The Winslow mail., 1923-03-16

DI6SSIu2S
that He has in store for all ages Of
World history We are invited by
Him to take our every care to Him.
That the Church is called upon. in
all ages, to be a spiritual body, with
functions of a Divinely glorious ma
ture, borne out by this and innumer-
able other Scriptural lessons and
church experiences. needs no argum-
ent to him who is prepared to accent
the Divine authority of these teach
ings.
Mental worth and intellectual pur-
suit have never been discounted by
! the Lord. Paul was a challenge to
the thinking elements of his dav.
/ From that time until now the Worlds
greatest scholarship has seriously
considered the literary and philosoph-
ical values of his teachings how
ever, the primary interest has been
centered in his championship of the
glOriOuSly revealed beauties and val
ues of the Christian Religion.
{ The text calls exclusively to no
particular church but has message
and JUNCTION for every age, BE filled
with the Spirit Christ Himself
/ enthroned the doctrine in His own
/ life and ministry. His birth was an
nounced to be under the mysterious
! operation of the Spirit Heavens
approval was placed upon Him at His
| baptism by the descent of the Spirit
i in the bodily form of dove. He was
| led of the Spirit into the Wilderness
to be tempted of the Devil. BY the
Spirit He cast out demons. Isaiah.
the Prophet, viewing the coming
years, impersonated the Christ in
these words, "The Spirit of the Lord
| GCd is upon me; because He hath
anointed me to preach good tidings
to the meek" The early Church in
JOY. prayer and song, proclaimed
their message under the Divine Spir-
It's lmpulsions and the Christ who
is the same yesterday, today and
forever, goes, in spirit, at this time
with his followers as they go out to
minister to benighted world in His
name
/ The author of the text gives pres
cription for joyful ministry of the
I Word, Being filled with the Spirit
means becoming emptied of the ele-
ments of the world that are antago-
I nlst1c to Christian development, peace
and power in carrying out the will
! and commission of the King A law
I OF Science Nature abhors a vacuum"
has lesson, by suggestion, for the
church. To ''be filled with the Spirit"
means not onlv exhaustion and dis
| placement of antagonistic elements
/ but also the milling of that spirit
and holy purpose that shuts out the
worldly spirits The Injunction here
given brings to us the idea of being
in the attitude for the oVerpowering
and milling of Gods purpose Through
! His Spirit in the special office of the
Holy Spirit. Christianity is not "a
| system Of negatives alone but with
these joined to the positives, the
doing as well as the doing not, the
being filled as we'll as being emptied.
/ Thus filled and endued the individual
believer of the Church of the New
Testament ideal and pattern, has no
trouble in abstaining from those
things that are contrary to vital
righteousness. The spirit of Christ
formed within brings the essential
satisfaction that keeps out the des-
ltructive, ungodly elements.
| 1t is quite different to have the
/ Christ Spirit formed within and to
merely seek imitation of the Christ
! life. The true artist, with the in
/ stincts and impulses of the art, al
|
vass talk as compared to the work
of one who might, after a purely per-
functory manner, give some kind of
imitation of the real artistic produc-
4 ton. The world looks not for theory
from the Church of the living God
| but wants to see the reproduction,
in the lives of the Church, of those
qualities that Christianity proclaims
to it as the remedy for the existent
evils that have brought sorrow and
destruction to the human race, Re-
gardless of it's claims, as to it's wish
es and ideas of Christian standards,
the World respects not the cOmpro-
misses of the Church that brings it
to a plane from which it has no ap-
cal for the higher moral and
spiritual grounds. The truly Scrip
tural and spiritual idea, of course,
is not that which deprives the believ-
er of the best in his life's relation
ship. 1t does not mean that the fol-
/ lower of the lowly NaZarene is to
shut himself out from the world and
thus deprive himself of the associa-
ton and fellowship with the beauties
and glories of nature and lives about
him. AS social creatures, by the
design of the Creator, we hunger for
] a. fellowship in social contact and
pleasures offered by Society's touch
but under such inflling and illum1-
nation the line of demarcatiOn be-
tween the evil and the good is dis
corned.
In our call from God our Faith
er. as a church, shall we stand for
such methods and principles as to
bring Heavens approval in our mis-
sion in dealing with the sons of men?
Shall we honestly face the question
of our deadiness to pay the price for
Gods best for us, a church to truly
| fill a God-given ministry as we touch
the heart of sin-stricken world?
BY the recognition of these spiritual