ter,
and take it to a running tap, but neglect to remove the cork, how long
will you have to wait holding it under the tap before it is filled?
Remove the cork, and the bottle is running over in a few seconds! Many a
one has cried and waited, and waited and cried for the Fullness of the
Spirit, but the stopper of unbelief has been in their empty hearts, and
so no wonder that they did not get what they wanted! Of what avail will
all God's "giving" be if a man does not "receive"? God cannot _give_ and
_receive_ too! But some one may still object, and, in proof of his
contention that we must "wait" for the filling of the Holy Ghost, point
to the case of the disciples, who continued in prayer for ten days,
waiting for the promise of the Father. Quite true that they "waited;" but
it must be remembered that that prayer meeting was ante-pentecostal; _we_
live in post-pentecostal days; _they_ were waiting for the Spirit to come
from Heaven. "The Spirit was not yet given." We have not so to wait. He
_has_ come, He _has_ been given, and all we have to do is to receive Him.
We have read of Christ's coming into the world and of His leaving it. We
have read of the Spirit's descent, but we do _not_ read of _His_
ascension. A Christian man came to me once and said--expecting a word of
encouragement and approval--"I have been seeking that blessing for over
thirty years." "Brother, it's nearly time you got it then!" was the swift
rejoinder. For all these years during which the man was crying, "Give,
give, give!" God was saying, "Take, take, take! Receive, receive! for I
_do_ give!" If I heard my little girl of three years old crying piteously
for a piece of bread, knowing that she must be very hungry, and having
the bread by me would I tell her to cry on for another hour and that then
I might attend to her wants? "How much more," oh! "_How much more_ will
your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" But what
if, in spite of her crying and of my offering, she would not take the
bread I offered, but still went on with her crying, "Father! oh, father!
do give me a piece of bread, I am so hungry!" You silly child! Oh, how
many silly children has the Father in His family, crying year in and year
out, "Give, give!" and Father all the while yearning over them and saying,
"Take, take, My child!" Let some of us give over crying and set to work
"receiving." Take and thank! Receive and thank! "That we might receive
the promise of