Just Thinking.........Again

I ran across this the other day and it caught my attention.  I thought it was worth sharing.  

Dr. A. B. Simpson was a preacher in the late 1800's.  He was the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.  Maybe some of you have heard of Simpson and the C&MA.  It started as a movement to of Higher Christian life and putting Christian workers in missionary work and later became a denomination.  It was impacted by the holiness movement, sanctification and a deeper relationship and knowledge of Christ.  The same year that A.B. Simpson died, a man by the name of A.W. Tozer took a position with the C&MA.  Tozer was with them for the next 40 years.  For those not familiar with Tozer, he wrote several books about the holiness of God.  Find a copy of the The Knowledge of the Holy - it's a great book.  It's clear that the work of Simpson influenced Tozer as he was finding himself in his early years.  Tozer wrote this:

...To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.--Ephesians 3:19

Pentecost means that the Deity came to mankind to give Himself to man, that man might breathe Him in as he breathes in the air, that He might fill men. Dr. A. B. Simpson used an illustration which was about as good as any I ever heard. He said, "Being filled with the fullness of God is like a bottle in the ocean. You take the cork out of the bottle and sink it in the ocean, and you have the bottle completely full of ocean. The bottle is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the bottle. The ocean contains the bottle, but the bottle contains only a little bit of the ocean. So it is with the Christian."

We are filled unto the fullness of God, but, of course, we cannot contain all of God because God contains us; but we can have all of God that we can contain. If we only knew it, we could enlarge our vessel. The vessel gets bigger as we go on with God.

HIMSELF
     by A. B. Simpson
Once it was the blessing, Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling, Now it is His Word.
Once His gifts I wanted, Now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone.

Once 'twas painful trying, Now 'tis perfect trust;
Once a half salvation, Now the uttermost.
Once 'twas ceaseless holding, Now He holds me fast;
Once 'twas constant drifting, Now my anchor's cast.

Once 'twas busy planning, Now 'tis trustful prayer;
Once 'twas anxious caring, Now He has the care.
Once 'twas what I wanted, Now what Jesus says;
Once 'twas constant asking, Now 'tis ceaseless praise.

Once it was my working, His it hence shall be;
Once I tried to use Him, Now He uses me.
Once the power I wanted, Now the Mighty One;
Once for self I labored, Now for Him alone.