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The Acts of the Apostles
be. If all were willing, all would be filled with the Spirit. Wherever
the need of the Holy Spirit is a matter little thought of, there is seen
spiritual drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension and death.
Whenever minor matters occupy the attention, the divine power which
is necessary for the growth and prosperity of the church, and which
would bring all other blessings in its train, is lacking, though offered
in infinite plenitude.
Since this is the means by which we are to receive power, why do
we not hunger and thirst for the gift of the Spirit? Why do we not talk
of it, pray for it, and preach concerning it? The Lord is more willing
to give the Holy Spirit to those who serve Him than parents are to
give good gifts to their children. For the daily baptism of the Spirit
every worker should offer his petition to God. Companies of Christian
workers should gather to ask for special help, for heavenly wisdom,
that they may know how to plan and execute wisely. Especially should
they pray that God will baptize His chosen ambassadors in mission
[51]
fields with a rich measure of His Spirit. The presence of the Spirit
with God’s workers will give the proclamation of truth a power that
not all the honor or glory of the world could give.
With the consecrated worker for God, in whatever place he may be,
the Holy Spirit abides. The words spoken to the disciples are spoken
also to us. The Comforter is ours as well as theirs. The Spirit furnishes
the strength that sustains striving, wrestling souls in every emergency,
amidst the hatred of the world, and the realization of their own failures
and mistakes. In sorrow and affliction, when the outlook seems dark
and the future perplexing, and we feel helpless and alone,—these are
the times when, in answer to the prayer of faith, the Holy Spirit brings
comfort to the heart.
It is not a conclusive evidence that a man is a Christian because
he manifests spiritual ecstasy under extraordinary circumstances. Ho-
liness is not rapture: it is an entire surrender of the will to God; it is
living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; it is doing
the will of our heavenly Father; it is trusting God in trial, in darkness
as well as in the light; it is walking by faith and not by sight; it is
relying on God with unquestioning confidence, and resting in His love.
It is not essential for us to be able to define just what the Holy Spirit
is. Christ tells us that the Spirit is the Comforter, “the Spirit of truth,
which proceedeth from the Father.” It is plainly declared regarding the