Brant Baker was born March 12th, 1948 in Santa Monica, California.
Brant
accepted Christ in 1964, at a Billy Graham Crusade in San Diego,
California.
I was present at that same crusade as a young kid.
A man named Jim Prescott
had helped out my fatherless family financially at a time that was
critical for us.
He was a Christian and took my whole family to that
crusade.
I accepted Christ 3 years later through the street ministry of
Lonnie Frisbee in 1967 in a hippie hangout house in Newport Beach
California.
I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and spoke in
tongues at that time.
Lonnie introduced me to Brant at his clothing
store on 17th street in Costa Mesa California.
In 1968 Brant
witnessed the first miracle of his life at a Kathryn Kuhlman service at
the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
By then my family was
living in southern California, I was also present at all of those
Kuhlman Healing services.
Shortly after that Brant Began
attending Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California, receiving the
Baptism of the Holy Spirit and studied the Bible extensively under the
teaching of Pastor Chuck Smith.
I also started attending Calvary Chapel
the summer of 1967.
Following a youth rally in 1971, Brant
received a vision from the Lord, to give out the Bread- the Living Word of God.
Several months later a small bible study, led by Brant Baker, started
and grew rapidly.
God told Brant that He would use him in a healing
ministry, and gave him the scriptures,
Jeremiah 33:3 as a promise.
The
ministry expanded, with people receiving salvation, the Baptism of the
Holy Spirit, healings, and incredible anointed teaching from the Word of
God.
In 1972, Brant was ordained in the State of California as a
licensed minister of the Gospel, and Shekinah Fellowship was
incorporated by the state as a recognized church organization.
The
group took on the name of Shekinah Fellowship, intentionally meaning those who
fellowship in the presence of the Glory of God.
While praying at his
grandmother's bedside, Brant had an experience with the manifested
Shekinah Glory of God and it marked him deeply.
I have seen the Shekinah
Glory during Brant's services at Shekinah Fellowship.
I could actually
see a physical white fog engulfing the room as the experience of a sense
of Holiness descended upon everyone in what was a powerful
manifestation of Almighty God.
This happened quite a lot in the early
days of Shekinah Fellowship.
Further expansion reached out to the
surrounding area with outreach services, and a television and radio
ministry.
In 1974, the "Body Ministry" became a major part of the
service.
Workers move among the congregation in the Gifts of the Holy
Spirit as Brant ministers from the podium.
Many miracles were wrought as
these vessels of God moved together in one accord.
They became what was
called the "Word~of~knowledge workers."
A pattern that was seen at the
Kathryn Kuhlman healing services.
There was great fruit.
Thousands upon thousands, from every walk of life, every segment of
society have found salvation in Jesus Christ through this ministry.
Thousands more have been touched, blessed and healed by the miracle
working power of God, so actively a part of the Shekinah Fellowship
services.
In 1976, the West Coast Theater, 333 E. Ocean Blvd, in
Long Beach, California, with a seating capacity of 1,800 became the home
and administrative headquarters of Brant Baker, Shekinah Fellowship.
It
was here that the corporation became "Brant Baker Ministries."
The
Marquee out front reflected this declining change.
It said in large
black letters at the top "Brant Baker" and the next line under that in
smaller letters said "With Jesus Christ" as observed by me one day as I drove past it.
I
recall thinking to myself at that moment, "This marks the beginning of
the end for that ministry."
Because of the hunger for more of God among the
multitudes, many phone calls and letters from all over the world have
been received for Brant and the Shekinah Fellowship Team to travel.
In
September of 1979, Shekinah answered a call to "Go ye into all the world
and preach the Gospel."
The corporate office of Brant Baker~Shekinah
Fellowship was located in Glendale, California, with a mailing address
in Glendale, California.
Brant's vision for the ministry was that
it would be an effective means of preaching the Gospel, bring about
unity among all denominations, making people aware of their place in the
Body of Christ, the Church, and the soon coming of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, with confirmation of the Word, with signs and wonders and
miracles following.
"My place is to point the way to the one who can
meet your needs.
I can't do anything to help you, except to point the
way.
I'm no better than anyone else, I have no miracle working ability,
but I believe that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever,"
Brant would say.
Brant Baker preached the uncompromising Word of
God and expected to see miraculous confirmation of God's Word.
Everyday
holds the possibility of a miracle.
Thousands of people have been healed
through Brant's ministry and tens of thousands have received Jesus
Christ as their personal Savior.
As a result, Brant had continuously received
hundreds of requests to minister from all over the world.
Some of
these request have taken the ministry across the United States and
others have led to different parts of the world.
In 1979, Brant and the
outreach team traveled to the Midwestern part of the United States for
two crusades in Des Moines, Iowa.
The first was for three days.
Because
of the great response, they were invited to return for an eight day
"camp meeting."
This led to television and radio airplay of previously
recorded miracle services.
In December of 1980, a visit to the
Philippines brought forth a week of miracles.
From the first press
conference to the last miracle service, the people of Manila could see
the moving of the Holy Spirit in Shekinah Fellowship.
This was a
confirmation of the Word of God that was preached in each service.
As
Brant has often said,
"My place is to point the way to the one who can
meet your needs."
The trips to the Philippines, was sponsored by the Alleluia Fellowship in Manila.
In
the spring of 1981, Shekinah Fellowship was asked to conduct a special
week of services during Easter at Jerry Barnard's church in San Diego,
California.
No one could have known the impact of these services in the
San Diego Area.
Due to live television coverage by the Christian
Communications Network, thousands were touched by the moving of the Holy
Spirit.
In response to the many request from churches and
communities throughout the Western states, Brant traveled extensively,
sharing the message God had given him.
Brant passed away November 26th, 1985, in a Glendale hospital.
He was only 37 when he died.
A victim of aids.
Brant had lived a gay life style, but God chose him and moved through his ministry like He did with Lonnie Frisbee.
"Many
of us in full time ministry can trace the beginnings of our work to
those early days at Shekinah Fellowship.
Like the other Elders and
Deacons, I was unusually young for the ministry - 17, in fact! - when I
came on staff in 1972, and I marvel at the level of work and
responsibility we took on at such an early age.
But we'd come together
with incredible zeal, a striking variety of gifts, and a conviction that
Christ was coming soon, so we charged ahead, certain of our calling.
And who but a bunch of bold, naive, Spirit-filled kids would have dared
to do it?
I will always remember Brant as one of the most
engaging and passionate men I've ever known. When I attended his funeral
I felt a sense of loss that's with me today, as he etched himself on my
life, and on so many others, indelibly."
It was a Saturday
night.
The auditorium was dark accept for the flood light that was
focused on the long haired young man.
He had a guitar and was about to
share a song with all of us.
There was an expectancy in the atmosphere of that place.
It was good to be there.
The
man started to sing a plaintive song, "Adam, where art thou?"
The Holy
Spirit was present and smeared all over that song as it was being sent
forth by this young man of God with simplicity.
There was another
young man of God sitting at the keyboard of the piano on stage.
He sat
quietly in the dark at the periphery of the spot light as the song was being sung.
This team set the table for what was about to happen, but that is another story.
What I want to focus on here is the song that Randy West shared with us and Joe Dallas who was the piano player.
"And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?"
This
was not the call of the police authority, but the call of yearning
love.
A father's love for His own.
God's question to Adam still sounds
in the ears of every sinner:
'Where art thou?'
It is the call of Divine
love which offers redemption from sin.
It is the call of sorrow, which
grieves over the sinner.
It is the call of Divine love.
To each and
everyone of us the call is reiterated,
'Where art thou?'
It was
not Adam who sought God, but God that sought Adam.
No coincidence that
your eyes are upon this text at this very moment!
Sure you think that
your doing ok, that you are not included in this cry of God's heart.
You
are exempt from this because your full of Xtian activities and such and
above this state of Adam.
Scripture tells us that,
"There is none that seeketh after God." Rom. 3:11
It
was God who sought out and called Abram while he was yet in idolatry.
It was God who sought Jacob at Bethel when he was fleeing from the
consequences of his wrong doing.
It was God who sought out Moses while a
fugitive in Midian.
It was Christ who sought out the apostles while
they were engaged in fishing, so that He could say , "Ye have not chosen
Me, but I have chosen you."
It was Christ who came to seek and save
that which was lost.
It is the Shepherd who seeks the sheep, and not the
sheep that seek the Shepherd.
How true it is that,
"We love Him because
He first loved us."
The Deity stooping so low as to care for and seek
out you and I, the dust of the earth.
You have come here, just
now, because God Almighty has desired to knock upon the door of your
very life.
To rejoin you in His love.
Now Adam, who heard the
voice of God, reacted in a curious way.
He and his wife
"hid themselves"
from Him.
Will you hide yourself also?
Man's conscience then did not
bring him to God-for there must be the work of the Holy Spirit- they
were terrified and ran away from God.
They sought to hide themselves.
Are you also hiding?
He was Holy, they were sinful, consequently
they were afraid of Him and sought to hide themselves.
Most are uneasy
in the presence of God and wish to hide from Him.
They become
uncomfortable in their sin, so they seek to flee from Him.
When
God sought out Adam and brought him face to face with his guilt, he was
given fair and full opportunity to confess his sin.
"Hast thou eaten of
the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?"
And
what was the reply?
How did Adam react?
Instead of a broken hearted
confession of his sin he excused himself-
"And the man said, The Woman
whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."
It was the same with Eve:
"And the Lord God said unto the woman, What
is this that thou hast done?"
And the woman said, The serpent beguiled
me, and I did eat."
Attempt was thus made to shift the responsibility
upon others.
Are you doing this just now?
It was not
working, it was unavailing and man stood face to face with a Holy God
and was convicted of his guilt and unspeakable shame.
And just as it
will be at the Great White Throne judgment day.
1. The discovery that something was wrong with himself.
2.The effort to hide the shame by a self-provided covering.
3.Fear of God and an attempt to hide from His presence instead of confessing his sin but seeking to excuse it.
This scenario has not changed much through out world history.
But salvation is provided by God Himself!
Mercy
desires to spare the offender and because justice demands death,
another shall be slain in his place.
The death of the Son of God is
shadowed forth in the very act of God upon Adam and Eve.
He clothed Adam
and Eve with skins, and in order to obtain these skins animals must be
slain, life must have been taken, blood must have been shed!
And in this
way was a covering provided for the fallen and ruined sinner.
The
application of the type is obvious.
The Death of the Son of God was
shadowed forth.
Because the Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life for the
sheep God can now be just and the justifier of him which believeth in
Jesus.
Adam and Eve were entirely passive, it was the Lord God
who furnished the skins, made into coats and clothing them.
We see the
same in the parable of the prodigal son. when the wanderer had taken the
place of a lost sinner and had owned his sin, the grace of the Father's
heart was displayed.
"But the father said unto to his servants, Bring
forth the best robe, and put it on him." Luke 15:22.
The prodigal
did not have to furnish the robe, nor did he have to put it on himself,
all was done for him. And so it is with every sinner.
"For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the grace of God." Eph. 2:8
"I
will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God,
for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath clothed
me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of
righteousness." Isa. 61:10.
Let us come to our senses and come to God, just as we are, and allow Him to cloth us with Christ.
Christ Jesus our salvation, our covering from our sins. Our Redeemer.
Romans 3:24
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 1:7
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Colossians 1:14
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Hebrews 9:12
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us.
Thessalonians 4:14
For if we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with
him.
You can have confident assurance that if you died today, you
would go to heaven.
Confess your sins to God and ask Christ into your
life, believing that He died for your sins and rose from the dead.
That
service in 1973 with Randy West and Joe Dallas has stood out in my mind
all these many years, because it was the heart of the Father that they
shared with us kids...
They were anointed servants of God in a powerful
way, smeared with the oil of the Holy Spirit, speaking a message that is
timeless of salvation for all who hear.
Funny thing though, I can
not for the life of me recall what the pastor, Brant Baker, shared with
us that particular evening...hmm...
Brant is with the Lord now, that anointing- in all of its Glory and all of its power- has not disappeared forever.
"When
I first came to a service I knew that is were I belonged.
It was in a
small store and we all sat on the ground and listened to him preach.
We
soon moved into a foursquare Church.
Many people started to attend the
Sat night services and it soon grew to fill the large church.
The choir
was wonderful.
I remember Joe Dallas at the piano and the various
singers.
I remember that before each service Brant would be waiting on
the side of the stage praying , eyes closed or raised, hands folded or
uplifted to the Lord.
As we all sang worship to God the room would fill
with a cloud of Gods presence.
It could literally be felt and seen.
There
were many healings that I saw, and I can testify to one that I saw
before my eyes.
I was on stage with Brant and Randy West, while people
came up to testify of their healings.
A lady came up and she was healed
of a illness but her hands were still twisted from arthritis and as
Brant started to pray for her , I saw her hands straighten out fully.
Brant said,
"did you see that" Yes, I did.
There were times when
it was hard to stand next to him as you could feel the presence of Jesus
ever so softly.
We all Loved the Lord and looked only to do his will."
I walked down the aisle 40 years ago, was at least 6-8 feet away from
Brant, he looked right at me, held up his hand, said, "In Je..." and the
next thing I saw was my blue Nike Cortez shoes as I raised my head off
the floor.
Sweetest nothing that ever was had swept my conscious self
away like a feather and I was out on the floor for a brief moment.
I really didn't know what
was going on: some friends who brought me to the service gently
suggested I go forward along with everyone else pouring into the aisles
toward the front where Brant was beginning to move through them:
The guy
next to me was trying to get me to join the chant the rest of the room
was chanting.
So where are the ones called to ministry of God's manifested power in miracles and signs and wonders?
You will be on a life time quest to find what you once knew was so real and so powerful.
Few in ministry can set aside personal gain, set aside wanting others to know them and about them, it cost a lot to be in a place of usability where "He must increase and I must decrease" so that the power of God can flow.
