1. Be Filled With the Holy Spirit

Before I came up to the mountain I thought I loved the Lord very much. However, as soon as I arrived, it was as if I had been under a spiritual X-ray. All my hidden sins were exposed completely. I saw how sinful I was, so much so, that I felt too ashamed to show my face. I could only repent in dust and ashes.

When I went up to the mountain, I was the fourth one among sisters. Later, gradually the number of people increased. They came from all walks of life, old and young, men and women, students who had studied abroad, college students, people who knew few words, missionaries, and housewives. The admission on the mountain was without regard to gender, age or education. As long as one was clearly called and was guided by the Holy Spirit to come, he would be accepted. Daily everyone gathered together for Bible study, prayer, and confession. The Holy Spirit worked so mightily that the wind of the Spirit blew and the rain of the Spirit poured down abundantly! Many people were filled with the Holy Spirit. A few of us college students thought that we were knowledgeable and with brains, so we held a suspicious attitude toward "being filled with the Holy Spirit." When we saw those who were filled with the Holy Spirit singing spiritual songs, speaking in tongues, and dancing in the Spirit, we felt strange and were scared. I thought it must have been "out of one's emotion," even "pretense and pose."

One night, many people gathered at the summit of the mountain to pray for the filling with the Holy Spirit. We who were suspicious sat in our living room writing our diaries. Suddenly we heard that the Lord's servant, Uncle Chang, was rebuking a young brother, Chen. "The hour is still early and you are sleeping; while others are seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit!" Next, we heard that young brother murmured reluctantly: "I was sleepy." Since the Lord's servant continually urged him to go out, he had no choice but to go. We looked at one another and laughed secretly that the Lord's servant only dared to push this chap of fifteen or sixteen years old. He could not push us, these big brains, to go. However, unexpectedly, before long, we all could hear the sound of praises, the voice of gratitude and rejoicings all around. It turned out that the young brother was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was so rejoicing that he was crying and leaping, and he seemed to be transformed into another person. Maybe it made sense to be filled with the Holy Spirit. That young brother would never pretend or make a pose, especially when he was so reluctant to go out to seek for it. Afterward the Lord began a work of "thirst" in our hearts. We were so thirsty to be filled with the Holy Spirit. At the same time we emptied our sins more thoroughly. If we offended people, we wrote to confess and apologize. If we owed someone, we made restitution. Thus we found out it was true that "ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you will find." Pretty soon, one night when we were outside praying together in a circle, my younger sister and I were filled with the Holy Spirit almost at the same time. She was singing spiritual songs, and I was like a person who had too much wine. I felt that Heaven was open. I was sitting in the arms of the Lord and was filled with the Lord's love. I was bursting with joy, and I started to dance for joy. I felt like Heaven was on earth. I had a taste of grace and of the Spirit.

Actually, there are many places in the Bible where being filled with the Holy Spirit is mentioned. It is a pity that in terms of God's words, we are always not willing to believe all of it. We count on our brains and knowledge, and we are not willing to accept the Lord's commands and promises humbly. Some people even oppose it and are against it. Indeed, the spiritual verity is hidden from the wise and learned, and is revealed to little children. For this is the Father's good pleasure. We should return to being the humble children, who confess completely and purify themselves according to the Lord's words. Then we boldly seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. However, we should never remain in the enjoyment of the grace of the Holy Spirit; rather, we should "eat" the whole Bible so that the way of the Lord will be stored in our hearts abundantly. We should make every effort to become workers who have been transformed by the Word, the Spirit, and the Love so as to be an instrument that is after God's heart and mind. It is a pity that we slackened our efforts in seeking the truth and love (after we were filled with the Holy Spirit.). As a result of it, though we passed through the cloud and the sea and were blessed with the grace of the Spirit, most of us fell or withdrew. The reason we fell in the grace was that we did not pay more careful attention to what we heard. Thus, we drifted away. How should we escape if we ignored such a great salvation? We should pray to the Lord for mercy so that we might return and be revived. Then we will be blessed, loved, and kept; and we will all reach unity in the truth and make concerted effort to accomplish God's work.