connections. "But," you say, "we do not want to break connections." No,
_you_ do not. But there is someone else who does. Since you have put
yourself into intimate contact with Jesus this someone else has become
intensely interested in breaking that contact. And this enemy of ours,
this Satan, the hater, is subtle and deep and experienced and more than
a match for any of us. But greater is He that is now in you than he that
is in the world. Satan will do his best by bold attack and cunning
deceit to tamper with your couplings.
One of the saddest sights, and yet a not uncommon one, is to see a man
who has been mightily used of God, but whose usefulness is now wholly
gone. One can run back through only recent years and recall, one after
another, those through whom multitudes were blessed, but who, yielding
to some subtle temptation, have utterly and forever lost their
opportunity Of service. The same is true of scores in more secluded
circles whose lives, spiritually blighted and dwarfed, tell the same sad
story.
These recent instances are but repetitions of older ones. Three times
the writer of Judges tells of Samson that "the spirit of the Lord came
mightily upon him," and then is added the pathetic sentence--"but he
wist not that the Lord was departed from him." And between the two
occurs the story of an act of disobedience. Twice the same thing is
recorded of King Saul, "the spirit of God came mightily upon him," and
the same sequel follows, "the spirit of the Lord had departed." And
between the two is found an act of disobedience to God's command. The
ninth of Luke tells a similar story. The disciples had been given power;
had used the power for others; were requested to relieve a demonized
boy; had tried to; had expected to; but utterly failed, to their own
chagrin, and the father's disappointment, amid the surprise and
criticism of the crowd. The Master explains that a slipshod connection
with God was at the bottom of their failure. Power is not stored in us
apart from God's presence. It merely passes through as He has sway. Once
the connection between Him and you is disturbed, the flow of power is
interrupted. We do not run on the storage battery plan, but on the
trolley plan. Constant communication with the source of power is
absolutely essential. The spirit of God never leaves us. We do not lose
His presence. But whatever grieves Him prevents His presence being
manifest. The _evidence_ of His presence may be lost through wrongdoing.
So I want to give you in very brief compass _the three laws_ of the life
of power--continued and increasing power. I wish some one had given them
to me long ago. It might have saved me many a bad break.
_The first law_ can be put in a single word--_obey_. Obedience is the
great foundation law of the christian life. Indeed it is the common
fundamental law of all organization, in nature, in military, naval,
commercial, political and domestic circles. Obedience is the great
essential to securing the purpose of life. Disobedience means disaster.
If you turn to scripture you must read almost every page if you would
get all the statements and illustrations of obedience and its opposite.
Begin with the third of Genesis, where the first disastrous act of
disobedience brought a ruin still going on. Run through the three
wilderness books, where the new nation is grouped about the smoking
mountain. Listen in Deuteronomy to the old man Moses talking during the
thirty days' conference they had in Moab's plains before he was taken
away. Then into Joshua's book of victory and the Judges' dark story of
defeats, through the kingdom books, and the prophecies, and you will
find the changes rung more frequently upon _obedience_ than anything
else. The same is true of the New Testament clear to the last column of
the last page.
The fact is, every heart is a battlefield whose possession is being
hotly contested. If Jesus is in possession Satan is trying his best by
storm or strategy to get in. If Satan be in possession whether as a
coarse or a cultured Satan, then Jesus is lovingly storming the door.
Satan _can_ not get in without your consent, and Jesus _will_ not. An
act of obedience to God is slamming the door in Satan's face, and
opening it wider for Jesus' control. Listen with your heart! An act of
disobedience, however slight, as _you_ think, is slamming the door of
your heart in Jesus' face and flinging it open to Satan's entrance. Is
that mere rhetoric? It is cold fact. No, it is hot fact. The first great
simple law is obedience.
But someone asks, "How shall I know what--whom, to obey? Sometimes the
voices coming to my ear seem to be jarring voices; they do not agree.
Pastors do not all agree: churches are not quite agreed on some matters:
my best friends think differently: how shall I know?" Here comes in _the
second law_, _Obey the book of God as interpreted by the Spirit of God_.
Not the book alone. That will lead into superstition. Not to say the
Spirit without the book He has indited. That will lead to fanaticism.
But the book as interpreted by the Spirit, and the Spirit as He speaks
through His book. There is a voice of God, and a Spirit of God and a
book of God. God speaks by His Spirit through His word Sometimes He
speaks directly without the written word. But _very, very rarely_. The
mental impressions by which the Spirit guides are frequent. But I am
speaking now, not of that but of His audible inner voice. He is chary in
the use of that. And when he so speaks the _test_ is that, of necessity,
the voice of God always agrees with itself. The spoken word is never out
of harmony with the written word. And as He has given us the written
word, it becomes our standard of His will. This book of God was
inspired. It _is_ inspired. God spoke in it. He speaks in it to-day. You
will be surprised to find how light on every sort of question will come
through this in-Spirited book.
But someone with a practical turn of mind is thinking: "but it is such a
big book. I do not know much about it. I read the psalms some, and some
chapters in Isaiah, and the gospels and some in the epistles, but I have
no grasp of the whole book; and your second law seems a little beyond
me." Then _you_ listen to the third law, namely: _time alone with the
book daily_. It should be unhurried time. Time enough not to think about
time. At least a half hour every day, I would suggest, and preferably
the first half hour of the morning, rising at least early enough to get
this bit of time before any duty can claim you. It may seem very
difficult for some. But it is an absolute essential, for the first two
laws depend on this one for their practical force.
When Joshua, trembling, was called upon to assume the stupendous task of
being Moses' successor, God came and had a quiet talk with him. In that
talk He emphasized just one thing as the secret of his new leadership.
Listen: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but
thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to
do according to all that is written therein." There are the three laws
straight from the lips of God, packed into a single sentence.
Let us plan to get alone with the Master daily over His word, with the
door shut, other things shut out, and ourselves shut in, that we may
learn His will, and get strength to do it. And when in doubt _wait_.
FOOTNOTES:
[7] 1 Cor. xii. 13.
[8] Luke xxiv. 49.
[9] That is to make perfectly plain that this experience was for _all_:
a very difficult fact for these intensely Jewish disciples to grasp.
(1) Not limited to the original one hundred and twenty, but for the
whole body of Jewish disciples--Acts iv.
(2) For the hated half-breed Samaritans--Acts viii.
(3) For the "dogs" of Gentiles--Acts x.
(4) For individual disciples anywhere, and at any distance in time from
Pentecost--Acts xix.
[10] Acts i: 8; ii: 17, 33; viii: 15; x: 45; xix: 6.
[11] (1) Luke iv. 18, quo. from Isa. lxi: 1. (2) Acts iv: 27. (3) Acts
x: 38. (4) Heb. i: 9, quotation from Ps. xlv: 7.
[12] 2 Cor. i: 21.
[13] 1 John i: 20, 27.
[14] 2 Cor. i: 22. Eph. i: 13; iv: 30.
[15] 2 Cor. i: 22; v: 5. Eph. i: 14.
[16] Romans viii: 23.
THE FLOOD-TIDE OF POWER.
God's Highest Ideal.
A flood-tide is a rising tide. It flows in and fills up and spreads out.
Wherever it goes it cleanses and fertilizes and beautifies. For untold
centuries Egypt has depended for its very life upon the yearly
flood-tide of the Nile. The rich bottom lands of the Connecticut Valley
are refertilized every spring by that river's flood-tide. The green
beauty and rich fruitage of some parts of the Sacramento Valley, whose
soil is flooded by the artificial irrigation-rivers, are in sharp
contrast with adjoining unwatered portions.
The flood-tide is caused by influences from above. In the ocean and the
portions of rivers under its influence by the heavenly bodies. In the
rivers by the fall of rain and snow swelling successively the upper
streams and lakes.
God's highest ideal for men is frequently expressed under the figure of
a river running at flood-tide. Ezekiel's vision of the future capital of
Israel gives prominence to a wonderful river gradually reaching
flood-tide and exerting untold influence.
John's companion vision of the future church in the closing chapters of
Revelation finds its radiating center in an equally wonderful river of
water of life. When Jesus would give a picture of a christian man up to
His ideal He exclaims, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water." John's explanation years after was that He was speaking of the
Holy Spirit's presence in the human life. Jesus' ideal would put our
lives at the flood-tide. No ebb-tide there. No rise and fall. But a
constant flowing in and filling up and flooding out.
Love is ambitious. God is love. And therefore God is ambitious for us.
In the best sense of the word He is ambitious for our lives. The old
impression has been that salvation is for the soul, and for heaven.
Well, it is for the soul, and it is for heaven, but it is for the
present life and for this earth. Some of God's most far-reaching plans
have to do with this earth. To-night we want to get a glimpse of God's
ambitious ideal for our lives down here; something of an understanding
of the _results_ of the unrestrained presence within us of His Holy
Spirit.
It is not surprising that there have been some mistaken ideas about the
results. It has been a common supposition that somehow the baptism of
the Holy Spirit is always connected with an evangelistic gift and,
further, connected with marked success in soul-winning. Men have thought
of Mr. Moody facing great crowds, who were swayed and melted at his
words, and of people in great multitudes accepting Christ. Probably the
world has never had a finer illustration of a Spirit-filled man than in
dear old Moody. And it is not to be wondered at that the rare
evangelistic gift of service with which he was endowed and the great
results attending it should be so closely allied in our minds with the
Spirit-filled life which he exemplified so unusually. In sharp contrast
however with that conception will you note that we are told over here in
Exodus of a man named Bezalel[17] who was filled with the Spirit of God
that he might have skill in carpentry, in metal working, and weaving of
fine fabrics, for the construction of the old tent of God. Will you note
further that a company of seventy men[18] were filled in a like manner
that they might be skilled in conducting the business affairs of the
nation; and that Luke tells of Elizabeth[19] being filled that she might
become a true mother for John.
A second misconception has been that marked success always accompanies
the Spirit's control. In contrast with that will you please note the
results in some of the Spirit-swayed men whom God used in Bible times.
Isaiah was called to a service that was to be barren of results, though
long continued; and Jeremiah's was not only fruitless but with great
personal peril. Jesus' public work led through a rough path to a crown
of thorns and a cross. Stephen's testimony brought him a storm of
stones. And Paul passed through great danger and distress to a cell,
and beyond, a keen-edged ax. These are leaders among Spirit-filled men.
Paul's teaching in the Corinthian epistle helps one to a clear
understanding about results. He explains that while it is one Spirit
dwelling in all who acknowledge Jesus as Lord, yet the _evidence_ of His
presence differs widely in different persons. It is one God working all
things in all persons, but with great variety in the gifts bestowed, in
the service with which they are intrusted, and in the inner experiences
they are conscious of.[20]
What results then may be expected to follow the filling of the Holy
Spirit? It may be said in a sentence that Jesus fills us with the same
Spirit that filled Himself that He may work out in us His own image and
ideal, _and_ make use of us in His passionate reaching out after others.
If we attempt to analyze these results we shall find them falling into
three groups. First--results in the _life_, that is in the inner
experiences, and the habits. Second--results in the _personality_, that
is in the appearance, and the mental faculties. Third--results in
_service_. Let us look a little at each of these.
A Transfigured Life.
First regarding the inner experiences. Without doubt the first result
experienced will be a new sense of _peace_: a glad, quiet stillness of
spirit which nothing seems able to disturb. The heart will be filled
with a peace still as the stars, calm as the night, deep as the sea,
fragrant as the flowers.
How many thousands of lips have lovingly lingered over those sweet
strong words: "The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall
guard your heart and thought in Christ Jesus." It is God's peace. It
acts as an armed guard drawn up around heart and thoughts to keep unrest
out. It is too subtle for intellectual analysis, but it steals into and
steadies the heart. You cannot understand it but you can feel it. You
cannot get hold of it with your head, but you can with your heart. You
do not get it. It gets you. You need not understand in order to
experience. Blessed are they that have not understood and yet have
yielded and experienced.
"Peace beginning to be
Deep as the sleep of the sea
When the stars their faces glass
In its blue tranquillity:
Hearts of men upon earth
That rested not from their birth
To rest, as the wild waters rest,
With the colors of heaven on their breast."
With that will come a new intense longing to do the Master's will; to
_please Him_. As the days come and go this will come to be the
master-passion of this new life. It will drive one with a new purpose
and zest to studying the one book which tells His will. That book
becomes literally the book of books to the Spirit-dominated man.
With that will come a new desire to talk with this new Master, who talks
to you in His word, and is ever at your side sympathetically listening.
His book reveals Himself. And better acquaintance with Him will draw you
oftener aside for a quiet talk. The _pleasure_ of praying will grow by
leaps and bounds. Nothing so inspires to prayer as reverent listening to
His voice. Frequent use of the ears will result in more frequent use of
the voice in prayer and praise. And more: Prayer will come to be a part
of service. Intercession will become the life mission.
But I must be frank enough to tell you of another result, which is as
sure to come as these--_there will be conflict_. You will be tempted
more than ever. Temptations will come with the subtlety of a snake; with
the rush of a storm; with the unexpected swiftness of a lightning flash.
You see the act of surrender to Jesus is a notice of fight to another.
You have changed masters, and the discarded master does not let go
easily. He is a trained, toughened fighter. You will think that you
never had so many temptations, so strong, so subtle, so trying, so
unexpected. But listen--_there will be victory_! Truth goes in pairs.
You will be tempted. The devil will attend to that. That is one truth.
Its companion truth is this: you will be victorious over temptation as
the new Master has sway. Your new Master will attend to that. Great and
cunning and strong is the tempter. Do not underrate him. But greater is
He that is in you. You cannot overrate Him. He got the victory at every
turn during those thirty-three years, and will get it for you as many
years and turns as shall make out the span of your life. Your one
business will be to let Him have full control.
Still another result, of the surprising sort, will be a new feeling
about _sin_. There will be an increased and increasing _sensitiveness_
to sin. It will seem so hateful whether coarse or cultured. You will
shrink from contact with it. There will also be a growing sense of the
_sinfulness_ of that old heart of yours, even while you may be having
constant victory over temptation. Then, too, there will grow up a
yearning, oh! such a heart-yearning as cannot be told in words, _to be
pure_, really pure in heart.
A seventh result will be an intense desire to get others to know your
wonderful Master. A desire so strong, gripping you so tremendously, that
all thought of sacrifice will sink out of sight in its achievement. He
is such a Master! so loving, so kind, so wondrous! And so many do not
know Him: have wrong ideas about Him. If they only _knew_ Him--that
surely would settle it. And probably these two--the desire to please
Him, and the desire to get others to know Him will take the _mastery_ of
your ambition and life.
The All-Inclusive Passion.
But all of these and much more is included in one of Paul's packed
phrases which may be read, "the _love_ of God hath _flooded_ our hearts
through the Holy Spirit given unto us."[21] The all-inclusive result is
_love_. That marvelous tender passion--the love of God--heightless,
depthless, shoreless, shall _flood_ our hearts, making us as gentle and
tender-hearted and self-sacrificing and gracious as He. Every phase of
life will become a phase of love. Peace is love resting. Bible study is
love reading its lover's letters. Prayer is love keeping tryst. Conflict
with sin is love jealously fighting for its Lover. Hatred of sin is love
shrinking from that which separates from its lover. Sympathy is love
tenderly feeling. Enthusiasm is love burning. Hope is love expecting.
Patience is love waiting. Faithfulness is love sticking fast. Humility
is love taking its true place. Modesty is love keeping out of sight.
Soul-winning is love pleading.
Love is revolutionary. It radically changes us, and revolutionizes our
spirit toward all others. Love is democratic. It ruthlessly levels all
class distinctions. Love is intensely practical. It is always hunting
something to do. Paul lays great stress on this outer practical side. Do
you remember his "fruit of the Spirit"?[22] It is an analysis of love.
While the first three--"love, joy, peace"--are emotions within, the
remaining six are outward toward others. Notice, "long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness," and then the climax is
reached in the last--"self-control." And in his great love passage in
the first Corinthian epistle,[23] he picks out four of these last six,
and shows further just what he means by love in its practical working in
the life. "Long-suffering" is repeated, and so is "kindness" or
"goodness." "Faithfulness" is reproduced in "never faileth." Then
"self-control" receives the emphasis of an eight-fold repetition of
"nots." Listen:--"Envieth not," "boasteth not," "not puffed up," "not
unseemly," "seeketh not (even) her own," "is not provoked," "taketh not
account of evil" (in trying to help others, like Jesus' word "despairing
of no man"[24]), "rejoiceth not in unrighteousness" (that is when the
unrighteous is punished, but instead feels sorry for him). What
tremendous power of self-mastery in those "nots"! Then the positive side
is brought out in four "alls"; two of them--the first and last--passive
qualities, "beareth all things," "endureth all things." And in between,
two active "hopeth all things," "believeth all things." The passive
qualities doing sentinel duty on both sides of the active. These passive
traits are intensely active in their passivity. There is a busy time
under the surface of those "nots" and "alls." What a wealth of
underlying power they reveal! Sometimes folks think it sentimental to
talk of love. Probably it is of some stuff that shuffles along under
that name. But when the Holy Spirit talks about it, and fills our hearts
with it there is seen to be an intensely practical passion at work.
Love is not only the finest fruit, but it is the final test of a
christian life. How many splendid men of God have seemed to lack here.
What a giant of faith and strength Elijah was. Such intense indignation
over sin! Such fearless denunciation! What tremendous faith gripping the
very heavens! What marvelous power in prayer. Yet listen to him
criticising the faithful remnant whom God lovingly defends against his
aspersions. There seems a serious lack there. God seems to understand
his need. He asks him to slip down to Horeb for a new vision of his
Master. And then He revealed Himself not in whirlwind nor earthquake nor
lightning. He doubtless felt at home among these tempestuous outbreaks.
They suit his temper. But something startlingly new came to him in that
exquisite "sound of gentle stillness," hushing, awing, mellowing, giving
a new conception of the dominant heart of his God. Some of us might well
drop things, and take a run down to Horeb.
I know an earnest scholarly minister with strong personality, and
fearless in his preaching against sin, but who seems to lack this spirit
of love. He is so cuttingly critical at times. The other ministers of
his town whom he might easily lead, shy off from him. There is no
magnetism in the edge of a razor. His critical spirit can be felt when
his lips are shut. I recall a woman, earnest, winsome when she chooses
to be, an intelligent Bible student, keen-scented for error, a generous
giver, but what a sharp edge her tongue has. One is afraid to get close
lest it may cut.
When the Holy Spirit takes possession there is _love_, aye, more, a
_flood_ of love. Have you ever seen a flood? I remember one in the
Schuylkill during my boyhood days and how it impressed me. Those who
live along the valley of that treacherous mountain stream, the Ohio,
know something of the power of a flood. How the waters come rushing
down, cutting out new channels, washing down rubbish, tearing valuable
property from its moorings, ruling the valley autocratically while men
stand back entirely helpless.
Would you care to have a flood-tide of love flush the channelways of
your life like that? It would clean out something you have preferred
keeping. It would with quiet, ruthless strength, tear some prized
possessions from their moorings and send them adrift down stream and
out. Its high waters would put out some of the fires on the lower
levels. Better think a bit before opening the sluice-ways for that
flood. But ah! it will sweeten and make fragrant. It will cut new
channels, and broaden and deepen old ones. And what a harvest will
follow in its wake. Floods are apt to do peculiar things. So does this
one. It washes out the friction-grit from between the wheels. It does
not dull the edge of the tongue, but washes the bitter out of the mouth,
and the green out of the eye. It leaves one deaf and blind in some
matters, but much keener-sighted and quicker-eared in others. Strange
flood that! Would that we all knew more of it.
The Fullness of the Stature of a Man.