The Tupelo journal., 1904-09-16

III us. we SlnS, MOIe Hho jesus
would | be-" This is the thought:
Identity with God. And lastly, the
privilege of knowing. There is a pas
sion to know things in this our day.
The spirit of the Greeks has descended
upon us, and like the cultured an
clients we are always eager to hear and
tell some new thing. But the children
Of light have privileges Of knowing
such as the children Of the darkness
never dreamed of. The promise OF
Jesus when He left His disciples was
that the Holy Spirit should be given
unto them and when He, the Spirit
Of truth, is come, He will guide you
into all truth" God reveals the Sc
crets Of His Kingdom to His children.
They know of the hidden mysteries. 1t
is their privilege to know of the things OF
time and of eternity. For the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea. the deep things
of God" and He reveals them unto US.
What privileges, then, are those OF
the child Of light? Access to and fell
lowship with God; a clear vision and
a plain path; identity with God, and
the knowledge of God and eternal as
we'll as temporal things. So much for
the privileges.
WHAT are the obligations? Two
w facts present themselves in con-
nection with the thought Of the Chris
tian as a child Of light: First, that he is
- ~ r~1- md eoopnI thot hn lie f0 piVp
light. These two obligations appear
more and more important as we study
the Bible references to this two-fold re-
sponsibility Of the Christian. He who
was the Light Of the world declared that
His disciples were also the light of the
world. They were to shine out in the
worlds darkness. They were not to be
hid under a bushel, but to stand forth
in the conspicuous place to be seen
and read of all men," The world sees
OF does not see the true Light just so
far as we shine for Jesus or do not shine
for Him. The children of light are the
living opponents of the true Light. AS
you have sat in the darkened room and
watched the image in the lantern slide
thrown upon the canvas, how sharply
and distinctly it stood out from the
inky blackness all about. 1t was the
only thing visible. Even the friend at
your side was not distinguishable, but
with the picture on the canvas. how diff
ferent. And amidst the darkness of
the worlds sin the Christian is obligated
to shine out as a bright and shining
light, declaring the Christ by every act
and every word. He is to be seen and
he is to give that light which will light
every man to the source Of all light, the
Christ. What a responsibility! What
il the CLEAN from the lighthouse fails
to shine forth! The storm-tossed ship
out in the blacknesS of the night has no
beacon light to steer by and plunges on
the rocks and is lost with its precious
human lives! What, if you, as a child
of the light are not letting your light
shine out into the darkness OF the
worlds sin and human souls are lost?
A ND with such obligations, what are
/ u needs to meet those obliga-
tons? Twothings are absolutely neces-
sary: The oil of the Spirit and unob-
structed channels through which this
oil may flow to feed the light. When
the disciples were to shine for their
Lord they must receive the Holy Spirit,
and so with every disciple of Christ.
If he is to be a true child of the light
he must have the indwelling presence
of the Spirit to shed forth that light
which will give light to others. AS
reasonable to expect your lamp to burn
| without the oil in the reservoir as to
think that the Christian can shine
without the Spirit of Christ to feed
the flame. Over and over again this
truth is emphasized in the epistles of
the different apostles. BE filled with
the Spirit" This is the greatest need
of every Christian. 1t must be had If
ne would be equipped for service. And
the next essential is the un~obstructed
channel. All, how it becomes choked
with our own selfish desires and ambi-
tons! How the things of the world
come in and dam up the river of Gods
fullness. What is it that rs stopping
the flow of God through your life? You
know what it is, or if you do not know,
God by His Spirit will reveal it unto
you. My lamp would not burn salts
factorily the other night. The oil was
in the reservoir, but it would not burn.
Investigation showed that the wick
was charred for a long distance down
and stopped the flow of the oil to. the
top where the flame must be fed; and
in how many lives there is the hard.
charred surface, made so by sinful in
dulgences, and stopping the flow Of
Gods Spirit into our lives. Oh, get
the fullness of God, clean out the
choked channels and meet the obliga-
lions God has placed upon you rs chill
dren of light.
d UT there are dangers peculiar to
- children of light. 1t is said that
every plant has its enemy, and surely
every Christian has his perils which