TABLE OF CONTENTS

VITA

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PUBLICATIONS

Bailey, William. The Ministry of Helps: Its Scriptural and Functional Position in the Local Church. Browns Summit, North Carolina: Information Conservation, 1996.

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CHAPTER 1 -- INTRODUCTION

It is the intent of the author that this document will demonstrate the relationship between the move of the Spirit of God in these "last of the last days" and the Biblical term, "the Spirit of Faith." It is my contention that the Spirit of Faith is the key element to the Last Day Revival that so many are preaching and teaching about at this point in time.

We will define the Spirit of Faith and demonstrate that it is also a reference to the Glory of God, and the operation of God’s Spirit, in these closing days of the "Church Age" with regard to the doctrine of Dispensational Truth. Toward this end, we will also examine the historical perspective of the moves, or "waves of revival" of the Holy Spirit in this century.

We will also explore the means by which the believer can, and should, participate in this move of God and what is incumbent on the individual believer in this participation. We will delve into methods of conforming and yielding to the Holy Spirit in the current revival, and actions and intentions that would restrain one’s active participation. We will demonstrate that this "Spirit of Faith revival," or wave of the Holy Spirit, is the last great outpouring of God’s power and blessing on the planet before the triumphant return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the close of this age.

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CHAPTER 2 -- WHAT IS "THE SPIRIT OF FAITH?"

The scripture states in 2 Corinthians 4:13, 14:

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. (Italics added for emphasis).

The term "Spirit of Faith," as used in the verse above, can be viewed and understood in many ways, and, in fact, much has been taught about this phrase by many ministers of the Gospel. Brother Kenneth Copeland has referred to this "Spirit of Faith" as an "overcoming, winning attitude."

Now the thing that I want to talk to you about is the Spirit of Faith. Now this is not talking about the Holy Spirit, it’s not talking about your spirit, its not talking about a spirit ‘personality’ here. It’s using the phrase ‘the Spirit of Faith’ the same way you would use the phrase ‘espirit de corps;’ the ‘spirit of the corps;’ the ‘spirit of the team;’ the ‘team spirit;’ the ‘school spirit;’ you know what I’m talking about? (Copeland: The Spirit of Faith: The Spirit of Faith Teaching Tape Series)

Brother Copeland points out that the "Spirit of Faith" he is describing is not a "spirit" in the sense of being a specific spirit personality, but can be viewed as an attitude:

I want you to see part of this Spirit of Faith, this attitude of faith...the attitude of faith is so, so important to the life of the believer. The Bible says that you need the spirit of your mind renewed in the Book of Ephesians, it tells us to renew the spirit of our mind. What’s the spirit of your mind? That’s your attitude! Renew your attitude! How do you do that? You do it with God’s Word! You need a winning attitude, you need a faith attitude. Your attitude about things ought to be like Jesus’ attitude. (Copeland: A Winning Attitude of Faith: The Spirit of Faith Teaching Tape Series)

Brother Copeland further explains his view on the Spirit of Faith as a "winning attitude" by comparing the spiritual activity and lifestyle of a believer to the manifestation of "satanic activity" in the lifestyle of a sinner:

"I believe therefore have I spoken." Now there are a lot of people, that a lot of places and a lot of times say, "Well, those guys talk about that confession stuff, and that speaking stuff all the time, that’s just all they talk about!" Well that’s because we’re involved with the Spirit of Faith. We’re in the spirit of the thing. I mean, I’m caught up with the spirit of it. Of course, the Spirit that’s Lord over it, is the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of Faith! And when you get around Him you just act and talk that way. You can go into any nation of the world, and I don’t care what language they speak, they all act just alike. And did you know that they all (also) act just like the devil...just alike? Wherever you go, you can spot the devil. He acts the same way when he’s drunk. He acts the same way when he’s on drugs...a human being, whether he speaks English, German, French, Swahili, or "Gabi-Gabi," or anything else that you can find. Or one that just stands around and grunts and moans...will act the same way when he’s drunk. He’ll act the same way when he’s on drugs. He’ll act the same way when he’s overcome by some kind of an emotion. He’ll act the same way when he’s mad. He’ll act the same way under any influence of satan. The spirit of that thing is all the same, all over the world. And by the same token, they act the same way when they get born again. They act the same way when they go to praising God in other tongues. They act the same way when the Spirit of God comes on the scene. And you teach them how to operate in faith and go to talking about faith and they’ll go just as nutty somewhere else as they do here… its the same Spirit of Faith! It’s the same Spirit, led by the same one! Thank God! (Copeland: The Spirit of Faith: The Spirit of Faith Teaching Tape Series)

While this view no doubt has instructional value and is an important aspect of this scripture reference, it is not the actual, literal translation of this verse. We can infer that the Spirit of Faith is simply an attitude, but we can not concretely say that it can, and should, only be viewed as an attitude of the heart. In the quotation above, Brother Copeland says that the "Spirit" that is Lord over this attitude is the Holy Spirit of God. We need to dig deeper into the actual meaning of this verse in the original language.

The Greek Definition

In fact, the phrase "Spirit of Faith" used in 2 Corinthians 3:14 is translated as follows from the original Greek:

Spirit

4151 pneuma (pnyoo'-mah);

from 4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit:

KJV-- ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare 5590.

of

3588 ho (ho);

including the feminine he (hay); and the neuter to (to); in all their inflections; the def. article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):

KJV-- the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc..

Faith

4102 pistis (pis'-tis);

from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:

KJV-- assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity. (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Strong’s Concordance)

In other words, the term " Spirit of Faith" begins with a word that is actually translated directly as a personality such as the spirit of a man, or the Spirit of God. This word simply means "spirit," and, if we examine the context, it must be a "spirit" that we can all share as believers. That is, we are each individually unique spirits in the concrete sense. Each of us is a separate and unique human spirit, we each have a soul, and we each live in a separate physical body.

Tripartite Man

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

This scripture indicates that the "whole" man is composed of the spirit, the soul and the body. E.W. Kenyon refers to this fact in his book, The Hidden Man of the Heart: An Unveiling of the Subconcious Mind:

Here are some spirit facts: man is a spirit, he has a soul. The soul is composed of his reasoning faculties. He lives in a physical body. The physical body possesses the five senses, they are the educators and teachers of the brain. (Kenyon: The Hidden Man of the Heart: 8)

Kenyon explains that this totality of the "tripartite man" can be recognized in the training and growth of the human being from birth through life.

In the babe we see purely the physical. Then as the child’s mind begins to reach out and becomes inquisitive, the child becomes simply mind and body to us.

We are careful to feed its body, to build it up, to train the mind and make it efficient, but who has ever taught or trained the spirit?

We heard much in psychological discussions about the subconscious mind. At first we were thrilled with it. Then we discovered that it was nothing but our own spirit.

We found that the conscience is the voice of the spirit, reason is the voice of our mind, and feelings are the voice of our body. (Kenyon: The Hidden Man of the Heart: 25, 26)

To support this truth further, John Osteen relates in his book, How to Flow in the Super Supernatural, "You are a spirit. You have a soul. You live in a body." So, we see, that the "real you" is a unique spirit man. The "real you" has, or possesses, a soul, which can be referred to as "the mind, will and emotions," and lives in a physical body.

Yet, no one can know another man’s spirit in the natural. That is, it is impossible to "read the mind" (or the spirit) of another outside of supernatural activity beyond the operation of the five natural senses. The following scripture makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 2:9-12:

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

The "heart" and the "spirit" are synonymous. Quoting Brother E.W. Kenyon again:

Psychology has to do with the mind, and the New Birth has to do with the "hidden man of the heart," or the spirit of man. (Kenyon: The Hidden Man of the Heart: 7)

His reference to "hidden man of the heart" is from this scripture reference:

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. (1 Peter 3:3, 4, emphasis added.)

As we see, the reference to the term "heart" is, indeed, synonymous with the word "spirit" in the same verse.

No one can "know" the things that are in another man’s spirit, but we can know the things that are freely given to us of the Spirit of God. Why is this? Because God has placed His Own Spirit within each of us that are born again! We are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God, which is the earnest of our inheritance.

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,

Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13, 14)

That is why the scripture can assert that we have access to the things that are in God’s Spirit. As we noted in 1 Corinthians 2:12:

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

We have each, as believers, received the Holy Spirit of God, therefore, when we review the context and translation of 2 Corinthians 4:13, we must conclude that if Paul asserts that we (implying all the believers that he was addressing) have the same Spirit of Faith, then this Spirit must, in fact, be the Holy Spirit. There is no other common spirit personality that we can all share.

Given this fact, what conclusion can we draw? We must realize that the attitude that Brother Copeland refers to as a "winning, overcoming attitude" must be the result of the Spirit of God operating in the believer. The "Spirit of Faith" is an outward manifestation of the inward operation and manifestation of the Spirit of God.

The Operation of the Spirit of Faith

Now, let’s examine what the results of the "Spirit of Faith’s" operation is in this scripture:

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak...

(2 Corinthians 4:13).

"I believed, and therefore have I spoken..." Apparently, the Holy Spirit’s operation in the believer’s life, producing this winning attitude, also produces an unction to speak out words of faith. Let us remember our definition of the word "pistis," or "faith," from Strong’s Concordance:

from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:

KJV-- assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity. (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Strong’s Concordance)

Note the fact that "pistis" is a "persuasion", and it also implies "constancy in such profession." It would seem that confession, or speaking one’s faith, or beliefs, is a key part of what it means to be a believer, and certainly one that operates in this "Spirit of Faith."

The first and most fundamental fact these verses (2 Corinthians 4:13-18) reveal about the spirit of faith is that it believes.

What does it believe? The Word of God. What’s more, faith believes God’s Word just because God said it -- whether natural circumstances seem to agree or not.

That means if you want to maintain a spirit of faith in the area of healing, for example, you must start by getting your Bible and finding out what God has said about healing. (Gloria Copeland: The Unbeatable Spirit of Faith: 6, 7)

The Spirit of Faith believes the Word of God in spite of what the circumstances say, then it speaks what God’s Word says about the circumstance or situation.

That’s what the spirit of faith does. It stands in the midst of the most impossible circumstances and believes God anyway! Then it begins to speak. (Gloria Copeland: The Unbeatable Spirit of Faith: 11)

The Spirit of Faith, then, can be viewed as operating in a prevailing attitude of victory that arises from the fact that the Holy Spirit of God within us is at work bringing the Word of God in our lives to pass. You must live by faith, walk by faith and talk by faith. Then you will be living in the Spirit of Faith.

Right now you may be thinking, I really want to walk and talk by faith. The problem is, every time I look at the mess I’m in, I get discouraged.

Then stop looking at the mess! Instead, focus your attention on the promise of God. Keep His Word in front of your eyes and in your ears until you see it coming to pass with the eyes of your spirit.

That’s what the spirit of faith does. It looks "not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Of course, I’m not saying you should ignore your problems or close you eyes to them as if they aren’t real. They are real. But according to the Word they are temporal. That means subject to change. And you can be assured that if you keep looking at the Word, they will change! (Gloria Copeland: The Unbeatable Spirit of Faith: 15, 16)

The Importance of Speaking

Our key scripture in our study of the Spirit of Faith in 2 Corinthians 4:13 says that:

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak...

From what we have learned from the Word during the recent "Word of Faith," or "Teaching Revival;" what we say is what comes to pass in our lives. This principle is at the heart of "faith teaching." We are to believe in our heart and confess with our mouth.

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:8, 9)

This is the very essence of "the Word of Faith," which we preach! Now the Spirit of Faith compels us to speak our faith!

He said here that faith has a spirit about it. Well to find out what the spirit of something is, you just listen to it speak for a little bit and you’ll find out what the spirit is that prevails over it. How does it speak, how does it act? How does it walk, how does it conduct itself? What does it do? What prevails when more than one faith person comes together, what is the spirit that prevails in that place? How do they all act? They’ll all act the same way if its all the same faith. If they all have faith in the same thing then they are all going to act the same way when they come together. (Copeland: The Spirit of Faith: The Spirit of Faith Teaching Tape Series)

People who act in faith, speak the Word, and live the "faith life" are the one’s that overcome in life!

We will see further confirmation of these truths with regard to the Spirit of Faith as we explore the scriptures verse by verse in 2 Corinthians Chapters Three through Five to see the meaning of this term within context in the writings of Paul in Chapter Four of this dissertation. Before we move on to that examination, we need to establish a correlation between the Spirit of God and the Glory of God. We will take up this discussion in the next chapter.

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CHAPTER 3 -- THE SPIRIT OF GLORY

In this chapter, we will substantiate the truth that the Glory of God and the Spirit of God are synonymous. This will be important in our later discussion of the "moves," or revivals of the Holy Spirit and the manifestations of the Glory of God that are present during these moves of the Spirit.

Early in the 1990s, I heard Brother Kenneth Copeland ministering on his television broadcast, The Believer’s Voice of Victory. He said, "The Holy Ghost is the Glory of God!" This statement intrigued me! Can we further substantiate this assertion?

In his book, The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit, Dr. R. A. Torrey makes this observation:

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Glory in 1 Peter 4:14: "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." This name does not merely teach that the Holy Spirit is infinitely glorious Himself, but it rather teaches that He imparts the Glory of God to us, just as the Spirit of Truth imparts truth to us. As the Spirit of Life imparts life to us; as the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding and of Counsel and Might and Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord imparts to us wisdom and understanding and counsel and might and knowledge and counsel and the fear of the lord; and as the Spirit of Grace applies and administers to us the manifold grace of God; so the Spirit of Glory is the administrator to us of God’s glory. (Torrey: The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit: 71)

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Glory. The outward manifestation of what is called the "Glory of God" is a manifestation of God’s Holy Spirit. We can see this in Acts Chapter Two when the Holy Spirit was poured out in the Upper Room:

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it set upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)

The outward manifestation of "fire" above the heads of the believers there in Acts Chapter Two is an outward manifestation of the Glory of God.

...lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (2 Corinthians 4:4). The light of what? The light of the glorious Gospel. The Gospel is the word of God. Romans 1:16 tells us the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. God’s power is in the Gospel. The Gospel is the power.

Religious tradition has taught us that gold rings, or halos, around someone’s head represented holiness. When you are talking about God’s glory, you are talking about a manifestation of the life, the light, and the love of God. That glory describes all three forces as well as being the physical manifestation of all three. God Himself is covered with it from head to foot. Moses saw it from His backside.

In these last days we are going to learn about the knowledge of the glory of God. When that glory is manifested in our midst, crippled bodies won’t stay crippled, blind eyes won’t stay blind, deaf ears won’t stay deaf. We have experienced the manifestation of God’s glory to a degree, but the time is now that we will experience greater manifestations of that glory. The law of sin and death cannot stand in its presence. Praise God!

William Branham, a great prophet of God in the 1950’s and 1960’s, experienced the light of God shining around him. When he would begin to minister, he would be enveloped in that light. Several times it was photographed. In the Believer’s Convention we conducted in Anaheim, California in 1979, Brother Kenneth E. Hagin was ministering in a service. One of the professional photographers taking photographs of the meetings took a picture of him as he preached the Word of God. The picture that was developed showed Brother Hagin completely surrounded by the light of God. Looking at the picture very closely, I could see tongues of fire upon him. He was completely engulfed in that glory.

I was preaching a meeting in San Francisco several years ago. During one of those services, fire wrapped around the outside of the hotel where the meeting was. It was one of the most powerful services I’ve ever seen. Someone photographed it wrapped around the top floors of the building. (Copeland: Walking in the Realm of the Miraculous: 93, 94)

These external manifestations of the Spirit are referred to as "the Glory." The light that was upon Moses’ face in 2 Corinthians Chapter 3 is another example of the Glory of God in manifestation.

But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? (2 Corinthians 3:7, 8)

This is a reference to what happened in Exodus 34:29, 30:

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from the mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Mose’s hand, when he came sown from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

The reference in 2 Corinthians Chapter Three referred to this manifestation specifically as "the Glory of God." There are many other examples of this type of manifestation of the Glory in the Bible.

It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, "For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;

So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:13, 14)

The Glory of the Lord in manifestation made it impossible for the priests to continue to minister! This overwhelming presence of God’s Spirit in manifestation has also been described as a "light." We saw this in the quote from Brother Copeland earlier, in which he described a "glow" surrounding the head of William Branham and Kenneth E. Hagin. We also see reference to the "light that shined" being the Glory of God in the scripture, in 2 Corinthians Chapter Four, verse six:

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We see this same reference to light, or "fire," being a manifestation of God’s Glory in Ezekiel 8:1-4:

And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me.

Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

And, behold, the glory of God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.

This figure was "clothed," as it were, by fire, and had the "appearance of brightness." He says that, "the Glory of the God of Israel was there." The Glory of the Lord will be all the light that we need in the new heavens and new earth.

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (Revelation 21:23)

Not only does the Glory of God produce light as an outward manifestation, God is also described as the God of Glory; notice the reference in Acts 7:2, 3:

And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,

And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

When the Glory of God is in manifestation, He can be seen as light, or as "smoke," or haze.

And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. (Revelation 15:8)

I have seen this manifestation of "haze" myself, at a meeting at Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was attending the annual convention of the International Convention of Faith Ministries in 1981, which was held at Rhema. On a Thursday night service, October 29, 1981, Brother Kenneth E. Hagin was ministering on the subject of the Prophet’s ministry. As he began to close his message he stopped and looked up. Reflexively, I looked up as well, and saw the Glory of God as a haze drifting near the ceiling of the auditorium that began to descend. As I marveled at this, Brother Hagin said, "If you look up, you will see the Glory of God!" Everyone broke into spontaneous praise and magnified God! It was an amazing experience! We all were "drunk" in the Holy Ghost and simply enjoyed God’s presence for what seemed like both a long while, and conversely, a short while! There is never a long enough time in which to fully appreciate God’s miraculous presence and power!

Answering a Question

Now to further demonstrate the truth that God’s Spirit and the Glory of God are one, let’s answer this question, "Who raised Jesus from the dead?" The scripture plainly says:

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)

The simple answer is that the Holy Spirit of God is the one that raised Jesus from the dead and now makes alive our mortal bodies as well! But, consider this verse from the same book of Romans:

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)

So, we see that Jesus was raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father. This illustrates that the Glory of God is the Spirit of God in manifestation!

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CHAPTER 4 -- VERSE BY VERSE

In order to facilitate our study of the Spirit of Faith, we need to view it in context. In order to allow for our discussion, and to preclude confusion over other Bible references, I will italicize and bold the scriptures quoted in this chapter that come from 2 Corinthians Chapters Three, Four and Five. We will begin in with Chapter Three, verse one.

2 Corinthians Chapter Three

Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? (2 Corinthians 3:1)

Paul asks the question, "Do we need letters of recommendation?," facetiously, knowing that they are aware of who he is, and where his authority comes from. The church at Corinth was fruit of he and his ministry team's labor. He goes on to say:

Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: (2 Corinthians 3:2-4)

He suggests that they are actually living "epistles" or "letters" demonstrating his ministry, because they are fruit of his ministry. They are living examples of his ministry efforts.

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. (2 Corinthians 3:5-6)

Paul does not say these things to boast of himself, but to remind them of his authority. Indeed, he says that his sufficiency is of God, and it is God that has placed him in the ministry, and empowered him to minister the Word to them, not simply of "the letter of the law," but of the "spirit." Here, using a turn of phrase, he says that the "Spirit of the Word" is the Spirit that gives life. He said this, referring to the Holy Spirit of God. He is the "Spirit that gives life," being, in fact, the one that raised Jesus from the dead:

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)

So, then, the Spirit of God is the one responsible directly for raising Jesus from the dead, and now works in us to make our mortal bodies alive in Him.

But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? (2 Corinthians 3:7-8)

Paul begins to demonstrate that the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the "Spirit" that he is talking about, is a "glorious" ministry, or, a ministry of Glory. He refers back to the Old Testament, saying that if the old covenant was ministered in demonstrations of Glory, such that there was a manifestation of visible Glory on Moses' face, as was mentioned in the previous chapter of this dissertation, then should not the ministry of the new covenant, through the Holy Spirit, be even more glorious? He even makes the case that since the glory of the old covenant was to be "done away," the new and eternal covenant through the Spirit of God should result in even greater Glory, and demonstrations of Glory.

For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. (2 Corinthians 3:9-11)

Again, he refers to the old covenant, which he indicates is a ministration of condemnation, was established with signs of glory, how much more the new covenant, the covenant of righteousness, that remains forever? This echoes his discussion of the old and new covenants from Galatians:

And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:17-26)

After "faith came" there was no longer a need for the "schoolmaster" of the law. The ministry of the new covenant is a ministry of faith, and by that faith, righteousness:

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)

The law of the Spirit of Life (the Holy Spirit,) has made us free of the law of sin and death. The "righteousness of the law" is fulfilled in a born again believer. That is, one who believes by faith in the completed work of Jesus.

For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (Romans 10:5-11)

Again, he refers to the "righteousness which is of the law" and indicates that the "righteousness which is of faith" is different. He is drawing a distinction between "the law" (the old covenant) and "faith" (the new covenant.) The Spirit of God, who, we have seen, is the "Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:2) that frees us from the law, is the One whose ministry of the new covenant is "more glorious."

Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:

But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.

But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. (2 Corinthians 3:12-15)

Here Paul refers to the "vail upon the hearts" of the Jews, because they cling to the old covenant, which was fulfilled in the new. He draws a parallel to their being unable, and unwilling, to look upon Moses' face, which glowed with the manifestation of the Glory, such that they asked him to cover his face in their presence; and the fact that when they read the prophetic scriptures about Jesus today, they do not "see" that it speaks of Jesus. They have chosen not to "see" the truth of the scriptures, so the vail is still in place, metaphorically speaking.

Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:16)

However, he assures us, when they turn to the Lord, and are born again, the vail shall be taken away and they will "see into" the scriptures and see that it spoke of Jesus all along.

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Corinthians 3:17)

He confirms that "the Lord is that Spirit." The Lord, in the person of the Holy Spirit, is the one that ministers the Glory, that was manifested, in this example, as supernatural light that shone on the face of Moses, and that we are seeing move and manifest today!

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

We, who are born again, with and "open face;" with no vail over our eyes, "see" the Glory of the Lord. And notice that we, as believers, are to be changed "from glory, to glory" by means of the ministry of the Spirit of the Lord. We have seen from the previous chapter of this dissertation, that the Holy Spirit is the Glory of God. This further substantiates this fact by stating that we are changed "from glory, to glory" by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians Chapter Four

Now, as we proceed to Chapter Four, notice that the "ministry of the Spirit" as opposed to the "ministry of death" (the distinction that Paul drew in Chapter Three verses seven and eight,) is the ministry that excels in glory, and it is the ministry that Paul continues to speak of:

Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; (2 Corinthians 4:1)

Paul knew that he was called to an anointed ministry position, and that it was a mercy of God to be so called. He was determined not to "faint," or fail, in this ministry. As we have seen, Brother Kenneth Copeland has referred to an aspect of the Spirit of Faith as an "overcoming, winning attitude of faith." We see this in action in Paul's words.

But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2)

It is with bold confidence that Paul asserts his position that he is not dishonestly ministering the things of God. He is ministering the truth of God's Word which any believer can attest to by the "witness" of the Spirit in the inner man, that which we sometimes call the "conscience."

Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. (Titus 1:15)

Unto the believer, who is washed in the Blood of Jesus, and therefore pure, all things are pure, their conscience (the inward voice of the human spirit) is pure and undefiled. A believer can trust the voice of his inward witness.

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

The Good News of the Gospel is hidden only to those that satan has blinded, but it is a light that can not be covered, it will shine forth! Notice that he speaks of the fact that the "light of the glorious Gospel of Christ" should shine. As we have seen in our prior study, the manifestation of the Glory of God is expressed as great light! When God's visage is described, it is always as a great, burning light! The "glorious Gospel" can be said to be the Gospel of Glory! It is also described as the image of God. It is the manifestation of the Image of God, Jesus, in the form of a message that pierces the darkness of satan!

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:5-6)

Again, note that the Gospel preached is light in the darkness, which shines in the hearts of believers, specifically to "give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God" which is seen in the face of Jesus Christ! This "light of the knowledge of the Glory" is key to my assertion that we are seeing a merging of the Word and Teaching revival (the knowledge) with the miraculous outpouring of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit (the fire of God, or the Glory of God, itself.) The Baptism that John the Baptist spoke of, that is, the Baptism that Jesus would bring, is a "Baptism of the Holy Ghost, and of fire!" The "fire" is the manifestation of the Glory of God! This is the same fire that was seen as a pillar of fire in the desert by the children of Israel (Exodus 13:21!) We are truly entering into a day of the fulfillment of John's witness, that is, the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire!

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

This treasure of this combination of knowledge of the Glory and the actual manifestation of the Glory is held in simple human, earthly vessels. A miracle of God in itself!

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Therefore, Paul can boldly, confidently, say that though he is troubled by persecution, he is not distressed. He has the Spirit of Faith at work within him, inside his earthen vessel of a body. Though he might experience a feeling of being perplexed, he does not despair, knowing the excellency of the power within him! He is never forsaken, because he is "God inside minded!" He knows that he can never be destroyed even if he is cast down, because of the faithfulness of the power of God to deliver him!

Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

So then death worketh in us, but life in you. (2 Corinthians 4:10-12)

He speaks of "bearing in his body the dying of the Lord Jesus," in essence reminding us that it is through Jesus' suffering and death that this manifestation of the Glory of God has access into our spirit man. In this way, the Glory that raised Jesus from the dead, the life of Jesus, is made manifest in our bodies. We do not glory in death per se, in fact, death itself is the last enemy to be conquered (1 Corinthians 15:26) but we do glory in the death of Jesus, the point at which God's purpose and plan to redeem us began to come into reality. The resurrection that assured our salvation is the eternal life of Jesus, which is made manifest in our mortal flesh! This "resurrection life" quickens our mortal bodies and renews us daily! Paul reminds them that death worketh in he and his fellow ministers, that is, the persecutions that he spoke of earlier in the passage; that he might have the opportunity to share the knowledge of the Glory of God with the people there at Corinth, that it might work "resurrection life" in them. But note that he does not "wallow" in the fact that "death" works in he and his compatriots! He goes on to say:

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. (2 Corinthians 4:13-14)

He says that they have that overcoming, winning Spirit of Faith! It is the operation of the Holy Spirit manifesting the Glory of God in them by which they can say that they also believe and speak. Paul is quoting a verse from an Old Testament psalm here, to support his statement, just as we would quote scripture to back up a point if we were preaching or teaching today. It is Psalms 116:10. It is instructive to look at the entire Psalm in context:

I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.

Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.

Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.

For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:

I said in my haste, All men are liars.

What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?

I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.

I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.

I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,

In the courts of the LORD's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD. (Psalm 116, emphasis added)

Note that in this Psalm, the psalmist says that he is in trouble, yet he calls upon God, who hears and delivers him. The message is, as verse six says, "...I was brought low, and He helped me." Even in times of trial, God is gracious and merciful; He is our Helper and Sustainer! This is the scripture that Paul had in mind as he was sharing about his deliverance from troubles as he preached the Gospel. Note that he centered up on the fact that he too, believed, and therefore he spoke. Speaking the Word of God is exercising the power of God! (Mark 11:22-24)

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 4:15)

All the things that Paul endured and overcame by the Glory and Power of God, he endured to preach the Truth of the Gospel! And this manifestation of Grace "redounds" to the Glory of God. The King James Version's use of the term "redound" is not as meaningful to us. The Greek word here is "perisseuo," of which Strong's Concordance says:

from 4053; to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; also (transitively) to cause to superabound or excel: (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Strong’s Concordance)

It "superabounds" to the Glory of God! It is excessive, or excelling! Isn’t that just like our God? He is "El-Shaddai," the God that is more than enough!

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

The outward persecution that they were facing was what we would consider a massive attack of the enemy, requiring superhuman efforts to overcome. Look at the list of Paul's sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, as an example of what he endured:

Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.

Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.

Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

But, note what Paul says about all these afflictions that we would consider extreme hardships!

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (2 Corinthians 4:17)

He considers these "light afflictions!" Why? Because he is not considering his own body, or his natural ability, but rather the power of God, as it is said of Abraham in Romans 4:18-21:

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

In other words, because Paul was operating in faith, because he was fully persuaded that the Glory of God, the Spirit of Faith, in him was greater than the operation of satan sent to destroy him; he gloried in his "weakness." Paul’s reliance on God’s grace in his natural weakness was stronger than satan's best attempts to stop him (2 Corinthians 12:9!) He says that these "light afflictions" work a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory! When the afflictions come, the Glory of God is weightier, more powerful, and overcomes them!

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Note that this happens only while Paul looks not at the current circumstance, but at the eternal truths of God's Word! God spoke to me supernaturally as I was teaching on these scriptures many years ago and said, "Son, temporal things always change!" Note what verse 18 says. The things which are seen are temporal. The Greek word is "proskairos," of which Strong says, "from 4314 and 2540; for the occasion only, i.e. temporary." (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Strong’s Concordance)

In other words, the things that are seen are temporary, or subject to change. Now let's consider what the Lord shared with me about this verse. "Son," He said, "temporal things always change." He went on to say, "Things in the natural are always changing from either good circumstances to bad, or bad to good. Why is it so difficult to believe that I can cause your circumstances to change for the better?" This is the key! If we look not at, that is, don't fix our attention, on the things that are in the present natural realm, which are constantly in flux, but rather look at the unchanging, eternally settled Word of God, we can keep ourselves in a "winning position" as Paul did! Notice his confidence! Notice his zeal and boldness! Notice his spirit of overcoming and winning every time! This is the Spirit of Faith! This is the operation of the Glory of God in a believer's life! That is why we are told in Proverbs 4:20-24:

My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

Attend to, or put God's Word, first place! Incline your ear to His Word, not to natural circumstances. Don't let the Word depart from before your eyes, don't look around at your temporary condition! God's Words are life unto those that find them and health (and healing) to all their flesh. This is how you keep, or protect, your heart, or spirit man. It is the process of not looking, by choice, at the circumstance, but looking at the Word! This protects your spirit and keeps you in a position to operate supernaturally! Out of your heart, or human spirit, are the issues, or forces, of life! Note too, that God says that we are to "put away from thee a froward (disobedient) mouth." Again, we return to the importance of words! We must use our mouth to speak only God's Word over our circumstances, for as 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, " (we walk by faith, not by sight.)" We do not look at the circumstances, we "look" as it were, at the Word of God, and keep our confession in line with it! This is the essence of the message of the Word of Faith:

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (Romans 10:8-11, emphasis added.)

Believing in the heart, in the human spirit, what God's Word says, then speaking it out of your mouth; this is the classic teaching of the Word of Faith Teaching Revival. We see this message, not diminishing, but rather expanding into a new understanding of the knowledge of the Glory of God! This is how the two revivals: one of the Word, and one of the Spirit, come together!

2 Corinthians Chapter Five

We know that there are really no verse numbers or chapter designations in the original texts of the Bible. The chapter and verse conventions were added as study aids by the translators. Therefore, the divisions of chapters and verses were entirely at their discretion. Let’s keep that in mind as we go into Chapter Five. Paul has made the point that temporal things always change, and now he says:

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:

If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 5:1-5)

He draws the comparison of an earthly dwelling, a house, and our physical bodies. He indicates that if our physical bodies were destroyed (dissolved), then we have an eternal body in the heavens. Not a natural body, but a spiritual body. We see reference to this in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58:

But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Verse 44 says that "it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." For the promise of this transformation, we have the "earnest of the Spirit."

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. (2 Corinthians 5:6-9)

Again, he speaks of "confidence;" this is derived from that overcoming Spirit of Faith at work within him! Why? Because, as we pointed out before, we "walk by faith, not by sight!" We do not look at the temporal circumstances around us. We look, rather, at the eternal truths of God’s Word, the things of the spiritual realm. Paul speaks of the fact that whether we are present (in the natural body,) or absent (in the spiritual body,) we labor in the Gospel. He saw his ministry as a labor of love with a desire to be "accepted" of his Lord!

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. (2 Corinthians 5:10, 11)

Paul reminds us that everything that we do while in our physical body, we will render an account before the Lord on the day of His Judgment. He reminds us that we will be judged by what we have done, both good and bad. Judgment need not imply punishment. If one has ministered faithfully, one will receive a faithful servant’s reward!

After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord thou deliverest unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (Matthew 25:19-21)

However, by the same token, we also know the "terror of the Lord" that evil works will receive stern judgment as well.

Then he which received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

And I was afraid, and went and hid they talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:24-30)

It is, however, interesting to note the definition of the "terror of the Lord" as used in 2 Corinthians 5:11. Thayer gives us two definitions:

5401 phobos-

1) fear, dread, terror; what strikes terror

2) reverence (respect) for one's husband (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Thayer’s Lexicon)

The "terror of the Lord" is the "fear of God," or reverence for God that is the "beginning of wisdom" according to Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." W.E. Vine expands the definition of "phobos" as follows:

A. Nouns.

1. phobos ^5401^ first had the meaning of "flight," that which is caused by being scared; then, "that which may cause flight," (a) "fear, dread, terror," always with this significance in the four Gospels; also e. g., in <Acts 2:43; 19:17; 1 Cor. 2:3; 1 Tim. 5:20> (lit., "may have fear"); <Heb. 2:15; 1 John 4:18; Rev. 11:11; 18:10,15>; by metonymy, that which causes "fear," <Rom. 13:3; 1 Pet. 3:14>, RV, "(their) fear," KJV "(their) terror," an adaptation of the Sept. of <Isa. 8:12>, "fear not their fear"; hence some take it to mean, as there, "what they fear," but in view of <Matt. 10:28>, e. g., it seems best to understand it as that which is caused by the intimidation of adversaries; (b) "reverential fear," (1) of God, as a controlling motive of the life, in matters spiritual and moral, not a mere "fear" of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him, a "fear" which banishes the terror that shrinks from His presence, <Rom. 8:15>, and which influences the disposition and attitude of one whose circumstances are guided by trust in God, through the indwelling Spirit of God, <Acts 9:31; Rom. 3:18; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:21> (RV, "the fear of Christ"); <Phil. 2:12; 1 Pet. 1:17> (a comprehensive phrase: the reverential "fear" of God will inspire a constant carefulness in dealing with others in His "fear"); <3:2,15>; the association of "fear and trembling," as, e. g., in <Phil. 2:12>, has in the Sept. a much sterner import, e. g., <Gen. 9:2; Exod. 15:16; Deut. 2:25; 11:25; Ps. 55:5; Isa. 19:16>; (2) of superiors, e. g., <Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:18>. See TERROR. (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: W.E. Vine, emphasis added)

The "terror of the Lord" as used here is, therefore, a "reverential fear" not, as Vine says, "a mere ‘fear’ of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him." We know this reverence of the Lord, and that leads us to persuade men to receive the free gift of salvation.

For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.

For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. (2 Corinthians 5:12, 13)

Notice that Paul returns to his previous mention of the fact that he has no need to commend himself to them, however, he reminds them of his ministry so that they will have "somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart." He is saying that he knows his heart, that he is serving God, and does not need to speak of outward manifestation of appearance to justify his ministry.

However, he makes the point that "whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God." This is fascinating to me in the light of the current revival’s manifestations! To be "beside oneself" is another way of saying "drunk!" Indeed, Thayer defines the word as follows:

1839 existemi-

to throw out of position, to displace

a) to amaze, to astonish, throw into wonderment

b) to be amazed, to be astounded

c) to be out of one's mind, to be beside oneself, to be insane (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Thayer’s Lexicon)

Paul is saying that if he and his compatriots appear "beside themselves," or "drunk," it is unto God during ministry. After speaking of the lack of a need for outward demonstration of a "validation" of his ministry, he draws a picture of an outward manifestation. The outward manifestation of being so caught up in the Spirit during ministry that he appears "beside himself!" This state, he ascribes to being "toward God," or due to his being "caught up in the Spirit." He completes the thought by saying that if he and his ministry team appear "sober" (as opposed to appearing "drunk") it is "for your cause." That is, the clear, lucid teaching of the Word of God, which will enhance their understanding of the Word. This then, is another reference that brings together the manifestation of the actions of the Holy Spirit (drunkenness) with the clear teaching of the Word (sobriety!) We can demonstrate this comparison of "drunkenness" to the effects of the Holy Spirit by turning to Acts 2:14-18:

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

The crowd thought that the disciplines were drunk, even though in was just nine o’clock in the morning! But Peter explains that they were not drunk in the way that the crowd thought they were drunk...in other words, not with wine! They were drunk in the Holy Spirit! They were full of "new wine" of the kind Jesus spoke of in Matthew 9:17!

We see manifestations of being "drunk in the Spirit" in today’s revival as well:

At all of the meetings associated with this fresh outpouring, there have been many emotional and physical healings. Many people have encountered God anew or afresh, and have been brought to a place of repentance and brokenness. People have often fallen down under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, become "drunk" in the Spirit, and become filled with the joy of the Lord, laughing almost uncontrollably, or weeping or shaking. Large numbers of children have been affected, many of whom have reported seeing visions of heavenly things. Phenomena of this kind characterized a revival that began in 1992 in Buenos Aires, Argentina under Claudio Freidzon. According to a publication of the Assemblies of God, MOUNTAIN MOVERS (October 1993, p. 6), at Freidzon's meetings, "as people entered into adoration and worship, some became 'drunk' on the Spirit and could not stand up. Others laughed in the Spirit or fell under the power of God. Each service lasted six or seven hours. Outside, hundreds waited in lines that stretched around the block to get into the church." (Riss: A History of the Worldwide Awakening of 1992-1995: WWW)

The laughing and "drunkenness" in the Spirit, is "unto God," however, the soberness of teaching is for the believer’s edification, in the same way that the supernatural manifestation of speaking in tongues may be a sign to an unbeliever, but the clarity of teaching in a known language is a benefit to all.

In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.

Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?

But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:

And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. (1 Corinthians 14:21-26)

We see, therefore, a need for both the supernatural move of the Spirit of God, and the clear teaching of the Word.

The move of the Holy Ghost is not some wild, emotional kind of move. It is God putting forth His Word and then confirming that Word with signs following. Whatever Word we preach, God will confirm with signs following. It’s not that we don’t have to have preaching and teaching anymore. No, we need a combination of the Word and the Spirit.

The way God is going to move is to send forth His Word along with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the latter rain, that will confirm everything that has been preached for the last 2000 years. We are right on the edge of this great outpouring. We are at the final hour! It is going to take a move of the Holy Ghost for God’s plan to be fulfilled. But we have to be careful not to miss what God is doing. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 21)

Indeed, this is the crux of my dissertation, the combination of the Spirit of God, with the message of faith, i.e. the "Spirit of Faith!"

Let’s return to our verse by verse commentary of 2 Corinthians 5 now, keeping in mind what we have seen to this point.

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:14-17)

Notice that he says that since One (Jesus) died for all, then they which live should not live unto themselves, but unto Him that died for them, and rose again. He indicates that we should not live to ourselves. It is interesting to note that those that are not participating in the current move of the Holy Spirit often do not become involved in the move of God’s Spirit due to a feeling of "self-consciousness" (as opposed to God consciousness!) They are "living to themselves."

Did you ever notice that there is this amazing progression in the Bible? To get to Acts 3, you have to go through Acts 2. It’s a progression. We want all the blessings in the rest of the Book of Acts, but we must first experience Acts 1 and 2. In Acts 1, they prayed for an outpouring; in Acts 2, they stepped into it; and in Acts 3, they experienced the benefits of it. But first we must go through the door. Acts 2 is the door to the rest of the rain!

In other words, the rest of the Book of Acts is filled with signs, wonders, and miracles, but to get into the flow of the Holy Ghost, they had to get their tanks topped off with the Holy Ghost. To flow with the Spirit of God, they first had to get full of the Spirit of God. God wanted to reach the world, but He had to get the Church charged up first.

How could they step out and flow in special faith if they were too reserved to get full of the Holy Ghost and act a little strange? If they were too concerned about what people were going to think when they do when God told them to go and pray for someone? They would still be thinking, What will people say? (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 49)

This feeling of "what will people say?" is the antithesis of the notion of being "God inside minded," of being "God conscience" instead of "self conscience." Instead, if "any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17.) Being "in Christ" should remove any attitude of "self conscience" in favor of "Christ consciousness." All the old things of our life, including reservations and false "dignity" are passed away, in favor of a boldness and zeal for the new things that are ours in God!

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

God has given to us the ministry of reconciliation, with a powerful message, a message that turns the theological world "on it’s ear!" That message is that God was, in Jesus, reconciling the world unto Himself and is no longer holding the sins of the world against them! Jesus has paid in full the penalty for the sins of the entire world, whether they receive that fact or not! The only thing left that can condemn them is simply refusing the free gift of salvation through Jesus. As Jesus said, in John 3:16-19:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

God is not condemning men anymore for their sin, condemnation comes from rejecting the free gift of salvation through Jesus. Therefore, God has committed to us this message of ultimate reconciliation. We are to tell the world that they are free, if they will just accept His provision!

In recent years, there has been a great wave of revelation knowledge concerning the new birth. There was a time when people thought Dwight L. Moody was a heretic for what he was preaching from the Word of God. They could not understand how any man could say that God loved the sinner. Today, we know without a doubt that God’s love is for every person on earth. We have seen the truth of John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.

Since those early days, there have been great moves of God. We have watched a great healing revival. During the 1960’s, God caused a great revelation of the Holy Spirit to flow through the body of Christ. Everyone began discussing and experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

This great move of God today involves two particular areas about which there has been very little revelation knowledge. One is the realm of prosperity. There is a wider scope to prosperity than just financial matters and having your own personal needs met. The world measures prosperity in silver and gold, but God’s prosperity is not based on a monetary system. True prosperity is the ability to use the power of God to meet the needs of mankind. Of course, this includes finances, but it also includes all the things money can’t buy -- things such as healing, peace of mind, answers to social and political problems, etc. All these are part of the revival occurring today in the earth.

The second area involves a revelation of the love of God. The Lord said to me a number of years ago: "A revelation of the love of God is the highest revelation of the church because I am love." (Copeland: Walking in the Realm of the Miraculous: 7, 8)

All that we have been taught about faith, prosperity and the operation of the love of God has been to bring us to this point. We are now ready to be used to bring this good news to the people of this age! We have the message that will meet their needs spirit, soul and body!

We are, then, called as heaven’s ambassadors to this planet. We need to act like ambassadors! Ambassadors operate according to the laws and rules of their country, not of the country they are assigned to. Ambassadors live within a country on land that is actually part of their "home nation." They have "diplomatic immunity" from the laws governing the country in which they are stationed. In similar fashion, we are not to be limited to the natural realm and the influence of the "god of this world system."

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

We are not "them which believe not;" we are believers! And as believers, we are ambassadors for the Anointed One and His Anointing in the earth, Jesus Christ!

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

God made Jesus to become sin, with our sin, that we might be made righteous, with Jesus’ righteousness! We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! We are ambassadors of His Kingdom in the earth. We should be operating in the Word and in the power of the Spirit!

Proverbs 16:3 AMP says, "Roll your works upon the Lord -- commit and trust them wholly to Him; [He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed."

As you roll your works upon the Lord, the Holy Spirit causes your thoughts to become an expression of His will. By yielding to God’s will, you are being molded by his influence into the likeness of Jesus. He truly begins to take control. Some people are controlled by their flesh, others are under the influence of demon spirits. You are being controlled and influences by the Holy Spirit. You have become more sensitive to His sweet presence. He begins to send impulses to your heart, and you respond to His quiet leading. You will find that your steps are being directed by the hand of the Spirit of God. You are a vessel containing His presence, a vehicle transporting His power. (Burke: Yielding to the Holy Spirit: 67, 68)

As "vessels containing His presence," as ambassadors of His reconciliation, we need to "transport His power" to the world! This is the true reason for the present outpouring of the "Spirit of Faith" revival!

If we go with the Word only, people will have wonderful faith in man’s wisdom and man’s ability to proclaim the Word and bring revelation, but they won’t have much faith in the power of God. If we get into trouble, we had better have the power of God. If we get into trouble, we had better have faith in the power of God. The Word is first and foremost, but the Holy Spirit is the power that brings the Word to pass. We need a combination of the two.

Almost every move of God in the past 2000 years started out with fire and ended up with ice because they lost the move of the Spirit! They may have had some kind of Word message, but the minute they lost the move of the Spirit, they lost their fire. God had to find someone else to use.

The second group of people say, "We’ve found the move of the Spirit. We don’t need the Word anymore. We don’t need preaching and teaching." I’ve heard people say, "Church has been so great! We haven’t had preaching for four weeks!"

Sometimes God will emphasize certain themes over a period of time, but we shouldn’t get excited because we don’t have preaching and teaching. Teaching is our foundation. We will never leave the Word. God doesn’t take away; He only adds to what has already been built.

So there are two extremes: We can either dry up and blow away because of too much Word and a lack of the Spirit, or we can float away. You may wish you could tie a spiritual rope around some people’s ankles and reel them in out of the ozone. They walk around with a look that says, "I’m in the Spirit." They have forgotten to stick with the Word as their foundation.

We can go in one direction or the other. I don’t know about you, but I would rather stand right in the middle of the road and hold on to both the Word and the Spirit. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 23, 24)

We need to be ambassadors of the Word and of the Spirit to this world. That is what God is preparing us for in these days of revival, an empowering of both the Word and the Spirit!

A move of God, a revival, a mighty harvest, is coming. How shall this be? The Holy Ghost! God spoke it with His mouth, and He will fulfill it with His hand.

Years ago it was prophesied, "There will come a move or revival of the Holy Ghost and the gifts." We watched the Charismatic Movement come to pass. It was also said, "Then there will come a move of God which will be a revival of God and His Word." It was the Teaching Movement. And finally it was said, "Then there will come a move of God where the Word and the Spirit will come together; that will be the greatest move of God the Earth has ever seen." That is where we are now. We are on the edge of it. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 27, 28)

We are on the edge of this great revival. Are we ready? Why is God moving in the fashion that He has been moving to get us ready? Let’s take up that question in the next chapter.

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CHAPTER 5 -- WHY IS GOD MOVING IN THIS MANNER?

Many have asked the question, "Why should God want to move by His Spirit in this strange way?" That is, by laughter, being drunk in the Holy Spirit, and other manifestations that they find "uncomfortable" in this current revival. Let’s examine this question.

First, we must note that the question arises from a concern about an outward manifestation of actions in others. It is looking at the outward appearance and asking, "why?" Why is there a need for this activity? Reverend Mark Brazee addresses this question in his book, Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: Holy Ghost Outpourings...The Doorway to Revival!

The fire is the outpouring of the Holy Ghost which often manifests itself in joy. If we are not careful, though, we can focus on what is happening on the outside and forget about what’s going on inside. God is changing the Church from the inside out. And the fire is not just emotionalism -- it is God using a combination of the Word and the Spirit to impart changes in us.

A good example of how God combines the Word and Spirit is found in Ezekiel 37, which describes a vision pertaining to the house of Israel. Often, scriptures can have a two- or three-fold application, even though this mainly pertains to Israel. Ekeziel’s vision of the dry bones could also be a picture of the Church in the last days.

EKEKIEL 37:1-8

1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; lo, they were very dry.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.

4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the skin covered them above...

God spoke to Ezekiel in the valley full of dry bones, and Ezekiel began to speak the Word. When the Word went forth, skin and ligaments appeared, and the bones came together. Verse 10 says that a great army was formed.

This passage is also a picture of what God has done throughout past revivals. For years, people have been speaking the Word, and bones have been coming together. This great army, the Church, is being raised up. But it’s not enough to do the work that God has planned for the Church. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 17, 18)

God is preparing the church for the great harvest of these "last of the last days" by leading them through a move that removes "self-consciousness" and leads them into "Holy Spirit-consciousness."

So we’ve been experiencing a refreshing of the Spirit, but just recently I’ve been having a stirring in my heart to look at faith again, but not necessarily in a new light but maybe in a fresh light; and the Spirit of God has been saying this in my heart and challenging me and so I’m just passing it along to you, "Make sure that you mix faith with the move of the Spirit."

You know God spent twenty years or more through the ministry gifts in the Body of Christ to teach the Body of Christ faith for a reason! And it wasn’t just a subject, and now let’s go to something else. It was because we need it! And one thing that the Lord has been stirring in my heart is to make sure that as we go on in the move of the Spirit that we make sure that we bring our faith with us, because the move of the Spirit that we are really in is a mixture of the Word and the Spirit. Smith Wigglesworth, you’ve probably heard your pastor talk about him, maybe read his book, prophesied that in the sixties and the seventies there would come a revival of the Holy Ghost and the Gifts of the Spirit, well that’s what happened. We call it the Charismatic Movement, then he said after that there would come a revival of the Word of God. Well, that’s what we had, we had a revival of faith. Then he said in the nineties there would come a revival of the mixture of both. Hallelujah, guess what?! It’s the nineties! (Kilstrom: Make Sure You Mix Faith With A Move of the Holy Spirit: Teaching Tape)

This revival of the Spirit brings us to a point of freedom to act instantly to obey the voice of the Spirit of God, however, we have arrived at that point only because of our being "grounded in the Word." We can not leave behind our Word of God (teaching) orientation, in favor of the "move of the Spirit." This is a move of the Spirit and the Word, remember!

I believe God is saying that the Church, the army of God, is ripe for the wind or breath of the Spirit. Faith, healing, prosperity, and good sound doctrines have been poured into the Church for years. A basic foundation has been laid which started bringing the bones, muscles, ligaments, and skin together. Now it’s time for the wind to blow. We need a move of the Spirit of God.

Zechariah 4:6 says, "...Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit..." We need both the Word and the Spirit. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 19)

As God brings the "body of Christ" (the bones, muscles, ligaments and skin) together in these last days through a unity of faith (Ephesians 4:13) it is both by the ministry of the Word and the move of the Spirit. Ephesians 4:11-16 says:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Notice that the Ministry Gifts are given to "perfect," or mature, the Body of Christ. Part of this maturity is that we all, as individual members of the Body, minister to one another, making "increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." This comes with maturity, when we are "no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine..." This grounding in the Word, and maturity, is what has prepared us for this present move of the Spirit of God.

Today, we in the Church are standing at a fork in the road. The last teaching wave is waning, and a new wave is coming. People are running in two different directions. One group says, "I’m a Word person; don’t give me all this Holy Ghost emotionalism!"

I thank God for the Word. It’s the only thing that keeps us steady, renews our minds, gives us faith, and causes us to grow spiritually. Nothing replaces the Word. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 22)

Indeed, nothing will replace the Word, but something is coming, and is now here, to increase our dedication and trust in the move of God’s Holy Spirit. This is added to our understanding of the Word.

Yielding to the Spirit of God

I’m convinced that the more we yield to the Spirit of God and are taken over by Him, the more results we would see.

Demons take people over against their will and manifest themselves through them, but the Spirit of God will not do that against your will. (Hagin: Understanding the Anointing: 105)

Note that Brother Hagin says that we are to yield to this move of the Spirit; He will not force himself on us. This is where so many people in the Body of Christ find themselves today. They are asking themselves the question, "Should I get involved with this move?" It is, after all, their choice. God will not force them. He will however, encourage them! He is not taking away anything from them, but He does want to add something "in the mix!"

God is not taking anything away from what we call the "Word of Faith" or Teaching Revival; He is adding something to it. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 25)

We must be open to this new addition in order to partake of it. God, as we have seen, does not force. He is an encourager, not a bully!

Jesus, The Supreme Head of the Church, is granting a great spiritual awakening in these last days before the closing of this age of grace. The Spirit of God is being poured out upon people of all denominations. They are rejoicing in the mighty Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is unveiling the true supernatural to these members of the body of Christ in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (Osteen: How to Flow in the Super-Supernatural: 5)

The true supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit is a "freeing" experience, a joyful experience. It brings peace, strength and joy to the believer that participates in the things of the Spirit. Some members of the Body of Christ simply need to decide that it is time to "get their feet wet!"

In John 7:38, Jesus said, "...out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." Moving waters are a picture of the move of the Holy Ghost. But people are responding differently to this move. Some are saying, "This river could rise and be dangerous. I’m going to go to high ground and just watch."

But I believe God is thrilled with people who are bold enough to say, "I sense that this is the Holy Ghost moving. There is something about this refreshing, cool water that I have to put my toes in it." (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 28)

If we will purpose in our hearts to yield to this move of the Spirit of God, we will find ourselves in a position to enjoy the full fruit of this move. After all, shouldn’t we want to take part in what God is doing? Shouldn’t we want to be a yielded vessel?

Yielding to the Holy Spirit means that you give up your own ideas and efforts, and put yourself in His Hand. You approach Him with an empty hand that is open and ready to receive from Him. It is impossible to grasp one thing when your hand is holding onto something else. (Burke: Yielding to the Holy Spirit: 62)

The problem is that some are unwilling to "let go" of pride and self-will. They stubbornly hold on to the thought that "their reputation" is a worthy thing to try to retain. What is your reputation? What about being yielded and obedient to God?

The Spirit leads, He never follows! If you begin to lead, you walk alone. If you fight the moving of the Holy Spirit in your life, you may discover yourself out from under the cloud and alone in the scorching heat of the desert. (Burke: Yielding to the Holy Spirit: 72)

It is better to submit to the move of the Spirit and enjoy the fruit of being a yielded vessel!

Why is God moving in this fashion? To get us out of "ourselves," to remove self consciousness, as a barrier to instantly obeying the voice of the Spirit of God, which is all the more necessary in these days to be an effective ambassador of God!

Why not just "step on out" into the water? Throw "caution to the wind" and get your feet wet, then your body, then start swimming!

We will see people who will get out ankle deep, and they will enjoy it so much, they will stand there from now until Jesus comes, saying, "This water is wonderful; it couldn’t get any better! Let’s stay here."

There will even be people who will stand back on shore and won’t put so much as their toes in the water, because they don’t trust Him. They will say, "It’s not what I expected."

If we will keep following on to know the Lord, we will go ankle deep, then waist deep, and then all of a sudden the waters will start to rise. When they do, the ones who have been standing on a safe place on the shore will find the waters to high to enter.

But if we follow Him, we will get so used to that water, we will dive in head first, it will wash us right into the sea, and we will be in the middle of the harvest.

God wants us to get our feet wet in the beginning of the move -- to get refreshed with what He’s doing now. He wants us to get in the river while it’s moving slowly. It’s a little shallow, and it’s safe territory. Then when He sends the flood, it will wash us out into that swimming territory, and we will again be in the middle of what God is doing. When the spiritual dam finally breaks, and the water comes flooding down, we will already be in the water. We will be washed downstream in the move of God while the others are still on the high ground asking themselves, "I wonder if I ought to get in that move now?"

God wants us to step in the water, the moving of the Holy Ghost. We’ve had the Word, and now we are experiencing the move of the Spirit. The Word and the Spirit are joined together, multiplying the power, the results, the flow -- not just one or the other, but both flowing together. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 29, 30)

Have you ever noticed that swimming with the current is easier than swimming against it? Go with the flow! Swim on out into what the Holy Spirit is doing and enjoy the flow of God! There is a reason for this flow. It is to reach the world in these last days!

When the unbeliever begins to see the joy, the peace, the light and the love flowing from us, he will want what we have. People are coming to the Church all over the world in these last days and finding the truth. There is a hunger and thirst for the light because light dispels darkness. (McCauley: Our God is an Awesome God: 52)

The world will see our joy, our freedom in the Holy Ghost, and crave that light! We are ambassadors of the light to them. They can only see that light through us! The more God restores our joy and our commitment to walking after the things of God, the more He can use us as lights to the world!

We need to take part in this move as it begins, don’t get left behind! The first sprinkles are hitting us now, let’s not get out of the rain. Indeed, let’s throw out "common sense" that says to get out of the rain, and let "Spirit sense" decide that we will jump in completely!

These first sprinkles of latter rain are scriptural! This is the entrance, the beginning. If this sprinkling of rain is the beginning, think what the rest of the downpour will be like!

What is going on right now is not a man, a church, or a ministry. It’s a move of God. And it’s not limited to some ministries in some churches in some cities. It’s what God is doing all over the world. It’s the doorway into the latter rain, the last great harvest of the Church. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 51, 52)

Praise God! I want to be drenched in this rain! I want to be "soaking wet" with the rain of the Spirit of God!

Smith Wigglesworth, the man that God used to foretell of this move of God, once said, "If you are in the same place today as you were yesterday, you are a backslider. (Hacking: Smith Wigglesworth Remembered: A Great Challenge to Daring Faith: 8) Strong words from a man of strong faith! I have no desire to remain in the same place as I have been. I want to go on with God! How do we do this? Brother Mark Brazee goes on to say:

God’s continual instruction to the Church is found in Ephesians 5:17, 18.

EPHESIANS 5:17, 18.

17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.

"Be not unwise, but be filled with the Spirit" is a good, basic blueprint for God’s will. The verb translated "be filled" in the Greek actually means "be being filled"; it is not just a one-time experience.

People say, "Well, bless God, I was filled back in 1923." It’s one thing to get filled, but it’s another thing to stay filled. I filled the gas tank when I bought our car, but I have to keep filling it. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 53)

We need to stay filled with the Holy Ghost! Ray Gene Wilson recently exhorted us at Faith and Victory Church in this manner:

I don’t know why these scriptures have been hidden so long from the church that people don’t yield to the Holy Ghost...don’t get full of the Holy Ghost. But I tell you if you are going to do anything in the last days, you are going to have to be full of the Holy Ghost to do it. You ought to know that you need something else, because if you could do it, with what you’ve already got, you’d already be doing it! You ought to know that you need something else. So we just need to be bold and step out and yield to the Holy Ghost. How many of you ever went to the gas pump and got two dollars worth...of gasoline? Tell the truth. Anybody ever got a dollar? I had a man in Arlington, Texas, and he said that he used go get a quarter. Anybody ever do that? And that’s what people do in church... "All right, Pastor, here I am, I made it"...coming in on fumes, not even enough to get to the front, they just fall in the back somewhere. "All right now, I’m here, but I’ll be back Wednesday, so there’s no use to get filled up, I’ll just take a couple of dollars worth." Well, why not just get full and then when you go down a couple dollars, just top your tank off again? Amen! Why not just stay full of the Holy Ghost? Because when you run off the bottom of your engine, all the time, you know, sucking in all that crud and everything, and then you need counseling... (Wilson: Be Being Filled: Teaching Tape)

We need to stay "topped off" with the Holy Ghost to be effective ambassadors of reconciliation! That’s what this time of revival is about! It is about freeing the Body of Christ to reach a new level of yielding to the operation in the Holy Spirit that will make us able ministers in these last days! We need to be filled with the Spirit at all times!

Another meaning for "filled" is the word "imbue." I looked up this word and found it means "to be permeated or saturated." I thought, That’s what God is doing: He’s saturating the Church!

Using the word "saturate," we could read these scriptures this way: "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be saturated with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 57)

God is saturating the church to prepare the Body of Christ for our final offensive thrust against the kingdom of the enemy. We have never been told to fight a defensive battle; we are to fight an offensive battle. In saying that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church (Matthew 16:18,) Jesus did not mean that the gates were being used as weapons to beat us down! He was saying that in "storming the gates" that they would not stand up to us! We need to get aggressive when it comes to taking the devil’s territory! He can not stand against an army of well-equipped fighters, who are obedient to the commands given by the Head of the Church!

Kenneth E. Hagin spoke a prophecy that is recorded in his book, Understanding the Anointing, that speaks of the need that we have for this current move of God, and how it will prepare us:

Prophecy

We’re moving up now into the things of God!

And I heard the Spirit say,

There will come further revelation along these lines,

but it has to come line upon line,

precept upon precept.

And as it comes,

men and women will flow with the Spirit,

and there will be such a manifestation of

My power and My glory and My Spirit and My anointing

in these days -- in this decade in which you live --

that it will startle men.

Now many who are on the fringes of the move of God

will draw back and say,

"Ahhh, that’s fanaticism. No, we can’t go with that.

We believe in doing things in a nice, sedate manner."

Never, never, never feel resentment

toward others who may criticize you,

or who may speak against you.

Never allow the least bit of resentment

or ill will, or bad feelings, but walk on.

Walk on in love.

Walk on in power.

Walk on in the Spirit.

Walk on with the Lord,

and He’ll come unto thee and

manifest Himself unto thee.

And it is even written in

the Holy Scriptures

that His coming unto us

shall be as the rain.

And so the Holy Ghost will fall,

and the power of God will be in

manifestation, and great shall

be the reward thereof.

And many shall be blessed,

and great and good days stand just ahead.

Walk on. Yea, ye shall see,

for the glory of the Lord

shall appear unto thee.

But most will move with the Spirit,

and all will acknowledge,

"There are miracles happening over there.

I guess God just saw fit to have mercy on them."

But no, they saw fit to flow with God,

And they saw fit to go with God,

for He is at work in the earth tonight

and He indwells His Body which is the Church,

which is the house of God.

And His glory will fill that temple.

Many will say,

"I just don’t go along with those things.

We have a pretty good church here.

God has put His approval upon us."

But yea, saith the Lord of Hosts,

I only put my approval upon

that which lines up with my Word.

Get into the Word

and let the Spirit open the Word to you.

Not only unto your mind,

but get the revelation of it in your spirit.

And your spirit will be more alive

unto the things of God.

And He -- through your spirit -- will be able

to teach you, and admonish you, and direct you.

(Hagin: Understanding the Anointing: 163-165)

Remember that the current move of God is not a retreat from the Word, it is a melding of what some find somewhat "uncomfortable." That is, the world of the Spirit, and what has become more familiar in recent years, the "world" of the Word. It is an unusual mix, but one that is needed to fulfill what God has in store for us. We just have to yield to this manner of moving by the Spirit of God.

Today is a time of visitation! The Holy Spirit is moving in the Church to restore His Power. This restoration is the Holy Spirit in a manifest and resident manner. (Burke: Yielding to the Holy Spirit: 11)

We do not want to miss what God is doing due to our initial discomfort with a "change of direction" in emphasis by the Holy Spirit. To ignore what God is doing now would be to harden our heart to His new move, with dire results!

If you miss the time of the Holy Spirit’s visitation, you will set in motion your own ruin. If you do not reach up to Him to walk in those things which belong to you, and in those things He will reveal to you, your spiritual sight will grow dim. (Burke: Yielding to the Holy Spirit: 11)

I, for one, have no intention of missing the time of God’s visitation! I want to be "in tune" with what God is doing, not only to be part of the revival but to achieve the result that He has set this revival in motion to accomplish. Ultimately, He is changing us, so that we can change the world! We are world overcomers! (1 John 5:4,5) It is time that we began to act like we are!

The Spirit of Heaven is the Spirit of Creation, the Spirit of the Resurrection, and the Spirit Life. He has come to guide, direct, empower, and energize you. Yield to Him!

"In conclusion, be strong in the Lord -- be empowered through your union with Him; draw your strength from Him -- that strength which His [boundless] might provides" (Eph. 6:10 AMP). (Burke: Yielding to the Holy Spirit: 74)

We must boldly meet this challenge! Boldness requires fearlessness! Fear and faith are opposite forces. Let’s examine that as we build toward doing the will of God in this revival.

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CHAPTER 6 -- THE SPIRIT OF FAITH AND THE SPIRIT OF FEAR

Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7, 8)

Paul reminds Timothy that he should "stir up the gift of God" within him, which he received "by the putting on of (Paul’s) hands." Paul tells us what this gift was, and what it was not. It was not the "spirit of fear." It was the spirit of power, love and a sound mind. It was, in fact, the Spirit of Faith! We can establish this by noting that fear and faith are reciprocal spiritual forces.

Well, now, you see, Jesus was talking about faith. He’s talking about the things of the kingdom of God. Well, I found out that just exactly the opposite...I mean, just exactly the same thing, is true with the opposite force which is fear... the reciprocal force. Remember the definition of reciprocal is corresponding yet one has been reversed or inverted. The same thing operates with fear; fear will operate and function in your physical body without you feeling it. And it will just work in there. You see, faith works in your physical body, when you apply it, and operate in and on it, and function in it and keep the Word of God in you... the faith of God flowing through your body will keep it well. Isn’t that right? Sure it will! Well you know that fear will make you sick. Medical science has found out that better than eighty percent of the patients in all the hospitals are there because of anxiety and worry and fear....that’s all that worry is, is meditating on the lie of the devil until it scares you! Then you get to speaking of things that are not as though they were, and some of them start coming to pass! But you were sick before they ever started coming to pass. You said, "I just worried myself sick over that!" That’s exactly what you did! Well now, you see, fear functions in the spirit world just exactly the way that faith does. Fear... the fear that you and I know, was originally Adam’s faith put into the hands of satan and perverted, and used to kill and steal and to destroy. Faith activates God, fear activates satan. (Copeland: Fear vs. Faith: Freedom from Fear Tape Series)

Brother Copeland builds a case for the fact that fear and faith are reciprocal forces in the spiritual realm. As he says, "Faith activates God, fear activates satan." Noting this distinction, we may draw the conclusion that when Paul states that "God hath not given us the spirit of fear" in 2 Timothy 1:7, then He has given us the "Spirit of Faith." Fear and faith are reciprocals. They function the same way, but in inverse directions. The word translated "fear" here is:

1167 deilia (di-lee'-ah); from 1169; timidity:

KJV-- fear. (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Strong’s Concordance)

Thayer expands this definition as follows:

1167 deilia-

timidity, fearfulness, cowardice (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Thayer’s Lexicon)

And, W.E. Vine gives us even more insight into the use of this word:

FEAR, FEARFUL, FEARFULNESS

2. deilia ^1167^, "fearfulness" (from deos, "fright"), is rightly rendered "fearfulness" in <2 Tim. 1:7>, RV (for KJV, "fear ").that spirit is not given us of God. The word denotes "cowardice and timidity" and is never used in a good sense, as No. 1 is.# Cf. deilos, B, No. 2, below, and deiliao, to be fearful (KJV, "afraid"), <John 14:27>.#

(Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Vine's Expository Dictionary)

We have not received the spirit of "cowardice and timidity," we have received the Spirit of boldness and courage! God has not given a spirit of fear, but he has given us a Spirit of Faith! Reverend Scott Webb, makes this same point in his fine teaching tape series on the topic of "The Spirit of Faith:"

It goes on to say in verse seven, for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind, now notice that, we’ve been talking about the Spirit of Faith as opposed to the message or the doctrine of faith, or the subject of faith, I guess is the best way to say it. There’s the subject of faith, then there’s the Spirit of Faith. This is God’s definition of the Spirit of Faith. He says in verse seven, God has not given us the spirit of fear, well now if He hasn’t given us the spirit of fear, what do you suppose He has given us? He tells us right there what He’s given us, but we also recognize that the opposite, the very opposite of the spirit of fear, would be the Spirit of Faith. So this is the definition of the Spirit of Faith. It’s the spirit of power, it’s the spirit of love, and it’s the spirit of a sound mind. (Webb: The Spirit of Faith -- Tape 3: The Spirit of Faith Teaching Tape Series)

We will establish in Chapter Eight of this dissertation that the Spirit of Faith is "caught," not taught. It comes by association, or transfer of anointing. Without going into the detail that we will cover in that chapter, suffice it to say that this fact can be borne out in this reference due to what Paul says about this Spirit of Faith being from "the laying on of my hands" in 2 Timothy 1:7. Now that we have a definition of what the Spirit of Faith is, let’s explore the depth of this definition. We will examine each aspect of the definition in different sections of this chapter.

The Spirit of Power

Strong points out that the word used here for "power" is:

1411 dunamis (doo'-nam-is);

from 1410; force (literally or figuratively); specially, miraculous power (usually by implication, a miracle itself):

KJV-- ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work. (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Strong’s Concordance)

This is the miracle working power of the Lord Jesus Christ! This same word is used in reference to the power manifested when people were healed in Jesus’ earthly ministry!

Thayer translates the word "dunamis" this way:

1411 dunamis-

strength power, ability

a) inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth

b) power for performing miracles

c) moral power and excellence of soul

d) the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth

e) power and resources arising from numbers

f) power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Thayer’s Lexicon)

Notice these points and relate them to what we have learned is ours through the Teaching, or Word of Faith, revival! We have "inherent power" that resides in us due to our new nature. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17,) and we have the nature of God within us (2 Peter 1:4). We have power to perform miracles, such as the things that Jesus did, and greater works (John 14:12.) We have moral power and excellence of soul; we put off the old man, and put on the new man (Ephesians 4:22-24). We have the power and influence that belong to riches and wealth, because the wealth of the sinner is laid up for us, and God is pleased when we prosper (Proverbs 13:22; Psalms 35:27)! We have power and resources that arise from numbers, because we are the mighty army of the Lord, taking the land (Joel 2:11; Joshua 10:42). And we have power that rests in armies, forces and hosts, because the angels, the hosts of God, are encamped around about us, and are ministering for us that are born again (2 Kings 6:17; Hebrews 1:14.)

Praise God! Every aspect of this definition is a promise to us as believers. The Spirit of Faith empowers us in every one of these areas. Let’s continue to the next part of our working definition.

The Spirit of Love

Strong defines the word "love" as used as in this reference as:

26 agape (ag-ah'-pay);

from 25; love, i.e. affection or benevolence; specially (plural) a love-feast:

KJV-- (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love. (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Strong’s Concordance)

Thayer adds to our understanding of this definition as follows:

26 agape-

1) brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence

2) love feasts (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Thayer’s Lexicon)

This is the same word used for "love" as is used in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, the great "Love Chapter," concerning the type of love that is attributed to God’s love for us. Kenneth Wuest says this of this word for love:

Agapan is used in its verb, noun, and adjective forms about three hundred and twenty times in the New Testament. It is a love called out of a person’s heart by "an awakened sense of value in an object which causes one to prize it." It expresses a love of approbation and esteem. Its impulse comes from the idea of prizing. It is a love that recognizes the worthiness of the object loved. Thus, this love consists of the soul’s sense of the value and preciousness of its object, and its response to its recognized worth in admiring affection.

In contrasting philein and agapan, we might say that the former is a love of pleasure, the latter a love of preciousness; the former a love of delight, the latter a love of esteem; the former a love called out of the heart by the apprehension of pleasurable qualities in the object loved; the former takes pleasure in, the latter ascribes value to; the former is a love of liking, the latter a love of prizing. (Wuest: Bypaths in the Greek New Testament: 112)

This word for love is also used in the New Testament due to the desire on the part of the writers to express the special sense of love that they were trying to convey.

But there is another reason why agapan is used so frequently (in the New Testament). Agapan never was a common word in classical literature, although it was in use from the beginning and occupied a distinctive place of its own. In Homer it is used only ten times, in Euripedes but three. Its noun form agapesis is rare. The form agape, so frequently found in the New Testament, does not occur at all. Its first appearance is in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It conveyed the ideas of astonishment, wonder, admiration, and approbation when connected with the word agamai which meant "to wonder at or admire." It was used in classical literature in the same sentence with philien and had its distinctive sense of "a love of prizing" as contrasted to philein, "a love of liking." But owing to the very infrequency of its use, it was an admirable word which could be put to use to convey the new and higher conception of divine love which the New Testament presents. Its relative emptiness, so far as the general knowledge of the person was concerned who spoke Greek as his second language, made it the ideal receptacle into which the new moral and ethical content of Christianity could be poured.

The pagan Greeks knew nothing of the love of self-sacrifice for one’s enemy which was exhibited at Calvary. Therefore they had no word for that kind of love. They knew nothing about the divine analysis of this love which Paul gives us in I Corinthians 13. (Wuest: Bypaths in the Greek New Testament: 113, 114)

Thus we see that the use of "agape" was to demonstrate the uniqueness of this type of love. Truly it is a divine, supernatural love. We have been given the Spirit of Faith, which is, in part, the Spirit of this unique, supernatural love. We see how this love acts in 1 Corinthians 13, verses 4-8a in the Amplified Bible:

Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy; it is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily,

It is not conceited – arrogant and inflated with pride; it is not rude (unmannerly), and does not act unbecomingly. Love [God’s love in us] does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it – pays no attention to a suffered wrong.

It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances and it endures everything [without weakening].

Love never fails – never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end.

Our behavior as believers is guided by this divine love that is imparted within us. We are to walk in love as Jesus did, and follow His example of being moved by compassion (Ephesians 5:1, 2; Matthew 9:36!)

The Spirit of a Sound Mind

The word used for the term "sound mind" is the Greek word "sophronismos." As we see from the Strong’s definition, it implies not simply clarity of mind, but also self control:

4995 sophronismos (so-fron-is-mos');

from 4994; discipline, i.e. selfcontrol:

KJV-- sound mind. (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Strong’s Concordance)

Thayer expands upon this definition as follows:

4995 sophronismos-

1) an admonishing or calling to soundness of mind, to moderation and self-control

2) self-control, moderation (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Thayer’s Lexicon)

Notice the reference to moderation and self-control. It is a soberness of purpose and control of oneself. This combined with the aforementioned terms that imply selflessness of divine love and supernatural miraculous power to affect change in one’s environment, makes the believer a calm, empowered, effective minister of God!

W.E. Wine says of this word, "sophronismos:"

DISCIPLINE

sophronismos ^4995^, from sophron, lit., "saving the mind," from saos, "contracted to" sos, "safe" (cf. sozo, "to save"), phren, "the mind," primarily, "an admonishing or calling to soundness of mind, or to selfcontrol," is used in <2 Tim. 1:7>, KJV, "a sound mind"; RV, "discipline." Cf. sophroneo ("to be of sound mind"), sophronizo ("to admonish"), sophronos ("soberly"), and sophron, "of sound mind. See MIND.# Cf. CHASTISEMENT. (Biblesoft: PC Study Bible: Vine's Expository Dictionary)

A disciplined mind, which is called to self control, ruled by the love of God, and therefore empowered by the use of faith (for we know from Galatians 5:6b, "...faith which worketh by love;") that faith works by means of the love of God. These attributes of the Spirit of Faith, combined in the believer, make him a formidable foe for satan and truly "more than a conqueror!" (Romans 8:37)

Now, as called and competent ministers, let’s make the most of the age we are in! What "age" are we living in? Let’s determine the answer to that question in the next chapter to see how we are supposed to function at this time!

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CHAPTER 7 -- WHAT "AGE" ARE WE CURRENTLY IN?

Dr. John Osteen makes this rather blunt statement in his excellent book, How to Flow in the Super Supernatural, "This is the age of the Holy Ghost." (p. 11)

Is there evidence to support this statement? Dr. Osteen summarizes his view in this manner:

The Holy Ghost is the executive power of God. God the Father did His job in planning salvation. Jesus came down and completed His redemptive work. He has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

This is the age of the Holy Ghost.

We are living in that day that God spoke of when He said, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams. your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit." (Joel 2:28-29) (Osteen: How to Flow in the Super Supernatural: 11)

Can we view the interplay of history in what has been called a "dispensational" manner? It will not be my purpose to substantiate to any great degree the assertion that there are definitive dispensational ages. However, for the purposes of our discussion, we must look, briefly, into the theory of "dispensationalism."

The modern usage of the term "Dispensational Truth" can be traced, in large part, to the work of Reverend Clarence Larkin. Here is a description of Pastor Larkin’s life and work:

(1850-1924) American Baptist pastor, Bible teacher, and writer. Clarence Larkin was born October 28, 1850, in Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He was converted to Christ at the age of 19 and then felt called to the Gospel ministry, but the doors of opportunity for study and ministry did not open immediately. He then got a job in a bank.

When he was 21 years old, he left the bank and went to college, graduating as a mechanical engineer. He continued as a professional draftsman for a while, then he became a teacher of the blind. This last endeavor cultivated his descriptive faculties--something God would later use in him to produce a monumental work on dispensational theology. Later, failing health compelled him to give up his teaching career. After a prolonged rest, he became a manufacturer. But he was not happy. He felt that God wanted him in the Gospel ministry. When he was converted he had become a member of the Episcopal Church, but in 1882, at the age of

32, he became a Baptist and was ordained as a Baptist minister two years later. He went directly from business into the ministry.

His first charge was at Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; his second pastorate was at Fox Chase, Pennsylvania, where he remained for 20 years. He was not a premillennialist at the time of his ordination, but his study of the Scriptures, with the help of some books that fell into his hands, led him to adopt the premillennialist position. He began to make large wall charts, which he titled, "Prophetic Truth," for use in the pulpit. These led to his being invited to teach, in connection with his pastoral work, in two Bible institutes. During this time he published a number of prophetical charts, which were widely circulated.

When World War I broke out in 1914, he was called on for addresses on The War and Prophecy. Then God laid it on his heart to prepare a work on Dispensational Truth (or God's Plan and Purpose in the Ages), containing a number of charts with descriptive matter. He spent three years of his life designing and drawing the charts and preparing the text. The favorable reception it has had since it was first published

in 1918 seems to indicate that the world was waiting for such a book.

Because it had a large and wide circulation in this and other lands, the first edition was soon exhausted. It was followed by a second edition, and then, realizing that the book was of permanent value, Larkin revised it and expanded it, printing it in its present form. Larkin followed this

masterpiece with other books: Rightly Dividing the Word, The Book of Daniel, Spirit World, Second Coming of Christ, and A Medicine Chest for Christian Practitioners, a handbook on evangelism.

Larkin, a kind and gentle man, deplored the tendency of writers to say uncharitable things about each other, so he earnestly sought to avoid criticisms and to satisfy himself with simply presenting his understanding of the Scriptures. Though he did not intend to publish his own works, the Lord led in that direction. During the last five years of his life, the demand for Larkin's books made it necessary for him to give up the pastorate and devote his full time to writing.

He went to be with the Lord on January 24, 1924. (Christian Connection BBS: Biography of Clarence Larkin: WWW).

Pastor Larkin’s works are quite controversial in some circles and there are many that dispute his claims, but, as I stated before, it is not our purpose here to validate completely the notion of "dispensationalism" but to explore the reference with regard to our subject of "the Spirit of Faith." Rather than explore, in detail, Pastor Larkin’s teachings, suffice it to say that he viewed the timeline of history as falling naturally into "periods," or "dispensations" of time, highlighted by key events, or "themes," of God’s overall plan. One common reference to this manner of viewing the timeline of history is to say that we are now in "The Church Age," or "The Age of Grace," or "The Age of the Holy Spirit." All these assertions can easily be demonstrated as valid views of our current position in time, without having to have our whole argument "hang" on the validity of dispensational theology.

This is the Dispensation of "Grace" and extends from the "Cross" to the "Crown" for Christ, and from the "Descent of the Holy Spirit" to the "Rapture of the Church" at the Second Coming of Christ for the Believer. The Dispensation is a (parenthetical dispensation) thrown in between the "Dispersion" of Israel, and their "Restoration" to their own land. The purpose of this Dispensation is to gather out a "People for His Name," called the Church, composed of both Jew and Gentile.

This purpose of God was not revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures, and was unknown to the Patriarchs and Prophets. Christ was the first one to hint at it, when He said of Peter’s confession, "On this rock I will build my Church." Matt. 16:18.

Paul calls it "The Mystery, which in other Ages (O.T. Ages), was not made known unto the sons of men" (Eph. 3:3-6), and adds that it was "hid in God" from the "beginning of the World." Eph. 3:9.

That the Gentiles were to be "saved" was no mystery. Rom. 9:24-30. The "Mystery" was the fact of the purpose of God to "unite the Jew and the Gentile" in a wholly "new thing" -- The Church, which is His (Christ’s) Body. 1 Cor. 12:12-13. (Larkin: Dispensational Truth: 39)

The description of this dispensation is characterized as being a time when the Holy Spirit is predominant in His ministry.

The Advent of the Holy Spirit into the world, and His appointed ministry here is just as real and definite as was the Incarnation and earthly ministry of Christ.

It has been vague and mysterious to us because there has not been a revelation of the Holy Spirit to the physical senses of man as there was of Christ. (Kenyon: The Bible in the Light of Our Redemption: 251, 252).

Just as Jesus’ earthly ministry was from a given point in time, to the point at which He ascended into heaven, so the Holy Spirit’s ministry to the world can be shown as beginning at the point He manifested Himself in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost, and continuing until this present hour.

While this is the "Dispensation of Grace," and God’s purpose during it is to gather out a "People for His Name" -- the Church, the world out of which the Church is being gathered is called -- "The Present Evil Age." Gal. 1:4 (R.V.)

That this "Age" is evil is seen in the character of its civilization. After nearly 1900 years of Gospel preaching the world is in a worse state, in proportion to its light, than it was in the days of Christ, and seems headed toward some great crisis. The spirit of lawlessness is in the air, and despite all efforts to quench it, it is strangely becoming unmanageable and perverse and determined to break away from all authority and law.

How can we account for this? Has God lost His control over the world, or is He permitting some other agency to have its way?

The answer is that there are "two opposing spirits" at work in the world in this Dispensation. The "Holy Spirit" who is engaged in gathering out the elect body of the Church, and the "spirit of evil." These are called in 1 Cor. 2:12, the "spirit which is of God," and the "spirit of the world," and in 1 John 4:5-6, the "Spirit of Truth" and the "spirit of error." (Larkin: Dispensational Truth: 44)

And so, it can be said that we are now living in the time of the Holy Spirit’s ministry as a primary focus.

We are living in the age of the Holy Spirit. At the end of His ministry, Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit to lead us into the truth that he came to reveal. (Burke: Yielding to the Holy Spirit: 61)

Reverend Scott Webb, quoting something that Smith Wigglesworth said to Lester Sumrall in 1939, reports this about the present hour we are living in:

"There has been a move of the Spirit, and now there is a move starting of the Word, with a new emphasis on the Word and the teaching ministry, but there is coming a revival that will be a combination of the Spirit and the Word, and that will be the biggest revival ever seen by man, and it is going to be last revival, because God is going to sweep in the nations, He is going to sweep in the lost to His Kingdom." Praise God! And we are in that day...because we are in the last of the Last Days. (Webb: The Spirit of Faith: The Spirit of Faith Teaching Tape Series)

In teaching on the subject of the Spirit of Faith, Pastor Webb further relates this account of a meeting he attended in which Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin was ministering:

Brother Kenneth E. Hagin walked up to the platform in July, 1993 in Washington state, and begin to minister by the Spirit of God to people there, in the congregation, and he begin to say some things concerning the days we are in, he said, "I have been prophesying and I have been talking about the days that are coming, and the move of God that is coming, the days when the Lord is going to show Himself strong like never before, and I'm here to tell you tonight, those days are not coming...those days are here!" (Webb: The Spirit of Faith: The Spirit of Faith Teaching Tape Series)

Pastor Webb confirms that this is the day of this outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a uniquely powerful way, just before the Rapture, and the beginning of the Tribulation Period. He asserts that this move of the Spirit of Faith, is also unique in that it will not be experienced just by those that learn of it through teaching. One must be a part of this move, and flow with what God is doing to experience the fullness of this move of God. He continues:

In other words, the Bible says that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, so faith can be taught...but the Spirit of Faith can only be "caught." It comes more by association than anything else, association, first of all with the Lord Jesus Christ, association and fellowshipping with the Holy Ghost, and association with men and women that have that Spirit of Faith. (Webb: The Spirit of Faith: The Spirit of Faith Teaching Tape Series)

This "association" with regard to the Spirit of Faith is an important concept to understand, let’s look at this concept in the next chapter.

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CHAPTER 8 -- THE SPIRIT OF FAITH IS "CAUGHT" NOT TAUGHT

Let’s look at the statement with which we closed the last chapter. It is an assertion by the Reverend Scott Webb from his excellent teaching tape series on the topic of "The Spirit of Faith:"

In other words, the Bible says that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, so faith can be taught...but the Spirit of Faith can only be "caught." It comes more by association than anything else, association, first of all with the Lord Jesus Christ, association and fellowshipping with the Holy Ghost, and association with men and women that have that Spirit of Faith. (Webb: The Spirit of Faith: The Spirit of Faith Teaching Tape Series)

What about this phenomenon of "the transfer of anointing," or "catching" the Spirit of Faith? Can we find reference to this in the scriptures? We do know that Paul told Timothy:

Wherefore I put thee in rememberance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:6, 7)

The "gift of God" that he mentions, as we have seen earlier in our study, is the transfer of the Spirit of Faith, and most likely other gifts, or anointings, that Timothy needed to fulfill his ministry. He received these "by the laying on" of Paul’s hands. This operation is seen throughout the Word of God, especially in the Book of Acts. For instance, in anointing the men called into the Ministry of Helps in Acts 6:

And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. (Acts 6:5, 6, emphasis added)

Notice that in this reference, they laid hands on them, ostensibly to transfer "something" to them, yet, the same verse says that at least one of these men, Stephen, was already "full of faith and the Holy Ghost." There must have been "something" that they expected was being transferred to these men. What could it have been? It is instructive to read what happened with Moses and the seventy men he chose to help him:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. (Numbers 11:16, 17)

Notice that God "took of the spirit which is upon thee," or the anointing, and "will put it upon them." In other words, God transferred the anointing that was on Moses to these seventy men!

Notice what the Bible says of Joshua in Deuteronomy 34:9-10:

And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.

And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. (Emphasis added.)

Joshua was full of wisdom "for Moses had laid his hands upon him." It was an anointed that was transferred by the laying on of hands. Anointings may be transferred by association, environment and influence.

The "Flow" of the Anointing

This "transfer of anointing" occurs in much the same way as electricity flows. It will "flow," or move, from one person to another. A.A. Allen once said:

The power of the Holy Ghost may be readily likened to the power of electricity. When one is filled with the Spirit, it is as though he has had his house wired, and established connection with the powerhouse. (A.A. Allen: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 22)

Just as electricity can "flow" from one conductive surface to another, in the same manner, the anointing of God is transferable!

John G. Lake said, "Electricity is God’s power in the natural, and the Holy Ghost is God’s power in the supernatural." Often the Spirit of God will flow like electricity, and you know you can get saturated with electricity. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 63)

It is amazing how many great ministers of the Gospel have seen into this seeming correlation between how electricity behaves and the anointing! As we have seen, A.A. Allen, John G. Lake, and in the next reference, Maria Woodworth-Etter, all draw this same picture of the flow of electricity being representative of the flow of the anointing!

Our bodies are His temples and, as great pieces of mechanism are moved by electricity, so our bodies, the most wonderful piece of mechanism ever known, are moved by the power of the Holy Ghost. (Woodworth-Etter: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 23)

This transfer is so demonstrable that we see that pieces of cloth that were taken from the Apostle Paul and laid on others resulted in a transfer of anointing into people’s bodies, resulting in healings!

And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. (Acts 19:11, 12)

Brother Kenneth E. Hagin speaks of the phenomenon of the transfer of anointing in the example of Elijah and Elisha in his book, Understanding the Anointing:

The story continues in the next two verses:

2 KINGS 2:14, 15

14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

It wasn’t just the mantle -- the hairy coat -- that divided the waters; if it had been, everyone could have parted waters, because they all wore skin coats -- it was the anointing that did it. That’s why the sons of the prophets said, "The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha."

So Elisha did see Elijah caught up into heaven and he did get a double portion of the anointing to stand in the office of prophet. And if you’ll read the Bible account of his ministry, it’s recorded that he did twice as many miracles as Elijah.

By studying his story, we learn something about getting the anointing. Elisha stayed right with Elijah. He didn’t let the prophet out of his sight. He followed him closely. The same spirit got hold of him.

You see, that same anointing -- or that same spirit -- will come by ASSOCIATION, ENVIRONMENT, and INFLUENCE.

Did you ever notice that those who work closely with me have the same anointing on them that I have on me? In fact, there are some anointings in some ministries that have left me -- I don’t even have them anymore. My workers got them! That’s absolutely the truth. But that’s the way you get anointings. (Hagin: Understanding the Anointing: 97, 98)

So we see that anointings are transferred, as Brother Hagin points out, by "association, environment and influence." These imparted "giftings" are "caught" not taught! As Brother Hagin states, often these imparted anointings are transferred by long natural association. The simple fact of being in a minister’s presence, watching them minister for extended periods, can result in the transfer of an anointing to another person! This phenomenon, as we have seen, is noted both in the scripture, as in the case of Elijah and Elisha, and in the reported experiences of ministers like Brother Hagin.

Anointings can be transferred, and the Spirit of Faith can be "caught!" We all, as believers, need to "catch" the Spirit of Faith! Notice Paul said, "We having the same Spirit of Faith…" in 2 Corinthians 4:13; this means that we can all have this overcoming Spirit of Faith! Let’s be sure that we are associating with those of "like precious faith," (1 Peter 1:1) in order to "catch" it!

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CHAPTER 9 – A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

In reflecting on the history of the moves of God’s Spirit, or "revivals," over the last one hundred years we see a preparation of the Body of Christ with each emphasis, or "theme" of the "wave’s" revival. Each move was unique, and led to, and blended with, the next move. We will see this established in the record of these moves of God.

It is not my intent to write a complete history of the various moves of the Holy Spirit in revival, as that would be a complete work in itself! Rather, I want to "hit the high spots," as it were, to give an overview of the revivals, and perhaps, see a pattern in these moves of God. Both the overview, in this chapter, and the "personality profile" information in Chapter Eleven, are given as two different views of these historical periods, and some information may overlap, or be repeated.

"Revivals" are moves of God’s Spirit that are designed to "awaken" God’s people to the things that God has a desire to emphasize, or accomplish, in the earth. We will briefly look at the various moves of the Spirit of God over the centuries since the day of Pentecost, recorded in Acts Chapter Two. We will "center up" on the last one hundred years and the history of the revivals that have occurred more recently in regard to the "Church Age." The following quote comes from an article called "Revival Fire," by the Reverend Dr. Geoff Waugh, who is editor of The Renewal Journal:

The decade of evangelism and harvest in the 1990s has already seen astounding revival fire throughout the world, unprecedented in all history.

Church history and current revivals include times when God moves in great power with mighty visitations. We are living through that now, and there's more to come.

• The early church saw it. Read Acts! At Pentecost 3,000 were won in one day. Soon after that there were 5,000 more. Then great multitudes of men and women. They had the reputation of turning their world upside down (Acts 17:6).

• Missionary expansion continued to see it. For example, Patrick in Ireland and Augustine in England saw strong moves of God and thousands converted with many signs and wonders reported.

• The Moravians saw it. On Wednesday 17 August 1727 the Moravian colony in Germany was overwhelmed and filled with the Spirit at their communion service. Their leader, 27 year old Count Nicholas Zinzendorf, said it was like being in heaven. That month they began a continuous prayer meeting called the Hourly Intercession with people praying in teams for an hour at a time day and night. That non-stop prayer meeting went for 100 years. Within 25 years they had sent out 200 missionaries, more than all the Protestants had done in two centuries.

• The American colonies saw it. 50,000 were converted in 1734-1735. Jonathan Edwards described the characteristics of that move as, first, an extraordinary sense of the awful majesty, greatness and holiness of God, and second, a great longing for humility before God and adoration of God.

• 1739 saw astonishing moves of God in England. On 1st January the Wesleys and Whitefield and 60 others, Methodists and Moravians, met in London for prayer and a love feast. The Spirit of God moved powerfully on them all. Many fell to the ground, resting in the Spirit. In February 1739 Whitefield started preaching to the Kingswood coal miners in the open fields with about 200 attending. By March 20,000 attended. Whitefield invited Wesley to take over then and so in April Wesley began his famous open air preaching (which continued for 50 years).

• David Brainerd, missionary to the North American Indians from 1743 to his death at 29 in 1749 saw a powerful visitation of God in October 1745. Whole communities were changed by the power of the Spirit. Crime and drunkenness dropped, idolatry was abandoned and marriages repaired.

• Powerful revival touched America in 1800, especially the frontier territory of Kentucky. Thousands were converted. Many strange reactions accompanied the move of the Spirit then, including strong shaking and loud cries.

• John Hunt, a pioneering Methodist missionary in Fiji, wrote in his journal about revival there in October 1845. The Spirit fell on the people in meetings and in their homes. There were loud cries of repentance, confession, long meetings, simultaneous praying aloud, and some being overwhelmed (Birtwhistle 1954:133).

• Jeremiah Lanphier, a city missioner, began a weekly noon prayer meeting in New York in September 1857. By October it grew into a daily prayer meeting attended by many businessmen. By March 1858 newspapers carried front page reports of over 6,000 attending daily prayer meetings in New York and Pittsburgh, and daily prayer meetings were held in Washington at five different times to accommodate the crowds. By May 1859, 50,000 of New York's 800,000 people were new converts. New England was profoundly changed by the revival and in several towns no unconverted adults could be found! Charles Finney preached in those days.

• During September 1857, the same month the prayer meetings began in New York, four young Irishmen commenced a weekly prayer meeting in a village school near Kells. That is generally seen as the start of the Ulster revival of 1859 which brought 100,000 converts into the churches of Ireland.

• Throughout 1859 the same deep conviction and lasting conversions revived thousands of people in Wales, England and Scotland. One tenth of Wales became new converts. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Baptist prince of preachers, saw 1859 as the high water mark although he had already been preaching in London for five years with great blessing and huge crowds in a church where people prayed continually and had seen continual growth. (Waugh: Revival Fire: WWW)

This brief timeline carries us up through the beginning of this century. I was fascinated to discover in my research that the manifestations that occurred during the various moves of God were remarkably similar in each record of revival. Even as early as the 1800s, speaking in Tongues and other manifestations of the Holy Spirit that we see in today’s revival, were recorded as being in manifestation in these early days.

Most theological historians trace the beginning of the modern "Pentecostal," or "Charismatic," movement to the early 1800’s. It was around this time that Margaret MacDonald, in Scotland, was reported to have received the Baptism in the Holy Ghost and spoken in Tongues. Most modern theologians trace this recorded incident as the beginning of modern Pentecostal theology.

If you were taught (as many Pentecostalists are) that the Spirit's history in the modern church started at Azusa Street, you were, to be blunt, taught very wrong. Not even Pentecostalism itself was without a history before Azusa. And those who have been taught about Azusa are as often as not taught a (literally) whitewashed version of what happened. Here's a little time line with thumbnail sketches of some of what set the stage for the birth of today's Pentecostal movements. Keep in mind that these are the documented links, the most important ones in forming the movement. There were streams of thought and practice, especially in the Black and Anabaptist churches, which also played a role in shaping Pentecostalism, but those streams were either not written down or were passed along in a very questionable form, and thus are now lost to us.

Early 1800s : Margaret MacDonald, in Scotland, is said to have spoken in tongues and had several others speak in tongues as she taught them. Oddly enough, she was probably an influence on dispensationalists such as Darby. (Longman: Pentecostalist History: WWW)

As Longman mentions, most people that do a cursory study simply trace modern Pentecostalism to Azusa Street. And, indeed, this is a key point in modern Pentecostalism. We will examine that move of God in detail in the next section.

In 1900, evangelicals were saying, "Give us revival for the new century."

God sent the Biblical revival of the Holy Spirit from the second chapter of Acts, and the very people who prayed for revival called it "fanaticism."

In the beginning of every revival, the poor and the humble are the ones who receive it first. They do not have anything to lose. It is the same all over the world. (Sumrall: Pioneers of Faith: 186, 187)

Let’s pick up with our timeline from Dr. Geoff Waugh’s work:

• From October 1904 Evan Roberts in his twenties, formerly a miner and blacksmith, saw God move powerfully during the Welsh revival in answer to his and others' persistent prayers. 100,000 were converted in Wales during 1904-1905. Churches filled from 10 a.m. till after midnight every day for two years, bringing profound social change to Wales.

• William Seymour began a Mission at Azusa Street in Los Angeles on Easter Saturday, 14 April 1906 with about 100 attending, both blacks and whites. It grew out of a cottage prayer meeting. Revival there drew people from around the nation and overseas and launched Pentecostalism as a world wide movement

• Revival in Korea touched the nation in 1907. Presbyterian missionaries, hearing of revival in Wales, prayed earnestly for the same in Korea. 1500 representatives gathered for the annual New Year Bible studies in which a spirit of prayer broke out. The leaders allowed everyone to pray aloud simultaneously as so many were wanting to pray. That became a characteristic of Korean prayer meetings. Revival continues there now.

• In the Communist Soviet Union the Spirit of God moved in great power from the revolution of 1917 to 1927 and churches grew and multiplied rapidly. Baptists in the Ukraine, for example, grew from a few thousand to 100,000 in that decade, which was followed by savage persecution.

• The famous cricketer and missionary, C T Studd reported on revival in the Belgian Congo 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. ... This particular one can best be described as a spiritual tornado. People were literally flung to the floor or over the forms, yet no one was hurt. ... 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' (Pratney 1984:267). (Waugh: Revival Fires: WWW)

We see from Waugh’s timeline that revivals sporadically continued to occur throughout the world up until around 1920, then, it was as though everything began increasing in intensity. We will come back to this time frame, but first, let’s go back and examine Azusa Street and its importance to the period of revival at the beginning of this century.

Azusa Street

Even the phrase "Asuza Street" lives today as a symbol of the miraculous power of God! Considering the prevailing atmosphere of that day and hour, to see men and women of every social, racial, and church background coming together in worship, praise and supernatural manifestations of God was truly miraculous!

It is impossible to understand the present state of Christianity without understanding both the past and continuing impact of the Pentecostal Movement. To even call what began at Azusa Street just a revival would be to obscure its true importance. It was a revival, but it was also a renewal and a reformation of the church as well. With the possible exception of Luther's Reformation, there probably has not been another movement in church history which has had a greater overall impact on the entire church.

This impact is not only continuing, it is continuing to increase. Through the Pentecostal Revival, and the subsequent Neo-Pentecostal movements spawned from it such as the Charismatic Renewal, already more ministers of the gospel have been ordained, more missionaries have been sent out, more churches have been planted, and more people have been brought to salvation than through any other movement in church history. If the present rate of growth is sustained, soon the numbers of those impacted by this renewal will eclipse the totals of all other movements combined. (Joyner: Azusa Street: The Fire That Could Not Die: WWW)

Asuza Street was an outgrowth of events that, in themselves, were miraculous! Charles Fox Parham, a minister seeking God earnestly at the turn of the century, received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, at 12:01 AM on the day the 20^th Century was born!

Charles Fox Parham (1873-1929) presided over a Bible school in Topeka, Kansas. He was a true spiritual father, and many consider him the father of the modern Pentecostal Movement. Even though he would later reject many of his own spiritual children, his part in this movement must be recognized and understood.

Parham was a seeker of God who was constantly challenged by what he viewed as the great chasm between biblical Christianity and the state of the church. He sought the Lord for what he considered to be true, biblical Christianity. As he was keeping a prayer vigil on New Year's Eve, he experienced the spiritual gift of "speaking in tongues," or "glossolalia" in the early hours of January 1, 1901, the precise dawning of the Twentieth Century.

Speaking in tongues, or the use of other spiritual gifts, are by no means unique in church history. Many reformers and revivalists had such experiences. Even so, Parham's experience came at what would be called "the fullness of time," or a time that was ripe for the harvest of a recovered truth. His experience created a great deal of interest, mostly because of the dry and lifeless state of the church at the time. Parham was not known for emotionalism or exaggeration, but rather the opposite. He was conservative and resolute. This gave even more credibility to his experience.

A couple of years after his experience, Parham's health broke down and he was forced to move to Houston where he could stay with friends. His strength recovered and he began another Bible school in the Texas port city. William Seymour became one of his students, but because he was black, and Parham was a strict segregationist, he had to sit outside of the classroom and listen through a door that Parham would leave cracked open for him. Seymour wanted the Lord so much that he would embrace any humiliation to be close to what he felt the Lord was doing, and he was convinced that a new Pentecost was coming to the church. (Joyner: Azusa Street: The Fire That Could Not Die: WWW)

Parham was mightily used of God to start the move of modern day Pentecostalism, yet he had, so to speak, a "bad end." False doctrine and self-will dominated, and eventually, destroyed his ministry in its latter days.

The first "pentecostals" in the modern sense appeared on the scene in 1901 in the city of Topeka, Kansas in a Bible school conducted by Charles Fox Parham, a holiness teacher and former Methodist pastor. In spite of controversy over the origins and timing of Parham's emphasis on glossolalia, all historians agree that the movement began during the first days of 1901 just as the world entered the Twentieth Century. The first person to be baptized in the Holy Spirit accompanied by speaking in tongues was Agnes Ozman, one of Parham's Bible School students, who spoke in tongues on the very first day of the new century, January 1, 1901. According to J. Roswell Flower, the founding Secretary of the Assemblies of God, Ozman's experience was the "touch felt round the world," an event which " made the Pentecostal Movement of the Twentieth Century."

As a result of this Topeka pentecost, Parham formulated the doctrine that tongues was the "Bible evidence" of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He also taught that tongues was a supernatural impartation of human languages (xenoglossolalia) for the purpose of world evangelization. Henceforth, he taught, missionaries need not study foreign languages since they would be able to preach in miraculous tongues all over the world. Armed with this new theology, Parham founded a church movement which he called the "Apostolic Faith" and began a whirlwind revival tour of the American middle west to promote his exciting new experience. (Synan: The Origins of the Pentecostal Movement: WWW)

As we mentioned earlier, one of Parham’s pupils, an African-American named William J. Seymour, was to take this new revelation of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit to California, where he began a mission at Azusa Street.

William J. Seymour was born in Centerville, Louisiana on May 2, 1870. He was the son of former slaves, Simon and Phyllis Seymour. Even after gaining their freedom the Seymours had continued working on a plantation. Young William followed in their footsteps, growing strong in body and spirit, but receiving very little formal education. He taught himself to read so that he could read the Bible. Under the almost constant harassment of the Ku Klux Klan, and the oppressive Jim Crow laws, William became convinced that Jesus Christ was the only true liberator of men. After contracting small pox and losing one eye, he devoted himself to the ministry, proclaiming the gospel of the true liberty of all men through Jesus Christ. (Joyner: Azusa Street: The Fire That Could Not Die: WWW)

That Seymour was so convinced that God was interested in racial equality while his mentor and teacher, Parham, was a racist, is a fascinating conundrum. Parham’s adherence to racism proven to be his eventual downfall. However, Parham’s student, Brother Seymour, was destined for great things!

It was not until 1906, however, that pentecostalism achieved worldwide attention through the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles led by the African-American preacher William Joseph Seymour. He learned about the tongues-attested baptism in a Bible School that Parham conducted in Houston, Texas in 1905. Invited to pastor a Black holiness church in Los Angeles in 1906, Seymour opened the historic meeting in April, 1906 in a former African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church building at 312 Azusa Street in downtown Los Angeles.

What happened at Azusa Street has fascinated church historians for decades and has yet to be fully understood and explained. For over three years, the Azusa Street "Apostolic Faith mission" conducted three services a day, seven days a week, where thousands of seekers received the tongues baptism. Word of the revival was spread abroad through The Apostolic Faith, a paper that Seymour sent free of charge to some 50,000 subscribers. From Azusa Street pentecostalism spread rapidly around the world and began its advance toward becoming a major force in Christendom.

The Azusa Street movement seems to have been a merger of White American Holiness religion with worship styles derived from the African-American Christian tradition which had developed since the days of chattel slavery in the South. The expressive worship and praise at Azusa Street, which included shouting and dancing, had been common among Appalachian Whites as well as Southern Blacks. The admixture of tongues and other charisms with Black music and worship styles created a new and indigenous form of pentecostalism that was to prove extremely attractive to disinherited and deprived people, both in America and other nations of the world.

The interracial aspects of the movement in Los Angeles was a striking exception to the racism and segregation of the times. The phenomenon of Blacks and Whites worshipping together under a Black pastor seemed incredible to many observers. The ethos of the meeting was captured by Frank Bartleman, a White Azusa participant, when he said of Azusa Street, "The color line was washed away in the blood." Indeed, people from all the ethnic minorities of Los Angeles, a city which Bartleman called "the American Jerusalem," were represented at Azusa Steet.

The place of William Seymour as an important religious leader now seems to be assured. As early as 1972 Sidney Ahlstrom, the noted church historian from Yale University, said that Seymour was "the most influential black leader in American religious history." Seymour, along with Charles Parham, could well be called the "co-founders" of world pentecostalism. (Synan: The Origins of the Pentecostal Movement: WWW)

The attention of the world soon turned to that humble dirt floor mission at Azusa Street. Many traveled from countries all over the world to see, and be a part of, the "miracle at Azusa."

As soon as word got out about the experience that came upon Seymour's little prayer group, large crowds of interested people descended on them. To accommodate the large numbers of people, they were forced to rent a rundown old barn-like building in the middle of a black ghetto. At the time no one imagined that the little street that it was on, Azusa, would soon become one of the most famous addresses in the world.

The former mission had a dirt floor and was once used as a livery stable. Many remarked when they came that the Lord Himself had been born in just such a place. The rent was only $8.00 a month, and it would hold as many as 900 people. Even so, services were soon going almost around the clock to handle the hungry multitudes that were coming.

One of the most remarkable characteristics of this revival from the very beginning was the diversity of the people who were drawn to it. Some considered it unprecedented in church history. Within a week even a prominent Jewish rabbi announced his full support. Soon astounding healings and dramatic conversions were taking place almost daily. The church at the time was very dry, so each testimony went forth like sparks into a dry wood. Newspaper articles would fan the flames even more. Testimonies from the Welsh Revival had stirred multitudes to seek the Lord for revival in America, and the deplorable spiritual state of the country made her ready for it. Because of this, the fire spread faster than possible any previous or subsequent revival in American history.

Seymour started a little paper (The Apostolic Faith) to teach about the renewal, printing 5,000 copies. They were passed around until they fell apart. Soon he was printing 50,000, but there was no end to the demand.

Within weeks a steady stream of missionaries were coming from every continent on earth. Those who were on the front lines of the battle against the forces of darkness were the most acutely aware that they needed more power. Just as the Lord's own disciples were told that they would receive power to be His witnesses when the Holy Spirit came upon them, this had become the only hope for effective ministry that many of the missionaries had. They seized it like a drowning man grasps a lifesaver. They left Azusa with the power they needed, and soon gospel fires were burning brightly all over the world. In just two years the movement had taken root in over 50 nations, and was thought to have penetrated every U.S. town with a population of more than 3,000.

Because missionaries were some of the first to come, missions remain a fundamental part of the spiritual genetic code of the Pentecostal Movement, and one of its greatest strengths. Throughout the Scriptures it is seen that the power of God has always come in its greatest demonstrations where there was the greatest darkness. The first ones to carry the Pentecostal movement abroad were hardened, seasoned missionaries who greatly appreciated what they had been given. They used the power they had been given, and multitudes of men, women and children were delivered from bondage. Soon missionary reports back to home churches read like a modern book of Acts, adding even more fuel to the fire of the movement at home.

When it was discovered that the greatest demonstrations of the Spirit's power usually came in the darkest, neediest places, it compelled many to go on mission trips just to witness the power of God. This added great strength and depth to the new movement, and kept it growing throughout the world. Pentecostal children grew up hearing of the testimonies of God's power from missionaries. Because such esteem was given to these missionaries, they often became the children's greatest heroes. Emulating their heroes, many of these children of the early Pentecostal pioneers grew up to be missionaries so that they could live close to such wonderful activities of the Spirit. Others became pastors and evangelists who founded new churches and ministries all across America. Many of them are now leaders of the great Pentecostal churches and denominations. Each of them is like a vast treasure house, filled with stories of the glory of God. They walked with Him and learned His ways. They learned to be host to the Holy Spirit. They grew up believing that the book of Acts was not just a history book, but a living guide for normal church life. Many of their own stories read like a modern book of Acts as they earned their place as elders of the church.

We do not see in order to believe, but we believe in order to see. Because it is basic Pentecostal theology that God is the same today as He was yesterday, that He does everything today that He did in Scripture, true Pentecostals believe in his present working, and so they see it. Most Pentecostals will begin to wonder where they have gone wrong if they are not witnessing regular demonstrations of the power of God. To them it is blasphemy to think that God was an author who wrote just one book and then retired. They must have a living relationship with a living God, and so they do.

This was the experience at Azusa Street. Believers were in constant awe at the works of God in their midst. People forgot to eat or sleep, sometimes for days at a time, because they were so caught up in the presence of the Lord. Like the manna that came from heaven, every day they expected a fresh experience with the Lord. Faith built on faith until the humble little mission really had become a window of heaven. (Joyner: Azusa Street: The Fire That Could Not Die: WWW)

It is instructive to see that one of the key components to the Azusa Street revival was the laying aside of class distinctions, racial distinctions, etc. in favor of individuals simply and humbly seeking God!

At any given time the Azusa Mission would be packed with such a diversity of people that some considered this almost as much of a marvel as the extraordinary miracles that were taking place. It began with a few black men and women in a little home group, but soon most of those who came were white. In one meeting over twenty nationalities were counted. Fine ladies could be found lying prostrate on the floor next to domestic servants and washer women. Prominent churchmen and high government officials sat next to hobos. No one seemed to care. They all had one thing in common - they came to receive the Holy Spirit of God. (Joyner: Azusa Street: The Fire That Could Not Die: WWW)

This blending of races, and status, was remarkable! And even the world took notice! As the Bible says, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:35) The revival was reported often in newspapers far and wide, and people continued to flood into the humble mission.

Unfortunately, Brother Parham, who had a part in the beginning of this move of God, got off track due to false doctrine and pride.

Charles Parham visited Seymour, his former student, in the fall of 1906. He wanted to see for himself the great work that was already the talk of Christians around the world. Seymour was thrilled to have a visit from his mentor, and warmly welcomed him. However, Parham was deeply offended by what he saw. He thought that the various charismatic gifts were too openly demonstrated, and he was appalled by the way so many fell to the ground in apparent trances (one report described Azusa as sometimes resembling "a forest of fallen trees").

Seymour realized that some were faking the manifestations, and believed that these were tares sent by the devil to foul the field of wheat. Even so, he held to the biblical wisdom to let the wheat and tares grow up together. He knew that if he tried to root out the tares, the wheat would also be uprooted - if he stopped that which was not real, he would also quench the Spirit and the work that was real. He determined that the risk of having some problems was acceptable in view of the spiritual benefits at stake. He was right. When he later succumbed to the pressure and changed this policy, the revival quickly died.

Even more than the faking of experiences, Parham was appalled by the unusual social and racial integration. Parham admired the Ku Klux Klan, and especially objected to racial mixing or mingling during worship and at the altar. However, he did not believe this just out of racial pride, but because of a false doctrine. He believed the great sin of humanity that caused the judgment of the flood was racial mixing, and that Noah was chosen to survive because of his pedigree, being "without mixed blood." This is a tragic and diabolical misunderstanding of Scripture that has been the twisted theological basis upon which many racist groups, including the Nazis, have been built. (Joyner: Azusa Street: The Fire That Could Not Die: WWW)

Obviously, this was an unbiblical, untenable position, yet Parham persisted and denounced the revival and Seymour. Brother Seymour was hurt by his former mentor’s rejection, but he was a true leader and man of God in his own right, and tried to "stick to his guns." However, Parham’s rejection and subsequent attempt to go across town and start his own mission and "carry on" the revival as he would like to see it operated was a major setback, and the Holy Ghost was obviously grieved.

In contrast to Parham's philosophy, Seymour felt that an essential element of Christianity itself was a unity which saw beyond the barriers of race, color, gender, nation, class or status. This was a demonstration that God is no respecter of persons, and that all believers are truly one in Christ. To him, the Azusa Street Mission was becoming a taste of what true Christianity was meant to be, just as the first Pentecost saw the coming together of those from every nation.

Seymour's leadership of such a renewal marked by interracial equality, harmony and unity is even more remarkable when it is understood that this took place during the most severely segregated time in American history. It was also composed mostly of the two most embittered racial groups - the poor whites and poor blacks. When the revival spread, it was also most readily received in the Southern states where this conflict was then most prevalent.

This is another sign of true revival; the waters of God always flow to the lowest points, and He sends His light to the darkest places. A leading British clergyman, A.A. Boddy, wrote, "One of the most remarkable things [about the revival] was that preachers of the Southern states were willing and eager to go over to those Negro people in Los Angeles and have fellowship with them." Frank Bartleman wrote, "The color line was washed away in the blood."

Charles Parham had been mightily used by God at times, but the seeds of deception from some of his doctrines were maturing at a time when the enemy could make the greatest use of them. This has been another tragic way in which history has continually repeated itself. Those who begin a movement will almost always persecute those who seek to take it further, or who are used to start another subsequent movement. One of the worst curses placed upon biblical Israel for her apostasy was that they would eat their own children. The apostasy of the church has brought this terrible curse upon herself in almost every generation. Spiritual fathers seem to inevitably try to devour their own spiritual children.

When Parham could not force his style of leadership upon the Azusa Street Mission, he denounced it, and started another rival mission at the fashionable Women's Christian Temperance Union Building. This was the first schism in the Pentecostal Movement. When this rival mission failed, he spent the rest of his life denouncing Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival. By this he sealed his own spiritual doom. He continually lost influence and followers until his death in 1929. (Joyner: Azusa Street: The Fire That Could Not Die: WWW)

This kind of "smallness" and effort to bend the move of God into their own image is a continual theme in the revivals that have come on the scene with a "bang," yet have faded out. Man grieving the Holy Spirit and losing out in the process of time in what God was trying to accomplish is a process we must guard against in the current revival if we are to learn from history!

An Earthquake in the Natural and Spiritual Realms!

Natural events and spiritual preparation also had a hand in the beginnings of the Azusa Street revival. Notice from this next reference how, before the Azusa Street mission was founded, a home Bible study paved the way for the revival, and how the famous San Francisco earthquake turned the hearts of men toward God! Also, note that Frank Bartleman, a man dedicated to intense prayer and intercession, speaks of the move of God as it was beginning:

He now moved in among a small group of humble and praying people at 214 N. Bonnie Brae Street. Bartleman found himself among them just as the revival fires started to burn. He writes, "March 26, I went to a cottage meeting on Bonnie Brae Street. Both white and colored saints were meeting there for prayer. I had attended a cottage meeting shortly before this, at another place, where I first met Brother Seymour. He had just come from Texas. He was a colored man, very plain, spiritual, and humble. He attended the meetings at Bonnie Brae Street. He was blind in one eye.... There was a general spirit of humility manifested in the meeting. They were taken up with God. Evidently the Lord had found the little company at last, outside as always, through whom He could have right of way. There was not a mission in the country where this could be done. All were in the hands of men. The spirit could not work. Others far more pretentious had failed. That which man esteems had been passed by once more and the Spirit born again in a humble stable, outside ecclesiastical establishments as usual. A body must be prepared, in repentance and humility, for every outpouring of the Spirit... They decided to wait on God in a ten-days special petitioning of God and in yielding themselves to Him. The time had come. God had found the right company at last."

Soon the meeting at Bonnie Brae became dangerously crowded and another place had to be found for the prayer services. The meeting was moved to 312 Azusa Street under the leadership of William Seymour. Discerning as usual, Bartleman describes the spiritual atmosphere in and around the new meeting place; "They opened public meetings in old Azusa St. in an old Methodist Church that had been for a long time in disuse, except as a receptacle for old lumber, plaster, etc. It was very dirty. A space was cleared large enough to seat a score or two of persons. We sat on planks resting on old nail kegs, if I remember correctly. But God was there. The work began in earnest. The fire had fallen. It was on the 9th of April 1906, that the Spirit was first poured out on Bonnie Brae. On April 18th we had the terrible San Francisco earthquake. It had a very close connection with the Pentecostal outpouring... This shook the whole state, as well as the nation. Men began to fear God... Their conscience needed to be knocked at. This paved the way for the revival. Otherwise they would have mocked us.... God suddenly shut up many little Holiness Missions, Tent meetings, etc., that had been striving with one another a long time for the preeminence. It would not work any more. They had to come together. God only could tame them. There was little going on anywhere else, but at Azusa St. All the people were coming. Even Pastor Smale finally came to Azusa Mission to hunt his people up. Then he invited them back to let God have His way. The fire broke out at his own Assembly also. When God dries a place up, it is dry. This, many churches which opposed the Azusa work soon found out to their sorrow. And many are yet sorrowing over it. They would not take God's way. They were also among the prophets, but when the Lord came He did not come through them. This killed them. They would not go to Azusa, nor let Azusa come to them. Azusa was despised in their eyes." Bartleman continues, "The present Pentecostal manifestation did not break out in a moment, like a huge prairie fire, and set the world on fire. In fact no work of God ever appears that way. There is a necessary time for preparation. The finished article is not realized at the beginning. Men may wonder where it came from, not being conscious of the preparation, but there is always such. Every movement of the Spirit of God must also run the gauntlet of the devil's forces. (Smithers: The Seeds of Revival: WWW)

We need to understand that the events and heart preparation that led to the great revival at Azusa are still key ingredients of revival in this hour.

Within nine years of the Azusa Street revival, Frank Bartleman was expressing deep concern for the future of the Pentecostal movement. He recognized that many of the revival participants had become distracted by the effects of the revival and thus lost sight of God's primary purposed for revival. By neglecting the roots of the revival, Bartleman believed they had inadvertently cursed the spiritual fruit they so dearly desired. Our modern churches must take heed and learn that there are no shortcuts to lasting revival. "Except a kernel of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. (John 12:24)" There will be no true and lasting revival until we die to our own stupid pride and selfish ambition. We must let God the Holy Spirit have control of His church again. We need to repent and let the knocking Bridegroom back into His house. In early 1905 Frank Bartleman wrote, "I received from God the following keynote to revival: The depth of a revival will be determined exactly by the depth of the spirit of repentance..." Again he writes, "A body must be prepared, in repentance and humility for every outpouring of the Spirit." This is one of God's great unchanging laws of true revival. It applies to all people and for all time. We can not afford to ignore these clear warnings from our spiritual forefathers any longer. There will be no glorious, end time harvest until God finds a people who will embrace and nurture the fruitful seeds of revival; FAITH, HUMILITY, REPENTANCE and PRAYER. (Smithers: The Seeds of Revival: WWW)

Notice the key elements that the author mentions: faith, which we have been in training all during the Word of Faith movement to use; humility, which is a key element that I believe we are just now beginning to return to, and is the reason for the manner in which God is now moving among our churches (see Chapter Five of this dissertation); and finally, repentance and prayer. The Body of Christ must repent and pray in order for true revival to come. We need to remember the admonition of scripture, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14) It is not up to the repentance of sinners, but rather it is the church that needs to repent of sin. The occurrences in and around the story of the Azusa Street revival are very instructive to us today!

Even as fractured and divided as the Pentecostal Movement may presently be, it has the destiny and calling to help bring unity to the whole church. The fire still burns in the Pentecostal Movement. The fire will burn until all of the wood, hay and stubble has been consumed, and the gold, silver and precious stones have been purified. Each movement may be fashioned into a different stone, but the day is coming when we will all be fashioned together into one crown of glory.

The explosive spread of the movement begun at Azusa continued as long as the Holy Spirit was free to move as He willed, and the people sat before Him as one. As the revival drifted from these basics, they also drifted from the source of their power. Where the Spirit is Lord there must be liberty, and where He is Lord there will be unity. Before the Lord we all look the same. The blood of Jesus does wash away all color lines.

It is interesting to note that the very name Azusa was derived from an Indian word that means "blessed miracle." This was first noted by Father Juan Crespi in 1769, while on the Portola expedition to explore California. At that time Azusa referred to the site of an old Indian village south of present day Los Angeles in the San Gabriel canyon. There a young Indian girl named Coma Lee used to pray and fast for the healing of her people. She was gifted with healing power as she laid hands on the sick. After she prayed for a chief who was wonderfully healed, he gave her the name Azusa to commemorate his miracle of healing. For many years, Azusa continue her healing ministry while her fame spread all over southern California. During that time whenever there was suffering, people said, "Go to Azusa and be healed...go to Azusa." Maybe it is time for us to again go to Azusa and be healed of the many wounds that we have inflicted upon one another. (Joyner: Azusa Street: The Fire That Could Not Die: WWW)

Azusa, the "blessed miracle" of the early twentieth century, is instructive to us as we are beginning to be swept into a revival at the beginning of the twenty-first century! Let us, metaphorically speaking, "go to Azusa!"

Every Twenty Years?

An interesting phenomenon that I have briefly alluded to is that over the last century "waves" of revival seem to have occurred, roughly, every twenty years. If you will recall, before we took up the study of Azusa Street, I made reference to the fact that things begin to "get more active" in the spiritual realm around 1920. Indeed, if you look at the references in the chapter of this dissertation on the personalities of the leaders of these moves of God (Chapter Eleven,) it is fascinating to see how many of them received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit either early in the century (around 1900,) or around 1920!

This moving of the Holy Spirit in "waves" of revival and emphasis are part of the phenomenon that I am interested in documenting. Let’s consider this very broad timeline:

1900 – Azusa Street

1920 – Latter Rain Movement

1940 – Healing Revival

1960 – Charismatic Revival

1980 – Word of Faith Revival

2000 – Spirit of Faith Revival

I realize that the dates are not exact, and that, obviously, the "Spirit of Faith" revival is speculative, but this pattern is interesting! Keep in mind that I am not trying to pin a "wave" of revival to an exact date, but rather to a general timeframe. The "timing" may be off by several years each way, and there are times of preparation that lead into a revival that are sometimes not "counted" as part of that time of revival, but I find the pattern is interesting! I will note this pattern as we continue with our historical study.

The Early to Middle Years

The early days of the century were "infant" years for the Pentecostal Movement, which was birthed, for the most part, out of the turn of the century Azusa Street revival. Growing pains were manifested as splinter groups and denominations were formed out of the initial unity of the revival.

The roots of American pentecostalism reach deep into the history of ecstatic Christianity. Pentecostal leaders trace their origins through George Fox and the Quakers, John Wesley and early Methodism, the Plymouth Brethren, William Booth and the Salvation Army, and other similar men and movements. More recently, American pentecostalism grew out of a deepening of spiritual life associated with the holiness movement at the end of the nineteenth century. Participants in this nebulous movement, both in America and abroad, looked beyond the conversion experience to continual personal encounters with God for the Christian. Around the turn of the century some of these reformers began to teach that the baptism of the Holy Ghost, accompanied by speaking in tongues, was the final, and pentecostal, work of grace to be sought by every Christian.

Organized pentecostals in America emerged in many different places. One center in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee came to be associated with the name of A.J. Tomlinson and the Church of God. In the Midwest, the pioneer pentecostal was Charles G. Parham, a Methodist minister and teacher. Many date the beginnings of American pentecostalism from a meeting held in Azusa Street mission in Los Angeles in 1906. At any rate, the amorphous movement slowly took shape in the 1920s as a confusing patchwork of small sects frequently divided by seemingly trivial points of doctrine. By the end of World War II, the three largest churches were the Assemblies of God, the Church of God, and the Pentecostal Holiness church. Pentecostal religion was especially successful in the South, but all over the nation small churches began to spring up, drawing members form the poor and those discontented in the traditional churches. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 11)

Note the reference to the period of the 1920s. As I mentioned earlier, we will see that many of the most notable ministers that we have received from in this century were born again or received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit around this time!

It was during this time of that John G. Lake had finished his work as a missionary in South Africa and went home to the state of Washington. However, the fruit of his ministry continued to be felt.

In retrospect, the work of Lake was the most influential and enduring of all the South African pentecostal missions endeavors. According to Cecil Rhodes, the South African "Empire Builder," "His (Lake's) message has swept Africa. He has done more toward South Africa's future peace than any other man." Perhaps the highest accolade was given by no less a personage than Mahatma Ghandi who said of Lake, "Dr. Lake's teachings will eventually be accepted by the entire world."

Soon after Lake returned to the United States, the movement reached the Slavic world through the ministry of a Russian-born Baptist pastor, Ivan Voronaev, who received the pentecostal experience in New York City in 1919. Through prophecies, he was led to take his family with him to Odessa in the Ukraine in 1922 where he established the first Pentecostal church in the Soviet Union. Although he was arrested, imprisoned and martyred in a communist prison in 1943, Voronaev's churches survived incredible persecution to become a major religious force in Russia and the former Soviet Union by 1993. (Synan: The Origins of the Pentecostal Movement: WWW)

Several other major personalities dominate the early years of the Twentieth Century. Chief among them was Alexander Dowie.

The father of healing revivalism in America was the enigmatic Alexander Dowie. Dowie was born in Scotland in 1847 but was reared in Australia where he felt called to the ministry. He was trained for the Congregational ministry and held a number of pastorates in Australia before deciding in 1878 to establish an independent congregation. In 1882, Dowie began preaching divine healing, and in the stormy years that followed, this teaching was his theme in attracting followers. In 1888, after several years of uneven success in Australia, Dowie came to America. He settled in Chicago in 1893. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 13)

Dowie went on to found the city of Zion, Illinois, north of Chicago, by purchasing 6000 acres of land. Within two years, ten thousand people had moved to his "city of God."

Gordon Lindsay, one of the most knowledgeable leaders of the postwar revival, wrote of Dowie’s influence:

Out of Zion came F.F. Bosworth, and his brother B.B. Bosworth, whose healing campaigns in the Twenties filled great auditoriums, seating many thousands of people. From Zion went forth John G. Lake with a message that stirred all of South Africa, and resulted in the establishing of hundreds of churches that remain to this day... Raymond T. Richey who was only a lad at the time, unconsciously absorbed the atmosphere of that time. ... From the ministry of these men and others we might mention, there has arisen a host of men of faith who have had powerful ministries. The Full Gospel movement which sprang into existence, coincidentally, as Dowie passed from the scene, owes Zion a debt that it perhaps little realizes.

Among those that carried the mark of Zion was Lindsay himself. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 14)

Another great man of faith that made an impact during this timeframe in America was Smith Wigglesworth. In these early years, he and several other British evangelists made tours of the United States.

By the end of World War I, a number of healing evangelists began building independent revival ministries. Several British evangelists made tours of the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. Perhaps the most lasting foreign influence came through the work of Smith Wigglesworth. For many years Wigglesworth was a plumber and volunteer worker in Salvation Army missions in Bradford, England, but by the 1920s he had become a well-known healing revivalist. ... Wigglesworth visited America in 1923 and included on his itinerary a meeting in Springfield, Missouri, the location of the headquarters of the Assembly of God. "When in America," recalled pentecostal editor Stanley Frodsham, "he filled the biggest halls, ministered to record crowds, prayed for thousands of people." Wigglesworth died in 1944, but his work was remembered by a generation of pentecostals and his writings served as a guide for the next generation of revivalists. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 14)

Among other notable ministers of the 1920s and 1930s was F.F. Bosworth, who built a strong independent church in Dallas, Texas in 1920, and pastored it for ten years. Then after World War I, he began conducting revivals.

"By the late Twenties," wrote an admirer, "the Bosworth Revival had electrified dozens of cities in the United States and Canada and the work of this man had already had a profound impact on an entire generation of Americans." Reportedly, in one Bosworth rally in 1924, "some 12,000 sought the Lord for salvation." Bosworth became a pioneer of radio evangelism when he established National Radio Revival Missionary Crusades as a nonprofit Illinois corporation and began broadcasting regularly over WJJD in Chicago. In a few years his radio ministry processed more than a quarter of a million letters. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 15)

A number of other healing evangelists earned national reputations in the 1920s. Among them were Thomas Wyatt, John G. Lake, a protégé of Alexander Dowie, and Maria Woodworth-Etter. Aimee Semple McPherson, founder of the Foursquare Church, was perhaps the most famous and public ministry of this time.

By the thirties, Raymond T. Richey, who was also a pioneer evangelist in the 1920s had settled down to head a Bible College in Houston, Texas, but continued to conduct sporadic meetings during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1951, in the midst of the great Healing Revival, he once again became a full-time evangelist.

Another notable name was Charles Price. Brother Price’s ministry flourished in the 1920s, and then met with hard times. However, he foresaw the coming of the next great wave of revival in the 1940s:

Charles S. Price died in 1947, shortly before the outbreak of the postwar revival. More than any other early evangelist, he sensed the nearness of the revival. He felt a cooperative spirit growing. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 15)

After World War II the great postwar revival hit with tremendous force! Men such as Oral Roberts, William Branham, and Smith Wigglesworth were preaching during the beginning of what was to become known as the "Healing Revival."

After World War II, the Latter Rain movement broke out. It broke out in Canada first, then moved down into Detroit into an Assembly of God church. I went to that church two or three times a year. They were blessed, happy, rejoicing and dancing, but a major denomination’s headquarters came out against the Latter Rain movement and closed their churches. (Sumrall: Pioneers of Faith: 188)

This was not simply a time of great revival and growth among Pentecostal believers, it was also a time in which error was injected into the Pentecostal message as well:

A number of the early leaders in the movement believed that Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit were all one person, whose name was Jesus. In 1916, a group of these ministers were forced out of the Assemblies of God. A number of splinter sects were formed, generally referred to as a "Jesus only" or "oneness" churches. In 1945, a large number of oneness pentecostals merged as the United Pentecostal Church. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 12)

These "Jesus Only" churches exist to this day, and have been known to openly fight meetings held by Kenneth Copeland and other Word of Faith ministers, simply to try and push their "Jesus Only" error on Word of Faith converts.

The need of the hour was for leaders. "The deaths of Charles Price and Smith Wigglesworth within a few days of each other early in 1947, " wrote Donald Gee in 1956, "certainly fired many pure young hearts with a holy desire to pick up the torch of their ministry and carry it forward to new achievements." The deaths of these pioneer evangelists, along with that of Aimee Semple McPherson, left a void. Some troubled older pentecostals wondered if the days of revival were over. In fact, the greatest pentecostal revival, identified by some as a part of the prophetic "latter rain," was about to begin. The pioneers of divine healing revivalism were gone, "but almost simultaneously with their passing, God raised up... many others to carry on a new wave of revival that has reached nearly every nation of the free world."

The revival erupted in 1947 with astonishing force. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 20)

This postwar revival, as we’ve mentioned, was known as the "Healing Revival." However by 1958 it was beginning to "decline" as a separate movement. The Voice of Healing magazine edited by Gordon Lindsay chronicled the revival.

Some people who minister under the anointing know nothing about faith. That was one of the major problems we had in the days of the great Healing Revival here in the United States in 1947-58. Almost all of the healing evangelists were ministering under the anointing -- the power of God -- but some of them knew very little about the Bible. (They made some of the most stupid statements concerning the Bible you ever heard in your life.)

Most of the ministers in this movement belonged to the Voice of Healing organization. We always had a convention at Thanksgiving. At our 1954 convention in Philadelphia, I said to some of the brethren, "When all the rest of these fellows are gone, "I’ll still be out there ministering." They’re all gone except one or two of us, and I’m still ministering.

Why? Because I saw the difference between ministering under an anointing and ministering by faith, and I minister both ways. (Hagin: Understanding the Anointing: 132)

Brother Hagin is, in fact, one of the few ministers that has been successful in all of the moves of revival that have occurred during his lifetime. He was effective during the Healing Revival, the time of the Charismatic revival and, of course, is the primary leader of the Word of Faith revival. He is also one of the leading forces of today’s "Spirit of Faith" revival as well. Why has he successfully made these transitions? He says it himself in this quote. He is a stickler for both the Word and the Spirit. Plus, I believe he can truly be said to be a humble man that is willing to change emphasis as the Lord leads. He does not try to oppose the next "wave," or "move" of the Spirit, just to remain "comfortable."

The Middle Years of the Century

Around 1940 to 1960 there was a time of remarkable moves of God in very diverse ways! Let’s return to our review of Dr. Waugh’s timeline of revival:

• The famous East African revival began in Rwanda in June 1936 and rapidly spread to the neighboring countries of Burundi, Uganda and the Congo (now Zaire), then further around. The Holy Spirit moved upon mission schools, spread to churches and to whole communities, producing deep repentance and changed lives. Anglican Archdeacon Arthur PittPitts wrote in September, 'I have been to all the stations where this Revival is going on, and they all have the same story to tell. The fire was alight in all of them before the middle of June, but during the last week in June, it burst into a wild flame which, like the African grass fire before the wind, cannot be put out' (Osborn 1991:21).

• The Holy Spirit fell dramatically on a small prayer group of 8 people in Argentina in 1948, and their church immediately exploded with many signs and wonders and healings. Some converts in that move of God were in Bible College in June 1951 when the Spirit fell on them there. The college prayed for 4 months with intense weeping, and many astounding prophecies including that the largest stadiums in Argentina would be filled soon for Christian meetings. That happened in 1954 with the visit of Tommy Hicks. The largest stadium seating 110,000 was filled for weeks as 300,000 made commitments and hundreds were healed each night for three months. (Waugh: Revival Fire: WWW)

Reports of revival continued into the late 1950s and early 1960s. During these moves of God, the popular culture was impacted by the message of the revivals as well. The "Jesus Movement" of the 1960s was portrayed on magazine covers, in popular music, and was discussed by social scientists of the day.

In the early 1960s, when thousands of people in the older churches accepted the pentecostal teaching on speaking with other tongues and healing and hundreds of thousands seemed ready to listen, the pentecostal churches were perplexed, but the independent ministers readily accepted it as a new move of God. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 145)

This acceptance from other denominations led to alternative organizations such as the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International, founded by Demos Shakarian. This organization helped bring the Pentecostal/ Charismatic message to thousands of "denominational" people outside of the now "organized" Pentecostal churches. Indeed, the Pentecostal churches did not seem enthusiastic about this new move of God!

This first wave of pentecostal pioneer missionaries produced what has become known as the "Classical Pentecostal Movement" with over 11,000 pentecostal denominations throughout the world. These continued to proliferate at an amazing rate as the century came to an end. In retrospect, the pattern established in South Africa was repeated in many other nations as the movement spread around the world. That is, an enterprising Pentecostal pioneer such as Lake, broke the ground for a new movement which was initially despised and rejected by the existing churches. This phase was followed by organized pentecostal denominational missions efforts which produced fast-growing missions and indigenous churches. The final phase was the penetration of pentecostalism into the mainline Protestant and Catholic churches as "charismatic renewal" movements with the aim of renewing and reviving the historic churches.

Strangely enough, these newer "waves" also originated largely in the United States. These included the Protestant "Neo-pentecostal" movement which began in 1960 in Van Nuys, California under the ministry of Dennis Bennett, Rector of St. Marks Episcopal (Anglican) Church. Within a decade, this movement had spread to all the 150 major Protestant families of the world reaching a total of 55,000,000 people by 1990. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement had its beginnings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1967 among students and faculty of DuQuesne University. In the 26 years since its inception, the Catholic movement has touched the lives of over 70,000,000 Catholics in over 120 nations of the world. Added to these is the newest category, the "Third Wave" of the Spirit which originated at Fuller Theological Seminary in 1981 under the classroom ministry of John Wimber. These consisted of mainline Evangelicals who moved in signs and wonders, but who disdained labels such as "pentecostal" or "charismatic." By 1990 this group numbered some 33,000,000 members in the world.

In summary, all these movements, both Pentecostal and charismatic, have come to constitute a major force in Christendom throughout the world with explosive growth rates not seen before in modern times. By 1990, The Pentecostals and their charismatic brothers and sisters in the mainline Protestant and Catholic churches were turning their attention toward world evangelization. Only time will reveal the ultimate results of this movement which has greatly impacted the world during the Twentieth Century. (Synan: The Origins of the Pentecostal Movement: WWW)

The "Charismatic Movement" of the early 1960s and 1970s is the revival that was in motion when I was born again and received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I saw first hand what the revival was doing in my culture and in the denominational churches. Many of these churches were amazed and somewhat "taken aback" by their own young people, who were openly talking about Jesus in their day-to-day life. They were praying, holding home and school based Bible Studies, and singing "new songs" of worship and praise set to a rock beat!

Many were "turned off" by this openness and by the development of contemporary Christian music among their young people. Many of today’s contemporary Christian artists and bands trace their origins back to these days: Petra, Phil Keaggy, Larry Norman, Amy Grant, and many others, came out of these heady days of Charismatic revival in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

• God moved upon the mountain town of Soe in Timor on Sunday 26 September 1965. That night people heard the sound of a tornado wind and flames above the Reformed Church building prompted police to set off the fire alarm. Healings and evangelism increased dramatically. Hundreds of thousands were converted. About 90 evangelistic teams were formed which functioned powerfully with spiritual gifts. The first team saw 9,000 people converted in two weeks in one town alone. In the first three years of this revival 200,000 became Christians in Timor, and on another small island where few had been Christians 20,000 became believers.

• God's power visited Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, on Tuesday 3 February 1970 at the regular morning chapel commencing at 10 o'clock. 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. Teams of students visited 16 states and saw several thousand conversions through their witnessing in one week. Over 1,000 teams went out in the first six weeks.

• The Jesus Movement exploded in 1971 among hippie and counter culture youth in America in the early seventies. Thousands were baptized in the ocean. Vital new groups like Calvary Chapel led by Chuck Smith emerged and multiplied rapidly. Newspapers of the movement included the Hollywood Free Paper which grew from a circulation of 10,000 to over 150,000 in two years; Truth merged with Agape and printed 100,000. Right On! grew from 20,000 to 100,000 circulation (Pratney 1984:231).

• In 1971 Bill McLeod, a Canadian Baptist pastor, invited the twin evangelists Ralph and Lou Sutera to speak at his church in Saskatoon. Revival broke out with their visit which began on Wednesday 13 October. By the weekend an amazing spirit gripped the people. Many confessed their sins publicly. Meetings had to be moved to the Civic Auditorium seating 2000. This spread to other churches as well. (Waugh: Revival Fire: WWW)

A Personal Time of Renewal

I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit through the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International Regional Convention, which was held in Raleigh, North Carolina in November of 1973. The speaker was George Otis, a NASA scientist, who taught on the doctrine of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, a subject I had never "seen" as a Southern Baptist! In that service, as he gave the invitation, I received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues! Praise God! Amazingly, though I regularly watched Oral Roberts’ TV program, I did not realize, at that time, that he was a Pentecostal minister!

Once scorned by most of the nation’s religious leaders and press, by the 1970s Oral Roberts had become a man of prestige and stature. In 1974, pentecostal leader David J. duPlessis was included in a list of the eleven most influential Christians in the world, based on an informal poll conducted by seven major church magazines. Kathryn Kuhlman’s ministry was both successful and respectable. The Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International took the charismatic message into the banquet halls of the best hotels of the world had boasted among its members some of the world’s wealthiest, most glamorous, and most powerful. The snow white dove was still seen scribbled on ghetto walls, but it was also molded into lapel pins worn by the mighty. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 4)

I remember these days well! I served as an usher in a meeting held by Kathryn Kulhman at the Greensboro Coliseum. Messages by David duPlessis in the Logos Journal and Full Gospel Businessmen’s Meetings were a standard for me at that time! In fact, I can remember receiving the Logos Journal and reading it cover-to-cover for news of what was happening in the world of the Spirit!

The most important of these new charismatic magazines, Logos Journal, appeared in 1971. It grew out of Joseph D. Mattsson-Boze’s Herald of Faith, giving it a solid historical link to the early revival. During the 1950s the Herald of Faith was William Branham’s chief publicity organ. In July 1970, the Herald of Faith was merged with Harvest Time, a journal edited by Gerald Derstine, a rising light in the neopentecostal world. The magazine was then issued under the title, Herald of Faith -- Harvest Time, until August 1971, when Logos Journal began publication under the editorship of Daniel Malachuk, a widely-known publisher who had formerly worked with the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International. (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 183)

In 1975, after a brief time in the Shepherding Movement, where, actually, I received decent basic teaching by Charles Basham and Derek Prince on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and other fundamentals; I began to realize that the Shepherding Movement had definite doctrinal problems. I began to search for teachers that I could receive from without having to "eat the hay and leave the stubble." It was around this time, in the mid 1970s, that I first heard the message of faith through Brother Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth E. Hagin. I listened to their radio programs every day, and devoured their tapes and books! I got in on the Word of Faith, or Teaching Revival, right at the beginning and have been extremely blessed by what the Lord has done through that move of His Spirit!

Throughout the earth, millions were blessed through the Charismatic revival, and then it began to die. As it subsided, God did something else.

He raised up two Texans – Kenneth E. Hagin and under him Kenneth Copeland – and said, "The Word is true. You may call it to be true. Teach my people faith."

Many people began to call their teachings "hyper-faith." Again, we could have all moved together in what was called the Word of Faith movement. Yet it has not happened. (Sumrall: Pioneers of Faith: 190)

My involvement with the Shepherding Movement, and its related teachers, though brief, was still an eye opening time for me. The Shepherding Movement’s magazine, called New Wine, was a teaching and news publication which I received, along with Logos Journal, every month.

One of the most important new journals to emerge was New Wine, which began publication in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1969, first under the auspices of the Holy Spirit Teaching Mission, and later under the direction of Christian Growth Ministries. These organizations, and the journal , represented a collection of several of the most important new teaching ministries in the charismatic movement. The editors of New Wine wrote, "Many of us could see the need for a vital experience in the Holy Spirit plus the necessary teaching which should follow. As most of our readers know the Charismatic outpouring increases daily and so the teaching need expands." (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 182)

The aforementioned Logos Journal "took on" the Shepherding Movement with an article taking the Movement’s leaders to task and the result was an open apology in New Wine magazine. Doctrines of many were "in flux," and I was searching for truth!

I can remember traveling with a close personal and spiritual friend to his parent’s "get-away" in the woods of Ohio and seeking God with all my heart for answers. God told me very clearly, in an almost audible voice, "Faith is the key." I decided then and there that I must pursue the subject of faith wholeheartedly. It changed my life! By the early 1980s, the Teaching Revival was blazing its way across the world! I found myself an excited participant!

Having been ordained into the ministry in 1977, I soon joined the newly founded organization, the International Convention of Faith Churches and Ministers (ICFCM), which is now called the International Convention of Faith Ministries (ICFM). The first, and founding, convention was held in Fort Worth, Texas, in October of 1979, organized by Dr. Doyle (Buddy) Harrison, Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin’s son-in-law. I also later joined the Word of Faith Satellite Network, as a satellite affiliate pastor, when this organization was formed in 1982. At its height, the Word of Faith Satellite Network had over 1400 independent churches joined together to show live satellite broadcasts of Word of Faith speakers and Satellite Bible School classes. The network fell apart after its leader, Bob Tilton, began to get into error. These were turbulent times!

The Latter Part of the Century

The latter part of this century has been sporadic with revival fires burning brightly in the late 1970s and early 1980s during the Word of Faith revival. The pattern of "every twenty years" has been holding, with moves of God in the Teaching Revival at its height around 1980, and the present move of revival beginning in the late 1990s. We have seen folks that were willing to go anywhere and do anything to get the Word of God in the late 1970s and early 1980s, "cool" somewhat in intervening years in response to spiritual things. But, underlying this, the embers were still burning quietly, and the "fire" began to heat up again in the late 1990s, as we will see as we continue with Dr. Waugh’s timeline:

• In September 1973 Todd Burke arrived in Cambodia on a one week visitor's visa, later extended. Just 23 years old, he felt a strong call from God to minister there. By the end of September he had seen hundreds healed and saved. A virile church grew rapidly, later buried after the communist coup of 1975. By 1978 a million Cambodians had been killed. Still the decimated church survives, and is growing again.

• In 1979 John Wimber began pastoring a fellowship which his wife Carol had begun in their home. Their Vineyard Fellowship grew rapidly with their prayerful worship, powerful evangelism and a growing healing ministry. On Mother's Day in May, 1981, a young man gave his testimony at the evening service and called on the Holy Spirit to come in power. Revival broke out at that service as hundreds were dramatically filled with the Spirit. In the next four months they baptised 700 new converts. The church grew to 5,000 in a decade and commenced many other Vineyard fellowships.

• The church in China continues to see God's strong move amid great persecution, torture and killing which still continues. David Wang tells of a pastor imprisoned for over 22 years who left behind a church of 150 people scattered through the hill villages in northern China. On his release in the 1980s he discovered the church in that area had grown to 5,000. Three years later it had trebled to 15,000. Evangelists who saw 30-40 converted in each village they visited in the eighties now report 300-400 or more being converted in their visits. Some villages are experiencing a visitation of God where the whole village becomes Christian.

• Nagaland, a state in the NorthEast of India, began to experience revival in the 1960s and has continued in revival. By the early 1980s 85% of the population had become Christians (Mills 1990:40).

• Missionaries were expelled from Burma in the 1960s but the church continues to grow. A baptismal service at the Kachin Baptist Centennial Convention in 1977 saw 6,000 people baptised in one day.

• During the 1980s the 200 missionaries of the Philippine Missionary Fellowship each organised daily prayer group meetings at 7 p.m. to pray for the growth of the church. They report that within a couple of years this directly resulted in the formation of 310 new churches (Robinson 1992:13).

• Revival has been spreading in the Pacific Islands, especially in the Solomons since July/August 1970 when God moved powerfully in the nation, especially in meetings with Muri Thompson, a Maori evangelist. The Spirit came in power, producing deep and loud repentance, much confession, signs and wonders, and transformed churches. Teams have gone from the Solomons to many other countries, sparking many other revivals.

• Engas in the Baptist mission area of the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea had a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit from Sunday 16 September 1973, as the village pastors preached in their services after attending meetings during the previous week led by visitors from the Solomon Islands. Many were saved. Many were delivered from evil spirits. Many were healed. The church grew rapidly.

• The Huli speaking people of the United Church in Tari in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea also experienced revival from August 1974, with much confession, many tears, and deliverance from spirit powers. That revival spread to surrounding areas also.

• On Thursday afternoon 10 March, 1977 at Duranmin near the West Irain border of Papua New Guinea, Diyos Wapnok the principal of the Baptist Bible College spoke to about 50 people. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and great joy. Keith and Joan Bennet of Gateway were there. 3,000 were converted in the next three years. They had daily prayer meetings in the villages and many healings and miracles.

• Australian Aborigines on Galiwin'ku (Elcho Island) experienced revival from Wednesday 14 March 1979. Djiniyini Gondarra had returned from holidays that day and people met in his manse for prayer that night where the Spirit fell on them, as at Pentecost. They met all night and many were filled with the Spirit and many healed. eThe movement spread rapidly from there throughout Arnhem Land.

• In the Sepik lowlands of northern Papua New Guinea a visitation of God burst on the churches at Easter 1984, sparked again by Solomon Island pastors. There was repentance, confession, weeping and great joy. Stolen goods were returned or replaced, and wrongs made right.

• Jobson Misang, an indigenous youth worker in the United Church reported on a move of God in the North Solomons Province of Papua New Guinea in 1988. For 8 weekends straight he led camps where 3,500 took part and 2,000 were converted.

• The Evangelist Training Centre of the Lutheran church in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea had a visitation of God on Thursday night 4 August 1988. Crowds stayed up most of the night as the Spirit touched people deeply, many resting in the Spirit, others praying in tongues. Students went out on powerful mission igniting fires of the Spirit in the villages.

• On Saturday 6 May 1989 the Spirit of God fell on Waritzian village in Papua New Guinea's Eastern Highlands. For three days the people were drunk in the Spirit. Healing and miracles occurred. On the Monday they burned their magic and witchcraft fetishes. The area had been a stronghold of spirit worship. Students from the Lutheran Training Centre were involved that weekend. (Waugh: Revival Fire: WWW)

This brings us up to the present decade of the 1990s (as I write this dissertation.) Truly these are powerful times! You will notice that the reports of the outbreak of revival throughout the world are increasing! There are many more reports, and the reported occurrences are more powerful! This is truly a time of great visitation by the Spirit of God!

• The CBN-TV (Christian Broadcasting Network) 700 Club with Pat Robertson reported 6 million conversions in their work worldwide in 1990, which was more than the previous 30 years of results combined.

• Revival swept Cuba in 1988. One A.O.G. church had 100,000 visitors in 6 months! In central Cuba a miraculous healing in one church led to nine days of meetings in which 1,200 people were saved. The pastors were imprisoned, but the revival continued. In another church over 15,000 accepted Christ in three months. In 1990 an A.O.G. pastors whose congregation never exceeded 100 meeting once a week suddenly found himself conducting 12 services a day for 7,000 people (Robinson 1995).

• In the 1980s Christians in East Germany started to form small prayer groups of ten to twelve persons to pray for peace. By October 1989, 50,000 people were involved in Monday night prayer meetings. In 1990, when these praying people moved quietly into the streets, their numbers swelled to 300,000 and the wall came down (Robinson 1992:14).

• In 1990 a bloodless revolution freed Mongolia from Russian rule. Within two years more than 500 people became Christian in that formerly resistant nation. A young girl was the first in her area to accept Christ. Now churches are growing in Mongolia where there were none before 1990.

• Christians in Iran have recently grown in number from 2,700 to over 12,000 according to Abe Ghaffari of Iranian Christians International. An additional 12,000 Iranian Christians live in Western nations. Disillusionment with harsh Islamic law has opened Iran to the Gospel (United Prayer Track News, No. 1., Brisbane, 1993)

• Harvest has begun among the Kurds who have been hounded into refugee camps where Christians have helped and comforted them. The first Kurdish church in history has resulted. Many Kurds are open to the Gospel (United Prayer Track News, No. 1, Brisbane, 1993).

• The church in the Sudan is suffering under Islamic edicts. Missionaries are expelled, pastors imprisoned, and Christians persecuted. Despite the persecution there has been phenomenal church growth reported, especially in the south and the Nuba mountains region.

• A church leader wrote from Asaba, Nigeria, in 1992, telling how their church had increased from 700 to 3,200 within 6 months. A team of just over 100 went on outreach, first in Sokoto State where they started 5 churches involving 1,225 converts within 3 months. Then they went to Bomu State where 3 branches were planted with over 1,000 converts in all. Many Moslems were converted in spite of severe persecution.

• Reports indicate that more Muslims have come to Christ in the past decade than in the previous thousand years. 'New believers are immediately tested to a degree incomprehensible to us. Many are imprisoned and some have been martyred by governments or relatives. Yet the persecution seems only to strengthen their determination and boldness. In one country, where all Christian meetings are illegal, believers rented a soccer stadium and 5,000 people gathered. Police came to disperse the meeting and left in confusion when the Christians refused to leave' (United Prayer Track News, No. 1, Brisbane, 1993).

• The church in previously resistant Nepal in the Himalayas is growing steadily. David Wang tells of a former Lama priest nicknamed Black Bravery, who has been an illiterate pastor for 15 years. By the nineties he led 43 fellowships with total of 32,000 people. Another pastor in a remote area has 40,000 Christians in his region. Most conversions in Nepal involve casting out demons to set people free (Asian Report, May/June 1991).

• Eric Alexander of the Bible Society in India wrote in 1993, 'I was in Amedabad in the month of February and was delighted to see a great revival in the Church there. I was surprised to hear that 30,000 people have accepted the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour in the Diocese of Gujarat (Church of North India). Thousands of new converts are in the Methodist, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army and Pentecostal churches. There are thousands and thousands!' (Sharing Australia, SOMA Newsletter, March 1993, p. 2).

• In October/November 1990, one small island in Indonesia saw 30,000 converted and 45,000 were baptised in another region in January/February 1991. This growth is among former animistic Muslims.

• Ruth Rongo from Vanuatu told of three months of evangelism ministry in 1991 where the power of God touched many villages and shocked the villagers with miracles just as in the New Testament. The church grew rapidly. Ruth was then involved in a prayer group which met after the Sunday night service. They began at 10:30 p.m. and prayed every week to 1 or 3:30 a.m.

• From May 1993 the Christian Outreach Centres in Australia have experienced a strong move of the Spirit, with much repenting, and many resting in the Spirit or drunk in the Spirit for hours, or days. Many have received visions and prophetic insights, including young people and children in the schools. Beginning at the headquarters in Brisbane it spread to their churches. It brought a new zeal for evangelism and outreach. Similarly Christian Outreach Centres overseas, especially in the Pacific, are experiencing powerful moves of the Spirit and rapid growth.

• Evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne has led meetings in the eighties and nineties with hundreds of thousands touched afresh by the Spirit of God and many thousands converted. That has sparked powerful moves of the Spirit in thousands of churches, including the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship since 20 January, 1994. An estimated 100,000 visited that church in 1994 and the revival continues. Over 7,000 churches in Great Britain have been reported to have experienced this current blessing, including a Brethren church on which the Spirit fell one Sunday overwhelming the people who then found themselves praying in tongues.

• Latin America continues to experience revival. Many healing evangelists now speak to hundreds of thousands in massive crusades, and churches continue to multiply. Some evangelists there fast and pray in an area before commencing crusades until the strongholds in that area are broken. then they report astounding moves of the Spirit of God. An estimated 3.5 million a year become Christian in Latin America now.

• Reinhard Bonnke continues to have massive healing evangelistic crusades in Africa, often with hundreds of thousands attending in the open air. In February, 1995, in spiritually resistant Ethiopia, up to 115,000 attended his meetings daily. In five days more than 100,000 made commitments to Christ and as many were filled with the Spirit and thousands received healing. Around 10 million a year are becoming Christians in Africa.

• An estimated 12 million a year are becoming Christian in China now with unprecedented moves of God's Spirit, healings, miracles, and visions of Christ. In the eighties teenage evangelists reported on 30-40 people being converted when they preached in a village. Now they report on 300-600 being converted in a village. Evangelical Christians numbered 1 million there in 1950. Now estimates exceed 100 million, with over 12 million becoming Christians each year now.

• The Jesus Film, based on Luke's gospel, has been seen by an estimated 503 million people in 197 countries, and 33 million or more have indicated decisions for Christ as a result. It has more than 6,300 prints in circulation and around 356,000 video copies. The world's most widely translated film, Jesus, has been dubbed into more than 240 languages, with 100 more in progress (National & International Religion Report, May 3, 1993, p.1).

• Pentecostal/charismatic Christians are now more than one third of all the 1,260,000 practicing Christians in the world today, just one indication of how the Spirit of God is moving. (Waugh: Revival Fire: WWW)

A tremendous move of the Holy Spirit was recorded in many places during the 1992 to 1995 timeframe. I want to quote the entire introduction to a paper published on this time by Richard Riss:

During the early 1990s, a revival, or reawakening of Christian faith, became evident in many parts of the world. Receiving its initial impetus from the ministries of many people, including Claudio Freidzon of Buenos Aries, Argentina, Rodney M. Howard-Browne, a South African evangelist ministering in the United States, Mahesh Chavda of Charlotte, North Carolina and Cindy Jacobs of Colorado Springs, Colorado, this outpouring of God's Spirit touched a large number of people in many places. An unusual visitation among the Vineyard Churches which originated in Mississauga, Ontario, outside of Toronto, on January 20, 1994 also brought this new anointing to many people in mainline denominational and non-denominational churches throughout the world.

At all of the meetings associated with this fresh outpouring, there have been many emotional and physical healings. Many people have encountered God anew or afresh, and have been brought to a place of repentance and brokenness. People have often fallen down under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, become "drunk" in the Spirit, and become filled with the joy of the Lord, laughing almost uncontrollably, or weeping or shaking. Large numbers of children have been affected, many of whom have reported seeing visions of heavenly things. Phenomena of this kind characterized a revival that began in 1992 in Buenos Aires, Argentina under Claudio Freidzon. According to a publication of the Assemblies of God, MOUNTAIN MOVERS (October 1993, p. 6), at Freidzon's meetings, "as people entered into adoration and worship, some became 'drunk' on the Spirit and could not stand up. Others laughed in the Spirit or fell under the power of God. Each service lasted six or seven hours. Outside, hundreds waited in lines that stretched around the block to get into the church."

Some of the components of the revival were evident for several years in many places. A. L. Gill, a prominent missionary from California, saw the "holy laughter" in his meetings throughout the world beginning in 1983, culminating with the summer of 1993, when he led a praise and worship seminar at Doug Girard's Vision Christian Center on Chestnut Street in Lawrenceville, Georgia, near Atlanta. This seminar exploded into healing after a woman was dramatically 13healed of cancer of the tongue. The meetings were extended over a period of many days, and became known as the Chestnut Street Revival.

Tony and Marj Abram, missionaries from Arkansas, also saw drunkenness in the Spirit and the "holy laughter" in many places for several years. They first observed it in 1986 at an Assemblies of God church pastored by John Lipton, currently of Dover, in England.

A church in Riverside, New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia, East Coast For Jesus Ministries, pastored by Louis Halcomb, was at the center of a worldwide sovereign move of the Spirit beginning in the late 1980s. Particularly after Operation Desert Storm in early 1991, Halcomb began seeing God move in unusual ways wherever he ministered. Local newspapers in Paris, France, Geneva, Switzerland, the Philippines, reported on the revivals in these places in the wake of his ministry. Halcomb saw many people slain in the Spirit, laughing in the Spirit, drunken in the Spirit, and experiencing deliverances.

In one case, when Aleen Backsly was at Halcomb's church, people were slain in the Spirit everywhere. She would hug people in the foyer, and they would fall down. At the same time, outside, people who were getting out of their cars were falling down under the power of the Spirit as thei r feet hit the pavement, and it caused problems for those who were trying to park cars in the church parking lot.

East Coast For Jesus Ministries became influential to a number of other churches, including Calvary Worship Center in Port St. Lucy, Florida, pastored by Thomas E. Smith and Bob Roach. Calvary Worship Center experienced a sovereign move of the Holy Spirit beginning in the late 1980s which reached new heights during its building dedication in July of 1994, which was preceded by a week of prayer and fasting. In this case, the revival wasn't the result of any special visitors, but there was a spontaneous outbreak of revival and its associated phenomena, including holy laughter, drunkenness in the Spirit, and other manifestations. As a result of this new outbreak of revival, they began twelve services a week. Their new building seated 550 people, but they found it necessary to have two services on Sunday mornings in order to accommodate everyone.

According to Bob Roach, prior to the awakening associated with Rodney Howard-Browne's ministry and that of the Toronto Airport Vineyard, when LaVerne and Edith Tripp visited Calvary Worship Center, LaVerne was slain in the Spirit as soon as he arrived, and had to be carried into the sanctuary to preach. At the time he said, "your church is the best kept secret in America."

Bob Roach said that "there has been a move across the United States in smaller churches that nobody really knows anything about that has preceded the more visible signs of awakenings. In one case, Stan Johnson, formerly a professional ball player with the New York Yankees, visited and taught on the anointing for a 6 or 7 hour service. People came in stretchers and were raised up, and this was recorded on video. Many prophets come in and out of that church, including Ed Corley, whose ministry is very similar to that of Derek Prince, and Mike Connors, who was at one time A. A. Allen's associate, and who is also a friend of Wade Taylor's at Pinecrest. We want to make sure that it's God working in our midst, and we're seeing so many lives change and marriages put back together, and pastors going back to their churches restored and refreshed. In 1991 or 1992, Dr. Ron Shaw brought in Reinhardt Bonnke (Shaw's brother-in-law), and there was a tremendous impartation given to the pastors who were there, including Rodney Howard-Browne, who was visiting from Karl Strader's Church (the first time he was there). Rodney did the offering at that time, and was one of many, many pastors and leaders who received a real impartation from Bonnke." (Riss: A History of the Worldwide Awakening of 1992 – 1995: WWW)

Riss’ extensive report goes on to detail the involvement of Rodney Howard-Brown, Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagin in this time of revival. Truly this "last of the last days" revival is "on" in earnest!

I believe we are on the verge of a spontaneous move of God. No one has a corner on the blessings of God. The only one who can eliminate you from the blessings of God is yourself. Many of you reading this book will be here when Jesus comes, so you will want to be in the last blaze of glory! Do not expect your denomination or even your church to come with you, but do not curse then if they will not. Do not judge them and call them names. Just move with God yourself. (Sumrall: Pioneers of Faith: 192)

The Revivals in Toronto and Pensacola

Of all the recently reported revivals, few have gotten the mainstream TV and press coverage of the revivals in Toronto, Canada and Pensacola, Florida. And, these meetings are related by both what is occurring and by the guest ministers that are ministering during these meetings.

From the Spring 1996 issue of The Challenge to Evangelism Today:

Something wonderful is going on in Toronto, Canada, and I have seen it for myself. In August, five friends and I spent three days attending meetings at the Airport Vineyard there.

I had heard and read much about what was happening there. It began on January 20, 1994, when Randy Clark, a Vineyard pastor from St. Louis, traveled to Toronto to conduct a four-day revival meeting at the Vineyard church, located near the airport. Now, twenty months later, that meeting was still going on!

What initially attracted people's attention were the unusual physical manifestations occurring in the meetings (laughing, crying, failing over, shaking, making animal noises). More important, however, those who attended the meetings left with a renewed devotion to Jesus. Many were healed of deep-seated emotional pain and set free from personal bondage.

By April, Christians from all over the world were flying to Toronto to see what was happening. By December 1994, cumulative attendance topped 200,000. Toronto Life magazine billed it as the city’s top tourist attraction of the year. By August 1995, when we visited Toronto, a half million persons had attended the meetings and 6,000 first-time decisions for Christ had been recorded. (Seamonds: Encountering God in Toronto: WWW)

This same phenomenon is occurring at the Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida. Many are being powerfully saved and turning to the Lord in large numbers, reports of 2000 people being saved per month are being reported at Brownsville Assembly of God. Here are just a few examples:

Another night, early in his message, (Pastor) Steve Hill had a word for an unsaved young man named Scott. The Lord revealed his desperate condition to Steve, so he urged him to get right that night. At the end of the altar call -- to which, we learned later from Scott's brother, he did not respond -- Steve had a word for a military man that had resisted God all his life. He told him to respond NOW. At that moment, a young man came rushing forward to surrender his life to the Lord. It was Scott, the military man. Talk about being singled out by the Lord!

A few weeks ago, two lesbians who had been living together and using drugs for years got right with God, ending their sinful relationship. Their baptismal testimonies the week following were glorious. One of the women had previously been married, and she had brought her son into the home with this other woman to live with them. (She confessed this with great sorrow at her baptism.) The night she got saved, she went home and told her son what happened. He said, "My prayers have been answered!"

At this point, you might be wondering, "Well, what happens to all these people who get saved? Are they going on with God?" Yes they are. Of course, I can't account for every single one, but I can account for many. In fact, some of them are coming to our School of Ministry beginning next month! To give you one case in point, I told you in my last update about a man from Chicago named Mark. He was an alcoholic for seventeen years, with a terrible family life as a result. He was dramatically saved and instantly delivered right in his home, watching a 700 Club report on the revival. That was in September. When I saw him in November, he looked so different: He was in the midst of a 40 day fast; his marriage and home were transformed; his brother and wife were wonderfully touched; and he and his brother had brought their construction crew to Pensacola with them (they own a construction company). The whole crew got saved! Some of these men are now candidates to attend our school. (Brown: Pensacola Update -- December 21, 1996: WWW)

Another interesting point is that the occurrences in these examples of the current wave of revival are the same occurrences as were seen at Azusa Street and during other revivals through the years! The same Holy Spirit is moving in all cases! Let’s look at this comparison in the next chapter.

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CHAPTER 10 -- COMPARISION OF THE EARLY TO LATTER MOVES IN THIS CENTURY

If you look at the accounts recorded concerning the manifestations of the revival at the turn of the century, beginning around 1900, you see similar testimonies to what is transpiring in today’s revival.

The lead article of the third issue of (William Seymour’s) The Apostolic Faith, published in November of 1906, is entitled "Bible Pentecost." Here are a few excerpts:

The news has spread far and wide that Los Angeles is being visited with a "rushing mighty wind from heaven." . . . One brother stated that even before his train entered the city, he felt the power of the revival. . . . There is such power in the preaching of the Word in the Spirit that people are shaken on the benches. Coming to the altar, many fall prostrate under the power of God, and often come out speaking in tongues. Sometimes the power falls on people and they are wrought upon by the Spirit during testimony or preaching and receive Bible experiences. . . . The demonstrations are not the shouting, clapping or jumping so often seen in camp meetings. There is a shaking such as the early Quakers had and which the old Methodists called the "jerks."

On the second page of the same issue, Glen A. Cook provided his testimony, in which he wrote:

I could feel the power going through me like electric needles. The Spirit taught me that I must not resist the power but give way and become limp as a piece of cloth. When I did this, I fell under the power, and God began to mold me and teach me what it meant to be really surrendered to Him. I was laid out under the power five times before Pentecost really came. Each time I would come out from under the power, I would feel so sweet and clean, as though I had been run through a washing machine. My arms began to tremble, and soon I was shaken violently by a great power, and it seemed as though a large pipe was fitted over my neck, my head apparently being off. . . . About thirty hours afterwards, while sitting in the meeting on Azusa Street, I felt my throat and tongue begin to move, without any effort on my part. Soon I began to stutter and then out came a distinct language which I could hardly restrain. I talked and laughed with joy far into the night.

In the fourth issue (p. 4), G. W. Batman wrote, "I received the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire and now I feel the presence of the Holy Ghost, not only in my heart but in my lungs, my hands, my arms and all through my body and at times I am shaken like a locomotive steamed up and prepared for a long journey."

William H. Durham recorded his testimony in the sixth issue of The Apostolic Faith (February-March, 1907), p. 4, where he wrote:

On Friday evening, March 1, His mighty power came over me, until I jerked and quaked under it for about three hours. It was strange and wonderful and yet glorious. He worked my whole body, one section at a time, first my arms, then my limbs, then my body, then my head, them my face, then my chin, and finally at 1 a.m. Saturday, Mar. 2, after being under the power for three hours, He finished the work on my vocal organs, and spoke through me in unknown tongues. (Riss: Trembling, Speechlessness, Holy Laughter, and Drunkenness in the Spirit at Azusa Street: WWW)

Even extreme manifestations that have been reported, such as the inability of ministers to continue to minister due to the presence of such a strong anointing:

In Vol. 1, No. 5 (January 1907), p. 1, we read: "One who received the Holy Ghost baptism in Clearwater, testified, 'It was in morning worship. We read a chapter and I wanted to pray but the Lord tied my mouth. The power began to come in waves. The Lord took full possession. I fell over like a dead man. I was dead to the world. I tried to pray while lying on the floor, but when my tongue was loosened, it was in a different language."

In issue No. 7 (April, 1907), p. 4, the following was reported from San Francisco:

On another night a Hawaiian brother was gloriously converted. . . . The Hawaiian could not speak for some minutes after he arose to his feet, the power of God was upon him to such an extent.

One of the problems that people had to face during the early Pentecostal revival was that, very often, they were affected so strongly by the power of the Holy Spirit that preaching became impossible. For example, in the December, 1906 issue of The Apostolic Faith (Vol. 1, No. 4), p. 3, the following announcement appeared:

Sister M. E. Judy writes from Columbus, Ohio, that they have a tarrying meeting there and others in different towns are tarrying with them in Spirit. She says, "Last Sunday a burden of prayer came upon the people in our humble little church in such power that our minister had no opportunity to preach, just said a few words on "This is that" and closed.

Writing from Norway, A. A. Boddy wrote concerning T. B. Barrat's meetings that "the meetings are liable at any moment to be swept by a wave of spiritual power sweeping through all human arrangements. At time the noise is strangely awesome, almost appalling to an 'outsider'" (The Apostolic Faith, Vol. 1, No. 6 [February-March, 1907], p. 1). (Riss: WWW: Trembling)

Compare these accounts to a modern testimony from Reverend Mark Brazee from around 1995:

I couldn’t walk right, talk right, or speak the verse that was the cap of my message. Finally I walked up to a man and said, "I can’t get this verse out. Would you please read it?" He stood, took my Bible, and almost got through the verse. Then he started laughing and fell on the floor, drunk in the Holy Ghost. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 43)

Today’s manifestations of what some have called "the Toronto Blessing" are similar as well:

What initially attracted people's attention were the unusual physical manifestations occurring in the meetings (laughing, crying, failing over, shaking, making animal noises). More important, however, those who attended the meetings left with a renewed devotion to Jesus. Many were healed of deep-seated emotional pain and set free from personal bondage.

By April, Christians from all over the world were flying to Toronto to see what was happening. By December 1994, cumulative attendance topped 200,000. Toronto Life magazine billed it as the city's top tourist attraction of the year. By August 1995, when we visited Toronto, a half million persons had attended the meetings and 6,000 first-time decisions for Christ had been recorded. (Seamonds: Encountering God in Toronto: WWW)

The same concerns, both doctrinally, and the lack of acceptance of the manifestations themselves, are also common in both the "modern" and the turn-of-the-century versions of this kind of outpouring:

But I was also aware of the intense controversy surrounding Toronto. Following a February 1995 conference in Wilmore, Kentucky (where I teach at Asbury Theological Seminary) in which Randy Clark was the principal speaker, I found myself personally embroiled in the controversy. Many of the manifestations associated with Toronto occurred during the meetings in Wilmore. Although I had worked to help bring the conference to our community, I was taken aback by the intensity and frequency of the manifestations. Most people who went forward "fell" when they were prayed for. I had definitely been pushed out of my comfort zone!

Many leaders in our community were deeply disturbed by what happened during the conference. They wondered if the manifestations were demonically or humanly motivated and attributed much of what happened to spiritual manipulation, religious hysteria, attention-getting behavior, and thrill-seeking. They were concerned that an excessive emphasis on outward manifestation would produce seekers after signs and wonders rather than seekers after holiness.

I had similar concerns. But I found myself open to what had happened because of the profound transformations in the lives of many who were touched during the conference. As I searched for biblical and historical precedents for what was going on, I discovered that many of the manifestations occurring in Toronto and the conference in Wilmore had been present during past seasons of revival. In studying John Wesley's Journal, the history of early American Methodism and the 19th century holiness movement, I discovered these manifestations were not uncommon. I better understood why Wesley was often accused of being an "enthusiast" and the early Methodists were nicknamed "shouting Methodists."

Yet, I also recognized the dangers inherent in manifestations. They are easily abused or become ends in themselves. I gained an even greater appreciation for Wesley's balanced approach. He never encouraged people to seek manifestations. Yet when they occurred he didn't discount them, but judged their validity by their fruits in people's lives. He also never allowed them to displace "holiness of heart and life" as the central focus. (Seamonds: Encountering God in Toronto: WWW)

Let’s compare this with an account of controversy from 1905:

Joseph Smale, taking note of the Welsh revival, started forming home prayer groups. Smale was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Los Angeles. These groups prayed for existing revivals, and prayed that revival would come to Los Angeles. The groups became controversial, and Smale was forced to leave First Baptist, and with about half the members, formed his own church. (Longman: Pentecostalist History: WWW)

Note that the same issues and controversy persists in this day as did during the turn of the century revival. We would do well to take heed of what one issue of The Apostlic Faith, Brother William Seymour’s publication, said about interfering with these manifestations:

The ninth issue of The Apostolic Faith (September, 1907), p. 4, published a warning from Kedgaon, India, about attempts to suppress manifestations of this kind:

We do not need to worry over these manifestations, nor seek to suppress them. It is fruit in the life and service that we want to see [Emphasis in the original]. These manifestations do not hinder fruit-bearing but we have seen over and over again during the past fifteen months, that where Christian workers have suppressed these manifestations, the Holy Spirit has been grieved, the work has stopped, and no fruit of holy lives has resulted. Who are we to dictate to an all-wise God as to how He shall work in anyone? When the Spirit is poured out upon anyone in strong conviction, why should be well them that it is wrong to cry? Because among idolaters the devil imitates the trembling caused by the Holy Spirit when He comes in so as to overpower the physical, why should we say that the person has worked it up or is possessed by an evil spirit? The writer testifies that she has in the silence of the midnight hour, alone in her room without a sound in the house, been shaken from her innermost being, until her whole body was convulsed, and filled with joy and consciousness that the Holy Spirit had taken possession of every part of her being. No one had greater prejudice against religious excitement that she, but every time she put her hands upon the work at Mukti to suppress joy or strong conviction, or reproved persons being strongly wrought upon in prayer, the work of revival stopped, and she had to confess her fault before it went on again. (Riss: Trembling, Speechlessness, Holy Laughter, and Drunkenness in the Spirit at Azuza Street: WWW)

There are those that would find fault today with what is happening during this revival, and try and stop it. We must be careful to walk the line of remaining scriptural, yet not hindering the move of God. We must let the Spirit of the Word, and not always the letter, rule our decisions! (2 Corinthians 3:6)

This is not to imply that we are to leave the Word of God, and all that we have learned, and throw out the decency and order that the Word instructs us to have (1 Corinthians 14:40). We must strike a balance in our approach, so as not to quench the fires of revival!

It is also important to realize that what some are saying is happening at revival meetings, may not really be what is happening at all! Since even the earliest recorded revivals, there has been a tendency to misrepresent what one does not understand.

During the course of my study of revivals over the past twenty-three years, one of the things that has fascinated me is the extent to which they are misrepresented. These misrepresentations are usually widely believed, creating stumbling blocks which prevent many people from partaking in the forgiveness, love, joy, refreshing, healing, reconciliation, character development, and other benefits which are freely available through a move of God of this kind.

Jonathan Edwards wrote of this phenomenon in connection with the outset of the Great Awakening, which began at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts in December of 1734. In the introductory portion of his FAITHFUL NARRATIVE OF THE SURPRISING WORK OF GOD, he said that the Great Awakening was being "exceedingly misrepresented by reports that were spread . . . [to] distant parts of the land." These reports were spread by other Christians, many of whom were in positions of leadership in the churches. Edwards wrote that, "When this work of God first appeared, and was so extraordinarily carried on among us in the winter, others round about us seemed not to know what to make of it, and there were many that scoffed at and ridiculed it; and some compared what we called conversion to certain distempers." Because people really didn't understand what was happening, they began to say negative things about it.

These bad reports spread throughout the entire country, and this had a lasting effect on peoples' willingness to accept that what was happening was a work of God. He wrote, "A great part of the country have not received the most favorable thoughts of this affair, and to this day many retain a jealousy concerning it, and prejudice against it." Unfortunately, when people begin to become predisposed against something, it is no longer an easy matter for them to benefit from it, and they will sometimes attempt to put a stop to it. (Riss: Revivals, Awakenings, and Misrepresentations: WWW)

People attempt to stop those things that are uncomfortable to them. Anything that is "new," or "different," comes under scrutiny and is often dismissed.

During the Second Awakening in America, Charles Finney said some of the same things about misrepresentation of what God was doing. He lamented in his MEMOIRS that "it has been common for good men, in referring to those revivals, to assume that although they were upon the whole, revivals of religion, yet . . . they were so conducted that great disorders were manifest in them, and that there was much to deplore in their results. Now all this is an entire mistake."

This is a very common phenomenon during revivals. People will assume, based upon misleading reports, that there is a great deal of mixture in them and that there is "much to deplore in their results." Yet, one could be a perfect leader and still encounter storms of criticism; this is exactly what happened to Jesus Christ.

A little bit later, Finney wrote, "Until I arrived at Auburn, I was not fully aware of the amount of opposition I was destined to meet from the ministry; not the ministry in the region where I had labored, but from ministers where I had not labored, and who knew personally nothing of me, but were influenced by the false reports which they heard." Finney found it amazing that his critics would believe so many of the reports that they had heard.

However, there is a sense in which this phenomenon is not surprising at all. The spread of false reports and negative attitudes with respect to a work of God is a sure sign that it is genuine, because it indicates that the enemy is at work, attempting to discredit it.

The temptation to belittle the work of God is greatest among those who might have a tendency to feel that they would have something to lose if people were allowed to partake in it. There are strong temptations to jealously even among Christian leaders. Those who yield to such temptations are in danger of undermining the work of God by belittling the very thing that is bringing life and blessing to those who love Him.

God, in His wisdom, has His own reasons for allowing false reports to arise concerning His work. The stumbling blocks will therefore inevitably come, but woe to those through whom the stumbling blocks come. (Riss: Revivals, Awakenings, and Misrepresentations: WWW)

Indeed, woe unto those that attempt to stand in the way of what God is doing in these days of revival! We must each decide not to be one that finds fault, but rather, to be one that participates fully in the plan and purpose of God!

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CHAPTER 11 – PERSONALITY PROFILES OF THE REVIVALS

Much can be learned from a brief overview of the men and women that God used during the times of revival that have occurred. As I said in Chapter Nine, it will not be my purpose to try and write a complete work on either the history, or personalities of these times, but to give the reader a "flavor" of the kind of men and women that God used during these times of revival. We will begin with the personalities that ministered during the early years of this century and during the Healing Revival. In fact, most of these men and women were featured at one time or another in Gordon Lindsay’s Voice of Healing magazine.

Pioneers of Faith

Most of the information in this section is from the recollections of Dr. Lester Sumrall, presented in his book, Pioneers of Faith. David Edwin Harrell says of Lester Sumrall:

Another local pastor who built a strong diversified ministry in the 1960s was Lester Sumrall of South Bend, Indiana. During the peak of the revival in the 1950s Sumrall built large independent congregations, first in South Bend and later in Manila in the Philippines. He conducted deliverance crusades, although his talent as an organizer was always more important to his ministry. Occasionally he worked with Clifton Erickson, one of the powerful evangelists of the early years of the revival, and in 1962 the two began editing their own magazine, World Harvest. They soon parted, however, and Sumrall diversified into a typical ministry of the 1960s. On the list of World Harvest works by 1970 were intercession in prayer, crusades and seminars, counseling by telephone, counseling by mail, World Harvest magazine, radio ministry, literature, gospel films, gospel records and tapes, Bible land tours, orphans, and evangelistic centers. In 1971, Sumrall established a World Harvest Advanced School of Evangelism in Indiana to "instruct ministers to exorcise spirits by faith in God," a subject which had long interested him. "The Lord has revealed to me," he wrote, "that there will be many millions of people in our modern world who will need deliverance from evil spirits in the days ahead of us." Sumrall, like many of the pioneer evangelists, was impressed by the power of the new charismatic movement in the major denominations, but his own ministry, he insisted, would "never compromise the Full Gospel which is the hope of this generation." (Harrell: All Things Are Possible: 178)

Dr. Sumrall said in the introduction to Pioneers of Faith that he realized that he might be the last living person that had met and talked with some of these great men and women of God. Before he went home to be with the Lord, he wrote this book about his recollections and experiences meeting them. I have briefly noted information about these early leaders based on information from his excellent book:

• Willis Hoover

1856 -- 1936

Born: July 20, 1856

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Approximately 1902

Missionary to Chile

Founded the Iglesia Evangelica Pentecostal de Chile

• Carrie Judd Montgomery

1858 -- 1946

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 1908

Called "mother to many"

Editor of the magazine Triumph of Faith for 65 years

• Smith Wigglesworth

1859 -- 1947

Born in Yorkshire, England

Called "The Apostle of Faith" and a "Bible man"

• Dr. Lillian Barbara Yeomans

1861 -- 1942

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Ontario, Canada

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 1907

A physician that was healed of drug addiction through John A. Dowie’s ministry

• Thomas Ball Barrett

1862 -- 1940

Born: July 22, 1862 in Alberton, Cornwall, England

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 1906

Founded the Filadelphia Church in Oslo, Norway

• P.C. Nelson

1868 -- 1942

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 1920

Founder of the Southwestern Bible School in Enid, OK in 1927

Highly educated, student of languages

Strong influence on Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin, who called him "Dad" Nelson

• Robert Alexander Brown

1872 -- 1948

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 1907

Wife: Marie, married in Zion, Illinois on October 14, 1909

Prayed for Lester Sumrall to have boldness

• Stephen Jeffreys

1876 -- 1943

Born in small village in Wales

Powerful healing ministry, but he lost it and died broken

• Fred Francis Bosworth

1877 -- 1958

Born in Utica, Nebraska

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: October 18, 1906

Wrote the classic "Christ the Healer"

Influenced T.L. Osborne

Minister to Africa 1952-1958

Founded the First Assembly of God in Dallas, Texas

• Adolph Vingen

1879 -- 1933

Partner with David Berg

Founded the Brazil Assembly of God

• Harold Horton

1881 -- 1969

Born in Wexham, North Wales

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in a Smith Wigglesworth meeting where he was also healed

Known as "Hallelujah Harold"

• Victor Guy Plymire

1881 -- 1956

Born on January 10, 1881

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 1920

Missionary to Tibet

• Alfred George Ward

1881 -- 1960

Born: October 11, 1881 in Prescott, Ontario, Canada

Father of C.M. Ward, a father an son team

• Stanley Howard Frodsham

1882 -- 1969

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 1908

Editor of the "Pentecostal Evangel"

Called a "Spiritual Father to many"

In 1921 was appointed Elder in the Assembly of God

• Daniel Berg

1884 -- 1963

Born: April 19, 1884 in Vargon, Sweden

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 1909

Missionary to Para, Brazil

Founded Brazilian Assembly of God

• Petrus Lewi Pethrus

1884 -- 1974

Organizer and Pastor of a large church in Norway

• Dr. Charles Sydney Price

1887 -- 1947

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Approximately 1922

"Preached beautiful sermons, if he described a flower you could really see it!"

Ministered in the northwest U.S. and Canada

• Lillian Hunt Trasher

1887 -- 1961

Founded the Lillian Trasher Orphanage in Eygpt

• George Jeffreys

1889 -- 1962

Born in a small village in Wales

Ended up getting into false doctrine

• James Salter

1890 -- 1972

His message was that "God is a good God."

Missionary to the Congo, was named "Inabanza," which translated means "Wise Counselor"

• Howard Alfred Carter

1891 -- 1971

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Approximately 1931

From London, England

Founding member of the Assembly of God in Great Britain and Ireland

• Donald Gee

1891 -- 1966

Born: May 20, 1891

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 1913

Known as "The Apostle of Balance"

"He was a peacemaker."

• Raymond Theodore Richey

1893 -- 1968

Born: September 4, 1893 in Illinois

Said we needed men of "deep courage, great faith and tender hearts."

He was a vital part of all the waves of revival that occurred during his lifetime.

• Douglas R. Scott

1900 -- 1967

Born in Essex, England

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: 1925

Missionary to France

Called an "Apostle to France"

Started a church in Rouen, France

• Dr. Finis Jennings Drake

1902 -- 1987

Received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: May, 1920

Wife, Dorothy

Was given an unusual gift of memorizing, and retaining, scripture

From 1928-1931 he lived in Tulsa, OK

In 1932 was called to pastor Christian Assembly in Zion, Illinois

The "Healing Revival" (1947-1958)

This information, derived, for the most part, from David Edwin Harrell’s book, All Things Are Possible: The Healing and Charismatic Revivals in Modern America begins with those that Harrell saw as the major leaders of the Healing Revival.

• William Marion Branham

1909 -- 1965

Healing and Prophetic ministry

Ended in error due to pride

• Granville Oral Roberts

1918 -- Present

Ordained at age 18 by the Pentecostal Holiness Church

Healing ministry

Founded Oral Roberts University in 1967

Motto: "Expect a miracle!"

• Gordon Lindsay

1906 -- 1973

Born: June 18, 1906

The Voice of Healing magazine (editor)

Founded "Christ for the Nations" in 1970

• E. W. Kenyon

1886 -- 1948

Pastor, Teacher, author

Called by many the "Father of Faith Teaching"

• Dr. Tommy Lee Osborne

1923 -- Present

(See a synopsis of Dr. Osborne under Word of Faith Satellite Network ministers)

The "Charismatic Renewal" (1958-1974)

The Charismatic Renewal was characterized by a revival of spiritual gifts, with the unique feature that the revival crossed denominational lines, and was also called "neo-pentecostalism." With the advent of this revival began a rise of "independent" ministries rather than denominationally supported ministries.

Healing Evangelists Who Made the Transition

Oral Roberts

Dr. T. L. Osborne

Gordon Lindsay

"New" Leaders

• Rex Humbard

1919 -- Present

Pastor

Became a TV Evangelist

• Kathryn Kuhlman

1907 -- 1976

Flamboyant healing ministry

Also a television pioneer

• Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin

1917 -- Present

Took over Gordon Lindsay’s radio program

(See expanded information for Dr. Hagin under the Word of Faith Revival section)

• Dr. John Osteen

1921 -- Present

Former Southern Baptist pastor

(See expanded information for Dr. Osteen under the Word of Faith Revival section)

• David J. duPlessis

1905 -- 1987

Born in South Africa, moved to the U.S. in 1948

Known as "The Father of Pentecost"

Took the Charismatic message to many nations

• Dr. Lester Sumrall

1913 -- 1996

Founder of Feed the Hungry Missions Program

Founder of LeSea Ministry

Pastored World Harvest Church in East Bend, Indiana

Prolific author

• Joseph D. Mattsson-Boze

1905 -- 1989

Pastor of the Filadelphia Church in Chicago, Illinois

Editor of The Herald of Faith

Had ties to William Branham’s ministry

• David Wilkerson

1931 -- Present

Wrote "The Cross and the Switchblade"

Pentecostal pastor

Pastor of Times Square Church in New York City

• Nicky Cruz

1938 -- Present

Convert of David Wilkerson (Story told in "The Cross and the Switchblade")

Former New York City gang leader

Founded Teen Challenge Drug Rehabiliation Program

Founder of "T.R.U.C.E." (To Reach Urban Children Everywhere)

• Robert W. Shambach

1926 -- Present

Born: April 3, 1926

Preacher/ teacher

"Old time tent revival, sawdust trail" preacher, regular guest on TBN

Motto: "You don’t have any troubles, all you need is faith in God!"

Questionable Outgrowth Movements of the "Charismatic Renewal"

A. Shepherding Movement

1. at its height around 1975-1976

2. fell from repute from article published in Logos Journal in 1976

3. Basic doctrine fairly sound, but overemphasis on "discipleship"

B. Leaders:

1. Derek Prince

2. Bob Mumford

3. Don Basham

4. Charles Simpson

C. "Kingdom Now" Movement

1. Characterized by belief that one could achieve state of being a "manifest son of God" and have a glorified body in this present age

2. Overemphasis on the Apostle’s ministry

D. "Jesus Only" Movement

1. Believe that one must be baptized in water in the name of Jesus only, not in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

2. Believe that one must speak in tongues to be saved

Charismatic Magazines of the Day

New Wine – 1969 -- 1986

Logos Journal -- 1971

Heartbeat -- 1971

Outgrowth Organizations

A. Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches and Ministers International

1. organized by Gordon Lindsay and A. C. Valdez in 1963

B. Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International

1. originally founded in 1952 by Demos Shakarian for laymen of all denominations

2. sustained growth in 60’s and 70’s

3. gave laymen a voice and authority; no clergy as members

credited with bringing the healing message to denominational churches

TV Networks That Began Towards the End of the Period

CBN (Pat Robertson)

TBN (Paul Crouch)

PTL (Jim Bakker)

"Integrity of the Word" Revival (1974 – 1990)

Known as the "Teaching Revival," or more commonly the "Word of Faith Movement." I will list as its leaders the founding members of the ICFCM and Word of Faith Satellite Seminar speakers, but there are, of course, many fine ministers that are considered leaders of the Word of Faith Revival.

International Convention of Faith Churches and Ministers

The founding meeting was held in Fort Worth, Texas in October 1979. I am using the list below of the original Board of Trustees, or founders of the ICFCM, as one of two lists that will help define the group of ministers that lead this movement. The Word of Faith Satellite speakers will be used in this regard as well.

• Kenneth M. Copeland

1935 -- Present

Born: December 6, 1935

Moved to Tulsa, OK, attended ORU -- started ministry -- 1967

First international ministry to Philippines – 1981

Prophet and Teacher

Founder of Eagle Mountain International Church and Kenneth Copeland Ministries, "The Believer’s Voice of Victory" radio, TV and magazine outreaches

Powerful message of prosperity and healing

Wife, Gloria, has a teaching and healing ministry with him

Personal conviction never to operate in debt, personally or ministry

• Charles Cowan

1941 -- Present

Pastor in Tennessee, "Faith is the Victory Church"

Sponsored me as a member in ICFCM at the founding meeting of ICFCM in October, 1979

• Edward F. Dufresne

1941 -- Present

Born June 6, 1941

Started as a Helps Minister "cleaning toilets"

Pastor, Teacher and Prophet

Powerful miracle and healing ministry

Founder of World Harvest Church in Temecula, California

Wife, Nancy, in ministry with him, co-pastor

Founder of World Harvest Bible Training Center, "Jesus the Healer" Radio Broadcast

• Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin

1917 -- Present

Prophet and teacher

Founder of Rhema Bible Training Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma, "The Word of Faith" magazine, "Faith Seminar of the Air" radio outreach

"Father of Faith" to many, recognized as the main voice of the "Word of Faith Movement"

Started as a "Baptist Boy Preacher" at seventeen years old after having been miraculously healing of incurable blood disease, paralysis, and heart defects

Special Healing Anointing and miracle ministry

• Dr. Kenneth W. Hagin

1939 -- Present

Kenneth E. Hagin’s son

Pastor and teacher

Pastor of Rhema Bible Church, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Administrator of Rhema Bible Training Center, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

• Dr. Doyle "Buddy" Harrison

1939 -- Present

Born: September 21, 1939

Kenneth E. Hagin’s son-in-law, married to Pat Hagin Harrison

Minister of Helps to Brother Hagin, then teacher and pastor

Founded Faith Christian Fellowship International, original President of ICFM

Founder of Harrison House Publishing, publisher of most Word of Faith minister’s books

Helper and encourager to many ministers, including Kenneth Copeland, singer David Ingles, and many more

• Norvel Hayes

N/R* -- Present

Founder of New Life Bible School, Cleveland, Tennessee

Businessman and teacher

Deliverance ministry

* Ministries that were contacted by the author who chose not to respond with biographical information are marked as "Not Responding," or "N/R."

• James H. Helton

1929 -- Present

Born: February 25, 1929

Pastor/ Teacher

Founding Pastor of Full Gospel Temple, Muncie, Indiana, retired

• Terry L. Mize

1950 -- Present

Missionary (Apostle), teacher

Missionary to Mexico

Powerful miracle and healing ministry

Wrote the book "More Than Conquerors"

• Robert Nichols

1935 -- Present

Pastor of Calvary Cathedral, Forth Worth, Texas

• Dr. John H. Osteen

1921 -- Present

Born: August 21, 1921

Born Again in 1939

Founded Lakewood Church as a Baptist Church originally, when "Baptist" blew off the sign in a storm, it was never replaced!

Started a short lived satellite network at the same time as Word of Faith Network

Reached out to many with the Baptism in the Holy Spirit during the Charismatic Movement

• Leon Powell

1940 -- Present

Born: June 25, 1940

Pastor/ Teacher

Founder of Mid-America Ministries, Henderson, Kentucky

• Dr. Frederick K.C. Price

1932 -- Present

Founded Crenshaw Christian Center, "Ever Increasing Faith" radio and TV outreaches

Pastor and teacher

Excellent book on "Faith, Foolishness or Presumption"

Known as an uncompromising "straight talker"

• Dr. Jerry J. Savelle

1946 -- Present

Born: December 24, 1946

Originally started as in Helps Ministry to Brother Copeland, saved and Spirit-filled under Brother Copeland’s ministry

Pastored in Fort Worth, Texas

Teacher and Apostle

International Missions Ministry

Founder of "Adventures in Faith" radio and TV programs

Word of Faith Satellite Network

The network began in September of 1982 in Dallas, Texas as a ministry of Word of Faith World Outreach Center, pastored by Robert Tilton. The speakers are listed in order of appearance on the satellite network between 1982 and 1986; if some speakers have already been mentioned previously they are simply listed with no comment.

The Word of Faith Satellite Network was a blessing to many in its "hey day," however, as Pastor Tilton began to slip into error, the independent churches that had affiliated with the network began to fall away. There were, at one time, 1440 affiliated churches.

• Charles Capps

1934 -- Present

Former farmer

Teacher

Author of "The Tongue, A Creative Force," and many other books

Recently has specialized in eschatology

• Marilyn Hickey

N/R -- Present

Pastor’s Wife (Pastor Wally Hickey, Denver, Colorado)

Teacher

Author of many books, radio and TV outreach through Marilyn Hickey Ministries, missions outreach programs

Motto, "Covering the Earth with the Word"

 

Norvel Hayes

 

• Dr. Hilton Sutton

1924 -- Present

Born: October 14, 1924, Born in Beaumont, Texas

Has lived in the Houston, Texas area all his life

Pastored for seven years at Faith Memorial Church

Founded Mission To America

Began preaching Bible Prophecy full time in 1967

Wife, JoAnn Sutton

Personal Conviction: Teach Bible Prophecy with no Doom and Gloom
and without Speculation. Take the word literally. Jesus is Coming Soon.

Expert in "Last Days/ Prophecy" teaching

Flamboyant presentation, "elder statesman"

• Dr. Tommy Lee Osborne

1923 -- Present

Former missionary to India and many other countries

Wife, Dr. Daisy Osborne ministered with him until her death

Powerful healing ministry, author of many books, newsletter/newspaper in tabloid format, "Faith Digest"

• Robert Tilton

1947 -- Present

Pastor/ Founder of Word of Faith Family Church, Word of Faith Leadership and Bible School and Word of Faith Satellite Network, Dallas, Texas

Teacher

In it’s "hey day" the Word of Faith Satellite Network had 1440 affiliated, yet independent, churches that showed the satellite meetings

Got off into false doctrine, including "Vowing to the Lord" removed other Word ministers books from church bookstore

Satellite Network fell apart

• Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho

1936 -- Present

Pastor and teacher, pastors the world’s largest church (Yoido Full Gospel Church) in Seoul, South Korea (400,000 + membership)

Operates cell groups to minister to whole body of believers

Robert W. Shambach

John Osteen

Dr. Jerry Savelle

Dr. Lester Sumrall

• Charles and Frances Gartner Hunter

Charles (1920 -- Present) Frances (1916 -- Present)

Based out of John Osteen’s church

Teachers, minister healing and Baptist of the Holy Spirit

Known as "The Happy Hunters," well known in the Charismatic Revival

• Dr. Bill Basansky

N/R -- Present

Formerly from Russia

Pastor/ Teacher

Pastor of Love and Grace Fellowship, Fort Myers, Florida

ICFM Executive Director, Ukraine

• Robert R. Yandian

1948 -- Present

Pastor/ Teacher

One of the original instructors at Rhema Bible Training Center

Instructor at Word of Faith Leadership and Bible School when the school was on satellite

• Charles Nieman

1949 -- Present

Pastor/ Teacher

Founder and Pastor of Abundant Living Faith Center in El Paso, Texas

• Richard Roberts

1948 -- Present

Son of Oral Roberts

Teacher, Evangelist

Host of Oral Roberts ministries’ TV programs with wife, Lindsay

Questionable Outgrowth Movements of the Word of Faith Movement

Intercession Extremists

Characterized by "birthing spiritual babies" in prayer

People believing that they were called as "prayer warriors"

"Army of God" / "Christian Soldiers"

Dressing as soldiers in combat, or camouflage gear

Going to high places (buildings, planes, etc.) to "war in tongues"

Word of Faith Ministerial Organizations

International Convention of Faith Ministries (originally formed in 1979 as the International Convention of Faith Churches and Ministers)

Word of Faith Satellite Affiliates (now defunct)

Faith Christian Fellowship International (Dr. Buddy Harrison’s church)

Rhema Ministerial Association International (Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin’s Rhema Bible Training Center students)

World Ministry Fellowship (started in 1963)

Word of Faith Educational Institutions

Rhema Bible Training Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Life Christian University and Seminary, Tampa, Florida

Crenshaw Christian Center Bible School, Los Angeles, California

World Harvest Bible Training Center, Temecula, California

Many others!

The "Spirit of Faith" Revival (1991 – Present)

It has been called the "Last Great Wave" revival. Dr. Lester Sumrall, recently deceased, was told by Smith Wigglesworth that he would see the last great wave of revival, after the Healing and Word of Faith revivals, combining elements of the two; we will see the full account of this incident in the next chapter. This revival is characterized by laughter in the Spirit, "joy unspeakable," and freedom in worship. It has also been called the "Toronto Blessing," or the "Pensacola Outpouring," due to massive outbreaks of revival in these specific locales. There are many that are currently considered "leaders" in this revival, including Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin, Rodney M. Howard-Browne, Reinhard Bonnke, Mark Brazee, John Arnott, Steve Hill, and many, many others. Local pastors and many itinerant ministers are beginning to embrace this move of God. There are no formal organizations or institutions from which to draw detailed information about the personalities involved in this current move of the Spirit of God.

No organized group ever moved into a new revelation – only individuals do. Organizations come later, when enough individuals have received the new move. Be a person who moves with God wherever He wants you to be.

Keep your heart open and say, "I will be a recipient of whatever you give, Lord." (Sumrall: Pioneers of Faith: 192)

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CHAPTER 12 -- THE PRESENT OUTPOURING

Where are we today? If we view "outpourings," or "revivals" as legitimate periods of God’s emphasis of different aspects of the "Age of the Holy Spirit," as we have proposed, what "outpouring" are we involved with in this hour? We have referred to the historic moment that Smith Wigglesworth laid hands on Lester Sumrall and prophesied to him. Let’s look at the full account of this incident from Dr. Sumrall’s book, Pioneers of Faith:

I went to Smith Wigglesworth’s home to tell him goodbye. It was a sad visit, because I knew I probably would not see him again in this world.

He had blessed me in so many ways. He had discussed the Word of God with me in many wonderful sessions, so that I was always eager to get to his house. And he seemed eager for me to come. At that time, I was in my mid-twenties, and he was eighty in 1939. I suppose not many young men were interested in spending time sitting at the feet of an old man, no matter what his life had been.

I said, "Brother Wigglesworth, I am on a special mission today. I have orders from my government to leave the country. It is nothing I have done. It is what Hitler is doing." (Sumrall: Pioneers of Faith: 167)

The American government saw war as inevitable at the time. They had ordered all citizens of the United States to return home immediately. They were attempting, at that time, to stay out of what they viewed as a "European war."

Wigglesworth stood straight up, and tears began to flow down his face. He looked like a "Philadelphia lawyer" or a "Boston banker," not a hair out of place and, as always, groomed so perfectly and beautifully.

He stood as straight as a general and said, "I want to bless you."

He laid his hand on me and pulled me close to him, and I let my head go in closer to him. Tears flowed from his eyes and ran down his face and dropped off onto my forehead and ran down my face.

As he cried, he said, "Oh, God, let all of the faith that is within my heart be in his heart. Let the knowledge of God that resides in me also reside in him. Let all the gifts of Spirit that function in my ministry function in his life."

I just stood there weeping, and he stood there praying and weeping, holding me in his embrace. I felt the holy anointing of the Most High God as it flowed from him into me.

As he broke the embrace, he said, "You will be blessed and faith will reside within you, and you will do unusual things."

Then he stopped a moment, opened his eyes, and said, "I wish to tell you something," and his eyes looked as Elijah’s must have when he saw the chariots of fire coming. I said, "Yes?"

He exclaimed, "I see it. I see it."

I asked, "What do you see?"

Shutting his eyes again, he said, "I see the greatest revival in the history of mankind coming to Planet Earth, maybe as never before. And I see the dead raised. I see every form of disease healed. I see whole hospitals emptied with no one there. Even the doctors are running down the streets shouting."

He told me that there would be untold numbers of uncountable multitudes that would be saved. No man will say "so many, so many," because nobody will be able to count those who come to Jesus. No disease will be able to stand before God’s people.

It will be a worldwide situation, not local, he said, a worldwide thrust of God’s power and God’s anointing upon mankind.

Then he opened his eyes and looked at me and said, "I will not see it, but you shall see it. The Lord says that I must go on to my reward, but that you will see the mighty works that He will do upon the earth in the last days."

In spite of being sad at leaving him, his words excited me. The idea that I would get to see this revival was almost overwhelming. And in the last decade or so, I believe we have seen this revival begin to sweep the earth. We have seen amazing moves of God in Africa. We have seen enormous congregations raised up all over the world. (Sumrall: Pioneers of Faith: 168, 169)

Brother Sumrall went home to be with the Lord in 1996. He saw the beginnings of what Brother Wigglesworth prophesied would be the last great revival:

When I die, an era will be over, because it seems I am like a bridge overlapping all of the moves of this century. However, I hope to be alive when not just an era, but all of time will be over. I am convinced that I will at least see this last great revival. I would hope that everyone who reads this will pray with me for the manifestation in its fullness of the "latter rain." (Sumrall: Pioneers of Faith: 194)

We are living in this time of the last great revival! Today is the time of our visitation! Let’s be sensitive to that!

Today he is a time of visitation. The Holy Spirit is moving in the Church to restore His power. This restoration is the Holy Spirit in a manifest and resident manner. (Burke: Yielding to the Holy Spirit: 11)

Many see today as a special time of the Holy Spirit’s visitation. Reverend Mark Brazee describes the present outpouring in this way:

In the Christian world today, a tremendous outpouring of the Holy Ghost is sweeping the Church. A common occurrence in these meetings is an outbreak of joy, Holy Ghost laughter, and dancing in the Spirit. Through these outpourings of joy, we have discovered that people’s lives have been dramatically changed. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 1)

Brother Mark Brazee goes on to note that the outpouring he describes is not universally embraced:

But meetings like these also stir up many questions, including: What is going on here? Is this God or just emotionalism? And if this is God, what is His purpose?

However, we need to realize that throughout history, revivals have often been accompanied by unusual demonstrations. Could this be the beginning of revival? And if so, what are such outbreakings of the Holy Ghost supposed to accomplish?

As a teacher, I’ve been stirred to study God’s Word, line upon line, regarding this new Pentecostal fire that is sweeping the world. (Brazee: Blood, Fire, and Vapor of Smoke: 1)

Indeed, many feel that only emotionalism can explain the outward manifestations of joy, laughter and dancing, that this outpouring seems to produce. There is a feeling of having to "give control" over to the Holy Spirit concerning your outward body’s reactions, movements, and so forth, that some find disquieting. However, the scripture does make it clear that we are to bring our bodies under control of our spirit man, and surrender control of it to God.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12: 1-3)

Lack of yielding to this move of the Spirit can be seen as pride, or "thinking of yourself more than you ought to think." Many do not wish to shed their veneer of "respectability" and outwardly dance, or laugh.

As you roll your works upon the Lord, the Holy Spirit causes your thoughts to become an expression of His Will. By yielding to God's will, you are being molded by His influence into the likeness of Jesus. He truly begins to take control. Some people are controlled by their flesh, others are under the influence of demon spirits. You are being controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit. You have become more sensitive to His sweet presence. He begins to send impulses to your heart, and you respond to his quiet leading. You find that your steps are being directed by the hand of the Spirit of God. You are a vessel containing His presence, a vehicle transporting His power. (Burke: Yielding to the Holy Spirit: 67, 68)

If we yield to the Spirit of God in this way, we will become more sensitive to the moving of God in our daily lives, and more responsive to His leading.

Let’s look at what we need to do as individual believers to maintain ourselves in a position to receive from this revival in the next chapter. We are in, perhaps, the greatest revival of all time, and, perhaps, the last revival of all time. We do not want to miss the time of our visitation!

"The Spirit of Faith Revival"

Recently, Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin was instructed to make his St. Louis Holy Ghost Meeting available via satellite to all of North America. Many churches picked up this satellite telecast and showed it live to their congregations. Brother Hagin felt it was important because God had told him that something would be "released" in that meeting to all of North America from St. Louis.

The meeting lasted for two weeks, all shown via satellite! I participated at Faith and Victory Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, and it was as though I was there with the group in St. Louis! Many at both the main location, and in the satellite churches, fell under the power of God as Brother Hagin would just sweep his hand toward the congregations! There was laughter and freedom in the Spirit!

The last night of these meetings, on October 24, 1997, Brother Hagin said, "This is the beginning of the Spirit of Faith Revival!" That is one reason I call this present outpouring, "The Spirit of Faith Revival!"

One personal note that stands out for me about this meeting, is that my little boy, Benjamin, only five years old, went forward to pray to receive the Baptism in the Holy Ghost! Praise God!

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CHAPTER 13 -- STAYING IN THE FLOW OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD

If we are to fully participate in the revival of these Last Days, we must be very sensitive to the flow of the Holy Spirit. One thing that I find among "Word of Faith" believers is a tendency to ignore the things of the Spirit because of a strong dedication to the Word. As we have seen many times in this treatise, the revival of this age is one of both the Word of God and the Spirit of God, as Smith Wigglesworth prophesied back in 1939:

"There has been a move of the Spirit, and now there is a move starting of the Word, with a new emphasis on the Word and the teaching ministry, but there is coming a revival that will be a combination of the Spirit and the Word, and that will be the biggest revival ever seen by man, and it is going to be last revival, because God is going to sweep in the nations, He is going to sweep in the lost to His Kingdom." Praise God! And we are in that day...because we are in the last of the Last Days. (Webb: The Spirit of Faith: The Spirit of Faith Teaching Tape Series)

Being strongly committed to the Word of God is commendable, but that does not exclude the ability to be strongly committed to the Holy Spirit as well. Among the old time Pentecostals, there was a strong commitment to the things of the Spirit, but not a great deal of knowledge of the subject of faith from God’s Word. Their success in that area was more "hit and miss."

When I came over among the Pentecostals, I learned that very few really understood the subject of faith. However, I didn’t turn a deaf ear to them. I always listened to older ministers and to my elders, whether I agreed with them or not, because I had so much respect for them.

People will often "tune out" anybody they don’t agree with. If they would listen, however, God might be able to teach them something through others. (Hagin: Learning to Flow with the Spirit of God: 1, 2)

Rather than "tuning out" what God is doing, we need to learn to move with it! Brother Hagin listened to his elders from among the Pentecostal movements and learned that they knew how flow with the Spirit of God. In the process, he had to learn to "eat the hay, and leave the stubble," so to speak, to receive from their experience and knowledge, but it was worthwhile to him! He learned to flow with the Holy Spirit while staying true to the Word of God!

One thing that Brother Hagin "warns" about, is that in the process of this move of the Spirit of God, in this great revival, we will see mistakes and excesses.

I’ll guarantee you this: As we move into this new wave of the Spirit, we’re going to see more and more excesses or fanaticism, because there are always excesses in any move of the Spirit. You may as well get ready for it; you’ll not have any move of the Spirit without excesses. Why? Because there will always be those in your midst who are unlearned.

In the so-called "Faith Movement" which God has raised up in recent years (I just call it the Word of God Movement), we’ve had all kinds of extremes. Dear Lord, people got off on all kinds of tangents. But that doesn’t do away with the real! (Hagin: Learning to Flow with the Spirit of God: 20)

Brother Hagin has a way of putting very complex and important concepts in very simple language that is easy to receive and act on. He sums up how to check on the validity of the moving of the Spirit in this way:

When God moves, everybody will be blessed.

If something is of the flesh, everybody will have a sick feeling.

And if something is of the devil, it seems like the hair will stand up on your neck.

That’s a simple way everyone can judge, whether they’ve got any spiritual discernment or not. (Hagin: Learning to Flow with the Spirit of God: 23)

We may have to put up with some excess to be sure that we don’t quench the real move of the Spirit.

Quench not the Spirit.

Despise not prophesyings.

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21)

We can’t condone, or approve of, excesses, but if we try and mold the move of God into our "own image," we run the risk of losing out on what God is trying to accomplish.

Although I am not in favor of excess, I’ve said for years that I’d rather have a little wild fire and God moving than no fire at all! I’d rather have a little excess and fanaticism than have the order of a graveyard, with nothing happening!

Anytime there is a move of God and things are happening, there will be those who will go to excess. However, if these people are honest and sincere, they will accept correction -- and we’ll get that power channeled in the right direction, where it will make tremendous power available, dynamic in its working. (Hagin: Learning to Flow with the Spirit of God: 32)

If we are to move with this revival, we must learn to trust in, and flow with, the Holy Spirit. We must forego our own methods and plans, and be sensitive to His plans.

God said to me, "The problem you’re running into is that you’re going one direction and the anointing is going another. If you’ll follow the Holy Ghost, you’ll always have the Holy Ghost’s plan. If you will follow My anointing, you’ll always have My anointing. If you’ll follow the glory, you’ll always have the glory."

I realized that I needed to be more flexible in my services. I needed to have a plan, but I also had to be willing to put it aside and move with the Holy Spirit. I asked Him to show me what to do and spell it out for me in black and white. I knew He would. (Brazee: Preparing for His Glory: 107)

We need to realize that, as the scripture says, "And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following." (Mark 16:20, emphasis added.) The Lord confirms His Word with signs following.

Sometimes God wants to demonstrate with His power what has been preached. These demonstrations of the Spirit of God do not take priority over the Word of God, but they confirm the Word and help people understand the Word. (Brazee: Preparing for His Glory: 109)

We do need to study, and prepare for ministry, if we are ministers of the Gospel, but we also need to be willing and ready to move in a different direction if the Lord moves another way. It is important that the minister in charge of a meeting is sensitive, but it is also important that the congregation is sensitive to the move of God as well! It is a joint effort!

If we will let God have His way, He will get more done in ten minutes than we could in ten years. It’s not that teaching and preaching do not help people, but sometimes God wants to confirm His Word with signs and change someone’s life.

Let’s flow with the anointing! If the anointing isn’t present to do something, it must be present to do something else. Let’s find out what the anointing is present for.

People say, "Well, that doesn’t apply to me. I’m not up there preaching or teaching."

If you’re in the congregation, this applies to you because the congregation is just as important as the minister. The minister can pray, fast, study, read, and meditate, but if the congregation isn’t willing to flow when God begins to flow, this hinders the anointing.

It’s a joint effort. Everyone needs to work together; one man can not carry the whole load. Even Jesus could do no mighty work when the congregation wouldn’t cooperate with Him in His own hometown. (Brazee: Preparing for His Glory: 113)

So we see that both the minister in charge of a meeting, and the congregation, has a part in being sensitive to the Holy Spirit. We must all "wait upon the Lord" (Isaiah 40:31) and take time to follow His leading. And we must learn by example, and by following the advice of our leaders, such as Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin, as they teach us about moving with the Spirit of God:

On Monday evening, Campmeeting ’97 began with a strong move of the Holy Ghost. Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin explained to Campmeeting attendees, "In recent times, the Lord said to me, ‘There is a move of the Spirit that is going to be lost to this generation unless you teach them. Today there are others who can teach faith as well as you can. Now I want you to teach about the move of the Holy Spirit. Teach people to flow with the Holy Ghost.’ So that’s what I’m going to do tonight!"

With that, Brother Hagin walked down among the audience. The anointing upon him was in such strong manifestation that people began breaking out in Holy Ghost laughter or falling under the power of God as soon as Brother Hagin came within a few feet of them. Brother Hagin explained to the crowd what they were witnessing. "The anointing is transferable, a lot like electricity. The anointing flows but only under certain circumstances."

"That’s the reason I have to get close to you for that anointing to transfer to you. The Lord told me, ‘When the anointing is in full manifestation and you get within three or four feet of people, they will either laugh or fall.’ You see, a lot of people need the anointing; they need to be loosed. They’re tied up and bound by so many things, but the Bible says that the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing [Isa. 10:27]!" (Kenneth Hagin: The Word of Faith Magazine: 12)

Nuggets to Meditate on to Stay in the Flow

I found, in my research, some "nuggets" from the men and women that God used early in the Pentecostal Movement that speak to this issue of "staying in the flow" to receive from the Glory. I list them here for the purpose of meditating on these thoughts to prepare oneself for the present revival:

If you are walking with Jesus, in the Spirit, you need not fear going to far. No believer has gone as far as God wants him to go. (A.A. Allen: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 6)

The things of God are so precious, He will not give them to those who do not greatly desire them. It is those who hunger and thirst who are filled. (C. Nuzum: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 20)

The power of the Holy Ghost may be readily likened to the power of electricity. When one is filled with the Spirit, it is as though he has had his house wired, and established connection with the powerhouse. (A.A. Allen: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 22)

Our bodies are His temples and, as great pieces of mechanism are moved by electricity, so our bodies, the most wonderful piece of mechanism ever known, are moved by the power of the Holy Ghost. (Woodworth-Etter: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 23)

Faith begins where the will of God is known. (Bosworth: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 26)

When God talks to you, the message agrees with the written Word; the Holy Ghost never says anything that doesn’t correspond with the Word. (Woodworth-Etter: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 39)

Just believe what God says that Jesus has done for you, body, soul, and spirit -- think about it, talk about it, sing about it, shout about it, and the praise cure has begun. (Yeomans: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 43)

Fear cannot stay in the same house with Jesus Christ. (Coe: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 48)

Exercise the spirit of faith as much as you do the act of prayer. Be humble and watchfully obedient, that faith be not clouded. (Raymond T. Richey: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 66)

Maria Woodworth-Etter once stood in a trance in one of her meetings for three days with her hand in the air! Many people in her meetings experienced trances in which they had glimpses of heaven. (Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 111)

The farther we get in God the hotter the fire will be because the infinitesimal dross requires a hotter fire to get it out of the gold. (Parham: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 122)

We are conscious of the need of constant prayer for more and yet more of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power. But as we give ourselves yet more and more to prayer, we shall see greater and more glorious revivals. (Frodsham: Harrison House: Heroes of Faith: 134)

Glory to God! Out of the mouths of some of the great men and women of faith that we have studied, we see "nuggets" that place us in position to receive during this hour! Let’s keep ourselves in a position to enjoy the flow of the Holy Ghost, and be used by God to bring in the lost during this last great revival!

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CHAPTER 14 -- CONCLUSION

I believe, due to the preponderance of evidence presented herein, that I have demonstrated that there is a relationship between the Biblical Spirit of Faith found in 2 Corinthians 4:13 and the Glory of God in manifestation. We have also seen that these demonstrations of power are the manifestations of the Glory of God in operation.

It is the opinion of the author, based on evidence and comments presented from research, that this is the last great revival that will come upon the earth during this age. The Spirit of Faith, which brings with it an overcoming, winning attitude of faith, is an essential element in this Last Day revival. As believers, privileged to live during this last great time of revival, we need to do whatever is necessary to maintain ourselves in the "flow" of what the Holy Spirit is doing, and the manner in which He is manifesting Himself.

It was demonstrated, through historical record and testimony, that the manifestations that we are seeing in today’s revival are common both to Biblical and early revivals in this, and other, centuries. The same concerns over these manifestations have been voiced, and the same persecution has followed as well, as satan attempts to stop the flow of the revival.

I have also given instructive suggestions that will help place the reader in a position to receive and participate more fully in the revival as it occurs, and be more sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is accomplishing in the Body of Christ.

Just as Haggai prophesied to Zerubbabel, and to Joshua, the High Priest, the glory of the latter house shall be greater than the former house:

Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying,

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:

According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.

The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. (Haggai 2:2-9)

The silver and gold (financial prosperity) and the move of the Spirit and Glory are ours in this "latter house!"

I look forward, with great expectation, for the soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ, and say, "…Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." (Revelation 22:20b-21)

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