- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
THROUGH THE OUTPOURED SPIRIT.
By A.W.Tozer.
Any observer of the Scriptures would surely see that God desires to advance His work by frequent outpourings of the Spirit upon His people as they need them and are prepared to receive them.
We make this statement with the full knowledge that it will be challenged by some. ’It is not scriptural’, they say, ‘to expect an outpouring of the Spirit today. The Spirit was poured out once for all at Pentecost and has not left the Church since that time. To pray for the Holy Spirit now is to ignore the historical fact of Pentecost’. This argument has discouraged expectation, has dampened down the fervour of many a congregation and silenced their prayers. But this is contrary to the Word of God and out of harmony with the operations of God in Church history. The Bible does not sponsor the doctrine of once-for-all blessing. Rather, it encourages us to expect showers of blessing upon the dry ground. It was impossible for the outpouring which came at Pentecost to affect persons who were not present or congregations not yet in existence. It is obvious that the spiritual benefits of Pentecost must be prolonged beyond the lifetimes of those who were the first to receive them. The Spirit must fill not only that first company of about a hundred and twenty, but others as well, or the blessings of that experience would cease with the death of the last member of the original band.
All this seems reasonable, but we have a more sure word of Scripture. Some time after Pentecost a company of believers met to pray for strength and power to meet the emergency then facing them and to enlist the help of God on their behalf. “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4 v31). Some of these were of the original number filled at Pentecost. Still other outpourings are recorded in Acts 8, 10 and 19. All these occurred some time after the original act.
The teaching of the New Testament is that the outpouring at Pentecost was the historic beginning of an era which was to be characterized by a continuous outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Through the prophet Joel, God had promised that He would, during the last days, pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. The phrase “the last days” applies to a period beginning with the first advent of Christ and continuing through to the second (see Joel 2 and Acts 2).
God's promise of poured-out power is meant for the Church for the whole time of her earthly warfare and is confirmed to us by the recorded experiences of 1900 years. While Christendom as a whole has been content with creed and form, there has always been a smaller group within the larger body which has proved the promises and enjoyed the fruits of Pentecost. Reformations, great missionary activity, sudden revivals of communities and nations have been the sign of the going forth of God the Spirit in power. In fairly recent times these spiritual visitations have given us the Moravians, the Methodists, the Salvation Army, and a galaxy of mighty preachers and missionaries whose names are in the Book of Life, and in these very days there is evidence that God is still pouring out His Spirit.
Now, if God wills to pour out His Spirit upon us, why do not more Christians and more churches receive an experience of power like that of the early Church? Some have so received, but why is the number so few? When the provision is so broad and the promise so sure, what hinders us?
One obstacle to the reception of God’s power is the fear of emotionalism. Some Bible teachers declaim against feelings. Feeling and faith are opposed to each other some teach, and the listener is given to understand that any exhibition of emotion should be avoided at any cost.
This anti-emotionalism, though sponsored by some good people, is not scriptural. Where in the Bible are feelings and faith said to be at odds? The fact is that faith engenders feelings as certainly as life engenders motion. We can have feeling without faith but we can never have faith without feeling. Faith as a cold unemotional light is wholly unknown in the Scriptures. The faith of those Bible heroes listed in the Book of Hebrews invariably aroused emotion and led to positive action in the direction of their faith. A statement, a promise, a warning, always produced a corresponding feeling in the heart of the believer. Noah was “moved with fear”. Abraham “rejoiced” and “obeyed”. The Book of Acts is almost hilarious with joy. Perhaps the best summary of the whole thing is made by Paul when writing to the Romans, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14 v17), and Peter says, “you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1Peter 1 v8).
Another hindrance is the fear of fanaticism. The excesses of some who profess lofty spiritual attainments has closed the door to a life of power for many of God's children. They have made the mistake of putting all teaching concerning the Holy Spirit into the same category and consequently will have nothing to do with it. This is to be regretted. They must be taught that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus and is as gracious and beautiful as the Saviour Himself. Paul’s words should be kept in mind, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline”. The Holy Spirit is the cure for fanaticism, not the cause of it.
Hearing those without the Spirit constantly preaching about the Spirit causes hardness of heart and greatly hinders God’s people. There is no doctrine so chilling as the doctrine of the Spirit when held in cold passivity and personal unbelief. The hearers will turn away in apathy from an exhortation to be filled with the Spirit unless the Spirit Himself is giving the exhortation through the speaker. It is possible to learn this truth and preach it faithfully and still be totally devoid of power. The hearers sense the lack and go away with numbed hearts. Theirs is not opposition to the truth but a reaction to unreality. Yet scarcely one of the hearers can tell another what the trouble is. It is as if they had been hearing an echo and not a voice, or seeing a reflection and not the light itself.
Another thing which hinders believers from enjoying the power of the Holy Spirit is the habit of instructing seekers to “take it by faith” when they become aware of their need for the fulness of the Holy Spirit. The benefits of atonement are to be received by faith. This is basic in redemptive theology, and any departure from it is fatal to true Christian experience. Paul teaches emphatically that the Spirit is received through faith and rebukes anyone who would teach otherwise. So it would seem to be sound to instruct a seeker to “take it by faith”, but there is something wrong. One is forced to wonder whether the words “by faith” mean the same thing when used by modern teachers as they did when used by Paul. A sharp contrast is observable between Spirit-filled Christians of Paul's time and many who claim to be filled with the Spirit today. Paul's converts received the spirit by faith to be sure, but they actually received Him. Thousands now go through the motion of taking Him by faith, and believe they do so take Him, but show by their continued feebleness that they do not know Him in real power.
The trouble seems to be with our understanding of faith. Faith, as Paul saw it, was a living thing leading to surrender and obedience to the commands of Christ. Faith in our day often means no more than a meek assent to a doctrine. Many persons, convinced of their need of power, but unwilling to go through the painful struggle of death to the old life, turn with relief to this “take it by faith” doctrine as a way out of their difficulty. But it is they who constitute the “mixed multitude” which slows down the progress of the Church and causes most of the trouble when things get tight. And unless they see it differently later and decide to go through the hard way, they are fated to spend the rest of their lives in secret disappointment. ,
Let it be remembered that no one ever received the Holy Spirit’s power without knowing it. He always announces Himself to the inner consciousness. God will pour out His Spirit upon us in answer to simple faith, but real faith will be accompanied by deep poverty of spirit and mighty heart yearnings, and will express itself in strong crying and tears.
From: “Paths to Power”.