Filled with the Holy Spirit
I cannot state specifically that the good things in my life are the cause and effect of my baptism in the Holy Spirit back in 1964. However, I can write with certainty that the lines of my lot in life have fallen in pleasant places indeed. Jesus is crazy in love with me, just as He is with every believer, and He has blessed me abundantly.
Thus, you have a snapshot of the sensory screen or personal bias that I had as I read the cessationist comments and their discussion that Robert Graves presented in his article. I thought, as I read, of my children who as tikes could look at something new on the dinner plate and make an unyielding final decision that they would not like what they saw, and no amount of fatherly persuasion could deter their conclusion. Unlike earthly fathers, however, our heavenly Father does not give up in frustration when His children refuse the good blessings He has for them.
Part of me has wanted to dismiss the cessationists and their polemic arguments with a superior sneer and a wave of my hand. I have had those proud thoughts, What do they know? Who cares? This is not the answer.
I have known all too well that this prayer language and the infilling of the Spirit, so wonderful to me throughout the last 35 years, has also been an albatross around my neck. As I have sought to share my experience and knowledge of this empowerment for service, the majority of Christians worldwide have not readily accepted this experience or myself.
Graves’ article made me realize the duty and responsibility that the Pentecostal and charismatic faces as we go and share what God has done for us. May God give us the wisdom and the care to do this well. And perhaps, just perhaps, if we shove enough spoonfuls of that “icky green stuff” down our throats, our brothers and sisters might try it too. Perhaps they too will be surprised by the blessings God wants for them.
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