FIRST DAY. The Lost Secret.
第一日 失 去 的 訣 要
“Wait for the promise of the Father.” “Ye shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” – Acts i. 4,5.
After our Lord had given the great command: ”Go into al the world and preach the Gospel to every creature,” He again added another, His very last command: “Tarry till ye be endued with power from on high.” “Wait for the promise of the Father.” “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
All Christians agree that the great command to preach the Gospel to every creature was not only for the disciples, but is binding on us too. But all do not appear to consider that the very last command, not to preach until they had received the power from on high, is equally binding on us as it was on the disciples. The Church appears to have lost possession of that which ought to be to her a secret of secrets – the abiding consciousness, day by day, that it is only as she lives in the power of the Holy Spirit that she can preach the Gospel in demonstration of the Spirit and of Power. It is owing to this that there is so much preaching and working with so little of spiritual result. It is owing to nothing but this that the universal complaint is heard that there is so little prayer, and specially that there is so little of that much-availing prayer that brings down the Power from on high on her ministrations.
In this little book we desire to study the Secret of Pentecost as it is to be found in the words and the deeds of our blessed Master, and in the words and the deeds of His disciples as they took Him at His word, and continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, until the promise was fulfilled, and they became full of the Holy Ghost, and proved what the mighty power of their God could do through them.
Let us seek earnestly the grace of the Holy Spirit, who alone can Himself reveal to us what eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man to conceive – the things which God hath done and loves to do for them that wait upon Him. Let us pray that the lost secret may be found – the sure promise that in answer to fervent prayer the power of the Holy Ghost will indeed be given.
“等候父所應許的。不多幾日你們要受聖靈的洗”。（徒一：4，5）
當主賜下“你們要往普天下去，傳福音給萬民聽”的大使命之後，祂再加上另外最後的命令：“你們要等候，直到領受上頭來的能力”，“等候父所應許的”，“不多幾日你們要受聖靈的洗”。
基督徒大概都同意到普天傳福音的大使命，不僅交給了門徒也交給了我們，但卻不考慮等候上頭來能力，與最後的命令，同樣不僅給予門徒也給予我們，教會沒有支取這應有訣要中的訣要，每天內住在聖靈裏，也只有如此活在聖靈能力裏，當傳福音時才會帶著聖靈的大能，如此多的傳講和事工，只有這麼小的結果，其最普遍的原因就是禱告太少，尤其是從上頭來能力有功效的禱告太少。
在這本小冊之中我們希望研究五旬節的訣要，從賜福主的教訓和榜樣，祂的門徒如何遵行其教訓，不斷的禱告祈求直到被聖靈充滿的應許成就，神的大能藉他們而被證明。
讓我們熱切的尋求聖靈，因為唯有祂能親自向我們啟示，眼睛未曾看見，耳朵未曾聽到，心中未曾想過——神向等候祂的人所做的，所施的慈愛，讓我們藉禱告尋迴失去的訣要——聖靈的大能實在賜予以作那些懇切禱告之人的回覆。
