Milford chronicle., 1906-05-25
Calmaqe
Sermon
WEKEo. ,
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee. DID,.

N1N4Ate power lOf llIe ana service co
ferred on the disciples at Pentecost
still accessible to present day Chri
tians and will be conferred on thos
who fulfill its conditions is the contel
ton Of the preacher in this sermon o
the text Luke XXiy, 40, Until We b
endued with power from on high"
While l was pOndering on this tex
like a fash this sentence rose to m.
lips: 'How many men and womel
there are who have all the mighty ele
ments for gospel power except the on,
fact that they are not developed! Wha
service they might render as gospe
evangelists if they would only follow
the leadings 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
of Christ, but in another sense they
have not had their souls fred 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
dry in the city of Chicago
; Let me show you what that condi-
tion was by reading D. L. Moody's ex-
perience in his own words: "When l
was preaching in Farwell hall, in Chi
cago, 1 never worked harder to pre-
pare my sermons than 1 did then. l
preached and preached, but it was
eating against the air A good wOm-
IN said to me, Mr. Moody, you don't |
Seem to have power in your preaching |
lMy desire was that 1 might have a
fresh amounting. 1 requested this wo-
man and few others to come and
pray with me every Friday afternoon
at 4 o'clock. Oh, how piteously I
prayed that God might fill the empty
vessel! After the fire in Chicago l was
an New York city, and going into a
(bank on Wall street, it seemed as if I
felt a strange and mighty power COM
lng over me. went up to the hotel,
and there in my room wept before (
God and cried, % my God, stay thy l
handP He gave me such fullness that {
it seemed more than I could contain. !
May God forgive me If 1 speak in a S
5aastful way, but do not know that S
I have preached a sermon since but d
God has given me some soul Oh, l
would not be back where l was four f
years ago for all the wealth of this g
world. If you would roll it at my feet \
would kick it away like a football. Il
seem a wonder to some of you, but r
am a greater wonder to myself than a
o any one else. These are the very b
iame sermons l preached in Chicago t,
yord for word. 1t is not new sermons, b.
tut the power of God. 1t is not a new p
gospel, BIT the old gospel with the fC
Holy Ghost of power" This is the tes- ii
imOny of the greatest winner of souls k,
D the eYangelistie field Of the last cen it
ury. q
Brethren, we desire this higher pow I'll
r. AS ministers we want it. Some Of til
8, like Mr.. Moody, have spent the ql
lst ounce Of energy in the preparation Je
( sermons, but, like him, 1--WE have al
cen beating against the air" As of
unday school teachers, as members til
the churches, we all want this high lie
, power. How can we get the higher Je
over Of the gospel? 1 know Of no ga
stter way to learn how to get it than w
} study the events of the days preced-
lg the first Christian Pentecost, when co
ie disciples, according to the COM hi
land Of Jesus Christ, tarried in Jeru- mt
llen until they were "endued with gi
over from on high" o God, give to ma
. f41o hfoybnr - ! on
lou didst give that power to thy dis riC
pies Of old and art willing to give it en-
} thy disciples Of the present day. NJ
Believed In Christ's Power. ca
These disciples, in the first place, be- We
eyed in a supernatural Saviour. They VII
slieved that he had power over hu- I'M
an souls. Just as matchmaker is ae
'eater than his own watch and can thi
AXE a watch and then take It apart
I'd put it together again, so they be-
sved that Christ, who created the tht
orld and created life, could take that VIC
'e away from a human body and the
en- put that life back again into the ing
me human body. They saw him pri
ise Lazarus from the tomb. They era
ilieved that just as a shipbuilder pu
uld knock out a rotten plank from to
e hull Of the boat he had once built IN
ID put a new plank in its place, so the
sus Christ, who had created the kel
dy. could put in a new eye in the 20
ice Of a blind eye He actually per ma
rmed this miracle in the physical life
dy again and again before their own me
es. They believed in his inspiring lft
wer. Just as man can today take ans
} currents Of electricity which he has not
,duced and carry those currents over OF
yire and store them up in an electric pre-
chine called an automobile they be- OF
7ed that this Jesus. who is a super ION
-ural Christ, could transmit his pow ohl
into the lives Of his disciples il he ane
she'd so to do. In other words. they ing
ked upon Christ as a supernatural ina
ng, able to give supernatural gifts to poN
Sc to whom he wished to give those II
Is. Do you believe that Christ is a lue'
,ernatural being and able to do this we
the disciples Of old believed It on lus
days preceding PentecOst? auu auu
try.11 - -arv ovrx-or ftfo foII tho f1.Tffh lfUl