The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-01-17

them. Only about eighty per cent
OF the ten go Sunday morning. Some
folks never go near. never could
understand why Gods sheep want to
leave the Lords slower patches and
go up the back alieX and chew rags
and tin cans with the devils billy
goats.
All the 100 knew Jesus better than
anybody e lse. No two knew him ex-
actly the same way, but they all owed
him. II don't see. how the theme of
"a Tsr,'1reeung cou,d bs nyTfnn,sHu,ne
than Jesus Christ. We have got so
many people in our churches at the
head of things--alI these deacons and
stewards In elders and committee
men and Sunday school teachers that
don't know Jesus Christ. They know
something about him but they don't
know him. So. Of course, they are
rot in sympathy with the revival eff
fort. They have never been converted
themselves. II they were l would o
be here. II they were converted they
would be in sympathy with God.
1t is said hat If Moody had his life
to live over again he would go into a
town and preach a month and never
give an invitation to the unsaved,
preaching to arouse and stir up the
dead back to church. 1t took Moody
all his life to learn, my friends. that
that should have been done today.
He used to go in and preach and the
first night give the invitation to the
unsaved. Later on ne discovered tha.
It was wrong. He ought to have spent
all his time preaching in the church
and getting them before God, and
then they would go out and do 1t inY
stead OF expecting somebody e lse to
wear his life out doing it.
Now. they all knew Jesus. and when
they arm together fresh from the
Mount of Olives. they watched him
rising slowly out OF their sight. and
they would all tell about the last hour
they were with him. and about the
last words. and every word that he
uttered. and every promise would be
-FAmetseeFed -asd-~epla- be to
somebody else. They'd all have some
thing TO say and that would go on day
after day.
Oh, the best way to AXE strife, and
pull and fight. and factions, and feuds,
out OF individuals and the church.
for the devils cheers every time they
have q church scrap-is to get every
body to know Jesus Christ And IL
some stranger had happened TO ac-
tualiy stroll into that meeting. sat
there for five nuts and listened to
their testimony, he would have had
born within him a desire to know this
jesus shat NAG uono 20 nucn Tor the
world.
Need the A~tmosphere-
Now. what Is needed to produce g
revival Is an atmosphere where every
body Is in sympathy and praying. and
know Jesus. There wasn't a knocker
in the bunch: not a one. Now. an
other thing. The last promise that
Jesus gave to His disciples just before
he went over to the cross was, And
\ Wttf nYEv- fhA I'm tnpr@ md h1-rAnf3
give you another comforter, and he
may abide with you forever" n
the last promise that he made to them
after his crucihxion and resurrection,
and just before His ascesion was this,
"Ye shall receive power after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon O And
the last thought hat Jesus had for His
disciples before he went on the cross,
and the last thought He had for His
disciples before he went TO heaven
were for the same thing. 1T want you
to have power" And He wants His
church to have power today. They
haven't got II for they don't believe
in Jesus Christ They are a lot Of
iGod-forsaken ,fnAdels. h e e tfc al
preachers. standing out In orthodox
puipits. %spouting n pouring out
damnab1s lies. and you know IL.
I kno preachers that are preach
ing more tornmyrot and falsehood than
ever. David Swing, Of Chicago o.
preached when they kicked him out.
know Methodist preachers that are
preaching ten times more tommyrot
than DR., Thomas preached when they
kicked him out None are immune I
know Congregationalist preachers. Uni
t~ariana. and every other denomination
that do the same. II know Baptist
preachers that preach anything under
heaven hut the truth.
That la fhA crNat srN.sNHa ~yt&k sa
/ today. That is why more OF us haven't
got the power. We have denied the
atoning blood Of Jesus Christ and the
cardinal doctrines OF the Son OF God.
Now think Of III He had lived with
those disciples for years. Yes. and he
had taught them. He gave them power
to- perform miracles. and He cast out
devils. Yet he said. You need the
power of the Holy Ghost II you are go
ing to do the work after ! go away. II
] go not away, the comforter will not
come. II Is expedient that l go away"
Now. you never win succeed with
out the Holy Spirit. Never! There can
be no substitute. There is no substi-
tute for the sun: there 10 no substi-
tute for blood; there is no substitute
for life; there n no substitute for Nhe
gospel: God Will damn any preacher
that's trying to inject Q lot OF social
service and other stun as a substitute
TOT the ROspei OK Jesus CnFlet- ! am
not opposed to your social service: I
am opposed to anything that Is trying
to tax away the gospel of Jesus
Christ. People are not saved by words:
they are saved by faith in the Son of
God.
An these things arc all right in
their place. but the trouble IL. we are
trying to put h gospel ont of its
place. There Il no substitute TOR saliva
tion.. We must all come the same, way
or we are forever lost. M you ma
organize, you may repair and you
may have the best singing m the best
preaching, but you never will have
power without the Holy Ghost.
rye shall receive power after the
Holy Ghost has come upon you" Now.
then. You viii all agree that no mat
ter what gifts n man or woman may
POSSESS: no matter what Sc%ffpfurar
knowledge ne or she may have: they
never will have power without the
Spirit of God. Never! You have all
heard people pray. M I have-Oh. they
could touch the stars in their prayers,
And l have heard people preach. 9 Oh.
they were peaches and they were ora
tors, and they would have the tntona-
tons OF voice. and they could wo-oo-oo-
murder! But 1t made no more impress