This month I have been privileged to release a brand new book, entitled Pentecost If. One of the reasons God inspired me to write it is because many churches who were formerly well-known as Pentecostal have distanced themselves from identifying with the Holy Spirit. Local churches that started in the heat of Pentecostal fire no longer allow speaking in tongues in their assemblies. Entire organizations that began with the fire of Pentecostal flames are now indifferent and cold. Individual believers who once declared their affiliation with the message of Pentecost are dry and deflated.
This is by no means a new development, but one that I believe is accelerating in our current culture. Listen to these quotes from leaders of spiritual thought from previous generations. This is an excerpt from the preface of the book, Revival If:
“The first is by A. W. Tozer: “The average Christian is so cold and so contented with his wretched conditions that there is no vacuum of desire into which the Holy Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness.” The second is equally descriptive of what is possibly the greatest need in the modern church. The prince of preachers, Charles H. Spurgeon, made this emphatic statement: “Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing; we are ships without wind or chariots without steeds; like branches without sap, we are withered.” (p.3)
“Without the Spirit of God….” How is it that the modern church can function at all without a continual reliance on the Holy Spirit? How did the church become increasingly dependent on dogma and doctrine and ritual and routine, and less and less dependent on Him? It seems that in many places, the only thing that is necessary to have a church service is a planning session or a marketing strategy. The Holy Spirit is not consulted or invited to the table at all. The result is a lot of expended time, energy, and money, but not many results.
Let me share with you another excerpt from Pentecost If: “As I scan the landscape of America’s churches, I become acutely aware that it is a parched wasteland where the command of Paul the apostle to be filled with the Spirit is either denied outright or largely ignored. It is an age when a powerless Pentecost has become the norm and not the exception. More perversion than power is on display on Sunday morning. More power brokers than prophets fill the pulpits, and more compromise than conviction is exhibited from those filling the pews. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to plead for the living God, who condescends to indwell mortals, to come and fill us with His Holy Spirit. But perhaps we should first count the cost.
In the first century, Pentecost proved to be a dangerous proposition. Although it meant miraculous power available to the disciples of Christ, many times it also meant prison. Pentecost equipped them with enduement from heaven. It also carried with it orders of banishment from organized religion. The anointing of Pentecost was accompanied by the favor of God but often brought upon Jesus’s followers the hatred of men. Pentecost produced the manifestation of miracles, signs, and wonders but it also created countless obstacles to be overcome.
Often I’ve wondered why it’s necessary for us to erect a sign outside our churches to announce that we are Pentecostal. Could it be that absent such a sign we could not be identified? Is it that we need an indicator outside because there are no true signs ever witnessed inside? Is it that we, as congregants, are void of power, having been spoon-fed a steady diet of religious rhetoric? Are the clergy either afraid or ashamed to speak in tongues lest it offend a financially generous board member or cause a backslidden attender to become uncomfortable? Or perhaps the creative team has deemed the Holy Spirit’s presence to be, well, bad marketing? Allow me to be clear: the Holy Ghost does not need a new definition; He is in need of a new demonstration.” (pp.5-7)
My purpose here is not to rehearse the entire book to you—I encourage you to get it for yourself and read it! My point is that we—our communities, our churches, and ourselves individually—are in desperate need of a new demonstration of the Holy Spirit, who has been assigned and who has assumed the administration of God’s kingdom on the earth in these last days.
We have a command to obey (Matthew 22:37: “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”) and a commission to fulfill (Mark 16:15-18: “He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. But he who does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”)
How in the world have believers become so arrogant that they think they can accomplish any of God’s agenda without God’s empowering? The very premise is ridiculous. Of course, there is another alternative. Perhaps the church in many places and in many cases has simply abandoned the clear instructions of the New Testament, and is just doing whatever it is doing without regard to God’s instructions at all. Either scenario is a recipe for disaster.
As many Christians may argue, receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not necessary to go to heaven. However, just going to heaven is not the point I am making here. The issue at stake is, will your family members go there, or your neighbors, or your friends, or your co-workers? The most likely scenario for that to happen is when all of us are filled and stay full of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all God has for us to do here on earth.
I have done my best to make the case for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the book Pentecost If. Once again, I encourage you to get the book, read it, and share its message with as many people around you as possible. I believe an outpouring of Pentecostal power is a key to the world wide cultural renewal that God has in mind before the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. I plan to be a part of it, and I want you to be a part of it as well!
If you're hungry for more of the Holy Spirit, you need to get your hands on my newest book, Pentecost If. It’s a call to return to the fire and fullness of Pentecost. Order your copy today at pentecostif.com/.
Yours for the Harvest,
Dr. Rod Parsley
Founder & General Overseer
This is by no means a new development, but one that I believe is accelerating in our current culture. Listen to these quotes from leaders of spiritual thought from previous generations. This is an excerpt from the preface of the book, Revival If:
“The first is by A. W. Tozer: “The average Christian is so cold and so contented with his wretched conditions that there is no vacuum of desire into which the Holy Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness.” The second is equally descriptive of what is possibly the greatest need in the modern church. The prince of preachers, Charles H. Spurgeon, made this emphatic statement: “Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing; we are ships without wind or chariots without steeds; like branches without sap, we are withered.” (p.3)
“Without the Spirit of God….” How is it that the modern church can function at all without a continual reliance on the Holy Spirit? How did the church become increasingly dependent on dogma and doctrine and ritual and routine, and less and less dependent on Him? It seems that in many places, the only thing that is necessary to have a church service is a planning session or a marketing strategy. The Holy Spirit is not consulted or invited to the table at all. The result is a lot of expended time, energy, and money, but not many results.
Let me share with you another excerpt from Pentecost If: “As I scan the landscape of America’s churches, I become acutely aware that it is a parched wasteland where the command of Paul the apostle to be filled with the Spirit is either denied outright or largely ignored. It is an age when a powerless Pentecost has become the norm and not the exception. More perversion than power is on display on Sunday morning. More power brokers than prophets fill the pulpits, and more compromise than conviction is exhibited from those filling the pews. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to plead for the living God, who condescends to indwell mortals, to come and fill us with His Holy Spirit. But perhaps we should first count the cost.
In the first century, Pentecost proved to be a dangerous proposition. Although it meant miraculous power available to the disciples of Christ, many times it also meant prison. Pentecost equipped them with enduement from heaven. It also carried with it orders of banishment from organized religion. The anointing of Pentecost was accompanied by the favor of God but often brought upon Jesus’s followers the hatred of men. Pentecost produced the manifestation of miracles, signs, and wonders but it also created countless obstacles to be overcome.
Often I’ve wondered why it’s necessary for us to erect a sign outside our churches to announce that we are Pentecostal. Could it be that absent such a sign we could not be identified? Is it that we need an indicator outside because there are no true signs ever witnessed inside? Is it that we, as congregants, are void of power, having been spoon-fed a steady diet of religious rhetoric? Are the clergy either afraid or ashamed to speak in tongues lest it offend a financially generous board member or cause a backslidden attender to become uncomfortable? Or perhaps the creative team has deemed the Holy Spirit’s presence to be, well, bad marketing? Allow me to be clear: the Holy Ghost does not need a new definition; He is in need of a new demonstration.” (pp.5-7)
My purpose here is not to rehearse the entire book to you—I encourage you to get it for yourself and read it! My point is that we—our communities, our churches, and ourselves individually—are in desperate need of a new demonstration of the Holy Spirit, who has been assigned and who has assumed the administration of God’s kingdom on the earth in these last days.
We have a command to obey (Matthew 22:37: “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”) and a commission to fulfill (Mark 16:15-18: “He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. But he who does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”)
How in the world have believers become so arrogant that they think they can accomplish any of God’s agenda without God’s empowering? The very premise is ridiculous. Of course, there is another alternative. Perhaps the church in many places and in many cases has simply abandoned the clear instructions of the New Testament, and is just doing whatever it is doing without regard to God’s instructions at all. Either scenario is a recipe for disaster.
As many Christians may argue, receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not necessary to go to heaven. However, just going to heaven is not the point I am making here. The issue at stake is, will your family members go there, or your neighbors, or your friends, or your co-workers? The most likely scenario for that to happen is when all of us are filled and stay full of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all God has for us to do here on earth.
I have done my best to make the case for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the book Pentecost If. Once again, I encourage you to get the book, read it, and share its message with as many people around you as possible. I believe an outpouring of Pentecostal power is a key to the world wide cultural renewal that God has in mind before the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. I plan to be a part of it, and I want you to be a part of it as well!
If you're hungry for more of the Holy Spirit, you need to get your hands on my newest book, Pentecost If. It’s a call to return to the fire and fullness of Pentecost. Order your copy today at pentecostif.com/.
Yours for the Harvest,
Dr. Rod Parsley
Founder & General Overseer