The Day the Angel Came
In the early days (late 60’s and early 70’s) of the Charismatic Movement, which had such a powerful influence on our small Baptist church in Mobile, it became evident that we would need a very special visitation from God to lead our congregation into the Grand Plan He had for us. So many things were happening in such a powerful way and so quickly, it would be necessary for us to really know how to hear from God, believe Him and have some sort of special revelation regarding leading our Baptist Church into that of a full Gospel ministry.
There would be times of testing, scrutiny and examination by our Baptist peers so we needed to be able to lead our flock in the Truth of God’s Word in a way that it would dispel all arguments and all accusations. So it was imperative that we learn How to Believe God.
We began to study and research the subject of New Testament Faith because we knew that “without faith” it would be “impossible to please God.” (Heb 11:6) And if we were to please God we would have to know everything we could find out about faith. It was going to require supernatural faith to get us through the quagmire of denominational doctrine, embedded traditions and common practices that were going to oppose our neo-Pentecostal objective. In this early stage of the Charismatic Movement, the Biblical truth regarding the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit was under scrutiny. Especially the practice of speaking in tongues. We were in desperate need of having faith to see us through.
Our limited knowledge and experiences of operating in faith and living by faith were going to have to change. We needed someone or some book or some teacher to lead us in our quest to understand and move in faith. So we prayed for help.
One evening, late, as we were preparing for the night, someone knocked on the front door of the parsonage, our home situated next to the church. When I answered, a man dressed in a suit and carrying a small brief-case was standing on the steps. He told me that he was a minister and teacher of the Gospel passing through Mobile, and needed a place to stay for the night. He was very apologetic and stressed that he only needed a place to sleep… he asked if would we be able to accommodate him even though he was a complete stranger and was very clear stating that he would not, in any way, want to inconvenience us. Needless to say, we were sort of “put on the spot.” My wife and I exchanged glances and I could tell by her expression she thought it would be ok. So, we moved our daughter out of her bedroom and gave it to him.
If I remember correctly, there was very little visiting time spent with him before we retired for the night. We had an understanding with him that we would have breakfast together the next morning before he continued on his way.
The next day, when we got up to prepare breakfast, our friend was nowhere to be found. He had gotten up early, made the bed up and left without so much as a “thank you.” Then we noticed something strange. On the table near the front door was a small package. When we examined it, we discovered it was a group of cassette teaching tapes all bound together with a rubber band. And the subject of the series of in-depth teachings was…. FAITH. And it was this revelation that God used to navigate us through a difficult time that resulted in unbelievable miraculous results.
We had “entertained an angel…. unaware”
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Heb 13:2
dickbraswell 
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