letter to
ELDER BROOKS
and his reply
Following are
two letters written over 60 years ago, one by
Letter written to Rev. and Mrs. Brooks by Rev. John Lake,
Dear
Brother and Sister Brooks:
For some days I have been moved by the
Spirit to write to you. At the time of
our marriage I felt that God had really laid upon your sols the burden of my
need in God. As I moved out in faith at
that time, endeavoring o trust God for physical strength and guidance and grace
from heaven to accomplish His will, He richly blessed my soul and our work was
accompanied by the power of His Spirit.
While at Philadelphia the Spirit of the
Lord came mightily upon me for healing and wonderful healings took place. Later we came to Spokane, Wash. The first door God opened here, strangely,
was a door in what is known here as The Church of The Truth, a New Thought
body. Their pastor was formerly a
Universal preacher. He had seen Christ
through Christian Science teaching. He
was a hungry soul. He invited me to
preach at his church. I said to him, “My
message is not yours. I preach the
Christ and Him crucified.” He replied,
“Brother, preach your own message, and as much of it as you want to. You are in the hands of the Spirit of God.”
After the first sermon, he invited me to
take one of the healing rooms in their church, and pray for the sick throughout
the week. God gave wonderful
healings. The church was mightily
moved. It was a new manifestation of the
power of God to them. I was invited to
teach their weekday classes on the subject of the baptism of the Spirit. God showed me four persons in the church at
that time who would receive the baptism.
We ministered there about six months, then started our own work about
Feb. 1st, 1915.
The first lady from the Truth church to be
baptized in the Spirit was a Mrs. P. She
received her baptism at the first service we conducted in our own hall. At the close of the Sunday morning service
the Spirit fell on her and she was baptized in the presence of the
congregation.
Mrs. P. told me that five years before,
while in a real agony of soul, she fell on her knees and cried out for
deliverance and light and help, saying, “oh God, is there no one anywhere who
can bring me the light my soul needs and show me God as my spirit craves?” And the Spirit spoke to her and said, “Yes,
in Johannesburg, S. Africa.” On the day
of her baptism as she was under the power of the Spirit, the Lord reminded he
that He had fulfilled His promise to her, and that I had come from
Johannesburg, S. Africa in response to her soul’s call and the soul call of
others who needed God.
Another lady from The Church of The Truth
was likewise baptized in the Spirit, Mrs. F.
The Spirit revealed Christ and the Blood and His cleansing power. They have been beautiful souls, as also the
other two.
In connection with our work we maintain
healing rooms, open from 10 a.m. to
Our work here has been characterized with
wonderful healings and many of them.
When I wrote the stories of the wonders God was performing in Africa to
America the people largely said, “We do not believe it.” Satan tried in many ways to make the world
believe it was not a fact. But our work
here has been under the eye of such competent witnesses of such high character
and so many of them that Satan cannot longer deny the stories of what God has
done. The news has reached all the
Pacific Coast states. People are coming,
not the sick only, but teachers, particularly from among the Truth people of
the Coast country, to inquire what it is and what is the difference, and what
do we mean when we talk about the baptism of the Holy Ghost and how do you get
it?
During the year 1915, 8,030 persons were
healed. Mr. Westwood ministers with me
in the work, and has the adjoining healing room. Mr. S. P. Fogwill, formerly a deacon of Zion
City is also with me. He makes the calls
from home to home throughout the city all day with the Ford car. Usually we minister to one hundred persons
per day, sometimes more sometimes less.
Among the remarkable cases of healing are
three of recent occurrence, which I want to give to you. They are out of the usual order of healings
and in my judgment belong to the class of miracles of creative order.
One is Mrs. Pn., a trained nurse, a
graduate of Trinity Hospital, Milwaukee.
She was operated upon and the generative organs were removed, womb and
ovaries in July last. In November she
was operated upon again for gallstones.
After the operation the bile broke loose and flowed from her body in
quarts, to such an extent that death became imminent. Indeed, during the time she was being prayed
for she passed into a state of coma, apparent death, and for about half an hour
there was no evidence of life, and no breath passed her lips. Mr. Westwood was with her. He had been with her all night. It was about 4 a.m. The Spirit of God took gradual possession of
her being in such power that she was healed entirely of the gallstone
difficulty. Her generative organs
re-grew and last month she became a perfectly normal woman. Mrs. Pn. is now the matron of our Diving
Healing Home.
The second case is that of Miss K., a
victim of glandular tuberculosis. She
was operated on 26 times and was treated by 56 different physicians and finally
left to die. One after another abandoned
the case.
In one of her operations an incision was
made in the lower abdomen. This was done
in an endeavor to remove a great quantity of pus that had formed in the
body. On account of the tubercular state
of her flesh the wounds would not heal nor hold stitches. Three times she was opened and sewed up, but
without avail. The consequence was that
a normal movement of the bowels could not take place. This condition lasted for six and a half
years.
While down in the city she fainted on the
street. They were about to take her to
St. Luke’s Hospital for an operation when she became conscious and refused to
go. She came to our home and spent the night with us. We prayed
for her.
On the next day, Sunday, as she sat in the
tabernacle in the afternoon service, while public prayer was being offered, she
said it seemed to her as if a hand was placed inside of her abdomen and another
hand on her head. The voice of the
Spirit spoke within her soul and said, “You are healed.” She arose from her chair and became perfectly
normal.
Number three. Mrs. L., the wife of a Main St. merchant
here, fell downstairs some ten or twelve years ago, which caused a prolapse of
the stomach, bowels and female organs.
She became an invalid. After
several years of operations and suffering she was attacked with rheumatics and
became a helpless cripple. When the
doctors had failed, she was recommended to take bath treatments at Soap Lake,
one of the hot lakes I Washington, where the water is very hot and very much
mineralized. The treatments had this strange effect, that the disease left her
body and centered entirely in the right leg.
A formation of bone as large as a large orange came on the inside of the
right leg and the bone of the leg began to grow until the leg was 3 inches
longer than the other one and the foot became almost an inch longer than the
other one.
Her lungs had fallen through tuberculosis. She was prayed for one day in he healing
rooms and as she went out to get in the car she was amazed to discover that her
lungs were raising up and her chest filling out. She was perfectly and instantly healed of
that.
Later while I prayed for her concerning
the lump on her leg, the Spirit came upon her powerfully and she burst into
great perspiration, which ran down her person into her shoes. The leg which was 3” longer than the other
one at that time shortened at the rate of an inch a week and in three weeks was
perfectly natural and the same length as the other. The foot also shortened in length and now she
wears the same sized shoes on both feet and her legs are of equal length.
God wants to do something new in
connection with my work. It is not clear
to my soul yet just what it is. Finances
have been tight lately. There has not
been the usual flow of financial help.
Healings have not been so powerful for some 3 weeks. My spirit is disturbed. I recognize it as one of the stirrings that
come to the soul previous to a change in the character of the work and
ministry. I feel the need of your
prayers. I know that God put me on your
hearts. I know I am on your hearts still
and will always be, for I believe God has laid the burden of intercession upon
you dear ones for my life.
I may not always see the guidance of God
as you see it, but I desire to assure you of my deep personal love for you all
and of the bond in the Holy Ghost with you that is intense and powerful. I want your prayers.
Our work has extended into the country
round abound (sic). We now have a
congregation at Bovill, Ida., another at Moscow, Ida., the seat o the state
University, and another at Pullman, Wash., where the Washington Agricultural
Schools are located. We have another
congregation in the north part of Spokane, aside from the central work.
Beloved, you know that we can trust God to
apply to the soul that discipline that is necessary for its subjection to
God. As I look back over the way, though
it seems hard, I can see that every step of the way has been necessary for my
soul’s discipline, not only that God’s humility might reign in me, but that
God’s power might be made manifest through me, and my faith strengthened in
God.
I feel I have never yet attained that
place in God where I can accomplish the real life work that He desires through
me. There is a broader ministry that God
wants accomplished. I feel He has called
me to it, but the way has never been opened so far, nor have I felt that my
soul was really ready for it.
I have given you a good deal of detail
concerning myself, for John Lake has always been a good deal of burden to
himself and I feel that I want your loving prayer and holy faith in my behalf,
that the real will of God may be done in me and through me to the glory of
God. God bless you.
Give our love to all the dear ones.
Your brother in Christ,
(John G. Lake)
* * *
Reply
to John Lake’s letter by Elder Brooks,
My
Dear Bro. Lake:
Your long and interesting letter was
received and read with much pleasure.
We were exceedingly glad to hear from you
and to know that God has been so abundantly blessing you. I do praise Him for all He is doing in and
through His people.
We have been in a severe strain of work
for some weeks spending as much as 14 hours a day at times.
It did seem as if your request would have
to go unheeded, for we knew that a short prayer would not meet the demands in
your case. But the Lord said we were to
have a 3-hour prayer for you; and in order to get it, we dismissed our usual
meeting last night and called all the people in the 3 homes together and prayed
for 3 hours, strong and powerful.
I’m sure our God has heard that cry and we
believe that God will manifest the answer in the way and at the time of His
choosing.
We do not need to tell you that we love
you and greatly desire that you should measure up to the Divine requirements,
therefore no apology is needed for a little word of admonition. My soul seems to sense a possible error you
are making in reference to your self and work.
I do not say I am correct at this point, but I have the soul sense that
you have your eyes in the wrong direction.
You say, “God wants to do something new in connection with my
work.” I do not doubt that. But what is it? It is enlargement? Development?
Aggression? Gifts and dominion?
It may be all these or none of them, but
one thing is true that if your eyes get on these, somewhere you will fail.
While I do not claim wisdom for these
words yet I am quite sure of the correctness of the statement that no man can
be used as largely as you have indicated and not be treading on most dangerous
ground. And while it is true that
greater conquest, enlargement, dominion, etc. may be intended by the Lord, one
thing is absolutely necessary, if these victories are to be continued and that
HUMILITY, genuine, deep, lasting – shall be yours.
You know that a man may be called and
greatly anointed for a certain work and yet not be as powerful in God as some
others not so greatly called. But have
you learned that the man thus largely called must find that grace and depth in
God or lose his stewardship and disgrace his name and profession? God needs certain works to be done and calls
whom He will to do it, but He will sacrifice the work to save the worker
– with God the worker is important, with man the work – God has His the
on the man – the man has his eye on the work. Your letter shows that you have the vision
though somewhat mixed. You see God and you see your need, but you also see
other things and these other things needing you.
The real vision is to see “Jesus only” and
to see nothing else. Not Jesus and
– just Jesus. The “single eye” sees none
but Jesus – the double eye sees Jesus and.
If I could put into words the soul-sight
of this you would get the idea and seek to impart it, but it is an experience
and not a doctrine. It is the absolute
sufficiency of Jesus for every need and the utter uselessness of every
human effort.
Just as long as there are things
and doings in our vision Jesus cannot be so mighty. When He alone is seen, He takes care
of the things and doings. We try and fail until we are willing to give
up and admit we cannot – then we may turn to Him.
My Bro. We are absolutely useless without
Him. What if we have been used a bit
when we were not recognizing Him? That
does not prove our sufficiency, but His grace.
He knew we were blind and was therefore patient. But our blindness and folly must be exposed
and we fail and then awaken to find our springs had all been in Him all the
time. It is the folly of the natural man
to suppose that he is doing it until his conceit is exposed, and then
finds that God made a vessel to honor because he had need, but when the vessel
took glory to itself He broke the vessel that He might make it again.
Now, you know as well as I the things I am
saying. Then why do I say them? Just to stir up your “pure mind.”
But there is one thing which you perhaps
do not know as well as I – the unfailing and only way to attain that desired
end. You are the one called and equipped
(because of the need ) without much effort on your part. I not being thus called must needs find at
the foot of the cross what was imparted to you at the start, because of the
need. Is God unrighteous? No, not at all. Then sometime, somewhere you too will have to
go down at the foot of the cross to retain that which has been imparted for the
time of need, or you will find yourself someday the “broken vessel.” No, I by no means indicate you should do as I
do, nor by any means go the way I go – but I do say that go what way you may
you have got to go on your knees. Nor do
I think you should have to spend the time in prayer that we do, for your call
being different the requirement would be different. But certain it is that if the prayer closet
is neglected because of the stress of work, God will neglect the work sometime.
We can argue ourselves out of the victory
with the thought that God will excuse our declension in prayer because we are
so engaged in the vineyard. But when we
turn to the life of our Lord and find Him leaving the multitude who had come to
be ministered to and going off to pray, we have to admit there is no excuse
left.
But surely I have exceeded the limitations
of propriety. I simply intended to say a
few loving words by way of remembrance and lo, I have been preaching to you at
a wild rate and still have not said the thing yet I desired to say, for I did
wish to just hold up Jesus and make you look at Him from every angle and see
how transportingly beautiful He is – how all sufficient He is – how He fills
all – meets every requirement – satisfies every longing – is Himself the
equipment for every service. Oh, John
Lake, there is no other need of ours in this world or that to come to Jesus. I know I’m not making it clear – I can’t, but
it is true all the same.
It is so true that it is supreme
folly to look for, desire, or be tempted with ought else. If He is “The Way” we can’t get lost. If He is “The Life” the devil can’t kill us. If He is “the Truth” we can’t be deceived by
lies. What do we need beside Jesus? If everything proceeds from Him – if all
things culminate in Him – if He is the embodiment, the fulfillment and the
consummation of all things why should we seek after or even think of anything
else?
No, I haven’t told you yet and now
I despair of doing so, for Jesus is so infinitely wonderful that all words fade
when referring to Him. Oh, my Bro. John,
I once looked for power – wanted equipment, sought usefulness
– saw gifts in the distance – knew that dominion was somewhere in he future,
but glory to God! One by one these
faded, and as they faded there was a form, a figure emerged from the
shadows which became clearer and more distinct as these other things faded and
when they had passed I saw “Jesus only.”
The Lord bless thee my Brother and fulfill
all His purposes in thee. Our very
earnest love to you and your dear wife.
All the saints greet thee in love. Wife and I among them.
In the bonds of Christ.
(Eugene Brooks)