The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1939-02-02

power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord OF
lhosts.-Zechariah AS.
We need a revival. With one ac-
cord leaders of the Church agree
on that point although they may diff
fer widely on other matters. So
cial and civic leaders agree. One
prominent government official re-
Gently said that the only hope for
the world in this hour of conflict
and confusion was a return to the
Christian faith of our fathers. He
was but one of many outstanding
men who have expressed such a
belief
How may such a revival of faith
toward God with it's quickening Of
the believer and the resultant sal
walton of sinners) be brought about?
Certainly it is not in the power of
man to produce it, although he does
have a vital part in surrendering
himself to Gods plan and purpose
so that He may work again in the
midst of His people. Our lesson for
today clearly indicates how God
worked on Pentecost, namely,
through a Spirit-flled people, pro-
claiming His own Word, with aston
ishing results following. Will not
God work in the same way today if
we only give Him a chance?
1. An Amazing Spiritual Expert
ence wv, II, 49,.
Read the first II verses of this
chapter and you will learn of the
coming of the Holy Spirit upon the
disciples-as the rushing of a
mighty wind, in tongues of fire, and
in the ability to proclaim the Word
of God to all men.
There is no use talking about an
other Pentecost as though God
needs to repeat that marvellous day.
But the essence of what occurred
on Pentecost is the deep need of
both individual Christians and of the
Church today. In much Zone is al
most ready to say most) of our
Christian work there is not only a
failure to recognize the Holy Spirit,
but what appears to be an actual
ignoring of Him. One of the great
experiences of literally thousands of
students who have come under the
writer's care during the years is
their sudden understanding of the
fact that the Holy Spirit is a person
yes, a convicting, generating, d.
,recting, and energizing member of
the divine Trinity, working in and
through man.
III. An Effective Spiritual Message
wv. 14-18, SO. See also Wv. 1880.
The characteristics of real COS
pei message are found here. First
of all there must be a Spirit-filled
preacher. He may be a minister or
he may be layman, but if the
Spirit of God is upon him, there
will be the right kind of message.
That message will not be an es-
say, book review, or dissertation on
social or civic problems, but an ex-
position of the Word of God. Note
that Peter preached and interpreted
prophecy subject which no
preacher should neglect-but that
he did so not for the purpose of hav-
ing sensational sermon subject,
but in order to reveal the glories of
the person and work of Christ-a
lesson some preachers need to
learn.
The manner of preaching is also
important. Peter was definite, ear
nest, bold, and decidedly personal
in his preaching. A man who is
speaking in the energy of the flesh
should beware of such marks upon
his preaching, but Spirit-flled man
should rejoice in the holy holiness
and assurance which the Holy Spirit
gives. He will be delivered from
any temptations to be extreme or
unkind, but will at the same time
be led to say those things which
will prick the hearts of people and
cause them to turn to Christ.
iii. An Appropriate Spiritual Re-
suit wv. BAD.
We often say that there is very lit
tie old-time conviction of sin today,
<aIlu d1dS, IL IS all LOO true. 1t is not
even the privilege of many spiritu-
ally-minded preachers who present
a true gospel to see such a response
as Peter saw on Pentecost. But
that does not mean that the Spirit is
not working.
God does not hold us responsible
for outward evidence of results. He
does hold every teacher and preach
er responsible for faithful discharge
of his sacred stewardship. That in
cludes more than the public minis
try of teaching a Sunday School
class or preaching a sermon. 1t
means that the individuals life is
right with God-no trickery, no dis
honesty, no double dealing with God
or man; life yielded to the control
OF the Holy Spirit. Next comes dill
gence in study of Gods Word, and
a willingness to proclaim its whole
truth without fear or favor, in sea-
son and out of season.
The Living Word