The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-12-05
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE UPON THE
HOLY GHOST

AhH rev W. 3D. " AiWNN AHAFthAA Hil"Mh
How She Holy Ghost "a the Christian's
Helper Beyond All Others-is the Lille
81 the Church.
NEW YoRK CITY w. The sermon here
furnished 10 the press IS the most impress
siyo one Of "a series which The Rev. DR.. y.
Wilbur Chapman prepared some lime ago
for the Bible Institute Co.portage Assoca.
ton. H. is entitled The Holy Ghost bog
His Relation to the Church" and was
preached from the text And the Lord
added to The church daily such as should
be saved Acts .. A..
In the honest eudcavor which we make
properly 20 live the Christian life and m
the end receive a reward from the hand OF
the Master thereby not missing our
crown. the Holy Ghost beyond all others
is our helper. He is certainly 10 be count
ed as the director and leader of our church
life. We need expect no great 0utpourlng
OF the Holy Ghost so long as His leader
] ship is ignored. and without this high
/ spiritual atmosphere we may expect, as In
/ dividuas, no special victories.
! On the day Of Peutecost two great events
/ occurred; the first was the eXaltation OF
/ Jesus Christ at the right hand OF the
! Father-"This Jesus hath God raised up,
/ whereof we are all witnesses (Acts 2:
| 32) the other was the outpouring of the
| Spirit because Jesus had been raised up
and exalted. The point is that Christ as
our head had poured out upon Him the
| Holy Ghost, thus receiving Him IN trust
| for the body; and it naturally follows that
what the head has received the members
Of the body have a right TO claim. Since
that day, in the plan of God, the Holy
Ghost has been the administrator Of the
affairs If the church, and He is here to
make Christ real to every believer. II He
had tarried with us in the flesh and ] had
claimed His presence, He would have been
denied to you; but now that He is present
/ in the Spirit. we may all have Him and
lay claim TO His presence, and the love OF
4 God may be shed abroad in our hearts by
the Holy Ghost. He is in a real sense the
vicar of Christ and there can be no other.
The Son of God is to-day at the right hand
Of Cod representing the church, and the
Spirit of God ought to be enthroned and
exalted in the church, representing the
risen Christ. He is to counsel her, ia
guide her and to control her-in a word
He is to govern all things in the church
, from the least things unto the greatest.
The Scriptures are evidence that He has
a message for the church. 1t is generally
. believed that the epistes to the seven
churches in the Revelation contain the pro
phetic setting forth of the church's history
Its declines and recOveries, its failures
aud returns, and it is believed by man!
that we have come to the Laodicean perioC
Of history Of the last days of the church
Seven times we have the expression re
peated: 'He that hath an ear, let him heal
what the Spirit saith unto the churches"
1t is TO be noted that this expression i
used after each of the churches had back
Sudden. Ephesus had left her first love
Smyrna was rich, and likely to be proud
Pergamos was touched with the doctrin
of Baaam: Thyatira was Influenced by Je
aebel; Sardis had name to live, and wa
dead; Philadelphia had but little strength
while Laodicea was neither hot nor cold
The real cure for baeksliding in the chgrG
is that which comes to us by the Hol
Ghost OF the revelation of Gods will AM
the Interpretation Of Gods word.
, /.
The church is a called-out body. w
were chosen in Him before the world
. foundation, and we are elect according t
the foreknowledge of God, for thus salt
the Scripture. Jesus is in heaven direct
ing the work OF the church, but the HOl
l Ghost is here carrying out the plan. Thi
] plan extends to the minutest details of tn
life of the church. He has ordained tn
offices we must have, and the kind of me
we must lay hold upon to fill them
4 Wherefore He saith, when He assembled u
G On high, He led captivity captive, and CAV
Y gifts unto men. And He gave some, apo
lies; and some, prophets; and some, eyaI
gelsts; and some, pastors and teachers
T :or the perfecting of saints, for the work
: The ministry, for the edifying of the bod
: If Christ" Ephesans 4: 5, IL, u. Tt
q church is really the habitation of CO.
Hear what the Scriptures have to say
Eph. 2: 10 to 22-"Now therefore we al
l. 40 more strangers and foreigners, but fe
# low-citizens with the saints, and of II
s. household of God; and are built upon I'll
# foundation of the apostles and prophet
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief co
nerstone; in whom all the building fit
h framed together groweth unto holy ter
]. pie in the Lord; in whom We also a
% builded together for an habitation of &C
\ through the Spirit" If He is dwelling
us, we must be careful of our church lif
for we may grieve Him and quench Hi
le by the way we live and work. Mar
0; .hings are done to-day in the church whit
6; nay commend themselves to men, and y
N TALL utterly short or the approval of Go
N As an illustration, Peter, standing up wi
~ The 100, spoke of the departure of judo
"a and declared that one must be chosen
III his stead. Prayer was offered vote W
. taken, and Matthias elected; but the
was no indication that this election W
ever ratified by the Lord. for Matthias
once SINKS out OF sight. Two years att
ward the Lord calls one to fill the y
s. cancy, namely, Saul of Tarsus, Pa
speaks thus of himself: Gal. l: 1--"Pa
d an apostle, not of men, neither by ma
f. but by Jesus Christ and God the Faith
who raised Him from the dead"
~ II.
~ The church was established by signs a
- wonders. Acts .: l to 4-"And when t
day of Pentecost was fully come tn
L.. were all with one accord in one place. A
n suddenly there came a sound from heav
as of rushing, mighty wind, and it fiji
~ all the house where they were sltti
as tongues like as Of fire, and it sat upon ca
10. of them. And they were all filled with
=. Holy Ghost, and began to speak with otl
III tongues, as the Spirit gave them utt
nd ance" Heb. .: 4-"God also bearing tn
OF witness, both with signs and wonders, a
! L. i &c 3 -.