From the out-of-print book Too Much: The Filled to Overflowing Experience by William Booth-Clibborn. Used by permission.
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Too Much: The Filled to Overflowing Experience5. Shaken Together and Running Over
"For with the measure that ye mete withal, it shall be
measured to you again"-- Luke 6:38.
There is one scripture that contains four superlatives, or promises of the "too much" measure, all in a row. This passage is so beautiful, so limitless, that I wish to quote it in full. It is found in Ephesians, the third chapter:
Exceeding, Abundantly, Above All
"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and
grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth
and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth
knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do
EXCEEDING -- too much No. 1;
ABUNDANTLY -- too much No. 2;
ABOVE ALL -- too much No. 3;
THAT WE ASK OR THINK -- too much No.
4. "According to the power that worketh in us. Unto Him be
glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen."
Oh! I wish we could get the measure of the majestic immensity of this unlimited
promise into our souls, we would rise to live on a higher plane, in another
world. That last phrase shows it to be possible -- "according to the power that
worketh in us" -- is evidence that it should become our constant normal
experience. The disciples cried "Lord, increase our faith" (Lu. 17:5),
so do not fail in faith but raise yours up and fix it on His Word. For,
"faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Rom. 10:17.
Rains, Rivers, Waters to Swim In
I am going to preach the "too much" to you till you drown in Ezekiel's river of
blessing and power, Ez. 47. Till you follow the man with the line in his hand
past ankle deep, that will bring your walk under the control of the
Spirit of God. Then he will measure another thousand cubits and you will follow
him till the waters are above your knees, that will acquaint you with
the true prevailing prayer life of the Christian. Then I hope you follow him
still deeper till the tide has reached your heart and all your
affections and desires are subdued and brought under the sway of God's Will and
Word. Finally, let us hope you will go in so far that you'll not touch bottom
any longer for there will be "waters to swim in" and your
hands, a figure of all your work, your eyes, a symbol of your vision, and your
mouth and tongue will all be filled with water under the control of God's
Spirit. Oh, Hallelujah! Then shall you shout with the Psalmist: "They shall be
abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy House and thou shalt make them
drink of the river of Thy pleasures" Ps. 36:8. Are you going to remain on the
bank just dipping your toe in the glorious current, or are you going to swim
where the full tide will sweep over your body, spirit and soul?
Speaking of the visitation to come in the last days upon the people of God,
Joel prophesies: "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord,
your God; for He hath given you the former rain moderately" -- (NOTICE
THAT!) -- "And He will cause for you to come down the rain, the former rain,
and the latter rain in the first month" (BOTH RAINS TOGETHER, a double portion
at the same time), "And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats
shall overflow with wine and oil" Joel 2:23, 24. Here is "too much"
wheat, i.e., the Word of God -- our food; "too much" wine, i.e., joy
unspeakable -- our strength; and "too much" oil, i.e., filled to overflowing
with the Holy Spirit -- our very life: and all of these promised us in one
text. Who could ask for more? But there are insurmountable hindrances to our
enjoying this desirable condition. I will point them out.
Our Incurable Stinginess
There is one word of Christ that has been a well of life to me. I must pass it
on to you! It is of vital importance when the question arises, as it does so
frequently in our evangelistic campaigns, "Why can I not obtain the Promise of
the Father"; or as often, "I have lost out with God, was once in the fulness of
blessing but have grown cold and careless, can I be restored?" Here is the
answer in Luke 6, verse 38 -- May it prove a fresh source of life abundant to
you!
"GIVE, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and
shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. FOR WITH
THE SAME MEASURE THAT YE METE WITHAL, IT SHALL BE MEASURED TO YOU AGAIN."
Now, we must consider this Scripture as having two applications. One to our
relations with man and the other -- by far the greater application -- in
reference to our relations with God. It has so often been handled in the
first aspect that its larger meaning has been almost obscured. Let this arrow
strike you! If it be true that in what proportion you mete out to your fellow
man, he shall mete out to you in return; then it is twice as true that God --
who can not lie -- will press back into your bosom more than the measure
you mete out to Him.
We are so incurably stingy, so small in all our dealings with God, that it is
not to be wondered that our whole experience is so miserably wanting. IT IS OUR
FAULT! No life overflowing for us -- we are too mean, too miserly with our
worship and waiting on God. And this niggardliness enters into every effort and
function of our religion. Oh! how we are exhorted in vain to: Give "thanks always for all things" Eph. 5:20.
"Rejoice
evermore" I Thess. 5:16.
"Pray without ceasing" I Thess. 5:17.
"Seek
His face continually" I Chron. 16:11.
"Set the Lord always before us" Ps.
16:8.
"Watch ye therefore, and pray always" Lu. 21:36.
"Always abound
in the work of the Lord" I Cor. 15:58.
The Mean Measure We Give God
Only seven texts of a multitude of like tenor! But our conduct contradicts the
most of them. We sandwich a few minutes' prayer between the secondary absorbing
duties of the morning. A moment we kneel at the altar, once a week, and think
it a feat of piety! We repeat a few sentences, mere platitudes worn threadbare
by habitual use. As to rejoicing we may say "Praise the Lord" a time or two --
and we are done. Up we get and away. Plenty of excuses: it is late; I am tired;
I don't feel well, etc. God knows our wretched beggarly hearts. His searching
All-Seeing-Eye pierces to the depth of our sparing, scrimpy souls. He sees
there that smallness, that begrudges Him the full surrender of our lips, our
love, and the right of way in our lives. No wonder the heavens are brass above
us and God withholds the blessing.
Our measure is mean, we mete it meagerly, we try to get by with giving as
little as possible. Wretched ingrates that we are, as churlish as Nabal, as
sullen as Saul, as penurious as Judas! We have to be coaxed and forced to
prayer which should be the chief delight of the believer. Our praise is
studied, calculated and short. It is not the welling of a thankful heart. We
live far from these words: "I will bless the Lord at all times:
His praise shall continually be in my mouth" Ps. 34:1. "My tongue shall
speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long"
Ps. 35:28. Rather than praise, we grumble and growl and find fault with
everything. We begrudge God our lips and our time. Instead of making Him feel
at home in our hearts we shove religion in a corner and our hospitality to our
divine guest is wanting in affection, interest and sincerity. We are incurably
stingy.
A Red-Haired Scotchman
The Scotch people are often accused of parsimony. Much of this is unjust abuse
for experience has taught me that it is an unfair reputation. But the stingiest
rascal I ever met happened to be a red-haired Scotchman -- an incongruous
combination. I shall never forget our brief stay in his home, north of
Edmonton, Canada, while evangelizing. The German brethren for whom we were
holding meetings had made arrangements for myself, wife and baby to board and
room with the scoundrel, who nearly froze us to death, saving his coal as if it
had been gold. It got to be thirty and forty below zero. I implored him in vain
to warm up the place. We would wake with icicles on the bed covers from our
breath.
If, because of protracted meetings I arrived late for meals, the old skinflint
would scowl and forbid his wife to provide a thing. Otherwise he would keep his
eyes on my plate and take account of its contents. I never dared ask for a
second helping of anything. Oh if there could have been a hole in that floor we
would gladly have sunk into it for very embarrassment and shame. That base
miser made me fairly afraid to taste my food. You know there is no enjoying a
meal when someone envies you your food. What a difference when they tip the
table down so all the goodies can reach your end. That is what Jesus did! He
took the loaves and fishes, bade the five thousand be seated and fed them till
they were full. And they took up twelve baskets full of the "too much." Glory
to God! -- But let me finish my story. One freezing morning, I woke at the
sound of a fearful rumpus. I grabbed my dressing gown and bounded downstairs
just in time to prevent murder.
That Scotchman was chasing his wife from room to room with a butcher knife. I
jumped in between, made him drop it and demanded an explanation. When he got
his breath, he blurted out that his wife had run up a big grocery bill -- and
blubbered some other absurdities. I flung him on to the sofa and gave him the
tongue-thrashing of his life. That contemptible wretch! And he was being paid
good money for our stay in his home. He had never come near the meetings but he
got some marvelous eloquence before I got through. He was too little, too small
to live. Oh! it is an abomination how petty and mean some people can become.
What greedy, grasping monsters selfishness makes of us all! Then his wife
confided to us with tears that she had not had a new dress since she had
married him!
In Scattering We Increase
Listen to the Proverbs: "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed" (22:9)
-- "The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered
also himself" 11:25. Paul made it stronger in II Corinthians 9:6, he writes,
"But this I say he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he
which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." That is our whole
trouble in a nutshell. We are not willing to risk and gamble as much as the
farmer does when in good faith he stakes everything on the future and sows his
fields with the best seed.
"There is that scattereth and yet increaseth" (Prov. 11:24), but such are not
considered very wise by the world. Those who scheme, who heap and hoard riches
are looked up to. Yet when we are willing to be lavish with God and abandon
ourselves to His service, to His praise and witness, we never lack, we
increase, we flourish. Then we squander again and give right and left all
the more, and still we increase. The more we spend and are spent, still
greater is our replenishing, our refreshing from on High. And to us is
fulfilled the promise: "Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it
after many days" Eccl. 11:1. It is useless being liberal with man if we are
small with God. Though we bestow all our goods to feed the poor and lack in
true love to God, WE ARE NOTHING! It is only as a consequence of our loving God
with all our heart, strength and mind, that we may love our neighbors as
ourselves. God first! Shall we cheat Him out of the measure that is His due?
The Rapids of True Revival
I remember the early days of the Pentecostal visitation. We had plenty of time
to spare. We sought God till the wee hours of the morning. All night prayer
meetings were a common occurrence. Not a few drops was our reward but again the
"too much," "Showers of Blessing" (Ez. 34:26), fell upon us.
So in the early Salvation Army days they used to announce "Three days and
nights with God," for officers and workers in London. These simple earnest
warriors would swarm down to headquarters and, emptied out by their labours in
the fields they would eagerly seek to be replenished. Often with fasting they
sought God on their faces till the Heavens opened above them, and the "Rushing
mighty Wind" would sweep upon them, like a hurricane breaking every barrier
down and melting their hearts as one in thanksgiving and praise.
Days of Heaven on earth were also experienced in the Welsh revival where people
never thought of time or mere food and sleep, so engrossed would they become in
the things of God. The surge of the rapids of that true revival would sweep
them off their feet. In tidal waves of Glory the hymns would rise and rise to
such a crescendo and volume that sinners fell on their faces and passed from
death to life in an instant. We must get back there! We can -- don't do all the
shouting now -- wait till that vehemence and zeal is ours again, then we shall
hear triumphant shouts indeed!
Every great move forward in true religion has been stamped with this
characteristic. Work has had to wait, business was laid aside, all other calls
on our time and attention had to take a back seat. Alas! that's not the case
with us today! If your relative was to come in tonight from afar you would
leave the prayer hour in a hurry. Miserable clock-mongrels that we are. We do
not study holiness -- we study the time. We would rather a soul come short of
complete deliverance than miss our craven suppers. A deafening honk is heard
outside! Some impatient friend tooting the car horn for you to go home. So the
anointing lifts and you leave and miss the best because you won't pay the
price, place first things first and recklessly abandon yourself to the leading
of the Spirit of God.
Going the Second Mile
Liberality manifests itself in many respects. Are we forgiving? Or is there a
root of bitterness and hatred against someone, destroying our peace of soul?
Jesus said, we should forgive our brother seventy-seven times a day -- sounds
like "too much" -- but the Spirit that cometh from above is easily
entreated.
Do we confess our sins and our faults as much as we ought? We can be
extremely microscopic removing the mote in our neighbor's eye, but what of the
beam that has almost blinded us? We will strain at his gnat but will swallow
our camel, and look innocent. We forget that when we point one finger at him,
at the same time, we are pointing three at ourselves, for when the hand shapes
itself to point only the index finger points at the other party, whereas
meantime three lay against the palm pointing back in the opposite direction
at us.
Be liberal if you would have God's best. Repent properly. Confess "too much"
rather than too little. Call it a sin and not a mistake. "Turn ye even to Me
with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping and with mourning and
rend your heart... and I will restore to you the years that the
locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, My
great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be
satisfied" Joel 2:12, 25, 26.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commanded: "Whosoever shall compel thee to go
a mile, go with him twain" Matt. 5:41. But what if God asked you to do this,
would you GO TWAIN? -- OH! I KNOW THIS CAUSES YOU TO SEE YOURSELF IN A BAD
LIGHT. May the Spirit of God so convict you that you will cry out for His Grace
to convert you and change you, that you become like Christ who gave
unstintingly, unreservedly, whole-heartedly, His body and His blood on the
cross for you. Oh! withhold nothing in the face of that sacrifice; all we may
give, all we can do is insufficient. Go too far rather than not far enough.
Always do a little extra, a little more of what is required, for the very love
you owe Him, and I promise you before God and all His holy angels in heaven,
your barrel of meal shall not fail, your cruse of oil shall never run dry. That
is the secret, that is the clue, that is the key that opens the door to God's
treasure house to the "pleasant places" of Psalm 16, where we are made to
exclaim, "In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy Right Hand there are
pleasures forevermore."
The Measure of Our Giving
A hundred assemblies have dried up long ago because they have become thrifty,
saving and reserved. The pool that has no outlet stagnates. It gets rank and
becomes a stinking swamp. So many saints sit self-satisfied while the world
passes their door. They refuse to risk a campaign to reach the lost or to go to
any trouble to arrest the masses plunging headlong to hell by going out of
their appointed way. Accursed, these churches encumber the ground and dry up at
the roots. Oh! It is an appalling tragedy. But revivals alter all of that, we
risk, we dare, we become reckless and more than willing. We lose ourselves in a
beautiful abandonment to the supreme cause -- the salvation of souls -- and
lavish all we have to that most happy end. A divine impudence is ours, a sweet
violence. We dare do things never attempted before in witness and work. The
prayer meetings are never too long. The preaching never wearies us. The
offering baskets run over. Thousands of dollars are poured out for the
missionaries. Yes! wherever you run into the rapids of revival, everything goes
with a snap and a zest, a swing and an enthusiasm that carries everyone with
it.
Remember, that in relation to money, we, who live in the wealthiest country in
the world, have much to answer for. Our offerings have, for the most part, been
a woeful disgrace; our selfishness monumental; our failure to adequately
support the militant church's enterprises, a standing reproach! Thus saith the
Lord in Malachi 3:10 -- "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that
there may be meat in mine house, and PROVE ME NOW HEREWITH, saith the Lord of
hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you
out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
Look at that! Floods are promised! A veritable inundation! And the
proposition is a good bargain. "If you are liberal with Me," says God, "I will
be liberal with you."
In Proverbs 3:9, 10, again He strikes the bargain: "Honour the Lord with thy
substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase; so shall thy barns
be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with
new wine." That is "too much" with a vengeance. But we hardly ever
prove God in this matter. When the collection plate comes around, a
blanched, clenched fist conceals in a tight grasp a nickel or dime. And we
think to receive God's blessing when we withhold God's tithes and offerings! I
only know of one offering that was ever taken up, that had to be stopped
because the people gave "too much." You will find in Exodus 36:5 where Moses
had to stop the people from giving of their gold and silver for the erection of
the Tabernacle in the wilderness. I wish we had such offerings today! There is
no telling what God would do by way of an answer.
We, who are living in the days of the abundant Latter Rain, never need be dry,
spent or withered, and, if we get rid of our wretched miserliness; if we wait
upon Him; if we seek His Face; if, even before we go to bed, when wearied and
tired out with the day's duties, we give ourselves to prayer and offer Him the
sweet sacrifice of willing praise and supplication, He will descend upon us,
turn our weakness into strength, put His Arms round about us, refill,
requicken, rebaptize us with His divine power and glory. Then shall we cease to eke out a miserable Christian experience, just barely conquering, as the survivors of a besieged city; but we shall become MORE THAN CONQUERORS, shall overcome the world, the flesh and the devil and that, with "too much" to spare! Hallelujah!
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