The Baptism And Gifts Of The Holy Spirit

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< > Chapter Two How to receive and retain a Pentecostal fullness from our Lord Jesus We must thirst after Jesus and our Heavenly Father Thirsting for God's Word. Ps.119v97,103. The “exceeding great and precious promises” of God are the foundation of every true revival, they give us the faith to ask for and receive our Father's “good gifts.” 2Pet1v4-11. Lk.11v13. The Word of God is the food of faith, and faith will increase as we read it and believe it. Jn.20v30,31. Acts.20v32. Rom.10v17. 1Pet.2v2. 2Tim.3v14-17. Meditation upon the promises of God will give us the faith to receive God's promises. If we desire a revival, we must get our pattern from God’s Word, for others, even “the good and best,” may lead us far astray. We should test our experience by the Scriptures, not correct or interpret the Scriptures in the light of our experience. Those who say, “Our practice is not found in the Scriptures, but we believe it is right because we experience it;” are supplanting God’s Word with their tradition. We can limit both God and our experience of God, by making the standards of others our guide instead of the Scriptures. Mt.22v29. The first sign of a cold heart and spiritual backsliding, is not a lack of prayer, important as this is, but a lack of love and respect for the Word of God, and a neglect of its study. If we desire to receive a real fullness of the Spirit, we must cast off critical unbelieving attitudes to the Scriptures, and humbly and earnestly seek God in His Word. If we do not believe what God has said regarding the miraculous and other vital Christian truths, how can we expect to receive anything from Him? An evil heart of unbelief kept Israel out of Canaan, and will keep us from experiencing God’s power and gifts. Ps.95v1-11. Heb.3v12,19. 4v1-13 Jn.5v46,47. Without faith we cannot please God, faith is our capacity for God. Heb.11v5,6. Jn.10v26,27. 8v46,47. Those who have experienced the miracle of the new birth, should believe the other miracles of the Bible, it is the unconverted who look upon the things of God as “foolishness.” 1Cor.1v18-25. 2v14. Failure to accept and believe the things that Jesus taught and believed, will mean that we make little or no spiritual progress. Jn.8v28-36. 17v8,13,14,17. Those who feed in faith on the Scriptures, will find that they receive an experience of God that is “exceedingly above all that we can ask or think.” Thirsting for God's presence in prayer. We should not say, “If the Lord wants to give me the baptism in the Spirit, He will do so, in His own good time; I am not going to seek this blessing, God will give it to me when I am ready for it;” for it is still true that, “ye have not, because ye ask not.” James.4v2,3. Jesus told us to “ask, seek and knock,” to receive our Father's good gifts and the Holy Spirit. Mt.7v7-11. Lk.11v5-13. The New Testament does not teach that there has to be a long period of waiting before we can expect to receive the baptism in the Spirit, but it does say that we have to thirst after Christ and the Father. Lk.11v9-13. Jn.7v37-39. From Acts.19v2., we see that Paul believed that a Christian should receive the baptism in the Spirit as soon as possible after their conversion. However, Christians who have been taught for years that spiritual gifts were non-existent, or “not for today,” often have a lot to unlearn, and it may take some time to clear away the theological rubbish that they have been taught, before they can receive the baptism and gifts of the Spirit. We should also never underestimate the satanic opposition that we will receive if we are seeking to be the channels of God's power and love. Satan will use every strategy to turn us away from the promise and purpose of God. Mt.4v1-12. Eph.6v10-20. The initial Pentecostal outpouring had a background of fervent resolute prayer, and we shall have to imitate them if we are to defeat Satan's crafty and malicious attacks. Acts.1v14. It is a tragedy when Christians, who have received the baptism in the Spirit, stop seeking God, because they feel, or have been taught, that they have reached the goal of Christian experience. The baptism in the Spirit should not be looked upon as a goal, but rather as a gateway into the exciting possibilities of a Spirit-filled life, mighty experiences of the Holy Spirit's power and love, should follow the baptism in the Spirit. It is, in fact, essential to seek God even more after we have received the baptism in the Spirit, to keep and expand the experience that we have received, for Satan will try to rob us of the precious holy experience that God has given to us, just as he tried with the Lord Jesus. Mt.3v16. 4v1. Indeed, the greater manifestations of the gifts of power and revelation demand a close and humble walk with God, a very definite prayer life, and some Christian maturity. It is a mistake to try and lead prayerless people and immature spiritual babes into the greater manifestations of the gifts of power and revelation, for it will only result in carnal impersonations. Thirsting for Christ and the Father in love and unity with other Christians. Lack of a prayerful, loving, Spirit-anointed fellowship is almost certainly the major reason why many Christians experience difficulty in receiving the baptism in the Spirit. Even our Lord Jesus needed and desired the help of others in prayer, the twelve were appointed “to be with Him,” as well as to preach and heal the sick. Mk.3v14. In times of exceptional spiritual pressure, Peter, James and John, were taken by Christ to be His special close companions. Mk.5v35-43. 13v2-4. 14v32-42. Lk.5v5-11. 9v28-36,51. If Christ needed companions who were spiritually minded in times of spiritual conflict, we certainly do. A constant day-to-day fellowship with other like-minded, spiritual Christians, puts a protective spiritual umbrella over us. The Scripture states that co-operation of faith, in the will of God, can multiply our spiritual effectiveness tenfold. Deut.32v30. Christ believed in both private and public prayer, and the early Church followed His example. Lk.3v21. 5v16. 6v12. 9v18,28. 11v1.22v39-46. Acts.1v14. 2v1,41,42. 3v1. 4v23-33. Etc. The early Church sought God with one accord, for many hours and days, and this is the reason for their spiritual effectiveness; we will not experience a revival unless we imitate them. Before the initial Pentecostal outpouring, the 120 disciples “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication;” and after Pentecost, “the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul, -- they had all things in common.” Acts.1v14. 4v32. There is a rich blessing where “brethren (and sisters) dwell together in unity.” Ps.133v1-3. Churches that lack this unity and love can be miserable and discouraging places, and the faith and spiritual progress of the Christians in them will certainly suffer. Gal.5v13-26. 1Cor.1v5-11. 1John.4v7-16. This love and unity is the acid test of a genuine revival. John.13v34,35. The early Church unity at Jerusalem puts denominational pride, bigotry, and competition in its true light. A New Testament church consisted of all the Christians in an area or locality, there was no external visible organisation in the form of buildings, this was forbidden by the Roman State until Constantine's “Edict of Toleration,” in A.D. 313. Christians gathered for fellowship at any place or hour that was suitable, there was liberty as to when and where they could worship, as long as they were under mature godly guidance. Mt.18v20. Jn.4v19-24. 1Tim.3v1-7. Titus.1v5-16. Compare v6 and 10. New Testament fellowships were usually centred around homes. Each house group was linked in love and fellowship with the other groups in that area. Rom.16v3-5,23. 1Cor.16v19. Col.4v15. Philem.v2. Acts.2v46. 5v12. 12v12. 20v7-9. 21v8-12. Paul rebuked the Corinthians when they failed to manifest this love and unity. 1Cor.1v10-14. 3v1-9. When Paul rebuked these divisions in the church at Corinth, he was not criticising the Corinthians for dividing into small groups for close fellowship; in a city of 100,000, as at Corinth, and many converts, this division into different groups for fellowship was both unavoidable and essential. Paul was condemning the lack of recognition, love, and fellowship between these groups. Paul solemnly tells us that, if we do not recognise Christians, or ministries, outside of our own particular group, and through prejudice and party spirit hinder the operation of the ministries that Christ has set in His Church, then we are carnal and immature spiritual babies. 1Cor.3v1. Personal preferences become a sin when they cause division in the Church. We get our word “heresies,” from the Greek “haireseis,” which literally means, “choosings” or “preferences,” and speaks of division on the grounds of doctrinal belief. If we make emphasis on certain doctrines, or the following of certain teachers, a cause for division, we are working after the flesh. Gal.5v20. Unity with blatant Christ-denying heresy, or other “damnable heresies,” is quite impossible and must of necessity produce division; but, sadly, Christians often allow trivial things to divide them and hinder fellowship. 2Pet.2v1-3. Titus.3v10,11. 1Jn.4v1-5. Unity is produced by truth, and not at the expense of truth; but if we are not careful, our blind prejudices can strain out and magnify doctrinal gnats, and swallow down and ignore camels of loveless profession and hypocrisy. Christ called the people who did this kind of thing “hypocrites.” Mt.6v2,5,16. 7v5. 15v7. 16v3. 22v18. 23v13,14,15,23,25,27,29. 24v51. Mk.7v6. Lk.6v42. 11v44. 12v56. 13v15. The word for “hypocrite,” is “hupokrites,” and it describes someone who acts or impersonates another; it speaks of those who feign and pretend, and hide their real character, motives and feelings, like the ancient actors who wore a mask to hide their true identity. True religion is love in action, anything less is a mere pretence. We read in 1Jn.2v7-11. and 3v10-19., that if we do not positively and practically manifest a genuine love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are deceiving ourselves. James.2v1-26. We should lay aside any feelings of superior spirituality and superior doctrinal enlightenment, and recognise them for what they are, manifestations of a loathsome spiritual pride. Is.65v5. If we are not careful we can strenuously affirm that we are defending the truth while we are viciously attacking the beliefs of fellow Christians. Bad temper and bigotry are often called by the names of “righteous indignation” and “zeal for the truth;” when they are really excuses for party spirit and loveless prejudices. True Christianity does not consist only of a correct doctrinal outline, for we can have knowledge of all sacred secrets, and without love be nothing. 1Cor.13v1-3. Fellowship between Christians of different traditions demands love and forbearance, and in Eph.4v13., Paul makes it quite clear that the unity of faith takes time to achieve; but he also tells us that until we reach it, we are to keep a unity of the Spirit. Eph.4v3. 1Cor.1v10. to 3v23. We rejoice that the Holy Spirit is burning up the barriers and partitions that have existed between Christians in different denominations, and they are rejoicing in their oneness in Christ. Col.3v11. Eph.2v11-22. No Christian group has a monopoly of God, and the fellowship that I have enjoyed with Christians from various traditions has been a veritable foretaste of Heaven, because Christ's love has reigned in our hearts. Christ's love withheld truth from His disciples that they could not bear. Jn.16v12. Christ's love forgave His faithless disciples, and patiently sustained them when they were slow to understand the truths of the New Covenant, and held on to the Old Covenant and their false man-made traditions. Lk.24v1-53. Acts.18v18. 21v23-27. 1Cor.9v19-23. Gal.2v11-21. Christ did not “shoot down” His doctrinally lacking disciples, His love and grace sustained them until they could receive and bear the truth. Jn.1v14. 16v12. Jesus veiled some of the implications of the New Covenant from His apostles, even after His forty days resurrection ministry, because they were so bound by the tradition of a restored Israel. Acts.1v6-8. It took Jesus many years to get the Church to realise that it was separate from Judaism, and this was probably the biggest internal problem that the early Church faced. Acts.15v1-31. 21v23-27. 2Cor.11v1-15. Gal.5v1-12. Etc. How we love to cling to false, but cherished traditions! We should imitate Jesus and exercise patience and kindness towards Christians whose traditions and practices are strange to us, just as they need to manifest patience and kindness towards us. Long patience and kindness are the first essential qualities of love that Paul mentions in 1Cor.13v4-7.. We should never sacrifice our personal convictions for the sake of a superficial unity, but we should be big enough in God, to recognise and have fellowship with Christians whose background and traditions are different from our own. Love is the basis of fellowship, and it is only as the world sees genuine love and unity between Christians, that it will know that we are Christ's disciples and believe the Gospel message. Jn.13v34,35. 15v10-14. 17v23. SOME PRACTICAL ADVICE ON PRIVATE PRAYER. Use your Bible in your prayer time. I have proved that Bible study with prayer is the best way of seeking God for hours in prayer, recorded Bible readings also have real value, and can provide valuable inspiration and aid to prayer while driving the car, but “watch and pray.” Use the gift of tongues that the Holy Spirit has given to you. The gift of tongues is given primarily for prayer and worship, and if used diligently it will not only bring answers to prayer for ourselves and others, it will also build faith, love and spiritual strength in us. This gift enables us to praise and worship the Lord as He deserves, and gives us the ability to express the otherwise inexpressible love and devotion that we feel for Him. 1Cor.14v2,4,14,15,17. Acts.2v4,11. 10v44-46. Do use your hymn book. In 1Cor.14v15., Paul said we should sing and pray with the understanding as well as in tongues. Eph.5v18-20. Col.3v15-17. We can do this by reading and singing hymns that express what we feel and desire. In Acts.16v25., the literal sense is, “praying, they sang hymns.” Use the great hymns of the Church; for they cover every need and circumstance, as well as every aspect of prayer and praise. Mature Christians need hymns of depth and substance, use this Divine treasury of Christian experience. Use recorded sacred music. Some recorded sacred music has a great anointing; and it can be a great blessing to listen to them in our prayer times and our tasks around the home. Sacred music is a great blessing, particularly if we are experiencing spiritual conflict, or are in physical need. Elisha used music to carry him into the presence of God; he asked for a minstrel to play while he sought God in prayer; “and it came to pass, when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him.” 2Kings3v14-16. In both Bible study and prayer, I have proved the value and divinely ordained inspiration of sacred music, it has been more blessing to me than I can ever tell. Do use this heavenly means of grace. Don't be tied to one posture, or one time of prayer. We know from Eph.3v14., that Paul knelt in prayer, but he did not limit his praying to kneeling and praying. Paul told us to “Rejoice always; never stop praying; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will in Christ Jesus for you.” 1Thes.5v16-18. Paul stresses the importance of a life of prayer, not just a time of prayer. Do not just kneel and pray, sit and pray, walk and pray, work and pray, and rest and relax and pray. We can practice and enjoy prayer at any time. “Sitting.” Acts.2v2. With “feet fast in stocks. Acts.16v24,25. “Lifting to heaven holy, loving and devoted hands, which are unstained by anger, disputes and dissensions.” 1Tim.2v8. The most important attitude in prayer, is the posture of love and dedication to God and others. Follow the pattern for prayer that Jesus gave us in, "The Lord's prayer." Jesus tells us the attitudes of heart and mind that will bring a knowledge of God, a fullness of the Spirit and answered prayer. We must realise our position in Christ, we are sons of God. “When you pray, say, Father.” In Jesus we have a new and blessed relationship with the Father; we are brethren of Christ, joint heirs with Christ, and God's own beloved children. 1Jn.3v1. Jn.15v9. 17v23. Rom.8v17. Heb.2v10-20. 6v13-20. Hallelujah! We must have a continual spirit of worship. “Hallowed, revered, and honoured, be thy name.” God is seeking worshippers, not empty flattery, which God deplores. True worship recognises with sincere gratitude and deep love that we owe everything we are, have and will have to our Creator and Redeemer. Jn.4v23,24. Mt.15v7-9. Mk.7v6-9. God is worthy of all our respect, adoration, love and esteem. Rev.5v11-14. We must desire to see God's kingdom and will to be manifested on earth. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” There is not only desire and longing; there is positive action and costly sacrifice, under God's direction, to see His kingdom extended. This is a personal matter between ourselves and God, we must always be very careful to distinguish between people who put pressure upon us to build up their personal kingdoms, or other human pressure groups, and the will of God. Jn.21v19-22. Mt.10v37-42. Acts.15v25,26. We must be free from anxiety over material needs. “Give us this day our daily bread.” We must believe, as it is absolutely true, that our heavenly Father loves us intensely and will meet all our needs. Phil.4v19. Mt.6v25-34. A spirit of materialism and worldly anxiety will effectively incapacitate us from useful service for the kingdom of God. 1Jn.2v15-17. This does not mean, of course, that we have to neglect our families, those who do this “have denied the faith,” and are “worse than unbelieving heathen.” 1Tim.5v8. We must have a tender conscience and repentance from any known sin. “Forgive us our sins.” In Lk.11v4., Luke uses the word “hamartia,” “sins;” whereas, Mt.6v12. uses “opheilemata;” a word that Paul uses in Rom.4v4. to speak of legal debts. Christ obviously used both; He taught that our sins are debts to God and others. Wilful sin closes our hearts to the blessing and love of God. Heb.10v19-39. 1Jn.1v5. to 2v6. We must have a forgiving spirit towards those who have sinned against us. We must beware of roots of bitterness and an unforgiving spirit, for Jesus warns us that we can only ask for forgiveness “in proportion as, or like as,” “hos,” we forgive others, a truly solemn warning, which is reiterated by Christ elsewhere. Mt.6v12,14,15. Mk.11v25,26. Jesus tells us to rebuke Christians who sin against us, and IF they repent, we must forgive them. Lk.17v3,4. Let us make every effort to achieve reconciliation and forgiveness with Christians, and make it easy for those who have offended us to repent, and exercise a forgiving spirit to them. However, Jesus said that repentance is necessary before fellowship can be restored, and failure to repent after the procedure laid down in Mt.18v15-17., means that a person looses their rights to be treated as a Christian. Let us remember that God's forgiveness is always conditional upon repentance. Mt.5v23,24. 18v20-35. Mk.11v22-26. Lk.6v37. 23v34. Eph.4v30-32. Gal.6v1-3. 1Jn.4v20,21. Jesus certainly did not try to be reconciled with Israel's religious leaders; His attacks upon them were extremely contentious. Mt.23v13-39. Lk.11v39-54. Christ asked the Father to forgive the soldiers who were crucifying Him, they really did not know what they were doing; however, there was no such prayer for the religious leaders of Israel, who knew full well what they were doing, Jesus said they had seen God and hated Him. Lk.23v34. Jn.15v22-25. Stephen manifested a forgiving spirit to his implacable enemies, and asked God not to lay his murder to their charge; however, God could not forgive them, for He cannot forgive unrepentant sin, even though He may long to restore and pardon. Acts.7v59,60. Mt.23v37-39. Lk.19v41-44. Christians who hurt and offend others, and do not repent, face an inevitable discipline from their heavenly Father, and so do those who fail to forgive others, when those who offend them repent. We know that we have a genuine revival when Christians get right with each other and fervently love each other. Rom.12v14-21. 2Cor.13v1. Gal.6v1. Our enormous debt to God should keep us from fighting over our comparatively trifling debts to each other. Mt.18v21-35. Heb.12v14,15. We must allow God to lead us from dangerous paths. Christians should have a fear of sin, and a fear of getting out of the will of God. As someone has said, “lead us not into temptation,” is an Eastern way of saying, “Father, please keep us from going out of your will, into paths that lead to spiritual danger or sin.” God can, by various means, stop us from going into spiritual danger, if we are prayerful and willing to be led by Him. Ps.141v4. 1Cor.10v13. Acts.16v6-9. We should always be prepared for our heavenly Father's stops or diversions. We must trust God to deliver us from evil, and the Evil One. In the phrase, “lead us not into temptation,” Jesus was speaking of dangers and temptations that can be avoided by prayerful living. See Lk.22v40. Here He speaks of conflicts with evil that we cannot avoid and must face. These conflicts demand a prayerful life and a real faith in God, for we cannot defeat Satan on our own, we must draw near to God before we can effectively resist the Devil. James.4v6-8. Persecution or opposition of some kind or other will always come against the consecrated child of God, and supernatural opposition from Satan is often channelled through his earthly friends. Mt.4v1-11. Acts.13v50-52. 2Cor.1v8-10. Eph.1v2. 6v10-20. 2Thes.3v1-3. 2Tim.2v12. 3v12. We must believe that God will deliver us, and will answer our prayers, as we follow and obey our Lord's pattern of prayer, and if our prayers accomplish anything, we must remember that His power has brought it to pass, and we must give Him all the glory. < >
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Chapter Two

How to receive and retain a Pentecostal fullness from our Lord Jesus

We must thirst after Jesus and our Heavenly Father

Thirsting for God's Word. Ps.119v97,103.
The “exceeding great and precious promises” of God are the foundation of every true revival, they give us the faith to ask for and receive our Father's “good gifts.” 2Pet1v4-11. Lk.11v13. The Word of God is the food of faith, and faith will increase as we read it and believe it. Jn.20v30,31. Acts.20v32. Rom.10v17. 1Pet.2v2. 2Tim.3v14-17. Meditation upon the promises of God will give us the faith to receive God's promises. If we desire a revival, we must get our pattern from God’s Word, for others, even “the good and best,” may lead us far astray. We should test our experience by the Scriptures, not correct or interpret the Scriptures in the light of our experience. Those who say, “Our practice is not found in the Scriptures, but we believe it is right because we experience it;” are supplanting God’s Word with their tradition. We can limit both God and our experience of God, by making the standards of others our guide instead of the Scriptures. Mt.22v29.

The first sign of a cold heart and spiritual backsliding, is not a lack of prayer, important as this is, but a lack of love and respect for the Word of God, and a neglect of its study. If we desire to receive a real fullness of the Spirit, we must cast off critical unbelieving attitudes to the Scriptures, and humbly and earnestly seek God in His Word. If we do not believe what God has said regarding the miraculous and other vital Christian truths, how can we expect to receive anything from Him? An evil heart of unbelief kept Israel out of Canaan, and will keep us from experiencing God’s power and gifts. Ps.95v1-11. Heb.3v12,19. 4v1-13 Jn.5v46,47. Without faith we cannot please God, faith is our capacity for God. Heb.11v5,6. Jn.10v26,27. 8v46,47. Those who have experienced the miracle of the new birth, should believe the other miracles of the Bible, it is the unconverted who look upon the things of God as “foolishness.” 1Cor.1v18-25. 2v14. Failure to accept and believe the things that Jesus taught and believed, will mean that we make little or no spiritual progress. Jn.8v28-36. 17v8,13,14,17. Those who feed in faith on the Scriptures, will find that they receive an experience of God that is “exceedingly above all that we can ask or think.”

Thirsting for God's presence in prayer.
We should not say, “If the Lord wants to give me the baptism in the Spirit, He will do so, in His own good time; I am not going to seek this blessing, God will give it to me when I am ready for it;” for it is still true that, “ye have not, because ye ask not.” James.4v2,3. Jesus told us to “ask, seek and knock,” to receive our Father's good gifts and the Holy Spirit. Mt.7v7-11. Lk.11v5-13. The New Testament does not teach that there has to be a long period of waiting before we can expect to receive the baptism in the Spirit, but it does say that we have to thirst after Christ and the Father. Lk.11v9-13. Jn.7v37-39. From Acts.19v2., we see that Paul believed that a Christian should receive the baptism in the Spirit as soon as possible after their conversion. However, Christians who have been taught for years that spiritual gifts were non-existent, or “not for today,” often have a lot to unlearn, and it may take some time to clear away the theological rubbish that they have been taught, before they can receive the baptism and gifts of the Spirit. We should also never underestimate the satanic opposition that we will receive if we are seeking to be the channels of God's power and love. Satan will use every strategy to turn us away from the promise and purpose of God. Mt.4v1-12. Eph.6v10-20. The initial Pentecostal outpouring had a background of fervent resolute prayer, and we shall have to imitate them if we are to defeat Satan's crafty and malicious attacks. Acts.1v14.

It is a tragedy when Christians, who have received the baptism in the Spirit, stop seeking God, because they feel, or have been taught, that they have reached the goal of Christian experience. The baptism in the Spirit should not be looked upon as a goal, but rather as a gateway into the exciting possibilities of a Spirit-filled life, mighty experiences of the Holy Spirit's power and love, should follow the baptism in the Spirit. It is, in fact, essential to seek God even more after we have received the baptism in the Spirit, to keep and expand the experience that we have received, for Satan will try to rob us of the precious holy experience that God has given to us, just as he tried with the Lord Jesus. Mt.3v16. 4v1. Indeed, the greater manifestations of the gifts of power and revelation demand a close and humble walk with God, a very definite prayer life, and some Christian maturity. It is a mistake to try and lead prayerless people and immature spiritual babes into the greater manifestations of the gifts of power and revelation, for it will only result in carnal impersonations.

Thirsting for Christ and the Father in love and unity with other Christians.
Lack of a prayerful, loving, Spirit-anointed fellowship is almost certainly the major reason why many Christians experience difficulty in receiving the baptism in the Spirit. Even our Lord Jesus needed and desired the help of others in prayer, the twelve were appointed “to be with Him,” as well as to preach and heal the sick. Mk.3v14. In times of exceptional spiritual pressure, Peter, James and John, were taken by Christ to be His special close companions. Mk.5v35-43. 13v2-4. 14v32-42. Lk.5v5-11. 9v28-36,51. If Christ needed companions who were spiritually minded in times of spiritual conflict, we certainly do. A constant day-to-day fellowship with other like-minded, spiritual Christians, puts a protective spiritual umbrella over us. The Scripture states that co-operation of faith, in the will of God, can multiply our spiritual effectiveness tenfold. Deut.32v30. Christ believed in both private and public prayer, and the early Church followed His example. Lk.3v21. 5v16. 6v12. 9v18,28. 11v1.22v39-46. Acts.1v14. 2v1,41,42. 3v1. 4v23-33. Etc. The early Church sought God with one accord, for many hours and days, and this is the reason for their spiritual effectiveness; we will not experience a revival unless we imitate them.

Before the initial Pentecostal outpouring, the 120 disciples “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication;” and after Pentecost, “the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul, -- they had all things in common.” Acts.1v14. 4v32. There is a rich blessing where “brethren (and sisters) dwell together in unity.” Ps.133v1-3. Churches that lack this unity and love can be miserable and discouraging places, and the faith and spiritual progress of the Christians in them will certainly suffer. Gal.5v13-26. 1Cor.1v5-11. 1John.4v7-16. This love and unity is the acid test of a genuine revival. John.13v34,35. The early Church unity at Jerusalem puts denominational pride, bigotry, and competition in its true light.

A New Testament church consisted of all the Christians in an area or locality, there was no external visible organisation in the form of buildings, this was forbidden by the Roman State until Constantine's “Edict of Toleration,” in A.D. 313. Christians gathered for fellowship at any place or hour that was suitable, there was liberty as to when and where they could worship, as long as they were under mature godly guidance. Mt.18v20. Jn.4v19-24. 1Tim.3v1-7. Titus.1v5-16. Compare v6 and 10.

New Testament fellowships were usually centred around homes.
Each house group was linked in love and fellowship with the other groups in that area. Rom.16v3-5,23. 1Cor.16v19. Col.4v15. Philem.v2. Acts.2v46. 5v12. 12v12. 20v7-9. 21v8-12. Paul rebuked the Corinthians when they failed to manifest this love and unity. 1Cor.1v10-14. 3v1-9. When Paul rebuked these divisions in the church at Corinth, he was not criticising the Corinthians for dividing into small groups for close fellowship; in a city of 100,000, as at Corinth, and many converts, this division into different groups for fellowship was both unavoidable and essential. Paul was condemning the lack of recognition, love, and fellowship between these groups. Paul solemnly tells us that, if we do not recognise Christians, or ministries, outside of our own particular group, and through prejudice and party spirit hinder the operation of the ministries that Christ has set in His Church, then we are carnal and immature spiritual babies. 1Cor.3v1.

Personal preferences become a sin when they cause division in the Church.
We get our word “heresies,” from the Greek “haireseis,” which literally means, “choosings” or “preferences,” and speaks of division on the grounds of doctrinal belief. If we make emphasis on certain doctrines, or the following of certain teachers, a cause for division, we are working after the flesh. Gal.5v20. Unity with blatant Christ-denying heresy, or other “damnable heresies,” is quite impossible and must of necessity produce division; but, sadly, Christians often allow trivial things to divide them and hinder fellowship. 2Pet.2v1-3. Titus.3v10,11. 1Jn.4v1-5. Unity is produced by truth, and not at the expense of truth; but if we are not careful, our blind prejudices can strain out and magnify doctrinal gnats, and swallow down and ignore camels of loveless profession and hypocrisy. Christ called the people who did this kind of thing “hypocrites.” Mt.6v2,5,16. 7v5. 15v7. 16v3. 22v18. 23v13,14,15,23,25,27,29. 24v51. Mk.7v6. Lk.6v42. 11v44. 12v56. 13v15. The word for “hypocrite,” is “hupokrites,” and it describes someone who acts or impersonates another; it speaks of those who feign and pretend, and hide their real character, motives and feelings, like the ancient actors who wore a mask to hide their true identity.

True religion is love in action, anything less is a mere pretence.
We read in 1Jn.2v7-11. and 3v10-19., that if we do not positively and practically manifest a genuine love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are deceiving ourselves. James.2v1-26. We should lay aside any feelings of superior spirituality and superior doctrinal enlightenment, and recognise them for what they are, manifestations of a loathsome spiritual pride. Is.65v5. If we are not careful we can strenuously affirm that we are defending the truth while we are viciously attacking the beliefs of fellow Christians. Bad temper and bigotry are often called by the names of “righteous indignation” and “zeal for the truth;” when they are really excuses for party spirit and loveless prejudices. True Christianity does not consist only of a correct doctrinal outline, for we can have knowledge of all sacred secrets, and without love be nothing. 1Cor.13v1-3. Fellowship between Christians of different traditions demands love and forbearance, and in Eph.4v13., Paul makes it quite clear that the unity of faith takes time to achieve; but he also tells us that until we reach it, we are to keep a unity of the Spirit. Eph.4v3. 1Cor.1v10. to 3v23. We rejoice that the Holy Spirit is burning up the barriers and partitions that have existed between Christians in different denominations, and they are rejoicing in their oneness in Christ. Col.3v11. Eph.2v11-22. No Christian group has a monopoly of God, and the fellowship that I have enjoyed with Christians from various traditions has been a veritable foretaste of Heaven, because Christ's love has reigned in our hearts.

Christ's love withheld truth from His disciples that they could not bear. Jn.16v12.
Christ's love forgave His faithless disciples, and patiently sustained them when they were slow to understand the truths of the New Covenant, and held on to the Old Covenant and their false man-made traditions. Lk.24v1-53. Acts.18v18. 21v23-27. 1Cor.9v19-23. Gal.2v11-21. Christ did not “shoot down” His doctrinally lacking disciples, His love and grace sustained them until they could receive and bear the truth. Jn.1v14. 16v12. Jesus veiled some of the implications of the New Covenant from His apostles, even after His forty days resurrection ministry, because they were so bound by the tradition of a restored Israel. Acts.1v6-8. It took Jesus many years to get the Church to realise that it was separate from Judaism, and this was probably the biggest internal problem that the early Church faced. Acts.15v1-31. 21v23-27. 2Cor.11v1-15. Gal.5v1-12. Etc. How we love to cling to false, but cherished traditions! We should imitate Jesus and exercise patience and kindness towards Christians whose traditions and practices are strange to us, just as they need to manifest patience and kindness towards us. Long patience and kindness are the first essential qualities of love that Paul mentions in 1Cor.13v4-7.. We should never sacrifice our personal convictions for the sake of a superficial unity, but we should be big enough in God, to recognise and have fellowship with Christians whose background and traditions are different from our own. Love is the basis of fellowship, and it is only as the world sees genuine love and unity between Christians, that it will know that we are Christ's disciples and believe the Gospel message. Jn.13v34,35. 15v10-14. 17v23.

SOME PRACTICAL ADVICE ON PRIVATE PRAYER.
Use your Bible in your prayer time.
I have proved that Bible study with prayer is the best way of seeking God for hours in prayer, recorded Bible readings also have real value, and can provide valuable inspiration and aid to prayer while driving the car, but “watch and pray.”

Use the gift of tongues that the Holy Spirit has given to you.
The gift of tongues is given primarily for prayer and worship, and if used diligently it will not only bring answers to prayer for ourselves and others, it will also build faith, love and spiritual strength in us. This gift enables us to praise and worship the Lord as He deserves, and gives us the ability to express the otherwise inexpressible love and devotion that we feel for Him. 1Cor.14v2,4,14,15,17. Acts.2v4,11. 10v44-46.

Do use your hymn book.
In 1Cor.14v15., Paul said we should sing and pray with the understanding as well as in tongues. Eph.5v18-20. Col.3v15-17. We can do this by reading and singing hymns that express what we feel and desire. In Acts.16v25., the literal sense is, “praying, they sang hymns.” Use the great hymns of the Church; for they cover every need and circumstance, as well as every aspect of prayer and praise. Mature Christians need hymns of depth and substance, use this Divine treasury of Christian experience.

Use recorded sacred music.
Some recorded sacred music has a great anointing; and it can be a great blessing to listen to them in our prayer times and our tasks around the home. Sacred music is a great blessing, particularly if we are experiencing spiritual conflict, or are in physical need. Elisha used music to carry him into the presence of God; he asked for a minstrel to play while he sought God in prayer; “and it came to pass, when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him.” 2Kings3v14-16. In both Bible study and prayer, I have proved the value and divinely ordained inspiration of sacred music, it has been more blessing to me than I can ever tell. Do use this heavenly means of grace.

Don't be tied to one posture, or one time of prayer.
We know from Eph.3v14., that Paul knelt in prayer, but he did not limit his praying to kneeling and praying. Paul told us to “Rejoice always; never stop praying; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will in Christ Jesus for you.” 1Thes.5v16-18. Paul stresses the importance of a life of prayer, not just a time of prayer. Do not just kneel and pray, sit and pray, walk and pray, work and pray, and rest and relax and pray. We can practice and enjoy prayer at any time. “Sitting.” Acts.2v2. With “feet fast in stocks. Acts.16v24,25. “Lifting to heaven holy, loving and devoted hands, which are unstained by anger, disputes and dissensions.” 1Tim.2v8. The most important attitude in prayer, is the posture of love and dedication to God and others.

Follow the pattern for prayer that Jesus gave us in, "The Lord's prayer."
Jesus tells us the attitudes of heart and mind that will bring a knowledge of God, a fullness of the Spirit and answered prayer.

We must realise our position in Christ, we are sons of God.
“When you pray, say, Father.” In Jesus we have a new and blessed relationship with the Father; we are brethren of Christ, joint heirs with Christ, and God's own beloved children. 1Jn.3v1. Jn.15v9. 17v23. Rom.8v17. Heb.2v10-20. 6v13-20. Hallelujah!

We must have a continual spirit of worship.
“Hallowed, revered, and honoured, be thy name.” God is seeking worshippers, not empty flattery, which God deplores. True worship recognises with sincere gratitude and deep love that we owe everything we are, have and will have to our Creator and Redeemer. Jn.4v23,24. Mt.15v7-9. Mk.7v6-9. God is worthy of all our respect, adoration, love and esteem. Rev.5v11-14.

We must desire to see God's kingdom and will to be manifested on earth.
“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” There is not only desire and longing; there is positive action and costly sacrifice, under God's direction, to see His kingdom extended. This is a personal matter between ourselves and God, we must always be very careful to distinguish between people who put pressure upon us to build up their personal kingdoms, or other human pressure groups, and the will of God. Jn.21v19-22. Mt.10v37-42. Acts.15v25,26.

We must be free from anxiety over material needs.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” We must believe, as it is absolutely true, that our heavenly Father loves us intensely and will meet all our needs. Phil.4v19. Mt.6v25-34. A spirit of materialism and worldly anxiety will effectively incapacitate us from useful service for the kingdom of God. 1Jn.2v15-17. This does not mean, of course, that we have to neglect our families, those who do this “have denied the faith,” and are “worse than unbelieving heathen.” 1Tim.5v8.

We must have a tender conscience and repentance from any known sin.
“Forgive us our sins.” In Lk.11v4., Luke uses the word “hamartia,” “sins;” whereas, Mt.6v12. uses “opheilemata;” a word that Paul uses in Rom.4v4. to speak of legal debts. Christ obviously used both; He taught that our sins are debts to God and others. Wilful sin closes our hearts to the blessing and love of God. Heb.10v19-39. 1Jn.1v5. to 2v6.

We must have a forgiving spirit towards those who have sinned against us.
We must beware of roots of bitterness and an unforgiving spirit, for Jesus warns us that we can only ask for forgiveness “in proportion as, or like as,” “hos,” we forgive others, a truly solemn warning, which is reiterated by Christ elsewhere. Mt.6v12,14,15. Mk.11v25,26. Jesus tells us to rebuke Christians who sin against us, and IF they repent, we must forgive them. Lk.17v3,4. Let us make every effort to achieve reconciliation and forgiveness with Christians, and make it easy for those who have offended us to repent, and exercise a forgiving spirit to them. However, Jesus said that repentance is necessary before fellowship can be restored, and failure to repent after the procedure laid down in Mt.18v15-17., means that a person looses their rights to be treated as a Christian. Let us remember that God's forgiveness is always conditional upon repentance. Mt.5v23,24. 18v20-35. Mk.11v22-26. Lk.6v37. 23v34. Eph.4v30-32. Gal.6v1-3. 1Jn.4v20,21.

Jesus certainly did not try to be reconciled with Israel's religious leaders; His attacks upon them were extremely contentious. Mt.23v13-39. Lk.11v39-54. Christ asked the Father to forgive the soldiers who were crucifying Him, they really did not know what they were doing; however, there was no such prayer for the religious leaders of Israel, who knew full well what they were doing, Jesus said they had seen God and hated Him. Lk.23v34. Jn.15v22-25. Stephen manifested a forgiving spirit to his implacable enemies, and asked God not to lay his murder to their charge; however, God could not forgive them, for He cannot forgive unrepentant sin, even though He may long to restore and pardon. Acts.7v59,60. Mt.23v37-39. Lk.19v41-44. Christians who hurt and offend others, and do not repent, face an inevitable discipline from their heavenly Father, and so do those who fail to forgive others, when those who offend them repent. We know that we have a genuine revival when Christians get right with each other and fervently love each other. Rom.12v14-21. 2Cor.13v1. Gal.6v1. Our enormous debt to God should keep us from fighting over our comparatively trifling debts to each other. Mt.18v21-35. Heb.12v14,15.

We must allow God to lead us from dangerous paths.
Christians should have a fear of sin, and a fear of getting out of the will of God. As someone has said, “lead us not into temptation,” is an Eastern way of saying, “Father, please keep us from going out of your will, into paths that lead to spiritual danger or sin.” God can, by various means, stop us from going into spiritual danger, if we are prayerful and willing to be led by Him. Ps.141v4. 1Cor.10v13. Acts.16v6-9. We should always be prepared for our heavenly Father's stops or diversions.

We must trust God to deliver us from evil, and the Evil One.
In the phrase, “lead us not into temptation,” Jesus was speaking of dangers and temptations that can be avoided by prayerful living. See Lk.22v40. Here He speaks of conflicts with evil that we cannot avoid and must face. These conflicts demand a prayerful life and a real faith in God, for we cannot defeat Satan on our own, we must draw near to God before we can effectively resist the Devil. James.4v6-8. Persecution or opposition of some kind or other will always come against the consecrated child of God, and supernatural opposition from Satan is often channelled through his earthly friends. Mt.4v1-11. Acts.13v50-52. 2Cor.1v8-10. Eph.1v2. 6v10-20. 2Thes.3v1-3. 2Tim.2v12. 3v12. We must believe that God will deliver us, and will answer our prayers, as we follow and obey our Lord's pattern of prayer, and if our prayers accomplish anything, we must remember that His power has brought it to pass, and we must give Him all the glory.

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