BIBLICAL PENTECOSTALISM (PART 3)

PROF. BEN ONYEUKWU (REV.)

NCE(Eng.) ND/HD (Journalism); BA (Hons) MA, PhD.

Call: +2348037346939  E-mail: profbenonyeukwu@gmail.com

BIBLICAL PENTECOSTALISM (PART 3)

EVANGELICAL SIGNS OF THE PENTECOSTAL BELIEVER

WRITER’S QUOTE:

                “Good preachers are not determined by good preaching, but by good practice”.

MAIN TEXT:

                …”Go into the entire world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes … will be saved… And these signs shall follow those who believe. In my Name they will cast demons; they will speak with new tongues… They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover”, (Mark 16:15-18).

INTRODUCTION:

                The primary purpose of the coming of the Holy Spirit, according to Michael Green is to equip the disciples for missions, as he further expresses that the Comforter (Holy Spirit) comes not in order to allow men to be comfortable, but to make them missionaries. This captures the truth that the Pentecostal Believer, by divine design is an embodiment of the Power of God in the exercise of the gospel, which the Apostle Paul says, is for salvation, (Romans 1:16). In line with this, Jesus remarks that, “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).

                Therefore, this power ought to be manifest in the evangelical efforts of the Pentecostal Believer, no matter the type of evangelism. In his book, the “Frontiers in Missionary Strategy”, Peter Wagner introduces what he refers to, as three styles of evangelism, namely: the presence Evangelism, Proclamation Evangelism and Persuasion Evangelism. According to Wagner, the presence Evangelism is the “good evangelism”, which he says, is the witness of good works and good deals, (Matthew 5:16) and the goal here is measured by how many people that are being “helped” in the name of the Lord. Wagner also explains that the Proclamation Evangelism, which he called, “better evangelism” adds good words to good deeds, with the goal of helping people to hear and respond to the gospel, (Romans 10:14-15). And, the Persuasion Evangelism, he says, is the best style, in the sense that it takes people from the decider phase to the disciple phase, (Matthew 28:19-20).

                In furtherance, John Wimber masterly adds between Wagner’s Proclamation and Persuasion Evangelism, the forth style, which he calls, Power Evangelism, and therefore, emphasizes that Presence Evangelism implies that, “we must be there”, as Proclamation Evangelism shows, “we must proclaim”. He then remarks that Power Evangelism indicates that, “we must have the demonstration of God’s power as well as says that; Persuasion Evangelism means that, “we must make disciples”. The above, therefore, highlights the fact that the:

PENTECOSTAL BELEIVER MUST DEMONSTRATE THE POWER OF GOD AS A MARK OF DIVINE MANDATE

                Signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit, are one of the ways God draws the attention of people to Christ, for salvation, and don’t forget that Satan employs “lying wonders” to deceive. The Pentecostal Believer is God’s instrument in Power Evangelism, which John Wimber defines as, “a presentation of the gospel which is rational, but also transcends the rational. It comes with the demonstration of the power of God through signs and wonders and introduces the numinous of God”, Wimber further shows that it serves as a divine appointment in which God encounters an individual or group through spiritual gifts and spiritual phenomena, as well as a power encounter, which reveals the clashing of God’s power with the power of Satan.

                The term “Pentecostal Believer” is deliberately employed here to break the monopoly of the “professional pastor”, and to point to the biblical fact that signs and wonders which go with “Power Evangelism” is dependent on one’s exercise of faith and not on ministerial title or position, (Mark 16:17). But, the powers of false preachers must be discerned and destroyed, as in the case of the Apostle Paul and the girl with the spirit of divination, (Acts 16:16-18) and not the review of statistical data which the Imo State Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has endorsed. For, where there is a clash of power, the inferior power bows, and you know that, “at the name of Jesus every knee must bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father, (Philippians 2:10-11). So, what has been said makes the Pentecostal Believer duty-bound to constantly and devotionally look up to God, if the flow of His power must continue.

                The above is where the problem lies, as many have shifted their devotion to fame, and today glorify “self” instead of Christ. Many more have placed their consecration on finance, and so employ falsehood for extortion. Others toe the path of women of easy virtues, and are swept off by the wave of immorality. This means that a sincere evaluation of certain gospel campaigns in big cities like Owerri with elaborate media advertisement in which the names of the preachers were magnified above that of the Lord, may have been greeted with “lying wonders” and not “signs and wonders”, as the skillful manipulations exhibited in such programmes during fund raising sessions really show that the organizers are business folks and not soul-winners, and that their main drive is the “loot” to consume with the daughters of Jezebel who they parade as team members.

PENTECOSTAL BELIEVER MUST MANIFEST SIGNS OF HEALING IN THE EXERCISE OF THE GOSPEL.

                The Pentecostal Believer, apart from the sign of speaking in other tongues will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover, (Mark 16:17-18), and John Wimber identifies three types of sickness(s) which require healing, as spiritual, emotional, and physical. Generally, sickness, according to the BBC English Dictionary, “is the state of being ill or unhealthy”, Wimber further opines that, “         spiritual sickness” is caused by an individual’s own sin, whereas, “emotional sickness” is caused by what is (hurt) done to us, as “physical or sickness of the body” has its root in physical factors, and the Pentecostal Believer is by divine mandate in position to proffer solution to problems in these areas.

                In the words of Dr. Donald McCarran, divine healing is one of the ways God brings men and women to believe in the Saviour, and this brushes aside the idea that God no longer heals, as well as plays up the biblical injunction to pray for the sick, (James 5:14-15), and so, the suppression of the gift of God or unbelief is in place where the gift of healing is not operational. But, how can a pastor with a secularized mind manifest healing from a divine source? And, what do you think will happen, when a preacher without faith in the word of God prays for healing? In fact, hindrances to divine healing are endless, but the overcoming secret is believing and practicing what the Bible says about it, (Mark 16;18).

                But, beware of the gimmicks of the demonic healing agents of hell who employ satanic means in the exercise, for the burning of candles (red, white, black or green) and incense or the application of any form of ritualistic methods during healing prayers can never be said to be of God, as the healing source of Pentecostal Believer is faith in the word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, and nothing more. (Psalm 107:20). In line with this, John Wimber, now gives a detailed teaching on the already cited three areas that require healing in human life. On spiritual healing, he says, “healing of the spirit is the renewal and restoration of one’s spiritual life{one’s relationship with God}. Sickness of the spirit is caused by an individual’s own sins, and of course, the first and deepest kind of healing is forgiveness of sins, which Christ provides in response to sincere repentance”… On emotional healing, Wimber also notes that “while sickness of the spirit is caused by (sin) what we do, sickness of the emotions is generally caused by what is done to us. It grows out of the hurts done to us by another person or some experience we have been exposed to in the past, which result in depression, inferiority complex, fear, anxiety, psychosomatic illness, etc. Thus, healing of past hurts touches the emotional, the memories and the person’s blood line”, and this is achievable through forgiveness and reconciliation.  

                Wimber, finally states that “sickness of the body has its root in physical factors, either organic or functional disorder. Therefore, healing of the body means changing and restoring the physical condition, so that the body functions properly. Of all the kinds of healing mentioned, physical healing is perhaps the most difficult for us to really believe in; as it seems far easier to pray for something spiritual than something physical, and this, serves as a call to healing ministry.

PENTECOSTAL BELIEVER MUST POSSESS SIGNS OF DELIVERANCE IN EVANGELISM

                The area of deliverance (including healing), no doubt, is one of the problems that stirs the leadership of the Imo State Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) into the humanly inspired compilation of the list of the Pentecostal pastors and denominations in the state. And, one of the sources of the misapplication of the concept of demon related matters in the misinformation on the subject matter from some Pentecostal Theological Colleges and Seminaries, which are led by half-baked or biased proprietors and teaching staff. This is why the writer believes that the rascality in the Pentecostal circle is to a large extent within, than it is from the external forces. In PFN are big time Pentecostal bishops and general superintendents, without well structured theological education, who would never submit to sound teachings of the Bible, but would rather opt to establish quasi theological schools to enable then train foot-soldiers, who would carry on their unwarranted teachings and operations. Investigation shows that such caliber of church workers contribute to a very high degree, the ministerial confusion experienced in the body.

                Though, deliverance ministry comes as a gift from God, the need for biblical guidelines on how best to handle the gift cannot be overemphasized, and this is, where the role of theological institutions becomes important. But, many Pentecostal preachers distain theological education; some claim they are intuitively taught by the Holy Spirit, others say, they are financially incapable of training themselves, as a lager member of them are deceived by certain church leaders who tell them that Church Seminars and Sunday School Lessons are enough to qualify them as gospel ministers, and by this, the writer calls on PFN on shun the proposed data exercise and address the problem of ministerial education that agitate its members, as a way of purging them of the spiritual-pastoral deficiencies for good and worthy performances in the vineyard of the Lord.

                Now, on signs of deliverance, the Pentecostal Believer who does not possess the anointing that destroys the works of Satan is lacking in the signs that go with the power of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus says, would mark out those who believe, (Mark 16;17-18). In this connection, the Bible also says, “as you go, preach this message: The Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give”, (Matthew 10:7-8). By implication, therefore, the Pentecostal Believer is a preacher of the message of the kingdom and God’s supernatural instrument through whom He breaks the yokes of Satan in the lives of the people. He is equally a means of deliverance from demonically enforced sicknesses, as well as a divine source of power for free miracles. However, the degree of one’s faith determines the extent of manifestations, as God is not to blame where there are pitfalls. But, the fake Pentecostal preacher is the opposite. He has fables and not the message of the kingdom. He has no intention to break demonic yokes, since Satan cannot cast Satan. He is a source of human problems, though he pretends to be solving them. His target is money and not freedom. Also, beware of “miracles fixing”!

                In conclusion, this piece exposes the evangelical desire of the Lord through the Pentecostal Believer, as well as reveals His intention to back up the exercise with signs and wonders, when the human instrument becomes devotionally co-operative. The work also points to the fact of the deceptions of Satan through his agents, who parade themselves as ministers of the gospel, and lays strong emphasis on the need to always resist and destroy their evil works by the power of the Holy Spirit, as it equally opines that the Pentecostal Believer is known by proofs and not by words or statistics. LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP.