5. PRAYER FOR THE FILLING OF BOTH
THE ESSENTIAL AND ECONOMICAL SPIRIT
Acts 11:24 refers to the inward filling of the essential Spirit, and Acts 4:31 refers to the outward filling of the economical Spirit. In Acts 11 Barnabas was one filled with the Holy Spirit essentially and inwardly, so many people turned to the Lord. In Acts 4 the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit outwardly and economically, so they spoke the word of God with boldness. To be filled essentially and economically with the Spirit always requires a thorough confession. We have to admit we are all sinful persons. We are regenerated, but we are in the body, in the flesh, and are still living on this earth with many dirty things. Physically speaking, how many times do you wash your hands? A doctor told us that doctors get sick less because they exercise to wash their hands frequently. If you want to avoid sickness, you had better wash your hands twelve times a day. You have to make a thorough confession many times a day. You may have had the filling of the Spirit, but your long face to your wife spoiled it, so you have to make a thorough confession to get yourself adjusted, to get yourself cleansed, to get yourself right with a right atmosphere; then you will once again enjoy the filling of the essential Spirit. Do this all the time.
Many of your prayers may only be for good jobs, good cars, or a good education. Those prayers make your person dirty. Forget about that. Use twenty minutes every day to make a thorough confession: "Lord, cleanse my mind, cleanse my thinking, cleanse my emotion, cleanse my loving of anything other than You. Lord, cleanse my will, my decision, my intention." Get yourself fully cleared up. You will surely have the Spirit filling you up inwardly, essentially, and outwardly, economically.
6. GOING WITH THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST
If you have the previous five points, you are surely equipped, qualified, and ready to go with the power and the authority of Christ. To go to knock on doors means that you command the door to open. Sometimes you have to say, "Door, I knock; you open." When the man is there, give the commandment, not verbally but silently—"Man, listen to me. Let me in." While you are reading The Mystery of Human Life, tell the angels and demons that you are reading to this one with the authority of the ascended Christ. Many trainees in Taipei experienced this. They were surprised that the people were like lambs. They follow your directions to believe and be baptized. In the past when we talked to people, we did not have this realization. We did not exercise the very right we have been given. We had no intention to exercise our authority to command them to be baptized. Rather, we would tell the new ones that they could wait to be baptized. We gave up our right. Where was your authority to baptize new ones immediately into the Triune God?
Many of the trainees can testify that baptizing the new ones immediately after they received the Lord really worked and really made people happy. It changes people. In a Buddhist home, after the parents got baptized, with the little children standing by, they said to the idols of Buddha, "Buddha, we have Jesus now. We don’t want you, and we don’t need you. You have to go." Then the parents did away with the idols in the children’s presence. This is wonderful! This is the authority of Christ. We go out with a position. We are the ambassadors sent by Him with authority to get people (2 Cor. 5:20). When you go out like this, all the demons will flee. The Devil will be gone, leaving the person under your hand just like a lamb.
(Being Desperate and Living Uniquely for the Gospel, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee)
