Evening star., 1916-01-08
E5unnap School 1esson[7|

OF the Deity, and each one had its own
message The sound of a mighty wind,
token of the Spirits life-giving power
The tongues of fame, each of the 120
being crowned with one, indicated not
only the purifying power. but also that
the practical purpose of the Holy
Spirits presence was to purify the in
dividual members of the church and
MT them to be witnesses of the risen
Christ to all nations The tongue sha ped
nre represented the means by which
they would win the world for Christ,
after having been filled with the Holy
Ghost the personal presence of divine
power that they needed to prepare
them for their life work, who came to
remain with the church so that Pente-
cost to the disciples of the Lord Jesus
has become suggestive of power.
Pentecostal Power.
The coming of the Spirit into the
prayer meeting changed the tide of
human history. The followers of Christ,
who scattered like sheep without a
shepherd at His arrest and betrayal
became instantly transformed into a
united. courageous. conquering army
that Immediately commenced to win
victories after they were filled with the
Holy Spirit Under His guidance the
unknown Gallilean followers of Christ
became that very day the most power
fui personalities in Jerusalem.
The new experience demanded some
expression. Modern psychology en-
aoIes us TO understand something OF
the ecstatic cries which broke from
their lips under the stress of the Holy
spirit presence and power" The evil
dence OF the penecostal power that first
called Tor an inarticulate expression
OF thanksgiving and alteration" rapidly y
drew a congregation of devout Jews
who had assembled from many lands
70 worship or live in the Holy City.
MANY plous Jews have been doing the
same thing throughout the Christian
centuries. They have come to Jeru-
salem from every country to spend
their declining years beside the sacred
temple. where they go to pray upon
every Jewish Sabbath day. and wait for
soil OF the Holy Land. BY degrees these
foreigners commence TO hear amid
the medley of sounds the gospel mes.
sage spoken in their native tongue by
some one or other of the disciples. Lis
tening carefully the devout Jews dis.
covered with amazement that every
dialect Of the dispersion was beine 2
used to proclaim the new faith. The
utter amazement with which Luke pic.
lures the first Christian conprepati
at their discovery has not ceased amonu
,ne commentators and critics of the
history OF the young church.
me descent of the Holy Spirit HAD
gwen to the band of worshipers as
'seinpied Tor prayer in the upper room
upon the hill of Zion a spiritual yisior
81 the scriptures and of their Savjor
that sent them forth into spirituai
, service. Ihey came to understand the
spiritual values of life and of every
opportunity to preach that Jesus Christ
( their friend and master had risen fro,
the dead and that He had returned ts
olFect their efforts in evangelizinp the
world. Under the inspiration OF tht
pehtecostai power they came to realize
his active presence in the world We
as we shall study the Acts of tn,
Apostles. VIII more and more be con.
vinced that we cannot separate tho
/ work of the Holy Spirit from the con,
tinued work that the Lord Jesus begar
| both to do and to teach through III,
Acts of the Apostles.
IL the apostles did not understand
the full significance of the power O
/ the Holy Spirit as it is evident tina
.he assembled multitude did not un
! or the new force in the personality O
the Holy Spirit, who came to dwell
with the Church of Christ. it is certai,
that Peters mind took in it's meaning
.hat Jesus was with them In thei
| work. even as He had promised to b,
| with them unto the end OF the age
| me conception that the enthrone,
christ was active in the affairs of tn,
church was fundamental with the earl,
| Church. We, too. need to see that th
risen Christ is still directing the af
fairs of His kingdom. He is watchfn,
over. protecting and guiding her ad
vancement through the presence of tn
Holy Spirit so that amid the terrifi
| clashes of the forces of this world Hi
church goes marching on to new vic
tories and conquests.