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Ken and Nancy Finch's story of how the Lord answered their prayers for guidance in spiritual matters - copied from Amazing Facts news letter. Both of them were once pastors in a charismatic church and active in teaching their doctrines. But God had different plans for them, and it is wonderful that they are willing to share their inspiring story.
There is an old adage that says, "A journey begins with one step". Well, Nancy and Ken have taken many extraordinary steps in their journey through life.
First Steps
Nancy grew up in a home where spiritualism was practiced alongside nominal Christianity. She later began to dabble in the New Age and soon became a student of mystenious dark arts that took her on a journey few survive. Yet after years of rejection and abusive relationships, the Lord dramatically intervened in her life and led her into a saving relationship with Jesus.
Ken's childhood was also earmarked by physical and emotional abuse in a household fueled with hatred for all things religious. With such indifference and rejection, Ken eventually became an atheist well known for irreverent language and total contempt for Christians. But while visiting a bar one night, wondering where his life was headed, the Lord audibly spoke to Ken, saying, "Only in the way of Jesus". Within a few weeks, this former Christian-hater and blasphemer surrendered his life to Christ.
When Ken and Nancy met, it was love-at-first-sight, and they soon married. But with little religious background and Bible training, they accepted virtually everything they were taught in the Charismatic church they attended. They found that when they questioned certain teachings, they were chastised and condemned, but they kept studying the bible anyway so they could effectively share God with others. And as a result, they grew stronger in their faith and trust in the Lord. Their intense desire to serve and follow God led them to attend a Charismatic seminary and later to serve that church as pastors and church planters.
A New Short Cut Home
Eventually, the two decided to undertake a major ministry endeavor - the creation of an Internet site that was to feature every Pentecostal doctrine presented in an easy-to-understand format. Yet as they proceeded with an intensive time of research, they realized that Scripture could not support many of the doctrines they had learned. Confused by their discoveries, they prayed, "Lord please lead us into Your truth - not man's truth!"
A few months after completing their ministry website project, they moved to a new town. As Ken and Nancy were looking for a new, quicker way home, they drove down an old residential side street and spotted a church sign advertising "Millennium of Prophecy, NET '99". They had always been interested in prophecy, and they were especially excited about it as the year 2000 approached - would it bring Y2K chaos or collapse? They made a mental note of the place and drove on.
Disillusionment
That next Sunday, they visited a popular Charismatic church filled to capacity with a lively crowd and an atmosphere charged with excitement. They watched as people gyrated to loud rhythmic music and clapped and cheered, but to Ken and Nancy it felt empty. As tried-and-true Charismatics, they had always liked rambunctious "praise music" and sensational church cultures, but they realized that day that real worship was missing from their experience.
How could God be pleased when so much unrestrained clapping, whistling, dancing, jumping, and shouting distracted them from focusing on Him? As Ken and Nancy sat there in silence, the worship leader began publicly chastising them and others who were not joining in the pandemonium for being spiritually dead! Soon the church began filling with the sounds of loud gibberish masquerading as "speaking in tongues", and Ken whispered to Nancy, "I really don't think it's the Spirit of God that's moving here". She wholeheartedly agreed. After hearing the "name-it-and-claim it" sermon that followed, they both left the church overwhelmed with sorrow and feeling spiritually void - tears began rolling down Nancy's cheeks.
The Lord had opened their eyes, but they both wondered, "Where is the true church of the Bible?
Amazing New Truths
When they got home, wondering how to hear God speak to them, Ken suddenly remembered the church that was offering the Millennium of Prophecy seminar that same night. They quickly made their way over to the meetings and entered cautiously. They were warmly greeted by a nice lady who gave them an attractive, color study lesson called Storacles of Prophecy.
They settled in their seats, enjoying the peaceful, meditative music, a stark contrast to what they had heard that morning; then the lights were dimmed and a miracle began to unfold.
When the lesson started they soon realized it was a big event! "This is really impressive", Ken said, after they learned it was being broadcast all around the world. Ken and Nancy suddenly became excited to be a part of a global evangelistic event.
Soon, they heard a man named Doug Batchelor, president of Amazing Facts, preach about the rapture, a subject Ken was fascinated with. He had studied the doctrine in depth and even thought he was something of an expert, but still he had many questions about it. As they listened for the first time as someone spoke directly from the Bible, Ken realized he had been led astray with popular myths and false teachings. He leaned over to Nancy and said, "For the first time in my Christian life, I am finally hearing truth!"
God had heard their pleas and answered them with Amazing Facts. They liked the simple, down-to-earth way of explaining the Bible that they could understand. They felt genuine excitement and the reassurance that the Lord was leading them in their journey of faith.
Immersed in the Word of God
In the weeks of the seminar that followed, what impressed them most was Amazing Facts' total reliance on the Bible. In fact, after the first meeting, they read from the Storacles lesson, "The secret rapture theory is based on eight premises that have been so widely embraced that most people accept them as fact without stopping to investigate. However, their only safety is to search the scriptures daily to determine whether those things are so".
Ken then said, "We're going to go home and search the Scriptures tonight!" But before they left, they were also given a copy of Joe Crews' The Secret Rapture and more Storacles lessons that would challenge everything they had known. They found the supplemental information in the Storacles to be extraordinary, and they were profoundly impressed by the detail.
Ken and Nancy attended every presentation after that first night, and nothing could stop them from hearing the fresh biblical truth they had just heard. They spent their days investigating what Pastor Doug had taught the previous night, and found that everything matched the Bible perfectly.
An Open Door
Ken and Nancy realized that they had some major decisions to make. Much of what they had accepted as biblical truth had been completely turned on its head, and as they continued to go to the seminars each night, they saw that the Bible did not support their church's teachings. What were they to do?
They had been taught to believe a certain view of Scripture, and they had dedicated their lives to those positions. But now after what they had learned from Amazing Facts' straightforward but compassionate teachings on the Sabbath, health laws, and the Holy Spirit, they were utterly convinced that God was leading them away from a false Christian system - and that He did have a true church that He was leading them to.
Through Amazing Facts, they were led into a time of intense study, prayer, and research and Nancy began to see an awesome transformation in Ken's life. It was something she had never seen before--for the first time in his Christian experience, he was really happy. His doubts had disappeared. His frustrations were gone. His love for God and the Bible had come alive again. In fact, Nancy said she had never seen him more peaceful or happy.
God had answered their prayer. They had asked the Lord to lead them into His truth and He brought them to God's remnant church! Since they accepted the biblical messages, they have been completely free of doctrinal doubts and eagerly express complete confidence in what they know to be the last-day message!
Without a doubt, they both knew the Lord had brought Amazing Facts into their lives so that they would find His last-day remnant church. Today, God has blessed Ken and Nancy by leading them into the ministry for God's remnant church, teaching others the truths that have brought life to them.
Would you like to enroll in Amazing Facts bible studies? Absolutely free, won't cost you a penny.
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