My name is Shaun Kearney and welcome to the kingdom living web site.
In 1987 our spiritual journey as a family underwent a major change when I jumped ship after 25 years of service as a senior Pastor among the upper echelon of those on the cutting edge of the Charismatic Movement in New Zealand. My reason was I knew that God was no longer at the helm of the movement I had served, loved, and been a part of for so long. It had lost its way and was simply drifting. All the while those in charge were in denial about what was happening.
With my wife and five children to provide for the decision for me to step aside came only after much soul-searching. We made a decision to sell our home and go to the United States to take a sabbatical to re-evaluate everything we had once accepted without question. It was the start of a new voyage where we began to learn about Christ and what He taught about living in His Kingdom. Twenty years later I came back to New Zealand and took stock of what I had once been part of. I saw the fire, which once burned brightly for Christ in some former colleagues had sadly gone out. Among a few it had become a strange fire. As the Apostle Paul said, You did run well, who hindered you? There were some entrepreneurial types who had managed to carve out a niche for themselves on TV, or on the Charismatic speaking circuit. Many were just spectators going through the motions as they wandered from one religious ghetto to another. Others were putting on a front that didnt fool anyone.
I have personally seen how the church-system spiritually castrates men and takes away their headship as the Priest in their own home. Many pew-warmers freely admitted they were only hanging in for the wife and kids. Yet long-after their kids were gone they were still just hanging in, or on. Some said but there was nothing out there except more of the same, so what else could we have done? Sadly more than a few had lost their spiritual appetite and reverted to former lifestyles, as the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things had overtaken them.
Anne and I have been outside the system following Jesus and living according to kingdom principals for many years now. Initially we felt isolated, but before long and much to our relief and joy, we found other couples on the Kingdom living pathway whose experiences were similar to ours. We are continually coming across more saints across the land and around the globe, which are also living in the invisible to most Kingdom.
I had many questions requiring answers not just for myself, but for those who began to question us about our walk. Our website is dedicated to this end. It is a resource that provides answers to many difficult questions for those who want to move on with Christ. It provides biblically based responses to those Pharisees who try to scare souls back into their pews. It affords encouragement to hungry hearts that wish to follow Christ when He calls; and it offers comfort when they realize they are not alone, but in fact are part of a growing army of brothers and sisters who had the courage to go unto Him without the camp.
Persecuted saints in China, Africa, Middle East, and Eastern Europe, have been living this way for centuries.
Sincerely Shaun and Anne Kearney.
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ANNE KEARNEY’S HEALING FROM POLIO.
The healing of Anne Kearney from polio:
What I am about to share with you is the outcome of considerable goading by the Lord, my family and in particular our son David. It was one of those tasks that I had simply left on the back burner for the want of time. Recently however David said to me “Dad how did you react to the news that Mum had contracted polio when she was carrying me and more to the point, what did you do?” I think you should put it on paper for us. The story that I’m about to relate is my response to David’s question, and your edification.
In August 2007, Anne gave her testimony on Rhema FM Australia, from the standpoint of the victim of a crippling disease which left her lying paralyzed in a hospital bed. Her story is available on CD. I had often thought about putting pen to paper and recording my reactions to the events of that time, but I had simply failed to get around to it; I just kept putting it off. So when David asked me I began to feel the Lord prompt me and tell me that it was high time I did. As soon as I started memories began to flood back into my mind as if were only yesterday. This is Anne’s experience from my perspective.
To fully answer David’s question I needed to back up to 1955 when I went to Australia with a couple of friends on a working holiday. In 1957 I was still living in Australia my friends had returned to NZ in 1956.
I rented a room in Sydney. Events unfolded there that would affect Anne my girlfriend and me for the rest of our lives. My landlady and her husband had received Christ at an Oral Roberts Crusade held in a huge tent at the Sydney Show grounds in 1956. Robert’s visit to Australia was very controversial. In his crusade in Melbourne Catholic Action Groups were so violent that the meetings were abandoned, and Roberts was forced to leave Australia. It was headline news throughout the country.
My landlady invited Anne and myself to dinner after she saw an old Bible lying on my dressing table. An evangelist conducting special meetings at her church was also a guest that night. After dinner we were taken to a meeting in a Pentecostal church, where Anne and I responded to an invitation to receive Christ as Saviour. It was my first contact with evangelical Christianity. My background was Roman Catholic. I had two brothers and three sisters. My younger sister by two years was a Nun with the Sisters of Mercy. Soon afterwards my youngest brother joined the Marist Brothers.
Anne’s upbringing couldn’t have been more diverse. She was Scottish Presbyterian. Her great uncle founded of Scots College in Melbourne and Geelong Victoria. Needless to say it caused friction in our respective families. Particularly as Anne was an only child. My Mother wrote and warned me that a new religion came out of America every week and implored me to stay faithful to Rome.
We married two months after we were saved. I promised Anne’s father that I wouldn’t whisk her off to New Zealand immediately. Six months later we left for New Zealand to face the music with my family. Before we left Sydney we were water baptised and received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. We met many fine brethren in Australia who were to play a positive role in our spiritual growth in the coming years.
Before returning to NZ God had prepared the way for us. Someone I knew in NZ heard I had become a Christian, and furthermore that I was married and returning to NZ. When the S.S. “Monowai” arrived in Auckland NZ my family were there to greet us, so was my old friend Rob Wheeler. We decided to accept Rob’s invitation and moved to Tauranga where He and his wife Beryl lived. There they introduced us to small group of believers who were meeting in a home. Over the years Rob and Beryl instilled in us a love for the word of God which we shall always be grateful for.
Catholicism had instilled in me a fear of God. I wrestled with condemnation a lot and didn’t like to think about the consequences of sin. My eldest sister’s husband converted to marry her. So later when he switched churches and became a Seventh Day Adventist I wasn’t surprised. My sister followed suit. My brother in law completely threw himself into Adventism He became a Colporteur, selling Uncle Arthur Bedtime Stories; and Medical books. I lived with them for nine months and concluded that if you had to be as miserable as they were to get to Heaven then I was done for. When you compounded that with my sister who lived at the convent every weekend happily polishing the churches brassware I simply gave up any hope of ever getting into heaven. I felt certain that religion was for effeminate men and old ladies.
After I was converted the first task I set for myself was to read the Bible from cover to cover. As I did I highlighted every reference to the Holy Spirit in Blue; and every reference to divine healing in green. Reel tape recorders had just come on the market so we saved hard and bought one. Next I got a hold of tapes by Oral Roberts, Tommy Hicks’ William Branham, Tommy Osborn, and as many other evangelists that I could lay my hands on. We played them over and over until we could quote them verbatim. I read TL Osborn’s book healing the sick and casting out devils until my faith in divine healing was unshakable. It was going to stand me in good stead in days to come. At the time I was working for a Tyre Company in Tauranga. Taking advantage of Easter break in April 1961 Anne and I with our boys Mark and Paul went to Auckland to meet with a group of saints for fellowship. We were a part of an expanding fellowship of believers springing up around the country. Our links were not structured by a creed formulated and administered by officials they were organic. We were jealous of our autonomy yet bound together by the common bond of love. We believed in “body ministry” and accepted mobile ministry. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best thing around. In hindsight we lost out when we became structured and moved away from the simplicity we had in Christ. As the weekend drew to a close we set off to return to Tauranga. We hadn’t gone far when she became ill. She was expecting our third child so we attributed it to her condition. I quickly realised she was too ill to continue and decided to return to Auckland and leave her and the children with friends. I needed to get back to my job. I planned to return the following weekend and bring them home providing she was sufficiently well enough. I left the boys with our friends Peter and Sylvia Homersham. Sylvia was a matron at Auckland Hospital before she married, so I knew Anne was in capable and loving hands. Sylvia took Anne to her doctor, together they suspected polio. Sylvia notified me that tests were being done and that she would contact me as soon as they had the results. I waited for the outcome anxiously. I vividly remember the evening the call came through confirming their suspicions. I was in a state of shock and disbelief. Immediately I went into our bedroom, fell on my knees, and cried out to God. In the fading light the Lord spoke to my heart ever so clearly. “Cast not away your confidence in me, you have need of patience, and after you have done the will of God you will receive the promise”. I immediately replied “Lord what is your promise” and He said to me “it’s not my will that Anne should perish. Believe in me that My Father might be glorified”. I dried my tears, stood up and notified Rob and the other saints who immediately rallied around to pray with me for Anne’s healing, and God’s protection for our unborn child. I rushed to Auckland the following morning and went straight to the hospital. She was in the isolation ward which was a few hundred yards away from the main buildings. Before they allowed me to go in to see her, the doctor in charge told me to prepare myself for a shock. He said the fever was raging in her body and she was in the balance. He said that after several days the fever would subside and if she pulled through she may only regain about 10% use of her limbs, but the prognosis for our unborn child was very bleak. Ten days passed and Anne and was left paralysed. A nurse was in the room with her continually as only her respiratory muscles were functioning and the doctors were concerned that they too may fail. A table laid out with instruments to perform a tracheotomy was close her bed. All I could do was to stand there feeling so helpless. When I arrived I passed a woman in the passageway in an Iron Lung (about whom an article had been written in the Herald). It was distressing scene. From the hospital I went to Peter and Sylvia’s home, picked up the boys and returned to Tauranga. A couple of day’s later two people came to my door and announced that they were from the Dept of Medical Health and had come to vaccinate the boys. They said because the boys had been with their mother they would be carriers of the virus. Until that time very little was known about polio, and epidemics had been breaking out every ten to fifteen years for as long as I could remember.
In the early post WWll years a particularly bad Polio epidemic broke out in New Zealand. It was so severe that schools in many parts of the country were closed. Cinemas as well as large public gatherings were banned. Water tank stands were erected on street corners in many suburbs because authorities believed contaminated drinking water was spreading the disease. We would hear the bell ringing water carts as they came to refill the tanks in our area. Then off we could go to fill our pails for cooking and drinking. Tap water was only to be used for washing. Every child had to wear a wide brimmed hat because it was feared that hot sunshine could be the culprit. The fact of the matter was the authorities were at wits end as to what else to do other than wait for the epidemic it to run its course. The epidemic in 1961 was to be the last major Polio outbreak in New Zealand thanks to the Salk vaccine. This scourge would eventually never become a major problem again.
There had been other vaccines which had failed, and Salk’s was as yet to prove itself long term. I had to make a decision; how could I allow them to vaccinate the boys yet at the same time trust the Lord for Anne’s healing. I refused and never gave them my reasons because I knew they would never understand. They returned again only this time they were accompanied by the police. I stood my ground; and they berated me angrily in no uncertain manner. I was given notice that if either of the boys began to vomit it could indicate that they had contracted Polio and I should notify them immediately. After breaking the news to Anne’s mother she came over from Australia to look after the boys. This enabled me to commute from Tauranga to Auckland to see Anne; it also enabled me to keep my job. I was to make this journey many times over the next few months. My eldest brother Michael and his wife were lovingly supportive giving me every practical assistance. Nor did they hesitate to take the boys under their roof when necessary. By now any animosity between us and our respective families was well gone. As the weeks went by I was under constant attack from the devil, as he slandered God’s promise to me. I would resist him stoutly as I contended with him over the word of faith that was in my heart. My constant confession to those that enquired about Anne was to repeat what God had said to me. I believed like Jonah 2:7-9 “they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy but I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving”. When under attack I remembered the word God had given me and I would come to Him and remind Him of His promise to me that He would heal Anne. Jonah’s life was resurrected and so would Anne’s be also. We are the Lord’s secretaries; employed by Him to remind Him of His appointments. Isaiah 62:6 “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, Jerusalem; all the day and all the night they shall never hold their peace: ye that put Jehovah in remembrance keep not silent until He comes…..” During all these events God had prepared some wonderful saints who ministered to us, such as Sylvia and Peter Homersham. Another couple Alan and Rachel Hall were ordained by God to this end also. They and their family of 8 children was the fulcrum around which several other families congregated. It was with them that we had gathered that fateful Easter. On the Easter Monday we were having a picnic at Mission Bay before we left them to return to Tauranga, only to turn back because Anne was so ill we couldn’t continue. Their fellowship gatherings took place in an upstairs hall which they rented. When I came to Auckland to visit Anne I would always attend the gatherings with the saints. For my part there had been no change in Anne’s condition. She couldn’t talk; she was unable to eat because she couldn’t swallow; but was fed through a tube that passed through her nose and down into her stomach. She was paralysed and in constant pain. During my visit I would tell her about events at home. The hospital authorities would not allow any children into the infectious ward under any circumstances. It was a dark time for both of us. Anne told me later that she was so ill she just wanted to die. On one particular weekend in Auckland as we gathered to break bread on Sunday morning bro Alan stood up and opened his Bible at 2 Cor 3:18 and began to minister. The Holy Spirit began to speak into my heart, and I knew that the word Alan was bringing was for me. I got out of my chair, walked out onto the floor and began to dance. I danced and I danced and I danced praising and weeping all at the same time without ceasing. Alan went to the piano and began to play in the Spirit spontaneously and unrehearsed. This song eventually went around the world. But today it was MY song.
From glory to glory he’s changing me,
Changing me; changing me;
His likeness and image to perfect in me,
The love God’s shown to the world.
For He’s changing, changing me,
From earthly things to the heavenly,
His likeness and image to perfect in me,
The love God’s shown to the world.
Alan Hall.
After about half an hour I sat down. Psalms 30:11-12 you turned for me my mourning into dancing; you put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
On one trip to Auckland I took the boys with me. On our return journey Paul the younger of the two began to vomit. As I pulled to the side of the road the devil began saying “there you are, you had the opportunity to get the boys vaccinated but you stubbornly refused, and now Paul has polio because of you”. He continued as I was cleaning Paul, the mess on the seats and floor of the car. Taking authority over the situation I continued our journey home. I never reported the incident to anyone. I simply gave to the Lord. As far as I was concerned that was that.
A Breakthrough:
Two months had passed since Anne took ill. I decided to take the boys to see their mother early in the morning. I parked the car close to Anne’s room on the ground floor. I left the boys and quickly went to her room opened the window, and then went back and got Mark and poked his head through the window so Anne could see him. Immediately Mark (who was only three and a half years old) said to his mother, “never mind mummy Jesus will make you better”. I thought no more of it and went home. I arrived on my next visit to find a miracle had taken place: I shall never forget that day. As I walked in her room and saw her sitting up in bed and smiling at me. It was so wonderful to hear her relate to me all that had happened. I felt at that moment if I asked the Lord for the Moon He would have given it to us. When I spoke to the doctor about her release he told me I’d have to be patient as her convalescence could take three months or more before she would be able to leave the hospital. They said she needed weeks of physiotherapy as her muscles were very weak from lying in bed for such a long time in addition they had to think of our unborn child. When I asked Anne if she would like to come home; she replied with a resounding yes. So we asked the Lord to enable her to be discharged the following week. Several days after Anne’s miracle Sylvia received a phone call informing her that she could come and pick Anne up as she was ready to be released. After she arrived she went to Anne’s room and asked her, why aren’t you ready? Anne replied that nobody had told her. Excitedly she got out of bed took her clothes out the closet and put them on. Then they began to walk to the office to be discharged. As soon the doctor and staff saw her on her feet there was quite a commotion. What’s going on he asked? And where do you think you’re going, turning to Sylvia he asked “who are you?” Sylvia replied that she had received a phone call from the hospital telling her Mrs Anne Kearney was ready to be discharged and would she come and collect her. The registrar replied that no such phone call had been made by their department. The doctor was as confused as everyone else. Then Sylvia explained that she was a trained nurse and a hospital Matron until she got married and started a family of her own. They agreed to release Anne to Sylvia on condition that she would bring Anne back in a week so they see how she was progressing. We never did find out who made that phone call, and the hospital was adamant that they never did. I came up to Auckland the following week and took Anne home. She carried our son David full term, and had a natural birth. I have often reflected on the wonderful support comfort and love that was shown to us by Peter and Sylvia Homersham when Anne was diagnosed with polio. They were cautioned that were putting their family at risk by keeping our boys in their home. It was bad enough to have Anne in their home when she took ill without putting themselves at further risk. They informed the medics that Christ was the Head of their home and that they would keep them there until I could come to Auckland and take them back to Tauranga with me. Situations like this reveal true believers from make believers.
Anne’s decision in regard to David:
The story would be incomplete without relating events that took place shortly after Anne came home. She carried David full term and had a natural birth; (another miracle). Shortly after David’s birth he started convulsing and breathing with great difficulty. I phoned our doctor immediately. He told me to plunge him in and out of cold water until he got there. After the doctor examined David he made arrangements for a neurologist to see him the following morning. After the examination the neurologist said he might have to have surgery. There was pressure in his head which was obviously swollen. He thought it may be tumour. He went ahead and made arrangements for his admission to National Women’s Hospital. We told him we wanted some time to think about it as it was all so sudden. He said he would leave us for five minutes to decide. As soon as he left the room I said to Anne, “this is your call”, whatever you decide I will stand with you completely. We prayed and asked the Lord to guide us, and then Anne said to me I’m not putting him hospital and leaving him there. We will take him home and have the elders pray for him on Sunday morning. When the doctor returned room he was obviously annoyed with our decision and made it clear he believed we had made a bad choice. Then he wrote a prescription, gave it to us and told us to get in touch with our doctor when we got back to Tauranga ASAP.
It was late on Friday afternoon when we left his office on the first floor. Downstairs stood a rubbish bin. Anne took off the lid, screwed up the admission form and threw it into the bin. We had a five hour drive ahead of us in our old car, and much to ponder on. On Sunday morning the elders anointed David with oil and prayer was offered for him with thanksgiving. Immediately the swelling and tightness on his forehead and the dark circles under his eyes began to disappear. Colour came back into his skin. Anne began to undress him as the sisters crowded around and excitedly began to rejoice and praise God. That was the end of the program in that service. When Anne took David to our doctor, who incidentally was a believ http://www.kingdomline.com/…/anne-kearneys-healing-from-pol…, he made this remark, “that was a real attack from evil one”. His comment was certainly true
Thanks for keeping this testimony online, as Shaun has passed away and his website has gone.
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