March 1943
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"Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant" (Psa. 78:36, 37).
"Thy heart is not right in the sight of God" (Acts 8:21),
Thy .Heart in the Sight of God By VANCE HAVNER
P HILIP, the evangelist, had a great meeting in Samaria. It bore all the marks of a real politics or propaganda. The 'people with one accord gave heed: they did not merely hear—they heeded; they hid the Word in their hearts, not mere ly in their heads. The devil came out of them as he always does before a Spirit-filled ministry of Christ. And there was - great joy Jn that city, an inevitable consequence of a true awakening where the S p i r i t is not quenched and Pharisaic dignity has
not squelched the "amens” and “hal lelujahs” of the saints. Counterfeit Power There was another mark of a real stir in the old city: the devil got busy with a counterfeit. Ever since the magicians withstood Moses, Satan has imitated every work of God. A sure mark of a revival is the devil’s effort to match it. But the appearance of an imitation should encourage rather than discourage us. The .adversary never bothers to stir up competition where nothing is going on. The pres ence of the counterfeit proves the pres
ence of the real. We do not have counterfit Confederate money down Sbuth because there is no genuine Confederate money in circulation. When Simon the sorcerer rises up, there is a Philip in town. Have you noticed how, in a testimony meeting, the devil o f t e n raises up a crank somewhere to spoil the meeting? I have known cases where the saints hesitated to have a season of testi mony for fear some fanatic would run away with the meeting. But wherever you have a light you will [Continued on Page 91]
awakening. He preached Christ, not
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