ENJOYING THE OUTPOURED SPIRIT
BY CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
Now we need to consider Acts 2:17-21, which is a quotation from the book of Joel. This portion of the Word begins by saying that God will pour out of His Spirit upon all flesh (v. 17). Then it ends by saying, "And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (v. 21). If you put the beginning and the end of this quotation together, you see something marvelous. This means that God pours out of His Spirit and that we have to call upon the Lord to get this Spirit. God has poured out already. Now what shall we do? Shall we ask Him to give us the outpouring of the Holy Spirit by fasting, by not sleeping, or by weeping with tears? This is the wrong way. God has poured out. Now what we need to do is to call upon the name of the Lord. Then we get the Spirit.
If I present a glass of water to someone, all he has to do is take it and drink. In the same way, we do not need to ask God for the Spirit, because He has already been poured out. God has presented the Spirit to us already. He has poured out of His Spirit upon all flesh. Now all we need to do is to call on the Lord’s name.
The Bible says that God has poured out of His Spirit, not upon all spiritual or religious persons, but upon all flesh. We all are flesh, and the Spirit has been poured out upon us. The drink has been presented to us, so we do not need to beg for it. We just need to take and drink by calling on the name of the Lord. The presentation of the drink is in verse 17; the way to drink is in verse 21. God says, "I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh." Then He says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." We simply need to call, "O Lord Jesus." Calling on the Lord in a simple way will water you and even flood you with the Spirit. This is the way to take in the Spirit.
DRINKING THE SPIRIT BY CALLING
ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
First Corinthians 12:13 says that we have all been given to drink one Spirit. This means that we have been positioned to drink and we are in a position to drink. God has accomplished everything, but God can never drink for us. Regardless of how much God loves you, you still have to drink. The way to drink is in verse 3. This verse says that when you say, "Lord Jesus," you are in the Holy Spirit. In other words, when you say, "Lord Jesus," you are drinking. To be in the Holy Spirit means you are drinking of the Spirit.
You may feel you are so sinful, but your sinfulness has been taken care of on the cross. We were kept away by our sins, but our sins have been taken away (John 1:29). Then we were brought back to God and have been positioned and made to drink. You may say that you are so weak, but this is why you need to drink. There is no excuse or reason for being kept away from drinking the Spirit. Whatever sin you have committed cannot be bigger than the redemption accomplished on the cross. The redemption accomplished by Him on the cross is big enough to cover all your failures. You have to realize you were positioned to drink. Forget about your failures, your sins, and your weaknesses. The redeeming blood, the prevailing blood of Christ, has taken care of all things. This is why we are told that we have been given, or made, to drink. Whether we are Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free, we all have been made to drink. Now that we have been positioned to drink, we should drink simply by calling, "Lord Jesus," again and again. Call on the Lord for fifteen minutes, and see what will happen.
Some of the older saints may say, "All of this is good for the young people, but not for me." But breathing is the same for all ages. The young ones need the breathing; the old ones also need the breathing. As an older one, you may need more breathing. Do not consider that because you are old, you are qualified to graduate from breathing. There is no graduation from breathing. Calling on the Lord makes you younger. By calling on the Lord, you enjoy the Lord as your new strength and you mount up with wings like eagles (Isa. 40:31).
Many people have been Christians for years, and it is easy for them to read and consider the Bible. But if you ask them to pray or call on the Lord, you put them on the cross. When a newborn babe is delivered, sometimes the doctor has to spank him to get him to breathe. Sometimes we need to be "spanked" so that we will call on the name of the Lord. One brother did not want to call on the Lord. But one day he was involved in a car accident. That was a real spanking. Right away he began to call, "O Lord Jesus." If you are not breathing, the Lord will give you a "spanking"; then you will right away say, "O Lord Jesus!" Whenever we have troubles or get sick, we may call on the Lord, but afterwards we may forget. We should build up a habit of calling on the Lord all day long. Do not think that this is a small matter. We should be the calling people.
(The Fulfillment of God's Purpose by the Growth of Christ in Us, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee)
