The Penn's Grove record., 1907-01-18

tlan1ty," h Rev. Ira Wemmell Hen
derson, pastor, took as his text John
3:5; Verify, verify, I say unto thee,
except a man be born of water and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of Cod" He said:
1t is my desire, as the Spirit may
give me wisdom, to unfold to you
what, to my mind, is the fundamental
in Christianity. From the words of
u Master I conceive the truth to
be that, save as we apprehend the
spiritual verities revealed in Jesus
Christ; save as re see the world,
man, our God, with the spiritual Wis
ion, we cannot become partaker5 of
the glories of the kingdom of our
Father. Only as we open our hearts
and minds to the indwelling Spirit of
Almighty God do we enter into the
promised land of the new dispensa-
ton, to possess it, to enjoy it. Filled
with the Spirit we live, but if the
Spirit of God abide not in a man he
is lone of His.
In that beautiful figure of the vine
Christ cuts clear for us the nature of
the spiritual life. 1t is our oneness
within the Author of the universe and
of us. 1t is the merging of our lives
into the life of God. The perfect
spiritual life expresses itself in union
within the Maker. Entirely within
the living Christ moves the fawless
human. Fashion a man according to
the stature of Jesus Christ and you
have a spiritual man. The spiritual
life is that life within Christ which
will make you always ask, what
would Jesus do?" The ethical judg-
ment always referring for it's sanction
to the spiritual.
Spirituality and goodness are syn
onymous. Apart from the glorifed
Nazarene there is, Christianity speak
ing, no spiritual existence. Spiritual
ity is no mere statement of philoso-
ply; it is a fact. A vital and a vivi-
flying reality is the life within the
Son of Man. The Christ life is not
merely a state of mind, but a mode
of action. The living of the man
within Jesus and for the Father, and
the Holy Spirit dwelling in him, that
is the life spiritual. AS the late DR..
Maltbie D. Babcock we'll said: "Spir-
ituality is seeing God in common
things and showing God in common
things"
Now this spiritual life is not ESQ
teric in its nature. 1t is not a life
for the few. 1t is a life for US all.
The economy of the good news of the
Master is worldwide in it's application
and inclusiveness. To all men the
opportunity to dwell within Christ is
offered. To all the higher, life has it's
appeal. From Nicodemus of the San
hedrim, to Onesimus the slave. From
the mighty in intellect, to the inlet
tered and unlearned. To the banker,
to the beggar, without money and
without price, are given all the wealth
at Gods command if they will.
The highest Christian life is in
separable from the highest spiritual
ity. We cannot understand the soul
of the message that the Master brings
to US until We enter into His point of
view. The mightiest Christians of
all the ages were men of the deepest
sanctifcation. And sanctifcation is
the souls progress toward the per-
fectness of God. Witness Peter as he
stands before the wondering, poly
glottous multitudes, on the day when
the Spirit filled the church. Witness
Saul of Tarsus, as, ringing down the
grooves of change" he sends the
watchword, For to me to live is
Christ" The secret of the success
of Wesley, of Sturgeon, is spiritual
force. The most helpful power in the
world to-day is the strength of soul
of consecrated men and women. Men
may come and men may go, but the
influence of the soul which is grow
ing into Godlikeness is the influence
which bends hardest upward and
h~eayenward. To be truly Christlike,
we must be truly spiritual.
The greatest value of the spiritual
life is that, through it, we are en-
abled, more and more, to understand
Jesus Christ Himself. The Christ
cannot be comprehendedsave through
the spiritual depths of His nature.
AS true it is to-day as it was when
Nicodemus went through the sable
night to learn wisdom at the feet of
Jesus: THAT which is born Of the
flesh is flesh. That which is born Of
the Spirit is Spirit" Save as we en-
ter into the Spirit we cannot enter
into the things of the Spirit. We can
not grasp heavenly things until we
let Heaven into our hearts. Only as
we discern the soul forces which I'M
derlie the activities of the Saviour
can we understand Christianity and
Christ. Only as we are filled with
the Spirit can we understand the
Lamb of God.
The fullness of the promises of the
Prince of Peace can come to those
only who are strongest in soul SER
vice. Christ has left us certain prom
ises. He has conferred upon us GER
tain privileges. But those promises
and those privileges are realized, in
their fullest measure, by those only
who live the fullest life. Christ says
to us with reference to prayer IF
We abide in Me and Ny words abide in
you, We shall ask what We will and
it shall be done unto you" A prom
Use and a privilege. But to whom?
To US all indeed. But fully to those
of us only who live fully within
Christ.
The promises of Christ are con-
slant. Prayer is the same blessed
privilege to-day that it was on that
fateful night in Gethsemane. To you
and to me Christ grants the same ac-
cess to the Father that He had Him.
self. But we need the deepest spir-
itual insight to learn the secret of
success in prayer. Read that petit
ton of our Lord in the seventeenth
chapter of the fourth Gospel and see
if it is not the spiritual fervor OF it
which enthralls you. The secret of
the success of Christ in His earthly
career is the secret of the prayer in
the grove by the Kidron. Christ has
revealed the secret to US. 1t is for
us to decide whether or no, using the
spiritual energy that we have, we
shall go on to further glories in the
life within our Saviour.
In u time the material needs OF
men are, instead OF being subordi-
mated, pushed into primary import
ance. The mad rush for wealth and
power among the leaders in society
has it's influence on those in the rear
ranks. Materialism masters all men,
save those who see clearly and think
profoundly. And in this there is
cause for fear.
Would hal we might look less at
the world material and more to the
realm spiritual. Christ came not to
save the pockets, or the power, or the
O0Sifi0n 0f man Thu Saviour nm.