Now you all have to practice the same thing. In the home meetings you all have to learn to speak by faith. This faith, as we have seen in the last message, is wrapped up with the spirit. This spirit is not merely our spirit nor merely the Holy Spirit, but is altogether a mingled spirit. We know today that we have a mingled spirit within us, the Holy Spirit mingling with our spirit. Whenever we would not care for the environment or the circumstances, but would only care for what the Bible says, we exercise our faith. Whenever we exercise our faith, our spirit is involved and the Holy Spirit is also there. Here we have three things: our faith, our spirit, and the Holy Spirit. We all must learn to speak in any kind of meeting by faith, by our spirit, and by the Holy Spirit. Actually, the three things are just one. When we speak by faith, we exercise our spirit. When we exercise our spirit, the Holy Spirit is moving in our spirit. This makes a difference. Speak what the Bible says. If we would exercise our believing ability, faith will be there. When we speak what the Bible says, the spirit is there and the Holy Spirit is also there. This makes our speaking so living.
Today we are not in the Old Testament times. We are not in that economy. We are in the New Testament economy. In this economy God has poured out His Spirit upon us already. This Spirit is both dwelling within us and resting upon us. He is like the blowing wind and the air. If we would just open the window, we would have the blowing and we would have the air. In the New Testament dispensation the wind is blowing all the day and the air is here all the time. We have to believe this according to the Bible. Therefore, we have the Spirit within us and the Spirit upon us as well. Now we are just those baptized in the Spirit and drinking the one Spirit.
In the New Testament, especially in the Acts, the baptism of the Spirit refers to the descending of the Spirit upon the believers. The baptism in the Spirit and the descending of the Spirit both refer to the same fact. In the Old Testament the word baptism or baptize was not used, but the thought of descending is there. The Spirit of Jehovah descended upon His people. This descending of the Spirit is like the baptism of the Spirit. This baptism has been fully accomplished and the issue now is resting upon us. We have to believe this. Not only so, we have to practice this. Even at home when you talk to your family concerning Christ, you have to exercise your faith, and you have to exercise your spirit. You have to believe that the Spirit is upon you as well as in you. Even when you are talking to your children, you have to talk in this way. Regretfully, we feel that it is only when we are to release a message that we need faith, the spirit, and the Holy Spirit. We do not feel this need when we talk to our wife, to our husband, to our parents, or to our children. Our speaking to them in this way, without faith, may put them to sleep. But the divine speaking could never make people sleepy. Rather it stirs up people. If we would practice the divine speaking, we would become accustomed to it. Then on the Lord’s Day we would come to the meeting speaking. We would not come to the meeting silent. We would be used to speaking the divine speaking. In this way we would speak with faith, with the spirit, and with the Holy Spirit. This is the right way.
I have a heavy burden because I feel it is hard for me to stir up your heart and turn your mentality to pay full attention to this matter. In the meeting you nod your head to me but when you leave, you just forget about it. You do not practice this. Would you promise that from now on you would begin to practice this all the time? If you do not have anyone to speak to, you can just speak to the air. Maybe some angels would be there and some demons would be there listening to your speaking. Anyhow, just speak in this way. Speak, speak, speak. Speak by faith. When you do this by the exercise of your believing ability, your spirit is involved and the Holy Spirit is also involved. Then your speaking becomes divine. It is a kind of divine speaking. Those who are silent in the meetings may say, “Brother Lee, don’t blame me. You have to blame God who created me this way. This is my makeup. I didn’t do it, God did it. Brother Lee, you have to thank God for His mercy that He created you in this way—speaking, speaking, speaking all the time. I was not created by God in this way and I cannot speak.” To say this is to annul Paul’s word. Paul says you all can prophesy.