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Introducing Upper Room Report, And The Burden Of My Heart
"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water". -- Jeremiah 2:13
Posted by Joey Kelly

The thundering prophet spoke those words so long ago, addressing a people that didn't want to hear, yet speak them he did. We know Jeremiah as the weeping prophet, and while he may not have raised his voice very high, it was God that thundered and wept through him, calling Israel back to God and back to what another prophet called the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3). The Holy Spirit indeed brings joy, refreshing, rest, deliverance… a long list of His benefits not to be forgotten. But forget them they did, hence the message given to the prophet.

Yet, the verse says, Israel committed a second evil, that of carving out for themselves water containers, jugs they designed on their own. We don't need God anymore, we can do it ourselves, they must have been thinking.

All scripture is profitable for us, as a general rule, but I present to you that we would do well to study this chapter a little more closely, that we be more throughly furnished unto all good works.

I became a Christian on November 30, 1984, at a quarter to 2 in the afternoon, and God delivered me from drugs that day, and out of a lifestyle of hanging out in bars, chasing women, lying, stealing and other works of the flesh. In short, I know the power of God, and no one can ever tell me He does not satisfy the soul, for I drank deeply of those waters that day, and on many days since. Yet I fear that Pentecost has somehow lost its way these last few decades. I remember fondly the various Assembly of God churches I walked into and left refreshed, often after being reduced to tears. The altar was my precious refuge back then, as the Spirit was welcomed and desired in many of our churches back then.

We used to preach deliverance, and getting a hundredfold return wasn't exactly what motivated us to give in the offering plate. We sent missionaries around the globe ever since we began at the old Apostolic Faith Mission. We believed God for physical healing, and often received it. We saw lives changed, demons cast out, marriages put back together… if we or the folks we ministered to needed it, we prayed in faith and God heard us, and answered. With God all things are possible (Mark 10:27), and we used take that particular verse at face value. Sure, many can argue whether God always heals, or always gives what we ask for, but the fact that we as a people did ask, and did believe in the God of the impossible, is a thing of beauty and a precious treasure, a part of our heritage that cannot be denied. Israel also used to believe God, but they turned away from Him, trusting in the chariots of Egypt and the prophets of Baal instead of the God that delivered them and brought them into the land of Canaan.

Just like Israel of old, we forgot about God's altars. We've neglected prayer. We no longer depend upon the moving of Holy Spirit in our churches, choosing rather to take the advice of church growth consultants, just like the Baptists and other cessationists are doing. Earlier this year the AG held their convention, as did the Pentecostal Church of God (the two groups I am most familiar with). Were it not for conservative participation in Orlando and Arlington, these two fellowships would have gone down their separate paths to almost certain destruction.

Why did we turn away from the altar? Why have we forsaken the fountain of living waters? Why are we convinced we have to be just like the rest of the church world? Why do many of our younger ministers want nothing to do with our Pentecostal heritage and former glory? The ark of God used to reside in our camp, but I fear we are making the Spirit feel very unwelcome in our collective midst as of late.

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Brethren, I submit to you the teaching ministry of Upper Room Report. In its issues, we endeavor to bring hope and encouragement to the believer, and Pentecost as a whole. We wish to remind the elder, and introduce the younger, to the power of God in the beauty of holiness. Maybe the elder forgot (maybe), or maybe the younger never heard (well, maybe… more like the enemy stole the word out of their hearts). I am convinced that there are still 7,000 that have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal, and we want to claim again the anointing of the Holy Spirit that breaks the yoke and does in the heart what only God can do. We so desperately need power and conviction in our preaching… what else can deliver from drug addiction and convince the world of sin, righteousness and judgment? Let us remember that the Spirit was given to empower us to win the lost, according to Acts 1:8, and let's get about the Father's business.

So who are we? I've been fellowshipping with a number of wonderful folks on the Conservatively Speaking...in the Assemblies of God Facebook page for some time now, and the idea to found Upper Room Report sprang from my involvement with that forum. Some of the authors you will find here are from that page, and hopefully you will get an idea of their love for the Lord, and their desire to see their fellowship return to its historic conservative roots. But Upper Room Report is not an Assembly of God work… my vision is to be a resource for all of Pentecost. Through wisdom, sound teaching and much prayer, I believe we can strengthen our various Pentecostal churches and denominations, not only here in the West, but also in places like India and around the world. We might also be able to reach and patiently instruct those in the Charismatic camp, for surely they could benefit from sound doctrine and good example.

I hope you will be edified by the scribblings of our virtual pens, as it were. If you like what you find, please tell others about us. And thank you all very much for allowing us to minster to you. I'll leave you with Paul's request: brethren, pray for us (1Thessalonians 5:25).