The Grenada sentinel., 1903-09-19

| the great area of SOl0mOn's porch is
crowded with people to whom Peter
at once breaches Christ Jesus and Him
! crucified, and 5000 men are converted.
The women are not mentioned, but If
they outnumbered the men in that
early day in their acceptance of the
| Gospel as they do to-day there must
have been about Is. 900 women con-
verted, too, besides children. But
leaving the women out of the reckon
ing and counting only the men what
| a tremendous ingathering! Jesus fed
5000 men beside women and children,
but Peter, through the Holy Spirit, is
able to feed 5000 men with the bread
of life and win them for Christ and
eternity. Greater works! Then fol-
low the days of mighty miracles which
far outnumbered those which Jesus
performed.
DUT what in our thought constitutes
- greater works? Do we consider
the miracles-the healing, the raising
of the dead, the feeding of the multi
tudes, the nets filled with flshes-as
the greatest fruits of Jesus ministry,
and must there be larger realization
of such miracles in the service and
ministry Of Jesus disciples to-day in
order that we may feel that Jesus
promise has been fulfilled? Is there
not a tendency always to associate
with the thought of greater works the
healing of the sick, the giving sight to
the blind, the raising of the dead? So
often do we hear the mournful regret
expressed that the disciples to-day
have not the gift of healing so that the
preaching of the Gospel might be at
tended by mighty works of the Spirit
which would bear visible testimony
to the power of God. The 'greater
works" has come almost to be a
synonym for miracles, as though God
dealing with the physical was greater
than God dealing with the spiritual. AS
rule am inclined to believe that the
longing and unrest for another day of
miracles such as ushered in the birth
of the apostolic church is rather an
evidence of uabelief than of faith. 1t
is that old weakness of the natural
man which desires to see. Seeing
| is believing" is the thought which un-
consciously sways the heart. The heal
| ing of the sick, the raising Of the dead,
what glorious and indisputable testi-
mony they would be to the world!
Thus we think and reason, and almost
believe that God is short-sighted and
careless in not pouring out His gift
of healing upon the church to-day.
Greater works, or in other words,
miracles.
DUT are miracles greater works?
IL Did Jesus so consider them? Why
was His heart heavy, why was He sad,
| when the multitude had been healed at
| Capernaum and the 5000 fed in the
| wilderness? Was it not because there
| was not the greater work of the crea-
tion of a new heart through faith in
Him? ''Ye must be born again." was
! Jesus message to Nicodemus, and the
miracle of tte new birth was a greater
| work than that of physical healing, or
! bringing to life again the dead body,
even though the latter were more
! wonderful to the natural eye of man.
That Jesus forgave the sins of the man
sick of the palsy before He raised him
up to health and strength is sigrifi-
cant. The greatest need of that man
was not a healed body for this life,
although his case was so pitiable and
his need so great, but it was a cleansed
| and redeemed soul which would live
with God throughout the eternities. This
Jesus gave to him first. 1t was a
greater work. 1t is evident from
Jesus first. words to the man-"Son,
be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven
thee"-that the man was troubled
more by his sin-sick soul than he was
by his disease-racked body. Jesus saw
deeper than the physical, and because
the man himself realized his greater
| need, Jesus at once met that need and
gave forgiveness and salvation. Then
came the healing as a secondary
work. ''that ye may know that the Son
of Man hath power on earth to forgive
| SINS" The miracles were proof of His
| Divinity. The continuation of the
miracles through the early years of
the church was for the purpose Of link
ing the Christ before the crCas with
the risen and ascended Christ and es-
tablishing the Divinely- ordered way of
do, His disciples continued to more
gloriously and fully do after He had
ascended and the Holy Spirit had
descended upon them. But q greater
work than the speaking with tongues
was the raising from the deadness in
sin to newness of life In Christ Jesus
of 5000 souls. A greater work than
the healing Of the lame man at the
Beautiful Gate was the healing OF [, ZOO
/ sin-sick souls which followed A mira
Gle might cause the world to pause and
wonder. but soul cleansed In Jesus
blood and given life In Him is able tc
set all Heaven to rejoicing. Think
Of It! ~.z.Fss
/ n ND In considering tho greateI
.If1 works which Jesus 'asdisd1uIes arpsto
do IN fu1nllment of HIs rrosmise u