Y Safle

“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, 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

And here we are, at the most well known passage in Joel – the prophecy of the outpouring of God’s Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

It is a pity that so many people jump straight to Joel 2:28 whilst missing out the first chapter and a half. What a pity that so much of Joel’s message to us can so easily be ignored.

Here we are indeed promised that God will pour out his Spirit upon everyone. There is no-one so insignificant that God will not pour out His Spirit upon them, but a wrong understanding of this verse, it seems to me, can cause a great many theological and practical problems in our Christianity.

I have often been told “The Spirit is given”, a looking back to the day of Pentecost when this mighty outpouring occurred. Such people then use this fact to justify their various teachings on the work of the Holy Spirit within the present day church. Personally, I think they are wrong to do so.

When the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, three thousand people became Christians on the spot. If you went into a modern day Pentecostal church I would be surprised if more then a dozen people had come to Christ in the last year, and then it is doubtful if they came to Christ because of the reality of the experience with the Holy Spirit.

I hurl no stones when I speak thus of the Pentecostal churches. I say what I say knowing that they are one of the fastest growing movements within the present church. Nevertheless, it seems to me that the presence of the Holy Spirit is not to be found in full measure in these churches.

I received a mailshot recently from a so called Christian leader who was announcing a summer conference. His hype said specifically: “The annointing of the Holy Spirit will be there.”

The Holy Spirit is a wind that blows when and where He wills. How can a man make such predictions when I am certain that he has never yet seen a true annointing of the Spirit of God?

The mail shot also offered a free tape for early bookings. The tape was of a conference in London where hundreds of people were apparently “Slain of God” (and I quote him there).

It is a funny thing that I did not hear of any deaths in the Wembley Stadium at that conference! (Although the BBC did show an expose of how supposed healing miracles were nothing of the sort).

So much of the present day Charismatic movement seems to me to be mere hype and emotionalism, and I know that as I write this I am probably offending a great many people, but it is something with which I feel burdened.

We just do not know the power of God within the church today. The Charismatic movement claims to have that power but it has been wholely unable to reach into this present darkness with the light of God.

I am offended by the lack of spirituality and depth I find within the Charismatic movement.

Nevertheless, I believe the Charismatic movement was of God.

I believe that God uses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and that is what he has done with the Charismatic movement which has surely put the dead orthodox churches to shame in the areas of growth and enthusiasm.

But God has something greater that he wants to give us. He has said through his prophet:

“It shall come to pass that…”

When all of Joel chapter one and two are fulfilled it shall come to pass once again that God will pour out His Spirit, and the measure with which he releases his Spirit will put today’s church to shame.

We will no longer need to argue that the Baptism with the Spirit is a true work of God, for it will be evident to all that this is so (look at the accounts of the 1904 Welsh revival for instance, if you do not believe me). The marks of the Spirit filled life will be on the believers. There will be a deeper spirituality, a greater assurance and a fuller love for Our God, along with a deeper realization of the greatness of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We will again see prophecy, dreams and visions as well as all the gifts of the Spirit, and there will be an end to the muddling prophets of today. False gifts will stand out as dull and tainted against the true.

O Lord, send the rain.

I believe that all Christians may truly know the presence of God. However, there are some
experiences which might be purely emotional in the Christian life.

TV-Evangelist style preachers who pray and push people over backwards are inducing emotional experiences, and such experiences should be avoided in my opinion. Likewise, there is a possibility that the power of suggestion may come into play.

For instance, if I am in a meeting where the minister says “The Holy Spirit is really moving now, let him minister to you.” then I may experience some sensation, such as a tingling in my hands or a “warm fuzzy feeling”, but this is simply because of my own excited expectation.

I do believe that a promise is given to each and every one of us in scripture regarding one experience in particular. Peter says in Acts 2: “This promise is for you, your children and all those who are far off.”

What is this experience? It is commonlt called the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, but what is often meant by that term may not be what I mean. As an example of what I do have in mind, read this account from the book “Howell Harries and the Dawn of Revival” about Howell Harries (a founder of Calvinistic Methodism in Wales):

“Doubtless, the experience of forgiveness in Talgarth church was sweet. Yet it left a feeling of further need in his soul which he could not define. But when he was at secret prayer in Llangasty church, the sacred spot where he had given himself to God, God now gave Himself to him.

“The richest biblical terms are heaped one on another in an attempt to give expression to his experience at that time, He was there cleansed from all his idols, and the love of God was shed abroad in his heart. Christ had come in previously, but now He began to sup with him; now he received the Spirit of adoption, teaching him to cry Abba Father, and with it a desire to depart and be with Christ. All his fears vanished for months, and pure love took their place.”

This is an experience of God that is quite unmistakeable. No emotional response to external stimuli, or forced repetition of meaningless phrases, or platitudes that this thing is “received by faith” to explain why we have not ourselves had such an experience. This is the unmistakeable presence of our Lord shed abroad in our hearts. Accept no second best.