October 1, 1993(?) Dr. John Hannah Our Father, we gather as your children, very very thankful that you've reached down to us, we proclaim your praises forever, and never exhaust that heartfelt gratitude.. we sense our dependence upon you, Lord.... that you would speak to us in such a kind way.... we pray in our ministries, our Father, that we might preach this One who is so lovely, that men and women, and boys and girls be able to have their eyes enlightened.. we give our few moments to you, ask for your help today..... (amen) Lecture If we trace the roots of classic pentecostalism, it's roots seem to be in three places, or several places.. it's obviously rooted in Methodism via the holiness movement.. it's rooted in emerging evangelicalism through revivalism.. and it's rooted in fundamentalism. It seems to me as you look at this movement, it's got three primary sources. And you can see the [parts]... and they go together.... The Assemblies of God, [of] which Gordon Fee is one... he is complaining that the Assemblies have not kept up with their heritage, because as far as he knows, less than 50% of Assemblies of God people have ever been "baptized",[meaning] spirit baptism, for power, enduement, a second or third work of grace... Pentecostalism is going to diverge, and hit a fork in the road.. your Methodist/holiness people coming into power, having had two works of grace, just add a third. But the Baptist guys, more of a traditionally reformed idea, will come to power having had one work of grace that includes both [salvation & sanctification] of these at one time.. [their second work being the spirit baptism that gives power] I think he [Gordon Fee] would say, if we could get him to talk to us, it is an unprovable exegetical phenomena that has been a wonderful gift for God's people. Now if he were to say that to me, I would have no problem, because I have had wonderful experiences that aren't biblical.. just be honest, right? Just be honest.. don't make much of it other than God's grace to you... the vast majority of these people are just good people.. they love the Bible, and they know the Lord, and they come to hear preaching, and whatever the pastor says is fine... How can you have victory over sin and be powerless? I don't [understand] that.. the only thing I understand about it is that it didn't work for them at number two, so they had to find a number three... so there's baptism _in_ the spirit, and then baptism _by_ the spirit.. but that's slicing the balony a bit thin... in other words, you don't promise people what you cannot do.... My daughter, she's a little fanatic.. when she was in Jackson Mississippi, she went to a pentecostal baptism of the spirit meeting.. and she said one guy literally stood up and leaped over five pews and landed on his feet.. it was his evidence of this filling.. and he danced for well over an hour.. and she showed me what he was doing.. I said why don't you get up and join him, this look like fun.. it was hilarious, the gyrations of this dear guy.. I bet he was exhausted after an hour... it's funny what you accept and what you don't, and I don't know the criteria for it.. I think the criteria is if you're outdone, you reject it.... I think one thing we learn in this history is something that also happens in our movement.. if someone disagrees with you, you glorify it.. the problem with Alma White is two.. one, she didn't believe in tongues and she said worse things than some of us say, or have said in the past.. and secondly, she was stained with the blight of racial prejudice.. in other words, what I'm saying to you is I don't want to take the worst descriptions of these dear people.. you gotta realize that in that day, and sadly today, people get carried away with their prejudices, and overstatements.. I would rather say, though that I think he's wrong, that he was a sincere man [referring to Wm J Seymour]... When a person founds a movement, he will found a movement with his or her prejudice.. but if it's a work of God over time, He'll remove the prejudices, and keep the essentials... you can bellow that we have found the key, but when we die, people will sigh and go on, because the work of God is eternal.. so why get caught up in these "I found the secret" things?... there is no magical teaching, there is no magical experience.. it's Christ and Calvary, and you can wrap that any way you want, but if it's there, you witness some growth, but when you die, the periphery will fade.... ..we almost do the same thing.. it's not a Pentecostal issue.. it's with evangelicals, dispensationalists.. I think it's just endemic to humankind, that we want more proof for our teachings than the Bible affords... we have more answers than the Bible does..