By Brother Guy Ames
“I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions….And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2: 28, 32a).
I am writing this on Pentecost, the birthday of the Church universal and the day when the promise Joel prophesied came to life with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Jesus’ followers. Thinking of this day has taken me back to my beginnings as a serious follower of Jesus. So, I tell you my story.
Growing up in a preacher’s home I was exposed to some great preachers and at a young age introduced to the Gospel. Seeing my own parents deeply impacted by the work of the Holy Spirit I had more than a passing knowledge of the testimony of God’s Promised Spirit. All who knew me would have seen me as a serious young Christian, but as my teen years progressed, I moved from short-term spiritual highs to a season of deep doubt. When a “christian” youth leader challenged my Sunday School beliefs and that I merely followed my parents, I decided to chart my own religious course. By the end of my junior year of high school I had concluded that if I couldn’t prove God’s existence with my “great” intellect, then God must not exist, and what I had been taught about Jesus was likely a fable.
Providentially, our church welcomed a new youth director, Bob, whose faith seemed as natural as his breath and when he uttered the phrase, “Praise the Lord,” it seemed to me that Bob must live next door to Jesus. Jesus was so real to him that I wanted to know God the way he did. That summer I spent as much time as possible with Bob and his friend, Will. These young men talked openly of the filling of the Holy Spirit, “the Baptism of the Holy Spirit,” and they explained that beyond declaring their faith in Jesus they had also invited the Holy Spirit to fill them. Faith was not an intellectual exercise but instead was a daily living reality, giving them clarity and direction in every aspect of their lives. I wanted what they had!
Moving into my senior year of high school I looked forward to stepping into a new leadership role and feeling the anxiety and excitement of what was coming I wanted that real relationship with God to guide me. One late summer evening, Will pulled me aside and asked bluntly, “Do you want to receive the Holy Spirit? I would love to pray with you.”
Will and I spent over an hour on our knees praying for the Holy Spirit to descend with clarity, but nothing happened. Disappointed, I went home and that night prayed that God would give me the power that Jesus promised. Then two nights later, Will sat with me on our front porch as my family was away. Praying again for the Spirit to fill me, Will urged me to speak whatever came to my mind. Quietly and without any fanfare I began speaking what sounded like either gibberish or another language. Still questioning the reality of this I simply thanked God for filling me. Then it happened: as if a sweet warm rain poured into my being, I experienced the most wonderful inner peace and an assurance came to me in that instant beyond any other experience. I knew, not because of any “tongues”, but because of the inward assurance that I was God’s son and that he had indeed filled me with his Spirit.
The next weeks and months my heart and head were suddenly filled with an understanding of the Scripture as I had never known. Daily I sought opportunities to tell others about this experience, and surprisingly others began seeking me out to talk to them about their life in God. As that year unfolded, I found myself given opportunities to lead others into a life with Christ. Almost at the same moment as I enjoyed God’s gift the Church across the world began reporting of thousands upon thousands of others giving testimony to this same encounter. What became known as the Charismatic Movement or Revival swept the many corners of the world as millions of Christians of all backgrounds gave witness to the possibility of the Holy Spirit alive in their lives with gifts, answers to prayer, and a witness that Jesus is Lord.
Now, looking back on that long ago experience I can testify that apart from the infilling of the Holy Spirit I would not be the man I am. Even though I have often missed the mark of being faithful and though my spiritual life hasn’t always been what God has called me to, I have never again doubted God’s Presence in my life. I am forever thankful for this incredible gift: God’s Spirit.
Scholars and Christian leaders will argue as to whether the Holy Spirit comes at the same moment as we invite Jesus into our lives or if this “baptism” that John spoke about is a second spiritual experience. Entire denominations have been built around those differences. Honestly, I haven’t been able to answer that question. All that I know is that one day God poured into my life his promised Holy Spirit and my life has never been the same. My prayer today is that God will once again renew us with a new Holy Spirit movement, so that we might fulfill Jesus’ Pentecost promise. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
