Dr. W. A. Criswell, like Rev. John Piper, a Calvinist believes all the operation and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Acts and 1 Cor. 12 & 14. To mention some, he believes in the gifts of miracle healing, speaking and praying in tongues, prophecy and interpretation of tongue. Here are a portion of his writings: A prophet, and one who prophesies, is one who is so filled with the Spirit of God that with an impassioned eloquence he pours out the truth of God to edification, to exhortation, to comfort [1 Corinthians 14:3]. And it is a sign to the unbeliever as he listens to the impassioned flowing of Word and testimony of the great power of God. His heart is convicted. The secrets of his heart are made manifest, and he falls down and worships God [1 Corinthians 14:24-25]. Ever see a prophet like that? Well, let me say too that some of you have seen. I have talked to men who heard Spurgeon preach. .... When I was a boy, a book was placed in my hands of the life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and in that book that I saw so long ago was a picture of a carpenter, and he had a big plank in his hands, and he was taking it up to nail on the side of a house he was building. And while that carpenter was walking towards the building with that long plank in his hands to nail it in the wall, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in such power that it struck him to the ground, and in conviction he cried out to God to save his soul. And the Lord saved him. And Spurgeon baptized him. I remember that. That comes of the great prophetic ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Another man of that same prophetic gift was B. H. Carroll. I heard a man describe to me a service down there in the First Baptist Church in Waco, Texas where B. H. Carroll had invited some infidels in the city that were much outspoken against God and His Christ. He had invited them to come to church. He had challenged them to come to church. And in the old way, and I presume maybe still, the study of the First Baptist Church in Waco is right there. As you come out of the study, you come in front of the congregation. It is right there. And Carroll stayed before the Lord, and he prayed before God, and he believed in His intercession. And when he came out, the fellow told me, and several have, he was about six feet four or five inches tall, a tremendously big man with a long, long flowing beard; they said B. H. Carroll came out, and he looked as though the glory that shined in the face of Moses was shining in the face of that stalwart man of God. And he strode to the pulpit and took his stand and began to speak! And they said in the middle of his sermon before he was done, one of those infidels stood up and said, “I can bear this no longer. I believe. I believe. I believe!” That is the gift of prophecy. It is speaking in a way, in a manner so elevated, so impassioned, so filled with the Spirit of God that even unconverted sinners listening are convicted and say, “The Lord is God indeed!” Now when I talk about that, how about you and me? We are so dulled. We are so sodden. We are so earthy. We are so weak. We are so poor in our testimony that when we talk, nobody believes! Nobody senses the great moving, passionate Spirit of the living God! And that’s what is the matter with us. That’s what is the matter with us. That’s what is the matter with you. That’s what is the matter with me. We are so dull in our souls; we are so leaden in our spirit that there is no power of prophecy in us! There is no moving of the Spirit among us! There is no great baptism of the Holy Ghost upon us! wacriswell/sermons/1955/the-miraculous-gifts-of-the-spirit/
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 11:43:50 +0000
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