SPIRIT-FILLED and EMPOWERED FORERUNNERS 

A NEW BLOGPOST SERIES HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE PIONEERED LAST DAYS HOLY SPIRIT-EMPOWERED MINISTRY ACCOMPANIED BY SIGNS AND WONDERS

Many hundreds of years before Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the Living God came to earth to live as a man and to die a cruel death on a Roman cross, the prophet Joel prophesied the coming of the Holy Spirit in power to equip the Church of Jesus Christ to be effective witnesses to the  kingdom of God. When he rose triumphant from the grave, He appeared to His disciples and told them to "wait in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father."

Fifty days after His resurrection, and ten days after His ascension to Heaven, the prophecy of Joel many hundreds of years BC was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost:

And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost [Spirit], and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4 KJV

The miracle that occurred that day was that many gathered in Jerusalem at that time from "every nation under heaven," heard the disciples of Jesus speaking the wonderful works of God in their own languages - unknown to those speaking.

As the apostle Peter preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to those gathered there, some 3.000 people were gloriously saved - delivered from darkness to the Kingdom of Light.

This was the beginning of the Christian Church.

The Early Church led by the apostles of Jesus, including the apostle Paul who had his own experience of meeting Jesus dramatically on the road to Damascus, saw many thousands of Jews and Gentiles committing their lives to Jesus as Saviour and Lord. We are also told that signs and wonders followed the preaching of the Word of God. There were many miracles, healings, and deliverances from demonic oppression as the apostles and other Spirit-filled followers of Jesus demonstrated the love and power of the Risen Christ through their lives and bold witness.

As the centuries rolled by, over time, it did not take long until devotion to the pure Word of God and full reliance on the Holy Spirit to lead and direct and empower the church faded - and the church became led by a man-made priestcraft with many Biblical doctrines corrupted and replaced by religious ecclesiastical traditions that sapped the very life out of the church. Dead formalism replaced the life-giving power and anointing of the Holy Spirit, until the church in general bore no or little resemblance to the original New Testament church.

From the time of the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther and the proclamation of Biblical truth that: "The just shall live by faith," and that salvation could not be earned by paying indulgences to the Catholic Church, over the centuries following, Biblical truth has been being restored, including that of the ministry gifts of Christ to the church, as stated by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:11-13 And He himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry , for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

There are two other significant lists of gifts given by the Holy Spirit to the church of Jesus Christ, those mentioned in Romans 12, which are referred to as Motivational Gifts, and those listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. 

The Motivational Gifts listed in Romans 12:3-8 are:

1.    Prophecy

2.    Service

3.    Teaching

4.    Exhorting

5.    Giving

6.    Ruling

7.    Mercy

Every born again Christian will demonstrate at least one of these gifts given by the Holy Spirit that will help to identify the individual's motivation in building up the body of Christ.

The "gifts" or manifestations of the Holy Spirit listed in 

1 Corinthians 12:7-11, unlike the Motivational Gifts are given to individuals as the Holy Spirit wills when needed at a particular time.

These nine gifts are as follows:

1.    The word of wisdom

2.    The word of knowledge

3.    The gift of Faith

4.    Gifts of healings

5.    The working of miracles

6.    Gift of prophecy

7.    Gift of discerning of spirits

8.    Gift of tongues

9.    Gift of interpretation of tongues.

The last verse of this chapter says we are to "earnestly desire the best, or greater gifts." It has been said that we are to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to see the manifestation of the gifts that are most needed in a particular situation or circumstance.

There have been instances over the centuries where the Holy Spirit has demonstrated His power and revelation gifts through individuals and even some groups of Christian believers, but it really was not until the first decade of the twentieth century that significant Pentecostal and Charismatic visitations of the Holy Spirit touching large sections of the church worldwide were seen. 

The Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, USA which began in 1906, and was led by a one-eyed, Black son of slaves, William J. Seymour, was the catalyst for the Pentecostal "rebirth" as thousands from around the world visited the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the truth of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the initial evidence of speaking in tongues and mighty manifestations of God's power to save, heal and deliver from demonic oppression. 

One man at Azusa said, "I would rather have lived six months at that time than fifty years of ordinary life. I have stopped more than once within two blocks of the place and prayed for strength before I dared to go on. The presence of the Lord was so real."

It was said that the power of God could be felt at Azusa even outside of the building. Scores of people were seen dropping into a prostrate position in the streets before they ever reached the mission. 
Then many would rise, speaking in tongues without any assistance from those inside.

(The above quoted from "God's Generals" by Roberts Liardon, p.151)

Many of the Pentecostal movements, including the Assemblies of God can trace their roots to the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles. 

Demos Shakarian, who founded and led Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship said his grandfather was impacted by his attendance at Azusa Street.

The prophecy of the Old Testament prophet, Joel in chapter 2:28,29 fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost that in the last days, God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh and that their sons and their daughters would prophesy - also that the young men [and women] would see visions and the old men [and women] would dream dreams is still being fulfilled in nations around the world today. God is still moving powerfully by His Spirit, with multitudes being saved and baptised in the Holy Spirit. The preaching of the Word of God is also being accompanied by signs following - healings and miracles in demonstration of God's love for people.