Throughout the history of the Christian Church, from Pentecost onward, there have been believers in every century who moved in the power of the Holy Spirit to teach, preach, pastor, serve and administer, but also to prophesy, to heal, to raise from the dead, to deliver from evil spirits, to speak words of wisdom and knowledge, to work miracles, to have visions, to speak in other languages known and unknown and to interpret what has been spoken and to move in other manifestations of the Holy Spirit as He wills.
I have a thick book called - The International Dictionary Of Pentecostal, Charismatic Movements - which lists some of these through the centuries. Here are a few examples taken from there showing that spiritual gifts were still common even after the death of the last apostle.
First Century - Around A.D. 96, Clement, bishop of Rome, and Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, document the continued operation of prophetic gifts.
Second Century - Irenaeus of Lyon describes the gifts of prophecy, discernment of spirits, and exorcism in his Gallic church, and even mentions that individuals have been raised from the dead.
Third Century - Origen of Alexandria says healings, exorcisms, and validating signs and wonders continue to be experienced in the church.
Skipping ahead 1400 years we see:
Seventeenth Century - Early Quaker literature records visions, healings, and prophecies, which they liken to the Day of Pentecost. There is even evidence of tongues speech among them, although Goerge Fox, their founder, eventually discourages such ecstatic utterances.
Eighteenth Century - John Wesley, the founder of Methodism (1703-91) introduces into Protestantism an awareness of the Spirit's operation in all of human experience unlike any other in Western Christianity at the time. Although not personally given to enthusiastic religion he is very tolerant of followers who claim dreams, visions, healings, and revelations.
The "Awakened", a Lutheran revivalistic movement in Finland, begins in 1796 with a sudden out pouring of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by such observable signs as visions and glossolalia (tongues). This renewal continues into the 20th century.
Nineteenth Century - The West of Scotland revival (1830) features a variety of spiritual giftings, including prophesy, healings, glossolalia, and interpretation of tongues.
Pentecostal phenomena, including glossolalia, are reported among South Indian Christians in Travancore and Madras State in the 1860's and 1870's.
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America experienced prior to the Revolutionary War a revival known as the First Great Awakening, led by such revivalists as the Wesley brothers and Jonathan Edwards. Out of the Second Great Awakening which happened prior to the Civil War and which continued afterwards through many evangelistic tent meetings came the theology of a second spiritual experience after conversion which became known as a "holiness" experience. This was a deep inner transformation of a person which then reflected in their desires and the type of life that would flow from that.
In 1900 a holiness preacher, Charles F. Parham, reads an account by missionary M. Jennie Glassey who went to Africa in 1896. There had been reports of the possible reappearance of the gift of tongues with actual occurrences in India and Africa and this was very exciting to many who wanted this gift before they proceeded to the mission field. Parham travels to Shiloh, ME, where he hears speaking in tongues for the first time and is convinced that it represents evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit and would be a key tool for world evangelism.
In January 1901 Parham and his students at Bethel Bible School pray that the Holy Spirit would be poured out as it was in the book of Acts and Agnes Ozman became the first one there to to speak in tongues.
In 1905 one of Parham's students, William Seymour, receives the Pentecostal experience and is one of the key people leading the famous Azuza Street revival (1906-1913) which had a world wide impact and from which sprang the formation in the next two decades of the Pentecostal branch of Christianity.
From the Azuza revival on most people openly claiming the experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues were not welcome in their denominational churches. This began to change in 1959 when Episcopal Priest Dennis Bennett became baptized in the Holy Spirit, started preaching it to his church in Van Nuys, Ca, and was not forced to be quiet about it and leave. This was credited as the beginning of the Charismatic movement in the mainline churches.
In 1967 the Charismatic movement hit the Catholic Church which eventually led to Jackie's Charismatic experience in 1971 and my experience of salvation and baptism in the Holy Spirit late November 1972. The Holy Spirit eventually led our family out of the Catholic Church but the tongues and prophecies, the praying with expectation for healing and deliverance, the experiencing of scripture as alive and powerful, the words of wisdom and knowledge, inspired dreams and even visions have not ceased for us.
Modern Pentecost began with a deep desire for souls to come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. The early saints wanted the power for that reason. It still drives us. Pentecost is not about vibrant worship, although that is great. It is not about spiritual gifts, although people today need healing and deliverance and prophetic words and encouragement just as much today as at the beginning. It is certainly not about thinking that we are better or more holy than any other Christian, although it is hard to imagine why anyone would't want to have the Bible come alive or be able to worship and pray with a spiritual gift made just for us so we can go on when our native words and understandings run out.
Modern Pentecost is about surrendering our souls to everything that the Father desires for us. It is about us being weak and Him being strong and the Holy Spirit leading us in our weakness to do strong things. It is about faith that is alive, hope in the midst of the worries of this world and learning to love all those with whom we share this earthly soil. And it is about trusting Him, that when we yield our heads and our hearts, our feet, hands and tongue, that He knows who we are and can do all He has promised.
Some gifts are for us personally. Some are for the benefit of the Church, the Body of Christ. Some are for His desire that all would come to know Jesus, surrender their hearts and wills to Him, and come to freely love and worship the Father.
Jackie, who was a believer for as long as she could remember, received the Holy Spirit baptism after her father gave her a little talk about his experience in receiving the gift of tongues and baptism in the Holy Spirit. He then laid his hands on her, prayed, and Jackie began to speak out in another language, thus beginning a new chapter in her Christian walk.
I surrendered my heart to Jesus as Lord and Savior alone on my knees in the living room of our little third floor apartment. At the same time I asked for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and surrendered my voice to the gift of a new language.
We were later able to pray and lay on hands for each of our 5 children to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and to ask Him to fill them with His Holy Spirit. They all received the gift of tongues right away and have been trusting Jesus through the good and the bad times ever since.
We recently prayed for a woman whose father is a famous Bible teacher to receive the gift of tongues. She had already asked Jesus for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit but had not as yet received her prayer language. Her father did not believe in such things but she knew it was for her. When we prayed we did not put our hands on her but even so a few weeks later we got the report that she was happily praying in the Spirit.
God never promised that life would be easy. But He did promise to send us a Helper, an Advocate, a Comforter to be with us always, even to the ends of the earth.
The Holy Spirit is with you at conversion. At that time your spirit is reborn and the Holy Spirit can freely move in a lot of areas of your life. But many times He is released in a more powerful way in your soul as we surrender to Him, especially as we surrender our tongue to a language that we give breath to but He gives the words.
It is my prayer that you would seek Him right now to find His great gift for you. That you would tell the Lord that you are willing to do anything that He desires of you, trusting that He loves you and only wants what is best for you. Ask Him for a fullness of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him for the gift of tongues. Then take a step out in faith to yield your voice to His gift. If may come while you are on your knees. It may come when you are relaxed in the shower, not afraid to sing nonsense. It may come while you are driving to work (good luck with the rest of your day!). But if you ask (The Father wanting to give good gifts to His children) you will receive.
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