theology May 14, 2016

The ROLE of the HOLY SPIRIT in PENTECOSTAL HERMENEUTICS

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  • David M. Hinsen I’ve personally been fascinated by this topic as of late. I usually preach anywhere from 27-40 minutes depending on the flow of service or the topic. I’m starting to learn how to keep the audience engaged and I actually get complaints if the sermon i…See More
    February 20 at 12:45pm · Like · 1
  • David M. Hinsen Also, with all the big terms and definitions I’ve been learning in the couple of theology classes I’ve taken interests me and I’m tempted to through around words and phrases that would leave people scratching their heads, so the question I ask myself i…See More
    February 20 at 12:50pm · Like · 1
  • Charles Page our sermons have to be friendly and comfortable for unregenerate sinners.
    February 20 at 1:27pm · Like
  • Pentecostal Theology Just like John the Baptist’s were…
    February 20 at 1:39pm · Like
  • Michael Postlethwait In fairness to Charles’ point: John is preaching to a nation that largely views itself as a godly nation. In fact, Jesus does seem to, to a point create a comfortable environment for acknowledged sinners as a way of reaching them.
    February 20 at 1:46pm · Like
  • Pentecostal Theology Joel Osteen’s preaching is “friendly and comfortable for unregenerate sinners.” Hus, Luther, Wesley, Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” not so much. But I agree there are times to make people comfortable. Back to the topic: One way to make people comfortable and show respect is not to preach too long. So how long is too long?
    February 20 at 1:59pm · Edited · Like · 1
  • David M. Hinsen Strive for balance?
    February 20 at 2:02pm · Like
  • Pentecostal Theology At times we do the whole Book of Revelation verse by verse in 3 days. It’s a very long talk. But generally 30 minutes per sermon is almost ideal. Unfortunately, there are very few good sermon teacher left among us that can prepare a new generation of preachers
    February 20 at 2:05pm · Like · 1
  • Michael Postlethwait Perhaps my comments on the actual web page comments could be helpful here:
    I think that if we are really honest, if godly people who are known to have a heart for God and an appetite for his word are complaining about the length of our messages, the     chances are pretty good that we have fallen down in at least one of two areas when it comes to our preparation:
    1. We have been too repetitive and have said the same point 40 different ways. I know as Pentecostals we don’t have a zeal for writing things down, but if we discover we are being too repetitive, it may be a good practice to at least use an outline on index cards or something like that at least temporarily until we can reestablish verbal discipline.
    2. The points we have made have been more theoretical than practical. Most people don’t take the time to think about the fact that it is possible to be “biblical” and still not be relevant. For example, if most of our Sunday morning messages are built around bringing people to faith or the backslidden to repentance when most of the church that we pastor are genuinely trying to serve God to the best of their ability and understanding, then we are being more evangelistic in our role when we need to be more pastoral and as a result our message, no matter how well intentioned or valuable in another context, is largely irrelevant to our current setting. This matters because any person who cannot translate our message in a relevant way for his or her life will feel it is too long even if it is short! On the other hand, people tend to be much more forgiving about length when they make meaningful connections to their present situation.
    February 20 at 2:05pm · Like · 2
  • Pentecostal Theology with the risk of repeating the same point 40 different ways, at least 20,000 people in Houston find Joel Osteen’s sermons very relevant
    February 20 at 2:12pm · Edited · Like
  • Michael Postlethwait Relevance should always be defined in biblical terms not secularism
    February 20 at 2:14pm · Like
  • Michael Postlethwait If you haven’t helped people filter their beliefs, ideas, attitudes and decisions through a biblical grid, can you say you have been truly relevant? In Osteen’s case, his tv program has limited relevance in my view because when the chips are down, he’s not likely to have much of what I need.
    February 20 at 2:24pm · Like
  • Pentecostal Theology The success of relevance ( relation to the matter at hand) could only be judged by whom you’ve been relevant to. So if the pastor of the largest church in North America is irrelevant, why even worry about relevance instead of just preaching the Biblical truth?
    February 20 at 2:36pm · Edited · Like
  • Michael Postlethwait Because context is a part of the message itself. For example, preaching a sermon similar to the classic “Sinner’s in the Hands of an Angry God”, (which for the record Edwards read in a low voice monotone), may in fact be relevant some Sundays in your church, but to do so in a funeral would be a likely misrepresentation of the heart of God — despite the truth it contains.
    February 20 at 2:42pm · Like · 1
  • Luchen Bailey One thing I remember in my speach class in college.” Stand up, Speak up, and SHUT UP.”
    February 20 at 2:48pm · Like
  • Pentecostal Theology Relevance is temporary therefore obsolete.
    Only the Bible is an absolute!
    February 20 at 2:52pm · Like
  • Luchen Bailey “If you don’t strike oil in 20 minutes, quit BORING”
    February 20 at 2:52pm · Like · 1
  • Pentecostal Theology Alan N Carla Smith Bill Coble Dr. George D. Voorhis used to say something like this to young preachers:
    “1. When you preach, tell me something new (which was pretty difficult since he had 6 higher degrees)
    2. If you cannot tell me something new, then entertain me
    3. If you cannot do none of the above, just sit down”
    February 20 at 2:58pm · Edited · Like · 2
  • Michael Postlethwait A proper use of truth is never irrelevant However, the Pharisees loved truth with little concern for its practical application.
    February 20 at 2:57pm · Like · 1
  • Michael Postlethwait Our love for truth must not be allowed to blind us to He who is The Truth!
    February 20 at 2:59pm · Like · 1
  • Pentecostal Theology Charles Page Dennis Purvis Luchen Bailey F.J. May was perhaps the greatest teacher of preachers
    February 20 at 3:01pm · Like · 2
  • Charles Page was one of my favorites growing up!
    February 20 at 4:10pm · Edited · Like
  • Ermar Reyes Luna I preach at our church( mission church) and I’m 19 yrs old, it is a good thing to learn from the experienced preachers here!
    February 20 at 4:08pm · Like · 1
  • Pentecostal Theology F.J. May used to say that many young preachers like to drink ice cold soda before preaching, but hot tea or worm soup prepares your voice for what’s about to happen
    February 20 at 4:24pm · Like · 1
  • Rick Wadholm Jr Leonard Sweet wrote a great volume last year (“Giving Blood”) that states that if you haven’t bled, you haven’t preached.
    February 20 at 7:27pm · Like
  • Rick Wadholm Jr If “your pastor preaches too long” it would only be because he/she is (from your perspective) boring and/or irrelevant.
    February 20 at 7:28pm · Like
  • Pentecostal Theology As many non Pentecostal authors, he only observed Fire from Heaven. The truth is, you haven’t sweat you haven’t preached
    February 20 at 7:29pm · Like
  • Charles Page I love good hot worm soup!
    February 20 at 7:30pm · Like · 1
  • Charles Page eat the germs and spit out the worms!!! that used to be an old favorite song we sang! can’t remember the number in the red back hymnal!
    February 20 at 7:34pm · Edited · Like
  • David M. Hinsen I’ll give three examples of people who preach long and the people love it
    1. Jackie Poe-my pastor and home church, Mercy Crossing. Pastor Poe preaches for over an hour and people love it. The church is growing rapidly.
    2. Kevin Wallace-Pastor of Redem    ption Point Church in Tennessee. Preaches for an hour.
    3. T.D. Jakes-Pastor of the Potter’s House in Texas. Preaches for an hour to an hour and a half. I watched one sermon that was nearly 2 hours and people were on the edge of their seats.
    What’s the difference you think?
    February 20 at 7:49pm · Like
  • Greg Robinson “The Anointing Makes the Difference” Ray H Hughes (I think)
    February 20 at 7:51pm · Unlike · 1
  • Rick Wadholm Jr I would never attribute it to something so ethereal and ill-defined. I would attribute it to a number of likely factors: skillful communicators, relevant and interesting content and presentations, a history of expectation from congregants, etc.
    February 20 at 7:55pm · Like
  • Charles Page charismatic personality
    February 20 at 7:59pm · Like · 1
  • Pentecostal Theology Jesus preached till the day was now far spent and they got hungry. Paul preached till some fell asleep…
    February 20 at 8:02pm · Like
  • Greg Robinson True, but God cannot be defined. Indeed critical exegesis and hermeneutical procedure as well as congregational preferences and skill are important, but at the end of the day, planning and human ability does not and can not replace time spent in His presence. Simply reading the “anointed word” doesn’t equal personal anointing…whatever that looks like
    February 20 at 8:02pm · Like
  • Pentecostal Theology Perhaps it just got clear, that Eastern/Western sacramental liturgics of this follows that for that long of time just cannot accommodate that Holy Ghost fire shut up in the true #Pentecostalpreacher… 
    February 20 at 8:10pm · Edited · Like
  • Rick Wadholm Jr “Anointing” is an intangible term that actually doesn’t describe anything other than how folks feel about something and respond to it. While there are always spiritual (and Spirit) movings for all preaching (good or bad, true or false), how we feel and act is still a wholly human response.

    Instead of using the vague (over-spiritualized) language of “anointing/anointed” I prefer such terms as “timely”, “prophetic” “empowered/empowering”.
    February 20 at 8:11pm · Like · 2
  • Greg Robinson @Rick Wadholm Jr Ok, so how are there “spiritual and Spirit movings” without a human response and how does this apply to the biblical references of “as the Spirit gives the utterance” if all experience (movings) are “wholly human responses? Is your observation of the term anointing as “over-spiritualized” based on accounts of early Pentecostal testimonies, modern rhetoric, or what? I understand the corollary with empower, prophetic and timely, but this seems much more of a Divine event and not merely a human response to it. It seems we are trying to insist on forcing academic/theoretical or theological language on congregations that (for a great percentage, although not exclusively) simply want to know about a God that meets them in a very tangible way, regardless of terms.
    February 20 at 8:39pm · Like
  • Rick Wadholm Jr Given that we are having this discussion not in a congregation, but on a FB page dedicated to Pentecostal theology, I would say our terminology is all the more important to define.

    The early Pentecostals certainly used such language as “anointed/anoi    nting” in a similar fashion to common contemporary usage, but neither is a Biblical usage. It is an attempt to take a term from Scripture and apply it to a sense of feeling God’s presence (whether real or imagined). It actually does not pertain to the Biblical usage by any means. Thus, my suggestion of other terms that are actually indicative of what is being pointed to by the imprecise “anointed/anointing”.

    I am simply pointing to the very human nature of preaching and of response to such preaching both of which can and must be Spirit-filled and empowered.
    February 20 at 8:47pm · Like
  • Pentecostal Theology The very notion of “preachers preaching too long” does not fit any Biblical paradigm in which the Church is entrusted to preach the Everlasting Gospel till the end of times. Even more so, the notion of a congregational approval/acceptance of the length of a sermon or if the Message of Life is relevant to a reprobate mind is simply extraneous to the Scripture.
    On the very contrary, the prophetic is to continue to preach even when the world wants to shut you down. The anointing is to continue to preach even when the world says obedience to God is irrelevant. And empowering in the Spirit is to have the strength to continue to preach, be a voice and give a voice to the voiceless, in the desert of this present reality, as seers of the eternal reality that is to come.
    February 20 at 9:00pm · Edited · Like
  • David M. Hinsen Man, I feel like preaching!
    February 20 at 9:00pm · Like · 1
  • Greg Robinson Agreed. At the same time, the apologetic for Pentecostal hermeneutics is a broadened interpretation of Scripture which involves much more than simply the Spirit’s illumination (an evangelical approach) therefore using the terms “anointed/anointing”as imprecise or out of context is really a non-issue. Your thoughts?
    February 20 at 9:03pm · Like
  • Greg Robinson David, it seems we have no room for “feelings” here! :~)
    February 20 at 9:04pm · Like
  • Pentecostal Theology How is the Spirit’s illumination an evangelical approach?
    February 20 at 9:11pm · Like
  • Greg Robinson From my experience (BA Lee U, M.Div Liberty, decidedly Baptist,and now Regent) the evangelical’s usually hold to an illumination position only in an effort to somewhat discount the modern day operation of the Spirit. In other words, the canon was closed, therefore, all interpretation must be completely restricted to its original context (for example: “Grasping God’s Word” Duvall and Hays; “Intro to Biblical Interpretation” Klein, Blomberg, Hubbard Jr; “Preaching that Changes Lives” Fabarez). Although a Pentecostal hermeneutic is thus far not agreed on, many understand the Scripture, while remaining committed to context, can and does “speak afresh” to new generations of Spirt-filled believers. I think “Spirit and Scripture” edited by Spawn and Wright provides a good overview of the current hermeneutical trends within Pentecostalism. Chris Thomas does a great job detailing the influence and validity of “testimony time” for interpretation.
    February 20 at 9:29pm · Like · 1
  • David M. Hinsen Still, I feel like preaching
    February 20 at 9:34pm · Like · 1
  • Rick Wadholm Jr Lee Roy Martin edited a reader on Pentecostal hermeneutics that is well worth reading.
    February 20 at 9:35pm · Like · 1
  • Greg Robinson Not heard of his work, but will definitely look into it. You know the name of the book?
    February 20 at 9:59pm · Like

  • Rick Wadholm Jr http://www.brill.com/products/book/pentecostal-hermeneutics

    Pentecostal Hermeneutics | Brill
    In Pentecostal Hermeneutics: A Reader Lee Roy Martin presents fourteen significant publications on…
    BRILL.COM
    February 20 at 10:01pm · Like · Remove Preview
  • Greg Robinson Great! Thanks for the resource info
    February 20 at 10:01pm · Like
  • Pentecostal Theology Pentecostal hermeneutics could not be much more than “the Spirit’s illumination (an evangelical approach).” First off, the illumination of the Spirit as a hermeneutical approach does not originate among evangelicals as they came about much later. The Christian understanding of illumination of the Holy Spirit as “the process by which God’s Holy Spirit enables us to understand His word and apply it to our lives” is ascribed to the mystics among the Eastern (Orthodox) fathers rooted in the rabbinic tradition.
    Secondly, to claim that anything in our interpretation or preaching is more than illumination of the Spirit, is adding to what the Spirit has to say to the Church. Even the human factor of our own interpretation comes from nowhere else but the illumination of the Spirit within us. The input from well or not-so-well read bibliographies applied in our sermons, cannot not come from nowhere else but from what the Spirit has allowed to illuminate in our understanding. Hence, the whole “Solus Spiritus” in Pentecostalism contradicts any notion that anything in our faith could be much more than the Spirit’s illumination.”
    What much more than the illumination of the Spirit did Joel have when he prophesied that in the last days the Spirit shall be powered upon all flesh? And what much more did Peter have when the day of the Pentecost was fully come? For whatever more they had was also revealed and illuminated by the Solus Spiritus. The same Spirit Who was hovering over the void of the universum, before there was much more of anything else.
    So, to even claim that we will ever preach something more than what is already revealed by the Spirit, borders open revelation and is beyond Biblical. The very essence and origin of modern-day Pentecostalism was the stripping of that much more of humanism we had, and listen to what the Spirit alone has to say to the Church. It is when we start adding much and much more than the illumination of the Spirit in our hermeneutics, that we start speaking the tongues of Pentecost, but have none of its fire any longer…
    February 21 at 5:15am · Like · 2
  • Greg Robinson I think the difference here is defining “illumination”. The idea of heresy by adding to the revealed Scripture seems to be the exact rub between Pentecostal and Evangelical hermeneutics.As I stated earlier, there is no solidified Pentecostal methodology, which in and of itself creates friction within the movement at times.

29 Comments

  • Street Preacherz
    Reply January 9, 2017

    Street Preacherz

    The link and the search in the group posts did not help. the posts on the blog didn’t either. I googled the phrase “the role of the Holy Spirit in hermeneutics” and the only thing I could find was Baptist. What am I missing in this process?

  • Varnel Watson
    Reply January 9, 2017

    Varnel Watson

    Really all this comments and opinions and still no help?

    • Street Preacherz
      Reply January 9, 2017

      Street Preacherz

      Sorry I must be really slow. How can I get to the material?

    • Street Preacherz
      Reply January 9, 2017

      Street Preacherz

      I didn’t see anything of the union of the Holy Spirit, the Word and the heart and soul of the preacher affected by the message as first partaker. Nothing of the faith that accompanies the delivery and receiving of the Word under the anointing. Paul perceived the man had faith to be healed from the preaching of the Word of Christ, the gospel. Nothing of the breaking of the vessel for a true representation of Christ spirit. Nothing of the empowerment of the Spirit to kill the giants and pull down every argument or the wall and bulwark against sin and worldliness in the character of the gifts namely pastor prophet apostle teacher evangelist. I did see illumination of the Spirit for understanding the text, carnal men can tell you the Bible says don’t sin but they can never represent it.

    • Street Preacherz
      Reply January 9, 2017

      Street Preacherz

      I’m concerned this seems impious. Maybe I missed something in the discussion. I try not make assumptions. But I may have here. My apologies if that’s the case.

    • Street Preacherz
      Reply January 10, 2017

      Street Preacherz

      Mr. Troy Day I had my hermeneutics and my homiletics messed up my apologies… sorry I should be quiet more often.

    • Street Preacherz
      Reply January 11, 2017

      Street Preacherz

      opps i deleted sorry. i’ll try again

  • Michael Ellis Carter Jr.
    Reply February 15, 2018

    Michael Ellis Carter Jr.

    Hey I just posted about group a moment ago. Sorry didn’t realize you had something here. I just learned of this group this morning are you a member of SPS? Is it worth joining?

  • Varnel Watson
    Reply February 15, 2018

    Varnel Watson

    http://www.pentecostaltheology.com/?s=society

  • Reply January 7, 2020

    Varnel Watson

    One of the first discussions to ever hit this group William DeArteaga Ray E Horton Jim Price 6 yrs later we sure hope for many more like it

    • Joe Absher
      Reply January 8, 2020

      Joe Absher

      for such a varied and experienced group I didn’t see many comments for presenting Christ . the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is more than salvation . the cross more than deliverance . the grave more than death the resurrection more than doctrine it is our blessed hope and the throne more than Grace and prayers full of faith . for on that throne is the Prince of life .

    • Reply January 8, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Joe Absher an in-depth discussion on #HERMENEUTICS requires deep preparation in theological substance not merely preaching or simple ministry logistics

    • Joe Absher
      Reply January 8, 2020

      Joe Absher

      I’m sure it does but it will never replace showing forth all his excellent beauty wisdom and foreknowledge . his care and mighty power . I tell you know him . your books can only speak of him
      I think you know I’m for school and learning but I ask you how many years did Noah go to school ?

    • Reply January 8, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Joe Absher what books? I was speaking merely about the deep preparation of the Holy Spirit each preacher needs to undergo before taking the pulpit

    • Joe Absher
      Reply January 8, 2020

      Joe Absher

      God speed my friend

    • Reply January 8, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Joe Absher it is not a single journey The GOSPEL is no lone ranger’s mission Jesus told us ALL to go We all need a pastoral covering at one point or another #there

    • Joe Absher
      Reply January 9, 2020

      Joe Absher

      Sorry for your discomfort friend . if you want to take me to your church court ..there may be a dear pastor that will stand by me . but if not I’ll answer your charges as God enables me . what is it . say on . but please be direct and say what you mean at the first .

    • Reply January 9, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Pentecostal hermeneutics emphasises three elements: the interrelationship between the Holy Spirit as the One animating Scriptures and empowering the believing community with the purpose that members be equipped for ministry and witness in culturally appropriate ways

    • Joe Absher
      Reply January 9, 2020

      Joe Absher

      Sounds like the forward to a book but ok . what does that mean to you .

    • Reply January 9, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Briefly, what Pentecostals seem to be achieving is a merger of (1) the concerns of traditional, conservative hermeneutics (and its commitment to the truth and authority of the Bible), with (2) the concerns of postmodern literary criticism (the new hermeneutic and reader-centered approaches) and the role of the reader in the interpretation process. This is accomplished by admitting that Pentecostals uniquely use the various genre in the Bible (the historical narratives, in
      particular), and that they incorporate church history, personal experiences, theological biases, and other elements in their hermeneutic. The advances they are making are achieved by articulating just how these elements influence them
      and how they treat them when they interpret the Bible

  • Joe Absher
    Reply January 8, 2020

    Joe Absher

    “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”
    – Amos 3:3

    I would like to remind you that one of the great deliverances that God gives a man is to be delivered from the opinions of men . which sadly is so lacking in gospel preaching . honour Jesus Christ . you live for him maybe you die for him but you honor Him . and in his grace and mercy you walk and work and pray and cry and rejoice with like minded men . but men don’t own you (you don’t ‘own’ anybody either) . money doesn’t own you . your reputation doesn’t own you . (meaning you have no shame in yielding to God) let the skunks and frauds go their happy and deluded way . via con Dios friend .

  • Reply January 9, 2020

    Varnel Watson

    Joe Absher JESUS cares whats in your preacher box

    • Joe Absher
      Reply January 9, 2020

      Joe Absher

      I gave my anointing oil away . we had a visiting evangelist and soul winner on a Sunday morning . I invited all my street preacher friends . it was a great service . I asked the pastor if he could pray for us with oil . the pastor kindly allowed it . afterwards I gave him the oil and said take this with you the evangelists are coming and they’ll need help ” so sadly I’m short on being a real preacher . with no oil at all . but I can tell you I’ll never look at a cardboard box the same after San Francisco .

    • Reply January 10, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Joe Absher Psalm 133:2It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. – imagine if NO beards …

  • Reply January 9, 2020

    Varnel Watson

    What is distinctive about Pentecostals’ reading of the Bible? In what way do Pentecostal people read the Bible so that they reach different conclusions than believers of other denominations? Is it possible to speak of a Pentecostal herme-neutics? In what way does it differ from the hermeneutics found in other theological traditions, such as the Catholic, Eastern and Reformed traditions? And how does their hermeneutics inform Pentecostals’ practice? These questions are discussed and some preliminary conclusions reached. Pentecostals’ religious consciousness expects an experience or encounter between God and human beings through his Spirit. This is supposed to happen in the worship service and also in the practice of Bible reading, whether individually or collectively. The presupposition is that the Word is revealed in the Bible only when people experience God, and the existential precondition leads to a Pentecostal emphasis of narratives describing such encounters in the Bible.

  • Reply January 9, 2020

    Varnel Watson

    Psalm 51:11: Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. King David wrote the 51st Psalm after having his sin exposed by the prophet Nathan. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband after she became pregnant with his child. He thought he had gotten away with it until God’s prophet told him to his face in 2 Samuel 12:7-8: Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

    David immediately recognized what he had done. Psalm 51 is one of the most beautiful poems of repentance in the Bible, as a man broken before the Lord for his sin begs for forgiveness, crying Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin (Psalm 51:2). However, of all the 19 verses David wrote here, perhaps most notable is verse 11. It wasn’t just a plea for deliverance from one’s iniquities, but a cry that of all things, God would not let His presence depart from David.

    And he had good reason to pray this prayer. David had seen just how dire the consequences were of losing the Holy Spirit. At one time, he had served King Saul. Saul was the first chosen king over Israel, and when he first took the throne, he was so humble before the Lord that he hid himself at his own coronation (1 Samuel 10). But after taking the throne, Saul became increasingly disobedient over the years. When David came into the court to serve the king, the spirit of jealousy took over and Saul eventually sought to kill the young man. With each new atrocity Saul committed, Samuel repeatedly warned him that the Lord hath also rejected thee from being king (1 Samuel 15:23). But while God is merciful in giving warning after warning, eventually He has a breaking point.

    Jesus warned of the terrible sin of all, an atrocity so terrible that even His blood could not forgive it. Matthew 12:31: Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. Blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is the unforgivable sin, the moment when one has strayed so far that they have destroyed any chance of ever making it to Heaven. If the Holy Spirit is what it takes to convict us to Calvary, we cannot afford to grieve Him so greatly that He will never deal with us again.

    After years of disobedience, Saul finally reached this point of no return. But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, (1 Samuel 16:14). At this point, Saul had blasphemed, and we can clearly see how much he changed after this scripture. He became a demonic madman bent on murdering God’s holy child, and the Lord never dealt with him again nor gave him any more chances. It was too late.

    Having seen this happen and experiencing the full wrath of a man totally devil-possessed, David was well-aware of the dangers of blaspheming. This is why when his own sin was revealed to his face, he made the mournful cry of “take not thy Holy Spirit from me!” David suddenly realized that he could fall just as Saul had, and that he too could blaspheme. He didn’t just pray that he would be spared God’s wrath, but that most of all, the Spirit wouldn’t leave him forever.

    The church today has lost its fear of blasphemy. We have learned to take the presence of God for granted, as if it’s always going to be with us. It isn’t precious to us as it should be, and we don’t cling to it with the desperation David did when he wrote the 51st Psalm. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, (Genesis 6:3).

    We come together at church every Sunday morning. We play music, and listen to preaching, and gather at the altars. The Holy Ghost falls, and we lift our hands together as we feel His presence, like a cloud, all around us. It is the very atmosphere of Heaven that has come down into our midst. We speak in tongues. We lay hands on one another. We pray and whisper and shout and sing. The music draws us further into His glory. And then we dismiss in prayer, and go find somewhere to eat. https://revivenations.org/blog/2012/06/06/can-you-lose-the-anointing/

  • Joe Absher
    Reply January 9, 2020

    Joe Absher

    Yes you could go get something to eat or go to one of those little holiness churches in the inner city they’re just getting started ?

  • Reply January 10, 2020

    Varnel Watson

    The Holy Spirit enables Christian life by dwelling in the individual believers and enables them to live a righteous and faithful life. The Holy Spirit also acts as comforter or Paraclete, one who intercedes, or supports or acts as an advocate, particularly in times of trial. The Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are an enumeration of seven spiritual gifts originating from patristic authors, later elaborated by five intellectual virtues and four other groups of ethical characteristics. They are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/10-roles-of-the-holy-spirit-in-christian-life.html

  • Reply January 10, 2020

    Varnel Watson

    what you thinking Ify Divine Nsoha

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