The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-11-28
TIL PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
REV. h. w. HENDERSON.
Subject: The Holy Spirit.

Brooklyn, N. Y.-Preaching at the
Irving Square Presbyterian Church
on the theme, The Holy Spirit" the
Rev. /. w. Henderson, pastor, took
as his text Jno. 1~4:16-17. He said
in the course Of his sermon:
AS we read this and the two sue
ceeding chapters Of this good news
of the Beloved Disciple, we appre-
ciate, more and more, the vital, force
full influence of the Holy Spirit upon
the lives of those who love and serve
God. 1t Vas at the close Of the Last
Supper that Christ uttered these
words. A few hours and the cross
claimed Him. Philip had asked,
Lord, shew us the Father" Our
text =: a portion of Christ's answer.
We are told by the commentators
that the Holy Spirit, the Comfortsr
is also an advocate, a helper. Liter
ally translated the Greek means:
lone who is called to another's side
to. aid him." TO our side, an ever
present aid through all eternity, the
Holy Spirit has been oallea by Christ.
Comforter, advocate, teacher. helper,
. guide and eternal friend, -$uch is the
Holy Spirit of the new dispensation
vas granted to US by our Heavenly Fa-'
Their.
The position Of the Holy Spirit
with reference to US is clearly shown
by the propositions used in the
verses. And I will pray the Father,
and He shall give you another Conf
fofter, that He may abide with you
forever, even the spirit Of truth;
whom the world cannot receive be-
cause it seeth Him not, neither know,
eth Him, but We know Him, for He
abideth by you and shall be in YOU.
With you, by you, in you. With you,
'in the fellowship of His everlast-
ing presence" BY you, lin His per-
sonal presence" In you. "as an abid-
ing personal energy" With you, by
you, in YOU, in all the eternal ON
impotence, love and wisdom Of the
very God Himself. The Holy Spirit
is the presence of Almighty God and
of His son Jesus Christ, with you, by
you, in you. The %pronouns, as the
propositions, are of prime import,
ance. He is God, with, by and in
The Holy Spirit who is in our
hearts to-day has been the dynamic
in the lives of consecrated. men and
women since time was. In his jour-
ney up from bondage, it was the spir-
it of God that sustained Moses. He
is the spirit of which Isaiah wrote:
And thine ears shall hear a word be-
hind thee saying, This is the way,
walk we in it." And again we read in
Ezekiel: "And I will put my spirit
within you, and cause you to walk In,
My statutes, and We, shall. keep My
judgments and do them" The spirit OF
Samuel and of jeremiah is the Spirit
Of Saul of Tarsus. The same but, oh,
how much more full. He brings to
us not merely the wealth of asso-
citation that crowds about the ma
t:onal life of the chosen people of
God. To US, He comes as a consum-,
nation and memorial Of the: power,
majesty and 'a~ll-embracing love OF
God and of His Son our Saviour,
Jesus, the Christ.
The Holy Spirit influences and di-
reefs every good and great movement
that emanates from the hearts and
souls of Christian men. God work
ing in His Holy Spirit fills the heart
of Henry Ward Beecher nth an. over
whelming love for the Southern
slave, and the inspired words Of that
yirile Christian speed the breaking
of a million shackles. The auction of
the slave girl in the pulpit Of Ply
mouth Church was God in His Spirit
moving Henry Ward Beecher to de-
cisive action. The Holy Spirit enters
the hear: of Florence Nightingale and
soldiers on every rudy field know
the touch of a loving hand and the
consolation of a sympathiZing heart
The Comforter strikes hidden. mex.
haustible springs in the souls of D..
l.. Moody, of General Crittenden, of
Jerry McAulay, and myriads OF out
cast men and fallen women feel the
power of the sheltering, upbearing
arm of Almighty God. Tennyson
hears the voice of God within and to
us are given the immortal lines of
I'm Memoriam" and of Crossing the
Bar" -
The history Of the presence Of
the Christ in the lives of nations lies
in the work consummated BY His
Holy Spirit. All the great reforms,
all the great movements that have
bettered humanity have had their in
ception in the minds of Spirit-flled
men. Who can say but that the hand
and the Spirit of God have been with
this land, as it was with Israel, in her
phenomenal success. To be sure we
have made our mistakes. We are a
far cry from the Christ ideal. But
did we, nationally, revere Him more,
did we but let His Holy Spirit dwell
deeper and more lastiIgly in our ma
tional heart, He would bless US far
beyond our fondest expectations.
God is the God of nations. Christ
came to take away the sins of the
.,orld, of nations, as Of individuals.
The Holy Spirit can fill a nations
heart if its people will but do Gods
will.
The most vital necessity in the life
of the Christian and of the church is
the Holy Spirit as He descends, con-
stantly %freshened and refreshing,
from the throne of God. Having &C
cepted Christ and His plan for our
redemption, He is the first thing that
we must gain. The apostles, men of
God and with Christ as they were,
could do naught in the work of the
evangelization of the world and Of
lifting mankind to the level of the
Christ life until they had received
the gift of the Holy Ghost. For in
the first chapter of the record of the
Acts of the Apostles we read that
"the Apostles being assembled to-
gether" after the resurrection, OILY
Lord Commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the Ia