The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1902-10-30
A SERMON Fuk SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE UPON TIE
HOLY GHOST.

AN EIO0OCNt OtSNOOnoC WIN l1E
HOLY GHOST.
The Rev. DR.. j. Wilbur Chapman Shows
How the Holy Ghost Is the Christinn's
Helper Beyond All Others-Is tho Life
of the Church.
NEW YORK CRY. - The sermon here
furnished to the press is the most impress
sive one of series which the Rev DIR. ]
Wilbur Chapman prepared some time ago
for the Bible Institute Colportage Associa-
ton. Ii is entitled 'The Holy Ghost in
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 2: Al.
In the honest endeavor which we make
the end receive reward from the hand of
the Master, thereby not MISSING our
crown, the Holy Ghost beyond all others
is our helper He is certainly to be count
ed as the director and leader of our church
life We need expect no great outpouring
of the Holy Ghost so long as His leader
ship is ignored, and without this high
dividuals. no special victories.
On the day Of Pentecost 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:
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 right to claim Since
that day, in the plan of God, the Holy
hoe 4In Il ,,ot,,o t1. e IL
affairs Of the church, and He is here to
make Christ real to every believer. If 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
God may be shed abroad in our hearts by
the Holy Ghost. lie is in real sense the
vicar of Christ. and there can be no other.
The Son of God is day at the right hand
of God, 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, to
guide her and to control her--in 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 epstles to the seven
churches in the Revelation contain the pro-
phetic setting forth of the churchs history
Its declines and recoveries, its failures
and returns, and it is believed by many
that we have come to the Laodicean period
of history Of the last days of the church.
Seven. times we have the expression re-
peated: He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches"
1t is to be noted that this expression is
used after each of the churches had back
Sudden Ephesns had left her first love;
Smyrna was rich, and likely to be proud;
Pergamos was touched with the doctrine
of Baaam: Thyatira was influenced bv .le-
Zebel; Sardis had name to live, and was
dead; Philadelphia had but little strength,
while Laodicea was neither hot nor cold
The real cure for backsliding in the church
IS that which comes to lis by the Holy
Ghost of the revelation of Gods will and
the Interpretation of Gods worde
The church is called out body. We
were chosen in Him before the worlds
foundation, and we are elect according to
the foreknowledge of God, for thus saith
the Scripture. Jesus is in heaven direct
Ing the work of the church, but the Holy
Ghost is here carrying out the plan. This
plan extends to the minutest details of the
life of the church. He has ordained the
offlces we must have, and the kind of men
We must lay hold upon to fill them:
Wherefore He saith, when He assembled up
on high, He led captivity captive, and gave
glIts unto men. And He gave some, apos-
ties; and some, prophets; and some, evan
gel1sts; and some, pastors and teachers
Tor the perfecting Of saints, for the work Of
the ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ" Ephesians 4: s, IL, IL. The
church is really the habitation of God.
Hear what the Scriptures have to say:
Eph. 2: l9 to 22-"Now therefore We are
M L 81
low-citizens with the saints, and of the
household of God; and are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cor
nerstone; in whom all the building fifty
framed together groweth unto holy tenn
pie IN the Lord: in whom We also are
through the Spirit" If He is dwelling in
us, we must be careful Of our church life,
tor we may grieve Him and quench Him
by the way we live and work. MANY
things are done to-day in the church which
may commend themselves to men, and yet
fall utterly short of the approval of God.
As an illustration, Peter, standing up with
the l2o, spoke Of the departure Of Judas,
his stead. Prayer was offered, vote was
taken, and Matthias elected but there
was no indication that this election was
ever ratified by the Lord, for Matthias at
once sinks out of sight. Two years after
ward the Lord calls one to fill the va
cancy, namely, Saul of Tarsus. Paul
speaks thus of himself: Gal L: l-"Paul.
an apostle, not of men. neither by man,
but by Jesus Christ and God the Father,
who raised Him from the dead"
II.
The church was established by signs and
wonders. Acts 2: to 4-"And when the
day OF Pentecost was fully come they
were all with one accord in one place. And
suddenly there came sound from heaven
as OF rushing, mighty wind, and it filled
all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each
OF them. And they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utter
ance." Heb. Q: 4-''God also bearing them
witness, both with signs and wonders, and
with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy
Ghost, according to His own WILL"
There was no church in the Old Tesla
ment. This is the opinion of many Bible
teachers. In Acts 2: Al, we read: "Then
they that gladly received His word were
baptized, and the same day there were
added unto them about 5000 souls" In
this text the words unto them are writ
ten in italics, SO that the original is, "there
were added about 5000 souls" But we