The Irresistible Power of the Holy Spirit Now we come to the third thought I wish to im press upon you as one of the dominating principles of action in your lives as Christian workers and soul- winners: The Irresistsible Power of the Holy Spirit. This all-important truth is set forth in our third text, Acts 1:8: “ Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” and in our fourth text, Acts 6:10: "And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.” Please lose sight of me standing here and see our Lord Jesus Christ saying these words to His dis ciples on a similar occasion when He was about to leave them and they were about to enter upon the work for which He had trained them: “ Ye shall receive power when the Holy Ghost is come upon you!" There is only one kind of power that counts in any kind of Christian service, the power of the Holy Spirit. The power that comes from correct, exact and complete knowledge such as you have received in the class room and the power that comes from ability to ex press what you know in correct, chaste, forceful Eng lish is important. The power that comes from effec tive delivery is greatly to be desired. But the only power that counts is Holy Ghost power. Paul put it: “ My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (I Cor. 2:4, 5). It is a wonderful thing, this power of the Holy Spirit, the Wind of God. Think of D. L. Moody, the raw country boy without even a common school edu cation, whom God used to lead thousands of all classes to Jesus Christ because the power of the Holy Ghost was upon him. My fourth text warrants the use of the adjective “ irresistible” for we read of Stephen whom the Church chose for the lowly work of deacon, but whom God chose to be one of the mightiest preachers of all history and the first martyr, that when he was filled with the Holy Spirit even the stubborn, blinded, self-willed and self-sufficient Jews were not able to resist the wisdom and Spirit by which he spoke. Nobody can stand against a cyclone and when a man is really filled with the Holy Spirit, the Wind of God, he becomes a spiritual cyclone. I believe in the Holy Ghost. How can I help it when after taking my B.A. and D.D. at Yale and going to two German Universities, God led me by His wondrous grace to say, “ I am never going into my pulpit again until I have been baptized with the Holy Ghost and DECEMBER, 1970
I know it ” and within a week I was, and I knew it, and at once the doors began to open wider and wider until Acts 1:8 was literally fulfilled in my personal experience and I witnessed for Christ on the remot est spots on the globe and have seen hundreds of thousands converted. Young men and women, believe in the Holy Ghost, and be determined that since God has said, “ If ye then, being evil, know how to give god gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him” (Luke 11:13), and you too will be filled with the Holy Ghost. The Infinite Efficacy of Prayer This leads to the last great truth which I want to impress upon you so deeply that you will never for get it, no matter how far you may go from this hal lowed spot or how distracting may be the duties that crowd upon you. The fourth great fundamental truth of effective work for God is: The Infinite Efficacy of Prayer. Listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ said: “ And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, that will I do” (John 14:13, 14). If we meet the conditions of pre vailing prayer, we can by prayer in the name of Jesus, get anything we ask. There can be no limit to the efficacy of prayer; it is infinite. Look at these verses. How much power and privilege and possession does God control? All! And “ all things are yours" (I Cor. 3:21) for the asking. The only limit is the limit of asking according to the will of God, revealed in His Word, and by His Holy Spirit. God is saying to us as He said to those to whom James wrote: “ Ye have not because ye ask not” (4:2). These words contain the secret of the powerlessness of the average preacher, evangelist, Christian and Church: neglect of prayer. If preachers more often had sorer knees they would not so often have sore and disappointed hearts. Young men and women of the Graduating Class, we love and we shall miss you but we are glad you are going for the world needs you. The world never needed men and women who stand for the final au thority of the Word, for the priceless value of the Blood, for the irresistible power of the Holy Spirit and the infinite efficacy of prayer, as it does today. I shall never forget the night my own boy left for China. Mrs. Torrey and I never shed a tear until in bed that night I sobbed and sobbed and my wife tried to comfort me. But in my heart I was rejoicing at the privilege of giving my only son to live for the Father who had given His Only Son to die for me. God bless you one and all. 33
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