Holy Boldness!

As we draw near to Pentecost I am re-examining some of the studies I have participated in concerning both Pentecost and the Holy Spirit. I have read repeatedly that the Holy Spirit is not enthusiasm. A. W. Tozer writes in How to be Filled With the Holy Spirit, “I have found enthusiasm that hummed with excitement, and the Holy Spirit was nowhere to be found there at all; and I have found the Holy Ghost when there has not been much of what we call enthusiasm present.” I would agree, it seems that enthusiasm has become for believers since the 18th century the only benchmark of the Holy Spirit at work. However, I would like to add that when believers find themselves filled with the Holy Spirit, aware of the Spirit’s power at work within and through them, there is a boldness (enthusiasm?) that is not found in those believers who lack the Spirit’s presence. It’s a boldness (or enthusiasm) that will not cause one to shout, but rather provokes one to reach out to a complete stranger with the love and good news of Jesus Christ. It is a boldness (or enthusiasm) that exists not on its own, for its own sake, but because of the very presence of God’s Holy Spirit. It cannot be manufactured or faked; though some have tried…and in the same breath, it cannot be stifled or ignored once the Spirit has taken up residence in the believer’s heart. My prayer is that all at Beulah might experience a double portion of this holy boldness.