The Wind of the Spirit - by Jim Tharp, 2014

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3:8).

The distinguished Jewish theologian could no longer deny the miraculous power of God at work in the life and ministry of the Galilean. Nor could he quench his thirst to meet Jesus face to face. So, humbling himself and putting his reputation on the line, Nicodemus went one night to confess that Jesus was from God and inquire of Him the way of salvation.

Jesus responded to Israel’s prominent thinker by making an issue of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. No one can enter the kingdom of God without a spiritual transformation, Jesus explained, and this requires the Spirit of God to bring about the miracle of regeneration. Just as a natural birth is necessary for one to enter and become aware of the human family, we must be born again, born of the Spirit—in order to grasp the reality and relationships of the kingdom of God. Furthermore, admission to the kingdom of God is never by the proud prerogative of race, status, nation, class, or gender. It is certainly not by heredity! All who enter the kingdom of God must be born into it by the Spirit. This spiritual birth is an act of God.

Jesus was faithful to explain to Nicodemus the one simple condition for being born again: believing in God’s one and only Son who was lifted up (crucified) for our sins (John 3:14-21). The evidence that one has truly believed (come into the light), Jesus said, is that he lives by the truth (John 3:21).

 

The Leaven of the Pharisees - by Jim tharp, 1998

Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matthew 16:6)

Both Matthew and Mark record that Jesus used the metaphor of "leaven" (yeast) to warn the disciples against the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Leaven was a common symbol for evil in Jesus' day, and could therefore be applied to many kinds of wickedness with the thought that even a small amount could go a long way and have an insidious effect.

Jesus brought a serious charge against His disciples when He said, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?" (vv. 8-11).

Manipulation or Obedience

We do not have to guess at those erroneous teachings with which Jesus took issue with the Pharisees and Sadducees. He had denounced them for their demand of manipulative signs instead of believing in the abundant evidence He had already supplied concerning who He was. But now the disciples are perilously close to the same unbelief as to the person of Jesus and His miracles. The Lord sought to train His men to think deeply about the revelation He was giving them. He was grieved that their tiny faith brought them to such an unimaginative conclusion. To follow the thinking of the Pharisees and Sadducees would cause them to miss the truth that Jesus was Himself "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:18). To follow their thinking would be to seek to restrict and control the very Messiah whom they claimed to believe in.

Scripture or Tradition

The Pharisees were the more prominent Jewish group in Jesus' day. Descendants of the Hasidim (pious ones), they believed fanatically in a righteousness which comes by law. They actually became so obsessed in seeking to render explicit what was implicit in the law that they resorted to artificial means of exegesis. Their devotion to an external holiness prompted rigid codes for dress and diet. The Pharisees stubbornly held to a number of inherited traditions, which, although not found in the written law, they held as a part of the law given to Moses on the Mount. So they proposed two parallel divine revelations: the written law and the oral tradition, and they taught that these were equally important and equally authoritative.

Our Sin of Prayerlessness 2014

I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord (Ezekiel 22:30-31).

The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene (Isaiah 59:15b-16a).

Anyone who holds a Biblical view of Almighty God has to believe that in His absolute holiness our Creator-Redeemer is deeply grieved by both the wickedness of the world and the weakness of His Church. Reading both our Old and New Testaments, we learn that God is aghast at the degradation of the world and appalled at the sins and prayerlessness of His people.

In Noah’s time The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth (Genesis 6:5-7a).

But God found Noah, who would stand in the gap between divine holiness and human depravity, and those who believed (only eight souls) were saved. Noah built an ark, but all those who scoffed and rejected their only means of salvation were destroyed by the flood.

The apostle Paul, under divine inspiration, foretold conditions of the last days:

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power (II Timothy 3:2-5a).

But in the last days, God sent His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to a lost world already condemned, already marked for eternal destruction. As Jesus told Nicodemus, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son (John 3:16-18).

To all who receive Jesus Christ as Savior He has promised the Holy Spirit. On His departure, Jesus ordered His followers to go back into Jerusalem and tarry (wait before the Lord in prayer) until you have been clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). His final words were: 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).

Throughout the book of Acts we see a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit in the church that was filled with the Spirit as it spread the Gospel in power—winning thousands to Christ, working miracles of healing, raising the dead, casting out demons, and demonstrating the plan of God for advancing the kingdom of God throughout the world.

But the most tragic sin of the church across the centuries has been its failure to remain empowered by the Holy Spirit. The strange cycle of the backsliding and renewing of the people of God through the centuries is a haunting phenomenon. Just as the Old Testament people of God failed to meet the conditions of its covenant with Jehovah, so the New Testament Church has also grieved, quenched, or ignored the Holy Spirit of power. The resulting apostasy has written tragedy into its history.

Our God of mercy has promised His people the miracle of revivals to restore His Church to new life, fresh faith, renewed vision, and amazing power for reaching a lost world with the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a God of Grace and Justice, He gives His people a choice—either Revival or Judgment. Revival is not only a means of preserving His Church; Revival is also a means of preserving the nations His people inhabit. Revival is not only the divine means of restoring Christian believers to New Testament life and power; with true Revival God brings a moral and spiritual healing to the land: 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (II Chronicles 7:14). 

Jesus warned about the condition of the times leading up to His Second Coming: As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:37-39). Despite the moral and spiritual conditions requiring divine judgment, people today—just as in Noah’s day—are going about as though there has been no warning from a merciful God.

Ready for Christ's Coming - by Jim Tharp

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away; so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 

But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. 

(Matthew 24:36-44, NRSV)

From the very hour in which our Lord Jesus Christ was caught up in His ascension to the Father, Christian believers everywhere have rejoiced in their hope of His Second Coming. The apostles watched Jesus ascend, and then after He was out of sight, angels came and wakened the disciples from their trance, saying Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (Acts 1:11, NRSV).

Surely, Christ’s Second Coming is of the utmost importance for all believers. But we must also give attention to all that Jesus and His apostles said about our preparation for His coming.

We learn from Jesus and His apostles that the Second Coming will have two phases—He will come first to rapture (“catch away”) His Bride. The world and those not ready for His coming will not see Him. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (I Thessalonians 4:16-17, NKJV).

The second phase of the Second Coming will be a Revelation—He will return to the very place from which He ascended: to the Mount of Olives in a great earthquake. The prophet Zechariah predicted five centuries before Christ’s coming to earth as a Babe in the manger that He would return: On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south (Zechariah 14:4 NIV). Jesus Himself confirmed Zechariah’s prophecy by saying, For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. . . . Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24:27, 30, NIV).

The earth to which Jesus returns in the second phase of His coming will be to one filled with tragedy and sorrow because of rejecting the Savior and believing the lies of the Antichrist. The apostle Paul predicted that those believers on earth living just before the rapture would be affected by the preliminary invasions of the evil spirits of the Antichrist: The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (II Thessalonians 2:9-12, NIV).

Four Components of New Covenant Praying - By Jim Tharp 1998

In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." (John 16:23-24, 26-28, NIV)

Having been intrigued by the prayer life of Jesus, the disciples pressed Him to share with them His secrets of prevailing prayer. In His final discourse on prayer, which came within the context of His Paraclete lessons, Jesus told His disciples that things would be different in their prayer life once the Holy Spirit came upon them. Let us see the four components of New Covenant praying as mentioned by Jesus in His last discourse.

Approaching the Father

"In that day," said Jesus, "you will no longer ask Me anything." The phrase "in that day" appears twice in this context, and it refers to the time when the Holy Spirit will come to influence believers, including their praying. When He said, "you will no longer ask Me anything," Jesus was reminding them that He would not be with them literally and visibly. With the Holy Spirit indwelling and guiding them, they would have no need to turn to Him literally as they had in the past. It would be to their advantage that He depart from them in the flesh in order that He might return to them in the Spirit. With the Holy Spirit in them, the Father and the Son would be approachable at all times and in all circumstances. Jesus assured them, "The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God" (v.27). No apologies would be necessary in approaching the Father. As His redeemed children, bought by the precious blood of His only begotten Son, none of us are considered to be interrupting or intruding when we come to the Father in prayer. "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:14-16). The inspired writer argues here for an approach to the Father that is one of confidence because of our standing in Christ. When we pray, we are not approaching the Father as a stranger or an impostor but as a blood-bought child who is in favor because of Christ and what He did for us. Jesus emphasized boldness in prayer by both example and parables.

Pentecostal Power II - by Jim tharp 2015

And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49, RSV).

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8, RSV).

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4, RSV).

Luke the historian pinpoints the exact day on which God fulfills His promise to send the Holy Spirit to the disciples of Jesus. The 120 believers, including those disciples, had been praying faithfully and waiting in the upper room in Jerusalem for The Promise of the Father. Jesus hadn’t given them the full details concerning the outpouring of the Spirit, but they had been following His instructions.

The Holy Spirit came and poured Himself on these obedient believers on The Day of Pentecost. It is important that we understand how Old Testament patterns were simply shadows of the realities of God’s plans for His New Testament Christian believers. So I want us to understand The Day of Pentecost in light of the Jewish celebrations.

The Feast of the Passover took place on Friday. The blood of the sacrificial lamb on the doorposts was used for the deliverance of the firstborn sons. John the Baptist prophesied that Jesus would be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29, RSV). Jesus, the Lamb, gave His life on the cross at the exact time the high priest would offer the Paschal Lamb on Good Friday.

The next day was the Sabbath with the celebration of The Feast of Unleavened Bread, commemorating the difficult journey out of Egypt.

Next came The Celebration of Harvest, or The Feast of First Fruits, a shadow or type of the resurrection of our Lord. He is the first fruits of the great harvest to come (I Corinthians 15:12-28).

The harvest continued for a period of 50 days. It climaxed on The Day of Pentecost. Two loaves of bread were presented to the high priest, a symbol of the fulfillment of the harvest. During those 50 days Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father. We are given only a brief insight into the activities in the heavenly realms. Jesus serves as the Great High Priest who offers His sacrifice once for all. He receives The Promise of the Father in order to pour out the blessing upon us on The Day of Pentecost.

I would have us consider three dimensions of the Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit:

It Takes Prayer - by Jim Tharp 1997

So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed (Luke 5:16).

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12).

And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him ... (Luke 9:18).

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet ... These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication ... (Acts 1:12, 14).

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31).

From the day that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit in the River Jordan (Luke 3:21-22) to the time of His death on the cross, He was a Man of the Spirit and a Man of Prayer. When He was ready to birth the Church, He ordered a prayer meeting (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:12, 14; 2:1-4).

When I returned from a preaching tour of South Korea and the Philippines back in the 70s and reported the mighty movings of the Holy Spirit in those countries, my American friends wanted to know the secret. Why was God moving so powerfully in the Far East when we see so little of His power here? Of course, I said, the answer is prayer. I said that I had never been in a place of prayer like South Korea. The Koreans know how to tarry before the Lord. There they pray in the Spirit on all occasions and in every place. I noticed that they did not place nearly as much emphasis on preaching, theology, music, gifts, finances and organizations and other things, as they did on prayer. I listened to their praying in their early morning meetings, during the family prayers and at the special times of prayer among pastors. If they were not praying in English, I would ask someone to interpret their praying. I learned that for the most part, these Koreans were praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the services to capture the attention and hearts of the people of God.

The Holy Spirit knows that He is welcome because of our prayer meetings and by the way we pray. Jesus knew that once His followers began to pray, they would soon be in readiness to receive the Holy Spirit. And He also knew that once they were filled with the Holy Spirit they would be equipped to pray with power.

The same is true with His modern disciples. We are called to militant, mighty praying -- the kind that frightens and defeats the forces of hell. There is a passage in Matthew 11:12 which needs to be laid hold on by Christians of this generation: "and from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." We must no longer ignore this passage as "bizarre and irrelevant," as some have. Not a few scholars believe that Jesus meant here that "the kingdom of God is carried along by forceful means." If so, then it will require men and women who understand the nature of spiritual power to advance the cause of Christ. It so happens that such men and women are people of prayer.