A Great Heritage

And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD. Exodus 6:8

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh... 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts 2:15-17, 39


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


From the time God made a covenant with Abram, to the words of the prophet Joel, to the Day of Pentecost when the promise of The Comforter was first poured out: We have been privileged to be a part of a great heritage! 3,000 received the promise of The Holy Ghost on that first day! What followed would be a series of signs, wonders and miracles the world had never seen before that point in history! A marvelous and powerful move of God’s presence at the hand of His Apostles swept through Israel and the surrounding countries, “unto the utter most parts of the earth”, to what would become known as the former rain of Pentecost!

We can look back at the turn of the prior century and the events that transpired in places like Wales, England and throughout Europe: eventually reaching Topeka, Kansas and finally Azusa Street. We can look back at these points in history and find that they are landmarks to which God began to reignite the fire of Pentecost as it was at the beginning!

God used men like William Seymour and Charles Parham to lead what God was wanting to do. While men such as Charles Mason, Frank Bartleman, William Durham and Ernest Williams gave eyewitness accounts of what took place.

William Durham: “Nine years ago I was deeply convicted of sin, through the Bible and the Spirit moving upon me, which He continued to do till I truly repented of my sins, and earnestly sought the Lord, finally yielding all to Him, and pleading His mercy. He revealed to my heart Christ dying on the cross, and His voice whispered to me, “Christ died for your sins.” Instantly my heart believed, and His peace flooded my soul, and the joy of His salvation was wonderful to me. Later I saw and grasped by faith the truth of sanctification, and the Spirit witnessed to my heart that the work was done, and the Holy Ghost wonderfully wrought in my life.”

Frank Bartleman: “Friday, June 15, at “Azusa,” the Spirit dropped the “heavenly chorus” into my soul. I found myself suddenly joining the rest who had received this supernatural “gift.” It was a spontaneous manifestation and rapture no earthly tongue can describe. In the beginning this manifestation was wonderfully pure and powerful.


In the beginning in “Azusa” we had no musical instruments. In fact we felt no need of them. There was no place for them in our worship. All was spontaneous. We did not even sing from hymnbooks. All the old well-known hymns were sung from memory, quickened by the Spirit of God. “The Comforter Has Come,” was possibly the one must sung. We sang it from fresh, powerful heart experience. Oh, how the power of God filled and thrilled us. Then the “blood” songs were very popular. “The life is in the blood. “Sinai, Calvary, and Pentecost, all had their rightful place in the “Azusa” work. But the “new song” was altogether different, not of human composition. It cannot be successfully counterfeited. The crow cannot imitate the dove.”

Today we can look back at our Heritage knowing that our foundation is secure that it was established on Jesus Christ The Righteous. We mustn’t let it be just our heritage alone! We must hear the call of our forefathers in Christ! We must follow the example they set and become part of what Jesus referred to as the Latter Rain Church! Know your heritage; but more than that BECOME APART OF YOUR HERITAGE!