The Evidence of Authentic Pentecostalism

Sermon in a Sentence: In spite of some who have given Pentecostalism a bad name, there is an authentic Pentecostalism that transforms people and churches.

Sermon Purpose: To encourage people not to reject Pentecost due to abuses but rather to seek to be filled with the Spirit’s power.

Text: Acts 4:23-31

Problems With Pentecost

Since Pentecost Sunday, May 23rd, I have been encouraging us to seek a rebirth of the fire of Pentecost in our lives and in this church.

I do that knowing that there are times when Pentecost is not always manifested in an authentic way.

Sometimes, in fact, the flesh can hinder us manifesting the Holy Spirit authentically.

As the Apostle Paul reminds us in:

Galatians 5:17 (CEV) The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should.

Our desires can have the best of intentions — but trying to do God’s work through human ability is a recipe for failure.

A few years ago, we here at New Life had some struggles with manifestations of the Spirit.

Because of that, we distributed a book put out by the AG: When the Spirit Speaks

AG theologians, and pastors way smarter than me, have searched the scriptures and given us some great guidelines.

For instance:

In the preface to the book, former General Superintendent of the AG, Dr. George Wood said:

I faced the question [of encouraging the gifts of the Spirit] as the pastor of a church that experienced seventeen straight years of growth. The Spirit helped us keep the balance between order and spontaneity.

I taught our congregation that a vocal spiritual gift must meet three criteria:

• It must bring honor to Christ.

• It must edify the believers.

• It must be a positive influence on unbelievers present.

If it failed any of these three tests, then what was expressed was really not in accord with the Scripture.

Definitely good (biblical) counsel.

The author of the book, Warren Bullock, reminds us

Because the Scripture is our authoritative rule for faith and conduct, the guidelines for the church that are unmistakably set forth are inviolable. Those guidelines are edification, intelligibility, and order.

Addressing the issue of order, Bullock goes on to say:

Many Spirit-inspired vocal gifts lose their authority because they are poorly timed. The power of their message is dulled because they are given at a point in the service that greatly reduces their effectiveness. Are they inspired of the Spirit—a true word from the Lord for His people? Probably, but because of bad timing they elicit no positive response.

Proverbs 25:11 The Message

11 The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry,

Timing was an area with which we were having struggles.

I thoroughly believe what Bullock says when he asserts:

… the Spirit will not prompt a vocal gift that would interrupt the powerful Word He has inspired. As we commonly say, the Holy Spirit will not interrupt Himself. If the Spirit begins to stir the heart toward giving a supernatural vocal gift, a proper response to that stirring is to wait for an appropriate moment after the reading of the Word to release the gift.

And I would add that, most of the time, the Holy Spirit who enables us to worship in Spirit and in truth will not interrupt the work He is doing through worship.

So a vocal manifestation of the Holy Spirit will come AFTER the church is prepared and ready for it:

Through the preaching of the Bible.

Through exalting and glorifying God through worship.

Often after seasons of prayer and a genuine seeking of Him.

Now I know, that in many churches there is no space for a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

You have to try to wedge one in sideways — so timing can be a real problem — people get used to forcing it in when they can — even if it is the wrong time.

Like trying to get a word into a conversation when the other person takes a breath.

Often that is intentional.

I have mentioned AG pastor Scott Wilson who said that he intentionally “programmed” the service so tightly to PREVENT manifestation of Spiritual gifts.

He was afraid of them.

He had seen the excesses and decided to throw the baby out with the bath water so to speak.

He would prevent the craziness of Pentecost by preventing ANY manifestations.

Thankfully God corrected him and he has shared that correction with the whole world.

Please be assured, that what you have already seen in this service — pauses, waiting on God — is common in all of our services.

We WANT the manifestations.

We NEED the manifestations of the Spirit.

Every service we wait on God for the purpose of giving room for YOU to manifest the gifts of the Spirit.

And I believe that if you have been Baptized in the Holy Spirit, if you are walking in the Spirit as spoken of in Galatians 5, you are qualified to manifest the Gifts of the Spirit.

You don’t have to be a member or a leader in this church.

You don’t have to be some super-spiritual follower of Jesus.

You just have to be obedient.

AND you must be willing for the manifestation that comes through you to be judged.

1 Corinthians 14:26–29 NASB 2020

26 What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it must be by two or at the most three, and each one in turn, and one is to interpret; 28 but if there is no interpreter, he is to keep silent in church; and have him speak to himself and to God. 29 Have two or three prophets speak, and have the others pass judgment.

To amplify that, listen to:

1 Thessalonians 5:19–22 NASB 2020

19 Do not quench the Spirit, 20 do not utterly reject prophecies, 21 but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good, 22 abstain from every form of evil.

Complete Biblical Library: “examine” means to try, scrutinize, prove, test, examine

In classical Greek the term was used for “testing” the genuineness of metals and coins. Furthermore, persons could be “put to the test” or “scrutinized.” And if this tested person were “approved” dokimazō could also describe that state of acceptance.

The New Testament understands dokimazō as the testing process which salvages the good and discards the useless.

Another problem that we dealt with a few years ago was that it seemed that certain individuals were monopolizing the manifestations — like they were the only ones who could.

We are STILL trying to recover from that.

I encourage you to come to service prayed up and ready to move in the way the Holy Spirit leads.

We need YOU — not just certain ones — but everyone.

As Ephesians 4:15b - 16 says:

… we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

So, Pentecostalism received a bad reputation in some places...

a. … because of excesses which were allowed.

b. … because of failure to demonstrate the power of Pentecost.

c. … because of legalism that was championed.

d. … because of scammers with fraudulent intentions.

e. … because of the hucksterism of people who want the spotlight

In spite of this, there is an authentic Pentecostalism which brings with it the ability for the church to rise to a level never before achieved.

We see authentic Pentecostalism in our text today.

READ TEXT

3. Let’s look at FIVE evidences of authentic Pentecostalism:

I. AUTHENTIC PENTECOSTALISM RAISES THE LEVEL OF A BELIEVER’S PRAYER LIFE.

A. First of all, Pentecostals have historically been known for their praying.

In Acts 2 we see the Holy Spirit poured out after days of prayer.

The modern rebirth of Pentecostalism came about as a result of prolonged, fervent prayer

The students of Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas began round-the-clock prayer in the closing days of December 1900.

On January 1, 1901 they continued in prayer until at 11 pm that evening, Agnes Ozman, asked the others to lay hands on her and pray for her to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit according to the example of the New Testament.

As they did, she immediately began to speak in tongues as she received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Within a few days many of the students had received the Baptism in the Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues.

B. So, prayer has been part and parcel of the fire of the Holy Spirit.

NOT just for the initial outpouring.

But prayer that continues AFTER the Spirit is poured out.

C. In our text we see that the followers’ response to persecution and an uncertain future was to pray.

Peter & John came from the Sanhedrin

They didn’t go to a preaching meeting

They didn’t go to a meeting on marketing strategy.

They didn’t even attend a worship conference with smoke and lasers.

They prayed.

D. They knew to pray because for 3 1/2 years they had witnessed the prayer life of the only Spirit-filled Person they knew: Jesus.

1. Jesus, our great example, gave us a pattern for us to follow:

2. He often prayed in the early hours of the day (Mk 1:35).

3. He was known to pray all night (Lk 6:12).

4. He prayed before making major decisions (Lk 6:12-13).

5. The Spirit enabled Jesus to pray with great power and will enable us to pray like Him.

E. Being filled with the Spirit will transform your prayer life.

1. Read Romans 8:26-27 and Jude 1:20.

2. According to these passages, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we receive a prayer language that engages heaven and allows us to pray at a level which exceeds our vocabulary.

3. We will pray according to the will of God.

F. Still today, authentic Pentecostals run TO the prayer room, TO the altar, TO the prayer meeting.

1. Authentic Pentecostals know that for the fire to fall it will COST something.

2. It will cost time spent in prayer.

There’s no such thing as CHEAP revival.

3. Rather, it is prayer like Jesus modeled.

4. Such prayer builds our faith — it builds the church — it SUSTAINS the church.

5. Prayer like Jesus modeled changes US.

II. AUTHENTIC PENTECOSTALISM CAUSES THE BELIEVER TO WALK IN THE SUPERNATURAL POWER OF GOD.

A. Another indicator of Authentic Pentecostalism is the manifestation of Spirit-power.

1. If we are authentic Pentecostals, miracles will follow our ministries (Mk 16:14-19).

Mark 16:15–18 NASB95

15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17 “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

B. When a person is baptized in the Holy Spirit, he or she will supernaturally speak in other tongues (Ac 2:4).

1. Note how the folks in our text spoke words the Spirit gave them — that’s how they could speak in one accord.

2. Other evidences of the power of the Spirit are witnessing, love for one another, love for the Word, power for Christian living, miracles, signs, and wonders.

3. We see all of that in evidence in our text.

C. Unlike worldly power, Pentecostal power is unlimited---because it is God’s power.

III. AUTHENTIC PENTECOSTALISM PRODUCES PEOPLE WHO ARE DETERMINED TO PERSEVERE.

A. Early believers were filled with the power of the Spirit and faithfully served Christ in the face of great opposition.

B. Consider the perseverance of the twelve apostles.

1. According to church history all of them except for John were martyred for the gospel.

2. Men like Paul faced constant and great opposition, but by the power of the Spirit they persevered (Col 1:29).

C. The men and women of our text didn’t quit in the face of persecution.

Rather they spoke the Word of God with boldness.

D. Even when Saul began to kill and imprison believers in the Acts 8, the believers didn’t quit — they relocated to continue spreading the good news.

E. Authentic Pentecostalism doesn’t quit — it perseveres.

IV. AUTHENTIC PENTECOSTALISM CAUSES THE BELIEVER TO WALK IN HOLINESS.

Another evidence of Authentic Pentecostalism is it is holy.

Like the people in our text, authentic Pentecostalism see God as Holy.

In verse 27 and again in verse 30 these people saw Jesus not only as the servant of the Most High God.

But as the HOLY servant of God.

I believe that they sought after that same holiness in their lives.

They remembered what God said in Leviticus 11:44 — Be holy because I am holy.

Thinking back to the early outpouring of the Spirit at the beginning of the 20th century you will see that Pentecost broke out in Holiness churches.

Holiness churches were primed and ready for the outpouring of the Fire of God, because they yielded to God in Holy reverence and awe.

Holiness begets a Pentecostal move of God and a Pentecostal move of God perpetuates holiness.

If we are looking for an authentic move of God, I believe we must look for a people who are desperate for the holiness of God to rest upon their lives.

V. AUTHENTIC PENTECOSTALISM WILL PERPETUATE ANOTHER GENERATION OF PENTECOSTALS.

A. Finally

The early church knew how to perpetuate another generation of Pentecostals.

1. The apostles made sure the new believers in Samaria received the gift of the Spirit (Ac 8:17-18).

2. Paul’s first question to the 12 believers in Ephesus “Did you receive the Spirit when you believed?” (Ac 19:1-2).

B. There must be a rebirth of Pentecost in every generation.

C. It is our responsibility to pass on authentic Pentecostalism to our children.

D. One of the greatest thrills for me as a parent in South Louisiana was to leave the adult service and go to where children’s church was happening and hear Sister Patsy Jett praying with the children in a mighty altar service and hear the kids praying in tongues.

Yes, it did happen!

Yes, it can happen again.

Is there an emphasis on Pentecost in the home?

Then there will be a desire among the children and youth.

Conclusion and Altar Call

1. God has provided a way for us to become authentic Pentecostals and demonstrate Pentecostal power (Ac 1:8).

2. Let us come and be filled with the Spirit.

3. We will then go out and proclaim the gospel in the power of the Spirit.

The Lord’s Supper

A. Invitation

1. It is Jesus who has made it possible for us to receive salvation AND the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

2. His sacrifice.

3. The giving of His body to be beaten.

4. The pouring out of His precious blood.

5. We are called to remember that sacrifice by partaking of the Lord’s supper together.

B. Partake in a “right” manner

1. 1 Corinthians 11:27–28 (NLT) So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.

2. I’m not trying to exclude anyone.

i. I’m encouraging you to repent of your sins BEFORE you partake.

C. Prayer

D. Come:

1. Break the bread

2. Get a cup

3. Hold elements

4. Stand (or sit) across the front.

5. We will all partake together.

D. Bread

1. 1 Corinthians 11:23–24 (NLT) For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

2. Prayer

3. End prayer with prayer from Seder:

i. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who brings forth bread from the earth.

4. Partake

E. Cup

1. 1 Corinthians 11:25 (NLT) In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”

2. Prayer

1. End prayer with prayer from Seder:

i. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

2. Partake

F. Jesus is coming soon!

1. 1 Corinthians 11:26 (NLT) For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

2. Dismiss with Hymn