I just finished preaching a retreat. On Saturday night, I preached on John 7:37-39, where Jesus says to the crowd at the Feast of Tabernacles, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (TNIV). Obviously, my message was on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As I was praying before the session, I was reflecting on the times when students have not been filled with the Holy Spirit. I must admit, that frustrates and confuses me. In fact, I know many leaders who avoid this topic because they’ve had too many frustrating experiences praying for people to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, with no “results”.
As I was thinking through this dilemma, I was reminded of the history of Pentecostalism in North America. In the early 1900s, a teacher by the name of Charles Parham taught his students about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The teaching produced a thirst within the students that sent them on a pursuit. Parham continuously urged his students and others to keep pursuing this promised experience. At 11:00pm on January 1, 1901, a young lady named Agnes Ozman (see insert picture) was finally filled with the Spirit, speaking in tongues for 3 days following. From there, a “pursuit” began all over North America for this same experience. Not everyone received the baptism of the Holy Spirit right away. Yet, preachers/leaders urged people who were thirsty for this experience to keep seeking.
That brings me to this week’s thought. Why is it that Pentecostal leaders only mention the baptism of the Holy Spirit in a designated message? Why is there not a continuous “call”, urging thirsty people to keep pursuing the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Why does pursuit of this experience only last for a day? When someone is thirsty, they will keep pursuing until that thirst is quenched. And yet, so many leaders move thirsty people on to the “next” topic or series without urging a ongoing pursuit that results in the thirst being met. I am reminded that Jesus instructed His disciples, who incidentally had the greatest teaching a human could get, that they were not to go any further in their walk until they received the Holy Spirit. For Jesus, the baptism of the Holy Spirit was more than just a curriculum topic. For Christ, this baptism was the answer to the problem of thirst – and the answer for powerful evangelism. And, the disciples pursued in that upper room, not receiving immediately, but not moving on until they were filled.
If I could say one thing to Pentecostal leaders, it would be this – “Constantly tell your people to keep pursuing this promised experience that quenches our thirst!” Every time you are with people who are not baptized in the Holy Spirit, encourage them to keep pursuing. I don’t think we can do this enough. The Pentecostal experience is not just another topic to be checked off on our list for the year. It is not something reserved for a Saturday night retreat service or for “Pentecost Sunday”. The more we talk about it, the greater the thirst will be. The greater the thirst will be, the greater the pursuit. And…the greater the pursuit, the more will be filled!
Hey Jeff,
Good post. I remember growing up in church and with every Sunday night altar call, there was a moment when we opened the doors for anyone to receive the baptism. Obviously now, it’s not the case for a few reasons or general observations:
1) Pastors are choosing to look at the whole calendar and pick off things they want to talk about on a Sunday where their MAIN crowd is (seekers, non-believers, mainliners, etc.) and focus there. Sunday mornings, it seems, aren’t the place for that type of outpouring but instead a place for basic needs to be met (I’m not saying this is right…but this is what it looks like)
2) Most of these occasions came on Sunday nights. When’s the last time you saw a church with a night service? Packed with hungry people? Not just people who are going because it’s what they’ve done forever…?
3) We’re scared that no one will receive if we go week by week, so it’s EASIER to put it on a calendar…
4) We as leaders don’t know what it’s for anymore. We have our semantics wrong, our theology has morphed itself with others based on whatever book we’re reading or preacher we’re following at the moment.
5) And this one is a sad one. We don’t care. I heard one of our own once say, ‘what’s the big deal about it? Isn’t the Spirit doing new and creative things that we don’t really need to worry about it?’ It only then makes sense at a camp or YC.
I think our movement is in that crisis. We’re scared cause some people have it happen and we don’t and we’re embarrased. We don’t know what to do after someone receives. We just don’t know.
Again…those are just observations…I could be wrong. I’m anglican anyhow:)
Great blog Pastor Jeff.
In five years of Youth ministry, I regret to say I have only spoken on this a few times. Recently, as speaker at a Youth Retreat, I wanted to speak on Holy Spirit, and cap off the service with a call to Baptism of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues. Never before did I feel such fear of the response from students.
I called my Father the afternoon before, and talked to him about it. He told me something that resonated in my heart. He said that there are two topics that are rarely preached on today, those being healing and baptism of the Holy Spirit. The reason for this because preachers are afraid of nobody responding or, an even worse predictament, people responding and not recieving.
He said this statement to me, that I wrote down on my Bible to reference to everytime I feel doubt or fear: “My responsibility is to prayerfully deliver a Word from God, the result is not my responsibility”.
Ultimately it is the Holy Spirit who is the one that people recieve from.
This is a continue struggle for me to grasp as I continue to mature in ministry. But I can say that God is faithful to respond.
This is probably one of my most favourite topics. I promise to not go into a long dissertation on the topic, just give some random thoughts…
I’m in agreement with everything that has been said, and I completely agree with the fact that we must address this more often and that it would be very natural for us to talk about Holy Spirit and the Baptism of The Holy Spirit. My most pressing thought on this is in the area of this being natural for us. Do the people around me see that it’s natural and it really affects how I live and interact with God and the people i rub shoulders with? Does it create in others a desire for this same naturally supernatural experience? I think there is a disconnect from the person of Holy Spirit and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with who we are as (Pentecostal) Christians. I think some post moderns have seen people receive an experience but it not change their life-style a whole lot, and thus just chalking it up to something that is optional, not authentic, and sometimes not very attractive. I think it’s time to bring a reconnect. It’s time to pursue and create a hunger for the real authentic natural experience and expression and lifestyle that Holy Spirit brings.
Oh, my one other thought on this, is the willingness to WAIT upon the the Lord, which i don’t think we are structured for or wired for in our instant culture that we need to work through. Is there a way we can work with the prevailing culture in this or a way to create a new culture that is willing to put agendas aside and wait on God? “Wait here until…” ….sorry I had to put this last thought in there.
Let’s pursue, Let’s Wait, Let’s be Naturally Supernatural.
Thanks Jeff,
Randy
Hi Pastor Jeff,
Thank you for sharing and stirring hearts on this issue.
I just started reading Francis Chan’s, “Forgotten God.” It is all about how the church/believers have neglected the third person of the trinity. I echo what Pastor Randy wrote, that many people have had an experience by not gotten to know the person of the Holy Spirit that transforms our lives. What good is tongues if we aren’t changed and empowered to do kingdom work, become more like Christ, and share the gospel? That’s an obvious questions, but do we address all aspects of the Spirit’s work? Sometimes it seems like Pentecostals, in the day of PC, and postmodernism are almost shy or apologetic about the gifts of the spirit, specifically tongues and prophecy. This should concern us.
I myself grapple with the “Why” of those believers who are great Christian in faith and practice, whom have sought the baptism of the Holy Spirit and are still awaiting that gift? On the other hand, and on perhaps a bit more of a positive note, I have witnessed recently two new Christians who have come from an entirely un-churched background, receive the Baptism very shortly after being saved. Does ignorance create less reservation?
Actually, one account was this summer at OVPC youth camp. My cousin, whom I had been praying for, shared the Lord with him and invited him to camp. He gave his heart to the Lord Sunday night and received the Baptism Tuesday evening. This is encouraging!
But I question, even beyond not preaching/teaching on the Baptism, do we pray enough for it? Do we encourage people to seek it continually outside of altar time? My Baptism was in my bedroom praying alone. Again there is this duality of those who’ve prayed for years and not received, and our churches in which we could evaluate if we pray enough?
I echo what Chris said. How many churches still have a service where opportunity is given for people to receive. Chris APC was my home church. It is where I received the Baptsm in the Holy Spirit. The Prayer room was always packed Sunday nights with people, especially youth seeking God for more of the Sirit. And it was seldomn quiet or ‘organized” .
Somewhere at some time we got tired, and professional. We wanted a clean church. We wanted to be ‘seeker sensitive’ My Question is whatever happened to being ‘Spirit sensitive” Am I whining about returning to the ‘old days”? Yes and no. We can never repeat what occured in the past. But we must constantly be in pursuit ( Jeffs words) of the Spirit and His filling. Paul said ‘be being filled with the Spirit.’
However we do it, on Sundays, Fridays, Wednesdays, we must get over ourselves and get on our faces personally and seek God before we lead our people into an experience and lifestyle we are not yet pursuing.
Totally agree… but this appears to be a sign of our times. I have found people don’t want it and what is worse, our leadership doesn’t see the need, or are not convinced of it themselves. I remember sitting with someone who was a pastor in a pentecostal church, had attended one of our fine pentecostal institutions and him saying he doesn’t believe that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence. When asked what he did on tests or in papers, he said he wrote what they wanted to hear.
I also agree with Mark, we are afraid to preach the truth on two subjects.. healing and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
It’s unfortunate because those are two of the biggest God ordained church growth programs out there and we are missing out.
I simply know there are those who are being drawn into a hunger and thirst for the Spirit of God to move again.
I simply say to God – go ahead and move and let me preach your truth and help me not to hold You back.
I, like Mark, have struggled with teaching on the Holy Spirit. Somewhat out of fear of the response, but also because of an unresolved struggle in my understanding of the Holy Spirit. I have lived and experienced the work of the Holy Spirit, but the opposition questions brought unresolved answers between experience and theology. So my response was avoidance.
So about a year ago, I took on the task of teaching a four week series on the Holy Spirit to our church. It was the best thing I could have done for myself. This opportunity forced me to resolve my tensions.
One of the tensions I have dealt with is: It is not my responsibility to get someone Baptized. Mark mentioned a comment his dad made, and Jeff alluded to it in his comments as well. It is our responsibility as leaders to keep it in the face of those we are leading. It is the individuals responsibility to pursue God, and the Holy Spirit’s responsibility to Baptize them.
Our passive Canadian culture has been lulled to sleep, and we have waged war on the peripheral not the spiritual battle at work in the West. We may be fighting, as Christians, but it is without all our spiritual armour.
Thanks again Jeff, for keeping it in our face.
Paul