William J.Seymour Part 3 Gathering Spiritual Momentum It was said that the power of God could be felt at Azusa, even outside of the building. Scores of people were seen dropping into a prostrate position in the streets before they ever reached the missions. Then many would rise, speaking in tongues without any assistance from those inside. By summer, crowds had reached staggering numbers, often into the thousands. The scene had become an international gathering—one witness described it as follows: “Every day trains unloaded numbers of visitors who came from all over the continent. New accounts of the meeting had spread over the nation in both the secular and religious press.” Many newly baptized in the Holy Spirit, would feel called to a certain nation. Men and women were now departing for Scandinavia, China, India, Africa, Egypt, Ireland, and other nations. Robert Semple had a friend tell him about the miraculous events he had experienced at the meetings. Semple excitedly told his new bride, Aimee Semple McPherson, all he had heard before they left for China. When Robert later died there, Aimee returned to America and settled in Los Angeles from where her phenomenal ministry would rise. When John G. Lake visited the Azusa Street meetings, he was deeply touched by Seymour. He would later recount in his book Adventures With God, “It was not what he said in words, it was what he said from his spirit to my heart that showed me he had more of God in his life than any man I had ever met up to that time. It was God in him that attracted the people.” In September of 1906, due to popular demand, Seymour began a publication entitled, The Apostolic Faith, which grew to twenty thousand subscribers within a few months. This number had more than doubled by the following year. The Rising Tide of Persecution When some members arrived at the mission early one morning to find the words “Apostolic Faith Mission,” they felt betrayed by Seymour’s willingness to align himself with the denominational influence of his former mentor Charles Parham. They did not want to become just another in Parham’s large network of churches and Bible schools. One observer wrote, “From that time, the trouble and division began. It was no longer a free Spirit for all as it had been. The work had become one more rival party and body, along with the other churches and sects of the city.” Division continued to plague the Azusa mission. Seymour’s trusted secretary left with the mailing list of fifty thousand names to rally the support of the centers that had earlier been established in Seattle and Portland. She mailed the May, 1908 edition of Seymour’s popular publication from Portland requesting that all contributions be sent to the offices in Oregon from now on. No article written by Seymour appeared by the June issue and by midsummer 1908, all references to Los Angeles were omitted entirely. The lists were never returned so that Seymour was unable re-establish his subscription base and thus ended the dramatic era of Azusa. The Sun Sets on Azusa Street Throughout 1909 and 1910, Seymour continued his ministry at Azusa, though the number of people decreased dramatically. He was forced to leave two young men in charge of the mission and take to the road in order to raise the needed funds to maintain the mission. While he was on his cross-country preaching tour in early 1911, a man by the name William Durham was invited to hold meetings at Azusa in Seymour’s place. Hundreds once again flocked to the mission to hear Durham’s dramatic preaching. Many of the old Azusa workers, from various parts of the world, returned to the mission for what they called “the second shower of the Latter Rain.” At one service, over five hundred people had to be turned away. The last conflict at Azusa took place between Seymour and Durham. The two differed greatly in their theology. Durham preached that people could not lose their salvation if they sinned, but were saved by faith. Seymour, believing that sins of the flesh would indeed cause a believer to lose their eternal reward, quickly returned to Los Angeles to confront Durham. Unable to come to an agreement in their doctrine, Seymour locked Durham out of the mission. Durham, unshaken, secured a nearby two-story building that seated more than one thousand people, and continued to hold his increasingly popular meetings. The second story of his building served as a widely sought prayer center that was open day and night. Thousands were saved, baptized, and healed there while the old Azusa Mission became virtually deserted. Finishing the Race In 1921, William Seymour made his last ministry campaign across America. When he returned to Los Angeles in 1922, people began to notice he looked very weary. He attended many ministry conventions, but was never publicly recognized from the platform. Finally, on September 28, 1922, while at the mission, Seymour suffered a heart attack. Later that day his heart failed him completely and he went home to be with the Lord. Though the legacy and ministry of William J. Seymour seems heartbreaking, the results of his efforts between 1906 and 1909 produced and exploded the Pentecostal Movement around the world. Today, many denominations attribute their founding to the participants of Azusa. Most of the early Assembly of God leaders came out of Azusa—and probably everyone in the Pentecostal Movement today can attribute his or her roots in some way to Azusa. Regardless of doctrinal disputes, William Seymour’s ministry ignited Pentecostal revival around the world.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 08:57:13 +0000
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