THE PENSACOLA OUTPOURING: THE FATHER’S BLESSING FOR THE 90’S

by Barry Manuel

Reading: Acts 2:1-21

INTRODUCTION

Why “Toronto Blessing”? It is a name given by the British press to a work of the Spirit that commenced on Thursday evening January 20, 1994.2 One hundred and forty people were gathered in a warehouse that was the home of the Airport Vineyard Christian Fellowship.3 The building was located close to Pearson Airport, Toronto’s international airport. Randy Clark, a Vineyard pastor from the States had come for a series of meetings. That night the Holy Spirit worked in power. Most of the 140 people were powerfully touched by God and unusual manifestations occurred. The meetings were extended and in fact meetings continue to be held every night, except Monday, and every morning except Saturday. It was estimated that by July 19, 1995 a total of 450,000 people had vistited the church, which is now situated in a former computer warehouse and can seat 5,000 people. The church has grown from about 300 people to 1,000.

Many are aware that there is a powerful move of God in China where people are becoming Christians in the thousands and manifestations of the Spirit are occurring. In July of 1995, in the foyer of the Carlton Place Hotel, Toronto, I was having a conversation with a missionary from the Dominican Republic who informed me that six months before God’s Spirit worked in Toronto’s Airport Fellowship they had an outpouring of the Spirit in the Dominican Republic with the now familiar manifestations. Some people in our congregation heard Pastor Murray Watkinson, of New Zealand, speak in August, 1995 and heard how his church had experienced a work of the Spirit several years prior to the Toronto experience. It too was accompanied with unusual manifestations. I suspect that if we were able to do genuine research that we would find many places around the world where the Spirit of God is working in a similar manner and that the commencement had no specific link with Toronto.4 Which I state simply to indicate that the Spirit of God is manifesting his presence in a significant way in our time.

On June 18, 1995 a remarkable service occurred in the Brownsville Assembly of God Church, Pensacola, Florida.5 The pastor, John Kilpatrick, had asked Steve Hill, a Texas-based Assembly of God evangelist, to preach that morning at the “Father’s Day” service. Steve Hill had been converted some years before from a life of severe drug addiction. He had been mentored by Leonard Ravenhill and David Wilkerson. In recent years he was a missionary in Argentina and worked in the great Argentine revival.

No one was prepared for what was about to happen. John Kilpatrick describes it like this:

… Steve called the people to come to the altar for prayer for salvation, or for any other need, about one thousand came forward. I walked off to the right side of the platform with Steve to help him pray for the people, but I began to feel a little strange standing next to him as he prayed. Then, I laid my hand on his back and my other hand on a man’s head as we prayed for him. The man fell to the ground under God’s power; others began to weep or dance or raise their arms in thanksgiving. Some started to shake uncontrollably.

Suddenly, I felt a wind blow through my legs, just like in the second chapter of the book of Acts. A strong breeze went through my legs and suddenly both my ankles flipped over so that I could hardly stand. I thought, “That’s weird! O God,” I prayed, “What in the world is happening?” I stood on the side of my ankles, unable to get my footing. I literally could not straighten up my feet.

Just then Steve prayed for a woman who fell to the floor under the power of the Spirit. I tried to lift up my legs to step over her but could not. Finally, I had to ask a friend to come over and help me. He lifted my legs by pulling on my pants and helped me walk back up the platform, step by step. I took the microphone and shouted, “Folks, this is it. the Lord is here. Get in, get in!” I realized God had indeed come, that He had answered our prayers for revival. The feast of fire had begun.

Steve walked by me at that point, waved his hand in my direction, and said simply. “More, Lord.” I hit the that marble floor like a ton of bricks.

Now, I’m as critical as the next person when it comes to things like this. I have seen it all and just don’t think I can be fooled. So when I hit that floor and it felt like I weighed 10,000 pounds, I knew something supernatural was happening. God was visiting us. In fact, I lay on that floor from 12.30 through 4.00 pm until some men finally got me up.6

The amazing results of this manifestation of the Spirit’s presence are now becoming well documented. Many wonderful conversions have occurred including drug addicts, wealthy businessman and prostitutes. In the space of 14 months there have been 65,000 registered conversions.7

What about the opposition? Opposition does not necessarily mean that something new is not from God. Jesus was opposed by the religious leaders of his day! Whenever God has moved in revival it has been opposed. We are all notorious for loving the status quo.

How are we to respond to what is happening? How should we assess the movement?

I think that a genuine assessment has a number of considerations. They are:

1. Biblical considerations. 2. Theological considerations. 3. Psychological considerations. 4. Historical considerations. 5. Personal considerations.

1.BIBLICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said in a sermon on the “baptism of the Spirit” that

We must not start with what we think, what we like. Some of us would like the spectacular, others are so dignified that dignity is the one thing that matters; everything must be ordered and dignified and orderly, working like a clock with all the mechanism and mechanistic characteristics of a clock or a machine. So if we start with ourselves and what we like and our experience we will already go wrong. No, we have got to start, all of us with the New Testament and its teaching.8

I will start with a look at the experience of the Spirit in Acts and then a brief look at 1 Corinthians 12:1-7.

Pentecost and Experiences of the Spirit

The description of the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost begins with the place (v.1), where the disciples were, being filled with the sound of a rushing wind (v. 2). Then tongues of fire appeared and sat “on each person”. Luke then says they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues. This description means the immediate effect of the coming of the Spirit is, that the experience, is accompanied by auditory (they heard rushing wind) and visionary (they saw tongues of fire) elements. The experience for the recipients is that of being filled with the Spirit and speaking with other tongues. What do these constitute?

The Filling of the Holy Spirit

Luke uses (pimplemi) for filled in his description of the filling of the Holy Spirit.9 What is meant by “filling” in Luke-Acts?10 We will examine Luke’s use of this word in three instances where “filling” is given definition by the context.

1. In Luke 1:15 the angel of the Lord, speaking to Zechariah about the birth of John the Baptist, says, ” … for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.” Here there is a contrast with the effect wine has on a person and the effect of the Spirit’s fullness. We can assume Luke considers a person filled with wine comes under its influence and control and the whole person is affected. Thus being filled with the Spirit is analogous to being filled with wine.

2. Luke 4:28 reports the response of the synagogue crowd to Jesus’ condemnation of the lack of faith in Israel. Luke says, “All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.” The Greek text describes the response as (_????????? ?????? ?????) “they were all filled with anger”. We know what it is like to be filled with anger; our whole person feels the effects of the emotion of anger. In this context “filling” is something which affects the whole person.

3. In Acts 13:45 when the Jews in Pisidian Antioch saw the crowd that was listening to Paul and Barnabas “they were filled with jealousy”. Jealousy is a strong emotion and like anger affects the whole person. The various instances then where Luke uses “filled” indicate the whole person is affected or influenced by that which fills them. The phrase “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” in Lukan understanding probably means the recipients were conscious of the power of God’s Spirit filling their whole person. It influenced and affected them in a manner analogous to being influenced by alcohol or strong emotions.

Does the Pentecost narrative give further insight into the eleven’s experience of the filling of the Spirit? Two insights are suggested here. First of all, Peter commences his speech to the crowd (Acts 2:14, 15) with an explanation of what was happening to the eleven. The crowd, observing the results of the experience of being filled with the Spirit, were mocking the disciples. Some of the crowd were saying, “They have had too much wine” (v. 13). Peter asserts they were not drunk. Why did the crowd consider them to be drunk? Would the speaking in other tongues cause that response? We would not expect such a linguistically diverse crowd as described here to be surprised by expressions of other languages (regardless of whether they were glossolalia or foreign languages). Some other factor suggests itself. Hans Conzelmann noted there is a relationship between “enthusiasm and intoxication”.11 It has already been suggested above that there is an analogy between being filled with the Spirit and being filled with wine. We can notice the writer of Ephesians also makes this comparison when he says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). It is suggested then that those who were filled with the Spirit were acting in a manner that could have appeared they were intoxicated. The experience of the fullness of the Holy Spirit affected them in such a way that they appeared drunk. If this is so then we can picture them staggering, falling over and laughing.

Secondly, the filling of the Spirit resulted in an experience which brought about a transformation in the eleven. The case of Peter epitomises this. In his gospel Luke tells us, after the arrest of Jesus, about Peter’s denial of any association with Jesus (Luke 22: 54-62). Now, Peter is presented as boldly addressing this crowd (Acts 2: 14, 15, 36). What happened to Peter? According to Luke, the filling of the Holy Spirit was the cause for this transformation (Acts 2:4; cf 4:8, 31).

Speaking in Other Tongues

A variety of opinion exists as to what is meant by “other tongues” (Acts 2:4) and the subsequent hearing in their “own language” (2:8). 12 Is Luke describing glossolalia or miraculous speech in foreign languages? In Acts 10:44-48 Luke tells of the Spirit’s coming to Cornelius and the Gentiles. While Peter is speaking the Spirit falls on the listeners (10:44). The result is they speak in tongues and praise God (10:46). Peter accepts this receiving of the Spirit as the same as the Pentecost experience (10:47). The reason for this conclusion is the people were speaking in tongues and praising God. It is generally conceded this is glossolalia.13 It seems reasonable to conclude that this glossolalia was like what Peter and the others experienced at Pentecost. For Peter is convinced by the expression of glossolalia that the Gentiles have experienced what occurred at Pentecost.

What happened at Pentecost?

As Luke tells the story of Pentecost the filling of the Spirit is the means of a significant religious experience. The eleven were transformed from fearful, uncertain followers of Jesus into bold and confident witnesses. This experience was associated with auditory and visionary phenomena. As they were filled with the Spirit they spoke in other tongues and were affected by the infilling power of the Spirit in such a manner that they seemed to be intoxicated. Which suggests we are able to picture them staggering, falling and laughing.

The Experience of being filled with the Spirit in the Acts Narrative

What are we able to discover about the experience of being filled with the Spirit from other instances in the Acts narrative? After Pentecost “filled with the Spirit” occurs six times14 and the phrase “full of the Spirit” is used four times.15

The first thing that needs to be noted is that the experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit is repeated.16 Peter experiences it at Pentecost and then again in Acts 4:8. The whole community, of which he was part, experiences being filled with the Spirit in Acts 4:31. Paul is said to be filled with the Spirit in Acts 9:17 and then again in Acts 13:9. Acts 4:31 presents the experience as being accompanied by a strange phenomenon, the building was shaken. It resulted in an empowering which meant that those filled were able to speak the Christian message boldly. In Acts 13:52 being filled with the Holy Spirit is associated with being filled with joy. The phrase “full of the Spirit” is especially linked with Stephen (Acts 6:3, 5; 7:55). The only other instance of its use is with Barnabas in Acts 11:24. In Stephen’s case it indicates that he had such an endowment of the Spirit that it resulted in him sharing qualities with God’s most important messengers in the Luke-Acts story.17 This means that the Spirit’s fullness results in him having wisdom, grace, power and doing wonders and great signs among the people. What else can be said about the meaning of the phrase? What insight to the experience of the Spirit does it present? In Acts 19:28 an analogous phrase is used, “full of wrath”. We know what it is like to be full of anger which is much the same as being filled with anger, this was considered above. Thus to be full of the Spirit is an experience that affects the whole person in much the same manner as being filled with the Spirit. The experience of being filled with the Spirit in the ongoing Acts narrative is repeatable. It is associated with unusual phenomena and a variety of results. Qualities, such as, boldness, joy, power, wisdom, grace and the doing of wonders and signs, are all the results of being filled with the Spirit.

Conclusion

A brief study of the experience of the Spirit in the Pentecost narrative and the idea of being filled with the Spirit in the remainder of Acts leads me to conclude that the experience of the Spirit in the Lukan story was such that those filled were spiritually transformed. The experience was accompanied by phenomena which were highly unusual (like rushing wind, tongues of fire and a shaken building). The influence of the Spirit in filling the recipients was such that they were conscious of being filled with the divine power. Those so filled were affected in a manner that made them appear intoxicated. The filling resulted in the expression of glossolalia, a boldness in personal witness and a sense of being wholly affected by joy. EXPERIENCES OF THE SPIRIT IN 1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-7

In 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 Paul includes information on phenomena associated with the activity of the Spirit in one of his churches. In 1 Corinthians 8:1 Paul commenced a section of the letter discussing matters relating to the theme of worship in a Christian assembly. In chapters 12-14 he concludes this section with a consideration of the nature and the variety of charismata and especially, the experience of tongues and prophecy in Christian worship. It is my intention to examine this section as it relates to experiences of the Spirit. In this examination I will seek to answer two questions: What experiences of the Spirit does Paul describe here? What does this contribute to our understanding of the activity of the Spirit? What Experiences of the Spirit are described here? In verses 1-3 of chapter 12 Paul begins his discussion of spiritual gifts18 and confronts the issue of what criterion is to be used for judging ecstatic speech. Verse 2 is referring to heathen worship in which the Corinthians once participated. The phrase “you were influenced and led astray to mute idols” probably refers to the ecstasy experienced in pagan rituals.19 Consequently, verse 3 provides a test as to how inspired speech is to be judged. Paul assumes that ecstacy occurs in a Christian community and he does not appear to defend it, rather he takes it as a matter of course. It is the confession that Jesus is Lord which is important for this determines the source of the ecstacy. That which is inspired by the Spirit leads to this confession.20 The experience of the Spirit includes ecstatic phenomena but the phenomena do not provide the criteria for determining authenticity. The experience of the Spirit which is described here, and is important for Paul, is the one that leads to the confession that Jesus is Lord.

In verses 4-6 Paul uses the words (gifts), (services), (operations) to refer to the spiritual gifts, which means they are “gifts of grace, acts of service and operations.”21 In verse 7 these are all summed up under the description _ of the Spirit. The “manifestation of the Spirit” suggests that each gift is a “disclosure of the Spirit’s activity”.22 It also indicates that each gift, though variously described, has the one common source, the Spirit.

Thus the gifts of the Spirit are experiences of the Spirit, they manifest its23 activity in an individual and this manifestation is for the benefit of the whole community.

The Challenge

Speaking again about this experience of being baptised and empowered by the Spirit Martyn Lloyd-Jones said:

We need it as individual Christians, but we need it still more because of the state of the world that is round about us. If we have no sense of responsibility for the condition of humanity at this moment, then there is only one thing to say-if we are Christians we are very poor ones. If we are only concerned about ourselves and our own happiness, and if the moral condition of society and the tragedy of the whole world does not grieve us, if we are not disturbed at the way men blaspheme the name of God and all the arrogance of sin-well, what can be said about us?24

The challenge remains. But the encouragement to receive has never been more inviting.

2. THEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Theology is the study or science of God. I understand theology to be our human reflection on the truth of God as it is revealed in Jesus Christ and witnessed to in the Scriptures. Thus the primary source for theology is the Bible the inspired record of God’s revelation to humanity. Theology seeks to present Christian truth by drawing on the whole of the Bible and not just selected passages. It also utilises other areas of God’s truth as it may be found. It makes room for our experience of God. But all this is subject to the authority of the Spirit and the word. I want to consider fairly briefly the insights of one contemporary theologian as we reflect on this current work of the Spirit of God.

Jurgen Moltmann in his book Spirit of Life engages in a significant theological consideration of our experience of the Holy Spirit. His book is a theology of Christian experience. It is his “Metaphors for the Experiences of the Spirit”25 that are helpful for our assessment of what is happening through this work of the Spirit. He talks about four metaphors, the personal metaphors, formative metaphors, movement metaphors and mystical metaphors.

1. A Personal Metaphor is Lord

2 Cor 3:17, “The Lord is the Spirit; but where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.” The freedom that Paul is referring to is the freedom of Christ. The freedom from guilt and works and the freedom from the power of sin. This freedom is something the Spirit brings to us it is not something that we “acquire”.

Should we not expect that when the powerful freedom of Christ is brought to us then even emotions can be released in a dramatic way?

2. A Formative Metaphor is Energy

He calls this a formative metaphor because here the Spirit is seen as something that acts. The experience of the Spirit as an energy and vital power goes back to the Hebrew ruach concept. Moltmann says,

To feel the closeness of the living God is to experience new vitality. To believe and sense the closeness of the risen Christ means that body and soul are lifted up `by the power of the resurrection’. The mystics … have repeatedly described this closeness of God as illuminating and as flowing waves of energy. Surrounded, flooded and interpenetrated by divine streams of energy, body and soul awaken like flowers in the spring and become fruitful …26

He likens to this to Jeremiah who says God is the fountain of living water (Jer 17:13). And then John 7:38 where Jesus is recorded as saying that those who believe in him out of their innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.

3. Movement Metaphors

They are Tempest, Fire, Love. “I am calling these metaphors movement metaphors because they express the feeling of being seized and possessed by something overwhelmingly powerful, and the beginning of a new movement in our selves. They describe a movement that sweeps people off their feet, which possess and excites not only the conscious levels but the unconscious depths too, …”27

a. Tempest. The Pentecost story describes `the sound from heaven like a rushing of a mighty wind.’

b. Fire. God is called a devouring fire in Deut 4:24; Jesus was to baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire. This speaks of his purifying work.

c. Love. The experience of God can be described as the experience of the divine love.

What effect can human love have? How much more powerful is divine love and what can happen when we are seized by that love?

4. A Mystical Metaphor is water

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “The water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) This is a mystical metaphor because it expresses an intimate union between the divine Spirit and what is human. If we receive the water of life we become springs of this water for others. In this metaphor there is an incredible closeness between us and God, the relationship is extremely close.

A Conclusion

“… in the operation of the Spirit we experience the operation of God himself, and all the metaphors used for the Holy Spirit are metaphors for God in his, coming to us, and in his presence with us.”28

Can we not see if God is like this then when he shows his presence and power something must happen? Our inner person must be radically changed. Why should we not be affected emotionally and physically? We are body and soul; our emotional, physical and spiritual states are interrelated.

3. PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Psychology has been defined as the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.29 On that understanding does it have relevance for a study on experiences of the Spirit? The answer is Yes and No. In the sense that this study involves aspects of human behaviour then the answer is Yes. Psychology in its broad sweep will impinge on religious experience – regardless of how it interprets that – for religious experience is involved in human behaviour. The answer is also No, in that the religious nature of the experiences being discussed in this study are outside the scope of psychology. Its scientific method restricts its study to that which is unbiased, not favouring one hypothesis over another, and objective, allowing other qualified people to repeat the observations and obtain the same results.30 The divine dimension is disregarded and its possible impact on human behaviour is not taken into account. Gerald May31 is a psychiatrist and psychological thinker who operates from a Christian basis. He recognises the existence, of what he calls, “extrasensory experiences”. These may include phenomena like telepathy, seeing auras, out of the body experiences etc. He also recognises that extrasensory experiences can be what are called Christian charismatic experiences he says,

… (they include) such phenomena as healing, speaking in tongues, and prophecy. In addition, one may encounter the dramatic dissociative or trancelike states called “being slain in the Spirit.” It is obvious that the interpretation of all these kinds of experiences, and to some extent their very nature, is very much determined by the context in which they occur.32

Later on he says,

… discriminations cannot be fully made without consideration of the life-impact or “fruits” of various experiences, and often this means that one must wait and see what happens before making any kind of final statement.33

What about the particular manifestations that we see?

John White34 is another Christian psychiatrist and has submitted some of the manifestations that we see to psychological reflection. He makes this comment about the experience of laughter:

I have observed the same phenomenon several times … When it is genuine it follows a similar pattern-irrepressibility, unself-consciousness. Often it comes intermittently for a long time. It seems to be associated with a beginning of release of tension in uptight people.35

Concerning shaking he says,

Though people affected by shaking are conscious and know where they are, they seem to be in a dazed and dreamlike state. Their sense of time is commonly impaired, in that they may not have a clear idea of how long the manifestation started.36

Concerning the experience of being drunk with the Spirit,

In meetings where the Holy Spirit’s power is strongly manifest, some people may seem a little drunk. However, I have never seen them noisy or obstreperous in this state. They may describe a “heaviness” that is on them. Their speech may be slightly slurred, their movements uncoordinated. they may need support to walk. They show little concern about what anyone will think of their condition and are usually a little dazed.37

John White also has another observation that is worth noting. He asks how do we assess these manifestations. There could be four reasons:

1. People do it to themselves. They are self-induced. 2. Mass hysteria or mass hypnosis. 3. The devil does it. 4. God does it.

Answers:

1. He discounts this because people to whom these things happen are not following techniques or steps to induce an experience. In most cases they just happen to people.

2. Mass hysteria or mass hypnosis must also be discounted for the following reasons: “to manipulate a large number of people you need to exhaust them, to bombard them with levels of sensation they are not accustomed to, to expose them to concepts that frighten them, to humiliate them and make them feel guilty and hopeless, while still offering a new and magical idea.”38 I certainly know that is not happening with us nor have I seen anything remotely like that at Rodney Howard-Browne, John Arnott in Sydney, and the Airport Christian Fellowship, Toronto, in July, 1995.

3. The devil does it. White says, “… demonic manifestations … when they occur in Christian settings … include such things as blasphemous utterances, voices other than the person’s own voice …, … snakelike writhing.”39 Then he says:

If we doubt the genuineness of the whole thing we should consider several factors. First, we must examine the teaching under which the manifestations occur … Then we must observe the results in the lives of the people in whom they occur. Finally, we must not forget the element of surprise. People with no previous knowledge of what might happen, who were under no kind of stress, others of whom were resisting what they saw happening around them -all have been affected.”40

One comment: It amazes me that people who do not see the devil anywhere before God pours out his power, then see the devil everywhere when God’s power is poured out. We need to have more faith in God’s ability to bless us than in Satan’s ability to deceive us.

4. We are left then with the final option that God is at work in these manifestations.

A Conclusion We can see then that some psychological thinkers, with an openness to the divine dimension, recognise the validity of these experiences. They give help in understanding some aspects of the phenomena and experiences. They do not reject them on psychological grounds. They also emphasise that it is the context of occurrence and the effect of these manifestations that are important in examining the nature of them.

4. HISTORICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Church history is able to give us insights into how God has worked down through the ages. There are numerous studies that are available to us today that show that the charismata41 and spiritual phenomena42 have occurred down through the history of the church. I want to give you just a few examples and in particular, because I am a Baptist pastor, I will highlight instances where Baptists and historical churches closely related to us have experienced these phenomena. 1. Jonathan Edwards 1703-1758.

Without dispute Jonathan Edwards is considered to be one of America’s greatest theologians. Had he lived and completed his systematic theology which he was about to commence at the time of his death, he may well have attained the status of one of the greatest theological minds that the Christian church has ever possessed.

In 1726 he accepted an invitation to join his ageing grandfather Rev Solomon Stoddard as assistant pastor. After his grandfather’s death in 1729 Edwards became the pastor of the Congregational church in Northampton, Massachusetts. During his pastorate a local revival occurred in 1734-1735 and then an extensive revival covering all of New England in 1740-1742.

These revivals were accompanied by unusual manifestations and caused, as you can imagine, great controversy. Edwards wrote two notable works defending the revivals and the manifestations: “The distinguishing Marks of a work of the Spirit of God” (1741) and “Some thoughts concerning the present revival of religion in New England”(1742). In his “Marks of the Spirit of God” he says,

A work is not to be judged of by any effects on the bodies of men; such as tears trembling, groans, loud outcries, agonies of bodies, or the failing of bodily strength. The influence persons are under is not to be judged of one way or the other by such effects on the body; and the reason is because the Scripture nowhere gives us any such rule. …

It is easily accounted for from the consideration of the nature of divine and eternal things, and the nature of man, and the laws of the union between soul and body, how a right influence, a true and proper sense of things should have such effects on the body, even those that are of the most extraordinary kind, such as taking away the bodily strength, or throwing the body into great agonies, and exerting loud outcries.43 2. Separate Baptists

In New England the revival produced new groups within and from the denominations, the Congregational Separatists and Separate Baptists were two.44 The Separate Baptists were also used to bring revival to Virginia and North Carolina. This revival movement brought great growth to the Baptist churches and the meetings were accompanied by unusual manifestations. They were described unfavourably by onlookers and the Baptist preachers were criticised for these happenings. Here is how one unsympathetic observer described what he saw:

… multitudes, some roaring on the ground, some wringing their hands, some in extacies (sic), some praying, some weeping; and others so outrageously cursing and swearing that it was thought they were really possessed of the devil.45

The point of the quotation is to show that these phenomena were occurring in a Baptist context. The reference to “possessed of the devil” is the opinion of an unsympathetic onlooker. Of course, some may have been and this should not be used to disparage the work. When the Spirit of God manifests his presence we should expect the powers of darkness to be exposed. This occurred in the ministry of Jesus.

3. The Cane Ridge Revival, Kentucky 1801

Cane Ridge is situated 20 mile west of Lexington, Kentucky. In 1801 it as the scene for an amazing outpouring of the Spirit. Prior to this religion was on the decline. The Methodist church had actually declined in membership, it was the most popular denomination among the middle and lower classes, going from 67,643 in 1994 to 61,351 in 1800. Things were gearing up for a change when Presbyterian James McGready arrived in 1798. John McGready and Methodist John McGee held meetings that brought renewal to many places in Kentucky. As 1800 drew to a close, John McGee reported that at Desha’s Creek,

Many thousands of people attended. The mighty power and mercy of God was manifested. The people fell before the Word, like corn before a storm of wind, and many rose from the dust with divine glory shining in their countenances.46

Presbyterian Barton Stone pastor of the Concord and Cane Ridge churches, travelled to witness one of these revivals for himself. He was overwhelmed. He passed on a report to his churches. They were moved. The Concord church experienced a brief revival and so a special meeting was planned at Cane Ridge in August. The Cane Ridge meeting house held 500 people. A tent was erected to accommodate the crowds expected. Friday evening August 6 the meetings commenced, nothing extraordinary happened. Saturday afternoon things were warming up. Then we are told:

… the tumultuous bodily “exercises” began. Along with the shouting and crying, some began falling. Some experienced only weakened knees or a light head (including Governor James Garrad). Others fell but remained conscious or talkative; a few fell into a deep coma, displaying the symptoms of a grand mal seizure or a type of hysteria. Though only a minority fell, some parts of the grounds were strewn like a battlefield. … Then something even more strange occurred, later to be called “the jerks”. One witness described those afflicted; `Their heads would jerk back suddenly, frequently causing them to yelp or make some other involuntary noise … sometimes the head would fly every way so quickly that their features could not be recognised. I have seen their heads fly back and forward so quickly that the hair of females would be made to crack like a carriage whip, but not very loud.’47

The meetings went for about a week. It was an awe inspiring week and seems to be beyond accurate description because so much happened and it was so unusual. Estimates of attendance ranged between 10,000 -25,000; estimates of the slain from 1,000-3,000; estimates of those who took communion 800-3,000; estimates of conversions 1,000-3,000. Mark Galli, managing editor of Christian History, says,

This much is clear. Religion suddenly became the talk of the region and the nation. Travelling to Lexington a year later, one man reported that he heard `little else than the great revival of religion.’ such was the continued enthusiasm, he said he `felt much anxiety lest I should fall down when amongst them!’48

A Conclusion

The testimony of history says that God has poured out his Spirit in mighty ways in the past. When he has unusual manifestations have occurred. We do not need to be at all surprised at what is happening at the present time.

5. PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS

I have reviewed a number of considerations that need to be addressed in assessing the Toronto Blessing and The Great Pensacola Outpouring. I think that the evidence I have considered from the Bible, theology, psychology and history all support a positive assessment of the movement. There is a final consideration that I now share with you, it is the personal. Personally, I am convinced that this is God! Why do I say that? Well, I have given reasons already to support such a conclusion but there is more. On the personal side I came to be convinced because of my own spiritual journey over the last few years. Here is a quick review: Some people probably see me as being a little strange and possibly dismiss my involvement with a “that is what we would expect from him.” But it is not as simple as all that. Here is where I think that I should begin my story, January 1993. We had just hosted a conference with Jim Hylton and James Ryle. It went well. We looked set for a good year as a church. Then we fell in a hole. Relational conflicts exploded in our church on a number of fronts. The church leadership became involved and things got worse. Within a few months people left our church and others were considering leaving. The spiritual atmosphere of our church was depressing. We really were in trouble and I think that some of us do not really realise just how deep that was. Those problems continued in our church for two years and though the issues were varied the results were awful. People left our church. The leadership was worn down and struggling to know what to do. We were hurt. Other people left our church for greener pastures. Now such a situation in a church leads to most pastors having a serious crisis. Pastors resign and try and start again – or just give up! I was strongly tempted to do both depending on my mood. I was offered other ministries. I was not just staying because I had no where else to go! But God wouldn’t let me go. In September 1993 one Wednesday afternoon I sat in my office totally disillusioned. I felt all that I had taught and desired for our church had been thrown back in my face and I was ready to give up. I prayed something like this: “Lord unless you do something new by your Spirit in my life I cannot stay here as the pastor and unless you do something by your Spirit in the church I do not know where the church will end up.”

From that day I began to seek the Lord earnestly. I prayed more diligently and I read about the work of the Spirit. God brought things my way; a tape on revival by Colin Urquhart; other books on the Holy Spirit; Jim Hylton wrote to me in 1994 and told me about what God was doing in this church in Toronto. I was getting hungrier and also I was seeing some hope. God was working, in Toronto at least … perhaps he could work here? I was seeing some personal encouragement. One other book that I read around this time that was highly significant was Jack Deere’s Surprised By The Power Of The Spirit. I highly recommend this book. Dr Deere is an Old Testament scholar and the Lord took hold of him radically changing him. The book is the result. The Spirit was dripping on us in our services. I for one was glad. Then I chanced to watch a video in January 1995 of Rodney Howard-Browne.49 Some have derided this video. It stirred my soul. I saw pastors testifying to God’s transformation of them and their churches. I was thrilled. This was for me. I had heard that R. Howard-Browne was coming to Adelaide. I didn’t advertise his visit in our church – I feared that he might be a disaster. But 60 of our people went to his meetings … I wasn’t the only hungry one. On the Friday morning when R. Howard-Browne prayed for everyone I was part of those several thousand people who received prayer. God touched me powerfully. But I was still seeking … I still needed something. In June I was off with others from our church – I was on long service leave now – to hear the senior pastor of the Airport Vineyard Toronto, John Arnott. It was a great week. I was touched again by God but the answer had not come. In July, 1995 Janet and I were in Toronto. A significant answer came on the Wednesday morning pastors meeting when an unknown man or woman prayed for me and as a result I spent 40 minutes on the Airport Fellowship floor. There the Lord Jesus met me and spoke the most beautiful words of love and encouragement that anyone could imagine. He refreshed me and touched me in a special and good way. Praise him. The results of this were:

A new sense of the presence of God with me. I discovered new and exciting things in the Bible. A new depth in worship began to occur. The power of God began to be displayed in my ministry like never before. A new hunger for God arose and continues in my life. ` More was to come. In November 1996 my church sent me to Pensacola, Florida. From November 11 – 22 I experienced the “Feast of Fire” pastors’ conference and the revival services at Brownsville Assembly of God, Pensacola. My life has been greatly impacted by that visit. Also, many folk in my church would say that our church has been affected significantly as a result.

So what happened in Pensacola and what has happened since?

For me the visit to Pensacola was overwhelming. I attended 15 meetings in 8 days – some of these meetings were part of the Pastors’ conference. I was at 6 revival services. Each service the 2,500 seat church was crammed to capacity. The overflow chapel – seating 1,000 – cafeteria and choir room meant around 4,000 – 5,000 people were at the meetings.

People would queue up all day to get into the church. Some slept overnight. Some had travelled many miles to attend the meetings. Every service, after Steve Hill had preached a very confrontational evangelistic message, hundreds of people streamed to the front of the church to be saved or to be restored in their relationship with God. The list of those converted is stunning – bouncers, drug addicts, lesbians, alcoholics, etc. I say this as kindly as I can, only the ignorant or those so committed to a rationalist or fundamentalist faith would reject what God is doing in Pensacola.

Personally, I was convicted of a number of sinful attitudes and felt a release from them and have continued to walk in freedom. I was deeply challenged by the compassion they had for those who do not know Jesus. The need for repentance and the reality of the wrath of God confronted me in a new way. The sense of God’s presence in the services was overwhelming. The services were highly emotional but it was wonderful to be in an atmosphere where people were excited about God and people coming to know Jesus. On Saturday November 16, 1996 at around midnight Steve Hill prayed for me. It was powerful and I know God released a new anointing of the Spirit in my life. The following day I was in the morning service which lasted over 31/2 hours. During the service all the pastors present were invited to come to the platform. I stood on the platform with hundreds of pastors from all over the world. As the congregation prayed in unison, thunderously, for us I was overwhelmed and wept openly. We sang “Revival Fire” and a deep burning desire for revival in our nation was released in me.

Since my return I have seen God move our church forward. This has been most notable in these areas: worship is intensifying, people are being saved – more than ever before, the anointing of the Spirit has increased and our numbers are increasing – a notable number of those coming have either not been to church or have not been for many years! Also, some people have left – I make no comment about that they, like me, are responsible to God for what they do or say.

I feel so privileged to be alive. I am excited about what God is doing and what he is going to do.

CONCLUSION

The wind of the Spirit is blowing in power. It is time to set our sails and go with the wind of the Spirit. When sailing it is much easier being thrust along by the wind than rowing the boat. Of course, if we want to sail or row into the wind that is a different matter. If we want to be like a stubborn tree and resist the wind then we will have many branches broken, perhaps we will even be uprooted!

Copyright. Barry Manuel, February, 1997.

1 I could have added “The Sunderland Refreshing” to this heading. Sunderland Christian Centre in the city of Sunderland, north-east England, has experienced a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit since August 1994. The continuing story has been told in The Sunderland Refreshing by Ken and Lois Gott and The Glory of His Presence by Lois Gott. The reason I do not consider Sunderland in this paper is because I have not as yet had the privilege of visiting the Sunderland Christian Centre.

2 John Arnott, Keep The Fire: Allowing The Spirit To Transform Your Life (London: Marshall Pickering, 1996), p. 59.

3 In December 1995 the church was asked to leave the Association of Vineyard churches and now takes the name, Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship. The reasons for the disengagement from the Vineyard movement seem to be because the Vineyard leadership differs with the Airport Fellowship over aspects of the renewal.

4 One such story concerns the Inuit people of North Eastern Siberia. These remote people were visited by Canadian evangelist Bill Prankard in 1994. The Inuit had never heard of the gospel. They responded gladly and Bibles were left with them. When they read their Bibles and got to Acts they asked for the Holy Spirit to work in them in the way they were reading about in the Acts. The Spirit came. They spoke in tongues and experienced the physical manifestations some are so concerned about. Spread the Fire, December 1996, p. 32.

5 The full story of the great Pensacola outpouring is told in: John Kilpatrick, Feast Of Fire: The Father’s Day Outpouring, Pensacola: In Times Like These, 1995.

6 Ibid., pp. 76-77.

7 Renewal, January 1997, p. 9.

8 D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Joy Unspeakable: The Baptism with the Holy Spirit (Eastbourne: Kingsway, 1984), p. 20.

9 See Luke 1:15, 41, 67; Acts 4: 8, 31, 5:17; 13:9. Once he uses ??????, in Acts 13:52.

10 I accept the view of modern biblical scholarship which regards Luke-Acts as a narrative unity. Eg, Robert Tannehill, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts A Literary Interpretation: volume one The Gospel according to Luke (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986), p.xiii.

11 Hans Conzelmann, Acts of the Apostles (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987), p. 15.

12 Ernst Haenchen, The Acts Of The Apostles (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1971), p. 168 says, “The Spirit causes the Christians it pervades to discourse in other tongues. The equation of `tongue’ and dialektos in verse 8 shows that speech in different languages is meant …” An opposite opinion is found in Foakes Jackson and Kirsopp Lake, eds., The Beginnings of Christianity: The Acts Of the Apostles (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1966), p. 120, where we read, “The tradition of the foreign languages is the attempt to explain glossolalia in the Christian community, it is extremely unlikely that this took the form of speaking in foreign languages.”

13 So, Gerhard A. Krodel, Acts (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1986), p. 201.

14 ???????? is used in Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9 and ?????? in Acts 13:52.

15 “Full of …” is the adjective ??????.

16 Cf. James D. G. Dunn, Baptism In The Holy Spirit: A Re-examination of the New Testament Teaching on the Gift of the Spirit in relation to Pentecostalism today (London: SCM, 1970), p. 54, “One does not enter the new age or the Christian life more than once, but one may be empowered by or filled with the Spirit many times (Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9; Eph 5:18).”

17 So Robert C. Tannehill, The Narrative Unity Of Luke-Acts: A Literary Interpretation. Volume 2: The Acts of the Apostles (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1990), p. 83.

18 The meaning of ??? ??????????? here is debated by scholars. Leon Morris says “Whether `gifts’ should be added after `spiritual’ is not certain.” Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians (London: Tyndale, 1971), p. 166. C. K. Barrett says, ” … it seems impossible to find objective ground for a decision between the two possibilities, …” The First Epistle to the Corinthians (London: A & C Black, 1992), p. 278. Gordon Fee offers this support for the position that I have chosen: ” … plus the overall argument that deals primarily with Spirit manifestations in the church, not with individual spirituality, has caused most commentators to opt for `spiritual gifts’.” Gordon D. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit In The Letters Of Paul (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), Pp. 152-153.

19 So, Barrett, The First Epistle to The Corinthians, Pp. 278-281.

20 Barrett says, “It is true not because it is the right or orthodox formula but because it expresses the proper relation with Jesus: the speaker accepts his authority, and proclaims himself the servant of him whom he confesses as Lord.” Ibid., p. 281.

21 So, Hans Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians: A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981), p. 207.

22 Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), p. 589.

23 The use of “it” in reference to the Holy Spirit does not mean I understand the Spirit to be an impersonal force. I believe in the personhood of the Spirit. In using “it” I am simply being gender neutral.

24 Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Joy Unspeakable, p. 16.

25 Jurgen Moltmann, The Spirit of Life: A Universal Affirmation (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), pp. 269-289.

26 Ibid., p. 275.

27 Ibid., p. 278.

28 Ibid., p. 286.

29 So, Rita Atkinson, Richard Atkinson, Edward Smith, Daryl Bem., Introduction to Psychology (Fortworth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1993), p. 4.

30 Ibid., p. 13.

31 Gerald May, Care Of Mind, Care Of Spirit (San Fransisco: Harper, 1992).

32 Ibid., p. 39.

33 Ibid., p. 40.

34 John White, When the Spirit comes with Power (London: Hodder & Stoughton), pp. 84-102.

35 Ibid., p. 90.

36 Ibid., p. 93.

37 Ibid., pp. 100-101.

38 Ibid., p. 67.

39 Ibid., p. 77.

40 Ibid..

41 Eusebius A. Stephanou, The Charismata in the Early Church Fathers (Brookline: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1976). Jack Deere, Surprised By The Power Of The Spirit (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993).

42 R. E. Davies, I Will Pour Out My Spirit: A History and Theology of Revivals and Evangelical Awakenings (Tunbridge Wells: Monarch, 1992). Patrick Dixon, Signs of Revival (Eastbourne: Kingsway, 1994).

43 Jonathan Edwards, Jonathan Edwards On Revival (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1994), p. 91.

44 Davies, I Will Pour Out My Spirit, p. 102.

45 Cited in Davies, I Will Pour Out My Spirit, p. 105.

46 Christian History, p. 12.

47 Ibid.. p. 13.

48 Ibid.. p. 14.

49 Rodney Howard-Browne is a native of South Africa. He felt called of the Lord to go to America in the late 1980’s. In the early 90’s he established a significant itinerant preaching ministry which was accompanied with dramatic manifestations of the Holy Spirit. He know pastors a church in Tampa, Florida.

Rev Barry Manuel, BA, BD, MMin, DBS, DipTheol, DipT. Senior Pastor, Morphett Vale Baptist Church Inc

(Reproduced with the author’s permission)