THE KING’S BUSINESS Though they spoke with tongues they that have an edge. His message is mes-
582
capable. When the Holy Spirit fills the messenger, the message, like an arrow, goes swift and straight to the target. “The plainer you speak, the more good you will do,” said John Wesley. Words, like ar rows, must go straight or miss their mark. Spirit-sent words always go straight. (4) Through the utterance given by the Holy Spirit Jesus Christ was set before the multitude as their Redeemer and their Right eousness. Christ was lifted up. It was not Peter who was honored and exalted, but Christ. Our part is by obedience and faith to re ceive the Holy Spirit. A little child can re ceive a present. Even the poorest beggar can take a fortune, if you hand it to him. If we search the Scriptures that w.e may know the will of Gód, and obey the light as He reveals it to us, and wait on Him in believing, expectant prayer for thè fulfill ment of His promise to give the Holy Ghost to those who ask Him, we shall not be dis appointed. In his journal, John Wesley records a thrilling testimony to the power of prayer in behalf of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. “On Monday, January 1, 1739,” he writes, “Mr. Hall, Kincham, Ing ham, Whitefield, Hutchins, and my brother Charles were present at our love-feast in Fetter-lane, with about sixty of our breth ren. About threé in the morning, as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground.” If we too wait on the Lord in faith and obedience for this great blessing we shall not be disappointed. We shall be .baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
spoke intelligently. They did not merely make incoherent noises and mutterings. The Word spoken went right home to the hearts of those who _listened. They heard them speaking of the wonderful works of God. They could not dodge the message. Each heard the Word as though he alone were listening; and their speech was with such power as to convince the people that some thing remarkable was occurring (v. 11)! THE AWAKENING The awakening was clearly supernatural. It is that kind of an awakening that this present age needs. What is needed is a re- vival that cannot be accounted for apart from the supernatural workings of God. It was such a revival that this country had in 1857-58, during the great panic. So strong was the evidence that the Holy Spirit was working, that a New York secular paper said: “This religious movement is charac terized by features which give it the im press of divine origin. To ascribe it to human agency is little short of blasphemy.” Another New York paper graphically re marked : “The great wave of religious ex citement now sweeping over the nation is one of the most remarkable movements since the Reformation. Travelers relate that, on cars and steamboats, in banks and markets, everywhere through the interior, this mat ter is the absorbing topic, Churches are crowded, bank directors’ rooms become ora tories, school-houses are turned into chapels, converts are numbered by scores of thou sands, All this goes on, moreover, quietly, with little nervous excitement or extrava gance.” Empowered by 'the Holy Spirit the preacher of the Gospel speaks with words
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker