Receiving The Holy Ghost

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

Here's a personal testimony by G.A. Cook, that he wrote to the Azusa Street Mission. It was published in their newsletter in November of 1906. 

I dropped into the meetings on Azusa Street sometime in April, having heard that some people were speaking in tongues, as they did on the day of Pentecost. Although I had been trying to preach Pentecost for five years, but speaking of tongues was as strange to me as though it had never been mentioned in God's word. At first the meeting seemed a very tame affair to me, as I had been along the line of much fleshly demonstration and noise. As I was indoctrinated in the second blessing being the baptism of the Holy Ghost, I branded the teaching as heretical, not going to the meetings for some time.

In the meantime, Pentecost came to the place, And many began to speak in tongues. I now begin to attend regularly. In fact, I could not stay away. My heart began to break up, And soon I was going from one person to another, asking them to forgive me for harsh words and criticism. God so melted my heart that I would cry at my work or riding on a streetcar. How the dear Lord began to teach me that What I needed was his loving, tender Spirit, and that power with God meant deep humility in our dealings with our fellow creatures.

I now began to go to the altar and earnestly seek for the Lord to have His way with me. The Holy Ghost showed me that I must be clay in New Potter's hands, an empty vessel before the Lord. I laid aside all doctrine, All preconceived ideas and teachings and became absolutely empty. The Holy Ghost now settled down on me, And I could feel the power going through me like electric needles. The Spirit taught me that I must not resist the power but give way and become lit as a piece of cloth. When I did this, I fell under the power, And God began to mold me and teach me what it meant to be really surrendered to Him.  I was laid out under the power five times before Pentecost really came. Each time I would come out from under the power, I would feel so sweet and clean, as though I had been run through a washing machine.

I now had come to the place where I was completely submitted to the whole will of God. I have been seeking about five weeks, and on a Saturday morning I awoke and stretch my arms toward heaven and ask God to fill me with the Holy Ghost. My arms began to tremble, And soon I was shaking violently by a great power, And it seemed as though a large pipe was fitted over my neck, my head apparently being off. I was now filled with the Holy Ghost.

Words cannot describe the power I felt. The nearest description that I could be given would be the action of a pump under terrific pressure, filling me with oil. I could feel the filling in my toes and all parts of my body which seemed to me to swell until I thought I would burst. I do not know how long this continued but it seemed to me a long time. The pressure was now removed and my soul and spirit seem to leave the body and float in the air just above. My body seemed hard and metallic like iron. This was in delay the baptism into the death of Christ.

It was now time for me to arise and go to work, so I got up without speaking in tongues. I believe I would have spoken in tongues then, if I had remained in the hands of the Lord long enough. About thirty hours afterwards, while sitting in the meeting on Azusa Street, I felt my throat and tongue begin to move, without any effort on my part. Soon I began to stutter and then out came a distinct language which I could hardly restrain. I talked and laughed with joy far into the night. Praise His name for such a wonderful experience of power and love and joy. 

Signed, G. A. Cook.

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

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