of healing.
He is not only the Saviour of the soul from the standpoint of the fact that He can reach down into the troubled depths of sin and bring men out of their bondage, but He is also the healer of the physical man, for throughout the Bible there is sufficient evidence that the instruction-of our Lord invites us to know that He can heal all manner of diseases, and He can reach down into the lives of people anywhere on the globe, and they can find and know the power and the presence of the healing virtue of Jesus Christ. We have emphasized for several weeks several verses in 1 Corinthians 6: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” To read that, coming out of the history of the New Testament, particularly from the pen of the Apostle Paul, the statement, “And such were some of you” makes us to know that in that early church there was a welded group brought into the fellowship of the body of Jesus Christ who had come from the doldrums of despair, from the slough of despond, from the very dangerous areas of sin, and they had found the great power of the gospel and discovered that Jesus Christ was able to deliver them from all the ills that affect society.
And we are saying to our friends in radio land again today, there is no dope addiction, there is no serious condition of sin, there is no power-fettering bondage that holds sway over your life that, if you will believe the gospel, our Lord cannot break that power or that force or that fettering bondage. He is able to break the force of sin in your life, if you will prostrate your soul and life in His presence, ask for His mercy and, with a deep sense of repentence, call on His name. If you will, our God is more than able to come to you with His great power and strength and make you conscious of the greatness of His strength and power that is possible for you to receive in this hour. I would like to emphasize to you again the vital importance of what we are saying through these special programs dedicated to miracles. Not only is He able to save from sin, but He is also able to heal the physically sick, wrecked body, and bring you from deep experiences of sickness and make you a whole human being. We have seen this happen through the years. We have had the opportunity of praying by bedsides where incurably ill people were suffering from maladies that were beyond ability of doctors to help. We have also prayed in services for people who were ill and needed the touch of God. Personally, we have seen it with our own eyes, the wonderful working power of God. We have heard numerous testimonies from people through the years who have discovered that Jesus Christ is a healer. And today we’d like to bring to you several of those testimonies, particularly the testimony of Sis. Freeman, one of our missionaries to South Africa, as she tells about her own healing as well as the healing of her husband. And today as you are listening to the Harvestime broadcast, we are tuning in on a great meeting where Sis. Freeman was speaking to a great audience and telling about how remarkably and how wonderfully the Lord healed in her life and healed in her husband’s life. Listen while Sis. Freeman gives this remarkable testimony.
SIS. F.: “It is worthwhile working for Jesus. It is worthwhile serving him. I can’t help but remember this morning, twenty years ago, when a doctor leaned across his desk and told me that I had preached my last sermon and that my work was done and someone else would have to take over. He said, “You are dying with leukemia, and I don’t know how you got into my office, but you are dying with leukemia.” He was giving me the verdict of the tests he had made. Then I think about the time when, just two weeks later, God touched me and made me completely whole. I wish I knew how many sermons I have preached in these past twenty years. I wish I knew how much work I’ve done for the Lord in these last twenty years. It’s just exactly twenty years ago that I had my death sentence. Oh Hallelujah! What a wonderful God. He was there! He was there, and I remember seventeen years ago when the leading specialist, Professor Schulen bergen in Victoria, and our family doctor, Dr. Castle, called me and told me that Bro. Freeman not only had gangrene, but that he also had cancer and they were going to perform an operation that they thought might prolong his life another eighteen months, but he would never live two years … seventeen years ago! Oh Hallelujah! Jesus was there. I’m so glad that I know Him and know His wonderful name, and know that He has never failed.”
N.A.U.: “Sis Freeman, we understand that Harvestime has been a great asset of the ministry that you and your husband have enjoyed in South Africa. Could you tell us a little bit about the outreach of Harvestime? We would appreciate it.”
SIS. F.: “I want to add to what Bro. Freeman said on Harvestime. We have received or have gotten to work with us three fine preachers through Harvestime, and two of them are building new churches this year. So we thank God for that. We’re so glad your pastor is a blessing to us. We invited him last night again to visit us and told him he’s well known in South Africa. He’s very well known all over the country. We have received reports of the most fantastic people that listen to Harvestime. We thank God for it. It’s a great blessing.”
I would also like to add to the testimony of healing. The marvelous touch of God was my portion in a few years where it was absolutely thought I could not live. As minister of Harvestime, I’ve enjoyed the confidence of many precious brethren of like precious faith. I’ve also had the privilege of preaching for the past ten years over this broadcast to numerous hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions who have tuned into the broadcast over this span of time. We have demonstrated in the lives of people that which we have preached. We’ve preached to them that the Holy Spirit is for today, and people have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit just like they did on the day of Pentecost. We have preached that the name of Jesus Christ is advocatious, and that when you’re buried in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, He has the power to remit your sins. Then, we are preaching to you the power of Jesus Christ to heal from all maladies and sicknesses. In the year 1939 and 1940, I was stricken with the disease of far-advanced tuberculosis. Sick, so very ill, I spent numbers of months in Belleview Hospital in New York City where doctors said that I could not possibly live. The disease of tuberculosis had ravaged my body to such an extent until I had lost seventy pounds. I had a very highly positive sputum, and also, the disease had spread from my right lung to my left lung. I had tuberculosis of the larynx, and my body was terribly afflicted with a very high fever. During this time, it was a very serious time and a time of decision for a young man. I had studied medicine at Columbia University, New York City. My career in medicine was threatened, but on that hospital bed when doctors turned their heads and said it didn’t appear by any means that there could be a recovery, and that there would be certain death, I made a consecration to almighty God, that I would dedicate myself to the preaching of the gospel. And when that dedication and consecration was made there was a marvelous and remarkable infusion of the virtue of Jesus Christ into a human life.
Oh friend, I tell you from the depth of my heart as I recall those very serious moments when I turned my face to God almighty like Hezekiah of old and found that He was able to hear and answer prayer, I found in a most remarkable instance that one day when I was called to be examined by one of the specialists, after a night of prayer and after I had been anointed with oil in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Bible states, that an amazing change had taken place. Little did I know how dramatic the change was until the throat specialist examined my throat and told those who were listening in a school of medicine that he could find no disease. This brought quite a bit of conjecture, because others had seen the condition of the larynx and knew that there was a very serious condition present in my body. After a while, they all agreed that there had been a remarkable change, and then from the serious condition of the power of the disease in the body there was a dramatic change for health, and in a few short weeks there was the flow of strength and health back into the body, the retrogression of the disease, and several months later I was completely out of the hospital, back on my feet, back in circulation again and there to fulfill what was to be a ministry that has now absolutely surpassed one quarter of a century of preaching, and with it has been a resounding strength and health that has been maintained to this day.
I want to glorify the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and say that He is still a miracle working God. To our friends in radio land who are listening today, don’t give up hope. Yes, I know that there are diseases that are incurable, and I know that our medical profession does a great job as they do their best to stall and stem the tide of the ravage of diseases and affliction that come to mankind. But when the arm of flesh has done its best, then the arm of God is the only thing left. I would also like for you to know that the arm of God is still strong and able to save, to deliver, and to heal. I want to urge you not to give up hope. No matter how deeply entrenched in conditions of sickness you may be, there is a God that is able to heal, and He can reach out into your life today. Do lift your faith with us and look again at the New Testament and find that there is a supernatural power that can perform the miracle. We’re talking about a miracle-working God. We’re not talking about things we do not know. We’re talking about things we’ve seen with our eyes, experienced in our own lives. And wherever you hear our voice today, lift your faith and let your hope expand, and let your great desires that are bound by the feelings of helplessness know that there is a God who is able in all circumstances to come to your aid. Do that please. And remember that in the New Testament and in the ministry of Jesus Christ, He practiced healing, and He’s the same yesterday, today and forever, and He can do the same for you. Our message today to you is a message of hope; a miracle working God lives and He is able to do exceedingly abundant above all that you ask or think.
This sermon comes from the book “And Such Were Some of You”
This is copyrighted and may be used for study and research purposes only.
