osandoval
Jul 11, 2010
Speaking of the Baptism of the Spirit coming upon Howell Harris(Contemporary Evangelist and partner of George Whitefield)Jones says:
This is the only explanation of this man. This is what created within him a compassion for the lost. This is what urged him to go out and to tell the people about their condition and do something about them. His concern for the lost and the perishing was the consuming passion of his soul. I would make this comment at this point. Is not that always the crucial test which we must apply to those who claim to have received the baptism of the Spirit? The crucial test is the concern for souls, compassion for the lost. That was the great characteristic of our Lord. He saw the people as 'sheep without a shepherd'. He 'had compassion upon them'; and the man who is filled with the Spirit in this way is like his Lord. His outstanding characteristic is his compassion for the lost; his concern for them was the test of 'the baptism of the Spirit'. It does not lead to an inward looking, self-indulgent, church movement that turns in on itself and spends its time reciting and even boasting at times of experiences. It always leads to this concern for others. There have been movements in the church claiming great things for themselves, as there are certain similar movements at this present time, but they have had to admit that the evangelistic concern has not been prominent among them. The baptism of or with the Spirit, however, shows itself primarily by giving its recipients a great evangelistic concern. That is not to deny the great value of experiences; but I would suggest in the light of this history that this deep concern for the lost is the most prominent and chief characteristic of such an experience.