godly writer over 200 years ago lamented the lack of the actual presence of God in Christian Assemblies with these words: “By this process the Church steadily ceased to be a testimony to the existence, presence, and working of the living and true God. Less and less often did unbelievers coming into the Assembly, and beholding in the spirit and unity and conscience-searching power of the worship, the evidences of His presence and control, exclaim: ‘God is among you indeed.’
God was worshipped, but as absent; and presently the beauteous divine simplicity of the first days had been materialized into the lifeless magnificence of Roman ritual.”
Those first days referred to are the simple and glorious days of the Acts of the Apostles which can be better titled the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Christ in the meeting of believers together is to be deferred to and depended upon. For any believer to share or speak anything of spiritual worth requires the anointing and present working of the Spirit.
Such should be our attitude when gathering together that we would come “poor in spirit” begging for spiritual nourishment of the Lord. It is a true spiritual principle that those who come to the Lord full and not needing anything will never receive anything of the Lord.
The wonderful picture is given by our Lord Jesus Christ of a small child asking a father for bread. The response of the father surely always will be to feed the child and not give him a stone to eat! “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
The conditions for being filled with the Holy Spirit are surrender, emptiness of self, no pride, no known sins and asking the Father to fill us.