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Myths about Jonathan Edwards, by Barry Chant

by Geoff 20 March 2012 4 Comments

Myths about Jonathan Edwards

by Barry Chant

Dr Barry Chant was the founder of Tabor college in Australia and author of many books on Pentecostalism and revival.

Renewal Journal 14: Anointing – PDF

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Over recent years, the name Jonathan Edwards has cropped up frequently in articles and reports about revival. People who had never heard of him ten years ago, are now familiar with his name. In the process of popularisation, some stories and impressions about Edwards have emerged which stray from the truth. In this article Barry Chant considers a few of them.

There is little doubt that Edwards was one of the great evangelical ministers of modern times. His commitment to Christ, his profound insights into Scripture, his balanced analysis of revival phenomena, his understanding of the ways and works of God — all these are as significant today as ever.

His Books

Edwards was a prolific author. He wrote on many subjects ranging from theology to revival to eschatology. When discussing his views on revival, most people quote mainly from his earlier writings. It is important to realise that he wrote four books on this subject and that his last work — not his first one — best reflects his position. As with most people, Edwards’ views matured over the years, and with the benefit of experience, he was able to interpret with greater wisdom the phenomena he had witnessed.

So it is to his Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections,[1] first published in 1746 that we must turn for his ‘final word,’ as it were. Iain Murray says that Edwards ‘never gave closer and more careful thought to anything than he [BC1]did to this.’[2] To describe Edwards’ view of revival without turning to this great piece of writing is to do him an injustice.

Sarah Edwards

On occasions, Edwards’ wife Sarah showed signs of what was then called ‘enthusiasm’. For example, on Wednesday 27 January, 1742, after a lecture by the young Samuel Buell, she and others remained for a further three hours and during most of this time, she recalled, her ‘bodily strength was overcome’ and she was so full of joy and thankfulness that she conversed with those who were with her ‘in a very earnest manner’.

The next morning, she was still so excited she found it difficult to complete her daily tasks. When Buell was speaking she felt so grieved at the apparent lack of gratitude among God’s people she sank to the floor. People eased her into a chair and earnestly she shared with them her sense of God’s wonderful grace towards her in redeeming her from hell.

During the next hymn, she was so impressed by heavenly truth that she leaped spontaneously from her chair, feeling as if she were ascending to heaven. After the reading of two more hymns, again, she collapsed and was taken and laid on a bed, where she continued to ‘contemplate the glories of the heavenly world’.

During this time, she felt ‘wholly indifferent’ to the affairs of the world and to earthly glory and ambition. Her heart was filled with love and she felt so exhausted by emotions of joy that she could not rise or sit up for about four hours. That Thursday night she described as ‘the sweetest night I ever had in my life’.

In recounting his version of Sarah’s story, Edwards claims that two things in particular were evident — ‘a peculiar aversion to judging other professing Christians’ and a ‘very great sense of the importance of moral social duties’. Sarah’s strength failed her, he says, because of her great mourning for sin and ‘a sight of the fullness and glorious sufficiency of Christ’. Furthermore, her ‘sense of the glory of the Holy Spirit’ was such as to overwhelm her in both soul and body (I:376f).[3] He concludes —

Now if such things are enthusiasm, and the fruits of a distempered brain, let my brain be evermore possessed of that happy distemper! If this be distraction, I pray God that the world of mankind may be all seized with this benign, meek, beneficent, beatifical, glorious distraction! (I:378)

One can only say ‘Amen’ to this prayer. Would that more people were so overwhelmed by the wonder of Christ’s sacrifice and love.

On the other hand, some popular authors seem to have misread Sarah’s experience. Chevreau, for example, claims that she was ‘out’ for four hours, implying that she was in a comatose state.[4] However, she makes it plain that although during this time she was too exhausted to rise or even to sit up, she spent ‘most of the time’ talking with friends about the things of God. Clearly, she was in full possession of her faculties.

Others have described her experience as being ‘slain in the Spirit’. However, when she felt weak at the knees, it was the conscious result of her own insight into the glories of God, not an involuntary reaction to someone else’s ministry or mediation or the laying on of hands. In the past, evangelical writers have attributed too little to Sarah Edwards’ testimony; it is important not to go to the other extreme of attributing too much.

Bodily Manifestations

In all his writings, Edwards argued strongly for the need for the affections to be stirred. By the affections, he meant both the emotions and the will. Without the affections being moved, he declared, there could be no true Christianity —

Who will deny that true religion consists in a great measure in vigorous and lively actings of the inclination and will of the soul, or the fervent exercises of the heart?

Nothing is more manifest in fact, than that the things of religion take hold of men’s souls no further than they affect them.

I am bold to assert that there never was any considerable change wrought in the mind or conversation of any person . . . that had not his affections moved.[5]

Words could hardly be plainer. Edwards fervently believed that genuine faith touched the whole personality — including the affections. He was careful to point out that such stirring of the affections was always in response to the clear preaching of the gospel of Christ —

How can they sit and hear of the infinite height, and depth, and length, and breadth of the love of God in Christ Jesus, of His giving His infinitely dear Son, to be offered up a sacrifice for the sins of men, and of the unparalleled love of the innocent, and holy, and tender Lamb of God, manifested in His dying agonies, His bloody sweat, His loud and bitter cries, and bleeding heart, and all this for enemies, to redeem them from deserved, eternal burnings, and to bring to unspeakable and everlasting joy and glory — and yet be cold and heavy, insensible and regardless![6]

How, indeed!

Yet, this does not mean that Edwards gave blanket approval to any and all kinds of manifestations. In fact, he strongly disapproved of extremist behaviour. One of his favourite phrases in The Religious Affections is ‘stony ground hearers,’ by which he means people who demonstrate great emotional fervour, but who quickly fade away through lack of depth. Furthermore, Edwards was not even comfortable with the Quakers who relied on the experience of ‘inner light’ for guidance and direction. He was uneasy about dependency on feelings.

He makes particular reference to an extremist Huguenot group known as the ‘French prophets,’ who had migrated to London in the early eighteenth century. According to Knox, when their preacher shouted, people often fell on their backs while he ‘conducted them’ with his hand movements as if they were some kind of orchestra. It was ‘a mark of reprobation if you did not fall when you were told to’. Some drove knives into themselves; others spoke in tongues; most were unconscious of what they did or said while under inspiration. ‘Violent agitations,’ foaming at the mouth and bodily swelling were common. A speaker might lie as dead for an extended time and then begin to tremble violently until his limbs all shook. In at least one case, one person ‘gobbled like a turkey cock’.

A contemporary writer refers to people shaking their heads, crawling on the floor, quaking and trembling, drumming, trumpeting, thundering, snuffling, blowing as with a horn, panting, sighing, groaning, hissing, laughing, pointing, shaking, threshing, using childish repetition, howling like a dog and generally acting in a disorderly fashion.[7] While these descriptions all come from their critics, there seems to be sufficient evidence to suggest they are not widely inaccurate.

These ‘French prophets,’ caused some embarrassment to John Wesley. Edwards also distanced himself from them. On several occasions, he makes it plain that the experiences of the Great Awakening and these bizarre expressions of ‘enthusiasm’ have nothing in common.

Over recent years and in various places, falling, shaking, ‘drunkenness’, crying, laughter, jerking, animal noises, ‘roaring’, catalepsy, writhing, being thrown across the floor, trances and the like have all been reported during revival meetings.[8] Edwards would have rejected most of this.

Many years later, when a group of Presbyterians in Virginia entreated Edwards to accept a pastorate there, Samuel Davies, the first permanent evangelical pastor in that colony, wrote this about him —

Fiery superficial ministers will never do in these parts: they might do good; but they would do much more harm. We need the deep judgement and calm temper of Mr Edwards among us.[9]

Edwards had the remarkable capacity both to welcome genuine expressions of emotional and volitional response to the gospel and yet to reject spurious extravagances.

For Edwards, it was the cause, not the effect that was important. The gospel brought peace, joy and glory, which are ‘the fruits of the true Spirit’. When the Spirit was poured out, ‘very joyful and glorious times could be expected’. He plainly defended ‘bodily agitations’ — but only in response to an appreciation of the glories of Christ, never in their own right.

Cessationism

The impression has been given by some writers that Edwards believed in the supernatural gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12. For example, Chevreau points out plainly that Charles Chauncy, a strong critic of the Awakening, denied the need for spiritual gifts in his day and in doing so, Chevreau implies that Edwards held the opposite view. In fact, he did not. Edwards was also a cessationist. He plainly believed that the signs, wonders and miracles of the New Testament ceased at the end of the apostolic age.[10]

A superficial view of Edwards might yield a different impression. In his earlier writings, for example, he gives a most solemn warning to those who reject revival and in the process uses language which suggests a belief in the supernatural. When ministers stay silent about the work of God, he argues, this is ‘undoubtedly provoking’ to Him. Indeed, ‘let all to whom this work is a cloud and darkness — as the pillar of cloud and fire was to the Egyptians — take heed that it be not their destruction, while it gives light to God’s Israel’.

To wait for a pure work is to wait in vain — like waiting at the river side for all the water to pass. There never was a work of God without stumbling blocks: indeed, they were likely to increase, not decrease. The apparent prudence of waiting before acknowledging the work might be to miss the greatest opportunity of blessing that God ever gave to New England.

Yet Edwards makes it very plain that, for him, consistent, godly lifestyle is the best argument for a true revival. So he expresses his desire to ‘to apply myself to those who are the friends of his work, who have been partakers of it, and are zealous to promote it. Let me earnestly exhort such to give diligent heed to themselves to avoid all errors and misconduct, and whatever may darken and obscure the work; and to give no occasion to those who stand ready to reproach it’ (II:273).

The strongest defence, he says, will be ‘humility and self-diffidence, and an entire dependence on our Lord Jesus Christ’. Some ‘true friends of the work of God’s Spirit’ have done it discredit by yielding more to impressions and impulses than to the revelation of Scripture. The fruits of the Spirit are far greater than the gifts. A man may have extraordinary gifts ‘and yet be abominable to God, and go straight to hell’ (II:274). As there are no supernatural gifts in heaven, the church is most like heaven when it emphasises the fruits of the Spirit.

He is quite specific in his stance that the gifts of the Spirit as listed in 1 Corinthians 12 are not to be expected today —

The ordinary sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God, are the end of all extraordinary gifts, as the apostle shows, Eph iv. 11,12,13 . . . God communicates his Spirit only in that more excellent way of which the apostle speaks, viz. charity or divine love . . . The apostle speaks of these gifts of inspiration as childish things, in comparison of the influence of the Spirit in divine love.

When the church is in an adult state, Edwards claims, it has no need of such gifts. So he plainly says —

Therefore, I do not expect a restoration of these miraculous gifts in the approaching glorious times of the church, nor do I desire it . . . I had rather enjoy the sweet influences of the Spirit, showing Christ’s spiritual divine beauty, infinite grace, and dying love, drawing forth the holy exercises of faith, divine love, sweet complacence, and humble joy in God, one quarter of an hour, than to have prophetical visions and revelations the whole year (II:275).

Of course, Pentecostal/charismatics dissent from this view. I personally do not agree. Fruit are never to be a substitute for gifts: rather, they complement each other. Nevertheless, if Edwards’ position on these matters is to be quoted, his own position must be made clear.

Calvinism and Arminianism

The ancient issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism is rarely mentioned today, although the Pentecostal/charismatic movement is plainly Arminian. Popular charismatic theology has it that basically it is our faith and our dedication that makes the blessing of God possible. ‘Create an atmosphere of faith, by giving opportunity for the Spirit to move,’ writes one denominational leader to his fellow ministers, using traditional Pentecostal terminology.[11]

In recent charismatic writings about Edwards, I have found no reference to the fact that he was a convinced Calvinist. Yet not only did he see Arminianism as a different point of view — he saw it as a positive hindrance to the gospel! He was greatly concerned that sound doctrine be the centre of all Christian activity. Revival was a sovereign work of God so there was no room for any Arminian beliefs —

And now I would beseech those who have hitherto been somewhat inclining to Arminian principles, seriously to weigh the matter with respect to this work and consider, whether, if the Scriptures are the word of God, the work that has been described in the first part of this treatise must not be, as to the substance of it, the work of God, and the flourishing of that religion which is taught by Christ and his apostles . . . Now is a good time for Arminians to change their principles. I would now, as one of the friends of this work, humbly invite them to come and join with us, and be on our side . . . (I:422f)

In this matter, Edwards was at loggerheads with John Wesley, whose Arminianism led him to a very different understanding of the nature of revival. As a Calvinist, Edwards saw revival as a glorious expression of God’s sovereign grace. It was the Lord’s doing and it was marvellous in his eyes.

Much of the revivalist phenomena witnessed in the last few years traces its origins to the ‘Faith movement’, whose teachings represent an extreme form of Arminianism.[12] Edwards would no doubt have been alarmed at these doctrinal roots, as he saw Arminianism as seriously deficient. Both he and Whitefield strongly declared their Calvinist stance and were convinced that a drift to Arminianism would kill, or at least seriously maim, the revival.[13]

Sadly, in some current renewal movements, theological niceties often appear to be of little significance. In our quest for unity, we often seem to be comfortable with the lowest common doctrinal denominators. It is probably also true that most charismatics would feel uncomfortable to be labelled ‘Calvinist’.

Edwards was greatly concerned that ministers were not found wanting. To him, it was intolerable that a minister should stand in the pulpit before God’s people, to undertake to lead and instruct them, when there was ‘nothing in his heart’. No one, he laments, will sink so low in hell as ungodly ministers (I:423). And, in a practical sense, when ‘enthusiasm and wildness comes in like a flood’ how could such men withstand it?

It may also be of interest to note that Edwards was a strong postmillennialist. He believed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ was so powerful it would spread throughout the earth and usher in an age of godliness — the millennium. There is no suggestion of the pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture ideology which is so widespread in the Pentecostal/charismatic movement today. For Edwards, revival, not tribulation, would be the climax of the age.

Conclusion

As a Pentecostal, I do not agree with all that Edwards taught. I strongly dissent from his cessationist position, for example. But Jonathan Edwards was one of those rare persons who could embrace deep and profound theology and at the same time recognise the genuine work of God in revival. His mind was as tough as steel, his heart as soft as clay. He knew how to understand the profound truths of God with the mind — and at the same time to believe the wonderful blessings of God with the heart. When we consider all that he taught on revival, whether or not we agree with all his conclusions, there is much we can learn.

ENDNOTES

[1] J. Edwards, A Treatise on the Religious Affections Edinburgh: Banner of Truth [1746] 1986

[2] I Murray, Jonathan Edwards, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1987, 252ff

[3] For simplicity, I have included most of the references to Edwards’ own writings in the body of the text. The first number refers to the relevant volume of The Works of Jonathan Edwards Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1984. The second number is the page reference.

[4] G. Chevreau, Catch the Fire London: Marshall Pickering, 1994:79.

[5] Edwards 1986:27ff

[6] Edwards, 1986:52.

[7] R. Knox, Enthusiasm London: Collins, 1987, 357ff.

[8] P. Dixon, Signs of Revival Eastbourne: Kingsway, 1994:9ff; J. Davies, ‘Toronto Blessing Reaches Australia,’ ARMA Sydney Newsletter #30 November 1994; W. Jackson, What in the World is Happening to Us? Urbana: Vineyard, 1994:1ff; D. Roberts, The ‘Toronto’ Blessing Eastbourne: Kingsway, 1994:15ff; personal observation and knowledge.

[9] Quoted in Murray, 1987:365.

[10] Chevreau, 1994:112.

[11] A. Evans, Ministers Bulletin, 5. Both Calvinism and Arminianism can go to extremes. One pastor recently told his people, ‘If you don’t fall down when you are prayed for, fall by faith. ‘ Such an approach would have been abhorrent to Edwards who saw revival as a sovereign act of God. Clearly, he would have rejected such ‘enthusiasm’.

[12] Roberts, 1994: 61ff, 83ff; A. Morrison, ‘The Genealogy of the “Toronto Blessing”’ Australian Beacon, May 1995.

[13] Murray, 1987:213.

Dr Barry Chant is President of Tabor College, a non-denominational Australian Education Centre with campuses in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. He is a teacher, author and public speaker. He is married to Vanessa and they have three adult children and a growing number of grandchildren.

© Renewal Journal #14: Anointing, renewaljournal.com
Reproduction is allowed with the copyright included in the text.

Renewal Journals – contents of all issues

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CONTENTS: Renewal Journal 14: Anointing

A Greater Anointing, by Benny Hinn

Myths about Jonathan Edwards, by Barry Chant

Revivals into 2000, by Geoff Waugh

Book Reviews:

The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition by Vinson Synan
The God Chasers, by Tommy Tenny
Primary Purpose, by Ted Haggard

Renewal Journal 14: Anointing – PDF

Revival Blogs Links:

See also Revivals Index

See also Revival Blogs

See also Blogs Index 1: Revivals

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

***BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH* *(CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)***

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

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A Greater Anointing, by Benny Hinn

by Geoff 20 March 2012 3 Comments

A Greater Anointing

by Benny Hinn

Healing evangelist Benny Hinn leads crusades worldwide. The cover photo on this Renewal Journal 14: Anointing is from his crusade in Kenya, East Africa, with police estimating over one million attending.

This article is reproduced from his pamphlet Seven Steps to a Greater Anointing.

Renewal Journal 14: Anointing – PDF

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Many people pray like Elisha, “Lord, give me a double portion of Your anointing.” Yet they do not realize the preparation that is involved for such a miraculous thing to occur. Here are seven things that happened in the life of Elisha before God allowed him to receive “the double portion” anointing.

1. Elisha faced the spirit of the enemy. Elijah and Elisha confronted the same enemy – the spirit of Jezebel. Elijah faced a demonic spirit through this woman that once caused him to flee for his life (1 Kings 19).

Who Is Jezebel? The Lord told the church at Thyatira, “I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20).

It is clear from this portion of Scripture that Jezebel is the spirit of filth and fornication which we still fight even today. Only by the anointing can that spirit be overcome.

2. Elisha relied on God. Before Elijah was taken up into heaven, Elisha declared his loyalty and devotion to God by repeating these words: “As the Lord lives” (2 Kings 2:2, 4, 6).

You’ll never receive God’s anointing until you learn to totally depend on the Lord. Elisha had a wonderful role model in the prophet Elijah – the one who stood before the 450 prophets of Baal and declared: “Lord God of Abraham, lsaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and, that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word” (1 Kings 18:36). That’s when the fire fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice.

3. Elisha learned how to serve. Young Elisha was plowing in a field – it was seed time – when he was called to become the servant of Elijah (1 Kings 19:19). He came from a well-to-do family – after all, they had ‘twelve yoke of oxen’ (v. 1 9). And Elisha was obviously a hard worker since his family could have hired a servant to do the same job.

Plowing and praying go hand in hand. Scripture tells us to “break up your follow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord” (Hosea 10:12). The moment he committed himself to Elijah, he became his servant, not his slave.

Do you want the anointing? Get involved in a church or a ministry and start serving. When you serve you are sowing your life as seed for an anointing that one day will be yours.

Just before Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, Elisha vowed that he would not leave the prophet’s side. He declared, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you” (2 Kings 2:4). He was saying, “As long as you remain anointed, I will not depart from you.”

4. Elisha was a man of faith. In the final days before Elijah’s departure, Elisha – over the prophet’s objections – stayed with him as he journeyed to four places: Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and the Jordan. Each has a special meaning.

Gilgal is the place where faith begins. That’s where the manna ceased and the children of Israel had to learn to live by faith and not by sight (Joshua 5). For forty years they had seen a cloud by day, a fire by night, and manna on the ground. Then it was over. And so it is with us. The anointing will not come on our lives until we begin to walk by faith.

5. Elisha knew what it meant to be tested. Next, they travelled to Bethel – yet Elisha still would not leave the prophet’s side.

Bethel is the place of trials and tests. That’s where Jacob fled when he was running away from his brother. He lost his family and his comfort – and was sleeping there with a rock for a pillow. It was at Bethel that Jacob made a vow that if the Lord would allow him to “come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God” (Genesis 28:21). And so also, will we be tested before God will entrust us with His anointing.

6. Elisha knew how to wage warfare. The two men of God journeyed to Jericho – the place of warfare. The place where Joshua had fought his greatest battle (Joshua 6).

Elisha became a man of war in the spirit. He understood the power that belongs to every believer, that can unlock chains and open doors. We need to realize that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

When the demons of hell come against you, stay strong. Declare, “I will not let this thing bring me down; I’m staying until the anointing comes.”

7. Elisha had a vision. Finally, they journeyed to the banks of the river Jordan where the Lord tested Elisha’s vision. Was it of man, or of God? The prophet said to the servant, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you.” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me (2 Kings 2:9).

Elijah responded, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you.” (2 Kings 2:1 0).

In other words, “If your vision is clear, and your eyes are on things above, you’ll receive it!” Habakkuk 2:2 declares “write the vision and make it plain.”

There are 3 keys to seeing a vision fulfilled.

1) It must be plain, meaning a vision cannot be cloudy or full of questions.

2) You must run to receive it, meaning your prayer life must intensify. Walking is prayer – running is intensified prayer.

3) The vision is for “an appointed time.” Wait for it. Never give up. Your faith is vital for the vision’s fulfilment.

Suddenly, the prophet was raptured – caught up into the heavens! A chariot of fire appeared – yet Elisha could see clearly enough to pick up the mantle that was left behind.

He walked to the same river where he had seen the prophet Elijah use the mantle to separate the waters. He said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” – and the waters of the Jordan were again miraculously parted (2 Kings 2:14).

Please prayerfully read in context the Scriptures I’ve shared. I pray this teaching creates a hunger for a deeper walk with the Lord and that you will receive God’s precious anointing as you apply the Word to your life.

Reproduced with permission from the Benny Hinn’s Partners in Ministry newsletter, November 1999.

© Renewal Journal #14: Anointing, renewaljournal.com
Reproduction is allowed with the copyright included in the text.

Renewal Journals – contents of all issues

Book Depository – free postage worldwide
Book Depository – Bound Volumes (5 in each) – free postage

Amazon – Renewal Journal 13: Ministry
Amazon – all journals and books – Look inside

CONTENTS: Renewal Journal 14: Anointing

A Greater Anointing, by Benny Hinn

Myths about Jonathan Edwards, by Barry Chant

Revivals into 2000, by Geoff Waugh

Book Reviews:

The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition by Vinson Synan
The God Chasers, by Tommy Tenny
Primary Purpose, by Ted Haggard

Renewal Journal 14: Anointing – PDF

Revival Blogs Links:

See also Revivals Index

See also Revival Blogs

See also Blogs Index 1: Revivals

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

***BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH* *(CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)***

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

FREE SUBSCRIPTION: for new Blogs & free offers

Free PDF books on Main Page

Also in Renewal Journals Vol 3: Issues 11-15
Renewal Journal Vol 3 (11-15) – PDF

All Renewal Journals

revivals evangelism, revivals

Reviews (13) Ministry

by Geoff 19 March 2012 1 Comment

Book Reviews

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Renewal Journal 13: Ministry – PDF

Fire in the Outback by John Blacket (Albatross, 1997)

From the Foreword by Alan Maratja Dhamarrandji of Galiwin’ku, Elcho Island.

As a Christian aboriginal, it’s a great privilege for me to acknowledge in this book some of the great things that God has done in our time. In 1979, we had revival that began at Galiwin’ku on Elcho Island and it affected the whole of Arnhem Land. It spread south-west to Warburton Ranges, and then north-west to the Kimberleys. We also had teams going to north Queensland to minister and spread the revival.

This has set a course for the church at Galiwin’ku to become an outreach church. Ever since that revival, we have been going to places and sharing what God has done and what he is still doing. I am one of the products of that revival and I’m not the only one. There are a few of us still on fire for the Lord. Every year, on March 14, we celebrate that spiritual awakening and pray for a fresh touch from God through the power of his Holy Spirit. These are exciting times for the church in Australia. We must repent more and more so that times of refreshing will come to our churches.

Since 1977-1978, I have had the privilege of working as community worker with John Blacket. He is one of the Balanda (white man) staff who witnessed that revival from the very beginning. My perception is that John is a different man now since the revival. John is one of those people who can communicate to an Aboriginal person anywhere, because he has learned to listen and understand Yolngu (Aborigines), then takes the time to share with them. I admire him for this task and particularly for his endurance and patience with people. Now God has given him this important ministry of reconciliation and bridging of Christian Balanda and Yolngu in Australia. We want to see unity come to the church of God right across the land, then we will see revival come to the whole of this Great South Land of the Holy Spirit. This book is a milestone for that revival. I would like to commend John in his careful efforts in documenting and compiling these anointed stories. I’m sure you are going to enjoy reading this book and will be blessed by the Lord.

Chapters in Fire in the Outback
1        Gathering firewood: The background to the Aboriginal revival
2        Lighting the fire: The Arnhem Land Aborigines and Christianity to 1970
3        A strong wind fans the flame: The preparation for the revival during the 1970s
4        Creating a hot fire: The Arnhem Land Revival, 1979
5        Sustaining the hot fire: The Arnhem Land Revival, 1979-1981
6        Igniting the tinder-dry desert: Revival spreads to Central Australia
7        Lighting many new fires: The rapid spread of renewal in Central Australia
8        Fuelling a raging bushfire: The crusades across Western Australia
9        Stirring the smouldering embers: The first years after the Aboriginal revival
10    Fighting and lighting fires: The late eighties and early nineties in the Aboriginal church
11    The coming of rain: The legacy of revival in today’s Aboriginal church

The Making of a Leader: Recognising the Lessons and Stages of Leadership Development. By J. R. Clinton. Colorado: Navpress. 1988.
Reviewed by Andrew Staggs

Dr Robert Clinton has done the body of Christ a great service by researching and writing The Making of a Leader. He skilfully deals with questions like “where do leaders come from?; what does it take to be a leader?; and when does leadership begin? Clinton believes that leadership is not confined to position, title, or training, nor is it limited by experience. It can be these things that sometimes the cloud the real issues of leadership. In The Making of a Leader Clinton identifies the patterns God uses to develop a leader. By studying hundreds of historical, biblical, and contemporary leaders Clinton has determined the six stages of leadership development and had established checkpoints for people to clarify where they are in the process.

By examining Clinton’s principles and case studies the reader will begin to recognise that the ministry of leadership flows from a person’s being, and that being is moulded by God throughout a lifetime. Clinton’s book, as a result, is a book about spiritual dynamics. The book has a focus on identifying those with leadership characteristics, directing the development of maturing leaders, recognising where people are in the development process, and counselling those who are experiencing periods of trial and frustration.

Clinton states that “leadership is a dynamic process in which a man or woman with God-given capacity influences a specific group of God’s people toward His purposes for the group.” He also explains the use of the preferred term of “leadership development”. Development includes all of life’s processes not just formal training. Leaders are shaped by deliberate training and by experience. “Leadership development” is a much broader term than leadership training because leadership training refers to the narrow part of the overall process focusing primarily on learning skills. Leadership development includes this and much more. Leadership development theory does what a good map is supposed to do. It is a set of well-integrated ideas (p 24) to help:

 organize what we see happening in leaders’ lives

 anticipate what might happen in future development

 understand past events so as to see new things in them

 better order our lives

Clinton summarizes his leadership development theory (p 25) as follows:

“God develops a leader over a lifetime. That development is a function of the use of events and people to impress leadership lessons upon a leader (processing), time, and leader response. Processing is critical to the theory. All leaders can point to critical incidents in their lives where God taught them something very important.”

A time-line is an important tool for analysing the life of a leader for it reveals the overall pattern of God’s work in a life. A time-line is a linear display along a horizontal axis that is broken up into development phases. A development phase is a unit of time in a person’s life, and they are not absolutes. They are helpful because they force one to analyse what God is doing during a given time in a person’s life. Clinton identifies five significant units of time labelled as sovereign foundations, inner-life growth, ministry maturing, and convergence.

Sometimes, though rarely, there is a sixth phase called “afterglow” or “celebration.” In real life, the development of Phases III, IV and V often overlap.

In Phase I God providentially works foundational items into the life of the leader-to-be. Personality characteristics, good and bad experiences, and the time context will be used by God. The building blocks are there, though the structure being built may not be clearly in focus. Character traits are embedded. These same traits in mature form will be adapted and used by God. Many times personality traits will be seen to correlate with the spiritual gift-mix that God gives. Usually the boundary condition between Phase I and Phase II is the conversion experience (or an all-out surrender commitment) in which the would-be-leader aspires to spend a lifetime that counts for God.

In Phase II an emerging leader usually receives some kind of training. Often it is informal in connection with ministry. The basic models by which he or she learns are imitation modelling and informal apprenticeships, as well as mentoring. There can also be formal and academic training. Closer analysis reveals that the major thrust of God’s development is inward. The real training program is in the heart of the person, where God is doing some growth testing.

In Phase III (Ministry Maturing) the emerging leader reaches out to others. The emerging leader gets into ministry as a prime focus of life. He is beginning to experiment with spiritual gifts even though he may not know what this doctrine is. He may get training in order to be more effective. Ministry is the focus of the rising leader at this stage. Many of his lessons will zero in on relationships with other people or on the inadequacies in his personal life. God is developing the leader in two ways during this time. Through ministry, the leader can identify his gifts and skills and use them with increasing effectiveness. He will also gain a better understanding of the Body of Christ as he experiences the many kinds of relationships it offers. Ministry activity or fruitfulness is not the focus of Phase III. God is working primarily in the leader, not through him or her. Many emerging leaders don’t recognise this and become frustrated. They are constantly evaluating productivity and activities, while God is quietly evaluating their leadership and ministry potential. He wants to teach us that we minister out of what we are.

During Phase IV the leader identifies and uses his or her gift-mix with power. There is a mature fruitfulness. God is working through the leader using imitation modelling (Heb 13: 7-8). That is, God uses one’s life as well as gifts to influence others. This is a period in which giftedness emerges along with priorities. One recognises that part of God’s guidance for ministry comes through establishing ministry priorities by discerning gifts.

During Phase V convergence occurs. The leader is moved by God into a role that matches gift-mix, experience, temperament, etc. Geographical location is an important part of convergence. The role not only frees the leader from ministry for which there is no gift, but it also enhances and uses the best that the leader has to offer. Not many leaders experience convergence because often they are promoted to roles that hinder their gift-mix. Further, few leaders minister out of what they are. Their authority usually springs from a role. In convergence, being and spiritual authority form the true power base for mature ministry.

During all the developmental phases God processes a person by bringing activities, people and problems into his or her life. These are called process items and include integrity check, isolation, prayer challenge, power encounter etc . The list is numerous and refers to providential events, people, circumstances, special interventions, inner life lessons and/or anything else that God uses in the leadership selection process of a person to indicate leadership potential, to develop that potential, to confirm appointment to ministry role or responsibility, or to move the leader toward God’s appointed ministry level for realised potential. A key process item is an integrity check which tests inner character for consistency. A successful integrity check results in a stronger leader able to serve God in a wider sphere of influence. Integrity and faithfulness are preludes to success and giftedness.

Clinton identifies two of the major lessons of leadership development as follows:

1. effective leaders recognise leadership selection and development as a priority function; and

2. effective leaders increasingly perceive their ministries in terms of a lifetime perspective.

These must be deliberately actioned for a leader to function effectively.

One of the striking characteristics seen in an effective leader is their drive to learn. They learn from all kinds of sources. Effective leaders, at all levels of leadership, maintain a learning posture throughout life. They also have a dynamic ministry philosophy that evolves continually from the interplay of three major factors: biblical dynamics, personal gifts, and situational dynamics. Clinton believes that it is the ability to weave lessons into a philosophy that makes leaders effective. One strong indicator of leadership is a learning posture that reflects itself in a dynamic ministry philosophy. Leaders must develop a ministry philosophy that simultaneously honours biblical leadership values, embraces the challenges of the times in which they live, and fits their unique gifts and personal development if they expect to be productive over a whole lifetime (p 180).

One significant feature of the book is a comprehensive glossary of terms used by Clinton in his insightful leadership development philosophy. These have been summarised in Appendix A. For example, giftedness set describes the influence capacity elements of a leader. These include spiritual gifts, natural abilities and acquired skills. The focal element in a giftedness set refers to the dominant influence capacity elements, either spiritual gifts, natural abilities or acquired skills, that dominates the ministry efforts of a leader. For some leaders, spiritual gifts will dominate ministry; for others, natural abilities or acquired skills will dominate.

The Making of a Leader can be a great encouragement to lay, professional and future leaders as they begin to see the direct hand of God in their development. They will learn of the providence of God and will sense a continuity of God’s working in their past to develop them as a leader. There will also be a high degree of anticipation of what is going to do in the future. The insights gained from this excellent resource will cause people to perceive themselves and others differently, and will cause people to be more deliberate in using these insights for the development and training of others.

© Renewal Journal #13: Ministry, renewaljournal.com
Reproduction is allowed with the copyright included in the text.

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CONTENTS: Renewal Journal 13: Ministry

Pentecostalism’s Global Language, by Walter Hollenweger

Interview with Steven Hill, by Steve Beard

Revival in Mexico City, by Kevin Pate

Revival in Nepal, by Raju Sundras

Beyond Prophesying, by Mike Bickle

The Rise and Rise of the Apostles, by Phil Marshall

Evangelical Heroes Speak, by Richard Riss

Spirit Impacts in Revivals, by Geoff Waugh

The Primacy of Love, by Heidi Baker

Book Reviews: Fire in the Outback, by John Blacket; The Making of a Leader, by J R Clinton

Renewal Journal 13: Ministry – PDF

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Spirit Impacts in Revivals, by Geoff Waugh

by Geoff 19 March 2012 No Comments

Spirit Impacts in Revival

by Geoff Waugh

Video: God’s Promise – I will pour out my Spirit
Dr Geoff Waugh, founding editor of the Renewal Journal, wrote Flashpoints of Revival (2nd edition 2009) and Revival Fires (2011) which give fuller details of these impacts of the Holy Spirit in revivals.

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An article in Renewal Journal 13: Ministry

Renewal Journal 13: Ministry – PDF

The charismatic impacts of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament have been repeated continually in evangelical revivals. Specific examples of Spirit impacts in revival frequently occurred in the Great Awakening and evangelical revivals of the eighteenth century as in the ministries of Zinzendorf, Wesley, Whitefield, Edwards. and Brainerd; in revival movements of the nineteenth century including those associated with Finney and Moody; and in revival and charismatic movements of the twentieth century. Many historians have either overlooked or minimized these charismatic impacts of the Holy Spirit in revival.

The charismatic movement now involving over 600 million people has grown from its description by Princeton’s Henry Van Dusen in 1955 as ‘the third major force in Christendom’ to a major tradition alongside and as part of the Catholic/Orthodox and Protestant traditions. This article concludes that revival offers a paradigm in which differing denominational perspectives on charismatic Spirit movements may find common ground in evangelism, equipping of Christians for ministry, and in social reform.

Baptised in the Spirit

Jesus’ final instruction and promise concerned being baptised in the Spirit and receiving power (dunamis) to be his witnesses (Acts 1:4-8).

Does the charismatic impact of Pentecost recur? This paper affirms both the relevance and importance of specific charismatic impacts of the Holy Spirit, demonstrated biblically and historically as in evangelical revivals. It also affirms the significance of Jesus’ instruction in the ‘great commission’ that his followers throughout history ‘to the end of the age’ would obey everything he taught his first disciples including charismatic ministry such as healing, deliverance and miracles. That position disagrees with Benjamin Warfield’s “cessationist” theory (1918), popularised by notes in the Schofield Bible.

Baptism in the Spirit and charisma (gracious gift/endowment) in the New Testament find expression in the charismata described by Luke (Luke/Acts) as anointing with spiritual power (Luke 3:16-22; 4:1. 14-19; Acts 1:1-8), and by Paul as empowering for ‘body ministry’ with a diversity of spiritual gifts in the unity of the body of Christ (Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:1-16).

Different Christian traditions emphasize different dimensions of being baptised in the Spirit. Rather than regarding these perspectives or emphases as mutually exclusive, they can be regarded more comprehensively as inter-related and integrated. The evangelical emphasis on conversion (Dunn 1970), the Episcopal/Catholic emphasis on initiation (Green 1985. McDonnell & Montague 1991), the Reformed emphasis on covenant (Williams 1992), and the Pentecostal emphasis on empowering (Prince 1995) can be integrated within a dynamic paradigm of Spirit baptism. These perspectives are essential, inter-related facets of being immersed in God.

So charisma here refers to the multi-faceted impact of God’s gracious endowment in the personal and communal life of believers, especially as empowering for mission (Acts 1:8). God’s grace imparts abundant life (John 10:10). Believers are incorporated into the Spirit-empowered community in which God is faithful to every promise of the new covenant.

Just as conversion is appropriated by repentance and faith, so are Spirit-empowering and Spirit-gifting. Conversion, anointing. Empowering, and ministering in spiritual gifting may be appropriated over time, slowly, rapidly. or instantaneously. Complex variables affect that appropriation, including faith, knowledge, personality, tradition, environment (supportive or hostile), boldness, and God’s sovereignty.

Biblical witness

Biblical terms describing charismatic impacts of the Spirit vary greatly. They include:

the Spirit was given — Numbers ll:17; John 7:39;

the Spirit came upon — Judges 3:10; Acts 19:5;

the Spirit took control — Judges 6:34; 1 Samuel 11:6; 16:13;

the Spirit poured out — Joel 2:28-28; Acts 10:45;

the Spirit came down — Matthew 3:16; Luke 3:22; John 1:33;

the Spirit fell (or came down)– Acts 10:44; 11:15;

the Spirit received — Acts 8:15-17; 19:2;

baptised in or with the Spirit — Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5;

filled with the Spirit — Acts 2:4; 9:17; Ephesians 5:18.

The specific nature of these charismatic impacts is significant, as is the varied nature of subsequent ministries resulting from these impacts.

Jesus experienced the impact of the Spirit at his baptism, which he explained in terms of anointing with power for his ministry (Luke 4:18-19). The followers of Jesus were baptised in the Spirit at Pentecost with immediate empowering for ministry (Acts 1:5; 2:1-4). producing explosive church growth. Converts from Philip’s evangelism in Samaria ‘received’ the Spirit when Peter and John laid hands on them and prayed for them (Acts 8:17). Saul of Tarsus was filled with the Spirit and healed three days after his Damascus road experience when Ananias laid hands on him and prayed for him (Acts 9:17-18), an encounter which included prayer, fasting, visions, prophecy and healing. The Gentiles in Cornelius’ home in Caesarea ‘received’ the Holy Spirit while Peter preached to them (Acts 11:44-47), with radical cross-cultural implications for mission. The Holy Spirit impacted believers in Ephesus when Paul laid hands on them and prayed for them (Acts 19:6).

These charismatic impacts of the Spirit empowered people for ministry. That ministry involved a wide range of charismata including anointed preaching and prophecy, healings and miracles, tongues and trouble.

Historical witness

Significant charismatic impacts of the Spirit of God have continued through history. These may have been overlooked or minimised for reasons such as these:

Many historians wrote from the perspective of the established government or church, which often opposed and suppressed charismatic movements.
Strong impacts of the Spirit constantly initiate new movements which threaten the established order, so these movements were opposed and their writings destroyed.
Charismatic movements may be regarded as heretical, and their leaders killed, as with Jesus, the early church, and throughout history.
Accounts of charismatic impacts of the Spirit have been systematically destroyed, often burned as heretical.
Excessive enthusiasm and fanaticism in charismatic movements may bring those movements into disrepute.
Leaders and adherents of charismatic movements have often been occupied with more pressing priorities than writing history. such as ensuring their own survival.

However, where such records have survived, mostly after the invention of the printing press, the charismatic impacts of God’s Spirit consistently reveal similar patterns to the biblical witness. Evangelical revivals provide evidence of these charismatic encounters. I give a brief selection here including first person accounts. They indicate the charismatic nature of impacts of the Spirit of God which became the empowering force in revival.

Wednesday. 13 August. 1727 – Herrnhut. Saxony

The Spirit of God fell on 300 refugees in Germany in 1727, mostly Moravian exiles given asylum on the estates of Nicholaus von Zinzendorf. One of them wrote that “the thirteenth of August, 1727, was a day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We saw the hand of God and his wonders, and we were all under the cloud of our fathers baptized with their Spirit. The Holy Ghost came upon us and in those days great signs and wonders took place in our midst. From that time scarcely a day passed but what we beheld his almighty workings amongst us” (Greenfield 1927:14).

Within 25 years they sent out 100 missionaries, then by 1782 they had 175 missionaries in 27 places, and in their fist 100 years of missions sent out over 1,199 people, including 459 women, all supported by round-the-clock ‘hourly intercessions’. Both John and Charles Wesley were converted through their witness. Their English missionary magazine, Periodical Accounts, inspired William Carey. ,He threw a copy of the paper on a table at a Baptist meeting. Saying, “See what the Moravians have done! Cannot we follow their example and in obedience to our Heavenly Master go out into the world, and preach the Gospel to the heathen?” (Greenfield 1927:19).

January. 1735 – New England. America

Jonathan Edwards reported on a revival movement which developed into the Great Awakening as it spread through the communities of New England and the pioneering settlements in America. Converts to Christianity reached 50,000 out of a total of 250,000 colonists. Early in January, 1735 an unusually powerful move of God’s Spirit brought revival to Northampton, which then spread through New England in the north east of America.

And the work of conversion was carried on in a most astonishing manner, and increased more and more. Souls did, as it were, come by flocks to Jesus Christ. … Those amongst us that had formerly been converted, were greatly enlivened and renewed with fresh and extraordinary incomes of the Spirit of God; though some much more than others. according to the measure of the gift of Christ (Stacy 1842. 1989:12-13).

Monday. 1 January. 1739 – London

1739 saw astonishing expansion of revival in England. During the evening of 1st January the Wesleys and George Whitefield with 60 others. met in London for prayer and a love feast. The Spirit of God moved powerfully on them all. John Wesley described it:

About three in the morning. as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of his majesty, we broke out with one voice, “We praise Thee. O God. we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord” (Idle 1986:55).

This London Pentecost contributed powerfully to revival, which spread rapidly. In February 1739 Whitefield started preaching to the Kingswood coal miners in the open fields near Bristol because many churches opposed him. accusing him and other evangelicals of ‘enthusiasm’. In February about 200 attended. By March 20,000 attended. Whitefield invited Wesley to take over then and so in April Wesley reluctantly began his famous open air preaching. which continued for 50 years.

Thursday 8 August, 1745 – Crossweeksung. America

David Brainerd, missionary to the North American Indians from 1743 to his death at 29 in 1747, tells of revival breaking out among Indians at Crossweeksung in August 1745. Concerning 8 August, 1745, he wrote, “The power of God seemed to descend on the assembly ‘like a rushing mighty wind’ and with an astonishing energy bore all down before it. I stood amazed at the influence that seized the audience almost universally and could compare it to nothing more aptly than the irresistible force of a mighty torrent … Almost all persons of all ages were bowed down with concern together and scarce was able to withstand the shock of astonishing operation” (Howard 1949:216-217).

The ‘Great Awakening’ which had begun a decade previously now impacted Indian settlements with charismatic outpourings of the Holy Spirit, producing both conversions and significant social improvement.

Sunday 25 December, 1781 – Cornwall. England

Forty years after the eighteenth century evangelical revivals began, the fires of revival had died out in many places. Concerned leaders called the church to pray. Those prayer meetings included outpourings of the Spirit in revival. On Christmas day 1781, at St. Just Church in Cornwall, at 3.00 a.m. intercessors met to sing and pray. The Spirit was poured out on them and they prayed through until 9.00 a.m. and regathered that Christmas evening. Throughout January and February the movement continued. By March 1782 they were praying until midnight as the Holy Spirit moved on them. The chapel which George Whitefield had built decades previously in Tottenham Court Road, London, had to be enlarged to seat 5,000 people, the largest church building in the world at that time. Baptist churches in North Hampton, Leicester, and the Midlands, set aside regular nights devoted to prayer for revival. Methodists and Anglicans joined them. and revival spread.

June-July, 1800 – Kentucky. America

Presbyterian James McGready organised camp meetings in Kentucky, an area nicknamed Rogues Harbour populated with fugitives from justice including murderers, horse thieves, highway robbers, and counterfeiters. On the last day of the first camp meeting, held in June with around 450 people, ‘a mighty effusion of [God’s] Spirit’ came upon the people, ‘and the floor was soon covered with the slain; their screams for mercy pierced the heavens.’ At the next camp meeting held in late July 1800 an enormous crowd of 8,000 attended, many from up to 100 miles away. McGready recalled:

“The power of God seemed to shake the whole assembly. Toward the close of the sermon, the cries of the distressed arose almost as loud as his voice. After the congregation was dismissed the solemnity increased, till the greater part of the multitude seemed engaged in the most solemn manner. No person seemed to wish to go home – hunger and sleep seemed to affect nobody – eternal things were the vast concern. Here awakening and converting work was to be found in every part of the multitude; and even some things strangely and wonderfully new to me” (Christian History. No. 23. p 25).

August, 1801 – Cane Ridge. America (Barton Stone)

Presbyterian minister Barton Stone organised similar meetings in 1801 in his area at Cane Ridge, Kentucky. A huge crowd of around 12,500 attended in over 125 wagons. At that time Lexington, the largest town in Kentucky, had less than 1,800 citizens. Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist preachers and circuit riders formed preaching teams, speaking simultaneously in different parts of the camp grounds, all aiming for conversions. Methodist James Finley, wrote:

The noise was like the roar of Niagara. The vast sea of human being seemed to be agitated as if by a storm. … At one time I saw at least five hundred swept down in a moment as if a battery of a thousand guns had been opened upon them, and then immediately followed shrieks and shouts that rent the very heavens (Pratney 1994:104).

The Rev. Moses Hoge described it:

“The careless fall down, cry out, tremble, and not infrequently are affected with convulsive twitchings … Nothing that imagination can paint. can make a stronger impression upon the mind. than one of those scenes. Sinners dropping down on every hand, shrieking, groaning, crying for mercy, convulsed; professors praying, agonizing, fainting, falling down in distress for sinners or in raptures of joy! … As to the work in general there can be no question but it is of God. The subjects of it, for the most part are deeply wounded for their sins, and can give a clear and rational account of their conversion” (Christian History. No. 23. p. 26).

These frontier revivals became a new emphasis in American revivalism. They included the ‘saw dust trail’ laid down to settle the dust or soak up wet ground over which penitents moved to the ‘altar’ at the front. Revival early in the nineteenth century not only impacted the American frontier, but also towns and especially colleges. One widespread result in America, as in England, was the formation of missionary societies to train and direct the large numbers of converts filled with missionary zeal.

Wednesday, 10 October, 1821 – Adams. America

Charles Finney had a mighty empowering by God’s Spirit on the night of his conversion on Wednesday 10 October 1821. Convicted by the Spirit that morning, he surrendered to God in the woods. That night he was filled with the Spirit:

I received a mighty baptism of the Holy Spirit. Without any expectation of it, without ever having the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me, without any memory of ever hearing the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed it seemed to come in waves of liquid love, for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God. I can remember distinctly that it seemed to fan me, like immense wings.

No words can express the wonderful love that was spread abroad in my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love. I literally bellowed out the unspeakable overflow of my heart. These waves came over me, and over me, and over me, one after another, until I remember crying out, “I shall die if these waves continue to pass over me.” I said, “Lord, I cannot bear any more,” yet I had no fear of death (Wessel 1977:20-22).

Finney continued for the rest of his life in evangelism and revival. He founded and taught theology at Oberlin College which pioneered co-education and enrolled both blacks and whites. His Lectures on Revival were widely read and helped to fan revival in America and England.

Sunday, 22 May, 1859 – Natal. South Africa

Revival began among the Zulu and Bantu tribes in South Africa before it spilled over into the Dutch Reformed Church. Tribal people gathered in large numbers on the frontier mission stations and then took revival, African style, into their villages. On Sunday night, 22 May, the Spirit of God fell on a service of the Zulus in Natal so powerfully that they prayed all night. News spread rapidly. This revival among the Zulus of Natal on the east coast ignited missions and tribal churches. It produced deep conviction of sin, immediate repentance and conversions, extraordinary praying and vigorous evangelism.

In April 1860 at a combined missions conference of over 370 leaders of Dutch Reformed, Methodist and Presbyterian leaders meeting at Worcester, South Africa, they discussed revival. Andrew Murray Sr., moved to tears, had to stop speaking. His son, Andrew Murray Jr., now well known through his books, led in prayer so powerfully that many saw that as the beginning of revival in those churches.

October, 1871 – New York

D. L. Moody, converted in 1855, led powerful evangelistic campaigns in America and England. While visiting New York in 1871 to raise funds for churches and orphanages destroyed in the Chicago fire of October that year, in which his home, church sanctuary and the YMCA buildings were destroyed, he had a deep encounter with God. He wrote,

“I was crying all the time God would fill me with his Spirit. Well, one day in the city of New York – oh, what a day! – I cannot describe it. I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to name. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for fourteen years. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask him to stay his hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different; I did not present any new truths; and yet hundreds were converted. I would not be placed back where I was before that blessed experience for all the world – it would be as the small dust of the balance” (Moody 1900:149).

Monday, 31 October, 1904 – Loughor, Wales

Evan Roberts, a student at the Methodist Academy in Wales, experienced a deep work of the Spirit at meetings on Thursday 29 September, 1904, after Presbyterian evangelist Seth Joshua closed the 7 a.m. meeting crying out in Welsh. ‘Lord … bend us.’ Roberts agonised in prayer that day. He wrote. “It was the Spirit that put the emphasis for me on ‘Bend us.’ ‘That is what you need’ said the Spirit to me. And as I went out I prayed. O Lord, bend me” (Evans 1969:70).

Impelled by the Spirit he returned home from college on a week’s leave and spoke nightly from 31 October to increasing crowds as the Spirit moved powerfully on them. From the following week he led teams by invitation across south Wales, sparking the Welsh Revival which reported 70,000 conversions in three months and 100,000 within a year. Crime rates and abortions dropped. Many taverns went bankrupt. Some judges had no cases to try, and police had so little to do in many towns at the height of the revival that they attended the meetings while still on duty.

Friday, 30 June, 1905 – Mukti. India

Pandita Ramabai established a compound for widows and orphan girls during severe famine in her area near Pune (Poona) just south of Bombay, and called it Mukti (Salvation). By 1901 she had 2,000 girls and women and from January 1905 she began teaching about the need for revival. Soon over 500 people met twice daily to pray for revival, mostly women and girls. Thirty of her ladies ministered in teams in the villages. They met daily to pray for the endowment of the Holy Spirit. On Thursday 29 June the Spirit moved strongly on many of the girls. On Friday, 30 June, while Ramabai taught from John 8, the Holy Spirit fell on them all suddenly with great power. Everyone there began to weep and pray aloud, crying out to be baptised with the Holy Spirit and fire. Revival spread through their mission, and into many surrounding areas. Regular school activities gave way to confession, repentance, and great joy with much praise and dancing. Many spoke in tongues (including English!), and were filled with zeal for evangelism and social care.

Saturday, 14 April, 1906 – Azusa Street. Los Angeles

Charles Paraham conducted a Bible College at Topeka, Kansas where on 1 January 1901 Agnes Ozman spoke in tongues when Parham laid hands on her and prayed for her to be baptized in the Spirit. That month Parham and half of the 34 students also spoke in tongues. Those events have been seen as the beginning of Pentecostalism in America.

William Seymour, a Negro Holiness pastor, attended Parham’s short term Bible School in Houston, Texas early in 1906, then by April was the leader of The Apostolic Faith Mission at Azusa Street, Los Angeles. Meetings began there on Easter Saturday, 14 April 1906. About 100 attended including blacks and whites. The Spirit of God moved powerfully on that little mission. Many were baptized in the Spirit with speaking in tongues, prophecies, and healings. Its centrifugal influence ignited Pentecostal mission across America and overseas.

Sunday, 4 July, 1909 – Valparaiso. Chile

Minnie Abrams, who worked at Mukti in India during the 1905 revival there, sent an account of it in 1907 to Willis Hoover, Methodist missionary in Chile. Those Methodists began praying for revival which burst on them on Sunday 4 July, resulting in their church growing from 300 to 1,000 in two months. Willis Hoover wrote:

Saturday night was an all night of prayer. during which four vain young ladies (three of them were in the choir) fell to the floor under the power of the Spirit. … From that time on the atmosphere seemed charged by the Holy Spirit, and people fell on the floor, or broke out in other tongues, or singing in the Spirit, in a way impossible in their natural condition (Frodsham 1946:177-178).

1914 – Belgian Congo. Africa

Africa has seen many powerful revivals such as the Belgian Congo outpouring with C. T. Studd in 1914. “The whole place was charged as if with an electric current. Men were falling, jumping, laughing, crying, singing, confessing and some shaking terribly,” he reported. “As I led in prayer the Spirit came down in mighty power sweeping the congregation. My whole body trembled with the power. We saw a marvellous sight, people literally filled and drunk with the Spirit” (W.E.C. 1954:12-15).

Monday, 7 March, 1921 – Lowestoft. England

Douglas Brown, a Baptist minister in South London, saw conversions in his church every Sunday for 15 years to 1921. He felt the Lord convict him about leaving his pastorate for evangelistic mission work. Although reluctant. he finally surrendered. “Then something happened,” he wrote. “I found myself in the loving embrace of Christ for ever and ever; and all power and joy and blessedness rolled in like a deluge” (Griffin 1992:17-18). After that 2 a.m. encounter, he embarked on itinerant missions commencing on 7 March in Lowestroft, East Anglia, with immediate responses in large numbers. Within eighteen months he addressed over 1700 meetings, and saw revival in his evangelistic ministry in England.

1949 – Hebrides Islands, Scotland

Following the trauma of World War II, spiritual life reached a low ebb in the Scottish Hebrides. Church leaders prayed for revival. They invited evangelist Duncan Campbell to lead meetings. At the close of his first meeting in the Presbyterian church in Barvas the travel weary preacher was invited to join an all night prayer meeting! Thirty people gathered for prayer in a nearby cottage. Duncan Campbell described it:

“God was beginning to move, the heavens were opening, we were there on our faces before God. Three o’clock in the morning came, and God swept in. About a dozen men and women lay prostrate on the floor, speechless. Something had happened; we knew that the forces of darkness were going to be driven back, and men were going to be delivered. We left the cottage at 3 a.m. to discover men and women seeking God. I walked along a country road, and found three men on their faces, crying to God for mercy. There was a light in every home, no one seemed to think of sleep” (Whittaker 1984:159).

His mission continued for five weeks. Services lasted from early morning until late at night and into the early hours of the morning. The revival spread to the neighbouring parishes from Barvas with similar scenes of repentance. prayer and preaching. People sensed the awesome presence of God everywhere.

Sunday, 26 September, 1965 – Soe. Timor

Revival burst into unprecedented power in Timor in 1965. This revival spread in the uncertain days following the attempted army coup on 30 September, 1965 in Indonesia. Four days previously a visitation from God had begun in Soe, a mountain town of about 5,000 people in Timor in the Reformed Church on Sunday 26 September. That night, as at Pentecost, people heard the sound of a tornado wind, and flames on the church building prompted police to set off the fire alarm to summon volunteer fire fighters, but the church was not burning. Many were converted that night, many filled with the Spirit including speaking in tongues, some using English who did not know English. By midnight teams of lay people had been organised to begin spreading the gospel the next day. Eventually. about 90 evangelistic teams were formed which functioned powerfully with spiritual gifts.

The Reformed Church Presbytery on Timor recorded 80,000 conversions from the first year of the revival there, half of those being former communists. They verified that 15,000 people were permanently healed in that year (Koch 1970).

Tuesday, 3 February, 1970 – Asbury College. Wilmore, Kentucky

A revival broke out in Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, on Tuesday 3 February, 1970. God’s Spirit moved on the regular morning chapel commencing at 10 o’clock. Students came weeping to the front to kneel in repentance. Others gave testimonies including confession of sin. They prayed and worshipped spontaneously. The staff cancelled lectures for the day as the auditorium filled with over 1,000 people. Few left for meals. By midnight over 500 still remained praying and worshipping. Several hundred committed their lives to Christ that day. By 6 a.m. next morning 75 students were still praying in the hall, and through the Wednesday it filled again as lectures were again cancelled for the day. The time was filled with praying, singing, confessions and testimonies. Almost half the student body of 1000 formed teams witnessing about the revival. In the first week after the revival began teams of students visited 16 states by invitation and saw several thousand conversions through their witnessing (Coleman 1970).

Sunday, 23 August, 1970 – Solomon Islands

Muri Thompson, a Maori evangelist from New Zealand, visited the Solomon Islands in July and August 1970 where the church had already experienced significant renewal and was praying for revival. During the last two weeks of those meetings the Holy Spirit moved even more powerfully in the meetings. On Sunday morning 23 August on the island of Malaita Muri preached powerfully, then he said, ‘If anyone wants to come forward …’ and immediately the whole congregation of 600 surged forward in repentance. Many saw visions of God, of Jesus on the cross or on his throne, of angels, or of bright light. Some spoke in tongues. Some were healed. Most came into a new experience of God with a deep awareness of the need for humility and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

The following Thursday, 27 August, at another village on Malaita when the 2,000 people bowed in prayer, they heard a growing sound. ‘I looked up through an opening in the leaf roof to the heavens from where the sound seemed to be coming. It grew to be roar – then it came to me: surely this is the Holy Spirit coming like a mighty rushing wind. I called the people to realize that God the Holy Spirit was about to descend upon them’ (Griffiths 1997:175). Many people involved in that impact of the Spirit sparked similar revivals throughout the Pacific (Waugh 1998:69-75).

Wednesday 14 March, 1979 – Elcho Island. Australia

Djiniyini Gondarra, Uniting Church minister in the settlement of Galiwin’ku on Elcho Island, returned from holidays on the late afternoon Missionary Aviation Fellowship flight on 14 March. 1979. Aboriginal Christians there had been praying earnestly, and met that night in his home for another prayer meeting. He reports,

Suddenly we began to feel God’s Spirit moving in our hearts and the whole form of our prayer suddenly changed and everybody began to pray in the Spirit and in harmony. And there was a great noise going on in the room and we began to ask one another what was going on. Some of us said that God had now visited us and once again established his kingdom among his people who have been bound for so long by the power of evil… In that same evening the word just spread like the flames of fire and reached the whole community in Galiwin’ku. Gelung [his wife] and I couldn’t sleep at all that night because people were just coming for the ministry. bringing the sick to be prayed for, for healing. Others came to bring their problems. Even a husband and wife came to bring their marriage problem, so the Lord touched them and healed their marriage (Gondarra 1991).

Teams from Elcho Island took revival movements throughout Arnhem Land, Northern Territory and Western Australia. At Warburton, then regarded as having one of the highest aboriginal crime rates in Australia, the mission team saw many converted and powerfully changed.

Sunday 15 May, 1980 – Anaheim. America

John Wimber led the evangelical Vineyard Fellowship at Anaheim from 1977. On Mother’s Day. 15 May, 1980 at the evening service a young man spoke. That night, after he gave his testimony, Lonnie asked the Holy Spirit to come and the repercussions were incredible. The Spirit of God literally knocked people to the floor and shook them silly. Many people spoke in tongues, prophesied or had visions. Then over the next few months, hundreds and hundreds of people came to Christ as the result of the witness of the individuals who were touched that night, and in the aftermath. The church saw approximately 1,700 converted to Christ in a period of about three months. This evolved into a series of opportunities, beginning in 1980, to minister around the world. Thus the Vineyard renewal ministry and the Vineyard movement were birthed (Vineyard Reflections. May/June 1994).

Thursday 14 June – Brugam, Papua New Guinea

In the Sepik lowlands of northern Papua New Guinea revival touched the South Seas Evangelical Churches at Easter 1984, sparked by Solomon Island pastors. It was characterised by repentance, confession, weeping and great joy. Stolen goods were returned or replaced, and wrongs made right. Australian missionary Ray Overend’s report includes comment on revival beginning at Brugam, the church headquarters. on 14 June:

“About 200 people surged forward. Many fell flat on their faces on the ground sobbing aloud. Some were shaking – as spiritual battles raged within. There was quite some noise… The spiritual battles and cries of contrition continued for a long time. Then one after another in a space of about three minutes everybody rose to their feet, singing spontaneously as they rose. They were free. The battle was won. Satan was bound. They had made Christ their King! Their faces looked to heaven as they sang. They were like the faces of angels. The singing was like the singing of heaven. Deafening, but sweet and reverent” (Overend 1986:36-37).

The whole curriculum and approach at the Bible School for the area changed. Instead of having traditional classes and courses, teachers would work with the school all day from prayer times early in the morning through Bible teaching followed by discussion and sharing times during the day to evening worship and ministry. The school became a community, seeking the Lord together. Christians learned to witness and minister in spiritual gifts, praying and responding to the leading of the Spirit. This included discernment of spirits, deliverance, words of knowledge, tongues, prophecy, healing and boldness in evangelism.

Thursday 4 August, 1988 – Kambaidam. Papua New Guinea

Johan van Bruggen, a missionary at the Lutheran Evangelist Training Centre at Kambaidam near Kainantu in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, reported in his circulars on the beginnings of revival which produced powerful evangelism, deliverance where whole villages publicly burned fetishes, and healings and miracles:

What were the highlights of 1988? No doubt the actual outpouring of the Holy Spirit must come first. It happened on August 4 when the Spirit fell on a group of students and staff. with individuals receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit on several occasions later on in the year. The school has never been the same again. As direct results we noticed a desire for holiness, a hunger for God’s Word which was insatiable right up till the end of the school year, and also a tremendous urge to go out and witness. Whenever they had a chance many of our students were in the villages with studies and to lead Sunday services. Prayer life deepened, and during worship services we really felt ourselves to be on holy ground. … We have been almost left speechless by what God is doing now through our students. We realize that we have been led on and are now on the threshold of a revival (Waugh 1998:96).

1988 – Madruga. Cuba

In 1988, revival broke out in a small church in Madruga, Cuba. “People would begin to weep when they entered the church,” said their pastor. More than 60 churches experienced a similar move of the Spirit among the 10 million people of Cuba. The revival produced more than 2,400 house churches. Although open evangelism is still outlawed, teenagers were joining the children and adults to witness boldly in parks, beaches, and other public places, regardless of the risk. There is a “holy and glorious restlessness” amongst the believers. said one pastor. “The once defensive mood and attitude of the church has turned into an offensive one, and Christians are committed to the vision of ‘Cuba Para Cristo!’ – Cuba for Christ!” (Open Doors, Australian Report, September 1993).

1989 – Henan and Anhul, China

The persecuted church in China lives in constant revival. This is merely a sample account.

In 1989 Henan preachers visited North Anhul province and found several thousand believers in the care of an older pastor from Shanghai. At their first night meeting with 1,000 present 30 were baptised in the icy winter. The first baptised was a lady who had convulsions if she went into water. She was healed of that and other ills, and found the water warm. A 12 year old boy deaf and dumb was baptized and spoke, “Mother, Father, the water is not cold – the water is not cold.” An aged lady nearly 90, disabled after an accident in her 20s, was completely healed in the water. By the third and fourth nights over 1,000 were baptised. A young evangelist, Enchuan, 20 years old in 1990, had been leading evangelistic teams since he was 17. He said, “When the church first sent us out to preach the Gospel, after two to three months of ministering we usually saw 20-30 converts. But now it is not 20. It is 200, 300, and often 600 or more will be converted” (Balcombe 1991).

Dennis Balcombe reported in a newsletter on 27 August 1994: “This year has seen the greatest revival in Chinese history. Some provinces have seen over 100,000 conversions during the first half of this year.

Contemporary Witness

Unprecedented revival continues in China especially in house churches, in Africa especially in independent church movements, in Latin America especially in evangelical/pentecostal churches such as currently in Argentina, and in proliferating revival movements throughout the world. All of these now involve powerful charismatic impacts of the Spirit of God and increasing awareness and use of the charismata.

Renewal and evangelism increased through the nineties into the 21^st century, even in the West. Focal points for renewal and revival have included Toronto in Canada, Brompton in London, Sunderland in England, and Pensacola in America. However, reports continue to multiply of renewed churches, empowered evangelism, and significant social involvement (such as crime rates significantly reduced in Sunderland and Pensacola). David Barrett’s global research indicates that pentecostal/charismatic membership has grown from small beginnings around 1900 to over 460 million by 1995, over 500 million around 2000 and now over 600 million (Synan 1997:281; Hollenweger 1998:42, Burgess & van der Maas 2002).

In Australia, the 1991 National Church Life Survey indicated that two thirds of church attenders were then involved with or sympathetic to charismatic/pentecostal Christianity. Charismatic congregations, whether denominational, independent or Pentecostal, continue to multiply, evangelize actively, and many have significant social caring programs.

These indicators suggest a massive shift in global Christianity, which increasingly acknowledges and rediscovers charisma in revival. It holds enormous promise for “the reshaping of religion in the twenty-first century” (Cox 1995). Charisma in revival offers a paradigm in which differing denominational perspectives on charismatic Spirit movements may find common ground in evangelism, equipping of Christians for ministry, and in social reform.

References

Balcombe, D. (1991) “Hong Kong and China Report.” Hong Kong: Revival Christian Church.

Coleman, Robert (1970) One Divine Moment. Old Tappan: Revell.

Cox, H. (1995) Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-first Century. New York: Addison-Wesley.

Dunn, James D. G. (1970) Baptism in the Holy Spirit. London: S.C.M.

Evans, E. (1969) The Welsh Revival of 1904. Bridgend: Evangelical Press.

Frodsham, S. H. (1946) With Signs Following. Springfield: Gospel Publishing House.

Gondarra, D. (1991) “Pentecost in Arnhem Land” in Waugh, G. Church on Fire,

Melbourne: JBCE, pp. 14-19.

Green, M. (1985) I Believe in the Holy Spirit. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

Greenfield, J. (1927) Power from on High. Reprinted 1950, London: Christian Literature Crusade.

Griffin, S. C. (1992) A Forgotten Revival. Bromley: One Day Publications.

Griffiths, A. (1977) Fire in the Islands. Wheaton: Shaw.

Howard, P. E. (1949) The Life and Diary of David Brainerd. Edited by Jonathan Edwards. Reprinted 1989. Grand Rapids: Baker.

Hollenweger, W. J. (1998) “Pentecostalism’s Global Language.” Christian History, Issue 58, pp. 42-44.

Hyatt, E. (1997) 200 Years of Charismatic Christianity. Tulsa: Hyatt.

Idle, C. ed. (1986) The Journal of John Wesley. Tring: Lion.

Koch, K. (1968) The Revival in Indonesia. Grand Rapids: Kregel

McDonnell, Kilian & Montague, George, eds. (1991) Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit. New York: Paulist.

Moody, W. R. (1900) The Life of D. L. Moody. New York: Revell.

Overend, R. (1986) The Truth will Set you Free. Laurieton: S.S.E.M.

Pratney, W. (1994) Revival. Lafayette: Huntington House.

Stacy, J. (1842) The Great Awakening. Reprinted 1989. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth.

Synan, Vinson (1997) The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic Movements in the Twentieth Century. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Warfield, Benjamin (1918) Counterfield Miracles. Carlile, PA.

Waugh, G. (1991) Church of Fire. Melbourne: JBCE.

Waugh, G. (1998) Flashpoints of Revival. Shippensburg: Revival Press.

Wessel, H. ed. (1977) The Autobiography of Charles Finney. Minneapolis: Bethany

Williams, Rodman (1992) Renewal Theology. Grand Rapids; Zondervan.

Worldwide Evangelization Crusade. (1954) This is That. London: Worldwide Evangelization Crusade.

© Renewal Journal #13: Ministry, renewaljournal.com
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CONTENTS: Renewal Journal 13: Ministry

Pentecostalism’s Global Language, by Walter Hollenweger

Interview with Steven Hill, by Steve Beard

Revival in Mexico City, by Kevin Pate

Revival in Nepal, by Raju Sundras

Beyond Prophesying, by Mike Bickle

The Rise and Rise of the Apostles, by Phil Marshall

Evangelical Heroes Speak, by Richard Riss

Spirit Impacts in Revivals, by Geoff Waugh

The Primacy of Love, by Heidi Baker

Book Reviews: Fire in the Outback, by John Blacket; The Making of a Leader, by J R Clinton

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Evangelical Heroes Speak, by Richard M. Riss

by Geoff 19 March 2012 2 Comments

Evangelical Heroes Speak

by Richard Riss

Historian Dr Richard Riss’ doctoral research included studies on the current revival awakening.

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The Holy Spirit IN US is one thing,
and the Holy Spirit ON US is another
– D. L. Moody

Many Evangelicals, especially those who doubt the genuineness of the current awakening, look to people like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles H. Spurgeon, and Dwight L. Moody as exemplars of true Christianity, or genuine revival. However, these figures, and others to whom they look, such as G. Campbell Morgan, or D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, do not at all conform to the preconceptions of late twentieth-century Evangelicalism.

Critics of today’s move of God complain that it is inappropriate to spend time soaking in the presence of God; rather, we must be about the Father’s business, seeking and saving the lost. But such an idea would have been completely foreign to Dwight L. Moody, who believed that to be effective for God, people must first wait upon God for His power and anointing.

Here’s what he said: “Some people seem to think they are losing time if they wait on God for His power, and so away they go and work without unction; they are working without any anointing, and they are working without any power. . . . The Holy Spirit IN US is one thing, and the Holy Spirit ON US is another; and if these [first-century] Christians had gone out and went right to preaching then and there [at the time of Christ’s ascension], without the power, do you think that scene would have taken place on the day of Pentecost? Don’t you think that Peter would have stood up there and beat against the air, while these Jews would have gnashed their teeth and mocked him? But they tarried in Jerusalem; they waited ten days. What! you say. What, the world perishing and men dying! Shall I wait? Do what God tells you. There is no use in running before you are sent; there is no use in attempting to do God’s work without God’s power. A man working without this unction, a man working without this anointing, a man working without the Holy Ghost upon him, is losing his time after all. So we are not going to lose anything if we tarry till we get this power” (Secret Power, pp. 44-45).

Critics have raised objections to the laughter that has characterized the present move of God. They have said that weeping, not laughter, is appropriate for revival, since it is appropriate to weep over one’s sins in coming to a place of repentance. But Charles H. Spurgeon has said otherwise. In his Autobiography (Zondervan, 1946), p. 124-125, he writes, “I do believe in my heart that there may be as much holiness in a laugh as in a cry, and that, sometimes, to laugh is the better thing of the two, for I may weep, and be murmuring, and repining, and thinking all sorts of bitter thoughts against God, while, at another time, I may laugh the laugh of sarcasm against sin and so evince a holy earnestness in the defense of the truth.”

“I am not so afraid of excitement as some people” – D. L. Moody

Rodney Howard-Browne was severely criticized for his comments to the effect that he would rather have some form of life in his meetings than no life at all, implying that it would be worth it, even if there were a risk that the life was of the flesh. Yet, one would be hard-pressed to see how Rodney’s comments along these lines differed from one of Moody’s sermons, “Revivals,” in which he said essentially the same thing: “I am not so afraid of excitement as some people. The moment there comes a breath of interest, some people cry, ‘Sensationalism, sensationalism!’ But, I tell you what, I would rather have sensation than stagnation any time. . . . Don’t be afraid of a little excitement and a little ‘sensationalism.’ It seems to me that almost anything is preferable to deadness. . . . Where there is life, there will always be a commotion” (Moody’s Latest Sermons, pp. 111-112).

Critics claim that John Arnott opens people up to deception by quoting Luke 11:11 in order to calm peoples’ fears about the current move of God. Yet, this is precisely the language that Moody used when he said, “I believe that if we ask God for a real work, He won’t give us a counterfeit. If we ask God for bread, He isn’t going to give us a stone” (ibid., p. 114).

Still other critics complain that, in an age of Microwave ovens, we are far too accustomed to the instantaneous. Because we are not satisfied unless things are done immediately, the quick fixes that we see in today’s revival are suspect, and won’t last. On the other hand, Spurgeon’s outlook was just the opposite. He believed that revival and its results are instantaneous. In a sermon entitled “The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit” (June 20, 1858), he said, “There is no power in man so fallen but that the Holy Spirit can raise it up. However debased a man may be, in one instant, by the miraculous power of the Spirit, all his faculties may be cleansed and purged.”

“Follow the guidance of the Spirit” – Evan Roberts

Some people criticize the idea of the leading of the Holy Spirit during a church service as too dangerous or too subjective. Rodney Howard-Browne has often been severely criticized for claiming to yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit during his meetings. This may be problematic for many twentieth-century Evangelicals, but it was most decidedly not a problem for Evan Roberts during the Welsh revival. G. Campbell Morgan, in his sermon, “Lessons of the Welsh Revival” (December 25, 1904) said of one of the meetings that he attended in Wales, that all the while, there was “no human leader, no one indicating the next thing to do, no one checking the spontaneous movement. . . . Evan Roberts is no orator, no leader. What is he? I mean now with respect to this great movement. He is the mouthpiece of the fact that there is no human guidance as to man or organization. The burden of what he says to the people is this: It is not man, do not wait for me, depend on God, obey the Spirit. But whenever moved to do so, he speaks under the guidance of the Spirit. His work is not that of appealing to men so much as that of creating an atmosphere by calling men to follow the guidance of the Spirit in whatever the Spirit shall say to them.”

Charles Spurgeon also believed that the leading of the Holy Spirit was absolutely essential in all of his church meetings. He said, “I have constantly made it my prayer that I might be guided by the Spirit even in the smallest and least important parts of the services. . . . I might preach to-day a sermon which I preached on Friday, and which was useful then, and there might be no good whatever come from it now, because it might not be the sermon which the Holy Ghost would have delivered to-day.”

“A blessed fanaticism . . . a heavenly enthusiasm” – C H Spurgeon

Some people assert that today’s awakening cannot be a genuine work of God since there are clear problems within it, and many indications that it is tainted by the work of the flesh. Such people do not realize that every awakening of history has been a mixture of the good and the bad. Here’s what Spurgeon wrote of the awakening of 1857-58: “We have received continually fresh confirmations of the good news from a far country, which has already made glad the hearts of many of God’s people. In the United States of America there is certainly a great awakening.. . . There may be something of spurious excitement mixed up with it, but that good, lasting good, has been accomplished, no rational man can deny.” Along similar lines, Jonathan Edwards, in The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of The Spirit of God, wrote of the Great Awakening that critics who “wait to see a work of God without difficulties and stumbling blocks . . . will be a like the fool’s waiting at the river side to have the water all run by. A work of God without stumbling blocks is never to be expected.”

In a sermon entitled “The Great Revival” (March 28, 1858), Spurgeon said that revival is like a hurricane, bringing chaos wherever it goes: “The mere worldly man does not understand a revival; he cannot make it out. Why is it, that a sudden fit of godliness, as he would call it, a kind of sacred epidemic, should seize upon a mass of people all at once? What can be the cause of it? It frequently occurs in the absence of all great evangelists; it cannot be traced to any particular means. There have been no special agencies used in order to bring it about – no machinery supplied, no societies established; and yet it has come, just like a heavenly hurricane, sweeping everything before it. . . . When there comes a revival, the minister all of a sudden finds that the usual forms and conventionalities of the pulpit are not exactly suitable to the times. . . . And there are sobs and groans heard in the prayer meetings. . . . And then the converts who are thus brought into the church, if the revival continues, are very earnest ones. You never saw such a people. The outsiders call them fanatics. It is a blessed fanaticism. Others say, they are nothing but enthusiasts. It is a heavenly enthusiasm. . . . It is not orderly, you say. . . . You may try to stop us, but we will run over you if you do not get out of the way.”

Spurgeon was decidedly in favor of revival, but he was opposed to some of the more controversial manifestations. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the manifestations that he disliked had taken place under the ministry of George Whitefield: “In the old revivals in America a hundred years ago, commonly called ‘the Great Awakening,’ there were many strange things, such as continual shrieks and screams, and knocking, and twitchings, under the services. We cannot call that the work of the Spirit. Even the great Whitefield’s revival at Cambuslang, one of the greatest and most remarkable revivals that were ever known, was attended by some things that we cannot but regard as superstitious wonders” (ibid).

Spurgeon is certainly not alone. One of the greatest bones of contention during the important revivals of the past has been controversial manifestations of this kind, such as people falling under the power of God, shaking and trembling, experiencing speechlessness, drunkenness in the Spirit, or holy laughter. In a 1959 sermon, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said with respect to revival that “Under the influence of this mighty power, people may literally fall to the ground under conviction of sin, or even faint, and remain in a state of unconsciousness, perhaps for a considerable time. . . . Then there are people who seem to go into trances. They may be seated or they may be standing, and they are looking into the distance, obviously seeing something, and yet they are completely unconscious, and unaware of their surroundings. They do not seem to be able to hear anything, nor to see anything that may be happening round and about them.” Lloyd-Jones lamented that “there are people who dismiss and denounce the whole notion of revival because of these phenomena” (Revivbal, pp. 134-136). He also said (pp. 136-144) that for many years, people had attempted to explain revival in terms of brainwashing, mass hysteria, mesmerism, hypnotism, or demonic activity, but that all of these attempted explanations leave many questions unanswered and fail at major points.

“A kind of ecstasy” – Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards had to deal with criticisms of the Great Awakening because of phenomena of this kind. One of his critics, Charles Chauncy, insisted that because these things were integral to the Great Awakening, that it could not possibly be a genuine outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

In his several works in defense of the Great Awakening, Edwards repeatedly pointed out that the presence of these manifestations neither proves nor disproves that God is at work. In our own day, critics attempt to argue that Edwards, especially in his later works, was against the manifestations. But any careful reading, even of his Treatise on Religious Affections (1746), will indicate that his viewpoint was always that, while the manifestations do not indicate that a work is of God, neither do they indicate the opposite. According to Edwards, the true sign as to whether a work is of God would be the positive effects in peoples attitudes and behavior, or the fruit of the Spirit in their lives and character.

Nevertheless, the writings of Edwards do demonstrate that the manifestations were a component of the Great Awakening. He made clear references in The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of The Spirit of God to “tears, trembling, groans, loud outcries, agonies of body, or the failing of Bodily strength.” He wrote, “some who are the subjects of it have been in a kind of ecstasy, wherein they have been carried beyond themselves, and have had their minds transported into a train of strong and pleasing . . . visions, as though they were rapt up even to heaven, and there saw glorious sights. I have been acquainted with some such instances, and I see no need of bringing in the help of the devil into the account that we give of these things.”

“Outward signs . . . accompanied the inward work of God” – JohnWesley

George Whitefield also played an important part in the Great Awakening. At first, Whitefield did not believe that the manifestations should be encouraged. On June 25, 1739, he wrote a letter to John Wesley about them, saying, “I cannot think it right in you to give so much encouragement to those convulsions which people have been thrown into under your ministry. Was I to do so, how many would cry out every night! I think it is tempting God to require such signs. That there is something of God in it, I doubt not. But the devil, I believe, does interpose.”

But about two weeks later, John Wesley had a talk with George Whitefield about these matters, and Whitefield changed his mind. On July 7, 1739, Wesley wrote of him in his Journal, “I had an opportunity to talk with him of those outward signs which had so often accompanied the inward work of God. I found his objections were chiefly grounded on gross misrepresentations of matter of fact. But the next day he had an opportunity of informing himself better: for no sooner had he begun (in the application of his sermon) to invite all sinners to believe in Christ, than four persons sunk down close to him, almost in the same moment. One of them lay without either sense of motion; a second trembled exceedingly; the third had strong convulsions all over his body, but made no noise, unless by groans; the fourth, equally convulsed, called upon God with strong cries and tears. From this time, I trust, we shall all suffer God to carry on His own work in the way that pleaseth Him.”

“God manifested Himself much amongst us” – George Whitefield

As can be seen in George Whitefield’s own Journal, from that time onward, the manifestations were one of the components of Whitefield’s ministry. On August 3, 1740 he wrote, “Before I had prayed long, Br. B. dropped down, as though shot with a gun. Afterwards he got up, and sat attentively to hear the sermon. The influence spread. The greatest part of the congregation were under great concern. Tears trickled down apace, and God manifested Himself much amongst us at the Sacrament.” The following day, Whitefield wrote, “I asked, ‘what caused him to fall down yesterday?’ He answered, ‘The power of God’s Word.’”

Whitefield wrote that during the same year in New York, on Sunday, November 2, “After I had begun . . . the Spirit of the Lord gave me freedom, and at length came down like a mighty rushing wind, and carried all before it. Immediately, the whole congregation was alarmed. Crying, weeping, and wailing were to be heard in every corner; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and many were to be seen falling into the arms of their friends.”

Similar things happened two days later in Staten Island: “Oh, how did the Word fall like a hammer and like a fire! One poorcreature in particular was ready to sink into the earth. His countenance was altered, till he looked, as it were, sick to death. At length he said, ‘What shall I do to be saved?’ Others were dissolved in tears around him; and one of my fellow- travellers was struck down, and so overpowered, that his body became exceeding weak. He could scarcely move all the night after. God, I believe, was working powerfully in his soul.” Whitefield wrote that a day afterward, in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, “I had not discoursed long, when, in every part of the congregation, some one or other began to cry out, and almost all were melted into tears. . . . Most of the people spent the remainder of the night in prayer and praises.”

The following week, on Saturday, November 15, in Philadelphia, “the Word seemed to smite the congregation like so many pointed arrows. Many afterwards told me what they felt; and, in the evening I was sent for to a young woman, who was carried home from meeting, and had continued almost speechless.” Whitefield said that a week later, at Fagg’s Manor, “God’s presence so filled my soul that I could scarce stand under it. I prayed and exhorted and prayed again, and soon every person in the room seemed to be under great impressions, sighing and weeping. At last I was quite overpowered.” Whitefield couldn’t move, and a friend had to help him go to bed that night: “A dear friend undressed me. The Lord gave me sweet sleep, and in the morning I arose with my natural strength much renewed.”

There is an interesting quotation in The Biography of Barton W. Stone (1847) with respect to the manifestations of the Great Awakening and its aftermath: “Mr. Benedict, in his Abridgment of the History of the Baptists, on page 345, speaking of the great revival that began among them, on James River, in 1785, says, ‘During the progress of this revival, scenes were exhibited somewhat extraordinary. It was not unusual to have a large proportion of the congregation prostrate on the floor, and in some instances they lost the use of their limbs. . . . Screams, groans, shouts, hosannas, notes of grief and joy, all at the same time, were not unfrequently heard throughout their vast assemblies. . . . It is not unworthy of notice, that in those congregations where the preachers encouraged them to much extent, the work was more extensive, and greater numbers were added. . . . . Among the old fashioned Calvinistic Baptists of the Old Dominion these strange bodily agitations obtained; and many of the preachers “fanned them as fire from heaven,’ and the excitement and confusion that pervaded their vast assemblies well nigh fills Mr. J. L. Waller’s measure of a “New Light Stir” in Kentucky.’”

“He never saw a more glorious sight” – Barton Stone

According to Barton Stone (pp. 360-361), not only did George Whitefield encourage such things, but Charles Hodge wrote about them in his History of the Presbyterian Church, pages 85 and 86. Stone also wrote that “the manner in which Whitefield describes the scenes at Nottingham and Fagg’s Manor, and others of a similar character, shows he did not disapprove of these agitations. He says he never saw a more glorious sight, than when the people were fainting all around him, and crying out in such a manner as to drown his own voice.”

In his Journals and in his sermons, George Whitefield alluded frequently to the new wine of the Spirit. In New Hampshire, on one Friday and Saturday in March of 1745, “All [were] seemingly hearty friends to and great sharers in the late blessed work of God. Their accounts of it were very entertaining. Every time the Lord was with us, but he seemed to keep the good wine till the last, for on Saturday, many of God’s people were filled exceedingly.” In these cases, he is speaking with specific reference to God-given joy, and preached about it at considerable length in his sermon, “The Kingdom of God,” in which he said, “I have often thought, that if the apostle Paul were to come and preach now, he would be reckoned one of the greatest enthusiasts on earth. He talked of the Holy Ghost, of feeling the Holy Ghost; and so we must all feel it, all experience it, all receive it, or we can never see a holy God with comfort. . . . The apostle not only supposes we must have the Holy Ghost, but he supposes, as a necessary ingredient to make up the kingdom of God in a believer’s heart, that he must have ‘joy in the Holy Ghost.’ There are a great many, I believe, who think religion is a poor melancholy thing, and they are afraid to be Christians. But, my dear friends, there is no true joy till you can joy in God and Christ. . . . We are told that ‘Zaccheus received Christ joyfully,’ that ‘the eunuch went on his way rejoicing,’ and that ‘the jailer rejoiced in God with all his house.’ O, my friends, what joy have they that know their sins are forgiven them! What a blessed thing is it for a man to look forward, and see an endless eternity of happiness before him, knowing that everything shall work together for his good! It is joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Bibliography

Curnock, Nehemiah, ed. The journal of the Rev. John Wesley, vol. 2. London: Charles h. Kelly, n.d.

Edwards, Jonathan. The distinguishing marks of a work of the Spirit of God. In Goen, C. C., ed. Jonathan Edwards: The Great Awakening, pp. 213-288. In Smith, John E., ed. The works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 4. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1972.

Fuller, David Otis, ed. C. H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography. Grand Rapids: Zondervan publishing house, 1946.

Goen, C. C., ed. Jonathan Edwards: The Great Awakening. In Smith, John E., ed. The works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol 4. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1972.

Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Revival. Westchester: Crossway Books, 1987.

Macfarlan, D., ed. The Revivals of the Eighteenth Century. Edinburgh: Johnston & Hunter, 1847. Repr. Wheaton: Richard Owen Roberts, 1980.

Moody, Dwight L. “Enthusiasm.” In D. L. Moody, To the work, to the work: exhortations to Christians, pp. 67-80. Chicago, New York & Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1864.

Moody, Dwight L. “Revivals.” In D. L. Moody, Moody’s Latest Sermons, pp. 106-126. Chicago, New York, Toront: Fleming H. Revell, 1900.

Moody, Dwight L. “Secret power – ‘in’ and ‘upon’” In D. L. Moody, Secret Power, or the secret of success in Christian life and work, pp. 1-45. New York, Chicago, Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1881.

Morgan, G. Campbell. Lessons of the Welsh Revival. New York, Chicago, Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1905.

Rogers, John. The Biography of Eld. Barton Warren Stone written by himself with additions and reflections by Elder John Rogers. 5th ed. Cincinnati: published for the author by J. A. & U. P. James, 1847.

Smith, John E., ed. The works of Jonathan Edwards. 4 vols. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1972.

Spurgeon, Charles H. “The Form and Spirit of Religion.” In The New Park Street Pulpit, containing sermons preached and revised by the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, minister of the chapel during the year 1858, vol. 4, pp. 161-168. London: Alabaster and Passmore, 1859.

Spurgeon, Charles H. “The Great Revival.” In The New Park Street Pulpit, containing sermons preached and revised by the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, minister of the chapel during the year 1858, vol. 4, pp. 161-168. London: Alabaster and Passmore, 1859.

Spurgeon, Charles H. “The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” In The New Park Street Pulpit, containing sermons preached and revised by the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, minister of the chapel during the year 1858, vol. 4, pp. 161-168. London: Alabaster and Passmore, 1859.

Wesley, John. The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley edited by Nehemiah Curnock. Vol 2. London: Charles H. Kelly, n.d.

Whitefield, George. Journals. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1960.

Whitefield, George. “The Kingdom of God.” In The Revivals of the Eighteenth Century. D. Macfarlan, ed. Edinburgh: Johnston & Hunter, 1847. Repr. Wheaton: Richard Owen Roberts, 1980.

Whitefield, George. Letters of George Whitefield for the period 1734-1742. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, n.d.

This unedited version of this article was first written for the Destiny Image Digest.

© Renewal Journal #13: Ministry
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CONTENTS: Renewal Journal 13: Ministry

Pentecostalism’s Global Language, by Walter Hollenweger

Interview with Steven Hill, by Steve Beard

Revival in Mexico City, by Kevin Pate

Revival in Nepal, by Raju Sundras

Beyond Prophesying, by Mike Bickle

The Rise and Rise of the Apostles, by Phil Marshall

Evangelical Heroes Speak, by Richard Riss

Spirit Impacts in Revivals, by Geoff Waugh

The Primacy of Love, by Heidi Baker

Book Reviews: Fire in the Outback, by John Blacket; The Making of a Leader, by J R Clinton

Renewal Journal 13: Ministry – PDF

Revival Blogs Links:

See also Revivals Index

See also Revival Blogs

See also Blogs Index 1: Revivals

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 4: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

***BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH* *(CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)***

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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The Rise and Rise of the Apostles, by Phil Marshall

by Geoff 19 March 2012 1 Comment

The Rise and Rise of the Apostles

by Phil Marshall

Rev Dr Phil Marshall wrote as the Evangelism Consultant for the Uniting Church in NSW. He served as a Minister in local congregations in South Australia and Queensland, Australia

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The leadership gifts of Ephesians 4:11-12 are
critical to churches that are discipling people
in the post-modern Western world

We are in a time where we are witnessing the rise and rise of the apostle in the church around the world. As with the recovery of other spiritual gifts, the Pentecostal churches are leading the way, but in time, the affirmation of the gift of apostle will happen across much of the church. This gift will play a critical role in the missionary expansion of the church into the 21st century. It is important to take a fresh look at the apostolic gift in the New Testament so that the gift can be more readily discerned and affirmed.

Much interest has been shown in spiritual gifts in recent decades and particularly the leadership gifts listed in Ephesians:

“It was he (Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV).

Neglected gift

Out of the five gifts listed by Paul in his letter, the gift of the apostle has been the most neglected particularly by mainline denominations.

Historically, little interest has been shown in the gift of apostle, as classical evangelicalism has associated it with the twelve apostles and Paul, limiting it to the first century. The Roman Catholic Church has tried to link itself to the ministry of the early apostles, through an unbroken succession of ordinations called ‘apostolic succession’ but this theory is rarely of interest to those outside the Roman Church. Pentecostal churches that have been willing to affirm the gift and acknowledge individuals as apostles, thereby starting a process, which in time will help many churches from different traditions, recover this gift. I suspect that in the 21st century we will see more and more evidence of the apostolic gift, and be increasingly willing to acknowledge this gift in individuals. This will happen in the same way that we have seen the restoration of the healing ministry this century. It was initially recovered by Pentecostals, then embraced by the charismatic movement and is now accepted as a normal part of most mainline denominations.

Diverse Definitions of the Gift of Apostle

Although we are seeing greater acceptance of the gift today, New Testament scholars have debated apostleship for the last hundred years. Lightfoot began the modern discussion when he included in his commentary on Galatians a section on “The Name and Office of an Apostle” (Kevin Giles, Patterns of Ministry Among the First Christians, Melbourne, Australia: Collin Dove, 1989. p. 152). He argued that more people in the New Testament than the twelve apostles and Paul were called apostles, and that in post apostolic writings the title of apostle was used quite widely with the commission of apostle being life-long and for the sake of the Gospel.

There have been diverse opinions about the definition of this gift in recent years. In the 1980s spiritual gifts were studied in great depth. During this time the gift of apostle was variously defined as general leadership, the same as the missionary gift, or as a teacher who was able to pass on the apostolic tradition of the church (Robert Hillman, 27 Spiritual Gifts, Melbourne, Australia: JBCE, 1986. pp. 22-23). There are hints of the importance of the gift but it remains on the whole undeveloped.

The Marks of an Apostle

The meaning of the Greek word apostolos literally means ‘a person sent’ (Giles, p. 153). The concept of the apostle acting in an authoritative way for the Lord was basic to the use of the term. The study of a single word is not sufficient in itself because it can not fully explain the nature and function of an apostle.

Paul, the most influential apostle, had to argue fiercely for his own claim to be an apostle when disputing with opponents in Galatia and Corinth. The marks of Paul’s apostleship were:

1. Intimacy with the Risen Lord.

To have seen the risen Lord was foundational to Paul’s claim to be an apostle (Giles, p. 162). It is not an essential mark because in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11 it is implied that anyone can be empowered for the work of apostle. The important factors for Paul was intimacy with Christ, being gripped by the calling of Christ and having the conviction that he was sent with an authority from the risen Lord.

2. Leadership in Church Planting.

To have brought a church into existence is another mark. Paul appeals to the fact that the Corinthians were the result of his work in the Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1). In defense of his apostleship Paul claims that the church which he founded was “the seal of my apostleship” (1 Corinthians 9:2). Here the planting of new churches is confirmation of the apostolic gift.

3. True to the Gospel of the Early Apostles.

To be a church planter is not sufficient in itself. Paul argues that a genuine apostle must proclaim the one true gospel. In 2 Corinthians, chapters 11 and 12, Paul condemns those who call themselves apostles but preach another gospel. A mark of an apostle is that their theology and message centre upon the proclamation of the early apostolic period as recorded in the New Testament (George Hunter, Church for the Unchurched, Nashville TN: Abingdon Press, 1996. p. 152).

4. Suffering for Christ is more Important than Signs and Wonders for Christ.

Paul only speaks once of the signs of a true apostle by writing, “The things that mark an apostle – signs, wonders and miracles – were done among you with great perseverance” (2 Corinthians 12:12 NIV). The context is that Paul has to contend with the Corinthians who thought an apostle should be a more impressive figure than he was. The Corinthians seemed to have argued that a ‘super-apostle’ should be able to boast of visions and miracles. Paul puts his case in 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 that he has known visions and miracles but prefers to boast of his sufferings in the service of Christ (Giles, p. 163). The marks of an apostle include signs, wonders and miracles but even more important is enduring suffering for Christ.

The case Paul makes for his own apostleship can become a sound foundation for how we build apostolic ministries today. I am not advocating a rigid checklist, but marks that distinguish the gift of apostle. These marks will then help the leadership in the local church recognise the gift and encourage the ministry.

The Character of an Apostle

The gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit can never be separated in a person’s life. The manifestation of the gift of apostle and the character of the apostle are inseparable. Cannistraci offers a general definition of an apostle that includes a person’s character:

An apostle is one who is called and sent by Christ to have spiritual authority, character, gifts and abilities to successfully reach and establish people in the kingdom truth and order, especially founding and overseeing local churches. (David Cannistraci, The Gift of Apostle, Ventura California: Regal Books, 1996. p. 29).

Not enough can be said about the importance of character and the fruit of the Spirit. There have been a number of examples of high profile Christian leaders with influential ministries ‘falling from grace’ because of moral failure or fraud. An apostle never acts alone because the gift is exercised within the context of the body of Christ. The character and relationships of an apostle are just as important as the effectiveness of their ministry.

Cannistraci rightly argues that apostleship begins in a person’s heart and character, and then culminates in action and the work of the kingdom of God (p. 96). Christian character remains an essential element to the exercise of any ministry and there needs to be tangible evidence of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) before there can be an affirmation of the gift of apostle.

Conclusion.

The leadership gifts of Ephesians 4:11-12 are critical to churches that are discipling people in the post-modern Western world and it is exciting to see the restoration of the gift of the apostle. This has already happening in some Pentecostal churches but this restoration will have a widening influence in a variety of churches across the world. The apostolic gift will find a variety of expressions but its enduring marks will be:

1. Intimacy with Christ.

2. Leadership in Church Planting.

3. True to the Gospel of the Early Apostles.

4. Suffering for Christ.

All these characteristics are undermined and therefore become irrelevant if they are not confirmed by the fruit of the Spirit in the character of the apostle. Those denominations that embrace the restoration of the apostolic gift will see an increase in new Christians and new churches.

© Renewal Journal #13: Ministry
Reproduction is allowed with the copyright included in the text.

Renewal Journals – contents of all issues

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CONTENTS: Renewal Journal 13: Ministry

Pentecostalism’s Global Language, by Walter Hollenweger

Interview with Steven Hill, by Steve Beard

Revival in Mexico City, by Kevin Pate

Revival in Nepal, by Raju Sundras

Beyond Prophesying, by Mike Bickle

The Rise and Rise of the Apostles, by Phil Marshall

Evangelical Heroes Speak, by Richard Riss

Spirit Impacts in Revivals, by Geoff Waugh

The Primacy of Love, by Heidi Baker

Book Reviews: Fire in the Outback, by John Blacket; The Making of a Leader, by J R Clinton

Renewal Journal 13: Ministry – PDF

Revival Blogs Links:

See also Revivals Index

See also Revival Blogs

See also Blogs Index 1: Revivals

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 4: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

***BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH* *(CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)***

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

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Beyond Prophesying, by Mike Bickle

by Geoff 19 March 2012 No Comments

Beyond Prophesying

Traits of a Prophetic Church

Pastor Mike Bickle of the Metro Vineyard Fellowship in America leads a church with a strong prophetic ministry.

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Being prophetic is essential
to the very nature and mission
of the whole body of Christ

When Holy Spirit activity happens among fallible flesh and blood like us, tensions are bound to arise. Our church, Metro Vineyard Fellowship in Kansas City, has made many mistakes during our journey toward becoming a prophetic church.

A few years ago, David Pytches wrote a glowing report of our church’s prophetic history in his book Some Said It Thundered. I appreciated the book, but also thought there was merit in someone’s suggestion that I write a follow-up book revealing all our past mistakes in prophetic ministry. He said I should call it Some Said We Blundered.

The term “prophetic” is typically used to refer either to the fulfillment of end-time biblical predictions or the speaking forth of current revelatory messages. But beyond these areas, the church is to be a prophetic servant community in a much broader, multi-dimensional way. Being prophetic is not to be the exclusive domain of “charismatics”; it is essential to the very nature and mission of the whole body of Christ.

Those whose prophetic ministry includes supernatural dreams and visions need to view what they do in the larger context of the church’s calling as a prophetic servant community. Prophetic manifestations such as dreams and visions do not comprise the prophetic ministry in its entirety; they are really only one expression of a community that is prophetic in at least eight distinct dimensions.

1. Revealing the heart of God

The angel of God told the apostle John, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). The spirit (purpose) of prophecy is to reveal three aspects of Jesus’ testimony: who he is, what he does, and how he feels.

Passion for Jesus will inevitably result from this prophetic revelation. Such holy passion is the highlight of the prophetic church. The prophetic ministry is to be stamped and sealed with an affection for and sensitivity to the heart of God. It is a ministry that passionately feels and reveals the divine heart.

Prophetic ministry involves not only receiving and communicating information; it also includes, in some measure, the ability to experience the compassion, grief and joy of God. As we experience God, we will be given insight into some of his future plans and purposes.

If you “desire earnestly to prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:39) by merely seeking information from the mind of God, you have bypassed the cornerstone and the essence of prophetic ministry – the revelation of his heart.

The apostle Paul said, “Though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love [for God and people], I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2).

The message and ministry of Old Testament prophets was often prefaced in terms of the “burden” of the Lord. Habakkuk 1:1 speaks of “the burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.” The word “burden” implies emotional and heartfelt issues are at stake – not just abstract truth.

So then, one prophetic dimension of the church’s ministry is to proclaim, reveal and call to remembrance God’s affection for his people. That includes his jealous longing for us and His intense grief over our sin that separates us from him.

Often I have shared at our church that our passionate affection for Jesus can only come from an ever-increasing revelation of his passion for us. Though I rarely voice a revelatory prophetic word in our church, I seek to contribute to the mission of the church as a prophetic servant community by teaching on the passionate heart of God.

2. The fulfillment of biblical prophecy

For hundreds of years the prophets told of the Messiah who would come and the kingdom he would establish. Jesus sometimes spoke of the kingdom as if it had come with the advent of his public ministry, and at other times as if the kingdom was “not yet.” In whatever sense and to whatever extent the kingdom has already come, those to whom it has come are the living fulfillment of what the prophets spoke.

Jesus said to Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). He also described the kingdom of God as being like a mustard seed that inevitably grows (Mark 4:31-32).

Throughout the last two millennia all the powers of hell have been unable to eliminate the gospel or the church. The church has only continued to grow. The survival and growth of the church is a continuing witness to prophecies fulfilled – a prophetic voice of what will come in the future.

All that the church does to make herself ready as the bride of Christ -worshiping, celebrating communion, witnessing, casting out demons, healing the sick, being peacemakers – is a prophetic trumpet to the world. These prophetic acts declare not only the gospel, but also the relationship of Christ to his church and to the fact that he is coming again to reign over all the earth.

The next time you are sitting in a church service, remember that even though we are almost two thousand years removed from the first-century church, the very fact that you are gathering with others in his name is a both a prophetic fulfillment and a prophetic statement to the world.

3. The prophetic standard in the Scriptures

Scripture is the ultimate trumpet of God’s heart, purpose and will. Fortunately, while our church has grown as a prophetic community we have had several gifted Bible teachers as part of our leadership. As experts in exegesis, hermeneutics, systematic theology and the history of the church, these teachers serve as a balance and plumb line to the prophets and exhorters among us, who sometimes want to apply a scripture in a questionable way.

Sound teaching not only makes the Bible come alive, it gives the church a sense of connection with those who began the race. The church as a prophetic community must realize that we are a continuation of what they began. The torch has been passed so many times, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that we are running the same race they started. Their leg of the race has been completed, and they have now gathered at the finish line to cheer us on.

The church is the living testimony of the prophetic purpose of God in history. It is also a prophetic community which is to preserve and accurately proclaim the Word of God.

4. Moving when the cloud moves

The fourth way the church must be prophetic is to discern the current move of the Spirit – the “present truth,” as respected church leader Dick Iverson calls it. Just as the children of Israel followed the cloud through the wilderness, the church needs to move when the Holy Spirit says to move (Deuteronomy 1:33). And the Spirit is continually doing a “new thing, with the church as a whole and with each individual congregation” (Isaiah 43:19).

While the scriptural truth the church preserves and proclaims is unchangeable and immovable, the relationship that exists between the church and the Holy Spirit is not static. The Ten Commandments given on Sinai are forever true and unchangeable, but the people of Israel were changing locations constantly as they moved around in the wilderness.

The kind of moving I am referring to is the changing emphasis placed on elements of truth, structure and strategy. We are, so to speak, moving around within the boundaries of the unchangeable truth of God’s Word.

Several recent examples of people sensing the Lord’s instruction concerning the means and methods of the church’s prophetic expression can be cited:

* A renewed emphasis on small groups and cell-based churches;

* The public expression of worship, now known and practiced worldwide as The March For Jesus;

* The refreshing of the Holy Spirit as experienced in Toronto and many other places;

* A new movement towards prayer, spearheaded by people like C. Peter Wagner, Dick Eastman, David Bryant, Wesley Tullis and Larry Lea.

The leaders of such movements are not necessarily those who exercise the gift of prophecy as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, yet they can clearly sense the direction the cloud is moving. They might be compared to the sons of Issachar who “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32).

Church history is filled with examples of how part of the body of Christ discerned a current emphasis of the Holy Spirit as it related to a particular element of structure, strategy or biblical truth. Unfortunately though, some have followed the cloud to the next place in God, then never moved again. After camping around a certain structure, strategy or truth for a period of time, they shift from being a prophetic community to being a prophetic monument to something the Holy Spirit did long ago.

This doesn’t mean we should abandon all the older traditions with every new move of the cloud. The greatest expression of the church as a prophetic community is in those congregations or denominations that move on with the cloud, but carry with them all the wisdom, experience and maturity of their history.

5. Demonstrating the power of God

Elijah was a mighty prophet who called down fire from heaven as a sign of God’s power. In the New Testament, though, attesting miracles were not limited to the prophets. The Holy Spirit now distributes the gifts “individually as he wills,” one of those being the gift of miracles (1 Corinthians 12:10-11).

As in the days of Elijah, miracles attest to the truth of God’s Word. But this doesn’t mean the church no longer needs miracles, since we have the written Word. If attesting miracles were needed when the apostles personally testified within a few years of the resurrection, how much more are miracles needed today to confirm the veracity of their written accounts.

Attesting miracles are also valuable as a dimension of the prophetic community because, more than anything else, they make people aware that God is actually present with them. Without an up-to-date awareness of his presence, the church sometimes takes on the air of a society only gathered to venerate the memory of Jesus and his death two thousand years ago.

Miracles jolt our sensibilities and make us joyfully (or frightfully) aware of the fact the he is in our midst. A hundred sermons on God being with us will not awaken our hearts as much as a personal encounter with the manifestation of his presence through the miraculous.

This in no way diminishes the power or authority of the written Word. It simply means that in the miraculous the living God of the written Word shows up in a powerfully personal, intimate and tangible way. Through the miraculous, the church prophesies and proclaims that he is alive!

6. Prophetic dreams and visions

God gives certain people the ability to see and hear things that most people do not see or hear. The term “seer” carries with it some very negative connotations because of its modern-day, non-Christian applications. Consequently, when referring to someone as a “seer,” one must be careful to qualify and define this term in the light of Scripture:

* “Formally in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus:

‘Come, let us go to the seer’; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer” (1 Samuel 9:9).

* “And Samuel answered Saul and said, ‘I am the seer’” (v. 19).

Prophets like Ezekiel and Zechariah saw profound visions of God but are not known for demonstrations of power such as healing the sick or raising the dead. Often this type of prophetic person is not gifted with great demonstrations of miraculous power, yet they regularly see things by the Spirit – things such as future events, the secrets of people’s hearts and the calling of God on people’s lives.

Like Ezekiel’s visions, the things prophetic people see are sometimes baffling.

7. Crying out against social injustice

The church has the responsibility to be a “prophet to the nation” concerning the injustice and unrighteousness that eventually cause a nation to incur the judgment of God. One of the more stellar examples of this was the prophetic outcry against slavery from William Wilberforce (1759-1833) and, prior to that, from Lord Shaftesbury (1621-1683).

Many times prophets to the nation speak from a secular platform. Joseph and Daniel were two biblical examples of people who represented God in a position of secular power. Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, likewise, prophetically stood for justice and righteousness in America’s social order.

The church must be careful as it carries out its prophetic ministry to the nation. Although many believers will hopefully be active in civil government and even in party politics, the church and those who speak for it must understand where to draw the line.

If and when Christians enter politics, they do so as godly individuals, not as representatives of a church’s pastoral staff. The church itself should be as a prophet standing for the advancement of righteousness – but without indebtedness to political party affiliations.

8. Crying out for personal holiness and repentance

Throughout the generations, God has raised up prophets to cry out against the sins of his people. This outcry is similar to the prophetic cry against social injustice, but different in that it is specifically addressed to the people in the church. It is less like Jonah prophesying against Nineveh and more like Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesying to Israel and Judah.

Leaders such as Billy Graham, Charles Colson, John Piper, David Wilkerson and A.W. Tozer have been effective prophetic ministers raised up to cry out against unrighteousness in the church. Their words have been anointed by the Spirit to awaken hearts to holiness and passion for Jesus. God uses such prophetic voices, just as he used John the Baptist, to prick the conscience of believers and bring them to revival.

The church is the prophetic expression of the kingdom of God on earth. It is called to represent, preserve and proclaim the truth of God to this world. Although not every member of the church is a prophet, all are called to participate in God’s ongoing prophetic plan and purpose.

Those particularly gifted with dreams, visions, prophecies and revelation need to be careful not to think of themselves too highly, as being the prophetic group. They serve only one dimension of the church’s greater calling as a prophetic community.

My prayer and eager expectation is that God will work mightily in our generation to help the church live up to its prophetic calling among the nations of the earth. The proclamation and demonstration of the Word of God through a Spirit-filled church is the only true hope for humankind.

May the Holy Spirit come upon us in unprecedented measure for the glory of God and Christ Jesus!

© Renewal Journal #13: Ministry
Reproduction is allowed with the copyright included in the text.

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CONTENTS: Renewal Journal 13: Ministry

Pentecostalism’s Global Language, by Walter Hollenweger

Interview with Steven Hill, by Steve Beard

Revival in Mexico City, by Kevin Pate

Revival in Nepal, by Raju Sundras

Beyond Prophesying, by Mike Bickle

The Rise and Rise of the Apostles, by Phil Marshall

Evangelical Heroes Speak, by Richard Riss

Spirit Impacts in Revivals, by Geoff Waugh

The Primacy of Love, by Heidi Baker

Book Reviews: Fire in the Outback, by John Blacket; The Making of a Leader, by J R Clinton

Renewal Journal 13: Ministry – PDF

Revival Blogs Links:

See also Revivals Index

See also Revival Blogs

See also Blogs Index 1: Revivals

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 4: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

***BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH* *(CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)***

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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Interview with Steven Hill, by Steve Beard

by Geoff 19 March 2012 1 Comment

Interview with Steven Hill

by Steve Beard

Steven Hill was the evangelist in Pensacola at Brownsville Assembly of God in Florida, America, where revival has continued from Father’s Day, 18 June 1995 with over 100,000 people making commitments to Christ there. Steve Beard wrote this interview for his internet page.

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What prepared you for this revival?

I was saved out of the drug culture. My background has helped me with the soul-winning aspect.

Early in my Christian life, back in 1977, I got around David Wilkerson’s ministry. He had an academy in Texas called Twin Oaks, a two-year leadership academy. Leonard Ravenhill taught on prayer. Nicky Cruz taught evangelism. It was a school where you were held responsible for what you learned. And if you did not learn, they would kick you out.

They would teach us on evangelism and then put us in a van, drive us to the streets of Dallas to a dope party, dump us out and say, “Go into that dope party. We’ll pick you up at four in the morning.” It was just hard-core evangelism. Instead of teaching the Four Spiritual Laws, they’d say, “Get out there, learn from experience.” When we came back, we’d talk about some of the hindrances we’d had, the bad experiences, and what we would change about our approach. Then they’d send us out again. You know very quickly whether you’re called to evangelism.

I graduated from that school, and went into church ministry. Then it was when I took a group of young people to Mexico God called me to the mission field. I went to Argentina, and the very first meeting I went to was a Carlos Annacondia meeting out in the middle of a soccer field. I’d never seen anything like it in my life. I saw fifteen to twenty-thousand people craving God. I mean, going after God.

I had Carlos lay hands on me one night, and I feel that from him came a real evangelistic anointing. I’ve had the evangelism desire all my life, but I watched him – he’s led over two million people to Jesus. At one o’clock in the morning he’s still praying with people. At two o’clock in the morning, he’s still laying hands on people. He’ll go night after night. He’s so common, so loving. All he cares about is that one little boy, that one grandpa, that one uncle that’s coming to Jesus.

I hung around that for seven years, and you absorb it.

How did you end up at Holy Trinity Brompton Anglican Church in London?

I read in Time magazine how God was moving. I had been to London several times, and 1 thought, “I’ve got to see this. I’ve got to see God moving in the Anglican Church because I can’t imagine it.” The article said they were laughing, they were falling, and I had a very critical spirit about it.

I went to the bed and breakfast that we stay at when I’m in London; it’s owned by a Christian couple. I asked them where God was moving, and they said, “It’s in our church.” They went to Holy Trinity Brompton.

I said, “I need to make an appointment with the pastor.”

They said, “Steve, he’s the busiest man in Europe. All of Europe comes here to get prayed for by him.”

I said, “Call him up and ask if he has time to pray for a Texan.” I wanted a little private visit with this guy (Sandy Miller) to see what was going on.

I went there at two o’clock that afternoon and there was a conference going on. I walked into the stately Anglican church in downtown London right by Harrod’s, the richest area of town, and stepped over about 500 bodies, people shaking all over the place. I had seen things like that before, but I’m an evangelist, so I’m after souls. If I can’t see hundreds and hundreds of people getting saved, then I’ll leave.

The Lord spoke to my heart and said, “You don’t need to talk to Sandy Miller. Just have him pray for you.” I walked up to him and said, “My name is Steve.” He says, “Oh my, we have an appointment at three o’clock, but look what’s happened in my church.”

I went up to him, he laid his hands on my head and it was over. I mean, I went down under the power of the Holy Spirit.

How do you channel revival fire?

That’s the most frustrating part to pastors because you can only live so long in this renewal. The first week after this broke out, I spoke a message on how to benefit from a divine refreshing.

The first point was get all you can get.
The second one was mix vegetables with the honey. Make sure you keep your feet on the ground.
And the third one was let your stall get dirty. Where there are no oxen, the stall is clean. Get out there. You’re bubbly, you’re all on fire with the Christians, but let that happen at the workplace.

And that’s what they started to do. And people started pouring in.

What is the relevance of it beginning Father’s Day?

I believe that was just a real special divine appointment. We didn’t really think about that. It was just totally spontaneous. The Father, he showed up on Father’s Day the way he did, and just loved on us. And you know, everybody got back to work. They got back to work in the fields and going after God, because they felt the nearness of the Lord.

What is the most important thing God has taught you through this revival?

What I’m convinced of more than anything else is the urgency of the hour – the urgency of the hour and the necessity of right now.

This is not a coliseum; this is not a secular place. This is night after night sinners are coming to a church. Why? They’re hungry. People are hungry and God has sent the famine. The Bible says in Amos, that God will send the famine. The famine for truth. So he’s going to do his part; we’re the feeding station. We’re the ones with tractor-trailer rigs full of food. We’re laden down with everything these people need but they come into our churches and what do they get? Nothing. They don’t get fed. They need to hear about hell. They need to hear the full gospel. But they don’t get it. God is doing his part, we need to do our part.

How do you keep track of what is taking place at the altar?

We’re seeing a thousand people saved a week, but we are very conservative with the figures. To me, when someone comes up and has backslidden, that’s a salvation. They are a prodigal. They’ve been living in sin. He came back, crawled on his face and he said, “I’m not worthy. I can’t even be under your roof.” And the Father received him. That’s why Charles Finney and Jonathan Edwards preached about backslidden conditions. Our country was back-slidden.

When we give that altar call, there are a lot of people that are saved for the first time. A lot of people that come down that have never known the Lord, but there are also a lot of people that are backsliders and prodigals that are coining back to the Lord.

After they come to the altar, what happens to them? How do you follow up with so many people?

There are a lot of people that are coming from out of state. I had never seen anything like this. We have fathers and mothers bringing their unsaved children from Minnesota. They bring in van loads from Birmingham and have four or five unsaved people in the van to be prayed for healing. They come down here and they get saved, and so we encourage them to get involved in the local church.

We do our very best to link them with people who have brought them, or we tell them about local Methodist churches and Baptist churches. Several pastors have gleaned people from this revival. But its an unusual type of situation because so many people are coining in from other areas that it is literally impossible for us to keep tabs on everybody that is coming. But another beauty of this is that a lot of people who get saved keep coming back because this is not a one week thing. So this is also like a discipleship process.

What do you make of the physical manifestations?

The Lord is welcome in this place to do anything he wants. But there is a balance here. They receive the gospel, they receive the cross, the blood. When the manifestations come, I welcome the manifestations, but I don’t major on the minors.

This last days awakening – mark these words, I’m not a prophet, this is not a prophecy, but this is what is going to happen. This awakening is going to shake this country, the power is going to come down.

I’m also a youth evangelist, and we are dealing with a culture that may not be demon-possessed, but they are possessed by demons. They are consumed with demonic warfare twenty-four hours a day. They have seen the power of Satan at work. You watch any rock concert: the frenzy, the fire, the pull, the enthusiasm that’s there. We talk about our God, and the power of God. We sing, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” and they’re going, “Where is it?”

They want to believe, but they see mom and dad are limp, weak, and they respond, “Where is the power? Mom, you’re popping valium and prozac and everything else and you’re talking about the power of God? Give me a break, Momma.” And so they come into this meeting. The punkers come in here. Every age, every kind of person in the world comes into this meeting and they are hit by the power of God. Undeniably swept off their feet by the power of God and by the hundreds they basically say, “What must I do to be saved?”

Does everyone respond so positively?

There will be folks here tonight, who are skeptical and critical – they hate this revival. They don’t want anything to do with it, but they are out there tonight, and they are going to get saved. They are going to fall to the ground under the power of God, they’re going to be back next week with their friends. Why? They’re out here because they’re curious, they’re out here because Aunt Mabel was healed of cancer, they’re here for a million different reasons.

Are you overwhelmed by the historic nature of this revival?

What is phenomenal about this is the fact that when I look upon the people I see all the hunger. They come from the corners of the globe. They don’t come for the beaches. They come for this meeting and yeah, that blows me away. And I’m beginning to see how this could affect the nation. People are attracted to the fire.

John Wesley said it: “I set myself on fire and the people come to watch me bum.”

Reproduced with permission

Renewal Journals – contents of all issues

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CONTENTS: Renewal Journal 13: Ministry

Pentecostalism’s Global Language, by Walter Hollenweger

Interview with Steven Hill, by Steve Beard

Revival in Mexico City, by Kevin Pate

Revival in Nepal, by Raju Sundras

Beyond Prophesying, by Mike Bickle

The Rise and Rise of the Apostles, by Phil Marshall

Evangelical Heroes Speak, by Richard Riss

Spirit Impacts in Revivals, by Geoff Waugh

The Primacy of Love, by Heidi Baker

Book Reviews: Fire in the Outback, by John Blacket; The Making of a Leader, by J R Clinton

Renewal Journal 13: Ministry – PDF

Revival Blogs Links:

See also Revivals Index

See also Revival Blogs

See also Blogs Index 1: Revivals

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 4: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

***BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH* *(CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)***

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

BACK TO MAIN PAGE

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Revival in Mexico City, by Kevin Pate

by Geoff 19 March 2012 1 Comment

Revival in Mexico City

by Kevin Pate

Kevin Pate, a member of a Vineyard ministry team, reported in April 1998 on their visit to Mexico City with Pastor Wes Campbell, including a weekend mountain retreat with 18,000 Mexicans.

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https://renewaljournal.com/2012/04/06/ministry/

The most amazing time of my life

The week and a half that we spent in Mexico City ministering to the people there I would have to say was the most amazing time of my life. I know that is a pretty dramatic statement but I hope that you will understand as you read the rest of this account. But first a little background.

Monte Maria’s history

The following history is as best as I understand from what was shared with us while we were there: The church that we went down to help out is called Monte Maria. The history of the church is quite interesting.

Back in about 1979 a Catholic priest in Mexico City by the name of Father Gilberto was at a point in his life where he was very dry and seeking God intensely. One time in prayer he was overcome by the presence of God and started weeping greatly for the lost and hurting of the world. This weeping continued on for a year! During this time as he would perform mass, interesting things would happen – people who were in the congregation as normal were healed of a variety of sicknesses and infirmities. News of this sort travels quickly and soon people were bringing their sick relatives and friends to the church and many of them became healed too.

Unfortunately, some people in the church and surrounding area complained about the increased number of poor people tromping through their neighborhood and church (riffraff they felt) and soon Father Gilberto was told by the higher-ups at his diocese that he was no longer welcome at that church. So, Father Gilberto went down to the local city dump and started to perform mass there and minister to the poor. There was in essence a city of poor people at the dump because this was the only place where many of them could live (they were very poor!) and could get stuff to survive on (food scraps, clothes, etc.). The healings continued and many came to belief in Jesus Christ as their savior.

Simple church building

So many people came to Father Gilberto for ministry that he then started another church in Mexico City. I believe that he bought a dump (obviously he could get it cheap!), cleaned it up, and constructed a church. The church building is a very simple concrete structure — basically just concrete walls and floor, and sheet metal roof with insulation (to keep it from being an oven in the summer), folding chairs for the folks to sit on, and simple platform at the front. The air conditioning is a bunch of open windows. This church building holds about 3,000 people. There is also an outdoor area that can seat 5,000 people – the outdoor part is used for Sunday morning services because the building is no longer large enough to hold everyone.

The prayer mountain

Monte Maria has also planted about 12 other churches in the Mexico City area; each church plant has about 100-200 people. Monte Maria has home groups during the week to help the people bond together, get discipled, and minister to each other. More recently they also received 293 acres of land outside the city in a mountainous area (donation from someone) – they call this “The Mountain”. They use this for monthly (7 times per year) meetings where people from all over Mexico City and surrounding area gather for a time of worship, listening to preaching, and to receive prayer ministry. The truly poorest of the poor come to this. Many of them band together and chip in a few pesos each and rent a bus to get there. They camp out in a variety of ways – in tents, under tarps, or just sleep under the stars. The weekend we were there, there were about 20,000 people at the Mountain; in the past there has been as many as 50,000 people.

Father Gilberto has now changed his name to Pastor Aurellio Gomez since the Catholic church has told him he can no longer minister in the Catholic church. Pastor Aurellio has taken a very strong stand on preaching against idolatry (which permeates portions of the Catholic church) and this has not be popular amongst the Catholic leadership in Mexico. Pastor Aurellio has been very much a proponent of church reform and ministry to the poor but with this frequently comes much criticism from the establishment.

Wesley Campbell and team

A couple of years ago, Wes Campbell travelled down to Mexico to see what God was doing down there. Wes was the pastor of a Vineyard church in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Back in 1984 his church was strongly touched by God and has been in moving powerfully since then. Wes promised God that if this same sort of touch would come to the church in general around the world, he would do everything he could to fan the flames of renewal and revival. Wes and his wife Stacey met Father Gilberto and found a very hungry Mexican people who were in the midst of revival – many thousands of people being reached with the gospel, many being healed of all sorts of infirmities, and many set free from the power of the demonic enemy. Father Gilberto invited Wes and Stacey to come back with a ministry team to help out at their monthly gathering meeting at the Mountain and to help out at meetings at their church in Mexico City. The ministry team that was assembled was about 30 people from Westside Vineyard in Tigard, Oregon (including Arlan Askew the senior pastor), 5 from the Albany Oregon Vineyard, and 5 from the San Diego California Vineyard.

Prior to going on the trip, I shared with some friends here that I hoped to be able to see and experience first-hand what I have heard was going on down there and elsewhere in the world. The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and many people are reached with the gospel of Christ. Well, I am not exaggerating when I can now say that we indeed did see and experience first-hand all of this! As the Mexicans would shout – “Gloria a Dios!” (Glory to God!). And the best part was that we got to participate in what God was doing in the people – we were the prayer ministry team who were privileged to be able to pray for people for these types of healings and lead them to the Lord!

Prayer ministry

The first weekend we were there we went to the Mountain. When we got there we were very warmly welcomed by the people. After a bit of orientation, we got to work… praying for people. There were literally thousands of people ready and waiting for prayer — lined up desiring a touch from God. It was a staggering feeling. But we all just plunged in and started praying for them one at a time, knowing that it wasn’t just a crowd, but it was individuals who deserved individual attention because God loves each of them equally. So one by one we ministered and started to see an awesome move of the Holy Spirit.

Nearly everyone we prayed for was visibly touched in some way – overcome by the power or presence of God and couldn’t stand anymore, touched by a physical healing, or even some deep touch in their emotions and spirit evidenced by tears streaming down their face. Young and old, men and women, almost all were touched! It was astounding to me to see so many people so touched by the Holy Spirit! It had to be partially due to their great hunger for God. These are the poorest of the poor and really don’t have any other options. They are too poor to be able to seek a doctor for their sicknesses and infirmities; God is their only hope.

It certainly wasn’t due to any great faith that most of us had – I was rather nervous going into the trip. It was really God’s work. Essentially all of us were able to pray for all types of problems in the people’s lives – blindness, deafness, lameness, and countless other problems. In many, many cases we were able to see immediate improvement and in many cases complete healing of the people. We had some translators available to help us communicate with the people while we were praying for them which helped immensely. At other times we had to wing it on our own without a translator.

The meetings at the Mountain started at about mid-day Saturday and lasted until late Sunday afternoon with only a two or three hour break in the middle of the night Saturday night to Sunday morning. We prayed for the people during the worship and prayer ministry time, but did not pray during the preaching time since the people needed to focus on that. Wes preached about the revival occurring all over the world, and more specifically about what God was doing in their midst there in Mexico. Arlan preached about receiving the Father’s love, intimacy with God, our relationship with God made possible by Jesus Christ and his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, and how this relationship/intimacy is the most important thing that we must seek. Everything else in our life and ministry will flow from that.

Healing and deliverance

During the week we were also able to minister at three days of meetings at their church. These meetings were more focused on teaching and training, receiving God’s love, intimacy and relationship with him, moving in the prophetic gifts relative to ministering to people, and praying for healing for each other. In the evenings we sometimes had opportunity to gather together as a team and share what experiences we had during the ministry times during the day. The following is a short listing of some of the testimonies that I was able to write down. There were many more that I didn’t write down or hear, and of course there was much more that God did that we don’t even know about:

— Woman had ears healed (was hearing a fuzz or static that was interfering with her hearing), after praying for her she could hear clearly; in addition, a pain she was having in her chest was gone too.

— Lame man who had pain in his legs healed and could walk without any pain. This was kind of a humorous incident. After praying for a while, the pain in his legs was gone and the man just sat in his chair happy that the pain was gone. The person doing the praying then reminded the man that he might now be able to walk. The person looked surprised since he had been confined for so long in his chair that he hadn’t even thought to try walking. He did and was overjoyed to find that he could indeed now walk!

— Another person in a wheel chair walked. The person had suffered an embolism 3 years earlier and was paralyzed on one side of the body. While being prayed for, the paralyzed leg and arm started shaking significantly – the power of God was evident! After a while the person was able to get up out of the wheelchair and walk.

— A man who had cataracts (obvious by clouding in the lens of the eyes) was prayed for. Gradually the clouding disappeared and the man ended up being able to see clearly.

— A woman had a tumor on one side of her body that could be felt from the outside was healed — no more tumor detected.

— A little boy who was blind in one eye, after prayer began to see, then sneezed three times and could see perfectly.

— A young boy who was controlled by a demonic spirit (thrashed about quite a bit), the demon finally acknowledged its name was the “god of hatred”, the boy finally denounced the demon, accepted Jesus into His life, and was delivered and filled with the Holy Spirit.

— More deliverances of people bound by demons.

— Woman with paralysis on one side, limped seriously, couldn’t speak, arm wouldn’t work. Interviewing determined the woman had very poor self-esteem (because of the stroke). After spiritual counselling and prayer for healing, she was overcome by the presence of God and went down on the concrete. After a little while the woman started screaming with joy, leapt up and found that the paralysis was gone and she could speak clearly.

— Woman’s eyes healed to perfect seeing.

— Woman’s knees that were in severe pain, couldn’t walk well at all. After prayer felt heat in her knees, then was able to get up and walk without pain, and even was able to jump up and down. She was very excited about this since she wanted to be able to dance during worship. What joy on her face!

— A woman with hurting feet was improved.

— A woman with hurt shoulder was healed, could move it all ways without pain.

— A woman with bum knees, after prayer got up very happy, joyfully hugged the person praying for her and said she could now bend her knees without pain, has not been able to do this for years.

— Woman with bulge and pain in her stomach (didn’t exactly know what it was

all about), after prayer the bulge and pain disappeared.

— Woman who was being prayed for started throwing up (a common manifestation of someone releasing a demonic spirit), continued praying for her and asking God to fill and cleanse her with His Holy Spirit, she then started weeping and then praising God. Very visibly changed.

— Many people were led to Jesus Christ and prayed to receive Him in their heart. It certainly helped having translators available to help in this communication.

It was awesome to be able to participate in what the Lord was doing. I was particularly happy to see the four teenagers who were part of the ministry team get right out there and pray for the people. And they saw and experienced every bit as dramatic move of the Spirit amongst the people they prayed for as any one else on the team! What a life-changing experience for them (and the rest of us of course)!

Life changing experience

With the extended prayer times that we had, I found that due to tiredness I would sometimes sort of lose focus on the person I was praying for and get distracted by other things and people around me. I would then look back at the person I had my hand on and found that there were tears streaming down their face – God was moving and touching them in spite of my tiredness and lack of focus. It was also neat to see the next person in the line that I was working down get visibly touched by God prior to me even getting there to pray for that person. It reminded me that it wasn’t really me who was doing the work in their life: rather it was all God.

It was astounding how the prayer lines would never end. As people would leave after being prayed for, others would step in where they were standing and ask for prayer. We’d be walking amongst the people and many would come up to us requesting prayer for themselves, or one of their family or friends. It was a joy to bless them since they were so hungry for God. We couldn’t get tired of that.

During some of the preaching sessions, Wes and Arlan asked who desired to accept the Lord Jesus Christ into their life. It was awesome to see hundreds and hundreds of hands raised and hear them pray to ask Jesus into their lives.

On the last teaching session at the church Arlan taught about praying for healing. For the ministry time, he told all the people to break up into groups of about eight people and form a circle. He then told each group to put one of the people in the centre who needed physical healing and to pray for them. He asked the prayer ministry team (us) to go around and coach and pray for them.

It was so neat teach them how to stepwise go through the healing prayer — 1. first the interview to find out what was wrong;

2. then seek God for guidance, dealing as necessary with any underlying issues such as the need to give and receive forgiveness;

3. then soaking prayer for healing;

4. after a while interviewing the person to see what was happening and whether there was improvement;

5. if there was, blessing and praising God for what he was doing and continuation of prayer for complete healing.

I just went around, coached, and blessed what each person and the Holy Spirit was doing. It was exhilarating to see essentially everyone they prayed for in the circle receive healing!

It was great to be able to tell all of them that the same Holy Spirit that is in us (the prayer ministry team) was also in them and that they could continue do this kind of ministry with each other, their families and friends, and the lost around them. It was wonderful to know that this and other teachings and anointings were truly imparted to them and that they will continue to grow after we’ve left.

The worship

One of the things that impressed us so much was the way these people worship. Mexican people have Fiesta (party!) in their blood and in church they integrate it into their worship. Once they get the worship going, you can’t help but be up and dancing along with them. Picture thousands of people dancing their heart out before God. The church didn’t have a choir. The whole church was the choir.

They had a wonderful dance/worship team which consisted of about a dozen beautifully dressed women with tambourines with streamers, and another dozen with flags and streamers. Their synchronized dance/worship was truly beautiful! It’s also the first time I saw toilet paper used as a worship aid. They would tear off a lengths of it and pass it around to everyone and they would wave it in the air as a streamer and praise God. It reminded me of a football game, but of course it was unto God! Oh, we can learn so much from their joy and worship!

The culture

Mexico City is a huge city; I believe the biggest city in the world – 27 million people. I heard that the entire metropolitan area is about 80 miles x 100 miles. The pollution is quite bad — Mexico City is at about 6,000 feet and in a mountainous basin which traps the air pollution in an inversion layer much of the year — quite a brown layer of smog over the city. The traffic and roads are also interesting — very congested and very bumpy. Hard to complain about our traffic and roads after being there!

Our visit to Mexico City was most interesting from a cultural standpoint. The food was of course a wonderful experience! I found the language barrier a fun challenge. The people of Mexico were VERY warm. They have a gift of hospitality that we have rarely encountered. After a few days with them, it was very difficult to leave them. When we were departing, some of the people gave us little gifts that in themselves one might say they had little value, but considering how poor most of the people are, were of utmost significance to us because we knew how much of a sacrifice it was for them.

For all that our God is doing in Mexico and all over the world – “Gloria a Dios!” and “Mas Senor!”

Source: Global Revival News

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CONTENTS: Renewal Journal 13: Ministry

Pentecostalism’s Global Language, by Walter Hollenweger

Interview with Steven Hill, by Steve Beard

Revival in Mexico City, by Kevin Pate

Revival in Nepal, by Raju Sundras

Beyond Prophesying, by Mike Bickle

The Rise and Rise of the Apostles, by Phil Marshall

Evangelical Heroes Speak, by Richard Riss

Spirit Impacts in Revivals, by Geoff Waugh

The Primacy of Love, by Heidi Baker

Book Reviews: Fire in the Outback, by John Blacket; The Making of a Leader, by J R Clinton

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Pentecostalism’s Global Language, interview with Walter Hollenweger

by Geoff 19 March 2012 1 Comment

Pentecostalism’s Global Language

by Walter Hollenweger

Dr Walter Hollenweger was Professor of Mission at the University of Birmingham. His books The Pentecostals (1972) and Pentecosalism (1997) are landmark volumes.

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It’s not tongues but
a different way of being a Christian

Why is Pentecostalism so popular? It is now over half a billion strong worldwide, and has been and continues to be the fastest-growing Christian movement in the world. It has made inroads not only in third-world regions like Africa and Latin America, but it also continues to attract huge followings in the United States and Europe.

Walter J. Hollenweger is the leading expert on worldwide Pentecostalism, which he has been studying for more than 40 years. Having grown up in the Pentecostal church, he later became ordained in the Reformed Church of Switzerland. From 1965 to 1971 he was executive secretary of the World Council of Churches, then served as professor of mission at England’s University of Birmingham for 18 years. His seminal book The Pentecostals (Hendrickson, 1972) was recently followed up by Pentecostalism: Origins and Developments Worldwide (Hendrickson, 1997).

What is a Pentecostal?

Worldwide there is so much variety that about all one can say is that a Pentecostal is a Christian who calls himself a Pentecostal. Though Americans tend to focus on the gift of tongues, overall Pentecostals emphasize that God has given several gifts – not just speaking in tongues but also healing and the so-called rational gifts like organization or building a school. Diverse gifts to diverse people. It’s not a strictly theological definition but a phenomenological one.

Why is speaking in tongues the focus in America?

There are many reasons, of course, but one is that American and other middle-class cultures, as in Switzerland, find tongues an extraordinary phenomenon, so these experiences get a lot of attention. In Africa or Mexico, on the other hand, speaking in tongues and healings are not considered extraordinary – they can even be found in some indigenous pagan religions. (Speaking in tongues is not even “supernatural,” as many Pentecostals have found out.) Tongues aren’t even spoken in a lot of third-world Pentecostal churches. Instead, third-world Pentecostals focus on corporate worship, singing together, and Christian education. American Pentecostals don’t seek education as much as an experience of the supernatural.

What have been the key changes in Pentecostalism?

First, more and more young Pentecostals are becoming scholars through reputable universities. It’s true for Pentecostals in Europe, North America, and Latin America. It’s also true for Africa and for Asia.

There are now several hundred young Pentecostal scholars with doctorates, and that, of course, changes the breadth and depth of Pentecostalism. Most of them have maintained their roots in Pentecostalism, so they are now bilingual. They can speak in the university language, in the language of concepts and definitions, but they can also speak in the oral language of Pentecostalism, and I think that is an extremely important part of their success.

Second, this increase in education has led in many places to more ecumenical openness. In the past, nobody wanted to talk to the Pentecostals, and the Pentecostals didn’t want to talk to any of the other churches because they saw them as a lost cause. Now, for instance, there is a worldwide dialogue between Pentecostals and Roman Catholics that has been going on for 20 years. There have also been many contacts with the World Council of Churches, and the latest example is a global dialogue with the Presbyterian churches.

David du Plessis, a pioneer in ecumenism, has been instrumental in both these changes. He went to the Catholics. He went to the World Council of Churches. He went to all the universities. And the fact that he was a reasonable man and also a Pentecostal astonished many people. They thought Pentecostals were all a little crazy and could not think properly. But when they got to know him, they realized that it is possible to speak in tongues and be a critical scholar.

Another change, of course, is the worldwide explosive growth to nearly half a billion adherents.

Why is Pentecostalism so popular?

Some scholars think it has to do with its theology and doctrine. But Pentecostal theology is not homogeneous. Others think it’s because of Pentecostals’ aggressive evangelism. That is partly true because a real Pentecostal is by definition an evangelist, whose faith is as infectious as the flu.

The most important reason is that it is an oral religion. It is not defined by the abstract language that characterizes, for instance, Presbyterians or Catholics. Pentecostalism is communicated in stories, testimonies, and songs. Oral language is a much more global language than that of the universities or church declarations. Oral tradition is flexible and can adapt itself to a variety of circumstances.

Can’t oral tradition drift off into sub-Christian and even heretical beliefs?

Certainly, but overall there is a basic evangelical consensus among Pentecostals. They are similar to the early church in this respect. Early Christians didn’t have a formal, written confession of faith, as Presbyterians and others do today. They had the stories of Jesus. Even Jesus didn’t spell out doctrine; he gave his followers stories of miracles, and taught through proverbs and parables.

The earliest church was united, but not as much through their theology as through the Lord’s Prayer, Paul’s collection for Jerusalem (his theological “enemies”), baptism, and the Eucharist. Their statements of faith were simple, and the simplest was “Jesus is Lord.” It was a very different way of achieving togetherness, and it was achieved through these oral forms.

Ironically, when the ecumenical confessions came later, they did not unite the church. They divided it, as propositional theology always does. But across divided theology, it is possible to pray together, to sing together, and to act together. That’s what Pentecostals do at their best.

Is it fair to say that when you convert to Pentecostalism, you are converting not to a certain theology but to a new experience of faith?

Yes, and that has important evangelistic consequences for Pentecostals.

In many circles, when you become a Christian, you talk about gaining a new understanding of the Lord’s Supper and baptism (they are either more or less sacramental), but other people are not terribly interested in that. When you become a Pentecostal, you talk about how you’ve been healed or your very life has been changed. That’s something Pentecostals talk about over and over, partly because people are interested in hearing that sort of thing.

Pentecostalism today addresses the whole life, including the thinking part. More mainline forms of Christianity address the thinking part first and that often affects the rest of life, but not always.

Yet it seems most Pentecostals are far more right-brained and intuitive than left-brained and rational.

Indeed, the “orality” of Pentecostalism – the singing, the dancing, the speaking in tongues – accents the intuitive. But a mature Pentecostal will try to connect the intuitive and the rational. Always emphasizing the analytical will destroy faith. But only emphasizing the intuitive leads to chaos. A challenge of the Pentecostal movement is to combine rational thinking with its spontaneous emotional side.

This is the challenge for all Christians, really. The rationalist needs the Toronto Blessing and has to be slain in the Spirit to realize that. It sometimes seems silly to me, but you’ll notice that it is rationalists and intellectuals who fall down. People who have a balanced emotional and intuitive life don’t need that. True, some rationalists dance, sing, go walking in the mountains, or play a musical instrument, but then they go back to their science, to rational lives, and the two are not connected.

What most concerns you as you think about Pentecostalism in the coming century?

First, Pentecostalism must confront its tendency to segregate and separate into countless denominations. It’s happening all the time, and it really is a scandal.

The other challenge is common to all Christian churches: What do we do with the ecological threat to the world? What do we do with the threat of hunger and the plight of refugees? It’s a challenge that will hit Pentecostals harder than any other churches because their largest churches are on the poor side of the world. But as Christians, we have a contribution to make — not just in money but in prayer and in developing solutions that politicians cannot.

But Pentecostals are not known for their social activism.

That’s true in some ways, but it is a misconception in others. Many of Martin Luther King’s marchers were black Pentecostals. In Brazil there are many Pentecostals sitting in parliament. And in many third-world countries, Pentecostals are trying to develop new ways of gaining political influence without the game playing we have in the West. In Latin America, for example, they try to work with sectors of the Catholic church to get water or a school or a new street for a poor district. So there are quite a number of places where Pentecostals take up the structural issues, but they do not take them up by founding political parties. They start from the local needs and the local misery people experience every day.

Spring 1998, Vol.XVII, No. 2, Page 42. Used with permission.

(c) Renewal Journal 13: Ministry, 1998, 2012.
Reproduction is allowed with the copyright included in the text.

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