Annointing

From a message by Leonard Ravenhill:


I told a story once let me tell you it again. I was going in Dr. Tozer's study one day and there he had a bit of paper he was stroking and he said, "Len I would rather have that bit of paper than a letter from the president of the United States." And I said, "Why"? He said it's from a little black man in Africa his names is Dumas. D-u-m-a-s. He went into a Baptist church one night and the Lord came upon him and he got wonderfully saved. And when he got to the door the preacher said, "Well nice to see you. Hope you come again." He said, "Yes." "Anything I can do for you?" And he, 'said yes, yes, yes sir there is." He said "What?" He said "Give me a church. "What did you say?" He said, "give me a church. I've been looking all my life for the thing I found there at that altar." And he said "Listen, I'm a new man. My burden's gone! I felt the fetters break! I felt the burden go from off my back! I felt something surging and making me pure and wonderful! I want to tell everybody! Give me a church to preach."

"Oh well... have you had much formal education?" 'No.' "Have you been to bible school?" 'No.' Well that was an advantage if he'd only known. And he hadn't been to bible school, and so finally the preacher said "You just keep coming." "But man," he said "this is wonderful. I'd heard it preached about being a new creation, but it happened in my life and I'm a new creature; old things have passed away. You know, I don't have a desire; I don't have a appetite. Everything's new! I want God I want God I want God!! But the preacher was at least honest, he said "You know I used to be like that... I used to be."

You know you're very sure your God's chosen people and before long your very sure you're God's frozen people.

The little black man went out. He came back a month later. The preacher was preaching and thinking "Now who's that fellow there? Yes I know, I know, yea, yea, yea I know who he is, I think I know who he is. And going out he said "Hi brother how are you?" he said "Fine." He said "I'd like to ask you a question." and he said "Go ahead" the preacher said. He said "Would you give me a church?" "Yes I thought you were the fellow, only been in church twice and you ask for a church each time you come. Do you think I have a pocket full of them or something, and here's one for you and one for...? He said "Sir your right I haven't been here for a month. When you told me at the door you'd see me again," He said "Sir I walked up that road outside of the city, I found a forest, I went in the forest I found a path, I found a stream, I found a hole in the wall, and I put a mark on the wall and I stayed there 21 days and 21 night with my Bible." And he said "Lord you and I just the two of us, we're going to have it out. Did I go out of that door with an assurance 'I called you to minister?' or did I go out and say 'you will never get me to preach?' It's one of the two." He said "I ate no bread, I talked with nobody, I washed my face in the stream, and right in the middle of that 21 days the Holy Ghost came upon me. And the Spirit said, 'I've called you to preach. And when you lay hands on the sick, the sick will recover.

Go ahead.' Are you going to give me a church?"

"Well, we do have an elder's meeting on Wednesday night." If you could come back on Sunday." And the elders discussed it and said, "You know, he's a bit of a freak, you're not going to get rid of him. Now we do have a little tin church out on the other side of town, you know a shack, Why not give it to him? it's only got 5 members. And you know, he's ignorant and rude, and his grammar isn't good, and he couldn't deal with a text very well, he couldn't... truth is, all he'd do is ill treat it. And they wouldn't want to go hear him after a few days, a few weeks, and they will close it down and say, 'You see, you weren't called.'"

Why was Tozer reading this little dog-eared paper—and Tozer, he's about as emotional as a toothpick— and he kisses the paper and says "I'd rather have this piece of paper than a letter from the President of the United States." He said, "At last, the man I've heard so much about. I've got a letter from him. Dumas, the man they sent outside of town; the man they thought they would break his heart with five colored people. Now he has one of the stateliest churches in the city of Durban! I believe after about 1200 people every Lord's day to hear him minister. The little church that sat in judgment on him is still a little shrunken church. But listen friend, is the secret that he went a cave for 21 days and said "Lord, in the light of eternity you talk into this heart of mine and your going to tell me one of two things: either I'm anointed to preach or I'm not? (Did you ever do that preacher? It's tough.) That's not the secret.

As I remember the story it's this: that he went into that cave on the 17th of November, and every year more than 15 years in succession, when he came to the 17th of November he kissed his wife and children goodbye. I don't think he kissed the deacons, but he said goodbye to the deacons, and he went back into that cave and stayed 21 days and 21 nights. Only a few preachers can say amen to that, you'd better not because you dare not some of you. days to renew his anointing! Every year he's had new councils from God, new revelations from God, new anointings from God! There is no such thing as one filling with the Holy Ghost that's going to last you from here to eternity, I don't believe that. Do you believe that brother Murrel? No sir. There are repeated anointings; there are times when God will withdraw himself and make you feel as though your dropping into the nether most hell. He'll leave you alone to see if your going to struggle after His anointing or your gonna go on in your own eloquence and ability. The Lord thy God is a jealous God!