Empowered Christians: Samuel Dickey Gordon (1859-1936)
Take Jesus at His Word
“You can do more than pray after you have prayed but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” S.D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Prayer
S.D. Gordon was born in Philadelphia where he became the assistant secretary of the Philadelphia Young Men’s Christian Association at the age of 25. He is best known for a series of devotional books called “Quiet Talks on…” subjects like Jesus, prayer, power, personal problems, etc. Throughout his life, he wrote over 25 devotional books.
He was also sought after as a public speaker in churches and conferences and was closely associated with the Keswick Deeper Life Movement in England and America. Later he traveled through Europe and Asia as a missionary.
When it comes to the subject of being empowered by the Holy Spirit, Gordon offered wise guidance. For instance, Gordon was adamant that while personal encounters with the Holy Spirit are significant and even helpful to study, we must be careful in expecting every experience with God to be the same. He taught that there are likely as many different experiences with God’s Holy Spirit as there are people who have experienced Him.
At the same time, he was adamant there are core similarities between all of these experiences. He taught that the New Testament used five “leading words” to refer to the Holy Spirit’s relation to us: baptized, filled, anointed, sealed, and earnest.
He believed the prime example of being “baptized” in the Holy Spirit occurred at the first Pentecost and refers to the action of God on the church and individuals. He emphasized this was an “act from above.”
He believed baptism in the Spirit was distinct from filling with the Spirit. While baptism is the act, filling is the result and describes the experience of being baptized. He then explained that anointing is the purpose of being filled.
“[Anointing]…is a power word to indicate that the Holy Spirit comes specifically to set us apart, to qualify us for right living and acceptable and helping service.”
Next, Gordon taught being “sealed” by the Holy Spirit is a personal-relational word,
“The Holy Spirit is Jesus’ ownership mark stamped upon us to indicate that we belong to Him. He is our sole owner. And if any of us do not give Him full control of His own property, we deal dishonestly.”
Finally, the word “earnest” comes from the King James translation of 2 Corinthians 1:22, “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” Here the word earnest is like the phrase “earnest money.” Thius passage teaches that the Holy Spirit who now fills us is Jesus’ pledge that He has purchased us and that someday he is coming back. In other words, the Spirit is a prophetic downpayment on all the future promises of God.
One of the problems with talking about being empowered by the Spirit is that not all Christians walk in the Holy Spirit’s power. Gordon believed this happens for the following reason: “The Holy Spirit is in every Christian, but many do not allow Him free and full control.” When we hold back anything from God, we will experience very little or none of His Power.
In order to receive the power of God through the Holy Spirit and walk in unbroken power, Gordon taught that we must walk in full surrender. This is an incredible common denominator from all of the men and women of God I have studied with a view to living as an empowered Christian.
Gordon also believed there are significant secrets to receiving God’s power from the Holy Spirit found in John 7:37-39. I’m including it here in the King James Verson to match some of the language he used,
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”
From this, he shares four steps.
Thirst - to intensely desire God and the power that only comes from His Holy Spirit.
De-throne Self by Coming to Jesus and Enthroning Him- The act of enthroning Christ de-thrones self. We cannot want God’s power for the spiritual “sensation” or some selfish purpose. We should never seek God’s power for the acclaim or personal power it might give us. Our uttermost desire must be a heart to glorify Jesus and to let Him do in us and with us whatever He pleases.
Drink - This means to take Jesus at His word and receive from Him.
Believe - Gordon writes, “The law of God dealing with you has not changed. Jesus says, ‘Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’ You are to believe His word.”
Ask God for all of His promises to you as a believer. Don’t doubt if you don’t “feel” everything you expect to feel. Trust that He is faithful and will provide you with everything He has promised!