As we come to the end of the 50 great days of Easter this Sunday with the celebration of Pentecost, we think about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. According to the account in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit arrived in dramatic fashion. There was a violent rushing wind, tongues of flame, and those assembled suddenly began speaking in languages they did not know. (Acts 2:2-4)
As a seminary student studying church history, I wrote a term paper on the Azusa Street revival that originated here in downtown Los Angeles and began on April 14, 1906. Like the original day of Pentecost, Azusa Street spurred a tremendous outward spread of the Gospel that became known as the Pentecostal movement and the later Charismatic renewal movement that worked its way into evangelical, mainline protestant, and even Roman Catholic churches. Over 100 years after Azusa Street, Pentecostalism is still today the fastest growing edge of the Church and it is exploding in the global south. Pentecostalism is not afraid of miracles, signs, and wonders. They are front and center in that movement as they were in the book of Acts.
However, as important as miracles, signs, and wonders were both in the ministry of Jesus and the Spirit empowered Church, they are not the main evidence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus made this very clear as we read in Matthew 7.
15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Matthew 7:15-23 (NKJV)
Here Jesus tells us to pay attention to the fruit and not signs and wonders. Obviously Jesus is saying that signs can be faked, or perhaps even done by the power of a spirit other than the Holy Spirit. The wonders and miracles Jesus performed were signs that God's Kingdom had indeed arrived.
But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. Matthew 12:28 (NRSV)
Jesus' miracles were signs of the Gospel (good news). They signaled that a regime change was taking place. The old tyrant, Satan, who had called the shots over the world was being overthrown, and that through Jesus, God was becoming rightful King at last. In this new kingdom, love, righteousness, peace, and joy would be the new order. This was good news for the poor! Satan's kingdom, is based on selfish power grabs. As a result, there are always losers who must pay the price. The hungry, the exploited, the marginalized, and the poor are the most obvious victims of the kingdom of Satan (and the victimizers are also victims even if they don't know it). Jesus' ministry was primarily among the hungry, exploited, outcasts, and poor. His teaching and stories spoke of how, in God's kingdom, they were the blessed ones and His miracles were signs that what He said was true. In God's kingdom there is enough blessing to go around. Blessings are not just for the rich, powerful, and well connected. In fact Jesus made it clear that the types of blessings the rich and powerful enjoy are temporary and only fools spend their lives seeking them.
So what does all of this have to do with the Holy Spirit? It shows us that the evidence of the Holy Spirit is not signs in of themselves. The true evidence of the Holy Spirit in action is the spread of the good news of God's kingdom to the poor.
The cover of the most recent issue of Christianity Today magazine caught my attention. On the cover there is a picture of blond, Laguna Beach, California native, Heidi Baker (pictured above) stooped over a young boy in Mozambique, laying her hands on his head and praying fervently. The sub-caption reads, "The tireless Heidi Baker uses her gift of healing to serve the poorest of the poor in a forgotten corner of the planet." Bingo! There it is. The evidence of the Holy Spirit. Poorest of the poor. Forgotten corner of the planet. The good news of God's Kingdom being spread holistically to the poorest of the poor in a forgotten corner of the world. Heidi's ministry is marked by spectacular miracles. The deaf find that their ears have been opened and the blind see. Before you dismiss these miracles happening through the ministry of Heidi Baker as trickery of the poor and gullible, know that a study performed by Indiana University detected significant improvement in both sight and hearing of the deaf and blind after healing prayer by Heidi and her team in Mozambique. This same study team did not find the same significant results among North American faith healers.
The evidence of the Holy Spirit is not the signs themselves, but the Good News being experienced in real ways among the poor and forgotten. Heidi's husband and ministry partner, Roland, exhorts believers to, "Seek out the most marginalized you can find." Heidi and Roland demonstrate that the Holy Spirit motivates believers to proclaim the Good News to the poor and when they do, the power of the Holy Spirit is made known in real and miraculous ways.
Generally speaking, one of the main reasons we Americans don't experience the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is that we are hell bent on preaching a different "good news." We blend good news with prosperity, money, success, and achievement. In our corporate worship, the Holy Spirit has been reduced to something we feel. Worship leaders have been indoctrinated in the idea that we have to create an atmosphere where people FEEL the Holy Spirit (presence of God). Unfortunately, worship leaders and teams are evaluated on how well they "ushered in God's presence." This has led to a lot of manipulative techniques to drum up emotions that make people feel that they have had a Holy Ghost experience.
But what if the evidence that the Holy Spirit has shown up in a worship service is not so much about what happens in the service? What if it is more about what happens as a result of the service? In Acts 2, we don't see the people gathered in the upper room going home afterward saying, "Wow, what a powerful experience. We've got to come back next week and try to make this happen again." Instead what you see immediately afterward is the Church being birthed as the Body of Christ to continue the work of Christ of proclaiming the Good News. We see the Gospel being preached. We see it being lived. We see people devoted to one another, praying together, growing under the teaching of the apostles, breaking bread and sharing at each other's tables, and those who had more sharing with those who had less. In fact we see an erasure of poverty among the believers (Acts 4:34). Talk about good news for the poor! The Church became a living testimony of what life under God's reign looks like. It was an attractive site which caused many to be added to their number each day (Acts 2:47). It is exciting to know that God's Spirit is still on the move in poor and forgotten places like Mozambique. But what about here in America?
It's nice when we feel the Holy Spirit moving powerfully in a worship service. But it isn't a chill, or a warm sensation, tears of joy, or any other feeling that let's us know that the Holy Spirit showed up on Sunday morning. It is instead when we leave knowing the heart of God in such a profound way that we see the world differently. Our deepest desire begins to be that we would see God's Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. And it doesn't end with desire, but desire becomes a fire that motivates us to do something tangible, and often beyond our abilities and means, to make God's kingdom a reality. When we then step out in faith and obedience, the Holy Spirit gets to work and we begin to see miracles! This Sunday, let's not go into the worship service seeking some sort of Holy Spirit high. Instead, let's ask God for the Holy Spirit to reveal God's heart in such a compelling way that we have to do something about it when we leave.
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