7.29 Testimony – God restores the baptism in the Spirit to the Church in two powerful world-wide revivals in the 20th century
Today, we look back in history to see how God restored the truth and experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit to the Church.
When the truth of baptism in the Holy Spirit and tongues was lost during the dark ages of Church history, the Church believed that tongues had ceased. Some groups believed that baptism in the Spirit was one and the same experience, as salvation or sanctification.
But when the time was ripe, the truth of the baptism in the Spirit as a separate experience with speaking in tongues was restored to the Church in the 20th century Pentecostal and Charismatic revivals of the Holy Spirit that raged across the world. The largest and the fastest-growing churches in the world today embrace the full workings of the Holy Spirit.
The Pentecostal Revival
Two men played important roles in the Pentecostal Revival. Just before Christmas in 1900, Charles Parham gave 40 Bible school students an assignment – to find the New Testament evidence of being filled with the Spirit. The students researched the Bible and sought to find the common experience in every instance when the Holy Spirit fell upon the people. All these occurrences were in the book of Acts.
Three days later, when Parham returned, his students informed him that the only consistent experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit was speaking in tongues. This was a new revelation to them.
At almost midnight, New Year’s Day 1901, a student, Agnes Ozman, asked to have hands laid on her to receive the baptism. As other students did so, the Holy Spirit fell and she began to speak in tongues. Three days later, Parham himself received. Persecution came almost as quickly as the baptism.
William Seymour, a black preacher, approached Parham and sat under his teaching. When Seymour started teaching that speaking in tongues is the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, he was locked out from his church.
Seymour then began to preach in an abandoned church at 321 Azusa Street. After about six months, revival broke out. In 1906, worshippers in Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, United States, experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. News of the Azusa Street Revival spread and Christians from all over the world flocked to Azusa Street to experience the move. They then carried the fire with them wherever they went.
The established churches rejected the revival of the Spirit that was gathering pace as it challenged the established beliefs and practices of their day. For several decades, this Pentecostal Revival flourished outside the established denominations. Every Pentecostal group today can trace its lineage directly or indirectly to the Azusa Street Revival.
The Charismatic Revival
In the later half of the 20th century, many evangelical church leaders and members embraced and experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their own churches. Unlike the Pentecostal Revival, which saw Spirit-filled members moving out of their churches, the Charismatic Revival was a renewal within the mainstream churches that had earlier rejected the move.
In 1966, the Charismatic movement spread to the Roman Catholic Church when a group of Catholics fell under the power of the Holy Spirit. They were on a weekend retreat at Duquesne University when they experienced speaking in tongues and other charismatic gifts. The revival grew throughout the Catholic Church.
God raised many leaders within the evangelical churches to play important roles in the Charismatic Revival. One such person was Dennis Bennett, an Episcopalian rector who wrote the book Nine O’clock in the Morning. He heard about this new experience and started on a journey to find the answers. God used him and his book as a catalyst of the Charismatic Revival.
The Charismatic Revival raged in Singapore in the 1990s with the Anglican churches at the forefront. I remembered that even the Straits Times in Singapore covered this revival in the Anglican churches. When the Charismatic Revival came to our Lutheran church, Florence and many other believers received the baptism in the Spirit. Having been Christians for 20 years, it was a new experience and a big leap of faith for Florence.
After Florence had received, we had the privilege to minister the baptism in the Spirit to many people. It was a wonderful experience that brought many Christians into a deeper experience with God.
When the truth of baptism in the Holy Spirit and tongues was lost during the dark ages of Church history, the Church believed that tongues had ceased. Some groups believed that baptism in the Spirit was one and the same experience, as salvation or sanctification.
But when the time was ripe, the truth of the baptism in the Spirit as a separate experience with speaking in tongues was restored to the Church in the 20th century Pentecostal and Charismatic revivals of the Holy Spirit that raged across the world. The largest and the fastest-growing churches in the world today embrace the full workings of the Holy Spirit.
The Pentecostal Revival
Two men played important roles in the Pentecostal Revival. Just before Christmas in 1900, Charles Parham gave 40 Bible school students an assignment – to find the New Testament evidence of being filled with the Spirit. The students researched the Bible and sought to find the common experience in every instance when the Holy Spirit fell upon the people. All these occurrences were in the book of Acts.
Three days later, when Parham returned, his students informed him that the only consistent experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit was speaking in tongues. This was a new revelation to them.
At almost midnight, New Year’s Day 1901, a student, Agnes Ozman, asked to have hands laid on her to receive the baptism. As other students did so, the Holy Spirit fell and she began to speak in tongues. Three days later, Parham himself received. Persecution came almost as quickly as the baptism.
William Seymour, a black preacher, approached Parham and sat under his teaching. When Seymour started teaching that speaking in tongues is the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, he was locked out from his church.
Seymour then began to preach in an abandoned church at 321 Azusa Street. After about six months, revival broke out. In 1906, worshippers in Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, United States, experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. News of the Azusa Street Revival spread and Christians from all over the world flocked to Azusa Street to experience the move. They then carried the fire with them wherever they went.
The established churches rejected the revival of the Spirit that was gathering pace as it challenged the established beliefs and practices of their day. For several decades, this Pentecostal Revival flourished outside the established denominations. Every Pentecostal group today can trace its lineage directly or indirectly to the Azusa Street Revival.
The Charismatic Revival
In the later half of the 20th century, many evangelical church leaders and members embraced and experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their own churches. Unlike the Pentecostal Revival, which saw Spirit-filled members moving out of their churches, the Charismatic Revival was a renewal within the mainstream churches that had earlier rejected the move.
In 1966, the Charismatic movement spread to the Roman Catholic Church when a group of Catholics fell under the power of the Holy Spirit. They were on a weekend retreat at Duquesne University when they experienced speaking in tongues and other charismatic gifts. The revival grew throughout the Catholic Church.
God raised many leaders within the evangelical churches to play important roles in the Charismatic Revival. One such person was Dennis Bennett, an Episcopalian rector who wrote the book Nine O’clock in the Morning. He heard about this new experience and started on a journey to find the answers. God used him and his book as a catalyst of the Charismatic Revival.
The Charismatic Revival raged in Singapore in the 1990s with the Anglican churches at the forefront. I remembered that even the Straits Times in Singapore covered this revival in the Anglican churches. When the Charismatic Revival came to our Lutheran church, Florence and many other believers received the baptism in the Spirit. Having been Christians for 20 years, it was a new experience and a big leap of faith for Florence.
After Florence had received, we had the privilege to minister the baptism in the Spirit to many people. It was a wonderful experience that brought many Christians into a deeper experience with God.
posted by Joshua Lye @ 11:51 PM
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