The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1893-06-16
The Gift of Power.
From the Free Methodist,

did not, at all times, possess this, but
power such as no man can have without
the supernatural endowment Of the Holy
Ghost; power over sin;pOwer to witness Or
speak for Jesus in such manner as to
carry conviction to the hear Is Of those
that hear. In proof to this, read Acts
is ''But We shall receive power after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you,
and We shall be witness unto me. s'Read
also l Corinthians Il: a. %: ''But if all
proplesy, and there comes in one that
belieyeth not, or one unlearned, he is
convinced Of all: and thus are the secrets of
his heart made manifest; and SO falling
down on his face, he will worship God,
and report that God is in you of truth"
/. There is no intimatiOn in the Bible
that this gift should ever be withdrawn
from the true disciple of Jesus. There is
not passage in the Old Testament, or in
the New Testament, which implies that
the church of God is ever 10 be bereft of
all supernatural influence, and be left to
make its way in the world like merely
human organization. The New Testament
teaches exactly the contrary. Jesus says
"Lo, l am with you always, even unto the
end of the world" This promise certainly
reaches down to our times. But no W can
Jesus be said to be with his disciples if he
works for them only, as he does for sinners,
through merely natural causes? Peter quotes
from Joel: 1T shall come to pass in the
last days. saith God, will pour out my
Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and
your daughters shall prophsey''-Acts 2:l7
At whatever point Of time ''the last.
days may commence, the expression
itself implies that they reach down to the
end of time. These passages clearly au-
thorize the disciples of Je sus. in our day,
to expect to be systematically endowed
with power from on high.
2. With the gift, that church of Jesus
Christ must prosper. 1t may be reviled,
and persecuted; but it will be built up in
faith and holiness, and will add to its
numbers of such as shall be saved.
This gift of power is often prayed for,
apparently with great earnestness. Mill
listers and memb ers often wrestle for it.
Why sit not more frequently received:
is God unwilling to bcstOw ii: On the
contrary, he is more than willing. Jesus
says, eff ye then being evil. know how
10 give good gifts to your children. how
much more shall your Father which is in
Heaven give his Holy Spirit to them that
ask him." If men and women ask for il,
and God is willing to bestow it, why,
the n is it not received? Let inspiration
answer this question. James 1 3: "Ye
ask ,and receive not, because We ask amiss,
that We may consume i t upon your lusts"
\ care full examination of each partic-
ular failure will show that this eXpl aims
the cause.
Some ask Though pride. 1t may be SO
subtle as hardly to be perceived even by
themselves. He may think his desire is to
do good; and this may really enter into
a secret wish to be esteemed am ong men:
TO be accounted person Of power. to have
re putation for piety of an uncommon
degree. When the blessing begins to
come. and the rep roach comes with it-as
it always Willie shrinks and draws back, |
by degrees. He is unwilling to be called |
fanatic, an enthusiast, and So he explains. |
apolog lies. and finall = opposes openly the
work of the Spirit. He who would Ia We |
''power from on high" must i'm his Utmost |
soul consent to be like his Master. of nc |
reputation: He must look to have his ac-
tons and wor Us misrepresented, his mo
tiveSmisconstrtled, and himself held up to
ridicule and contempt.
Others ask through Incidence. They
see work to be done in the vineyard of
the Lord. They would like the wages,
and the credit: but they haye strong
aversion to toll and self-denial. They
would like to preach powerful, convincing,
and overwhelming sermons: but they
woui Il rather lie in bed or lounge around
read the papers. or carry on an easy,
desuitory conversation than
search the Scriptures, and store
their memories with the great truths of
the Bible. So they want the gift of power
that they may preach! Poor, easy, deluded
souls! God would as soon fill mans
granary with wheat, who asks for it
because he does not like to pillow, as to be-
stow upon anyone the gift of the Holy
GhosttO take the place Of common industry.
fyou want the gift of power, give
yourself to God to do his work! Like
Jesus. go about doing good. Study, visit
from house to house, to warn the people
to flee from the wrath to come; pray, not
formally, but from the heart; deny your
self all self-indulgence, that you may
have the means to help others, and see il
God does rot wonderfully bapti2e you