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1.4 Factors That Gave Rise to the Modern Pentecostal Movement
Choose ONE of these quotes to reflect on, with the questions provided, in a brief paragraph.
- William Seymour – “Don’t tell people about tongues, tell them about Jesus.” Why do you think Seymour said this? Do you agree or disagree? Is there ever a time to tell people about tongues?
- Pope Leo XIII, dedicating the 20th century to the Holy Spirit, on Jan 1, 1901, praying “Come, Holy Spirit.” What do you make of the Pope dedicating the 20th century to the Holy Spirit? Considering the numerous Holy Spirit-birthed movements of that century, is it relevant or does it seem more coincidental?
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32 Replies
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I agree with his statement always tell people about Jesus but if someone asks about tongues one can show them from the Bible that it is for today.
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The point, if I understand Seymour right, is that Jesus always comes first. We don’t focus on the Spirit, because the Spirit doesn’t focus on himslef. Someone once said the Holy Spirit is the shy member of the Trinity. His goal is not to draw attention to himself, but to point people to Jesus. It is memorably said this way: “The Spirit has a spotlight ministry.”
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I assume Seymour said this because it was easily a devisive topic in the early days of the modern pentecostal movement. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit’s primary mission is to point people to him and glorify him, so I believe that the Holy Spirit would be pleased with our focus being on the gift giver rather than on the details of the gifts. I don’t think the intention of this statement was for people not to talk about the gifts, but to make sure the ultimate focus is on Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s purpose (as well as the purpose of his gifts).
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Talking about speaking in other tongues can distracting new believers from Jesus. If we focus on tongues initially, it detracts from the miracle of salvation. We can get wrapped up in conversations about evidence in an already divisive topic, when salvation comes by faith, not evidence. Similar in that we can’t understand the Word of God fully until after we’ve decided to open our hearts to it, trying to understand the Baptism of the Holy Spirit only makes sense to us after we’ve already experienced salvation. Let’s focus on sharing the love of Christ, and after, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
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Words are powerful. I believe that when the Pope dedicated the 20th century to the Holy Spirit he was making a Kingdom of Heaven inspired declaration. Is this declaration the only reason for so many Holy Spirit-birthed movements in this era? I don’t think so. I believe this was simply one of many pieces to what the Lord was orchestrating in this time, setting the stage for an outpouring of Holy Spirit.
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@smythc1 that’s right. I believe that God works in patterns and that when God is doing one thing in one part of his church, he is doing the same thing in another part of his church (even if it looks a little different).
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