Reinhard Bonnke - Taking Action: Receiving and Operating in the Gifts and Power of the Holy Spirit

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TAKING ACTION by Reinhard Bonnke
Published by Charisma House
Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group
600 Rinehart Road
Lake Mary, Florida 32746
www.charismahouse.com

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission.

Copyright 2012 by Reinhard Bonnke
All rights reserved

Cover design by Justin Evans
Design Director: Bill Johnson

Visit the authors website at www.cfan.org.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Bonnke, Reinhard.
Taking action / Reinhard Bonnke.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 978-1-61638-736-5 (trade paper) ISBN 978-1-61638-737-2 (e-book) 1. Gifts, Spiritual. I. Title.
BT767.3.B66 2012
234.13dc23

2012000779

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication.

Portions of this book were originally published as Mighty Manifestations by Creation House, copyright 1994, ISBN-10 0-88419-386-1; ISBN-13 978-0-88419-386-9, and Mighty Manifestations by Full Flame GmbH, copyright 2002, ISBN 3-935057-00-8.

I dedicate this book to my dear colleague and friend, the late REV. GEORGE CANTY. We were thirty years side by side, he the brilliant scholar and I the preaching evangelist. George was a fountain of blessing and inspiration to me. Fellowshiping with him was always a great encouragement. He was as my mentor, and I deeply honor his memorial.

M ULTITUDES HAVE BEEN baptized in the Holy Spirit this century, as in our own ongoing gospel crusades. We regularly witness many mighty manifestations of the power and love of God. It does seem important to me to explain properly our own understanding of these events in which we have been so deeply involved.

Scripture has been our final authority. Certainly experience has helped our grasp of the things of the Spirit, but as Peter wrote, God has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3).

To me, and to others also, it became obvious that we must record the understanding we have of the things of the Spirit and show our conclusions arrived at through the Word, illuminated by what we have seen. One reason is that there are many books today presenting many alternative views. Variations are sure to exist unless a standard authority is accepted and agreed by which to judge all such teachings. Experience itself varies, but the Scriptures do not. There is a natural public appetite to hear the things that God has done, and a strong tendency has been exhibited to draw teaching primarily from that source, with the Word regarded only as a secondary backup, if at all.

What has been called anecdote theology is not new. There are theories of revival itself, for example, that have been openly claimed as based purely on studies of what has happened in the past. I was anxious about this approach as I viewed the tremendous burst of divine revival phenomena today. I decided that for us, our grounds must be the Word, and that is where we stand. This meant that our entire pneumatology (the things of the Spirit) had to be subjected to the judgment of what the Word says over the months as this book was put together. This was wholesome discipline. We have made the study as thorough as possible, within the compass of our means, and have also striven for clarity.

The challenge to experience must come from Scripture. Experience must not challenge Scripture or adapt Scripture to what happens to happen. Nevertheless, readers will see that I do exemplify our teaching with things God has been doing in our evangelistic crusades.

Of course, among Christians who pray and support the nation-shaking crusades of Christ for all Nations (CfaN) there is obviously a considerable variety of viewpoints on many doctrines, including that of the Holy Spirit. I offer this exposition of the Word here as a contribution to the understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to the great and prior interest of evangelism, I work with people of many different spiritual affirmations. CfaN is an evangelist-servant to the churches wherever they labor and whatever their witness or emphasis. By their help, and their help always, and in the power of the Spirit we have been privileged to bring entire nations face-to-face personally with the gospel of Christ crucified and have thoroughly checked the outcome by the Word.

This book is our practical thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement of countless thousands, and it is meant to throw light on the beliefs that stimulate our operations in the harvest field. Of course it makes no pretense of being an academic treatise, but the work of countless scholars has influenced it. Nor is it a rehash of popular current teaching.

I have not written merely to sell a book or repeat unexamined what has been said before. Others will certainly have seen and said things contained in this book, but nevertheless, everything here has come from a fresh examination of the Word. It is freshly minted coinage, representing an original and independent perusal of Scripture, avoiding speculation. That has been our principle. Our purpose has been to render guidance in the present world outpouring of the Spirit and the acres of print that it daily inspires.

In fact, two lifetimes of accumulated knowledge and worldwide experience and practice lie compacted here for the benefit of readers: that of my own years of mass evangelism and also of the pioneer evangelist-writer George Canty. He has been actively involved with the whole sweep of what the Holy Spirit has been doing in this work of charismatic revival. Having personal acquaintance with leaders, and even with early Pentecostal pioneers around the globe, and having written a great deal, both history and his own scriptural and theological insights, he is perhaps in a position few others can claim to contribute to such a book as this.

When we speak of the Spirit, some matters are profound. One of the main labors has been to predigest them and express them in language that insults nobodys intelligence but that also does not presume upon previous knowledge. I have striven for a simplicity, which should not be mistaken for what is kindergarten. The least or best informed should be able to appreciate these studies.

The book is divided into two parts: the first takes a careful look at what Scripture teaches about the anointing and gifts of the Holy Spirit in general; the second looks at the specific gifts listed by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12.

May the Holy Spirit add His illumination to these pages, for the glory of God.