Peter
(1)
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It was during the summer retreat in 1970's that I heard the "Alleluia" chorus for the first time
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when I went to Mt. Pocono, about a 2 hours drive away from Philadelphia, with several other people. While I was having a cold drink at the cottage owned by Ms Christine Mole, Christine said me, "Peter, I want you to listen to this music!" and she started playing a record. It was such a beautiful "Alleluia" chorus accompanied by piano-like sound (later I found out it was a guitar) that came out from the LP record. I was astonished. I thought it was a recording of the angels' chorus. The angelic sound was crystal clear and sheer transparent, flowing quietly out of the record. The melody was simple, and it was composed by J. Sinclare who became well known during the charismatic movement in the 70's. The praise flowed directly from heaven and it did not matter who composed the song.
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As I listened to the praise, my soul was completely moved. It was this experience that the
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praise opened my eyes widely. It was human's voice, but I heard the angels singing. Just like the morning dew was moved by the love of the Sovereign God and falling down from the leaves of grasses, it was the praise that the joy of the heavens was falling down on the earth.
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As soon as I went down from the mountain, I got that very record and shared it with many
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other people. Non-Christians who knew nothing about the praise were surprised at listening to this praise, which led many people to believe in Christ.
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There are many people who have beautiful voices in this world. The angelic voice of the
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British girl in recent news is certainly very clear and fine, but if you compare with the sheer transparency and clarity of the "Alleluia", you can tell that the "Alleluia" is totally on a different plane. The recording of this "Alleluia" was done in live during a Mass at Our Redeemer's Church of Anglican in Houston, Texas. It was recorded neither by the music specialists nor at a specialized studio.
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The story is like this: Rev. Perkingham, the newly appointed priest of Our Redeemer's
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Church, was dismayed by the decline of the church. Only approximately ten people attended the Mass in their large sanctuary. Many Blacks and Mexicans lived around the church, and the security of the surrounding area was bad. Rev. Perkingham did not know what to do with all these problems. At that time the charismatic movement by the Holy Spirit, which he had never heard about in the Anglican churches, was prevailing in the entire United States. He read "The Cross and the Switchblade" by Rev. David Wilkerson in New York, who later became the world famous evangelist. Just like a drowning man will grasp at a straw, Rev. Perkingham drove to New York and had a chance to meet Rev. David Wilkerson. He wanted to be filled by the Holy Spirit. When he prayed with Pastor David, although nothing surprising happened such as the reverse of the heaven and the earth, he started speaking in tongues quietly.
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As soon as he returned to Houston, he told the story to his wife and a few other people, and
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prayed with them. Then immediately all were filled with the Holy Spirit. He started the prayer meeting weighted on praise in the sanctuary with them. More people started joining this praise and prayer meeting, and a few years later the sanctuary was overflowed with many people. Although what they did was only praying and praising the Lord, people believed in Christ one after another. Many were healed and filled with the Holy Spirit. The Caucasians who escaped into suburbs came back to live near the church which changed into a slum. Some doctors opened the clinic to serve the people of the area, and some people from the congregation served to help children to study at school where violence prevailed. Soon the whole town was transformed into new. The value of the real estate increased drastically from almost nothing to a high price.
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The Redeemer's Church became one of the centers of the charismatic movement. Their
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weekly prayer meeting was just like our praise worship service in Kohitsuji-no-Mure, and it was called the Mass because of the nature of Anglican. I have heard that they composed many new praise songs, and they had praise worship services filled with the Spirit. "Alleluia" was one of the praise in their praise worship services.
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There are other praise songs in the LP record, and we could tell that the praise is not by the
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musicians but the resounding harmony with heaven and earth. I did not visit the Redeemer's Church in Houston, but I always listened to this record and I had a dream: I wish I could find the church which gives praise to the Lord in Spirit and in truth, not the church which centers preaching with the human wisdom, nor the church which simply appeals to human emotion. The church is always filled with praises from heaven, and people are healed and accept Christ as their Savior in their praises. There is such pulse of life as the people shout, "Here is the Lord our God!" I wish I could see such a church, such a church in Japan. Many people quietly raise their hands and praise the Lord, numbering hundreds upon hundreds, and thousands upon thousands. I see the scene in my eyes.
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I realized that I had been always thinking about such a fantasy. At that time I was ministering
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in the town of Philadelphia where there were few Japanese. But I knew it was not my mere fantasy even at that time. (I could understand the reason more clearly now, though.) When I imagined praise united with the heavens and the earth, my utter most inner being was moved so deeply that my existence itself disappeared as if by magic. Even though I did not feel I exist physically, my heart trembled with a sheer stir by such praise.
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Regarding the "Alleluia", the memory of the first encounter with Dr. Kashiki, the first
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Japanese family I ministered in Philadelphia, came to my mind. It was the early charismatic movement in the US, and the Ecumenical prayer meetings for the businessmen were also held in Philadelphia. I brought Dr. Kashiki who just got baptized to this prayer meeting. There were many people praising the Lord in a big saloon in a hotel. When we entered the saloon, they were standing and singing with a big chorus of "Alleluia." Since this is not the "Alleluia Chorus" by Handel, this simple "Alleluia" is so easy that even one who hears it for the first time also can sing together. This big chorus of "Alleluia" sounded like we were in Heaven. Then, Dr. Kashiki mumbled, "I knew this atmosphere. It is the samec"
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Later he told me that the atmosphere of the "Alleluia" big chorus was exactly the same as
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when his father passed away. His father got baptized at his sick bed in the hospital with the Anglican priest when he knew his time was drawing near. After that, he had the picture taken with all his family members and the doctors and nurses in the hospital, and thanked all one by one, "Thank you for your tending and care for me," then, his father breathed his last in front of everybody. However, his heart which had stopped once started pumping again. His father opened his eyes and got up on the bed, saying, " The only road to Heaven is very beautiful but very long. I need something to eat before I go. Please give me something to eat." He ate a little in front of everybody who were all just astonished. "Oh, now I am fully contented. Well, everybody, good by!" said his father and surely passed away this time.
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Dr. Kashiki said, "When we were in the hospital room, it was as if we were in Heaven. I
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was already a doctor at that time, but I had never seen such a beautiful way of dying like my father did. The picture, everyone in the picture was all happily smiling, is still present. I occasionally thought about what was such an atmosphere in his hospital room. And today, I could understand it. When everybody was raising hands and praising the Lord, the atmosphere was exactly the same as the one when my father passed away in the hospital. That good old memory rushed into my mind."
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It was a natural reaction for the soul. The "Alleluia" brought us the scent of Heaven, which
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harmonized unity of Heaven and the earth. Later I pondered over this: "Even the scientist like this doctor who has never been to church, his soul can recognize the heavenly things intuitively when they encounter with the pure heavenly praise. In order to minister Christ to others, we do not have to appeal to their intelligence or emotions. Only praise is enough."
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The encounter with Dr. Kashiki and the experience at Mt. Pocono both might lay the
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foundation of my belief of the true faith, "faith of praise," which is, to worship the Lord our God in Spirit and truth. It was not my faith, but it was the vision from heaven. It was not I that thought about it, but it was the revelation by God to me. Since I was still young, I had to ponder long over this revelation of "faith of praise."
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Since then, nearly twenty years passed. The White Dove experience took place, which I
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had never dreamed about even in my fantasy, and our "Kohitsuji-no-Mure" church was born on this earth while staring with amazement. When "Kohitsuji-no-Mure" has started, I had a conviction: Surely it has not been done by man's desire or ambition; neither appealing to our intellectual inclination nor to our emotional aspects; neither following the tradition of Christianity nor the custom of the church; this is the band of people who purely praise and worship the Lord in spirit and truth.
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Of course, "Alleluia" by Sinclair was added to the regular praise songs of the Kohitsuji no
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Mure church. It was not only by this "Alleluia" but by other praises that in the heavenly praises the people were healed and saved ever since the first retreat was organized. People shouted, "Here is the heaven!" We plunged into the dimension of life, which is totally a different way of ministry from the past.
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I was moved so much by the pure and sheer praise that I thought this beautiful Alleluia was
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more than perfect. In fact, the purer the praise would be, the more it makes us feel, "This is more than perfect." Very often we have heard the comment about our praises of the Kohitsuji-no-Mure church, such as, "I thought I could die in these beautiful praises." It must be an imminent reality of Heaven that people perceived.
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Now, a new Alleluia was created in the Kohitsuji-no-Mure church. It is probably as
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beautiful and heavenly as "Alleluia" of Our Redeemer's Church in Houston, or it may be exceedingly beautiful and heavenly. This "Alleluia" was written by Mieko Kazama and its lyrics by Mitsuko Fujii. As soon as we sang this praise consecutively a few times, the air in the room was drastically changed. The air became purified and transparent. As the windows of Heaven were open widely, the beaming light was showering into the room. Praise is not made by a man but it is given from heaven. I do not know many other praises that make us feel it as the heavenly praise compared to this Alleluia. It happened to come out to this world through Mieko Kazama, but by God exactly as the same tune which was given to Mio Shimodaira in Nagano (her story is on page 24 of this issue) as well as to Machi Murayama at our Headquarters office. It sounds strange but it is not specifically an odd story at our Kohitsuji-no-Mure church. Praise is not composed by a man, but it is because a man on this earth hears the heavenly tune. Thus, it happens naturally that more than one person hears the same tune from heaven. When Mio got to know that the tune which was given to her from God was already given to other people, she was shocked that she might have plagiarized unconsciously. But the Lord gently scolded her, "Don't say plagiarism to the tune I gave you!"
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Only the Sovereign Lord our God is the author of the works of the Kingdom of God. It is
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not a big issue that who received the works of God, which is, "man (ego) should disappear (or die) in the praise." And the more man's ego disappears (dies), the happier man becomes. It is totally against the man's instinct and it is impossible to accept such death of self for man who has been loyal to egoistic life. Nevertheless, disappearance of self in the praise becomes the genuine joy for those who have received the new life of Spirit.
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The newly born "Alleluia" this time was the last new praise in 1999. Everybody was
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surprised at the sheer clarity of the song. It makes us think that this song might be the angels' favorite song. This praise as well as all other praise songs is pleased in the ears of the Lord, and as the air of the heavens is purified, the air of the earth is also purified and creatures on the earth are deeply healed in the praise.
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It is symbolic that the last song of this century was "Alleluia." The last Psalm 150 is ended
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with the praising the Lord, Alleluia. The scenario of the Revelation is that faith starts with praising the Lord and faith completes in the big chorus of praise. I could see that the scenario of the Revelation is becoming the reality in our praise. It is tremendously beautiful and heavenly. This praise may be a bridge song between one era and another next era. I look forward to hearing more "Alleluia" songs in future.
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I cannot stop thinking that a new century has started with "Alleluia" and the vibration of "
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Alleluia" will cover over the entire earth.
December 26, 1999
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