The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-10-23
SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE UPON THE
HOLY GHOST.
The Rev. pr. J.. Wilbur Chapman Shows
Row the Holy Ghost is the Christians
Helper Beyond All Others-Is the Lie
of the Church.

III 2
Row the Holy Ghost is the Chris,ian's
Helper Beyond All others-Is the Lie
of thu Church.
| NEW YORK CITY. The sermon here
furnished to the press Is the most impress
sive one OF a series which the Rev: Dr. y.
| Wilbur Chapman prepared some time ago
for the Bible Institute ColpSSrtage Assoc'a-
| ton. it 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 ,: Al.
In the honest endeavor which we make
properly to live the Christian life and IN
| the end receive a reward from the hand or
| the Master. thereby not missing our
crown, the Hoy Ghost beyond all others
il 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
spiritual atmosphere we may expect, as In
| dividuals. no special victories.
On the day OF Pentecost two great events
occurred: the first was the exalta.lon or
Jesus Christ at the right hand Of the
Father-"This Jesus hath God raised up,
| whereof we are all witnesses (.Acts .:
32i: 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
Hoy 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
lFairs IF 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
iay CAIN TO His presence. and the love OF
| God MAJ he shed abroad in our hearts by
i the Holy Ghost. He is in 4 real sense the
vicar OF Christ. and there can be no other;
The Son OF God is today at the right hand
os God. representing the church. and the
Spirit OF God ought 10 be cnthvored and
exalted in the church. representing the
! risen Christ. He is to coans2t he:, to
guide her and to control hcr-in a word,
! He Is 20 govern all things IN the church,
from the least things unto the greatest.
The Scriptures are evidence that He has
= message for the church. 1t Is generally
| believed that the epistles to the seven
churches in the Revelation contain the pro-
phetic setting forth of the church's 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-
pPated: 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. Ephesus had left her first love:
smyrna was rich. and likely to be proud;
Pergamos was touched with the doctrine
OF Ralaam: Thyatira was Influenced by Je-
rebel; Sardis had a name to live, and was
derd: Philadelphia had but little strength,
while Laodicea was neither hot nor. cold.
The real cure for backsliding in the church
is that which m to us by the Holy
| Ghost of the revelation of Gods will and
| the interpretation OF Gods word.
The church is a called-out body. We
were chosen in Him before the worlds
foundation, and We are elect according to
the forekhowledge 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. lie has ordained the
| Offices 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
gifts unto men. And He gave some, apos-
ties; and some, prophets; and some, evan
geliStS; 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, II, u. The
church is really the habitation of God.
Hear what the Scriptures have to say:
I Enh o. 10 70 @-..Nnu- thapnfn~a va oro
no more strangers and foreigners. but fell
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 a holy tenn
pie in the Lord: in whom We also are
builded together for an habitation of God
through the Spirit" Ii He is dwelling in
us, we must be careful Of our church life.
for 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 l20, spoke of the departure of Judas,
and declared that one must be chosen in
his stead. Prayer was offered. a 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 eli the va
cancy, namely. Saul of Tarsus. Paul
speaks thus of himself: Gal. /: Paul,
IN 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 .: l to And. when the
day Of Pentecost was fully come they
were all with one accord in one place. And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven
as OF a rushing, mighty wind. and it filed
al the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cioyen
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon eaca
OF them. And they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began TO speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utter.
ancc." Heb. .: God also bearing them
witness, both with signs and wonders. and
with divers miracles and gifts OF the Hoy
Ghost, according to His " will"
There was no church in the Old Tesla
ment. This is the opinion Of many Bible
teachers. In Acts .: 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