- May 17, 2011
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So my question has to do with those who teach an individual may have to persist in asking, seeking, and knocking for the Promise of the Father (Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9) I'm reading books on the teachings of John Lake and Smith Wigglesworth and so far the two biggest things I got from the teaching is:
--A person must be holy before the can receive the Holy Spirit Baptism
--A person has to completely repent of all wrong doing, including seeking the forgiveness of someone you may have wronged in the past, before they can receive
Even with that, Lake said that he thought he had received at one point, but after a while he seemed to just be going through the motions. Then God told him to seek for more, so he began a fierce fasting and prayer regimen and 9 MONTHS later Lake says he was Baptized in the Spirit as the Apostles were.
Wigglesworth said when he first thought he received he didn't speak in tongues but was convinced he had received. Then he began going to some meetings where he was from (in England I believe) and was convicted about the need to pray in tongues as the sign of the Baptism. So he had someone pray for him to receive tongues (because he was still convinced he was Spirit-filled) and he was instead baptized in the Spirit, as he said. But then he teaches that with some people they've had to drive for hours to find someone that they wronged before they could receive, or one family he said that he had to pray with them for several hours into the night. One story in particular goes he finished a service and a couple invited him over. So when they got to their house they started to make supper and Wigglesworth about left because he said he came over to pray and not eat. So they started praying instead at about 11 (am or pm I don't know). The wife received the baptism at 3:30 am, and the husband still at 5 had not, and it took him several days of persistance to receive.
What is your opinion on this? I mean, most Pentecostals, and even Charismatics I know say you receive the instant you pray and ask, regardless of how you feel about it. We can't deny these men weren't great men of faith with the things they did and faith they displayed. Just conflicting with most everything I've been taught about Holy Spirit Baptism.
--A person must be holy before the can receive the Holy Spirit Baptism
--A person has to completely repent of all wrong doing, including seeking the forgiveness of someone you may have wronged in the past, before they can receive
Even with that, Lake said that he thought he had received at one point, but after a while he seemed to just be going through the motions. Then God told him to seek for more, so he began a fierce fasting and prayer regimen and 9 MONTHS later Lake says he was Baptized in the Spirit as the Apostles were.
Wigglesworth said when he first thought he received he didn't speak in tongues but was convinced he had received. Then he began going to some meetings where he was from (in England I believe) and was convicted about the need to pray in tongues as the sign of the Baptism. So he had someone pray for him to receive tongues (because he was still convinced he was Spirit-filled) and he was instead baptized in the Spirit, as he said. But then he teaches that with some people they've had to drive for hours to find someone that they wronged before they could receive, or one family he said that he had to pray with them for several hours into the night. One story in particular goes he finished a service and a couple invited him over. So when they got to their house they started to make supper and Wigglesworth about left because he said he came over to pray and not eat. So they started praying instead at about 11 (am or pm I don't know). The wife received the baptism at 3:30 am, and the husband still at 5 had not, and it took him several days of persistance to receive.
What is your opinion on this? I mean, most Pentecostals, and even Charismatics I know say you receive the instant you pray and ask, regardless of how you feel about it. We can't deny these men weren't great men of faith with the things they did and faith they displayed. Just conflicting with most everything I've been taught about Holy Spirit Baptism.
