Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1908-06-18

- 0El<FlON AHE&k CD
BY TTAE REV. NR
!! ! iIIAWEflENDEeS0A
Theme: Divine IndweIIing-
Brooklyn, N. Y.-Preaching on the
above theme at the Irving Square
PRESBYTERIAN Church, the Rev. Ira w.
Henderson. pastor, took as his text
Jno. 20:22: Receive ye the Holy
Spirit" He said:
The reception Of the Holy Spirit in.
the inner sanctuary OF the human
heart is the condition of entrance into
the kingdom OF God. The possibility
OF the immediate and present incom-
| ing and welcoming of the Spirit "a
reason enough for us to believe that
! the kingdom begins in this life and
at once. II you will. The fact that the
coming of the Spirit into the heart is
| contemporaneous with the entrance
OF the individual into the privileges of
divine citizenship Is sufficient demon
strat1on that spirituality Is the key to,
and the essence of, and the first re-
qu1rement OF admission to the king
dom.s The one and only way to par
t1cipate in the joys and blessings of
the Spirit filled life is to cease from
hardness of heart, and from intellec-
tual self-gloriflcation and self-trust.
| and to become aS little children in
humility and in receptivity to truth.
Spirituality and divine citizenship are
one and the same thing. Growth in
spirituality is the test of efficient
citizenship. The man who has stopped
depending upon his own strength, his
own wisdom, and has opened his
eyes and ears and mind and heart to
the influences and manifestations of
the Spirit is ready to receive, and in
all conscience will get, the papers and
rights of citizen of the kingdom of
| the God of Jesus Christ. And that
soul only is being sanctified unto God
likeness and fashioned into the image
of Jesus Christ who is growing daily,
hourly, momently, in the gifts and
graces of the spiritual life. To be
spiritual is to become childlike. To
attain spiritual development is the
aim and the calling of those who are
Christ's
The Holy Spirit, the personal, puri-
Tying, propelling presence of God in
the life of man, is the means unto
the spiritualizing of human natures
according to the divine DEGREES. The
entrance of the Spirit means death
to sin. The yielding of self to the.
gentle ministrations of the Holy
Ghost is the first step toward indi-
vidual transformation. The COM
munion of the spirit of man with the
Spirit of God brings peace, content
ment, rest and a wisdom and energy
which are more than sufficient to meet
the demands and the opposition of
the world.
No mere impersonal, unreal, un-
attainable something is this Spirit
which Christ bade His disciIles re-
ceive, and of which at a later time
they received a fuller measure. It is
the real, helpful, personal presence
of God in the life. The spirit of man
is prey to all sin save the Spirit of
God as constructive, controlling
force comes in. The TRANSMISSION of
the soul with the vitality. of the Spirit
fills the dying heart of man with life.
There are three characteristics of
the Holy Spirit to which l wish to
direct your thought. The Holy Spirit
is constant presence in the life of
the world. a controlling energy, a
soul satisfying comforter.
The Holy Spirit is constant pres
ence and factor in the life of the
world. The entire list of graces and
gifts and blessings which are ours
at the hands OF our Heavenly Father
are constant. The gift of the Spirit
is no exception to the rule. When
God promises to men the presence
and uplift OF the Holy Spirit upon the
fulfilment of certain conditions upon
their part He means just what He
says. Our Father is not tickle or
changeable or inconstant. He is the
same to-day, yesterday and forever.
And His Spirit, which is His own real, |
personal presence in the hearts Of
men, is as constant as all else with |
which He has anything to do. When |
we were far away from duty and were |
serving sin the Spirit of the living
God was knocking ever atsour hearts. |
And though we hated ourselves and |
the depth Of our own iniquity, though |
the world may have despised us and |
forsaken us, though everything in life |
may have held us as "unclean" with ,
the -leprosy of sin, still the Spirit of |
our living. loving Father stood wait
ing to reveal to us the wealth and |
beauty of the love Of God and to re- |
vive our dying souls with the fullness /
OF power unto eternal life.
The constancy OF the Spirit as a |
factor in life is nowhere better illus
trated than in the experience of
Christian men who have given
themselves up,. in less or greater
measure, to His dominion. What a
JOY, what comfort, what stay it is
to know that whenever and whereso-
ever we may turn to the Spirit for
the portion of refreshment that our
souls so sore1y need we shall always
find IIin ready to supply our wants.