Uncomfortably Engaged.

Recently I've been reading the book, "The Fire of His Holiness", by Sergio Scataglini.  I was at HUF a little over a month ago and found it nestled amongst some of the other books in the "Christian Living" section.  Since I was seeking some more good reads to challenge and stretch my faith (and to also add to the ever-growing list of books that I have but haven't had a chance to read yet), I bought it.  In short, the book focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit in and through people and completely being open to the power that He can exhibit in your life.  It's about 100% complete and utter purity and fully realizing the magnitude of the holiness of God and how great and awesome He is (together we sing, everyone sing holy is the Lord...). 

To say that the book has challenged me would be fairly true.  In it, Scataglini talks about salvation vs. the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and if you want the Holy Spirit's power in your life (as compared to just His presence) you need to be baptized with fire--see John the Baptist in the beginning of Matthew--which comes after you've been already saved.  The concept of a separate baptism beyond mere salvation is one that came up in my life a lot during this past summer at Camp Hebron.  It's something that I never really heard before.  I mean, look at my background; I grew up in a Mennonite church with little exposure to the work of the Holy Spirit beyond His inhabiting of your heart after you are initially saved.  It's something that I've struggled with because for the first time in my life I'm being exposed to something that I didn't grow up believing, but when I look for the evidence in the Bible, it's all there (currently I am in the Commuter Lounge at school, without my Bible, and a spare 10 minutes, so sifting through Scripture to try to find the verses that stick out to me would be improbable if I want to get this blog done before I have to leave).  Talking with a number of people on this, I'm honestly not sure what to believe.  Does the Holy Spirit's power enter you and work in and through you when you are initially saved, or must you go through a separate anointing of the Holy Spirit that will fully let His power be manifested in your life?  Therein lies the rub. 

I'm still learning though.  Still searching.  Still thirsting for knowledge.  Part of me is scared of what other people would think if I actually branch out and start cementing some of my own beliefs about Christian doctrine.  Another part of me wants to trust God and just accept things that are new to me, even if I don't fully understand them.  That's currently the journey I'm on.  But the book is so intense, so real, that it makes me just want to throw away what I believed about the Holy Spirit and believe in the Baptism and Anointing of the Holy Spirit.  For instance, the author was part of several different revivals that took place everywhere from Florida to Argentina with his parents.  There was one instance where he went to speak as a guest speaker at another church several hours away, and during prayer was so overcome with the power of the Spirit that he fell to his knees shaking, crying, and praising the Lord...for three whole days.  Look at the evidence, that stuff just doesn't happen without a passion and a fire only available through the Holy Spirit.  Another story he told was of an Argentinian revival that was brought about through a pastor--almost like the camp meetings of old America.  During these camp meetings, people would merely set foot on the property where the meeting was taking place and be so overcome with the Spirit of Conviction that they would be forced to their knees in forgiveness and purification.  The author's father was at the forerunner of the revival and recounted spending two years without a single night's adequate sleep because people would come at all hours of the nights for prayer and anointing and the work of the church was expanding.  When God calls us to do something, He gives us the ability to go beyond the bounds of human strength. 

The work of the Holy Spirit is so powerful and so evident in our world, yet why do we ignore it so much?  Who's to say that there isn't a separate baptism of the Spirit?  Our churches are afraid of the conviction, the change, and the challenge that the anointing of the Spirit could bring on a congregation.  God is comfortable when we are uncomfortable, and the Holy Spirit's power would bring enough power to cause things to happen that would make you uncomfortable and go outside of our bounds and zone of comfort.  We can get so set in our ways that to go outside of our ways would just be annoying, and we'd give an angry look at the heavens and be frustrated why things couldn't stay the same.  That's why churches are so afraid to talk about the power of the Holy Spirit.  For instance, I know a church that is currently building a multimillion dollar addition to their church.  If the Holy Spirit moved within their congregation to the point that they were convicted of spending millions of dollars on themselves instead of giving them to missions, and the Holy Spirit prompted them to stop the building and give the rest of the money to a non-profit, would they?  Or would they hem and haw, stamp their feet, and give excuse after excuse because they didn't want to give up the complex? 

So this is where the Holy Spirit and human experience meet--right in between the marriage of the  uncomfortable comfort and total abandon.  Which side do you fall on?