How did the Pentecostal Movement start? What did the early Pentecostals learn about the Holy Spirit as they studied the book of Acts? Who were Charles Parham and William Seymour? What is the Holy Spirit doing in the world today? We talk about all this and more with Dr. Larry Martin today on The Evangelism Podcast.
Buy the book about Charles F. Parham:
Listen to Classical Pentecostal Sermons: https://pentecostalgold.com/
Learn more about the Azusa Street Revival: https://azusastreet.org/
Support the Campaign Ministry of Dr. Larry Martin: https://drlarrymartin.org/
Transcript:
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (00:00):
How did the Pentecostal movement start? What did the early Pentecostals learn about the Holy Spirit as they studied the Book of Acts? Who were Charles Parham and William Seymour? What is the Holy Spirit doing in the world today? We talk about all this and more with Dr. Larry Martin. Today on the Evangelism Podcast.
Evangelism Podcast Host (00:35):
Welcome to the Evangelism Podcast with Dr. Daniel King, where Daniel interviews full-time evangelists, pastors, missionaries, and normal everyday Christians to discover how they share their faith, their powerful testimonies, and amazing stories that will inspire you to reach people with the good news. And now, here’s your host, missionary, and evangelist Daniel King.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (00:59):
Welcome to the Evangelism Podcast. I’m Daniel King, and I’m excited about telling people about Jesus. Today I have a very special guest with me, Dr. Larry Martin, thank you for joining me on the Evangelism Podcast. Thank
Dr. Larry Martin (01:13):
You, Daniel. It’s great to be here.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (01:15):
Dr. Larry Martin is one of the premier Pentecostal historians that are alive today. He has published extensively on the roots of Pentecostalism, looking at some of the great figures throughout Pentecostal history. And he’s a great revivalist and a crusader as well. And so not only is he a historian, but he puts the power of the Holy Spirit to work in his life and ministry. And so, brother Larry, let’s talk a little bit about the roots of the Pentecostal movement, and let’s continue all the way through history to where we are today with what the Holy Spirit is doing today. So let’s begin with Charles Parham. You’ve just published a brand new book, and this is the most beautiful book of all the books that you’ve done. I, I love this book. It’s the Unlikely Father of modern Pentecostalism by about Charles Fox Parham, and it’s published by Whitaker House. And so you have done extensive research into his life. Let’s begin at the beginning. Who is Parham and what happened through his ministry?
Dr. Larry Martin (02:37):
Well, I, I believe that Charles Parham is unquestionably the founder of the modern Pentecostal charismatic movement. Some people like to spiritualize, as if, you know, it just came out of thin air. The Holy Spirit showed up, but God uses people and he used this man, Charles Parham, to be the father of the Pentecostal. He was at first he was a Methodist preacher and didn’t fit well in the Episcopal scheme of hierarchy. And so he left the Methodist Church, became more or less a holiness of evangelist, and was seeking hungry for God, looking for more, traveled all across the United States, went to Chicago where Moody School was, and Zion, where John Alexander Dowley was, went to New York, where, where Simpson was, went up to Maines Durham, Maine, and just traveled everywhere, looking for more of God. Came back to Topeka, Kansas and started a little Bible school and an old mansion there. And they were praying 24 hours a day and seeking the face of God, studying the Bible. And that’s where God showed up. And the Pentecostal movement began on January 1st, 1901.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (03:50):
Talk to me about that date in history and what led up to it, and then what happened on that date.
Dr. Larry Martin (04:01):
Yes, sir. The schools I said they had 24 hour prayer going. They, they studied, only studied the scripture. They didn’t have any textbooks. They didn’t study theology per se, or, or eschatology, or certainly didn’t study science in math. They studied the Bible. So it was a, it was a great environment for God to do something special. And, and Charles Parham had been interested in the idea of speaking in tongues. He had, he had encountered that up in Maine and had actually published something about him, one of his earlier newspapers. And so he had a hunger in him for more of the Lord. And he asked the students, he was going off to Kansas City to preach a, a meeting. He asked the students to study the Book of Acts, and he asked them not to congregate together, but to study separately each go of their own individual private devotional time and study the Book of Acts and find if there was any physical evidence that accompanied the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
(05:01):
And the students studied, as he said, he came back, he called them together in their main meeting room, and he began to question them what was their conclusion? And, and each of the students studying independently had pretty well come to the same conclusion that in the Book of Acts, when people were baptized in the Holy Spirit, it was evidenced by speaking in other tongues. And so they began to pray that God would give them the baptism Holy Spirit as he was given in the Book of Acts, that they would receive the Holy Spirit as the early apostles did with the evidence of speaking of other tongues. A and this sounds pretty common today among Pentecostal charismatic people, but at that time, that was an, an unordinary a very out of the ordinary thing because people had spoken in tongues throughout church history, but they only saw speaking in tongues as being a, a manifestation spirit like falling in the floor or laughing or something, like didn’t sit at anything beyond. And there were even people that called themselves Pentecostal, that, that didn’t have the baptism Holy Spirit. But as far as anyone tying the experience of the baptism Holy Spirit, with the experience of evidentiary tongues, no one had done that to this point. And so this was pretty revolutionary. It was caused a paradigm shift when it happened. And it was on January the first. But
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (06:19):
Before we get there, okay, let, let’s talk a little bit about the Book of Acts. All right, because let’s just go through and, and look at how the Holy Spirit was poured out in the Book of Acts, cuz this is what they were doing on that day. They were just reading. They, they didn’t have textbooks, they’re just reading the Bible. They’re looking at acts correct and looking at how the Holy Spirit was poured out during the early church and believing that God could do the same thing today. So Acts chapter two, you have the day of Pentecost. The 120 disciples are in the upper room, and they’re all waiting for the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you should be buying witnesses. And he told ’em to go to Jerusalem and wait. So they’re there waiting Day of Pentecost, suddenly there’s a mighty rushing wind, there’s tongues of fire, and they all begin to speak in other tongues.
(07:09):
They’re, they’re all filled with the Holy Spirit, then they speak with tongues. Then Peter goes and preaches, and 3000 people are saved that day. Alright? Then you have Acts chapter four, which I like to call the, the Jerusalem refill. So Acts 4 31, it says, 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. Okay? So some of the same people that had been filled on the day of Pentecost, right, were probably there in Acts four getting filled again. Then you have Acts chapter eight when it says that when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard what was happening in Samaria, and that they had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. So when they, Peter and John had come down to Samaria, they prayed for them that they may receive the Holy Spirit because they had been baptized, the, the evangelist Philip had gone, he had baptized them, but they hadn’t been filled with the Holy Spirit yet. And so Peter and John laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. And there must have been some type of physical manifestation because when Simon, the sorcerer saw what was happening, he was amazed, and he actually wanted to pay money in order to receive it. So there must have been something physical that was happening there in Acts eight to catch the attention of Simon, the sorcerer.
Dr. Larry Martin (08:34):
That’s exactly right, Daniel.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (08:35):
Then you come to Acts chapter nine, when Saul meets Jesus in the Holy Spirit. So he’s on the road to Damascus and Saul is, is hit with a blinding light. He sees a vision, he’s knocked off his horse, he’s blinded. He, he is Jesus appears to him and tells him to go to Anais. And so Acts nine 17, it says, Ananias went with hi went his way and entered the house and laying his hands on him, he said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you can came, he sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And we know that Paul spoke in tongues because later on he says, I pray in tongues more than all of you. That’s correct. And so he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he’s spoke in tongues.
(09:28):
Then you have Acts chapter 10 at the House of Cornelius, the Gentile. And so Acts 10 44 and 48 says, while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, can anyone forbid water that there should not be baptized who had received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay for a few days. And so what’s really interesting, Peter is in the middle of preaching, and as he’s preach, he hasn’t even finished his sermon yet. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon them, and they all begin to speak in tongues.
(10:22):
And these are Gentiles. And it was just like on the day of Pentecost, they began to speak in tongues just like on the day of Pentecost. And it really amazed all of the, the Jews, those who were circumcised, because they thought it was, this was a gift only for the Jews. Now, what’s really interesting is that in Acts eight with the Samaritans, they were baptized in water. Then when they, the Peter and John came in, laid hands with them, then they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, in Acts 10 with Cornelius, they’re baptized in the Holy Spirit first. And then he says, why shouldn’t they be baptized in water? And and so that tells me that God is not concerned with the order so much as he is concerned with getting his spirit into every person, right? And so some people you know, they want to be very analytical and, and, and analyze everything that God does. And so you have like the, the order of salvation. First this happens, and then that happens, and then that, that happens. But it seems like to God the order doesn’t matter so much as just I want everyone to receive everything that I have to give.
Dr. Larry Martin (11:35):
Another important lesson there in, in those verses Daniel, is some people would teach that water baptism is essential to salvation, that there’s some salvation, saving grace in water baptism. But it’s clear here, they receive the Holy Spirit before they receive water baptism. Jesus said that the world receive him. So obviously these people were saved and they were saved apart from water baptism. Although it’s important to obedience the most important thing is that we receive Christ and be baptized in his spirit.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (12:05):
And then another time the Spirit is poured out is Acts chapter 19 verse one through seven. And then it says, when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And then Paul laid his hands on them. The Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. And there were about 12 men there in Ephesus who received. Now, just recently, you and I were together in Turkey, right? And we got to go to the, the Agia, Sophia, the the church building there built by the Orthodox Church that for a thousand years was the largest building on Earth. Well, while we were there, I flew down to Ephesus and I got to walk the, the streets of Ephesus. And it was so cool being there in that place. And I was thinking about these 12 men that had received the Holy Spirit. And what’s really interesting here in Acts 19 is that they receive the Holy Spirit, they speak in tongues, and then they prophesy. And so along with the, the speaking in tongues, which is a physical manifestation of receiving the gift, you have the other gifts of the Holy Spirit. So you’ve got prophecy gifts of healing you know, words of wisdom, words of knowledge. All these things come when the Holy Spirit comes upon someone.
Dr. Larry Martin (13:25):
Exactly something else, Daniel, about Acts 19, I think it’s really important. And that’s in the, in the, the, the wording, the translation most modern translations to the Bible. I’m certainly not against translations, and I’m not kind of a King James, only guy. But most translations phrase that, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? That’s the N I V. Almost all the new translations say, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? But the actual Greek of that is having believed, did you receive the Holy Spirit? And it is clear in the original that there are two separate incidents. You become a believer, you’re baptized in the Holy Spirit. And a lot of people have taught over the years that when you’re saved, you receive the baptism Holy Spirit. Well, when you are saved, you do receive the Holy Spirit. He’s with you. He, he was active in your salvation. But the baptism, holy Spirit, is a second and distinct work of God’s grace. And that’s proven by the original writing there in Acts 19.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (14:27):
And so I think these instances of what God did in the Book of Acts is not just something that happened historically. I I think this is not just description, but this is prescription for today. The Holy Spirit is God. The Bible says Jesus Christ is the same. Yesterday, today, and forever in Malachi three, six, God says, I am Jehovah, I change not. And so the Holy Spirit doesn’t change. And so the same Holy Spirit that was poured out in the Book of Acts is available to people today. God does not change. The Holy Spirit doesn’t change. You can’t say that something happened in Acts but is not needed today because God has given us his word so that we can understand the Holy Spirit, so that we can understand who he is, how he operates, what He does. And and so I think that it’s very valuable what these early Pentecostal did.
(15:28):
They went to the Word of God, and they formed their theology based on what they saw in the Book of Acts. They, they were reading God’s word, and they were, were think, okay, if we want to be like the early church, what practice should we have? Right? And and I think sometimes in the modern church, we have our theology and, and then we go and try to impose our theology on God’s word. And that’s where some verses get thrown out. Or we say, that is not for today. But really, I think what we should do is we should let God’s word form our theology rather than trying to force our theology to shape how we read God’s word.
Dr. Larry Martin (16:13):
That’s right, Daniel. What, what I teachwhen I teach this, and I will be doing that in the morning. What I teach is they were not an experience looking for a doctrine. A lot of times today, as you said, we bring our theology and then try to make the word of God comply. But we also do that with our experience. People have some supernatural experience, and then they try to look for a scripture to prove that experience. And these people went to the scripture first, they found the experience in scripture, and then began to seek an experience according to God’s word. And I think that’s the, that’s the most important distinction there, that their, their hunger was to see God do what he had had done in the past. And not just, they weren’t just seeking speaking in tongues or this baptism whole spirit. They, they called themselves the apostolic faith because they wanted a restoration of everything that happened in the Book of Acts.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (17:10):
All right, so let’s get back to the, the historic fact. We, we went to acts. So we went all the way back to first century Holy Spirit. Now let’s go back to 1901 and, and tell us what was happening that morning in January 1st, 1901.
Dr. Larry Martin (17:27):
It, it actually started on December 31st. The, the group that met with Paul that had a church there where they met in the old mansion, the Stones Mansion, and they were having a watch night service. A lot of churches don’t do this today, but even when I was a kid growing up, we always had a watch night service on December the 31st. And we would sing and preach and pray, and tried to at midnight when the new year started, to have a prayer meeting and pray in the New Year, pray the old year out, and the new year in, that’s what Parham’s group was doing. They were having watch night and sometimes around midnight. And you know, I probably researched this as much as anybody possibly could. And I can’t tell you if it was before midnight or after midnight or, or at midnight, I just say around midnight, they were praying.
(18:15):
And a lady at the school named Agnes Osmond she was had done gospel work. She was, by the way, all the students there, they were not like Bible school students out here at ORU that were 18, 20 years old. These were mostly mature adults that had been in the ministry. Most of them had done various kinds of gospel work, pastoring and other things. And Agnes Osmond was a a recognized gospel worker. She had a sister that was a missionary and actually died on the mission field. And so she was a, she was a mature woman of God, and she asked Charles Parum if he would pray for her, that she might receive the baptism of Holy Spirit, as they did in the Book of Acts with the evidence of speaking and other tongues. At first, Charles Parum hesitated.
(19:04):
He himself had not had this experience, but he agreed and decided he would pray for her. And when he laid hands on her, Agnes Osmond began to speak in tongues. And that moment when she had that experience was the birth of the Pentecostal movement. She was so baptized in the Holy Spirit that she spoke in tongues for days. She couldn’t speak in English. They would give her paper, and she couldn’t write in English. She’d write, they called it Riding in Tongues. I’ve seen some copies of it looks some something like chicken scratch. But that’s what they said. She was writing in tongues. And over the next few days, revival broke out there in Topeka, a number of people, Charles Palm, a number of others, received the baptism. Holy Spirit. It was such a, a phenomenal thing that newspapers came from all across America from Chicago and from St. Louis and Kansas City Newspapers came, and this revival was front page news that God was pouring out his spirit in a powerful way. So that, that was how the movement started. That was the first day.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (20:07):
Okay, so then talk to us some about the history of Charles Parum. You’ve written a, a great book on it. Charles Fox Parum by Dr. Larry Martin. And you, you go into some of his history. He, he was flawed as a human being, as all of us are, but God used him. What happened after the Topeka outpouring?
Dr. Larry Martin (20:36):
Several things that are important to note. One is Charles Parham believed that when they received the baptism, holy Spirit speaking in tongues, that they could go anywhere in the world and preach without learning a language that didn’t happen as they expected. It would’ve
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (20:52):
Been useful as a missionary to have
Dr. Larry Martin (20:54):
That it be great, and it does happen on rare occasions, but it didn’t happen generally as they thought it would. And the other thing is, he thought that this revival was going to be immediate and massive, and it wasn’t. In fact he and his wife went to Kansas City and ended up then going to Lawrence, Kansas, trying to hold meetings, tried to start another school. And almost everything he did failed. He had a child that was sick, and he was a faith healer. They didn’t believe in going to doctors and his child died, and that was a extremely difficult season for them. The, they, they become unpopular. They, his wife says they almost starved to death for a season. It was, it was a very difficult time. The movement was real. The experience was real, but the timing wasn’t what he thought it was.
(21:40):
And they wandered around in that spiritual wilderness for a while, and they ended up in a little town called El Dorado Springs, Missouri. And El Dorado Springs is one of those places in America that has a natural spring that back 125 years ago, people thought these spring waters would bring healing to them if they had whatever, rheumatism or arthritis or whatever, they’d come to those springs. And so here at Parham is a faith, healing, faith leader, praying for the sick, what better place to go than the place where all the sick people are. So he, he sets up meetings in El Dorado Springs and has a, a apartment that he’s rented there, and he’s preaching the gospel at the Springs. There’s a lady there named Mary Arthur. She was from Galena, Kansas. And Mary Arthur was really sick. She had intestinal plumbing problems.
(22:32):
She was blind in one eye, going blind in the other eye, and she didn’t wanna be there that summer. She had been there twice before. It didn’t help her, but she was so sick. Her husband insisted that she go and try to be in the water one more time to be healed. And she heard Charles Palm preach, and faith rose in her heart. She went over to the place where he was living, staying, praying for people. Charles Parham prayed for her. Well, she was so blinded that she had pain in her eyes when she saw the sunshine. So she would cover her eyes up when she was outside, and she left Paul’s home, and she had a grandchild with her that was leading her back to her place. And the grandchild flitted off the way children are doing, she’s there on the street by herself and she can’t see.
(23:16):
And she’s crying out for the child. And in desperation, she takes this cover off of her eyes. And when she did, she was completely healed. Her eyes were like 2020. She could see perfectly. And not only that, but she soon realized that everything else that was wrong with her was, well, every maladies like God had done a complete overhaul in her, and she was so excited. She went home, invited Charles Parham to Galena, Kansas, and he came there, he preached it. Her church was the Methodist church. He preached in her house, then they put up a big tent, and he preached in the tent. And that wasn’t big enough. They rented at a storefront. It was two, two separate buildings separated by a wall, took this wall out, had this massive hall, and hundreds of people came to Christ. Hundreds of people received the baptismal Holy Spirit, miracles and healings.
(24:04):
What he had thought would happen in Topeka three, four years before now begins to evidence itself in Galena, Kansas. And real Pentecostal revival broke out. It spread from Kansas over to Joplin, Missouri. Hundreds were saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit of Joplin, Missouri. And all around that four state area there Kansas and Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, all in that area. God was moving. And, and during this season, he received an invitation to go to Texas, and he went to Texas as a long story. I won’t tell it all, but he went to Texas. He was sick when he went there. God touched his body. Revival broke out in a little town called Orchard, Texas, till almost every person in Orchard was saved. Almost every family in the town was saved. And that’s when Pentecost really began to move. I I say it was born in Topeka, and it crawled around in Kansas and Missouri and Oklahoma. It got to Houston, and it stood on its feet and started walking because from Orchard, they went over to Houston, Texas, had a great meeting in Houston and
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (25:09):
Uhor. And one of the people that was in that Houston meeting yes, was William Seymour. Yes. And so talked to us about how he was received in Houston, and then what happened when Will William Seymour went over to Azusa Street Sure. In California. Sure.
Dr. Larry Martin (25:32):
William Seymour was African American man. His parents had been slaves. He was raised in obscurity and poverty at one time. They did a affidavit. His, his mother was trying to get a pension, and they did an affidavit, and the entire family’s possessions was worth 65 cents. All of their furniture, all their clothes, everything they owned was valued at 65 cents. Poverty, like none of us can imagine. And also in a time of great racial discrimination. He was he was in a, in an area where a group called the Knights of the White Cele were like the KKK terrorized in African Americans. He escaped that. He went up north he got saved in Cincinnati, Ohio. No, in
(26:23):
Indianapolis, Indiana. He’d been in Chicago, went to Cincinnati, ended up then in Houston. And in Houston he met Charles Par. And the way Seymour met Parum is par had a lady that was taking care of her kids and cooking for him and his family. And her name was Lucy Ferrell. And she was the pastor of a Little Holiness church in Houston. She went to Kansas with Par and Seymour pastor at her church for a little while, at least preached in the church. And so he met Charles Parham. Charles Parum had a Bible school going there in Houston. He was, he had these 12 week schools where he had teach the fundamentals of the faith. And, and Seymour went to the school. I think I should mention, there’s a lot of, lot of discussion about whether or not Seymour was in the school or outside the school.
(27:09):
Some people say he only sat in the hallway outside and the door was open. And that might have happened maybe for a season. But there’s a number of eyewitnesses who were there that says, Seymour sat in the classroom. So I think there came a time that they accommodated him in the classes, but he and Charles Par would preach together. But because of the Jim Clo Crow laws at that time, par would preach to white people and Seymour preach to black people had racists separated. And a lady there heard Seymour preach and invited him to come to Los Angeles and preach in their church in Los Angeles. And that again, changed the world. Seymour made his trip to Los Angeles, and when he got there, he preached in this hole in his church and preached on the baptism Holy Spirit, which by the way, he had not received.
(27:54):
And the church rejected the teaching and locked him out of the church. He joined himself with a group of praying people at two 14 Bonnie Bra Street, where they were seeking God every night in cottage prayer meetings, Ruth and Richard Asbury. And on April the ninth, 1906, while they were praying there at Bonnie Bra Street, the Holy Spirit fell first on a man named Edward Lee at his home. And then they went over and it fell out. The Bon Bra Street and Glory of God came down. A revival was birthed on April the 9/19/06. Within a week, they couldn’t hold their services in the little house that was overflowing and people out in the street. So they looked for a building to rent, found a dilapidated o abandoned church that had been converted into a warehouse at 312 Azusa Street. Moved in there. When they moved in, God moved in there with them. It’s probably the most famous address in Pentecostalism. One of the most famous addresses in Christianity, three 12 Azusa Street, where God came down.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (28:55):
What happened at the Azusa Street Revival?
Dr. Larry Martin (28:59):
It’s, it’s almost beyond description, how God moved there. They, they had services three times a day, 10 o’clock in the morning, and at noon, at seven o’clock at night. But the 12 o’clock service, excuse me, the 10 o’clock service was still going at 12 and 12 o’clock. Service didn’t ever stop before seven. So they were literally in service from 10 o’clock in the morning till after midnight, seven days a week. People came from all over the world. People would come to the train station. They had ambassadors there that would meet ’em and bring them to the mission. People in Los Angeles would be doing their business, that’d hear the singing from Ausa Street. They’d stop and be captured by it. They’d, the Holy Spirit that had stayed there for hours, hundreds were saved, hundreds of people healed and, and baptized in the Holy Spirit. Missionaries began to go out immediately to all the four corners of the earth and all across the US spreading the Pentecostal message when, when it was born in Topeka. And it crawled around in Oklahoma, Texas, and stood up, I mean, Oklahoma and Missouri and Arkansas. It stood up in Texas, and it started running in California and literally ran around the world.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (30:11):
And so people from all over came to Ausa Street. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in other tongues. And then many of them launched out as missionaries, going to different parts of the world, spreading this message of the Holy Spirit. Let’s, let’s talk about what God has done since then. Because now if you look at global statistics, the fastest growing part of the church is the Pentecostal Church, the people who believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. And Pentecostals originally were called Pentecostals because they believed in the power of Pentecost. And then for a while they were called charismatics, because it comes from the, the Greek ward charisma, which means gift. They believed in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And, and now places like or Roberts University are using a, a new language to describe the same experience.
(31:16):
They’re, they’re calling a spirit empowered believers, because over the years, the word Pentecostal, the word charismatic, has picked up some baggage. And, and so there’s a lot of people that they can agree with the power of the Holy Spirit. And so we are spirit empowered believers. We believe in the, the move of the, the Holy Spirit. So kind of as a historian, kind of walk me through decade by decade from this, the early 1910s until today, kind of what you feel that the Holy Spirit was doing in each decade as we’ve seen the growth of this Holy Spirit movement.
Dr. Larry Martin (31:56):
Well, as we say, the revival began there at Azusa Street in 1906. It wasn’t long after that, before the end of that decade, some of the Pentecostal denominations begin to form the church of God in Christ, the predominantly Black Pentecostal denomination formed. And the next decade, the Assemblies of God and the Pentecostal Church of God, as the movement really grew exponentially through all that period in the forties and fifties. It was marked by Great Healing Revival. Some of your, your great heroes were outta that time
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (32:33):
Period. Yeah. So you had the, the Voice of Healing Movement. Yes. Which really started with William. And then Gordon Lindsay, who started Christ for the Nations down in Dallas, Texas worked with with Branham. And Branham was an uneducated prophet, but Gordon Lindsay was a writer. And so he wrote some 200 books and, and really documented what God was doing. Then he started The Voice of Healing Magazine, and they featured articles from people like aa, Allen TL Osborn who, who else were part of the Voice of Healing. I think RW Schmbach was later on, later, later. And, and so, so they were featuring these stories of revivals that were F.F. Bosworth was part of it, and, and featuring the stories of these different people that were doing revivals in different parts of the United States. And that spread what God was doing during the Voice of Healing Revival. Alright, so that’s, that’s the forties and fifties then, then what started happening,
Dr. Larry Martin (33:48):
By the way, let me say that you mentioned Gordon. Lindsay there very important leader in that time period especially. But he was saved in a meeting that Charles Parham was preaching. So ties from the very beginning through Gordon Lindsay’s ministry, and then in the sixties and seventies, the Pentecostal denominations continued to grow. And of course, there’s always been independent fellowships, the associated with the Pentecostal charismatic movement, or the spirit empowered people, as you say. But sixties and seventies, the charismatic renewal began probably most people mark the beginning of it with pastor receiving the baptism Holy Spirit at Episcopal Church in Van Nuys, California. And he, he, he spread the message to denominational churches. And eventually Catholics began to receive the baptismal Holy Spirit. They had great Notre Dame conferences where, where it was celebrated this Pentecostal movement among Catholics. And,
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (34:48):
And you had David DuPluse, who was a big part of that. I, I remember hearing one of his sermons, I think it was preached at one of the, the gatherings of people from all over the world, many different churches. And, and he quoted in Acts two, it, the, the same verse that, that Peter quoted from the book of Joel that says that the Holy Spirit would be poured out upon all flesh. And so he said The Holy Spirit being poured out, that’s the charismatic movement upon all flesh. That is the ecumenical movement. And so God does not want to be confined to just one denomination or one group of people. The Holy Spirit is available for people from every different faith tradition anyone who reaches out towards God the Holy Spirit is there to fill them and to give them power to be a witness.
Dr. Larry Martin (35:47):
Absolutely. And those the Charismatic renewal, though it was extremely strong in the sixties and seventies, it continues today. There’s still a lot of those early charismatics tried to stay within their denomination, but a lot of them were rejected by their denomination, and they ended up forming in this independent fellowships or murdering into established denominations that have continued to grow. I think one of the greatest growth today in America is among the Hispanics. And we see so many has immigrants from Latin American countries where they’ve experienced great Pentecostal revival. I know particularly in the Assemblies of God, all of the growth in the Assemblies of God is just about among the ethnic minorities. And you mentioned Africa great missionaries from Jesus and Street went to Africa and started the work there, and it’s continued and it’s just exploded with men like Reinhardt Bunky and others doing campaigns there till today. One estimate and, and different people give you a different number one estimate, 650 million spirit-filled people in the world today the largest block in Protestant Christianity. I think it’s the greatest revival in the history of the Christian Church, what God has done in the last 125 years through the
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (37:03):
Pentecostal. So I’m, I’m working on a book on the history of evangelism and what God has done through evangelists throughout the world. And there’s been a lot of research on people like, like Billy Graham and George Whitfield Jonathan Edwards, some of these early American evangelists, you know, Billy Sunday Great evangelists at the turn of the century. But there hasn’t been that much research done on the Hispanic world. And so I’m, in my book, I’m trying to document what God’s been doing in the Hispanic world, what God’s been doing in Africa, because there are great men of God in Africa that no one in America has heard of, but they’ve been responsible for millions of people coming into the kingdom of God. And so one of the early Hispanic healing evangelists, I don’t know if you’ve heard of this guy Francisco Zaba.
(38:01):
He was a Pentecostal healing evangelist, and he was one of the ones who went to the Azusa Street revival, filled with the Holy Spirit, and he began doing revivals among all of the Hispanics in America. And from his ministry, four different Hispanic Pentecostal denominations were, were formed in the early 19 hundreds. Wow. And, and so it is really neat. And, and, and then you have great Hispanic evangelists throughout history that have taken the power of the Holy Spirit. People like Cash, Luna Carlos Anak from ar, Argentina, cla Frak from Argentina, and just great pastors from all over the, the Hispanic world where God is really moving in a great way.
Dr. Larry Martin (38:47):
A absolutely. And you know, another interesting fact, Daniel, about the success of this movement, the largest church in the world is a Pentecostal charismatic church in so Korea. That being said, of course, the largest church in Asia, which would be that church is charismatic Pentecostal, the largest church in Europe is a spirit empowered church. The largest church in Africa is a spirit empowered church. The largest church in South America, spirit, largest church in the United States is a spirit empowered church. And no one dreamed in these early days of the outpouring that it, that I guess those involved might have dreamed it, but the world certainly did not dream the success of the movement. One, one man who was a denominational leader in one of the holiness denominations observed the Ausa Street Revival. And he said, if you threw a pebble into the ocean, it would make more waves than what this revival will bring to the world. And if any man should ever be recorded as the worst prophet in human history, that would be the man. Cuz
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (39:51):
There have been waves that continue to this day. All right, now let’s look into the future. What do you see the Holy Spirit doing over the next few years? Well, what can we look for and what should we be praying for?
Dr. Larry Martin (40:05):
Well, obviously we’re praying for revival places, as you mentioned, like Africa are on fire for God, and churches growing by leaps and bounds in many nations in Africa. So many, so many more millions of Pentecostal believers in Africa. And for Brazil, for example, there’s, there’s probably a quote from the Assemblies of God. There’s probably 20 times more similar to God people in Brazil than there are in the United States. And God’s gonna continue to move in Asia and Africa and Central America, south America. We need to pray that that same spirit of revival will sweep across the United States. And I’m just believing God for that. I was praying one time and after the great revival at Brownsville, and it seemed like that well, Dr. Cho prophesied and said the revival was spread from Brownsville to the whole United States, and we didn’t see it happen or hasn’t happened as of yet.
(40:57):
And I was praying one time, and I felt like the Lord spoke to me, that revival was like a hurricane. I lived down on the coast for a while in Pensacola when a hurricane stalls out off the coast. If a if a hurricane is, you know five miles out, 10 miles out, and it stalls, it’s not going away. It’s just gaining strength when it hovers over those warm waters. And I believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is maybe has stalled, but it’s not losing out, it’s gaining strength. And I’m praying that America gets hit by category five revival that’ll sweep millions into the kingdom.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (41:36):
Amen. Well, as you’re listening, if you want to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, just like on the day of Pentecost, encourage you to, to pray and ask for the Holy Spirit, God will give you and, and fill you with the Holy Spirit. And you will have power to, to be a witness and, and to share the gospel a around the world. Let’s just finish with a word of prayer and, and encourage the people who are listening that the same Holy Spirit that we saw in the day of Pentecost that we saw in the early years of the Pentecostal movement can impact them today.
Dr. Larry Martin (42:14):
Amen. I’ve probably said this a thousand times in meetings, but I wanna say it again today for you. The reason we talk about history is not to live in the past. We don’t wanna live in the past. We’re living today and we’re living for tomorrow. But we talk about history because if God ever did anything, he can do that thing again. And if God ever moved in one place, God can move in any place. And if God ever moved on one person, then God can move on any person that means you where you are. And at this time, God can do for you anything that He’s ever done through any of the great people we studied about in history. And God wants to do that for you. And we’re gonna pray right now that God will use you. Heavenly Father, we thank you today for this podcast, the opportunity to share a little bit of the history of your work.
(43:05):
Lord, it’s not the work of man because everything that man touches becomes just human, but it is divine. And we thank you Lord, that you’ve moved among men, that you’ve used faithful men like Parham and Seymour and Gordon, Lindsay, and all the others we’ve talked about today, that you’ve used these men to bring the message of Christ to a lost and dying world. Lord, I pray for everyone listening this podcast today. I, if there’s anyone that doesn’t know you, I pray that the Holy Spirit will bring them to you. But Lord, those that are believers and are listening today, I pray you give them a new power. I pray that you give them a fresh vision. Lord, show them today that as God used others, God can use them. I pray that the same mantle of the Holy Spirit that was in Topeka and the same mantle of the Holy Spirit that was at a Zeus street, that that mantle will fall across their shoulders right now, I pray for a fresh and a new anointing. Ask your Lord that you would use these listeners to take this gospel to the whole world and change this world for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (44:08):
Amen. Thank you, Dr. Larry Martin. Thank
Dr. Larry Martin (44:11):
You.
Evangelism Podcast Host (44:12):
Are you called by God to be an evangelist? Do you wanna lead millions of people to Jesus? Do you desire to be trained in the practical side of building a ministry? Then check out the Daniel King’s School of Evangelism. Learn how to be an effective evangelist from Dr. Daniel King’s 20 plus years of experience. Daniel King has done crusades all over the world in 70 nations and has seen over 2 million people give their lives to Jesus. But it wasn’t easy. There was no crusade school. So Daniel traveled the world learning from and observing top evangelists, noticing how they successfully won souls for Christ. Now he wants to share decades of knowledge and experience with you. Topics of the Daniel King School of Evangelism include what is an evangelist, how to be a master soul winner, how to give an alter call, how to organize a crusade, how to raise money for your ministry, and much more. If you wanna be an evangelist, but don’t know where to start, the Daniel King School of Evangelism is for you. Enroll today in the School of Evangelism by going to Daniel King ministries.com/evangelism.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (45:13):
Thanks so much for listening today. I am excited about telling people about Jesus, and I want to invite you to be a part of helping us to rescue people from Hell and take them with us to heaven. There’s two things you can do to help. First of all, can you go find the Evangelism podcast on Apple iTunes and leave us a positive review by giving a review, you will help other people find these valuable resources about sharing our faith. And second, would you become a financial partner with King Ministries? Every single dollar that people give us enables us to lead at least one person to Jesus. And so that means for only $1, you can help start a party in heaven. And so today I want to invite you to become a monthly partner. You can start out for just a dollar, but if God puts it on your heart to do more, of course you can do more. But please go to king ministries.com and become a monthly partner with us today to help us to lead more people to Jesus. Thank you so much, and God bless you.
Evangelism Podcast Host (46:34):
For more information about how to share your faith or to financially support our worldwide evangelistic outreaches, visit king ministries.com. Again, that’s king ministries.com.
Subscribe to The Evangelism Podcast on Apple iTunes
Listen to The Evangelism Podcast on Spotify
Subscribe to The Evangelism Podcast on Google Podcasts
Find The Evangelism Podcast on Stitcher
Listen to The Evangelism Podcast on Amazon Audible
The Evangelism Podcast is also available on iHeartRadio
