CHAPTER XVIII.

May One Lose the Blessing?--By Disobedience--By Neglect of the Word--It will be Found Where it was Lost 122

THE

SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE

BY THE LATE

REV. JOHN MACNEIL, B. A.

INTRODUCTION BY THE

REV. ANDREW MURRAY

_Be filled with the Spirit_--Eph. v. 18

Chicago

THE BIBLE INSTITUTE COLPORTAGE ASSOCIATION

250 LA SALLE AVENUE

_Copyright 1896 by Fleming H. Revell Company._

PREFACE.

I have written only for the "babes." The "full-grown," the "perfect," who may read will kindly bear this in mind. A wide and more or less intimate acquaintance with the Churches of Australasia has shown me the need for a simple, homely talk, such as this little book professes to be. Many, oh! so many of God's dear children are living on the wrong side of Pentecost, living on the same plane as that on which the disciples were living before they "were filled with the Holy Ghost;" and thus by their lives practically making the sad confession, "We did not so much as hear whether the Holy Ghost was given," or "whether there be any Holy Ghost." The object of this little work is to call their attention to their Birthright, to the fact that the Fullness of the Spirit is the Birthright of every believer. God wants us to be living _this_ side Pentecost, not the _other_ side.

The substance of the following pages has been occasionally delivered as a series of afternoon Bible Readings in connection with my Mission Services. The frequent request that those who heard them might have them in a more permanent form, coupled with the hope that the great blessing that has most graciously been vouchsafed to them when spoken, might not be withheld from them when being read, has induced me to commit them to writing.

I gratefully acknowledge help received from many sources, both in preparing the Bible Readings, and in preparing them for publication; especially do I owe a debt of gratitude to my beloved "fellow-worker in Christ Jesus," who has now for many years been "a succorer of many, and of myself also," the Rev. H. B. Macartney, M. A., Incumbent of St. Mary's, Caulfield. He has most kindly revised my MS., penned an introduction, and encouraged me to publish.

In "much fear and trembling," because of its inadequateness, but with earnest and unceasing prayer to Him who has been pleased before to-day to "choose the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty"--with the prayer that He would graciously do so again, I send this little messenger forth on its mission, trusting that the reading of it may be as great a blessing to every reader as the writing of it has been to the writer.

JOHN MACNEIL.

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INTRODUCTION

_To First Australian Edition._

Christian reader, I pray that before you finish this little book you may become so eager, so intense in your longings after God, that you will not be satisfied until you are really and actually "FULL" of Him, "filled" with the Holy Ghost.

When the Lord asked Job, in chap. xxxviii. 34, "Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?" he would undoubtedly have answered, No. We, on the other hand, with all humility, but without the slightest hesitation, can answer, Yes. "Abundance" is the Father's will; "abundant" are the Stores of Life in Jesus; "abounding" for ever and ever is the Stream of the Spirit's energies.

We have only _to reflect a little_ till the truth flashes, and _then_ the victory is all but won. We have only to consider, WHO was it that first loved us, and called us to be His own children, when we were wandering in sin's desert? WHO was it that first crossed the wild with a cup of living water to slake our dying thirst? WHO now crosses that desert a second time on our behalf with great camel loads of wine and milk? What did it cost Him to draw that water from Salvation's well, or to buy those luxuries for growth and power? What will one healing, stimulating draught accomplish in us and others? How will He grieve if we decline to "buy," or hesitate to "drink"? What, above all, will be the consequences to His glory? Oh, let us arise! Let us "shake ourselves from the dust!" Let us drink abundantly, Beloved! There is just now an unutterable need for "something more." Single souls are drooping, though divinely planted. Churches are full of bones, "very many and very dry." 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. 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. It may be, through infinite compassion, that it may prove a key into the "wealthy place;" it may rend the veil, scatter the darkness, lead you to joy unspeakable, and--to power!

I have known the author long, and love him much. He is thoroughly trained in theology; he is a first-rate preacher; his gospel for sinners is as "clear as crystal;" and when you have read a little further, you will say the same of his gospel for saints! He has penetrated far into the "Secret of the Most High," and so can speak from a rich experience of his own, to which, however, he never refers.

I cannot but express the hope that this little treatise on the "Spirit-filled Life," may not only be widely circulated in Australia, but also in England and America. It is fresh, it is homely, it is temperate, it is timely, it is scriptural, it is splendid. It sets forth a Promise to be claimed, a Gift to be received, a Command to be obeyed; and it portrays the sequel--more liberty, more peace, more devotion, more fellowship with the Son of God in His rejection by man, in His fellowship with the Father.

H. B. MACARTNEY, JR.

_St. Mary's, Caulfield, Victoria, July 12, 1894._

THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE.