The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1908-06-05
The Pulpit |
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A SERMON ~. @
BY TIE REV. AXas&
fMMHlNDEeS0NW
Theme: Divine Indwel1ing.

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 is
reason enough for us to believe that
the kingdom begins in this life and
at once, If 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
stration that spirituality is the key to,
and the essence of, and the first re-
quirement of admission to the king
dom. The one and only way to par
ticipate in the joys and blessings OF
the Spirit filled life is to cease from
hardness of heart, and from intellec-
tual Standardization 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-
flying, 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 wisdom and energy
which are more than sufficient to NEE.
the demands and the opposition of
the world.
No mere impersonal, unreal, I'M
attainable something is this Spirit
which Christ babe His disciples re-
ceive, and of which at a later time
they received fuller measure. 1t is
the real, helpful, personal presence
of God in the life. The spirit of man
is a 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 tc
direct your thought. The Holy Spirit
is constant presence in the life of
the world, a controlling energy, 9
soul satisfying comforter.
The Holy Spirit is a 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
fulf11ment of certain conditions upon
their part He means just what He.
says. Our Father is not tickle OF
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 at our 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
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
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 sorely need we shall always
find Him ready to supply our wants.
There is no sense and no reason in
much of our constant petition to God
to inf1ll us with His Spirit The in
fldences of types of thought and of
prayer are hardly escapable. We
have grown so accustomed to ask
God to fill us with His Spirit
of power. But I submit, would we
not pray better and more to the point
if we thanked our Father for the
favors of His love and acknowledged
to Him in person, what He already
knows, our shortcomings and our lack
of appropriation of the gift of His
Spirit. The showers of spiritual
blessings are forever falling free, full
and suffi"iert~~upon human souls
Everywhere. Our prayers should not
be of petition that God may give US
showers, but rather of thanksgiving
for past, present and future blessings
and of dedication of self, through the
riches of His grace and powers to
finer and more fruitful life for Him
Inc presence ana lnnuenc6 OIL the
Holy Spirit in the life of the world is
a constant gratuity. If you are not
the deeply grounded spiritual man
that you should be the fault lies not
with the Spirit, of which there is
abundance unto all mems necessity.
but with you who have refused that
wealth of spiritual power which, I'm.
der God, might (e yours if you would
Everywhere anu continually the Spirit
of the Lord is active. He knocks
ever at the door of the sinners heart.
He IS forever pouring out the mex
haustibie waters of spiritual life upon
the parched souls of men. But neither
God nor His Spirit can fill an in
verified cup. The showers of blessings
can not food a closed heart
Then, too, the Holy Spirit is con-
trolling energy in the life Of the
man who is susceptible to His intiu-
ence. Christ tells us that His Spirit
shall lead us unto all truth; that He
shall be our Guide, our Teacher and
our Helper. The catalog of the activ-
tiles of the Spirit in the life of man