(Sanctuary in our church building.)
I'm hosting a meeting at our church, Oct. 14, 6:30 PM, on "The Baptism and Fullness of the Holy Spirit." In prepping for this I am re-reading Craig Keener's Gift and Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today.
At the beginning of the book Craig issues a plea for revival and a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is so good that I quote it in its entirety.
“Christians differ on their
views about some aspects of the Holy Spirit’s works, but we can all agree on
most of the central questions. The early Christians were dependent on God’s Spirit
from start to finish, and we must be too.
Each revival in history has been
the result of a fresh outpouring of the Spirit, usually accompanied by
experiences or commitments that threatened the comfortable status quo of
religious institutions of the day. Yet the strength of the flesh, or proud
human intellect that seeks to control God’s power by reducing it to terms we
can explain, can pretend to be sufficient for God’s work only when the kingdom
of Satan appears to be dormant. Now is not such a time.
Those of us involved in various
forms of frontline evangelism recognize that our world has little time to
spare; we stand in desperate need of revival. Will we dare to submit our lives
to the giver of the Spirit, regardless of what price the Spirit may call us to
pay to reach our contemporaries for Christ? On the answer to that question hangs
the fate of our generation.” (P. 16)
