Acts

[0:00] In dependence upon thee, Lord, for all needed help, I venture to draw your prayerful attention to Acts chapter 1 and verse 14.

[0:21] Acts chapter 1 and verse 14.

[0:31] Amen.

[1:31] And more am I convinced of this, that this is the preparation, this is the path to spiritual blessing and prosperity personally in our own souls.

[2:26] Oh, that there may be that spirit of prayer and supplication poured within our hearts to be poured out before the throne of grace in secret.

[2:45] Our failings and yet to pray for that forgiveness.

[3:21] The cleansing of our life from those sins which do so easily beset us.

[3:32] That there may be it painful but profitable. A revelation to us of those ways wherein we grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

[3:50] I should never forget receiving many years ago a letter from a deacon asking me if I could preach in a certain place.

[4:01] And he was there mourning and rightly so. The low state of Zion. And praying that there might be a reviving.

[4:13] And he wrote words similar to this. But I fear there is much rubbish. That you remember takes us back to the days of Nehemiah.

[4:28] The building of the wall. And the need be of the removing of much. Before the wall could be completed. Oh, friend, what spirit are we in personally before our God in secret?

[4:50] Oh, I pray for a humble spirit. I pray to be delivered from pride. From resting on anything of self.

[5:02] I pray that we may be far more sensitive and concerned. At the withdrawing of the Holy Spirit of God.

[5:15] If we are not enjoying some token of love. Some enjoyment of his presence. That there may be heart searching.

[5:28] I know. There are times when faith is tried. But I believe this. That when it is that trial of faith.

[5:41] And time of testing. That there is a measure of access to the throne of grace. Of liberty in coming to God.

[5:55] But how vastly different. When there is that in our lives. Unconfessed sin. Or some wrong spirit.

[6:08] Or pride. Or so many things. Whereby the spirit is grieved. And I feel there.

[6:19] There it seems there is a cloud. And we need the Lord. The Holy Spirit. To remove that cloud.

[6:30] And favour us with that renewed liberty. And access. And humble boldness. In venturing to the throne of grace.

[6:44] Now that as I have named personally. What of this also collectively.

[6:55] O friend. May the Lord pour upon. Our little assemblies.

[7:06] This spirit of prayer. And supplication. And this. Continuing with. One accord.

[7:17] God. I have likened thee. My love. Unto a company of horses. In Pharaoh's chariots.

[7:30] God is speaking there. The Lord Jesus of his church. And likens believers. To a company of horses.

[7:44] And I believe. That sets forth this. Of pulling together. The simple understanding there. Would be that those horses.

[7:57] In Solomon's time. Would be. Devoted. Selected. Reserved. Only for. The glory of the king.

[8:09] The procession. And if you think. As I doubt this. I think. Would be right. Of the chariots. Or whatever it would be. To the procession.

[8:21] That there would be. Horses. Now it would be. Of confusion. If one horse. Wanted to go one way.

[8:31] And another. Another way. The glory of the king. Was unity. And to. Pull.

[8:42] Together. And. I feel. Increasingly. That. We need.

[8:52] I speak of myself. More. Preparation. As we come. To God's house. As we come.

[9:03] To pray. As we come. To read. As we come. To preach. Preparation. We need. To be. We need. To be. To be. Preparation. And that.

[9:14] All that. Is a hindrance. That is grieving. To the Holy Spirit. May be confessed.

[9:25] And removed. Let us just go back. To. That time. When the Lord Jesus. Took a towel.

[9:35] And girded himself. And washed the disciples feet. And. You know. After he had done that. We might just.

[9:47] Tarry there. And rightly so. Isn't this. An example. Not just to. Look at. As we might. Well do so. With.

[9:57] Wonder. When we think. Of who it is. That. Takes the. Apron of the slave. As one has said. Stooped so low.

[10:08] To wash. The disciples feet. But. It's not just to be. Looked at. It is to be.

[10:19] Walked out. Isn't it? We do need. In all things. Teaching. And a clear.

[10:29] Understanding. My. Old pastor. Used to say. And rightly. That humility. Isn't a doormat. Humility.

[10:41] Isn't. Spineless. Humility. Will stand. Very strong. Faithfully. And fearlessly. For right things.

[10:52] For the truth. But. Oh. It is to contend. Earnestly. I believe. That. In the spirit. Of love. And humility.

[11:03] Not contentiously. For right things. For the faith. Once. Delivered. Unto the saints. Ever remember. And just an aside.

[11:14] There. That that faith. Doesn't need. Any amending. It was once. Delivered. Unto the saints. And it's the same faith. It's the same truth. The word of the Lord.

[11:24] Endureth forever. And this is the word. Which by the gospel. Is preached. Unto you. But. What I was coming to. Was this. And in our text.

[11:36] We have. These all. But there's not. Twelve names. Here. There's eleven. I'm of course.

[11:46] Referring. To the. Apostles. I know. We have also. The. Name of Mary. The mother of Jesus. But I'm speaking. In the verse.

[11:56] Previous. Of the. Eleven. And you remember. That. At that. Solemn. Scene. How the Lord.

[12:06] Said. One of you. Shall betray me. How could it be. Wasn't one of the Pharisees.

[12:18] One of those. Avowed enemies. Of Jesus Christ. Outside. But. One of you. Shall betray me. And the betrayer.

[12:31] Wasn't known. Hadn't been discerned. Discovered. By. By. The eleven. I mean. If you think of. Peter. With. All his.

[12:43] Grace. John. With all his. Discernment. James. With all his. Faithfulness. They've no idea. That makes me. Trample. How far.

[12:56] We may go. Into a pulpit. I was speaking. To a friend. Recently. In fact. She asked me. Because I've referred. To something. In preaching. Of.

[13:07] That terrible fear. Of being. Scaffolding. To a building. When that building. Is complete. The scaffolding. Is finished.

[13:18] It's done with. It's no further good. Not for that purpose. Not. It's the building. That counts. And she. Wondered. How a minister. Could feel like. That. What warrant.

[13:28] We had. For it. And. I said. Well. Paul himself. Said. Lest. Having preached. To others. I myself. Should be.

[13:39] A cast away. But the point. Here. Is this. What happened. First of all. When. Jesus. Said. One of you.

[13:49] They started. To look. At one another. I expect. A measure. Suspicious. Slap. Peter. Might have thought. Well. Is it. James. And James.

[14:00] Might have thought. Is it. Philip. But you know. That very soon. Stopped. According to the word. If you take. The record. Of the gospels. And we find. That they came.

[14:11] To Jesus. Lord. Is it. I. That's the place. That's the place. We may be.

[14:23] Very busy. Sometimes. Looking at. Looking at. Others. But. Oh. That the. Lord. Bring us. To his. Footstool. And with. This. Deep.

[14:33] Concern. Lord. Is it. I. Am. I. An. Acon. In the. Camp. Is there.

[14:45] Through. My. Sinfulness. A. Withholding. Of. The. Blessing. Remember.

[14:55] So much. Damage. Can be. Caused. By. What. We. May. Say. In. One. Way. In. Themselves. Not.

[15:05] The. Damage. That's. Caused. In. Themselves. By. Some. Trivial. Thing. I. Think. Much. Havoc.

[15:16] Is. Wrought. In. Churches. Very. Often. By. Some. Very. Small. Thing. Where. There. Was. A. Lack. Of. Patience. Grace. And. Prayer. And. Understanding. In other words.

[15:27] The. Devil's. Got. In. The. Devil's. Just. Got. In. And. He. Knows. Just. Where. To. Stir. The. Trouble. To.

[15:37] Watch. Against. This. But. Coming. Back. To. The. One. Yes. That. Whose. Name. Is. Not. Here. The. One. Who. Later. In.

[15:47] This. Chapter. As. It. Is. Recorded. Went. And. Hung. Himself. My. Friend. I. Often. Looked.

[15:58] At. That. Word. In. The. Gospel. Of. John. And. He. Went. Out. Having. Received. The. So. He. Went. Out. And. It. Was.

[16:08] Dark. And. I'm. Sure. That. With. Me. You. Often. Thought. Of. That. Word. Dark. Well. That's. True. But.

[16:19] I. Shall. Never. Forget. The. Solemnity. Once. On. My. Spirit. And. It. Remained. Whenever. I. Think. Of. It. Of. That. Little. Word. Out.

[16:31] Out. Outside. And. When. You. Look. At. That. In. The. Light. Of. The. Chapters. That.

[16:41] Follow. The. Upper. Room. Those. Beautiful. Words. Of. Jesus. Of. Heaven. Of. Peace. Of.

[16:52] Comfort. Get. Out. And. Come. To. The. Prayer. I. Pray. For. Them.

[17:03] I. Pray. Not. For. The. World. How solemn. So. As I. Look. At. This. Word. Tonight. With. You. Where. Do. We. Stand.

[17:16] I. Look. On. This. Little. Assembly. Tonight. And. We. May. Say. That. We. All. Hear. All. Hear.

[17:26] Present. As Cornelius. Said. To. Hear. What. The. Lord. Shall. Give. The. To. Speak. But. Friend. Are. We. All.

[17:36] His. Children. Bear. With. Me. I.

[17:48] Have. Of. Late. Had. Some. Very. Solemn. Times. In. Considering. Afresh.

[18:00] The. Parable. Of. The. Wise. And. The. Foolish. Virgins. I. May. Be. Permitted. To. Say. In. What. Way. My. Mind. Has. Been.

[18:10] Directed. To. That. Because. It. Was. About. A. Fortnight. Ago. Would. Mark. Out. Twenty. Five. Years. Ago. When. I. First.

[18:20] Stood. In. The. Pulpit. At. Tamworth. Road. And. My. First. Text. Was. On. The. Parable. Of. The. Wise. And. The. Foolish. Virgins. Being.

[18:39] You. See. There. Is. Nothing. So. Easy. To. Take. A. Lamp. A. Profession. A. Denominational.

[18:49] Name. Under. The. Strictest. Set. I. Had. To. Sit. Under. The. True. To. Be. With. God's. People. And. Yet. No.

[19:01] Vessel. No. Oil. And. To. Drift. Like. That. To. Death. And. When. The.

[19:11] Cry. Comes. Behold. The. Bridegroom. Cometh. Go. Ye. Out. To. Meet. Him. Then. To. Discover. The.

[19:23] Outside. Outside. Outside. No. Oil. No. Real. Real. Religion.

[19:35] Just. A. Little. Word. Here. That. Parable. Of course. Sets. Before. Us.

[19:45] Eastern. Customs. The. Bridegroom. Would. Go. For. His. Bride. On. The. Marriage. Night. And. There. Would. Be. The. One.

[19:56] That. Would. Go. In. Front. And. Perhaps. Dancing. As. Was. The. Eastern. Custom. Night. David. Before. The. Ark. And. The. Cry. Would. Go. Out. The. Bridegroom.

[20:07] Comes. Go. Ye. Out. To. Meet. Him. Now. The. Later. So. I'm. Told. In. Eastern. Customs. In. Those. Days. The. Later. The. Bridegroom. Went. The.

[20:17] Greater. Honour. To. The. Bride. Further. That. If. Those. Attendance. Of. The. Bride. The. Virgins. Their.

[20:27] Lamps. Went. Out. Nothing. Could. Be. So. More. Disgraceful. Or. Dishonourable. True. They. Might. Know. That. This. Is. The. Day. And. Then. The.

[20:37] Midnight. Comes. And. They. Are. As. Sleep. Or. Drowsy. But. As. Soon. As. That. Cry. Comes. They. Go. Out. The.

[20:54] That. Is. The. Final. Possession. Ye. Must. Be. Born. Again. This. Was. A. Solemn. Thought. Perhaps. You. May. Think. It. A. Little. Way. Off. The. Text.

[21:04] But. As. I. Looked. At. These. All. My. Mind. Went. To. The. One. That. Was. Not. There. And. That. Searched. Me. Through. Nothing.

[21:14] So. Easy. To. Be. Gathered. Wise. And. Foolish. A virgin. Or. Tears. And. Wheat. If you like. Together. In the field. And. Grow.

[21:25] Together. Until. The. Harvest. And. There. Be. A. Final. Separation. There. You. Be. Forever. And. Forever. But. Now.

[21:36] These. All. The. Next. Thought. Here. That. Came. To. Me. Was. This. And. That. Is. This. That.

[21:47] So. Often. Do. We. Read. Prior. To. The. Ascension. Of. Jesus. Christ. Or. Particularly. Before. His. Death. That. There. Was. Strife.

[21:58] Sometimes. Between. These. Men. As. To. Who. Should. Be. The. Greatest. One. Day. John. And. James. Mother. Came. To. The. Lord. And. Wanted. James. One. Side. And. John.

[22:08] The. Other. Side. Of. Jesus. In. Glory. Was. Often. Strife. Wasn't there? Who. Should. Be. The. Greatest. That. Is. All. Gone. Now.

[22:20] That. Is. All. Gone. Now. You. Know. The. Beauty. Of. The. Work. Of. The. Spirit. In. This. Unity. It.

[22:32] Brings. Us. To. This. Point. Not. With. Mock. Humanity. Of. Sinners. Of. Whom. I. Am. Cheap. And. As I.

[22:43] Look. At this. My. Mind. Does. Just. Go. For. The. Moment. To. The. Third. Chapter. In. The. Acts. When. Peter. And. John. Went. Up. Together. To. The. Temple. The. Hour. Of. Prayer. And.

[22:53] Did. You. See. That. Love. That. Union. Between. Those. Two. Dear. Men. These. All. Then. It. Came. To. Me. Like. This. Which.

[23:09] We. Been. Singing. Which. Will. Be. The. Increased. Wonder. Here. On. Earth. And. Indeed. That. Ever. The. Lord. Should. Manifest. Grace. And. Favour.

[23:19] To. Me. Why. Me. Oh. Blessed. God. Why. Such. A. Wretch. As. I. Thus. Who. Must. Forever. Live. Dwell. In. Hell. We're. Not. Salvation. Free. But. As.

[23:30] We. Look. At. This. We. See. A. Difference. In. Dispositions. You. See. A. Peter. And. A. John.

[23:41] For. Example. You. See. The. Impetuous. Peter. You. See. The. Loving. John. Loving. John. John. James.

[23:51] What. Did. You. Do. Once. Do. You. Remember. When. The. Samaritans. Couldn't. Receive. Jesus. What. Did. You. Say. Lord. Shall. We. Pray. That. Fire.

[24:01] Will. Come. Down. From. Heaven. You. See. Even. There. With. Them. There. Was. A. Wrong. Zeal. But. Now. As. They're. Together.

[24:13] Waiting. Praying. There's. This. Sweep. The. Unity. Of. The. Spirit. And. The. Bond. Of. Peace. And. Then. As. You. Look. Here. And. It's. A. Wonderful. Thing. Really. You.

[24:24] Think. Well. And. This. Simon. Zalotes. Although. We. Don't. Know.

[24:34] Anything. Much. About. Him. But. It. Was. Spoken. Of. As. A. Zealot. In. A. False. Religion. Very. Strong. Headed. And.

[24:44] Full. Of. Zeal. And. Would. Go. To. The. Extent. I. Think. Of. Even. Murder. To. Accomplish. Their. Purposes. Well. We. Need. Enlarge. The. Point. But.

[24:54] What. Do. We. See. In. The. Church. Of. God. And. When. I. Say. Church. Of. God. I. Mean. Among. All. Believers. All. Who. Fear. God. Both. Small. And. Great. Rich. And. Poor. Educated.

[25:05] And. Ignorant. We. Might. Say. And. Strong. And. We. All. Kind. But. What. A. Unity. There. Is.

[25:15] When. The. Holy. Spirit. Is. At. Work. It. All. As. One. Is. A. Beautiful. Word. In. Jeremiah. And. They. Shall.

[25:26] Come. And. Sing. In. The. Height. Of. Zion. And. Flow. Together. To. The. Goodness. Of. The. Lord. Oh.

[25:37] This. Is. What. We. Pray. For. I. Hope. And. Pray. You. May. Receive. Much. Of. This. In. This. Little. These. So. Precious.

[25:47] But. Do. Remember. This. Friend. That. Where. There. Is. A. Sweet. Spiritual. Peace. There. Be. The. Devil. Ah.

[25:58] He. Hates. To. See. Peace. Among. The. Brethren. And. He. Loves. To. Sow. The. Root. Of. Discord. And. Pray. And.

[26:08] Watch. Against. It. But. Here. Is. The. Answer. These. All. Continued. With. One. Accord. In. Prayer. And. Supplication. And.

[26:19] But. Who's this? With. The. Women. Not. That. They're. Called. Upon. To. Take. Part. In. The. Prayer. Meeting. Or. To. Speak. In. The. Church. But. Here. Is. The. Women.

[26:30] And. Mary. The. Mother. Of. Jesus. Too. And. This. I. Believe. I'm. Right. In. Saying. Is. The. Last. Reference. So. Where. The. Popish. System. Makes. Them. A.

[26:41] God. Of. I. Cannot. Tell. The. Scriptures. Close. On. This. But. I. It's. Not. My. Thought. Tonight. To. Speak. On. That. Aspect. But. The. Women. And.

[26:53] They. Continue. I. Thank. God. For. The. Mothers. In. Israel. And. There. Are. Those. Mothers. In. Israel. Their.

[27:04] Example. In. Their. Life. Their. Faithfulness. Their. Devotion. Their. Support. And. Strength. To. The. Minister. And.

[27:15] Their. Labor. Of. Love. In. The. Sanctuaries. Now. All. In. Their. Order. Just. As. With. The. Men. So. With. The. Women. There.

[27:26] Are. Those. That. Have. And. We. Speak. Very. Freely. Who. Kindly. Take. Care. Of. The. Ministers. Some. Gifted. To. Write. Some. To. Visit. Some.

[27:37] That. Labor. With. Their. Hands. Some. That. Nurse. The. Sick. Devote. Their. Lives. To. The. Care. Of. God's. Dear. Children. Some. That. Clean.

[27:48] The. Sanctuary. We. Could. Enlarge. In. So. Many. Ways. But. It's. These. Women. That. Labored. With. Me. In. The. Gospel. And.

[27:59] These. All. You say. All. In. Their. Plains. All. For. The. Glory. Of. God. All. For.

[28:09] The. Blessing. Of. The. Lord. To. Attend. The. Ministry. All. That. There. Might. Be. Spiritual. Prosperity. That.

[28:20] Mary. That. Bestowed. Much. Labor. Upon. Us. And. That. One. That. Was. A. Sufferer. Of. Many. And.

[28:31] A. Servant. Of. The. Church. A. Sufferer. Of. Many. Oh. Friend. We. Thank. God. For. The. Women. Also. And.

[28:43] His. Brotherhood. I. Think. Here. These. Are. People. That. We. Don't. Know. We. Have. All. The. Names. Of. The. Eleven. In. The. Verse.

[28:53] Previous. But. Here. His. Brethren. You. May. Feel. To. Be. The. Weak. As. The. More. Well. Let. Me. Encourage. You. You. Know. Many. Years. A. A. A.

[29:03] A. A. A. United. Prayer. Meeting. And. The. Minister. Men.

[29:18] Far. Better. Than. Me. And. You. Too. Don't. Call. On. Me. I'm. So. Poor. And. Mr. Gosden. Said. To. Him. So. I'm. Tom. Who's.

[29:29] Stronger. In. Prayer. You. Or. Me. Because. The. Man. Thought. He's. Going. To. Get. Out. Of. It. So. You. Are. Much. And. Because. He. Me. It. And. Mr. Gosden. Answered. With. This. Prayer. A. Weapon. For.

[29:40] The. Feeble. Weakest. Soul. Can. Wield. It. Best. Oh. Friend. You. We. Confess.

[29:51] Our. Inability. Sometimes. We. Don't. Know. How. To. Handle. A. Matter. Sometimes. A. Thing. Comes. Up. At. A. Church. Meeting. Maybe. And. You. Feel. I. Not. Sufficient. I. Don't. Know. What. I.

[30:07] Remember. Once. Some. Years. Ago. At. A. Church. Meeting. At. Tamworth. Road. Something. I. Can't. Remember. The. Circumstance. But. I. Was. Ever. Perplexed. And. I. Think. The. Church. Was. And.

[30:19] It. Laid. On. My. Mind. I. Never. Done. It. Before. I. Said. Well. I. Called. On. I. Don't. Know. Whether. I. Did. I.

[30:37] Oh. My. Friend. These. All. Continued. With. One. Accord. You. Know. Those. Two.

[30:48] On. The. Emmaus. Road. When. The. Lord. Jesus. Made. Himself. Known. To. Them. They. Went. Back. And. They. Said. Did. Not. Our. Heart. I.

[30:58] Often. Thought. Of. That. There. Was. No. S. On. It. Why. Because. It. Was. One. Accord. Did. Not. Our. Heart. Burn. Within. Us. Do. You. Ever. Get. That. When.

[31:08] Under. The. Blessing. Of. The. Lord. And. And. His. Love. Should. Have. Brought. In. Your. Heart. And. Jesus. Made. So. Precious. And. The. Finished. Work. Of. Christ. So. Dear. And. The. Gospel. So.

[31:19] Lovely. And. Those. Good. Tidings. Oh. Friend. And. It's.

[31:34] Just. Like. One. Heart. You. Feel. As. Though. You. Just. One. Well. You. Are. Aren't. We. Just. One. I. Read.

[31:44] Yesterday. Those. Well. Known. Words. For. I. Am. Persuaded. That. Neither. Death. Nor. Life. Nor. Angels. Nor. Principles. Nor. Powers. Nor. Things. Present. Nor. Things. To.

[31:54] Come. Nor. Death. Nor. Death. Nor. Any. Which. Is. In.

[32:04] Christ. Jesus. Our. Lord. That's. The. Family. Now. If. We. Have. In. Earthly. Families. Love. We.

[32:15] Pray. That. There. Be. Nothing. To. Come. In. Between. How. Much. So. In. The. Family. Of. God. This. Us. Drawn.

[32:26] Together. In. Love. To. The. Savior. And. Never. Would. We. Love. Jesus. But. He. Loved. Us. First. And. Manifested.

[32:37] Himself. And. Drew. Us. To. Himself. And. Then. Drew. Us. One. To. The. Other. These. All. Continued. With. One.

[32:47] Accord. In. Prayer. And. Supplication. Now. What. Is. The. Distinction. Here. Prayer. And. Supplication. Well. I.

[32:57] Take. Up. Here. Something. That. I. Read. Of. Mr. Philpott. Long. Time. Ago. But. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. And. I. Think. The. Dear. Man. Likened. It. It. In. This. Way. You.

[33:09] Have. And. I. Know. What. It. It. Is. In. This. Part. The. River. Thames. And. Your. Little. Rivers. And. Streams. And. Near. Where. My. Daughter.

[33:19] Lives. The. Thames. Is. There. And. You.

[33:32] Have. Seen. The. Rivers. There. Or. Streams. And. The. Waterfalls. The. Water. Tossing. About. Over. The.

[33:42] Rocks. And. Crags. And. So. forth. And. There. Is. The. Thought. Prayer. Is. That. Secret. Communion. With.

[33:53] God. And. Gentle. Flowing. In. Faith. And. Love. Humility. Confession. drawing out of your soul to Jesus in worship and adoration supplication is when there's a trial perplexity, temptation and a travel and agony as it were of soul when instead of that quietness there's turbulence there's the same water it's the same as it were stream or river and the illustration there can be given of our Lord himself when he spent nights in prayer to his father that would be prayer but what about the garden that's called Gethsemane what about that sweat as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground

[34:57] I had a sweet meditation on that lately not long ago friend there was no crown of thorns there there was no nails that had pierced his hands and feet or spear his side but the agony of his soul supplication and I believe we know just we just taste that sometimes agony urgency victory and victory as we're led and brought to that place as the Lord Jesus Father not my will but thy beloved now these all continued they didn't give up the Lord had promised and the Lord has promised these exceeding great and precious promises and may he help us to persevere and continue ah you said you've sent out like the servant to see if there's a sign of rain and there's not a cloud in the sky did Elijah say well give up go again seven times and still pray for God will all explain nor shalt thou seek his face in vain her continual coming was the word of Jesus concerning the unjust judge shall not God avenge his own elect which cry day and night unto him and do we wait to watch to hear how the Lord will answer our prayers

[36:44] I feel so guilty of forgotten prayers I don't wait to see what how the Lord will answer the prayer the Lord help us to continue to wait and to watch and to look up to see what the answer is to our prayers and then continuing there's a beautiful word in the Acts later where we read and confirming the souls of the disciples confirming means to establish entrench weather the storm and exhorting them to continue in the faith that it is through much tribulation that we should enter into the kingdom ye are my disciples if if ye continue in the truth ye are my disciples indeed and these whom we read following the day of Pentecost they continued steadfastly what in what came first fellowship no the apostles doctrine and then fellowship this unity this of the Holy Spirit will bring in sweet line union to truth and union one with the other fellowship it is in the apostles doctrine in fellowship in breaking of bread and in prayers now they were waiting for the Spirit they were praying for this gift and this is what

[38:22] I pray we may be helped to do pray much for the Holy Spirit what is all without the Holy Spirit pray my friends for in our own soul as I have named in the way of personal confession of sin and the sweet sealing of the Spirit the sweet assurance of our adoption our Father which art in heaven pray for the witness assure my conscience of its part in the Redeemer's blood and bear thy witness with my heart that I am born of God and then collectively all for the outpouring of the Spirit for the ministry of the Word pray for your dear pastor and every minister that comes to you pray for them as they come pray for them as they preach and don't forget when the service is over that's when the devil gets at them sometimes pray for them afterwards pray for them pray one for the other pray that breaches if such

[39:41] I trust there are none here are healed and if unity prevails I trust it is that no root of bitterness may spring up whereby many are defiled and if there's a root of bitterness friend it's got to come right out it's no good half weeding is it I've known when I've tried to tug at a weed and pulled the head off and the roots left and I thought well I'll leave it ah foolish that root's got deeper and the weeds got stronger it's got to come right out pray for the Holy Spirit pray to be endued with the Spirit and I think of that I who so full of sin but all to be endued with the Spirit so that my mind might be spiritually minded that my affections may be drawn out to the dear Lord

[40:44] Jesus that my eyes may by faith see him whom my soul loveth that my ears may hear more of the Lord Jesus and that my tongue may show forth his praise that I might labor more in his service that my feet may walk worthy of the vocation wherewith I'm called that my spirit may be right that I might be kind tender hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake of the given name now these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brethren praying for more grace praying for submission to his will praying for patience in tribulation praying to be faithful unto the end oh friend and praying to be delivered from our besetting sin praying to be kept from the temptations of the wicked one praying to be preserved from murmuring rebellion discontent backsliding and wandering from our

[42:06] God praying that when the thorn in the flesh lingers we may prove the grace of our God our sufficiency and that the power that's a word that's been with me the power of Christ may rest upon me well the time is gone I confess there are just a few little scattered seed thoughts on this precious word I hope the Lord gave it to me this morning and what more can I desire for you my love and affection for our dear friend here over the many years since my going to Tammerth Row for fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now and for you dear people too and this is my prayer and this will lead to the path of spiritual blessing and prosperity and the Lord help us to continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving and then when the journey is over it will be just like that little girl that

[43:19] I won't go into all the details but she called the minister and she was dying and you know that minister had the sweet assurance of the work of grace and the preparation of a little soul for glory and on the last visit she said this is the last time and she said to her minister I'm finished with prayer it's all praises and so one day for the dear people of God the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended but never their praises Amen