Ms. Annie led I Have Found a Pearl
Pastor Ray…
This just came to me. I was thinking about it while you were worshiping. Would you share how you got baptized in the Holy Spirit?
Ms. Annie…
I was just thinking about that yesterday because I heard someone say “We need the fire of God!” And I remembered that I was a pretty hard case and I sure needed the fire (ha, ha, ha).
I had been searching for the Lord but in all the wrong ways. Well, there isn’t really a wrong way. If you just search for Him, He said “Seek Me and You will find Me” – right? But I was searching with a lot of ignorance.
I would walk to work every morning. On the way I would always stop in this little Catholic Church and I’d kneel down and pray for an hour. But afterwards I would do all kinds of things that were crazy, not spiritual things. I wasn’t changing my way of living.
I decided to take a bus to visit my sister in a different town and I sat down next to a Spirit-filled nun. It was a divine appointment. I know some history of the moves of God. The charismatic renewal began in the 60s and the last high moment of it was that year. There was a big meeting in Kansas City where all the Catholic and Protestant charismatics came together and this nun was on her way back from that meeting and she was covered in the fire of God.
She started talking to me about the Holy Spirit. Well, I had sort of heard about the Holy Spirit from the nuns in elementary school and when I was confirmed at 11 years old, I was told “You will receive the Holy Spirit when the bishop lays his hands on you.” But when he laid his hands on me, nothing happened (ha, ha, ha). But she told me about the Holy Spirit and asked me if I ever went to a certain church that was in my neighborhood. I said, “I’ve been in there.” But I didn’t tell her that I went there every morning and prayed (ha, ha, ha).
God is so merciful when you are seeking Him. I was seeking Him in so much ignorance and not fully submitting everything to Him. But He has ways of drawing us, doesn’t He. He’s so merciful. He’s been so merciful to me my whole life. I just want to praise Him and thank Him.
But she said in a whisper “Well, have you ever heard about the Holy Spirit?”
“Well, yes, I have heard about the Holy Spirit.”
She said, “If you go into the basement of that church on a Sunday night there will be all kinds of people and the Holy Spirit is moving.” She said it like it was this big secret that you really want to know about.
I asked her, “What are you talking about?”
She said,“Well the Holy Spirit starts moving and people start singing and nobody is directing but everyone is singing in unison, spirit songs and then someone will give a tongue or prophetic word…”
She explained that to me a little bit. And I was “Well, okay.” But at the same time, my spirit was being drawn because I wanted things in my life to change but I didn’t know how to change myself. I was trying to change myself and it wasn’t working the way I needed it to (ha, ha, ha).
A couple weeks later on a Sunday afternoon, I reached this low point where I was so desperate and I remembered what she told me about the Sunday night church meeting. I was rebellious; I really didn’t want to be affiliated with what was going on. But I decided to reluctantly go down there. I went down in the basement and oh my goodness there was like hundreds of people unfolding chairs. I thought I would just stand by the door so I could get out easily (ha, ha, ha).
This is the same church where I went every day and prayed “God, Who are You? Where are You? And how do I know You?” They were very ignorant prayers. But Jesus isn’t limited by that. He died for everybody. He died for the thief who was hanging next to Him on the Cross and all he had to say was “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” I am undone by that. And Jesus said, “You’re going to be with me today in paradise.” That is so beautiful. Our Savior is so beautiful.
I was very unbeautiful but He was beautiful. I didn’t even want to go sit on the chairs by these people. I was “Oh, great. These people are a bunch of Jesus freaks.” I wanted to know what this nun was telling me but I definitely don’t want to be like these people and I am definitely going to run out the door before anything happens to me. I don’t even know what I was afraid of. I was probably afraid of submitting myself to Him to be honest.
There was no place to stand or sit but these people were being friendly to me. There was one empty chair right in the middle of the room. So, I sat down. A woman and her husband were sitting next to me and she was very kind and welcoming but I had my bubble around myself.
Two years before this I had made a sort of half way repentance. I bought a Bible and I was reading it and I was stopping and praying every morning and all this stuff. But my life wasn’t fully submitted to Jesus. I wasn’t able to get myself unstuck out of the place I was mired in. But the fire of God is what got me unstuck and even with the attitude I had. Even in this Holy Ghost meeting, I still had that attitude. But the mercy of God! Oh, Hallelujah!
As soon as the meeting began, everyone stood up; they started to play the guitar. I remember nothing about the music except I had never heard the songs they were playing. Everyone began to sing and instantly it was the sound that the nun described to me. It was beautiful harmonies and angelic voices behind the harmonies. And as that sound began to fill the room, fire from heaven fell all over me like hot flames falling on the top of my head, running down all over me. I was shaking under this fire. I kept thinking, “What is happening to me?” But I knew it was God because there was nothing unholy or to be afraid of. It was so consuming and blazing but it was everything that my heart had been crying out for, which was to know Him.
He was visiting me with His holy fire. I couldn’t stop shaking and burning but also tears were coming down. I remember that I couldn’t move or turn. The woman next to me was saying, “Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus.” She kept putting Kleenexes into my hand.
I knew nothing about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I didn’t know that the Holy Spirit had ever moved since the days of the Apostles. I had never heard anything about it until I sat down next to that nun on the bus and said, “You should go there.”
It was a completely unknown experience to me. But that gives me faith because when we pray for the awakening of God and the fire of God to fall on our nation, I know what it can do!
I mean, I can get in unbelief too. It’s easy when you watch the news to just think, “Wow. How is our nation ever going to be healed when men’s hearts are so hard?” The Bible says, “Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.” That’s what I am thinking when I watch the news; “the truth comes out and they don’t even care because they love the lie rather than the truth.” And I can get in unbelief about it.
Yesterday I was hearing about the fire of God and I remembered that time. I thought, “Well, I needed the fire of God.” The fire of God is what really burned up the chaff that was holding me back and my whole life started on a new trajectory that day.
I remember when after they sat down, after the music ended. I sat down and I was shaking all over and wiping the tears and there was this man in the front row. He started praying out loud. He was obviously mentally retarded. This was a sign and a wonder to me. This man with all his heart prayed, “Jesus, I want to read! I want to read!” And as soon as he said that, the whole room burst out laughing.
For a split second I was super offended. But there was so much faith in the laughter. It was like the laughter of God. My spirit had been changed already where I recognized that it was faith laugh; that his prayer was a prayer of faith. The laughter was the laughter of His Father delighting in him and saying, “I want to answer your prayer” instead of, an hour before I would have thought “What’s wrong with these people! They are so cruel!”
God was so in love with this retarded man and so pleased that he wanted to read that he caused all His people to join in holy laughter like “This is a piece of cake for Jesus!” That’s the kind of laughter it was.
That was the first sign and wonder I saw after I was baptized in the fire. But when I walked out I looked at the sky and the very first thought I had was, “My life will never be the same. I am totally different from this day on.” It was like time was split in half in my world when the fire of God visited me and nothing was ever the same after that.
So, that’s why it’s so awesome to pray with all of you for the fire of God to fall on our nation. Because if it could fall on me when I was so in the dark, it can really change people.
Pastor Ray…
It does. I like that you got to this place but it was the same place where you would spend up to an hour praying before you went to work. It was the same place only in the basement and while you were in there your heart was already calling for more. But in that place you didn’t have to ask for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He came upon you because you already prayed. You just were there at the right place, at the right time, and you were on the bus with the right person who gave you the time that you might be able to go and be change.
The reason I asked you that, I wanted to thank you for staying on fire.
Ms. Annie…
It was 1977 and I always remember that was the year my whole life changed.
I need to remember what it was like without Jesus. It’s easy when you’re living in the blessings of God, the goodness of God, the love of God… It isn’t that you don’t go through grief and sorrow but your spirit is alive in Him. Grief and sorrow touches your soul-ish realm but your spirit is overflowing with joy. It doesn’t even matter.
But people in the world, they don’t have that. When grief and sorrow touch them, they are just stuck in it like I was because they don’t have access to the joy, to the peace that comes from being in relationship with the Spirit of God. But He’s living in us and He’s bringing the fruits of the Spirit out of our spirit – in spite of what’s going on. That’s what I have been meditating on this week.
He is so wonderful even when I make a mistake and feel condemned. Then His love just washes over me and flow out. He’s in there and He’s pouring His love and mercy and grace all over me from the inside out. He’s amazing.
This week I have been weeping over people I love who are so lost in darkness. It’s like a dresser with drawers. We say, “I am going to get rid of this problem” and push the drawer in and another drawer pops out. That’s what it’s like when you are in the world. But Jesus just takes all the junk out of the drawers and dumps it all out and pours His blood all over it and lights it on fire and it’s gone! Because He took all of it on the Cross. He took everything on Himself for us, for me. He’s so good.
That song this morning “I found a pearl.” Maybe there is a reason why that song prompted you to ask me to tell my story. We all go through times of extreme loss, grieving, and pain because we’re living in a sin cursed world where stuff happens. But He gave me that song a few years ago when I was asking Him, “Did I make a mistake. Did I take the wrong path?” He said, “You can never take the wrong path when you chose Me. So, don’t worry about it even if you took the wrong path.”
Well, He’s going to be with me on every path, even if He wanted me to take Path A and I missed it and took Path C instead. He is still the Pearl of Great Price on “path C.” He’s still the treasure that’s worth everything even on “Path C.” That song came out of my anguishing question and His answer was so comforting.
As long as we just give Him our lives, we’re going to be safe even if we make mistakes. We’re safe because He is safe. It’s always safe to put our arms around His neck and tell Him, “I love You.” It’s always safe to trust Him to take care of you and to cover whatever failures there are.
Pastor Ray…
That’s good. I felt like we were just reading a book. It’s somewhere in a book that you would pull off your shelf and read about it where the Holy Ghost set you up, got you in the right place, and came upon you with fire. It’s a testimony and we overcome by testifying about what He did or will do.
And I like that story about the different paths and “Oh, wow. Did I miss that?” Well, He’s with us.
Ms. Annie led us singing I Have Found a Pearl
♪ I have found a pearl – worthy, He’s worthy
More than all the world – He’s worthy, He’s worthy
Water of life, gold without price
Raiment of pure white, He gives me, He gives me
I have found a treasure, hidden in a field
Priceless beyond measure, all my life I yield
Water of life, gold without price
Raiment of pure white, He gives me, He gives me
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus You’re worthy, You’re worthy
I have found a King, perfect like no other
All my life I bring, I’ll never serve another
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus You’re worthy, You’re worthy
So, I’ll give my life, I’ll seek You and I’ll find You
I sell my all and buy what You give freely, so freely
So, freely, so, freely
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus You’re worthy, You’re worthy
You’re worthy, You’re worthy, You’re worthy, You’re worthy ♪
Ms. Annie…
Lord, we love You. We thank You for helping us find You, for helping us buy what You give freely.
We pray for our nation, Lord, all the people who are lost in darkness. We plead the blood of Jesus over this nation that’s been a light to the nations. And we say our candle will not go out, the candle of Your Word and the candle of Your blood and the candle of Your light and the candle of Your truth. This nation will still be a city set on a hill that all nations would see Jesus when they see the United States of America.
We say “Jesus is Lord over the United States of America.” And we ask for Your holy cleansing fire to fall on this nation, even on people who are sitting on the fence, people who aren’t even searching for You. We ask for You to baptize people in the Holy Ghost and in fire, Lord. Let Your fire burn up the chaff that’s gotten in the way and choked out the Word of God. Let Your holy fire fall from east to west, from north to south, fire from heaven, Lord, in Jesus’ name.
We need an awakening, Father. We put You in remembrance of all the prayers that were prayed by the people who came here and made great, great sacrifices to found this nation on Your Word, and Your holy ways. When the righteous rule, the people rejoice and when the wicked bear rule, the people grieve. And, Lord, we’re grieving because of wicked laws! And we say those laws must come to an end! Let Your fire burn up all wickedness in this nation.
All lies will be cast to the ground in Jesus’ name! The mouths of those who speak lies must be stopped in the name of Jesus! We say to you, lying spirits, “BE QUIET in the name of Jesus!” And we say that truth and righteousness will rule and prevail in the name of Jesus – the truth of Your holy Word, the truth of Your holy ways, Father.
Lord, have mercy on this land by the blood of Jesus.
Pastor Ray…
Eyes to see, Oh for the fire, opening up those ways, opening up those ears,
Ms. Jeani…
To our president: The sword of Gideon is the sword of the Lord. God is with you by His Word in your mouth. You have a seemingly impossible task at hand but the sword of Gideon is the sword of the Lord. He goes with you, He speaks through you, and your words are the utterance of God! They cut through, they breakthrough and God is with you.
Even when it looks like there are not many with you, they are enough! Even though God has separated you and called you out and cut back the people and cut back again and cut back again! Those that are with you are more than enough! The finished work! The finished work! All that God has planned for your positioning is being completed out and in front of you! My favor gets it done as a shield! May favor gets it all out of the way and you walk into the wide open space!
The sword of Gideon is the sword of the Lord!
Pastor Ray…
Let’s ask for that fire to fall fresh now all across America for those that are right on the threshold and could go one way or the other. But we pray that fire now just like that supernatural fire came upon you back in 1977. The fire found you and the fire can find and will find those here in 2020. Thank You for it, life changing fire of the Holy Ghost!
Ms. Annie led us out singing Send the Fire
