John MacNeil

“ It is to our interest to demolish them. If we shatter them there will rain about our hearts the very treasures of Heaven, the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit; but if we spare our idol we will miss riches unsearchable. ”

“ The world is a jungle, a forest ready for the fire. Men, women and children form one vast continent of feeling, of ever-increasing sensibility, with an ever-deepening, an ever-aching void. Even the Teachers of High Truth themselves are not "abundantly satisfied" with the fatness of God's House; they do not drink deep enough from the "River of God's pleasures." Yes, there is a thirst not quenched; and I am persuaded that we can only quench Immanuel's thirst when in Him we quench our own. ”

“ Yes, He is just as complete, as perfect a Saviour from the power of sin, as He is from its guilt and stain. He is equally powerful in each department of His saving work. But after all is said and done, and one is being saved from all known, conscious sin, saved from sinning, that is not to say there is no sin remaining. We are face to face with the inspired statement, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (1 John i. 8) . How much sin may there be in us of which we are entirely unconscious, but which is naked and open to those "Eyes like unto a flame of fire!" ”

“ Then let us make haste to God; let us hurry to the Stream that is "full of water." We cannot know what the "Infilling of the Spirit" means until we are infilled. It is a new experience. God is not thereby better seen than before by nature's eye, but He is better understood, better loved, better leaned on; that is what He wants, and that is enough.
Perhaps, dear reader, the pathway between you and blessing is somewhat hidden, or your eyes are dim, or your heart is only beating with a faint desire. If so, then carefully read this little book; read it beside an open Bible; read it in prayer. ”

“ We come now to the practical side of our subject. Surely the unprejudiced reader, if he has not already "received the Holy Ghost," has at least come to the conclusion that there is such a blessing mentioned in the New Testament, and lying in God's Treasury, Jesus Christ, for all New Testament believers, and therefore for him—for me. Until it dawns on one's consciousness that there is such a blessing as "being filled with the Spirit," it is not likely that he will trouble about seeking it, and therefore will never obtain it. ”

“ What is sin?" asked a great leader once, and he answered his own question thus: "It is to come short of the glory of God; and in this sense we sin every moment of our lives in thought, word, and deed." ”

“ If the Bible doctrine of the clean heart meant the eradication of sin, a state of sinlessness, that is, absolute perfection, what need would we then have of the cleansing Blood at all? Though Jesus Christ may have "cleansed us from all unrighteousness," so that we "have a conscience void of offense," so that we "know nothing against ourselves," yet we need the Blood to cleanse from the sins which our eyes fail to detect, and of which our conscience takes no cognizance. ”

“ A Christian may want $250, and may "ask" his Father to send it to him, and God may give or withhold. But if a Christian man wants to be filled with the Holy Ghost, he need be in no doubt as to the issue here, he may "claim" the Fullness, for has not God promised it? Is not this blessing his very own? His birthright by virtue of his new birth? Let us learn then clearly to distinguish between "claiming" as an act of faith based on an express promise in the Word, and "asking" as a request in prayer. ”

“ They have claimed in faith the fullness; they have placed themselves to be filled; they look to their Lord to fulfill His promise. Whether it comes in one swift moment or more gradually, they know it is theirs.
I have written this with an eye to those who may not entirely agree with the way in which the truth is presented in this little book. I wish to urge all, especially ministers of the gospel, to give it a prayerful reading. I feel confident it will bring them help and blessing. It will deepen the conviction of the great need and absolute duty of being filled with the Spirit. ”

“ It is absolutely necessary to maintain the attitude of complete self-surrender, for the slightest act of disobedience—that is, the asserting of our own will in opposition to His will—may cost us the loss of the blessing, such as, neglecting to speak to a man about the great salvation, or, refusing to give a tract to some one when we knew God wanted us to do so. We must learn to be obedient to the promptings of the Spirit. ”

“ CHAPTER XVIII. MAY ONE LOSE THE BLESSING? The question trembles from many a lip—If I get the blessing, may I lose it? Most certainly. But, glory be to God! He has made ample provision for failure. There is no reason why we should fail; God has made ample provision against failure; we must not expect to fail; but in case we do fail, provision has been made. The most prolific cause of loss is disobedience—disobedience either to one of God's written commands, or to the inward promptings of His Holy Spirit. "The Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey Him" (Acts v. 32) . ”

“ A night of prayer, or a half night at least, a more or less protracted season must thus be spent before we can hope to receive the blessing we desire. Of course not one word can be uttered against spending seasons of prayer by day or by night in waiting upon God. We have the example of the Man of Prayer Himself before us in this. But this much must be said, that many a one has spent whole days and nights and weeks in earnest crying to God for the infilling of the Holy Ghost, and all in vain. ”

“ Alas! that there should be so many acquainted with the pain, when all the time God wants us to be independent of any bottle, to be abundantly satisfied with a well of water within us, fed from the hills of God. He wants us to be independent of all but Himself. The "well" is in every Christian, though it is not "springing up" in every one that has it. The very well, on the side of which Jesus, weary with His long journey from Eternity, once sat, has to-day no thirsty men or women coming to it with their empty pitchers, for the well is dry. ”

“ It is when the tide comes in, that every pool is filled, and all the separate little pools are lost in the great ocean. It is as all believers who know or seek this blessing begin to pray as intensely for each other and all their brethren, as for themselves, that the power of the Spirit will be fully known. With the prayer that this Spirit-filled book may be greatly blessed of God, I commend it to the study of His children. ”

“ So a heart may belong to God, that is, it may be the heart of a Christian man, and yet not a "clean" heart, but until it is cleansed God will refuse to put into it the precious deposit of the "water of life clear as crystal." ”

“ It will point out the hindrances and open up the way. It will stir up faith and hope. And it will, I trust, bring many a one to feel that it is at the footstool of the throne, in the absolute surrender of a new consecration, that the blessing is to be received from God Himself.
And may this book stir up all its readers, not only to seek this blessing for themselves, but to cry earnestly, "praying exceedingly day and night," "for all Saints," that God may throughout His whole church give the Holy Spirit in power. ”

“ Indeed the outflow depends directly on the inflow; one can only give as he gets. It is ours to see to the connection between us and the infinite Reservoir away up among the hills of God being kept open, to see that the tap is kept in proper working order by faith and prayer and meditation, and then, one might almost say, automatically, the heart will be kept full, "filled with all the Fullness of God," no matter what the spiritual drain upon us may be; for now it is not a question of our capacity to contain, but a question of God's infinite supply for all our needs. ”

“ Why not now? for "cleansing" is a crisis and not a process; but, as Principal Moule, of Cambridge, has very tersely put it, "Cleansing is a crisis with a view to a process." It is just here that multitudes of God's people miss the track. "Sanctification is the work of God's free grace." [1] Of course it is; it is a "growth," a gradual process; but "cleansing" is not "sanctification." The latter, in the sense in which it is being used here, is a theological term embracing all the Spirit's work in the believer between the cross and the crown; but "cleansing" is an act. ”

“ Thus we might go through the heavenly list—long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance—and see how richly in Bible times the fruit flourished in the lives of those who were Spirit-filled. Before passing on let us notice where it is that Joy grows. ”

“ On the one hand we are reminded that it is "by faith" we receive the Holy Spirit, and that faith often has to rest and to act without any conscious experience—has to walk in the dark. Souls that are fully surrendered to God are invited to claim the promise and then to go and work in the full assurance that the Spirit is in them, and will in His fullness work through them. ”

“ Him, the crowning of Jesus "Lord of all" in our own heart and life. "Crown Him, crown Him, Lord of all;" "and," says Dr. Hudson Taylor, "if you do not crown Him Lord of all, you do not crown Him Lord at all." This view of consecration, with its accompanying 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." ”

“ In Jesus Christ, God's Treasury, our share of Pentecost's blessing has been deposited for each of us by our Father God. Have we claimed and received our share? Not likely, if we are not aware that there is such a blessing for us; but once we recognize the fact that it is there, we surely will not rest till we have made it our own. ”

“ How many of God's children forget the second blessing!—they think that if they are saved from wrath and justified, that that is all!—but that is only half salvation; full salvation consists in receiving the promise of the Spirit in addition to being justified. ”

“ The first point to be settled is, "Is that the Master's will for me?" If so, lack of courage is a confession to the lack of the "Fullness of the Holy Ghost." The Spirit-filled man knows the fear of God and knows no other fear. ”

“ Have we not known some Christian men who, as has been well said, are like well-supplied cruet-stands? take them which side you like, you will get something either hot or sour, peppery or vinegarish from them! And yet one can scarcely doubt their conversion to God! ”

“ The consecrated life is a Christ-centered life, the only truly-centered life; every other life is eccentric: yet how often do we hear worldly people or worldly-minded Christians (what a contradiction in terms!) criticising some devoted Spirit-filled man or woman as "so eccentric," simply because of their loyalty to Christ their King! when all the while it is the critics that are "eccentric,"—off the true center. Indeed, so eccentric did the first Spirit-filled band appear, that "others mocking said, they are filled with new wine;" ”

“ If self is at the root of our motives at all, God will most surely block our way to Fullness of blessing. If we are thinking in our heart of hearts that it would be a good thing for us to get this blessing for our own happiness or satisfaction, or even that we might be more useful, or that in any way we might have the pre-eminence, our eye is not single, our whole body is not full of light (Matt. vi. 22) . There is therefore need for the refining fire to go through our heart. ”

“ CHAPTER II. EVERY BELIEVER'S BIRTHRIGHT. On every hand a lack of something is being felt and expressed by God's people. Their Christian experience is not what they expected it would be. Instead of expected victory, it is oft-recurring, dreaded defeat; instead of soul satisfaction, it is soul hunger; instead of deep, abiding heart rest, it is disquiet and discontent; instead of advancing, it is losing ground. Is this all Christ meant when He said, "Come unto Me"? Is this life of constant disappointment the normal life of the Bible Christian? ”

“ We often hear of discussions on the "lapsed masses." "Why have the masses of the people lapsed from the Churches?" Perhaps the more correct way of putting it would be, Why have the Churches lapsed from the masses? The answer is not far to seek—because they have lost the driving power which alone could keep them abreast of the masses, even the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. ”

“ It is the overflow, and only the overflow, that blesses. There is not a drop for thirsty souls till some one overflows. It is the overflow in the Sabbath School class, and in the pulpit, and, for that matter, in every other sphere of Christian service, that brings blessing; and this overflow is in direct proportion to the inflow. ”