About the Book
"The Two Covenants" by Andrew Murray explores the differences between the Old Covenant of law and the New Covenant of grace. Murray contrasts the legalistic approach of the Old Covenant with the freedom and power found in the New Covenant through faith in Jesus Christ. The book emphasizes the importance of living in the grace of the New Covenant and experiencing the fullness of God's love and blessings.
Maria Woodworth-Etter
Maria Woodworth-Etterâs Early life
Mariaâs early life was plagued with tragedies. Her father died of sunstroke when she was 11 years old leaving her mother with eight children to provide for. She married at 16 but fought a continual battle with ill-health, losing five of her six children. During her sickness she had visions of children in heaven and the lost suffering in hell.
She promised God, that if He would heal her, she would serve Him completely. She asked God for same apostolic power He gave the disciples and was gloriously baptized in the Holy Spirit. âIt felt like liquid fire, and there were angels all around.â
The call to preach
Despite her personal struggles with âwomen in ministryâ and the prevailent hostile attitudes to female preachers, she felt compelled by God to accept the invitation to preach in the United Brethren in Christ (Friends) in 1876 and later associated with the Methodist Holiness church.
Evangelism with signs and wonders
Though simply evangelistic in the early days she was unusually successful and in 1885 supernatural signs began to accompany her ministry. Her ministry resurrected dead churches, brought salvation to thousands of unconverted and encouraged believers to seek a deeper walk with God.
She descibes one of her meetings
She described an 1883 meeting in Fairview, Ohio: âI felt impressed God was going to restore love and harmony in the church..⌠All present came to the altar, made a full consecration, and prayed for a baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire. That night it came. Fifteen same to the altar screaming for mercy.
Men and women fell and lay like dead. I felt it was the work of God, but did not know how to explain it or what to say. I was a little frightened . . . after lying for two hours all, one after another, sprang to their feet as quick as a flash with shining faces and shouted all over the house. I had never seen such bright conversions or such shoutingâŚ.
The ministers and old saints wept and praised the Lord âŚ..they said it was the Pentecost power, that the Lord was visiting them in great mercy and power âŚ..(they) experienced visions of heaven and hell, collapsed on the floor as if theyâd been shot or had died.â Subsequently, thousands were healed of a wide variety of sicknesses and diseases and many believers, even ministers, received mighty baptisms of the Holy Spirit. She soon became a national phenomenon.
1,000 seater tent
In 1889, she purchased a tent that could seat eight thousand people and set it up in Oakland, California. âThe power of God was over all the congregation; and around in the city of Oakland. The Holy Ghost would fall on the people while we were preaching. The multitude would be held still, like as though death was in their midst.
Many of the most intelligent and best dressed men would fall back in their seats, with their hands held up to God. being held under the mighty power of God. Men and women fell, all over the tent, like trees in a storm; some would have visions of God. Most all of them came out shouting the praises of God.â
She declared that if 19th-century believers would meet Godâs conditions, as the 120 did on the Day of Pentecost, they would have the same results. âA mighty revival would break out that would shake the world, and thousands of souls would be saved. The displays of Godâs power on the Day of Pentecost were only a sample of what God designed should follow through the ages. Instead of looking back to Pentecost, let us always be expecting it to come, especially in these days.â
Her views of Pentecostalism
Initially she had grave concerns about the burgeoning Pentecostal movement, mainly because of some unbalanced teaching and reported extremism. Soon she came to believe it was an authentic move of the Holy Spirit and was enthusiastically welcomed within its ranks. She became both a model and a mentor for the fledgling movement. This association elicited another wave of revival between 1912 and her death in 1924 as she ministered throughout the country and her books were read across the world.
Etter Tabenacle
In 1918, she built Etter Tabernacle as her home church base and affiliated with the Assemblies of God. In her closing years she still ministered with a powerful anointing despite struggling with gastritis and dropsy. On occasion she would be carried to the podium, preach with extraordinary power, then be carried home again!
Her demise
Her health continued to decline and she died on September 16, 1924. She is buried in a grave in Indianapolis next to her daughter and son-in-law. Her inscription reads âThou showest unto thousands lovingkindness.â
In conclusion
Without doubt Maria Woodworth-Etter was an amazing woman blessed with an astonishing ministry. Rev. Stanley Smith â one of the famous âCambridge Sevenâ and for many years a worker with âThe China Inland Missionâ wrote this about her autobiography:
âI cannot let this opportunity go by without again bringing to the notice of my readers, âActs of the Holy Ghost,â or âLife and Experiences of Mrs. M. B. Woodworth-Etter.â It is a book I value next to the Bible. In special seasons of waiting on God I have found it helpful to have the New Testament on one side of me and Mrs. Etterâs book on the other; this latter is a present-day record of âthe Actsâ multiplied.
Mrs. Etter is a woman who has had a ministry of healing since 1885, her call as an evangelist being some years previous to this. I venture to think that this ministry is unparalleled in the history of the Church, for which I give all the glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, as Mrs. Etter would, I know, wish me to do. This ministry should be made known, for the glory of the Triune God and the good of believers.â
We agree and pray that such an anointing will rest upon Godâs end-time people so that âthis Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world before the end comes!â Matthew 24:14
Tony Cauchi
5 Important Heart Lessons from the Woman at the Well
At times, we may need to have a heart-to-heart with someone we love. Those conversations can be difficult. We may be afraid to say whatâs needed because we donât know how the other person might react when we get the courage to speak up. Maybe we donât want to hurt their feelings, but we canât continue without change in some way. The longest one-on-one conversation Jesus had with someone in the Bible was with a woman. She went to the well to draw water and Jesus was waiting there. Like many of us, she didnât know him very well. Sheâd heard of the Messiah but didnât realize He was right there with her. Her daily duties were keeping her occupied and he appeared in her life out of left field. She wasnât expecting him to show up and she sure didnât expect him to change her life. But He was expecting her. He had plans she knew nothing about. He used her powerfully even though her life was far from picturesque. Itâs an encouraging story and beautiful. Encouraging to us because God allows us to participate in His work here on earth. It doesnât matter where weâve been or what weâve done in the past. He can use us and will for His purposes. Itâs beautiful because when we have a personal relationship with Him, He gives us what we deeply need â the satisfying, living water to quench our spiritual thirst. Here are 5 heart lessons we can learn from the woman at the well in the Bible: 1. We might find Jesus waiting for us. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacobâs well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, âWill you give me a drink?â John 4:7 The woman at the well was doing a routine chore â drawing water from the well. Nothing was out of the ordinary, except for who was sitting at the well, resting â waiting for her. I love how the Scripture mentions that Jesus is tired. Iâm sure Heâs been exhausted with my own spiritual immaturity, rebellion, and stubbornness at times. But He patiently waits for us. He wants us to be honest with him about our life. He waits until the perfect time to work things for good or to change us in some way for the better. 2. When we know Him â weâll love Him. The Samaritan woman said to him, âYou are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?â (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, âIf you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.â John 4:9-10 Jesus doesnât even acknowledge her comment about their differences but goes straight to the heart of the matter. She doesnât know him. Itâs one thing to know who Jesus is but itâs the real deal when we know Him in our hearts. Then itâs love. Iâll never forget figuring out I was âin loveâ with Jesus. (I didnât even realize we could fall in love with Him. Iâd never heard anything about that in the church I grew up in.) I couldnât stop thinking about Him. For years. Everything reminded me of Him, and I saw God in creation everywhere I looked. Why do I think about God 24/7? We think of someone constantly for years and canât get them out of our thoughts because weâre in love. When we truly know Jesus, we will love Him. 3. Sometimes, we donât believe. âSir,â the woman said, âyou have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock?â Jesus answered, âEveryone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.â The woman said to him, âSir, give me this water so that I wonât get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.â John 4:11-15 She must be wondering how something as natural as water can become something that seems impossible. Living water? It doesnât make sense. Jesus is about to transform her natural way of thinking into spiritual drinking. Theyâre alone when this intimate relationship begins. We may discover our own relationship with Him requires alone time, too. He works best in us when weâre not distracted by the world. Maybe weâre in a hospital bed or down on our backs with nothing else but Him to keep us company. Itâs in these moments, he gets our attention and speaks to our spirit, making his presence known and drawing us close. 4. Jesus opens our eyes to see the truth clearly. He told her, âGo, call your husband and come back.â âI have no husband,â she replied. Jesus said to her, âYou are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.â âSir,â the woman said, âI can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.â âWoman,â Jesus replied, âbelieve me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.â The woman said, âI know that Messiahâ (called Christ) âis coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.â Then Jesus declared, âI, the one speaking to you â I am he.â John 16-26 It didnât take her long to realize Jesus was telling the truth. Her eyes were opened, and his words helped her know Him better. The same is true for us. It can take a long time to truly get to know someone. He shows us who He is as we go through the troubles of life. We get to know Him better as we go along putting our trust in Him through lifeâs difficulties. Jesus will replace natural thought with spiritual insight. He takes lies we believe and gives us truth through His word. Helping us worship Him in spirit and in truth. 5. Donât linger in a place you should leave. Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, âWhat do you want?â or âWhy are you talking with her?â Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, âCome, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?â They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the womanâs testimony, âHe told me everything I ever did.â So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, âWe no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.â John 4:27-30, 39-42 She didnât linger when it was time to leave. Her water jar was left behind as evidence of what she forgot about when she met Jesus at the well. Literally leading others to Jesus with her powerful testimony. They went to him and asked Jesus to come stay with them. And (my favorite part) because of his words many more became believers. It can be hard to distinguish Godâs direction when weâre not in a close relationship with Him. But when we spend time with him in prayer, reading the Bible, and surrendered in obedience, we will act out of our personal relationship. Weâll want to share what Heâs done for us with others. We want everyone to know Jesus the way we do. As Jesus rested by the well, waiting for the woman, Heâs patiently waiting for us, too. He knows us quite well even if we donât really know Him. He wants to have a heart-to-heart conversation with us, as well. Open your eyes and see Him. Know Him. Your heart will never be the same. Melinda Eye Cooper Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
