Spirit-Led Evangelism: Reaching the Lost through Love and Power by Ché Ahn

Author:Ché Ahn [Ahn, Ché]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: book, Ebook
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2008-05-01T07:00:00+00:00

SECTION 4

POWER

EVANGELISM

12

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S

MISSION

The late John Wimber, founder of the Association of Vineyard Churches, coined a wonderful term some twenty years ago: power evangelism. He wrote a groundbreaking book by that name. He was a pioneer in helping the last generation understand how the giftings we have in the Holy Spirit are the most powerful tools we can employ in sharing the Gospel. His message, however, was not new—just perhaps forgotten.

We know that Jesus Himself received the Holy Spirit, coming upon Him as a dove at His baptism in the Jordan (see Luke 3:21–22). The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, and He overcame all temptation. Jesus then returned from the wilderness in the great power of the Spirit (see Luke 4:14) and began His ministry in the miraculous.

Even though Jesus’ disciples were with Him throughout His entire earthly ministry, they, too, needed something more. As I mentioned earlier, He commanded them to receive the power of the Holy Spirit by waiting in the upper room (see Acts 1:4, 8). With this gift, the “apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. . . . [And] more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” (Acts 5:12, 14). The apostle Paul declared, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4).

The Holy Spirit has always been God’s intended means of bringing a visible demonstration of His Kingdom to this earth. The Gospel was never meant to be dependent upon the words of man alone—no matter how eloquent or well intentioned.

Yet many people still believe that such powerful work of the Holy Spirit as I have just described has ceased. Most notably, cessationists believe that the miracle-working power and distinct infilling of the Holy Spirit were necessary to establish the fledgling Church. Now that the Church is established and the canon of Scripture is closed, cessationists believe that such power manifestations or infillings as I describe in this book are no longer necessary or available. They have ceased.

Perhaps you are among them. Or perhaps you believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in the world, but you have not yet considered asking for this gift yourself. You may already move mightily in the Holy Spirit and simply desire further empowering. In this section we will explore the mission of the Holy Spirit. We will discover truths about filling and refilling, and we will witness the signs and wonders He is performing all over the world, which I believe are available to all who will seek after them.

Let’s begin with some inspiring experiences of well-known modern era Christians who received a distinct filling of the Holy Spirit. Their evangelistic influence for Christ increased exponentially afterward. This experience is captured by many different terms and phrases, including being baptized with the Holy Spirit, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit.

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