Author Archives: Scott

Fifty Years of Charismatic Renewal

Posted on May 13, 2010 | 2 comments

by Scott

David Neff of Christianity Today has recently authored an article entitled Ardor and Order, which gives some brief thoughts on remembering 50 years of charismatic renewal. Check out the article itself, but below are some words to highlight from it.

Neff shares these thoughts on how the work of the Spirit opened the door to greater participation across varying church circles:

I had been raised in a sectarian atmosphere, trained to distrust Christianity of any stripe but my own. For me, what made the charismatic renewal remarkable was the ecumenical fellowship it created. American Baptists and Roman Catholics in our community were sharing Communion—even serving Communion at each other’s churches—until the Catholic bishop put a stop to it. Episcopalians were worshiping with an intensity that undercut all my prejudices against written prayers and prescribed liturgies. Formerly competing religious communities were suddenly open to common ministry and shared worship. This was not the classic liberal ecumenism with its “Doctrine Divides, Service Unites” motto. This ecumenism flowed from recognizing that the Holy Spirit was animating and transforming others.

He specifically gives these insightful words on the more lasting effect of the charismatic renewal:

Some analysts say the mainline charismatic renewal fizzled. It is more accurate to describe it the way Jesus pictured the kingdom of God: like yeast that spreads through bread dough. You can hardly identify it as a movement anymore, but it has changed the way most churches worship. Repetitive choruses and raised hands are now common. Except in pockets of hardcore resistance, the fact that a fellow Christian may praise God in a private prayer language hardly elevates an eyebrow.

Pentecostalism and the charismatic renewal have jointly given believers what historian Chris Armstrong calls Pentecostalism’s chief contribution to Christianity: an awareness of “a deep well of living water from which everything else flow[s] … the personal, relational presence of the living God.”

Even with some of its faults and holes, the charismatic renewal, or better yet, the Spirit of God, has brought a lasting effect upon the church. Not just in America, but in the whole world. Pentecostal and charismatic church numbers are soaring right across Africa, Asia, China and Central-South America. And I have personally been affected by such a movement. For this, I am in great debt.

2 Comments

Posted in charismatic, history

Tagged ,

Renewed Emphasis on the Spirit

Posted on May 6, 2010 | 1 comment

by Scott

I am not a man of nostalgia. I don’t particularly like to look back and wonder where the good ol’ days have gone. I recognise that a true disciple of the kingdom is one who brings out of his treasure both new and old (Matthew 13:52). Yet, I am one who is ever looking to keep his eyes fixed on the future, to where God is taking us. Thus, I hope you understand why I am not usually so stuck on reminiscing.

Yet, I will be honest, sometimes I long for God’s people to recover something, or someone, that can seem more active in the past than in the present. His name is Holy Spirit. I do believe that my generation has lost a little confidence in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. I’ve heard countless stories of what the Holy Spirit did in the 1960’s and 1970’s, especially in the UK. And, yes, it was amazing and exciting. But the one word wrong with the previous sentence is this – WAS.

In one of Jesus’ last discourses before His crucifixion, He told His friends this:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever. (John 14:16)

The Holy Spirit was to be ‘another Helper’, just as if Christ Himself were actually there in the flesh. Jesus even had the audacity to say:

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)

An advantage, eh? How in the world is this an advantage?

Because Jesus would be able to pour out on all of God’s people the long awaited blessing – the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would be God Himself living inside and empowering His people to change planet earth. And so I believe we must have a renewed emphasis on the person of the Godhead who has come to be with us, live in us and clothe us.

In looking to be stirred towards a renewed emphasis, I highlight three points about the work of the Spirit:

1) Reason

We could easily ask the simple question, ‘Why has the Holy Spirit come?’ It is a good question, no, even more, a vital question to the life of the body of Christ in the world. And I do believe that Jesus made it quite clear as to the reason why the Holy Spirit has come. It is found in a very familiar Scripture:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

There it is! That is the reason! The Holy Spirit has been sent and He has come to empower God’s people to complete the task for which God has called us – to be witnesses in all the earth. The Holy Spirit was not given mainly for tingles, nor to try and contain Him in our Sunday gatherings, but all that we might walk in the power of God so that we are equipped for serving and reaching others in our generation.

Amazingly, Jesus was not even afraid to say this about those who would believe in Him:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)

As Christ went back to His Father, He would send the Spirit, and by the Spirit’s power we, as a company of God’s people, would be able to do greater works than Christ Himself. Not a qualitatively greater work, but a quantitatively greater work. One can do a lot, but billions can accomplish quite a lot more. And it is estimated that there are now well over one billion followers of Jesus in the earth.

Remember, what Christ says, He will make sure it comes true!

And so, we are challenged to remember the reason for which the Holy Spirit has come – to empower the saints to accomplish the work of God in reaching to the ends of the earth.

2) Revelation

Next, we need to consider that the Spirit is the Spirit of revelation. We are all probably familiar with this passage, which many love to quote:

No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9)

There is a song that is sung these days quoting this Scripture, one I even enjoy singing. But we need to read on, at least for one more verse:

But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (2:10)

How about that? There was a day in which many things were hidden in God, for even Jesus declared:

For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matthew 13:17)

But we live in a day in which the things of God have been revealed, and even are being revealed, by His Spirit.

Yes, we still live in an age in which we ‘prophesy in part’ (1 Corinthians 13:9). And I believe there will always be things which will not be revealed (see Deuteronomy 29:29; Isaiah 55:8-9). But we are still getting glimpses, we are still called to hear the voice of the Spirit who lives within in us.

Some will argue that 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 is speaking about God’s revelation to the first apostles, and thus, this does not apply to us. And, granted, I do understand such an argument. But, remember we have the same Spirit dwelling within us as the first apostles, and thus, we are an apostolic people called to hear our God in our generation.

This does not mean we write another letter to add to Scripture, nor does it mean this revelation will not be in line with what He has revealed in through the whole tenor of Scripture. But, I am convinced God is calling His people to be a verse 10 people, one by which He continues to reveal to us His heart by the Spirit of God.

When is the last time we heard Him speak? Whether it is in the gentle voice as with Elijah (1 Kings 19:12-13) or in the whirlwind as with Job (Job 38:1), we desperately need to hear from the Holy Spirit. Listen to what Jesus said about our ears:

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. (Matthew 13:16)

We have One who lives in us that is a friend, One who wants to speak to us. Remember that He is another exactly like Jesus. With His presence within, it should be as if Jesus were right here with us. I know this is challenging, but I want to be drawn in and cultivate a deeper, intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit.

3) Response

Finally, if the Spirit is one who speaks, then we must, as the people of God, be willing to respond to His voice. The writer to the Hebrews reminds the Jewish believers of his day:

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. (Hebrews 4:7)

Now, as encouragement, keep in mind that we have been given new hearts by the One who drew us to Himself (see Ezekiel 36:26). We are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). So we are actually at an advantage in responding to our God.

I, myself, want to understand more and more what Paul meant when He exhorted the believers in Ephesus:

Do no grieve the Holy Spirit of God. (Ephesians 4:30)

In the context, Paul is probably referring to the words that come from our mouths (see 4:29). Oh, that only blessing would come from my lips, emulating the One whose words were gracious (Luke 4:22). But I believe grieving the Holy Spirit can go beyond just our words. The Spirit is speaking. Thus, I want to be listening. But I don’t want to stop there. I want to be obedient to His voice.

Interestingly enough, when the Scripture speaks of God hearing our prayers, it is actually referring to His response to our prayers (see Psalm 6:9; 66:19). The same is to stand true for us. We are to be hearers of God’s voice and responders.

Before Stephen was stoned, he told the Sanhedrin:

Our fathers refused to obey him. (Acts 7:39)

Oh, that we would not be like the Israelites who very rarely listened to and responded to the voice of God. Oh, that we would not grieve our great Friend who dwells within.

I believe that, as we bear in mind the reason the Spirit was given, the revelation of the Spirit and our response to the Spirit, we will begin to walk out the greater works which Christ has called us to. These are the days following Pentecost in which Christ gives the Spirit without measure (John 3:34). Let a passion be rekindled within us to pursue such a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

1 Comment

Posted in God speaking, Holy Spirit, Power

Tagged , , , ,

Who Are the Ones Gifted by the Holy Spirit?

Posted on May 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

by Scott

There was a recent article posted over at the Gospel Coalition on the gifts of the Spirit being given to all God’s people. The author of the article, Juan Sanchez, states:

Paul continues to undermine the basis for the boasting of the pneumatics (i.e., those who think they are spiritual because of the manifestation of spectacular gifts) by reminding them that All who have the Spirit are also gifted with gifts of the Spirit: charismata.

He quotes Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:7,11 to show such. Sanchez goes on to exclaim:

In other words, no one has any basis upon which to boast about spiritual giftedness, because each Christian not only has the Spirit but also has spiritual gifts (charismata). This was, after all, part of the promise of the new covenant (Acts 2:39) – that ALL God’s people would manifest the Holy Spirit:

Thus, a challenge, a rather good one, is presented near the end of the article:

So, if you are a Christian, you are gifted by the Spirit for ministry! Do you believe that? If so, then serve! We are not to be consumers; consumerism is contrary to the gospel and contrary to the Spirit’s work in us. May the Lord forgive us for our American evangelical McChurches, where we invite people to “sit back, relax and enjoy the show.”

Click here to read the full article.

Leave a comment

Posted in 1 Corinthians 12, Gifts, Gifts of the Spirit, Holy Spirit

Tagged , ,

An Example of Hearing God’s Voice

Posted on May 2, 2010 | 4 comments

by Scott

In the past, I posted an article giving an everyday example of prophecy – God revealing or unveiling something, even if it’s not in Scripture, but not contradicting Scripture. And this is all done for exhortation, encouragement and the building up of the body of Christ. Sometimes it’s hard to bring prophecy ‘out of the clouds’ and make it part of real life, for I believe God wants these things to be a part of our lives, not just super-spiritual gatherings. So it’s good to get a real-life, down-to-earth example.

I also recently posted an article of how God specifically spoke to me to help guide my praying for our neighbours. You can read it here. But, in this article, I wanted to post an example of hearing God’s voice today.

These past couple of weeks, I’ve been reading through a book by John and Stasi Eldredge called Love & War, a book about marriage. I like the Eldredge’s and their understanding of the role of the male and the role of the female, and now they have shared some thoughts on marriage. I am not going to give any kind of review on the book right now. But rather I wanted to share something I read the other night, an example of God speaking, God revealing His heart in the present day.

So here it is…

I [John] gave a talk on learning to hear the voice of God to a group of youth pastors. Afterward there was a book signing. I’m standing at my table – feeling a little bit like some guy selling Florida swampland – hoping that I don’t stand here and no one comes up when a man finally approached the table. “I don’t need a book signed,” he says. I try to keep a smile like it’s no big deal and I say, “That’s okay,” but he goes right on to say, “But I wanted to tell you a story.” “I’d love to hear it.” He looks right and left, sort of like You’re not gonna believe this. “So, I’m sitting there listening to your talk, and not real sure what I think about the whole thing. Then you invite us to listen to God.” I nod, eager to hear what happened for him, but also sort of dreading that nothing happened and he’s here to tell me God doesn’t speak to him. Too many dear souls have come to that conclusion because of a bad experience, or because no one has helped them learn to hear.

“Look, I’m not a mystic,” he says.

I smile but I’m thinking, Since when did hearing God’s voice become something reserved for mystics?

“But I decided to give it a try,” he continues. “So, I quiet down and just sit there. After a minute or so I asked God, What do you want to say to me? And what I hear is this: Take Janet to St. John.” “Janet’s my wife,” he explains, and I think, Well that’s a relief. “We’ve been wanting to take a trip together for a long time but we haven’t been able to pull it off. Anyhow, that’s what I hear – Take Janet to St. John.”

I’m thinking that’s the end of the story, so I say, “Well, she’s going to be delighted to heart that!”

He says, “No – the story’s not over.”

“After you end the talk everybody’s getting up to go to lunch. I turn to the guy next to me – we didn’t come together or anything – and tell him, ‘God told me to take my wife to St. John.'”

The way he tells this part of the story is sort of in a spirit of, Yeah right – Can you believe it? What am I supposed to do with that? I simply listen.

“And this guys says to me, ‘Well. I have been holding two tickets to St. John for a year, and God has told me they are not for me, that I’m to give them to someone else. So, there you go. I have your tickets.'”

Needless to say, Mr. I’m-Not-Much-of-a-Mystic became a believer in hearing the voice of God.

And you know what? This is actually pretty normal for the Christian life. Over the years we’ve heard a jigawillion stories like that. Ordinary folks, learning to listen for the voice of God and how he blesses them for doing so. God loves to speak, he loves to surprise us, and he has hundreds of adventures in store.

So – ask him.

End of excerpt.

Very beautiful. A man who was not open to the Spirit of God speaking today gets spoken to and has it confirmed immediately. Beautiful.

Now, Eldredge (and possibly most of these youth pastors, though I don’t know) is no self-pr0claimed charismatic or Pentecostal or Third Wave or whatever. He is simply a guy reaching out to other guys, his wife reaching out to other women, and he has become convinced of the reality that God still speaks today.

And this story is a very simple story. The man who heard God speak for the first time was not glorified. The other man with the tickets to St. John was not being glorified. John Eldredge was not even trying to glorify himself. But God was at work, drawing one of His sons into the inheritance of hearing His voice.

God is that good.

Just as a side note, please don’t think Eldredge and this story is somehow being used to proclaim an extreme prosperity gospel because God spoke about a holiday to St. John. I suppose that in the larger picture, this was one way God wanted to reveal His Father-heart to the man, and it was specifically for that man. I, too, have a story of God’s provision for my family to head to the Canary Islands for a week’s holiday this coming summer. And God wants to bless His children. But we have to be careful in embracing an over-the-top prosperity gospel. So, just making sure that is clear.

This is a clear, yet down-to-earth, example of God speaking today.

And, you know what, this is also an example of experience shaping theology. I’ve shared about this before, that it’s ok to recognise that our experience shapes our theology. God is not bothered by this, so we should not be. Now, of course, our experience is not the only thing that informs our theology. And it’s not even the foremost factor. But it is a reality and we need to both remember this and accept it.

Read the Scripture. Every single person’s theology was shaped by their experience with the living God. Every single one.

And so, in this example from Eldredge’s book, this one man shifted from a place of not believing that God speaks today (or being very cautious about it) to a place of truly believing that God does speak. And it wasn’t even in the midst of a ‘Thus saith the Lord’ statement. It was very simple, but very direct, and in this situation, His voice was confirmed immediately by another brother. Beautiful. And biblical.

But you know what. I really believe this happens more often than we think. Not just with charismatics and Pentecostals, though maybe more for those who are continually looking for and listening for God to speak (remember Eldredge is not charismatic or Pentecostal, per se). But I believe even the cessationist (or cautious continuationist) can give testimony to the reality of God’s voice. There might be a carefulness in labelling it as ‘revelation from God’ or ‘ hearing the voice of God speaking’. But the terminology matters less in the bigger scheme of things.

Of course, I would say it is God’s voice, and thus, His revelation. But, in the end, this stuff happens regularly for the sons and daughters of God. Yes, I will even go so far as to say this is normative, part of the normal Christian life.

It’s not to create a two-tier of have’s and have not’s, of those who hear God’s voice and those who don’t. It’s just to encourage us of the availability of God’s voice in everyday life. He is constantly revealing Himself. He never stopped and He won’t ever stop until the consummation of all things (1 Corinthians 13:8-12).

It could be through a reflective devotional time, through reading the Scripture, through a walk amongst the beauty of creation, listening to a song, reading a book, a prophetic word from a brother or sister, or a whole plethora of other things. But our Father is just that good – to continue to communicate with us.

None of this is to be contradictory to Scripture, contradictory to the nature of who God is, contradictory to being accountable to the body of Christ and the leaders of our local church. Rather, such will be a blessing as we are seekers of our God who breathed out Scripture, who has shown Himself in those pages, and who has connected us to His body. And this is how God designed it.

So let us be encouraged to draw in to listening. Let us draw into His heart.

4 Comments

Posted in experience, God speaking, prophecy, revelation, subjectivity

Tagged , , , ,

Should We Pursue Spiritual Gifts? – Sam Storms

Posted on April 27, 2010 | 3 comments

I thought this was an excellent video in which Sam Storms answers this question: If we believe in the continuation of all spiritual gifts, should we pursue them?

3 Comments

Posted in Gifts, Gifts of the Spirit, Sam Storms, video

Tagged , , ,