Arkansas State press. [volume] (Little Rock, Ark.) 1941-1959, 1944-02-11


The vision OF the mountain top
prepares the believer for service
down in the valley. Where there Is
no vision the people perish" said the
wise man Of old (Prov. 29l8l. For
want Of a true vision Of God, a
knowledge Of His truth. and the God.
given constraint which makes men
give themselves in saerifcial serv-
ice. the people will perish In their
sins.
But let men come to know the
truth as II is in Christ, learn to know
Him as the Son OF God glorious
and powerful. and then let them
translate their knowledge of Chris.
tan truth and their personal spiritu-
al experiences into the daily minis.
try to the needs of their fellow men.
and there will be songs of salvation
and Joy.
i. knowing wv. I'D.
The TRANSPORTATION Of Christ
doubtless meant much to Him in
preparation for His coming death
and resurrection. 1t was a fore
CLEAN of His kingdom glory.
In this lesson we are concerned
with the experience Of the disciples
rather than the feelings Of our Lord.
Fundamental in both Christian life
and service is a clear understanding
of the person and work of Christ.
One may come to Christ knowing
little more than that He Is the di-
vine Saviour. and one may enter
into Christian living with a meager
knowledge OF the doctrines Of the
Bible. But the Christian who fails to
grow in knowledge will not grow in
grace as he should.
God sets no premium on igno-
rance, in fact it is quite evident tina,
the great blight on the Christian
church today is the appalling lack
Of understanding Of Gods Word.
The disciples came to fuller con-
viction that He was the Son of God
~ they saw Him TRANSPORTED and
heard the Father say, 'This is my
beloved Son." They learned more
plainly the truth Of His coming death
for the sins Of all mankind. They
saw in the indescribable beauty Of
that moment the foregleam of His
coming glory. What important truths
these are-His deity-His redemp.
ticn-His coming kingship. Do we
have Z clear grasp Of these truths?
" mot, let us search the Scriptures.
IL Growing ". 81.
"Jesus only" He filled their
vision and their hearts. They had
made spiritual progress as they had
seen His glory and heard the com.
mending voice Of the Father.
Great experiences OF spiritual re.
nswing and power are necessary to
effective life and testimony. They
may not be In outward manifesto
ton. in fact they are more often in
the inner recesses Of the soul; but
they transform men and send them
forth to magnificent living for God.
One wonders II much of the dearth
Of power in the Christian church is
not to be attributed directly to the
lack Of such experiences with God.
The disciples had an unforgettabls
mountaintop experience. Even 50
have many others found the secret
of power.
Let us remember that such privi,
leges are not reserved for a few,
they are the birthright of every
Christian. Power without knowledge
Is dangerous and destructive thing,
but knowledge without power is q
dead thing.
Let US study Gods Word, but lei
the truth be baptized in the over.
flowing spiritual power of a personal
experience with God.
In regeneration all that Christ is
and has for us is made available.
II we have not taken out our inheri.
tance let us do it at once.
iii. Serving Wv. l7.2O.
One Of the lessons that seems hard
to learn and to keep constantly eff.
fective in the life Of a Christian is
that mountaintop experiences OF
spiritual uplift are not an end in
themselves. but preparation for
service. All too often we come to
regard such times Of peculiar bless.
ing, whether in the privacy Of our
own room or in the great confer.
ence Of Christian workers, as some.
thing which should glow warmly in
our own hearts, making us glad in
the Lord, and not as a preparation
for ministry to others.
Jesus and the disciples went up
to the place Of prayer into the place
of glory, and down to the place Of
service. How fitting Is that Sc.
quence.
Much confusion exists In the
church because those who have fool.
ishly abandoned Gods Word and
substituted the energy of the flesh
for spiritual power have been most
diligent in service TO humanity:
while those who know and accept
the truth about Christ, and who pro.
fess to believe in the power Of the
Spirlt.flled life, have failed to serve
their needy neighbors.
But Jesus took him. by the hand
and lifted him up ". 30. Verses
4 l.. = Al.