Cleveland County herald., 1920-08-12

and death. In
 Iy 1<sW -R@ 8 fallen human na-
 ture there is darkness and death until the Spirit Of God moves, bringing light and life.
 There is a popular fallacy which says that an unregenerated man may grow better. This idea rises from the failure to distinguish between the moral and spiritual clements. It is true that, to outward appearance, there may be moral improvement but this Improvement is merely like re- moving the scum from the top of a pool Of Stagnant water. It does not aHec the character and condition of the water which produces the scum. 1t is as Peter says, merely escaping the pollutions which are in the world" The enc who is born of the Spirit of God not only escapes the pollutiGns which are in the world. but the corruption from which the pollu- tfons rise QI Peter Al.
 Second. Until born of the Spirit of God, there is nothing but dense igno- rance, void of all spiritual truth. No man kn0Weth the things of God save the Spirit of God" q Cor. 2:1D. Hence, without the instruction of the Spirit of God there can be no knowl- edge of God Nature may teach con corning the eternal power and deity of God, and history may teach concerning the providence of God, and science may teach something of the mar vicious accuracy of the divine power, but It remains true that man by wisdom, (whether of nature. his tory or science) knows not God" All the movements for a higher type of morality among men which originate apart from the Spirit of God, must necessarily have man as their object and, therefore, can reach no higher than man himself.
 Without the work of the Holy Spirit man must abide in absolute igno- rance of the things of God, wholly void of any spiritual truth
 Third. Until the Holy Spirit oper- ates, a man is void of power, in a
 
 nc natural strength which enabled Samson to do those exploits which are credited to him. Had Samson been a physical giant, there would have been no question in the woman's mind, as to where his strength lay. He was naturally weak man until "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson.' enabling him to perform the feats which so nOnplusSed his ad- versaries.
 David was little more than boy when he met Goliath. He had no natural ability to cope with the Phil istine, but with the Spirit of God upon him he overcame the champion of the enemy of his people,
 Gideon had only three hundred op- posed to the host of the Midianites, yet, by the operation of the Holy Spirit Gideon's band came off vic torious
 The apostles were men ignorant and unlearned" yet all the learning and wisdom of the greatest ecclesias- tical court the world has ever seen, could not confound them. The power of these men lay not in their learn ing but in "the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him" The last word of our Lord to them before he ascended on high was, ''Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you"
 TTNl~e Q gold, yet he turned the world up- side down." Not in physical strength and not in numbers, neither in the earning of the schools, nor the wealth )f the world does spiritual power lie, md this is borne out by the words ,f the prophet Zechariah, who de- ,lares that the work of God is to be lone mot by might nor by power, but y my Spirit" said the Lord.
 Enough has been said to show that man will have any part of spir- tual life, be relieved from his spir- tual ignorance and be clothed with piritual power, there must be on the ,art of that man a full surrender to he Holy Spirit of God: and If any | nan will possess the Holy Spirit of l 5od he must be willing to accept the | )ne whom that Spirit has come to mpart, even the Lord Jesus Christ | The acceptance and acknowledgment | if the Lord Jesus Christ as ones per onal Saviour is the doorway to the | experience of the new birth, and the l lew birth is the doorway of a spir- tually enlightened mind, and such an mind Is the doorway to mower