Background Check:
In the late 1800s the United States was in a race division. After a great Civil War, black slaves were granted freedom from slavery, but white people still had control over all significant power and money. Blacks were not allowed to participate in anything whites participated in, and the blacks received the worst of the segregation. Even education was limited. Blacks were not accepted at colleges and universities that whites went to, and so most blacks were uneducated and the few that were educated were able to gain their education at universities paid for and run by blacks.
This situation was also true for Bible education. If anyone wanted to study the Bible in depth, they would go to a Bible school or seminary and pay money to receive the education. Almost all Bible schools and seminaries were run by whites for whites. Black people were not allowed on the campus, except for servants.
His Story:
On the campus of one Bible school in the Midwestern U.S. was a black servant named William Seymour. He worked hard at the Bible school, hoping that he might catch a bit of the teaching and so become a Bible preacher and teacher himself. However, as he approached some of the teachers, the answer was always the same: “This is a white school, not a black one. You can’t learn here.” He was disappointed, but he still asked. Finally, he asked a teacher of the book of Acts if he could take his class. The teacher said that he couldn’t sit in the classroom, but if he was quiet he could sit outside the door and listen. So day after day, William listened to the specific teaching of the book of Acts.
He learned that in Acts the apostles waited for the Spirit to come and that when he came, the Spirit wasn’t quiet and unseen. Rather he came in power and in the speaking of tongues. The teacher and William came to the same conclusion: if the apostles in Acts could receive the Spirit in this way, then all believers can. They just need to ask God and wait for it.
William began teaching this in local black churches, but they weren’t interested in hearing this new teaching. So he decided to move to Los Angeles, where people might be more interested in a radical Bible teaching. William began to hold meetings in an auditorium in Los Angeles on Azusa Street, and advertised them in the local papers. People came in, interested to hear what he would say about the Spirit. He taught them that right then and there, they needed to pray to God and ask him for the Holy Spirit. And they needed to come the next night and pray again. And they needed to pray again and again until the Spirit came.
At first, only a few came. Then a couple people began to feel the presence of the Spirit. More people came. Soon there were meetings every night of the week and William asked other teachers to come in and teach on the book of Acts. The teachers that came in were white and soon they had a mixed congregation, black and white, all praying side by side for the Holy Spirit.
Then, one day, it happened. Suddenly, the people praying for the Spirit night after night experienced what was unknown for centuries—they were speaking in languages unintelligible to anyone except God! No one tried to do this, but it came about, even as the Scripture said. The revival became front page news in Los Angeles and as the movement grew, people started to come from around the country to experience the Spirit.
WWJD
Jesus told his disciples to wait for the Spirit—and so they did, for thirty days. When the Spirit came upon the disciples, he was shown by the speaking of other languages. William Seymore did what we should all be doing—asking God to repeat the experience of the first church in our experience. Jesus blessed his effort, and granted the Spirit, just as he said he would.
The Final Word (of Men)
The meetings grew huge and it was clear that churches were going to form around these meetings. William had a vision to have churches filled with both black and white people, all of them united by the Spirit alone. However, the white teachers rejected this idea and told William that he could no longer teach at Azusa Street—he had to teach only to the blacks. William was angry and left them to form his own churches. The Azuza Street Revivals began what was later called the Pentecostal movement. The Pentecostal movement is now all over the world and changing the lives of millions around the world. Even today, however, there are many denominations of Pentecostal churches, some of them exclusively for whites, and some exclusively for blacks.
A Word From Our Sponsor:
I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Luke 11:5-13
Helpful Hint: Steadfastness in God’s Calling
For every one of the Faithful there were obstacles to doing what God desired them to do. Patrick sought to do what his superiors thought he was not qualified to do. John Wycliffe had to face the displeasure of other professors and church leaders. Hudson Taylor, to get to China, had to face the rejection of other missionaries. But the Faithful knew what it was that God had desired them to do and nothing would stand in their way. No obstacle, no rejection could stop them from fulfilling the word of Jesus in their life. They knew that God was far stronger than those who stood in their way and that nothing would stop God from fulfilling his plan.
Check It Out:
The Pentecostals by Harvey Cox
In the late 1800s the United States was in a race division. After a great Civil War, black slaves were granted freedom from slavery, but white people still had control over all significant power and money. Blacks were not allowed to participate in anything whites participated in, and the blacks received the worst of the segregation. Even education was limited. Blacks were not accepted at colleges and universities that whites went to, and so most blacks were uneducated and the few that were educated were able to gain their education at universities paid for and run by blacks.
This situation was also true for Bible education. If anyone wanted to study the Bible in depth, they would go to a Bible school or seminary and pay money to receive the education. Almost all Bible schools and seminaries were run by whites for whites. Black people were not allowed on the campus, except for servants.
On the campus of one Bible school in the Midwestern U.S. was a black servant named William Seymour. He worked hard at the Bible school, hoping that he might catch a bit of the teaching and so become a Bible preacher and teacher himself. However, as he approached some of the teachers, the answer was always the same: “This is a white school, not a black one. You can’t learn here.” He was disappointed, but he still asked. Finally, he asked a teacher of the book of Acts if he could take his class. The teacher said that he couldn’t sit in the classroom, but if he was quiet he could sit outside the door and listen. So day after day, William listened to the specific teaching of the book of Acts.
He learned that in Acts the apostles waited for the Spirit to come and that when he came, the Spirit wasn’t quiet and unseen. Rather he came in power and in the speaking of tongues. The teacher and William came to the same conclusion: if the apostles in Acts could receive the Spirit in this way, then all believers can. They just need to ask God and wait for it.
William began teaching this in local black churches, but they weren’t interested in hearing this new teaching. So he decided to move to Los Angeles, where people might be more interested in a radical Bible teaching. William began to hold meetings in an auditorium in Los Angeles on Azusa Street, and advertised them in the local papers. People came in, interested to hear what he would say about the Spirit. He taught them that right then and there, they needed to pray to God and ask him for the Holy Spirit. And they needed to come the next night and pray again. And they needed to pray again and again until the Spirit came.
At first, only a few came. Then a couple people began to feel the presence of the Spirit. More people came. Soon there were meetings every night of the week and William asked other teachers to come in and teach on the book of Acts. The teachers that came in were white and soon they had a mixed congregation, black and white, all praying side by side for the Holy Spirit.
Then, one day, it happened. Suddenly, the people praying for the Spirit night after night experienced what was unknown for centuries—they were speaking in languages unintelligible to anyone except God! No one tried to do this, but it came about, even as the Scripture said. The revival became front page news in Los Angeles and as the movement grew, people started to come from around the country to experience the Spirit.
WWJD
Jesus told his disciples to wait for the Spirit—and so they did, for thirty days. When the Spirit came upon the disciples, he was shown by the speaking of other languages. William Seymore did what we should all be doing—asking God to repeat the experience of the first church in our experience. Jesus blessed his effort, and granted the Spirit, just as he said he would.
The Final Word (of Men)
The meetings grew huge and it was clear that churches were going to form around these meetings. William had a vision to have churches filled with both black and white people, all of them united by the Spirit alone. However, the white teachers rejected this idea and told William that he could no longer teach at Azusa Street—he had to teach only to the blacks. William was angry and left them to form his own churches. The Azuza Street Revivals began what was later called the Pentecostal movement. The Pentecostal movement is now all over the world and changing the lives of millions around the world. Even today, however, there are many denominations of Pentecostal churches, some of them exclusively for whites, and some exclusively for blacks.
A Word From Our Sponsor:
I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Luke 11:5-13
Helpful Hint: Steadfastness in God’s Calling
For every one of the Faithful there were obstacles to doing what God desired them to do. Patrick sought to do what his superiors thought he was not qualified to do. John Wycliffe had to face the displeasure of other professors and church leaders. Hudson Taylor, to get to China, had to face the rejection of other missionaries. But the Faithful knew what it was that God had desired them to do and nothing would stand in their way. No obstacle, no rejection could stop them from fulfilling the word of Jesus in their life. They knew that God was far stronger than those who stood in their way and that nothing would stop God from fulfilling his plan.
Check It Out:
The Pentecostals by Harvey Cox
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