                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                          A Christless Pentecost!

                Is Christ Becoming A Stranger In Our Midst?

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By David Wilkerson
1982
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          The following is a prophetic warning from Azusa Street
          75 years ago, concerning the dangers of a Christless
          Pentecost!

          Frank Bartleman was an eyewitness to the outpouring of
          the Holy Spirit in 1907 at Azusa Street, Los Angeles.
          He has been characterized as the Reporter of the Azusa
          Street Revival. Nearly 75 years ago, during the
          outpouring, he wrote a tract warning of a Christless
          Pentecost.

          He warned: "We may not hold a doctrine, or seek an
          experience, except in Christ. Many are willing to seek
          power in order to perform miracles, draw attention and
          adoration of the people to themselves, thus robbing
          Christ of His glory, and making a fair showing in the
          flesh. The greatest need would seem to be for true
          followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. Religious
          enthusiasm easily goes to seed. The human spirit so
          predominates the show-off, religious spirit. But we
          must stick to our text - Christ.

          "Any work that exalts the Holy Ghost or 'gifts' above
          Jesus will finally end up in fanaticism. Whatever
          causes us to exalt and love Jesus is well and safe. The
          reverse will ruin all. The Holy Ghost is a great light,
          but focused on Jesus always for His revealing.

          "Where the Holy Ghost is actually in control, Jesus is
          proclaimed the Head - the Holy Ghost, His executive. "

          In another place, Brother Bartleman warned: "The
          temptation seems to be toward empty manifestations.
          This does not require any particular cross, or death to
          the self-life. Hence it is always popular.

          "We may not put power, gifts, the Holy Ghost, or in
          fact anything ahead of Jesus. Any mission that exalts
          even the Holy Ghost above the Lord Jesus Christ is
          bound for the rocks of error and fanaticism.

          "There seems to be a great danger of losing sight of
          the fact that Jesus was 'all in all.' The work of
          Calvary, the atonement, must be the center for our
          consideration. The Holy Ghost will never draw our
          attention from Christ to Himself, but rather reveal
          Christ in a fuller way. We are in danger of slighting
          Jesus - getting Him 'lost in the temple,' by the
          exaltation of the Holy Ghost and of the gifts of the
          Spirit. Jesus must be the center of everything."

          I do not take Brother Bartleman's warning lightly. The
          danger of a Christless Pentecost is very real today. I
          say to you it is possible to gather Spirit-filled
          people in one place, praising and lifting up their
          hands - and still have Christ walking among them as a
          stranger!

          It's true He said, "Where two or three have gathered
          together in My name, there I am in their midst." (Matt.
          18:20 NASB) But He can be in our midst as a stranger!
          Ignored, unrecognized - even by those who meet in His
          name! The Jews gathered every Sabbath in the synagogue
          to speak of His name, and to prophesy of His coming.
          They praised the name of the Father who promised to
          send Him. They spoke the Messiah's name with awe and
          reverence. Then, when He came and walked among them -
          He was not recognized! He was a stranger to them!

          Christ, a stranger in the midst of a Spirit-filled
          congregation? A stranger in the midst of those who
          speak His name - who worship the Father who sent Him? A
          stranger to those who sing His hosannas who call Him
          "Lord, Lord"?

          Yes! Absolutely yes! It is not only possible - it is
          happening among God's chosen people today!

          Let me show you three ways in which we are making
          Christ a stranger in our midst! May the Holy Spirit
          take away our spiritual blindness so we can once again
          see Him as He really is - LORD OF ALL!

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                       I. We Make Christ A Stranger -
                         By Giving The Holy Spirit
                          Pre-Eminence Over Him!

                      -------------------------------

          Christ, and Christ alone, must be the center of life
          and worship!

          "And He is the head of the body, the Church: who is the
          beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all
          things He might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased
          the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell... "
          (Col. 1:18-19 KJV)

          "That in all things He might have the pre-eminence... "
          That is - distinguished and spoken of above all others.
          Having first place in all things. Not even the Holy
          Spirit is to be exalted above that name! The upper room
          must never overshadow the Cross! We dare not think of
          Christ as simply the one who sent the Holy Spirit. In
          other words, "Thank You, Jesus, for sending someone
          better." Christ sent the Holy Spirit to reveal His own
          fullness within us.

          When the Holy Spirit becomes the center of our
          attention, the church gets out of focus! The Holy
          Spirit descended upon Christ as He came out of
          baptismal waters, and the Father said of Him: "This is
          My beloved Son - in whom I am well pleased . . . " The
          Spirit descended bodily like a dove, but the focus was
          on the Lamb of God - who taketh away the sins of the
          world. Not the dove, but the Lamb!

          Christ told His disciples of a coming Pentecost, when
          the Spirit would be outpoured for a single purpose: It
          was to be a power given to lift up the name of Christ!
          "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost
          is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me . .
          . unto the uttermost part of the earth... " (Acts 1:8
          KJV)

          Jesus made it clear that when the Spirit comes He will
          not draw attention to Himself, but will focus on
          Christ's words. He will exalt Christ.

          " . . . when He, the Spirit of truth, is come . . . He
          shall not speak of Himself . . . He shall glorify Me:
          for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto
          you. All things that the Father hath are Mine:
          therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall
          show it unto you." (John 16:13-15 KJV)

          Jesus said, "He will show you My glory, My power, My
          Kingdom. He will remind you of all My words." The
          primary work of the Holy Spirit is not fellowship,
          although He does bring believers together as one in
          Christ. It is not ecstasy. It is not simply to teach us
          an unlearned tongue. The Spirit has come to exalt
          Christ! To guide all mankind to the truth that Christ
          is Lord! It is not enough to say the Spirit has brought
          us close to each other - He must bring us closer to
          Christ!

          The fullness of the Spirit is the fullness of Christ.
          If you do not have a consuming love for Christ, you do
          not have a Holy Ghost baptism! Christ, the baptizer,
          sent the Holy Spirit to fire our souls over lost
          humanity, to get us out into the highways and hedges to
          reach the unsaved. To shake up our lazy lifestyles and
          get us to doing His work. The blessed Holy Spirit will
          be grieved, and finally withdraw, the moment men try to
          exalt Him above the Son of God! He will not permit His
          power to be abused by those who want only the gift and
          not Christ, the Giver!

          What is a true Holy Ghost meeting? Is it where people
          all speak with tongues? Or where people are healed?
          Where saints jump for joy? Where saints are
          prophesying? More - much more than that! It is where
          Christ is being exalted, where His holiness pierces the
          soul, where men and women fall before His holy throne,
          broken, humbled crying, "Holy, Holy." The moving of the
          Holy Spirit is a moving closer to Christ, deeper in
          Christ, with a greater submission to His Lordship!

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                       II. Christ Is Made A Stranger
                          When People Praise Him,
                         But Will Not Pray To Him!

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          We praise a Christ to whom we will not pray! We have
          become a praising people, but not a praying people. For
          many of God's people the prayer closet is a relic of
          the past. "Why ask God for what He has already
          promised? Just get hold of the promises and simply
          command deliverances!" We no longer want Christ as much
          as we want what He can do for us. We want an escape
          from pain and suffering. We want our troubles to
          vanish. And we are so caught up in our escape from
          pain, we lose the true meaning of the Cross. We refuse
          crosses and losses - no Gethsemane for us! No nights of
          agony! We don't even know this suffering, bleeding,
          resurrected Christ!

          We want His healing power. We want His promises of
          prosperity. We want His protection. We want more of
          this earth's goods. We want His happiness. But we
          really don't want Him alone!

          The Church once confessed its sins - now it confesses
          its rights.

          How many of us would serve Him if He offered nothing
          but Himself? No healing. No success. No prosperity. No
          worldly blessings. No miracles, signs, or wonders. What
          if - once again we had to take joyfully the spoiling of
          our goods? What if - instead of clear sailing and
          problem-free living, we faced shipwreck, fears within
          and fightings without? What if - instead of painless
          living, we suffered cruel mockings, stoning, bloodshed
          - being sawn asunder? What if - instead of our
          beautiful homes and cars, we had to wander about in
          deserts in sheepskins, hiding in dens and caves? What
          if - instead of prosperity, we were destitute,
          afflicted, and tormented? And the only better thing
          provided for us was Christ?

          Very few of God's people pray anymore! They are too
          busy working for Jesus to talk to Him! Ministers
          especially have become so busy doing kingdom work, they
          have little or no time left to pray. There is time to
          visit, to build, to travel, time to vacation, to attend
          meetings, time for recreation, reading, counseling -
          but no time to pray!

          Preachers who do not pray become promoters. They become
          frustrated building contractors. When they lose touch
          with God, they lose touch with their people and their
          needs. Preachers who don't pray have egos that spin out
          of control. They want their own way. They substitute
          sweat for unction (anointing).

          Evangelists who do not pray become stars, storytellers.
          They lack humility, so they manipulate crowds through
          emotional gimmicks. The cry of many pastors is, "Oh,
          God, where can I find an evangelist who doesn't care
          about money, or who is not promoting something? One who
          can bring heaven down and make Christ real! Oh, God -
          give me a praying man to bring my congregation to its
          knees! " The shame of this generation is that we have
          too many talented men of God and only a few who have
          touched God in prayer.

          There is even less praying in the congregation! I'm
          100% for getting prayer back in our public schools! But
          that's not God's real problem! His problem is getting
          prayer back in our homes! His problem is to get His own
          chosen people to pray! And you are a phony if you fight
          for school prayer and neglect secret-closet praying
          yourself!

          Do we pray? Oh, yes! When we need something. We have
          the formula down pat - "in the name of Jesus." All we
          need Him for is to countersign our petition checks
          before the Father.

          I am weary of hearing people say, "This is such a busy
          age - l have no time to pray. I'd like to, but I don't
          have time. " No! It's not lack of time; it is a lack of
          desire. We make time for what we really want to do.
          Look at our Christian young people! Wasting hours of
          time playing Pac-man, Galaxy War, goofing off, bored,
          restless, looking for some action! But no time to pray!
          No time for Jesus! Oh, God! Somehow! Some way! Get this
          generation on its knees. Not just the Lord's Prayer,
          but a daily communion with Christ.

          Our Savior, who has the care and concern for multiplied
          universes, has the time to pray just for you! He takes
          the time to intercede for you before the throne of God
          (Heb. 7:25), and you say you do not have time to pray
          to Him!

          We work feverishly for a Christ we ignore. We will go
          anywhere, do anything, in His name. But we will not
          pray. We will sing in a choir. We will visit the sick
          and the prisoners. But we will not pray. We will
          counsel the hurt and needy; we will stay up all night
          to comfort a friend, but we will not pray. We will
          fight corruption! We will crusade for morality! We will
          stand up against nuclear weapons! But we will not pray!

          Most of all, we don't pray because we really don't
          believe it works. Prayer is a bloody battleground! It
          is where victories are won! A place to die to self! A
          place where a holy God exposes secret sin! No wonder
          Satan tries to hinder prayer! A praying man sends a
          shudder through hell. That man or woman is marked
          because Satan knows prayer is the power that crushes
          his kingdom. Satan is not afraid of power-hungry
          saints, but he trembles at the sound of a praying
          saint!

                      -------------------------------

                            III. Christ Is Made
                          A Stranger In Our Midst
                           When We Want His Power
                           More Than His Purity!

                      -------------------------------

          Reader Harris, an Englishman and director of The
          Pentecostal League of Prayer, once challenged a
          congregation on this matter of power and purity. He
          said, "Those who want power, line up to my right. Those
          who want purity, line up to my left." The congregation
          lined up 10 to 1 - for POWER!

          In the book of Acts, Pentecost was synonymous with
          purity more than power. Peter told the council at
          Jerusalem what God did at the house of Cornelius,
          "God...giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto
          us...purifying their hearts by faith... " (Acts 15:8-9
          KJV)

          Who is the man or woman of God who has power? Is it the
          one who can heal the sick and raise the dead? Is it the
          one who can best talk in tongues and prophesy? Is it
          the one who draws the most people and builds the
          greatest church? No! The one with the power - is the
          one with the purity! "... the righteous are bold as a
          lion.. " (Proverbs 28:1 KJV)

          The prophet Malachi prophesied of a supernatural purge
          coming to God's house.

          " . . . the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to
          His temple. .. but who may abide the day of His coming?
          And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a
          refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap. And He shall
          sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall
          purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and
          silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering
          in righteousness." (Malachi 3:1-3 KJV)

          This is a dual prophecy. He speaks of Christ's first
          coming, and also of His second! He will come again
          suddenly, as a thief in the night. But first, He will
          purify His Church.

          We are not ready for the coming of Christ! Is this the
          Church triumphant? Covetous. divorcing, depressed,
          worldly-minded, grasping for materialism and success,
          competitive, lukewarm, adulterous, rich and increased
          with goods, unaware of spiritual blindness and poverty,
          pleasure-loving, recreation-minded, consumed with
          sports, politics, and power - is this the Church Jesus
          is coming for? Simply coping, filled with fear and
          anxiety, satisfied only to have good health and
          happiness?

          My Bible says He is coming back for an overcoming
          Church! A Church without spot or wrinkle! A people
          whose affections are on things above! A people with
          clean hands and pure hearts. A people who are looking
          for His coming! A people with a "new Jerusalem state of
          mind."

          The question is no longer, "What can my faith get me?
          What miracle will He perform for me?" The question now
          is - "How shall I stand before Him? How shall I make it
          at the Judgment?" " . . . who shall stand when He
          appeareth?" (Malachi 3:2 KJV)

          The question is no longer, "How do I feel - how do I
          get happiness? How do I get the desire of my heart?"
          The question is - "Can I withstand that moment when I
          stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ? How can I
          withstand when I've lived so carelessly, so selfishly,
          so neglectful of His great salvation?" The central
          issue now has nothing to do with this world at all. At
          issue is - "HAVE I NEGLECTED CHRIST IN THIS MIDNIGHT
          HOUR?"

          The purge is going to begin in the pulpit! " . . . He
          shall purify the sons of Levi... " (Malachi 3:3 KJV)
          God is going to accomplish that by "turning up the
          heat." God is going to make things so hot, so fiery, so
          intense, God's men will be driven to their knees! This
          is the fire of the Holy Ghost! It is the fire of
          persecution. It is the fire of tribulation. The fire of
          unbelievable hardships, ridicule, gossip, financial
          problems. He is going to shake everything that can be
          shaken! He is going to shake, and scrub, and burn, and
          purge - and purify!

          No man or woman of God will escape the purging! God is
          determined to get all the dross and filth out of us.
          The purge will spread from the pulpit to the pew! Get
          ready, saints! God is getting ready to expose all sin,
          all adultery, all foolishness! The Holy Ghost is going
          to reprove us of sin. How can you play games when God
          puts you in His crucible and turns up the fire? Your
          Holy Ghost baptism is going to have some fire put to it
          now!

          Malachi said - "...the day cometh, that shall burn as
          an oven: and all the proud, yea, and all that do
          wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh
          shall burn them up..." (Malachi 4:1 KJV)

          God also promises to bring down the strongholds of the
          enemy! He is going to once and for all let the devil
          and the world know who has the power!

          If God is about to do all that the prophets predicted
          He would - WHAT A GLORIOUS FUTURE JUST AHEAD!

             * A purged, purified ministry!

             * A Church that God is calling back to repentance
               and holiness.

             * A people washed, cleansed - offering praises in
               true righteousness.

             * A revival among our young people! Drug strongholds
               coming down! Alcohol and divorce no longer
               prevalent among God's people.

             * The sound of prayer - intercession!

             * A people of God who will discern between the holy
               and the unholy!

             * Everywhere, God's people turning again to the
               Word.

             * A tested, tried people, once again devoted to the
               Person of Jesus Christ!

             * His Person being lifted up to draw all men to Him!

             * Christ no longer the stranger in our midst, but
               CROWNED - PRE-EMINENT!

             * A Pentecost that truly exalts the name and power
               of Jesus Christ, the Lord of all.

          --- Scripture quotation(s) marked NASB are from the New
          American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation 1977.
          Scripture quotation(s) marked KJV are from the King
          James Version.

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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