Rekindling the Fire of the Holy Spirit - by Jim Tharp

Suffering alone in Rome’s Mamertine prison, the apostle Paul had more to be concerned about than his own soon-coming execution by the wicked Roman emperor Nero. The apostle Paul was deeply concerned about the spiritual needs of the important spiritual leader whom he had chosen to succeed him in his vital ministry of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In II Timothy, chapter 1, verses 3-8 (NKJV), we have Paul’s call to Timothy to get a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit: “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God.”

For a number of years Timothy had traveled with Paul and demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit both in personal living and his public ministry. On several occasions, he had served as Paul’s envoy to the churches. In Berea and Thessalonica, he had been left to follow up and strengthen the believers. And Paul’s latest confidence in Timothy had been to trust him with problems in the Corinthian church.

But, in Paul’s praying and correspondence with Timothy he senses that the fires of the spirit were burning low in his trustworthy comrade. Paul remembered how the Pentecostal fires had exploded at different times in the hearts of both him and Timothy to keep them alive spiritually, just as they had in the apostles on the First Day of Pentecost. Paul also remembered how he himself had needed to pray for fresh outpourings of the Spirit. Paul realized what General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, would often urge his soldiers to do: “Stay aflame! For it is the tendency of fires to go out!” General Booth read often to His soldiers from I Thessalonians 5:19 (NKJV): “Do not quench the Spirit.”

It has not been God’s plan for the fires of His Spirit to go out, or even burn low, in this 21st century. Of course, the devil’s plan is to steal the power of Christianity in all churches and in all individual believers. His evil ways are planned carefully to distract us in many ways from our need to pray; to bring along some critical conversation to discourage us, causing doubts about one’s ability to ever live the Christian life; and to substitute times of worship with time off for recreation. Another trick of the devil is to find disappointment in another Christian, or even a spiritual leader, and try to get us to forget about prayer, worship, and Christianity!

  

The experiences of prayer and the renewing of the Holy Spirit are so interrelated that sometimes we are confused about the cause and the effect. The truth is that only praying believers are full of the Holy Spirit. And it is also true that only Spirit-filled believers can prevail in prayer.

Education, personality, and sincerity can go a long ways in promoting the Christian faith and growth of the kingdom of God, but even these cannot set hearts aflame with holy fire, promote the gospel with power, or set a nation aflame with a revival of repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ. But Spirit-anointed prayer can sweep an entire nation with a mighty glorious revival of spiritual power!

Thanksgiving Prayer Time - by Jim Tharp

As we Americans prepare to celebrate our annual Thanksgiving, I can think of nothing more important for which to give thanks than the fact that our God of love is calling all of us—saints and sinners—to give serious attention to prayer! America must experience a mighty spiritual awakening in the near future or we shall soon no longer be the “land of the free and home of the brave.” Of course, it is a good thing for families to gather for feasting and fun at Thanksgiving time, and that should continue.

Only a God of love could make such a sacrifice as to send His “Only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ” to become the “Son of Man” and to die on an old rugged cross to pay for our sins. And, he would then rise from the dead and go back to join His Heavenly Father so they could form a Throne of Grace for lost souls to repent and believe in Jesus and to be devoted to a life of prayer.

I call attention to the apostle Paul’s message to first-century believers; it is also a message for we 21st century believers: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” (Romans 12:1-5).

The apostle Paul is writing a hymn of salvation, and he speaks of our gifts and all spiritual blessings! In fact, Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament epistles, often mentioned PRAYER as one of the main spiritual blessings. May God help us all to realize that, once Jesus had returned to our Heavenly Father and established the Throne of Grace for us to approach Him in prayer, He sent the Holy Spirit to help us pray. We are told in Romans 8:26 that, on our own, we do not know how to pray as we ought. But we read that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses and makes intercession for us so that we can pray according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

I would remind us that back in the early days of America, even before we became a nation, the Holy Spirit began preparing some spiritual leaders for an unusual outpouring of fresh spiritual power on a number of believers in different places. Theodore Frelinghuysen experienced a new anointing as he preached conviction for sin to his startled sanctimonious Dutch Reformed congregation in Raritan, New Jersey. About the same time, Gilbert Tennent and other Presbyterian ministers were moved by the Holy Spirit to fast and pray for revival fires throughout Philadelphia. Jonathan Edwards, a congregationalist pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts, through much prayer and fasting, spearheaded a New England awakening. It was during this period that Edwards preached the most celebrated sermon of that great awakening in Enfield, Connecticut. This sermon was called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

And then along came George Whitefield, a prominent British evangelist, who in his outdoor meetings was used mightily to tie all these scattered revival fires together throughout the Southern and Middle colonies. He was on his way to New England where the first great American awakening climaxed in great power.

During this Thanksgiving season, we should all be grateful that there are millions of concerned Americans who realize that nothing politicians or theologians contrive is going to save America from self-destruction with all our spiritual compromise, political division, and social and moral collapse; God alone can save us, and He longs to do just that! But His message to His believers is clear—it starts with PRAYER! “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. (II Chronicles 7:14-15). Please note that this condition begins with HUMILITY—being humble enough to confess sin, no matter how long you have been a member of the church. Then comes PRAYER—confessing sin, believing that you are forgiven and that you will be heard as you pray! Pray for yourself, loved ones, fellow church members, neighbors, friends, pastors, children, teachers, politicians, the sick, and for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all the communities throughout the nation. In PRAYER, let us “Seek God’s Face!” This means plead earnestly to get his attention, and this includes asking God to help you keep in mind His divine mercy and power to give you what you ask for. Then “Turn from your wicked ways.” When we are forgiven, we are to quit the sin business with the help of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse your heart and empower you to not only understand the Bible you read but also to have the strength to obey. Learn to live the Christian life. Keep at it praying alone, with the family, and with brothers and sisters in Christ in small groups or greater gatherings. Plan on keeping up the prayer; it is a long hall, but prayer is the road to revival. The Holy Spirit comes from Heaven and charges the atmosphere with the fear of God, the conviction of sin, and the boldness and humility to repent and to change your ways.

Philosophers and pastors have all written their testimonies on how the first early American revival resulted in producing courageous spiritual, mental, moral, and political leaders. They were helpful in preparing the colonies to sue for their freedom to become “the Great City on the Hill for the inspiration of the nations and for the glory of God.”

Of course, it is the nature of spiritual awakenings to weaken as time passes. So, all too soon the early Americans slipped back into spiritual complacency; cold hearts developed in the church, in the business world, and in the political world. But what has kept America alive have been the great revivals of the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. Unfortunately, the 19th century revivals were the weakest of those spiritual awakenings. But that which caused God to send outpourings of the Holy Spirit for the first three centuries is still a promise.

During this Thanksgiving Season, we can feel blessed in believing that it is not too late. A good friend of mine has sung throughout the world that “It Is No Secret What God Can Do!” Great evangelists, pastors, and laymen from the past who were all great prayer warriors include John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Charles Finney, D.L. Moody, and A.B. Simpson. If they were living today, I think they would find a way to convince a great number of Americans that all the idolatry, immorality, irreverence, and sin are merely reminders that form the background and set the stage for the greatest spiritual awakening in the entire history of America! Now I know there are those, and even some who claim to be Christians, that think the appalling moral and spiritual darkness is to be ignored and allow God to pronounce divine judgment.

But I do believe, as those earlier evangelists preached, we need to take prayer seriously, get filled with the Holy Spirit for His help in praying, and claim God’s promises. 

THE TRAGEDY OF LOST LOVE - by Jim Tharp

Our Bible tells us that “God is love!” “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (I John 4:7-11)

God created Adam and Eve to love Him with all their hearts and to produce a human race that would love one another. To remind us of our tragic loss of love, I call attention to how the Apostle Paul described our condition in these last days: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power….” (II Timothy 3:1-5)

Consider how the Apostle Paul called attention to the lamentable conditions of humanity as we come to the last seasons of the church age; notice his first three words: “But know this.” This should remind us of what a military officer says when he is about to lead his soldiers into battle: “Now hear this!” These were the code words for getting attention. Perhaps we should remember that the Apostle Paul is writing this with the knowledge that the wicked emperor Nero has already ordered his execution. No doubt he wrote this realizing that his life was about to end, and he is grateful that His redeemed soul is full of the love of God and he will spend eternity in heaven.

  

Thanksgiving 2020 - by Jim Tharp

Considering the anger, division, and disturbance going on in our beloved country at this time, I would like to suggest that we all pray to the Lord to help us quiet our hearts and realize what we have to be grateful for during this Thanksgiving season. My Scriptural text is found in the Apostle Paul’s inspiring message in I Thessalonians 5, verses 16 through 18 (NKJV): "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

In the above Scripture, Paul is calling these persecuted, hurting Christians to pray and allow the Lord to help them change from self-concern to praising God from whom all blessings flow. They were to turn their minds and hearts to what God had done and would continue to do for them. We must remember in our disappointments and hardships that we are neither helpless nor hopeless. We have a Heavenly Father who loves us. He sacrificed His one and only righteous Son to suffer and die to save us from our sins. Jesus Christ shed His blood on that old rugged cross in order that our Heavenly Father could justly forgive our sins when we repent. As we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are adopted into God’s redeemed family and our names are inscribed in Heaven to prove that we are His born-again children. Unbelievers should rejoice that they can repent and trust Christ as their Savior; believers should feel the need to rejoice in knowing that when they die they will go to heaven.

Let us not forget the part in our text that commands us to “pray without ceasing.” Praying prayers of thanksgiving is not only an obligation; it is also inspiring, uplifting, mind-changing, heart-changing, and faith-building. The command to “pray without ceasing” includes all forms of communicating with God—praying, singing, worshiping, and giving thanks. Thanking God for answered prayer is transforming.

Several years ago, while driving through Massachusetts after preaching in the northeastern states, I decided to visit Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims landed in December 1620 (400 years ago). I looked over the replica of the Mayflower and marveled at the lack of space for the many people who had sailed the Atlantic for so long a time. I walked on up the hill and stood before the monument of those who had braved that wild ocean and had come ashore to tame the savage wilderness. Governor William Bradford’s wife drowned while disembarking from the Mayflower, leaving the Governor with their one-year old son. The Pilgrims had landed in cold weather, lacking sufficient provisions for the winter. There were no shelters awaiting them to protect them from the cold, snow, wind, and rain. Most of them grew ill within a matter of weeks. Ten of the seventeen husbands and fourteen of the seventeen wives died within three months of the Pilgrims’ landing. By April 1621, more than half of the population had died of either disease or famine. The summer of 1621 brought a welcome reprieve from the earliest harsh environment. Indians taught the Pilgrims to plant corn, since the wheat they had brought from England would simply not grow in the rocky soil of Massachusetts.

 

The colonists also learned to hunt and fish in their surroundings. Through it all, they never forgot that their gracious and merciful God had been with them in the crossing of the ocean, in helping them erect shelters, and in bringing friendly native Americans to comfort them through the loss of their loved ones and to help them find food. Although they were living with limited rations, they declared their first Thanksgiving as a celebration of God’s gracious provisions. 

Power to Go On - Christian Renewal Journal Volume 38, Issue 4, Fall 2020

“. . . I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive . . ..” (John 14: 16-17, NKJV)

“. . . John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. . ..But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:5, 8, NKJV)

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. . ..” (Acts 2:4, NKJV)

“. . . but ever be filled and stimulated with the (Holy) Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18, ANT)

In 1960, an American evangelist asked Karl Barth what the new emphasis in theology would be during the next 20 years. Without hesitation, he replied, “The Holy Spirit!” The Swiss theologian did not live to see his prediction come true, but how right he was! In my opinion, the generation of the 1960s and 1970s heard more sound teaching on the Holy Spirit than has any age since the early church.

  

Christ Himself is our authority on the Holy Spirit. His five “Paraclete Passages” (John, Chapters 14-16) prepared the minds and hearts of His followers for the coming of His Spirit. He used the term parakletos to speak of the Holy Spirit and His work. It is not a term that is easily translated — “Comforter,”(KJV), “Counselor,” (NIV), “Advocate,” (NRSV), or “Helper,” (NKJV). The term means “One called to our side to help us.”

Jesus once gave this invitation to a crowd in Jerusalem: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38, NKJV) And then John adds, “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:39, NKJV)

The Master explained to His disciples that He must go away from them in the flesh in order to come to them again in the Spirit. They would not be left without comfort, wisdom, and power—the power to go on.