Over the centuries many people have experienced the infilling of God’s Holy Spirit. It is not a matter of denomination or church affiliation. It is not about being “Pentecostal”, speaking in unknown tongues, or some other ecstatic experience. (Though many Pentecostal brothers and sisters are definitely filled with the Holy Spirit, the evidence is in the fruit – Galatians 5:22-23 rather than the utterance.)
Consider these testimonies of spiritual infilling, when people surrendered fully to God. What a difference!
“The big word to me was CLEANSING, which opened the door of glory, hope and joy to me. Not a coming to be cleansed in the fountain only, but a remaining in the fountain, so that it may and can go on cleansing.” - Frances Ridley Havergal (hymn writer of such beloved songs as “Take My Life and Let it Be” and “Like a River Glorious.”
“A tide of joy swept into my soul, and I cried out, ‘O Bless the Lord! Praise the Lord! He does come and fill my soul!” - Dr. A. M. Hills (author of Holiness and Power.)
“I was happy, but not ecstatic. My soul was hushed into silence.” - Dr. Asbury Lowrey (Methodist pastor and Bible scholar. Author of Possibilities of Grace)
“Lord, bend me.” --Evan Roberts (The prayer God used in 1904 to ignite one of the greatest revival movements in history)
“It was borne upon me that I had to claim the gift from God on the authority of Jesus Christ. . . this I did in dogged committal. I had no vision of heaven or angels. . . but like a flash, something happened inside me. The days that followed have truly been heaven on earth. Glory to God!” - Oswald Chambers (Author, My Utmost for His Highest).
As a young evangelist, Billy Graham took a long walk in the woods and settled his commitment to Christ once and for all. Today, he points to that experience as the turning point in his life and ministry.
“No words can express the wonderful love that was spread abroad in my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love. . . These waves kept coming over me, and over me and over me, one after another, until I remember crying out, ‘I shall die if these waves continue to pass over me.’ I said, ‘Lord, I cannot bear any more’, yet I had no fear of death.” -- Charles G. Finney (Great 19th Century Evangelist)
“And as my faithful testimony. . . be it known to all that ever knew me, that when the unspeakable riches of God’s love visited me. . . I was immediately endued with a power that gave me a dominion over them (i.e. worldly conversations and habits.)
• William Penn (Famous Quaker, Founder of Pennsylvania)
John Bunyan (author of devotional classic, Pilgrim’s Progress) testified to entering into his “Beulah Land Experience.” Though not without trials, from then on, he was overwhelmed with the sense of God’s grace and power. (Ablaze for God, p. 300)
“On December 6, 1991, in an empty church sanctuary, my soul was flooded over with the presence of God. It was like I was swimming in an ocean of God’s love. All my burdens fell away. At once, I could see others through the eyes of Jesus. That day changed everything for me. My ministry today is a direct result of that experience” -- Mark O. Wilson (Senior Pastor, Hayward Wesleyan Church)
“The altar sanctifies the gift.” - Phoebe Palmer (19th Century Holiness Evangelist)
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