Part 91

7. The seventh and last step is _faith_. We read in Mark xi. 24, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, _believe that ye receive them_ and ye shall have them.” No matter how definite God’s promises are, we only realize these promises experimentally when we believe. For example we read in James i. 5, R. V., “But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Now that promise is as positive as a promise can be but we read in the following verses, “But let him _ask in faith nothing doubting_: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord; a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” The baptism with the Spirit, as we have already seen, is for those believers in Christ, who have put away all sin and surrendered absolutely to God, who ask for it, but even though we ask there will be no receiving if we do not believe. There are many who have met the other conditions of receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit and yet do not receive, simply because they do not believe. They do not expect to receive and they do not receive. But there is a faith that goes beyond expectation, a faith that puts out its hand and takes what it asks on the spot. This comes out in the Revised Version of Mark xi. 24, “Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, _believe that ye have received them_ and ye _shall have_ them.” When we pray for the baptism with the Holy Spirit we should believe that we have received (that is that God has granted our prayer and therefore it is ours) and then we shall have the actual experience of that which we have asked. When the Revised Version came out, I was greatly puzzled about the rendering of Mark xi. 24. I had begun at the beginning of the New Testament and gone right through comparing the Authorized Version with the Revised and comparing both with the best Greek text, but when I reached this passage, I was greatly puzzled. I read the Authorized Version, “What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them,” and that seemed plain enough. Then I turned to the Revised Version and read, “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for believe that _ye have received_ them and ye _shall have_ them.” And I said to myself, “What a confusion of the tenses. Believe that ye have already received (past), and ye shall have afterwards (future). What nonsense.” Then I turned to my Greek Testament and I found whether sense or nonsense, the Revised Version was the correct rendering of the Greek, but what it meant I did not know for years. But one time I was studying and expounding to my church the First Epistle of John. I came to the fifth chapter, the fourteenth and fifteenth verses (R. V.) and I read, “And this is the boldness which we have towards Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He heareth us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of Him.” Then I understood Mark xi. 24. Do you see it? If not, let me explain it a little further. When we come to God in prayer, the first question to ask is, Is that which I have asked of God according to His will? If it is promised in His Word, of course, we know it is according to His will. Then we can say with 1 John v. 14, I have asked something according to His will and I know He hears me. Then we can go further and say with the fifteenth verse, Because I know He hears what I ask, I know I have the petition which I asked of Him. I may not have it in actual possession but I know it is mine because I have asked something according to His will and He has heard me and granted that which I have asked, and what I thus believe I have received because the Word of God says so, I shall afterwards have in actual experience. Now apply this to the matter before us. When I ask for the baptism with the Holy Spirit, I have asked something according to His will, for Luke xi. 13 and Acts ii. 39 say so, therefore I know my prayer is heard, and still further I know because the prayer is heard that I have the petition which I have asked of Him, _i. e._, I know I have the baptism with the Holy Spirit. I may not feel it yet but I have received, and what I thus count mine resting upon the naked word of God, I shall afterwards have in actual experience. Some years ago I went to the students’ conference at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, with Mr. F. B. Meyer, of London. Mr. Meyer spoke that night on the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. At the conclusion of his address, he said, “If any of you wish to speak with Mr. Torrey or myself after the meeting is over, we will stay and speak with you.” A young man came to me who had just graduated from one of the Illinois colleges. He said, “I heard of this blessing thirty days ago and have been praying for it ever since but do not receive. What is the trouble?” “Is your will laid down?” I asked. “No,” he said, “I am afraid it is not.” “Then,” I said, “there is no use praying until your will is laid down. Will you lay down your will?” He said, “I cannot.” “Are you willing that God should lay it down for you?” “I am.” “Let us kneel and ask Him to do it.” We knelt side by side and I placed my Bible open at 1 John v. 14, 15 on the chair before him. He asked God to lay down his will for him and empty him of his self-will and to bring his will into conformity with the will of God. When he had finished the prayer, I said, “Is it done?” He said, “It must be. I have asked something according to His will and I know He hears me and I know I have the petition I have asked. Yes, my will is laid down.” “What is it you desire?” “The baptism with the Holy Spirit.” “Ask for it.” Looking up to God he said, “Heavenly Father, baptize me with the Holy Spirit now.” “Did you get what you asked?” I asked. “I don’t feel it,” he replied. “That is not what I asked you,” I said. “Read the verse before you,” and he read, “This is the boldness which we have towards Him that if we ask anything according to His will He heareth us.” “What do you know?” I asked. He said, “I know if I ask anything according to His will He hears me.” “What did you ask?” “I asked for the baptism with the Holy Spirit.” “Is that according to His will?” “Yes, Acts ii. 39 says so.” “What do you know then?” “I know He has heard me.” “Read on.” “And if we know that if He heareth us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of Him.” “What do you know?” I asked. “I know I have the petition I asked of Him.” “What was the petition you asked of Him?” “The baptism with the Holy Spirit.” “What do you know?” “I know I have the baptism with the Holy Spirit. I don’t feel it, but God says so.” We arose from our knees and after a short conversation separated. I left Lake Geneva the next morning, but returned in a few days. I met the young man and asked if he had really received the baptism with the Holy Spirit. He did not need to answer. His face told the story, but he did answer. He went into a theological seminary the following autumn, was given a church his junior year in the seminary, had conversions from the outset, and the next year on the Day of Prayer for Colleges, largely through his influence there came a mighty outpouring of the Spirit upon the seminary of which the president of the seminary wrote to a denominational paper, that it was a veritable Pentecost, and it all came through this young man who received the baptism with the Holy Spirit through simple faith in the Word of God. Any one who will accept Jesus as their Saviour and their Lord, put away all sin out of their life, publicly confess their renunciation of sin and acceptance of Jesus Christ, surrender absolutely to God, and ask God for the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and take it by simple faith in the naked Word of God, can receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit right now. There are some who so emphasize the matter of absolute surrender that they ignore, or even deny, the necessity of prayer. It is always unfortunate when one so emphasizes one side of truth that he loses sight of another side which may be equally important. In this way, many lose the blessing which God has provided for them.