Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-05-25
.Calmase
sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talrnaee, ID. d.


who fulfill its conditions is the conten-
ton OF the preacher in this sermon on
the text Luke xiv, 40. Until We be
endued with power from on high"
While l was bordering on this text
like fash this sentence rose to my
lips: How many men and women
there are who have all the mighty ele-
mentS for gospel power except the one
fact that they are not developed What
service they might render as gospel
evangelists IL they would only follow
the headings OF Jesus Christ and plead
with him that they might be baptized
With the power of the Holy Ghost"
These men and women are like the dis
ciples OF Jesus Christ before the day
OF Pentecost. They believe in Jesus.
In one sense they have been followers
or Christ. but in another sense they
nave not had their souls fired with the
living Goals from off his affairs. These
men and women are in exactly the
same position as was Dwight L. Moo
dy during the first years of his minis
try in the city of Chicago.
Let me show you what that condi-
tion was by reading ID. L. Moody's ex-
perience In his own words: 'Whcn /
was preaching In Farwell hall. in Chi
cago. l never worked harder to pre-
pare my sermons than L did then. /
preached and preached, but. il was
beating against the air. a good wom-
an said to me, Mr.. Moody. you don't
seem to have power In your preaching
My desire was that 1 might have a
int Il
man and n few others to come and
pray with me every Friday afternoon
ut O'Clock. oh. how piteously l
prayed that God might fill the empty
vessel! After the fire in Chicago 1 was
In New York city, and. going into a
bank on Wall street. it seemed as If /
felt strange and mighty power COM
ing over me. 1 went up to the hotel.
and there In my room / wept before
God and cried, % my God, stay thy
handF He gave me such fullneSs that
1t seemed more than l could contain.
May God forgive me IL / speak in n
boastful way. but 1 do not know that
i have preached sermon since but
God has given me some soul. Oh. |
would not be back where | was four
=
world. If you would roll it at my feet
/ would kick 1t away like football.
i seem wonder to some of you. but
i am greater wonder to myself than
to any one else. These are the very
same sermons l preached in Chicago
word for word. It is not new sermons.
but the power OF God 1t is not n new
gospel, but the old gospel with the
Holy Ghost OF power" This is the tes-
timony OF the greatest winner of souls
in the evangelistic field Of the last cen
fury.
Brethren. we desire this higher pow
or. AS ministers we want It. Some Of
us, like Mr.. Moody, have spent the
last ounce of energy in the preparation
OF sermons. but, like him. ''wc have
been beating against the air" As
Sunday school teachers, rs members
OF the churches, we all want this high
cr power. How can we get the higher
power OF the gospel? / know of no
better way to learn how to get 1t than
to study the events OF the days proceed.
Ing the first Christian Pentecost, when
the disciples. according to the COM
mand Of Jesus Christ, tarried I'm Jeru-
salem until they were "endued with
power from on high" o God. give TO
us the higher power OF gospel life as
thou didst give that power to thy dis
ciples of old and art willing to give II
to thy disciples of the present day.
Believed In Christ's Power.
These disciples, in the first place. be-
lieved In supernatural Saviour. They
believed that he had power over hui
man souls. Just as matchmaker Is
greater than his own watch and can
make a watch and then take It apart
and put 1t together again, so they be-
lleved that Christ. who created the
world and created life, could take that
life away. from n human body and
then put that life back again into the
same human body. They saw him
raise Lazarus from the tomb. They
believed that just as shipbuiIder
could knock out rotten plank from
the hull OF the boat he had once built
and put a new plank in its place. so
Jesus Christ. who had created tho
body. could put in new eye in the
place Of blind eye. He actually per-
formed this miracle in the physical
body again and again before their own
eyes. They believed In his Inspiring
power. Just as man can today take
the currents Of electricity which he has
produced and carry those currents over
a wire and store them UP in an electric
machine called an automobile they be-
lieved that this Jesus. who is super
natural Christ. could transmit his DOW
er into the lives of his disciples if he
wished so to do. In other words. they
looked upon Christ as n supernatural
being, able TO give supernatural gifts to
those to whom he wished to give those
gifts. Do you believe that Christ is a
supernatural being aud able to do this
as the disciples of old believed it on
the days preceding Pentecost?
We'll" you answer, ''to tell the truth.
/ have not thought about IT." You say.
Il have not been worrying so much
about what I believe as about what
do" You say: Theorists rover
amount to much. 1t is the practical fel-
low who brings results to rxSs.p
When James a. Garfield was elected
president Of the United States, one day
he said to his secretary of state:
Blaine, all my life have been study
ing the theories of government, but
since / have been elected president in
stead of thinking about theories have
had to spend most OF my time listening
TO the pleas of candidates for office.
Who is TO be postmaster OF Springfield
or district attorney of Chicago or judge
OF Ohio has monopolized all NV atten-
ton" So you say: Il have not had
time to think whether Christ is super
natural or not or whether he can give
me supernatural power or not. have
been using tlD nv time In service oDd