Daily Life Filled with the Spirit: Secrets Every Believer Must Know | Andrew Murray

Описание: "The provided source material, taken from Andrew Murray's ""Be Filled with the Spirit"" (First Lecture), discusses the essential preparation required for a soul to receive and be filled with the Holy Spirit. The address uses the example of the 120 disciples before Pentecost to illustrate this process, emphasizing that Christ does not give the Spirit to an unprepared soul. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is considered a necessity for every Christian's daily life, and this inner filling will spontaneously result in powerful work or ""fruit"".
Murray outlines five conditions or steps in the disciples' preparation:
1. Forsaking All for Christ: This was the first step in preparation for the baptism of the Spirit. The disciples were taken into a ""baptism class"" for three years to learn to give up everything for God. This demand requires sacrificing not only material possessions (fishing nets, houses, lands, honor of men) but also family and friends, insofar as they hold the supreme place in the heart. Crucially, the ""self life"" must be sacrificed and made subordinate, allowing the Divine Master (Christ) to take complete dominion over the whole being. If a secret conviction remains that sins, temper, or one's own will have not been given up, one cannot expect the Spirit's fullness.
2. Utter Self Despair: While the disciples had forsaken external things earlier, they later had to learn the difficult lesson of denying ""self"". Their self-confident spirit, demonstrated by disputing who should be chief and Peter's denial, was only broken when they came to the cross. When Christ was crucified, their hopes were lost, and they were brought to ""unutterable anguish"" and profound shame, realizing the strength of their own sinfulness and lack of faithfulness. God allowed this to break down all trust in themselves and anything external, creating a state of utter despair, which prepares them to be empty to receive the new life. The Holy Spirit must consume the self-life so that the believer can live by the faith of the Son of God, rising ""out of the grave of self"".
3. Intense Personal Attachment to Jesus: Since the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God's Son, union with the Son is necessary to receive the Spirit. Despite their failures, the disciples loved Christ truly. This preparation involves a heart that ""clings to Jesus with an intense and continual love"". It is more than just working for Christ or studying religion; it is having a personal, tender love, longing for close union and seeking to keep every commandment.
4. Accepting the Word of Christ in Faith: After Christ ascended, the disciples spent ten days waiting and praying, clinging simply to Christ's promise that the Spirit would be sent. They accepted this word even though they did not fully understand the prospect of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them daily. The believer must reject unbelief that suggests the life promised—a life filled with love, humility, and the Spirit's power—is ""too high"" or impossible for those ""in the flesh"". Believing in God's promise and willingness to fill them is crucial.
5. Longing and Thirsting for It: This involves a profound expectation developed through their despair and the assurance given by the Lord. While the filling may sometimes come with great emotion, it can also arrive quietly and gently, like ""the night dew on the grass"". The ultimate requirement is separating oneself to be an empty vessel, placing the whole being at the Spirit's disposal, and claiming the gift in faith. The Holy Spirit is presented as the ""heritage of God's church,"" meant for the daily holy life of every believer.
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