results, is beautifully illustrated
for us in John vii. 38, 39, "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 were to receive:
for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified."
The flowing forth of the rivers--just the outflow, the overflow of the
infilling Spirit--was dependent on Jesus being "glorified." Jesus had not
yet reached the throne, and so the Spirit had not yet been given. The
reason why they had not come to Pentecost was that as yet there was no
Ascension. Ascension preceded Pentecost. Let us learn it by root of heart,
that every Pentecost since the first has, in like manner, been preceded by
an Ascension. Do we know Pentecost experimentally for ourselves? If not
the reason is close at hand. Jesus has not been "glorified" by us, not
enthroned in _our_ hearts. He may be in the heart, He may even be in the
throne room, but He has not been placed upon the throne! There has never
been a coronation day in our lives, when "in full and glad surrender" we
placed the crown on the many-crowned Head, crying, "Crown Him, crown Him,
Lord of all!" "And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as
crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and _of the Lamb_" (Rev.
xxii. 1). When Christ reached the throne at the Father's right hand, from
underneath His throne the river began to flow, the Holy Ghost was given,
His Church received her Pentecost. "Being by the right hand of God
exalted ... he hath poured forth this" (Acts ii. 33). So when Christ is
"exalted," "enthroned," "glorified" in the believer's heart, from
underneath His throne will the rivers begin to flow according to promise;
but, no Ascension, no Pentecost; and let us remember, as has been already
stated, that though life begins at the Cross, service does not begin till
Pentecost. No Pentecost, no service worthy of the name!

We need not be concerned as to how the rivers are flowing from us, or
troubled as to what channels they are flowing in. They flowed from Peter
in one way, and from Paul in quite another, and from Barnabas in yet
another; there are infinite "diversities" of ways. We need not trouble at
all about the rivers, and the direction of their flow; our concern is to
"glorify Jesus," to see that He is on the throne; and it becomes _His_
business then to see that the rivers are flowing; and there is not the