Blessing, The - Softcover

Trask, Thomas E.; Goodall, Wayde I.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310221285 ISBN 13: 9780310221289

Publisher: Zondervan, 1998

Synopsis

This book encourages every believer to seek a deeper, fuller, richer experience of the Spirit in their lives. It explores the historical and current reality of baptism in the Spirit.

About this title

From the Back Cover

From a turn-of-the-century prayer meeting in Topeka, Kansas, to worldwide revival almost one hundred years later, over half a billion Christians have received an experience commonly called "the baptism of the Holy Spirit." The Blessing offers a comprehensive look at how God wants to touch your life with his power and love. Affirming the power of God working in his church, this book introduces you to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the use of spiritual gifts, and how these gifts can empower you to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to a hurting world. The Blessing answers such questions as: - What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? - How can I receive this experience? - What is the spiritual basis for spiritual gifts? - What can we learn from historical and contemporary revivals? - How can the blessing deepen our relationship with Christ and help us face the challenges of the 21st century? The Blessing encourages all believers to seek a deeper, fuller, richer experience of the Spirit in their lives.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Preface The decadence and darkness of our nation is more profound than it has been since the founding of this nation more than two centuries ago. The only power that can cleanse and restore this nation is the power of Christ. The twentieth century not only has experienced the greatest technological growth of any century since the beginning of mankind, but also has seen more people become followers of Christ than at any other time in church history. In his article called Nine Global Trends in Religion, Ron Sellers explains that many thinkers have predicted the demise of religion as human understanding and technology advances. Yet neither state-sponsored atheism nor science have proven to be religion s undoing. In advanced technological nations such as the United States and under the persecution of Communist leaders in China and Cuba, religion continues to thrive. On the one hand, we have more evil, destruction, humanism, and mistrust of leadership; on the other hand, the church of Jesus Christ is growing in unprecedented ways throughout the world. Not only are tens of thousands of people coming to Christ daily throughout the world, but another New Testament phenomena has become the experience of millions of Christians. That is, the baptism in the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 2:4. This Spirit baptism is no longer just an experience that happens to those who are part of a Pentecostal church; it has occurred in Christians lives in most denominational groups that we know of. Michael Green, an adviser to the archbishop of Canterbury, and author and lecturer R. Paul Stevens wrote this about major forces impacting Christianity during the twentieth century: . . . the worldwide movement of the Holy Sprit which began to make itself felt in the year 1900, first with the Pentecostal movement, but by the middle of the century in the neo-Pentecostal or charismatic surge which has swept through almost all denominations and is unquestionably the most influential Christian emphasis in our times. . . . This movement lays great stress on the sovereign power of the Spirit to break into the lives of individuals and churches with supernatural grace and manifestations, which the old rationalism had almost persuaded the churches was a thing of the past. We believe that God is pouring out his Spirit on Christians throughout the world. Hundreds of years before Christ, the prophet Joel said, In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people (Acts 2:17). Peter referred to Joel s statement to explain to unbelievers what was happening when they observed more than a hundred people who had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Peter continued, The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off for all whom the Lord our God will call (v. 39). We believe that outside of the born-again experience of people making Jesus Christ the Lord of their lives, the next greatest experience a Christian can receive is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In this book we desire to speak to three basic groups of people. First, we want to speak to the many who have received this experience and might not know exactly what has happened to them. As you will see, the Bible is full of teachings and theological insight about this experience and manifestations that seem to accompany those who have received the Holy Spirit baptism. Multitudes of hungry Protestants and Catholics throughout the world have had this experience, but might not completely understand the biblical reasons why they received this blessing or what they are to do with it. Second, many people are inquisitive about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They simply do not know what to believe, but might have observed someone receiving the experience or perhaps have read about it in the Bible or another Christian book. They want to know more. They are hungry for God and whatever his will is for their lives. We hope this book answers many of their questions. Hopefully, when they have more understanding, they will pray for and will receive the experience themselves. Third are those who have grown up in a Pentecostal denomination. If they have received this experience, we want to remind them of its importance in their lives and how critical it is to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and his gifts. We can become apathetic and complacent about the things of God, even when we have had wonderful personal experiences. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is meant to give us a power that is supernatural so that we may be greater witnesses for Christ. Many have simply held on to this experience and have not let God use them to affect others for him. As with a stream that stops flowing, the water will become stagnant, so it is with Christians who have received the Spirit baptism. They can become stagnant in their witness. Many say, Yes, I once received such an experience but because they did not endeavor to be the witness God wanted them to be, they show little fruit of the dynamic Christian life. We desire not to be divisive in the body of Christ. We understand that some segments of the church differ with our opinions. Yet, in view of the overwhelming biblical teaching on the subject and the obvious evidence of worldwide interest, we believe that the teaching we write about is pertinent and timely. We sincerely pray that this book will make you more hungry for God and all that he has for you. We also pray that you will experience the blessing of the Holy Spirit and become a greater witness in an increasingly needy world. Thomas E. Trask and Wayde I. Goodal

Edition details

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0310221285
• ISBN 13: 9780310221289
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224