The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-02

IH8J were sW0Ak- 88 VI 811 - - - Nevertheless, our Lord being with them in the conf7ict---as He Is with us made them more than conquerers. as we, too. can be. In the power of the
 Holy Spirit. they waxed valiant in fight--as can we-and put to flight the armies of the evil one We can be strong in the same strength they had. for we have the same helps The same Father in Heaven yearns over us The same Jesus. with His continual inter- cession. pleads before the throne of their Father and our Father The same Holy Spirit Is ready to fill us with life
 and light. And as they came forth yictors, so can we. God can make for us-as for them-a way of escape, and we--as did they-can pass safely
 through the wilderness of temptation to the paradise of the redeemed
 Another ground of hope is: in the
 conditions, the terms under which VIC
 fight in the wilderness. These are
 clearly taught in the text, God is
 faithful who will not suffer you to be
 tempted above that ye are able This
 means God is Master on the battlefield.
 He can regulate one by one the inCi- dents of our temptation. He is always
 present watching the fight. He cor
 trols its intensity. which :s proper tioned to our powers of strength He
 controls its duration, which is prcpor-
 tioned to our qualities of fortItude; He
 permits us to be tempted. not that We
 may be yanquished in the strife. put that we may be victors- He carefully watches all our movements as His sol diers on the battlefield of life He does not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able This meaEs our tempta- tions shall be accori iing to our strength and that they shall last only as lons as we can endure. It means further He is with us in the hour Of temptation to save us and to aid us. and although He allows us to be tempted. He has already made a way of escape There fore, may we go forward upheld and invigorated by the courage of hope. Another ground of hope ln tempta- tion is: the infinite longing and pur- pose of God for our victory. He as sures us. you recall, in the text, that ye may be able to bear it And ws know of this longing through our per sofial experience of Gods love for us in Christ Jesus It is revealed in His life and death We see Gods love man.
 ifested in the manager at Bethlehem, for
 He .so loved the world" that He gave
 His only Son to be born as our Sa-
 vior. We see it in the Cross of Cal
 vary, for it tells us. Herein is love
 not that we loved God but that He
 loved us, and gave His Son to ee the
 propitiation for our sins" We see Il
 in Heaven where Christ ever iivetl
 to make intercession for us" And so
 we realize Gods great yearning for ouI
 salvation in that He has given us
 Christ as our hope. a Hope sure and steadfast." With Him as our hope ws
 can fight on from hour to hour conn.,
 dent of victory. We often fall. but we never surrender. We are often beaten
 but we return again to the fight And
 suppose we even die fighting in tht wilderness of temptation? We'll and good. For to die fighting means to die saved.
 Let us. therefore, men and brethren 20 to the battlefield strong in hope Let us cultivate the spirit of watch fulness, sustained by prayer and faith Above all let us be careful to maintain through the use of ever means of grace our union with Christ Only as we are vitally united to Him can we possibly
 be safe in temptation. and finally vic torious in the contest Let us rely upen this union with Christ and no' upon our feelings. as we are so apt to
 do. our feelings, which are ever shift
 ing as the sands upon the seasnore
 and changing as the weather from day
 to day Nay. let us plant our rect upon the rock of faith in God, a iaItn SO loyal and unquestioning that we can say, Though He slay me. yet Will I trust Him." So. even amid the falls
 which plunge us into the dust of hu- initiation and shame. we are sustained by His promise, 'T will never leave thee nor forsake thee" Thus shall our weakness become strength. and ouI hope, at last, be converted into frui- tion. for we shall be Gods and God
 shall be ours, and so shall we be safe
 in temptation.