"Holy Laughter"

I posted this under " Is Laughter Sin" last night but felt this morning to start a new thread on it to get your thoughts and experiences about this.

Here is what I posted:

I would like to make a couple more comments on this line of thought.

I have had several encounters with "Holy Laughter". Or what is called " Holy Laughter".

My first encounter was a cassette tape of a service of a very well known minister. The entire tape was " Holy Laughter", except for one spot where the minister pointed out someone in the room that had a look on his face that said what was happening wasn't real or a bunch of junk. The "minister" proceeded to speak directly to him and humiliate him in front of the entire room with repromands for not receiving what was happening. I really prayed before listening to this tape, someone asked me to listen to it, and I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck and everything in me rejected what was happening.

My next encounter was of a different sort. A woman who went to my church had been married for a long.... time, both her an her husband were even used in ministry. He decided to leave her for a younger woman. She was devastated. Her entire life fell apart. She continued in church and participated in intercessory prayer and other things. But she was dealing with a broken heart for a long time. One night in the depths of despair and anger she went outside in the woods behind her house and took an ax and began to smash it into a log with all her might. She screamed out her anger at her husband and God for letting it happen and raged and wept until she fell into a little exhausted pile in the ground. Her anger was spent and released and she was freed as she gave it to God.

The next evening she came to church and joy began to well up deep inside her. She began to bubble over with inner delight in the goodness of God. She laughed and laughed, told everybody she loved them. It was the most refreshing thing I have ever seen. She was so messed up that she couldn't even drive herself home. Now she isn't a fakey person. She is a college professor and extremely stable. This was just God's gift of healing to her. The pain and anger was gone and joy replaced it, but laughter was the gift God gave her to bring on her healing. Nobody observing this could have thought it was fake.

A few days ago I watched a Christian minister, which I rarely do, very well known, and on the program a number in the room began to laugh and laugh. The minister made funny little looks at them that set them off more. It was all flesh and had none of the hallmarks I saw in that woman's experience.

Having said all that I believe there is the real and the fake. I also believe having witnesses both it is easy to tell the difference. When your see the real you will know it is genuine.

One more note I don't believe God was at all offended by this wonderful woman of God screaming out her anger. He desires truth in the inward parts. That was the truth about what she was feeling and dealing with. As she yelled it out to Him he brought her down to the ground, to the very dust, and then He built her up again in freedom and joy using laughter as an ointment. That is how understanding and wonderful our God is!

Hi Goldminer,

The minister made funny little looks at them that set them off more. It was all flesh and had none of the hallmarks I saw in that woman's experience.

I have also seen similar things happen like the woman you mention, but they are exceedingly rare comparitively. I think to add to your post, if I may, I would just say that we should not [i]seek[/i] after these types of experiences. Apparently God chose to deal with this woman's situation as He did, but perhaps in another situation He would choose weeping and brokeness. If we see God's unique workings and then try to somehow duplicate them- we run a great risk. And though she has shouted out to God as she did I would also issue a solumn and strong caution. Often God is blamed for things that are not His fault at all. They are the results of folk blatantly disobeying God's commands and the correction of His Holy Spirit. He gave them many 'lights' and they sinned in light of them all. That is not to mention the many ways of escape He provided when folk sin against Him.

God is always the primary offended party in any sin. Not us and not anyone else. To blame God when He is the primary offended is to greatly err. God, no doubt, dealt with that adulterous man on countless occasions. He no doubt set out many roadblocks as he went down the wayward path. It was never God's fault. It is utterly stange to me that the temptor was never mentioned in the rampage. I find that striking and odd. Not being critical here, just pausing in wonder and amazement.

God in His goodness absorbed yet again the weight of that which He was not guilty. He had been falsly charged before and He endured it. Job was always careful to not charge God foolishly. Even when there was less light than we have today- for we now knowing that it was really Satan back of his trouble all along. Even though God allowed it- it was a testimony to Job before the whole of the host of heaven. He passed the test. Satan charged God that all men serve Him for is blessing. Take away _______ and they will curse you to your face. Not that this woman cursed God. But we ought to be careful also how we charge God with things. I think it would be more devistating to the world than all the 'holy laughter' combined. Satan always accuses God of being His childrens sugar daddy as some have less respectfully noted. We only give weight to the false accusation when we falsely charge God.

Just some thoughts...

to get your thoughts and experiences about this.

With Robert's own admonishens I could only say Goldminer that this ought to be a short lived thread...

You have already summed it up quite succinctly and accurately. One being the outcome of joy the other of mockery. As a 'construct' even the collusion of those two words is enough to cause a cringing ... the things that have become nomenclature in this day ...

Have experienced something of both even of giving in to the mockery by allowing the manipulation in a particular setting with a particular 'healing' minister all strung along with the repetitive, hypnotic 'Halleluiah' chorus as a backdrop. There was absolutely no reason for it and it caught on like a contagion amongst a dozen or so of us and no one questioned it. To naive and ignorant at the time to recognize just what was going on, that we were being played with, toyed with, giving ourselves right on over to it. It wasn't joy, it was demonic, a mockery.

The expression of your friend ... Am reminded of;

Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

I do see what your saying, however who she yelled at in her pain, I'm not sure. I'm sure knowing her as a person the devil was part of her anger.

My point was that God wasn't offended because He already knew what was in her heart. She just experienced a time of seeing it for herself and dealing with it before God. He, loving Father that He is brought healing and refreshing to a broken vessel.

Also I agree, we should never seek any kind of experiences. We should only ever seek God and His presence. My point was that if at times we see these things we should not automatically think it is the devil, but test the spirit and see if it raised the hair on the back of your neck or causes the joy of the Lord to overflow for the person.

This person has known Jesus for many years and knows He isn't to blame. However when you are in the depth of despair it is kind of hard to see clearly until God brings the light.

I am reminded of Watchman Nee. In his biography is shared a time in his life where he laid on the floor in depression and sorrow for two years. He and his brother owned a pharacutical company,I think that is what it was, anyway his brother did some underhanded things and nothing Watchman could do could clear up the misunderstanding that it wasn't him. People were determined to believe what they wanted to believe. It wasn't until he finally died to his own reputation that he was able to get up and continue in God's calling. This man has so much wisdom that he has volumes of excellent teaching for us, but he went through a period he couldn't understand until the light came. We are all no different. We just haven't all hit our Job experience yet. God will allow us to go through testing to bring us down to just Him and us. That is where the rubber hits the road. Will we curse God and die or will we trust Him in the land of the living.

point well taken Mike. Thanks for sharing. The only reason I started this thread was because of the funny one that I was a part of called " is laughter a sin ". I thought that issue should be answered for any babes that might drop in.