01.01. Introduction
I. INTRODUCTION. BY A. C. DIXON. THE Spirit of God came on the day of Pentecost, as the rushing mighty wind and the tongues of flame; and from that day to this he has been with his people. We sometimes pray that he may be poured out upon us; let us rather strive to realize that he is already with us, and what we need is to appropriate this ever present power. He is not weaker to-day, and stronger to-morrow, but " the same yesterday, to-day and forever." Omnipotence dwelling with his people, ready to work through them. The practical question, then, is, How can this ever present personal power be appropriated? Through a threefold channel.
1. We read in Hebrews 11:1-40, the muster-roll of God’s mighty ones. The secret of their power was FAITH. "According to your faith be it unto you," is a law never to be changed. Faith is the connecting wire between the battery of God’s power and the hearts of men. We look at the swift current of Niagara Falls and strive to imagine what a force it would be, if utilized in manufacture or in generating electricity. God’s power is like the Niagara current, always the same, to be turned for the accomplishment of his purpose by the channels of Christian faith. When New York harbor was to be deepened, a mine of dynamite was placed beneath it; the engineer took his little daughter, and told her to place her finger upon the knob, and by the weight of her hand the electric current was made to flash under the channel and shake al] New York by the explosion. The engineer might have touched that knob himself; but it was his wish that his child should do it. God could do without our help, but it is his desire and plan that his people by the touch of faith should let loose his omnipotence.
2. But hand in hand with faith must go the WORD. The Spirit uses his own sword, the "Word of God;" and when we substitute our words for his, we substitute weakness for strength. "Where the word of a king is, there is power." Ecclesiastes 8:4. " The voice of the Lord is powerful." Psalms 29:4. We are as Aaron, taking the words of God and delivering them to the people. Our words may be like the sheet lightning, beautiful and grand, but sheet lightning never strikes anything. God’s Word is the forked flash that strikes down the towers of sin. Our words are, at the best, only unconfined steam, making fog and confusion; God’s Word is the steam within the cylinder that drives the piston and carries forward his work.
"A brilliant operation that is," said a French physician; " I have performed it many a time." " How many patients lived?" asked an inquirer. "Oh, they all died," replied the boastful physician; " but the operation was very brilliant." We perform brilliant oratorical operations, giving our words which kill to the people, when we ought to be giving God’s Word, which imparts life. " Get thee unto the house of Israel/’ said the Lord to Ezekiel, "and speak ye my words unto them." He obeyed, and Israel trembled. Let us heed the same command, and the people will be moved.
3. There must also be character. “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." 2 Chronicles 16:9. Care little for reputation, what men may think of us; care everything for character, what God thinks of us. He is looking for the man whose heart is perfect TOWARD HIM. Peter’s reputation was not the best. He was associated in the minds of the people with that denial and cursing at the trial of his Master; but Peter’s character was all right; he had wept in penitence and repented of his sin. The relation between him and God was such that He filled him with his Spirit and used him powerfully.
HINDRANCES.
1. Sin. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Psalms 66:18.
2. Satisfaction. We are weak, because contented to be weak. The old man, who, after twenty years of labor, thanked God that one soul had been saved through his work, was somewhat to blame. "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion! " The Lord Almighty is present, ready to work through our faith, his Word and a good character; and if he does not work powerfully, it is our fault.
3. Unbelief. Can Omnipotence be resisted? Not by any combination of wicked men or demons. But one thing can limit the Holy One of Israel. Doubt is the water which quenches the fire of the Spirit is the glass which intercepts the current of his power. Jesus, who had opened the eyes of the blind, walked upon the water, fed the five thousand and raised the dead, stood helpless, the hands of his power shackled by the unbelief of those about him. “Why could not we cast him out?" asked the disciples. "Because of your unbelief," said the Saviour; not because my power is absent, but because the channel through which that power flows has been clogged.
4. Ignorance. “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God," Matthew 22:29; and we are the Sadducees of to-day in that respect. We are not powerful, because we have not in mind and heart the Word, with which the Spirit works. We need, however, more than knowledge of the truth; we need to have God’s message. By the close study of the Scriptures, let us learn God’s truth; by looking to him in prayer for guidance, let us seek the appropriate truth; and the man who comes before a congregation, not simply with the strength of truth, but, what is more, with the conviction that he is proclaiming God’s message, is truly powerful.
5. Pride and Vanity. We are PROUD of what we have we are VAIN of what we think we have, but are mistaken. We may have learning, a commanding presence, a logical mind, good voice, popularity and be proud of it; and that pride is our weakness. But we should specially guard against spiritual vanity. The fact that God has used us in doing something may not be so complimentary after all, for he can use a worm to thresh a mountain. He takes “the weak things to confound the mighty, and the things that are not to bring to naught the things that are," 1 Corinthians 1:27; and, if through you he has threshed a mountain, it is only proof that you may be a worm. The tendency in us to crave the praise of men should be watched. “How can ye believe," said Christ, " who receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor which cometh from God only?" John 5:44.
6. False Expectations. We expect to feel strong; we desire a consciousness of God’s presence; we wish to shake ourselves Samson-like, and realize that there is might in our sermons, in our manner, in our words. We forget that he "giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength; " that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness; " When I am weak, then I am strong." The Spirit’s work is not to show himself to us. “He shall not speak of himself, but will take the things of mine and show them unto you." His office is to lift up a crucified Christ. He teaches us the lesson of hiding self behind the cross. Now, if it was his plan to show himself, we should always feel his presence; but as he works invisibly, we must simply rest on the promise of God, and whatever be our "liberty" or "unction" expect him to be present.
We mistake when we expect that one blessing will insure another. The disciples were filled on the day of Pentecost for that special work; for another work a few days afterward they were filled again; and for every work there must be a new infilling of the Holy Spirit. Our work is never run by momentum. We are apt to think that, if we give a church or an enterprise a good send-off, it will certainly continue. The power that started it must be applied every day and hour.
HOW TO GAIN THIS POWER. By God’s help let us remove the obstacles just mentioned. Are we living in sin? Turn from it. Are we satisfied with weakness? Beg God for dissatisfaction. Have we unbelief? "Have faith in God." Are we full of pride or vanity? Seek God’s message, and ask him to humble us under his mighty hand. Have we false expectations? Let us expect the power from the right source, and yield our wills and plans to God. But above all LET US WAIT UPON GOD IN PRAYER. In the rush of a busy life we are tempted to dispense with times of secret devotion. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings as eagles." Isaiah 40:31. Our power is in proportion to our inner isolation from the world. Put a man on a glass stool, and you can fill him with electricity until the sparks will fly from all parts of his body. Place him on the earth, and the current passes off. The current of God’s power does not fill us, because we are too close to the earth its vanities, its pleasures, its ambitions. Some one may call you in modern slang "a religious crank." Be willing to seem a crank. I saw that the steamboat in the storm the other night was moved against wind and wave by turning of a crank. A crank with an engine a hold of it can move things. Some people are so smooth, and straight, and prim, that it seems God cannot get hold of them. The Lord send us men who are willing to be peculiar and distinct to be " cranks," indeed, so that he may powerfully wield them for his glory.
“Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." Luke 24:49. Let us cease to tarry, waiting for the coming of the Spirit. He is here. But tarry much with him in communion. A man to be strong must eat and breathe. Study and digest the Word. Inhale freely this heavenly atmosphere and you will become mighty. We have heard of the traveler rubbing the frozen comrade amid the snows of Switzerland until his own blood began to circulate, and we tell cold Christians to go out and try to save somebody else; thus they will get warmed up. That may be true; but the great heart of Jesus is a furnace heat that can warm us and fit us for activity; keep close to it in prayer and the study of his Word, and you will go forth "endued with power from on high."