PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Secret Power; or, The Secret of Success in Christian Life and Work
Moody, Dwight Lyman, 1837-1899 · 31,803 words · 77 reading sections
Part 1
Produced by Keith G. Richardson…
5 wordsSECTION 2LIFE AND WORK.
By D. L. MOODY…
4 wordsSECTION 3NEW YORK : : CHICAGO : : TORONTO
_Publishers of Evangelical Literature_ Copyrighted 1881, by FLEMING H. REVELL.…
10 wordsSECTION 4PREFACE.
One man may have "zeal without knowledge," while another may have knowledge without zeal. If I could have only the one, I believe I should choose the first; but, with an open Bible, no one need be without knowledge of God's will and purpose; and the object of this book is to help others to know the source of true power…
179 wordsSECTION 5D. L. MOODY.
NORTHFIELD, MASS., May 1st, 1881.…
5 wordsSECTION 6POWER--ITS SOURCE
In vain do the inhabitants of London go to their conduits for supply unless the man who has the master-key turns the water on; and in vain do we think to quench our thirst at ordinances, unless God communicates the living water of His Spirit.--_Anon_. It was the custom of the Roman emperors, at their triumphal entranc…
338 wordsSECTION 7POWER--ITS SOURCE.
"Without the soul, divinely quickened and inspired, the observances of the grandest ritualism are as worthless as the motions of a galvanized corpse."--_Anon_. I QUOTE this sentence, as it leads me at once to the subject under consideration. What is this quickening and inspiration? What is this power needed? From when…
328 wordsSECTION 8IDENTITY AND PERSONALITY.
In John v, 7, we read: "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." By the Father is meant the first Person, Christ, the Word is the second, and the Holy Spirit, perfectly fulfilling His own office and work in union with the Father and the Son, is the …
753 wordsSECTION 9AGENT AND INSTRUMENT.
The Holy Spirit is closely identified with the words of the Lord Jesus. "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." The Gospel proclamation can not be divorced from the Holy Spirit. Unless He attend the word in power, vain will be …
290 wordsSECTION 10SECRET OF EFFICIENCY.
I can not help but believe there are many Christians who want to be more efficient in the Lord's service, and the object of this book is to take up this subject of the Holy Spirit, that they may see from whom to expect this power. In the teaching of Christ, we find the last words recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, the …
629 wordsSECTION 11HIS PERSONALITY.
I was a Christian a long time before I found out that the Holy Ghost was a person. Now this is something a great many don't seem to understand, but if you will just take up the Bible and see what Christ had to say about the Holy Spirit, you will find that He always spoke of Him as a person--never spoke of Him as an inf…
273 wordsSECTION 12THE RESERVOIR OF LOVE.
We read that the fruit of the Spirit is love. God is love, Christ is love, and we should not be surprised to read about the love of the Spirit. What a blessed attribute is this. May I call it the dome of the temple of the graces. Better still, it is the crown of crowns worn by the Triune God. Human love is a natural em…
930 wordsSECTION 13THE RIGHT OVERFLOW.
I remember the morning I came out of my room after I had first trusted Christ, and I thought the old sun shone a good deal brighter than it ever had before; I thought that the sun was just smiling upon me, and I walked out upon Boston Common, and I heard the birds in the trees, and I thought that they were all singing …
982 wordsSECTION 14THE TRIUMPHS OF HOPE.
In the fifteenth chapter of Romans, thirteenth verse, the Apostle says: "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost." The next thing then is hope. Did you ever notice this, that no man or woman is ever used by God to build up His ki…
749 wordsSECTION 15THE BOON OF LIBERTY.
The next thing the Spirit of God does is to give us liberty. He first imparts love; He next inspires hope, and then gives liberty, and that is about the last thing we have in a good many of our churches at the present day. And I am sorry to say there must be a funeral in a good many churches before there is much work d…
947 wordsSECTION 16Part 16
It is so sweet to trust Thy word alone! I do not ask to see The unveiling of Thy purpose, or the shining Of future light on mysteries untwining; Thy promise-roll is all my own-- Thy word is enough for me. There were strange soul-depths, restless, vast, and broad, Unfathomed as the sea, An infinite craving for some inf…
81 wordsSECTION 17POWER "IN" AND "UPON."
You remember that strange, half-involuntary "forty years" of Moses in the "wilderness" of Midian, when he had fled from Egypt. You remember, too, the almost equally strange years of retirement in "Arabia" by Paul, when, if ever, humanly speaking, instant action was needed. And pre-eminently you remember the amazing cha…
136 wordsSECTION 18POWER--"IN" AND "UPON."
THE Holy Spirit dwelling in us, is one thing; I think this is clearly brought out in Scripture; and the Holy Spirit upon us for service, is another thing. Now there are only three places we find in Scripture that are dwelling-places for the Holy Ghost. In the 40th chapter of Exodus, commencing with the 33d verse, are …
431 wordsSECTION 19PRAISING WITH ONE HEART.
We find, the very moment that Solomon completed the Temple, when all was finished, they were just praising God with one heart--the choristers and the singers and the ministers were all one; there was not any discord; they were all praising God, and the glory of God came and just filled the Temple as the Tabernacle. Now…
645 wordsSECTION 20WHAT IS NEEDED.
Nine-tenths, at least, of the church members never think of speaking for Christ. If they see a man, perhaps a near relative, just going right down to ruin, going rapidly, they never think of speaking to him about his sinful course and of seeking to win him to Christ. Now certainly there must be something wrong. And yet…
606 wordsSECTION 21THE GREATEST WEAPON.
The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, and what we need specially is to be filled with the Spirit, so we shall know how to use the Word. There was a Christian man talking to a skeptic, who was using the Word, and the skeptic said, "I don't believe, sir, in that Book." But the man went right on and he gave him more…
381 wordsSECTION 22"NONE OF SELF."
Then you will find all through the Scriptures, when men were filled with the Holy Spirit, they preached Christ and not themselves. They preached Christ and Him crucified. It says in the first chapter of Luke, 67th verse, speaking of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist: "And his father, Zacharias, was filled with…
595 wordsSECTION 23SPIRITUAL IRRIGATION.
It is possible a man may just barely have life and be satisfied; and I think that a great many are in that condition. In the 3d chapter of John we find that Nicodemus came to Christ and that he received life. At first this life was feeble. You don't hear of him standing up confessing Christ boldly, and of the Spirit co…
657 wordsSECTION 24OUTFLOWING STREAMS.
I would like to see some one just full of living water; so full that they couldn't contain it; that they would have to go out and publish the Gospel of the grace of God. When a man gets so full that he can't hold any more, then he is just ready for God's service. When preaching in Chicago, Dr. Gibson remarked in the i…
612 wordsSECTION 25WHY SOME FAIL.
We read in John xx, 22: "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Then see Luke xxiv, 49: "And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." The first passage tells us He had…
599 wordsSECTION 26FRESH SUPPLIES.
Turn to Acts iv, 31, and you will find He came a second time, and at a place where they were, so that the earth was shaken, and they were filled with this power. The fact is, we are leaky vessels, and we have to keep right under the fountain all the time to keep full of Christ, and so have a fresh supply. I believe th…
392 wordsSECTION 27GREEN FIELDS.
When I was out in California, the first time I went down from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and dropped into the Valley of the Sacramento, I was surprised to find on one farm that everything about it was green--all the trees and flowers, everything was blooming, and everything was green and beautiful, and just across the…
232 wordsSECTION 28Part 28
The great question before us now is, _Do_ we want it? I remember when I first went to England and gave a Bible reading, I think about the first that I gave in that country, a great many ministers were there, and I didn't know anything about English theology, and I was afraid I should run against their creeds, and I was…
744 wordsSECTION 29MASTER AND SERVANT.
There is a very sweet story of Elijah and Elisha, and I love to dwell upon it. The time had come for Elijah to be taken up, and he said to Elisha, "You stay here at Gilgal, and I will go up to Bethel." There was a theological seminary there, and some young students, and he wanted to see how they were getting along; but…
694 wordsSECTION 30WITNESSING IN POWER.
A man may as well hew marble without tools, or paint without colors or instruments, or build without materials, as perform any acceptable service without the graces of the Spirit, which are both the materials and the instruments in the work.--_Alleine_. If we do not have the Spirit of God, it were better to shut the c…
290 wordsSECTION 31WITNESSING IN POWER.
THE subject of witness-bearing in the power of the Holy Ghost is not sufficiently understood by the Church. Until we have more intelligence on this point we are laboring under great disadvantage. Now, if you will take your Bible and turn to the 15th chapter of John and the 26th verse, you will find these words: "But wh…
214 wordsSECTION 32WHAT IS THE TESTIMONY?
If we keep back the Gospel of Christ and do not bring Christ before the people, then the Spirit has not the opportunity to work. But the moment Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost and bore testimony to this one fact, that Christ died for sin, and that He had been raised again, and ascended into heaven--the Spirit ca…
319 wordsSECTION 33GREATER WORK.
The witness of the Spirit is the witness of power. Jesus said, "The works that I do shall ye do also, and greater works than these shall ye do because I go to the Father." I used to stumble over that. I didn't understand it. I thought, what greater work could any man do than Christ had done? How could any one raise a d…
733 wordsSECTION 34THE SURE GUIDE.
Turn to the sixteenth chapter of John, in the thirteenth verse, and read: "Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come." He will guide you into all truth. Now the…
357 wordsSECTION 35RAPPINGS IN THE DARK.
I want to say right here, that I think in this day a great many children of God are turning aside and committing a grievous sin. I don't know as they think it is a sin, but if we examine the Scriptures, I am sure we will find that it is a great sin. We are told that the Comforter is sent into the world to "guide us int…
506 wordsSECTION 36SPIRITS THAT PEEP AND MUTTER.
There is another passage which reads, "And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter: Should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?" What is that but table-rapping, and cabinet-hiding? If it was a message from God, do you think …
506 wordsSECTION 37THE UNERRING GUIDE.
I am told by people who have been over the Alps, that the guide fastens them, if they are going in a dangerous place, right to himself, and he just goes on before; they are fastened to the guide. And so should the Christian be linked to His unerring Guide, and be safely upheld. Why, if a man was going through the Mamm…
923 wordsSECTION 38AN AID TO MEMORY.
It is a great comfort to us to remember that another office of the Spirit is to bring the teaching of Jesus to our remembrance. This was our Lord's promise, "He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance." Jno. xiv, 26. How striking that is. I think there are many Christians who have had that…
477 wordsSECTION 39LONG AND SHORT SIGHT.
He brings to our mind what God has in store for us. I heard a man, some time ago, speaking about Abraham. He said "Abraham was not tempted by the well-watered plains of Sodom, for Abraham was what you might call a long-sighted man; he had his eyes set on the city which had foundation--'whose Builder and Maker is God.'"…
588 wordsSECTION 40THE FAITHFUL FRIEND.
The Holy Spirit tells a man of his faults in order to lead him to a better life. In John xvi, 8, we read: "He is to reprove the world of sin." Now, there are a class of people who don't like this part of the Spirit's work. Do you know why? Because He convicts _them_ of sin; they don't like that. What they want is some …
363 wordsSECTION 41THE CLIMAX SIN.
That is the sin of the world. Why, a great many people think that unbelief is a sort of misfortune, but do not know, if you will allow me the expression, it is the damning sin of the world to-day; that is what unbelief is, the mother of all sin. There would not be a drunkard walking the streets, if it were not for unbe…
834 wordsSECTION 42POWER IN OPERATION.
"Ye are not your own." "Your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost." Is that an unmeaning metaphor, or an over-worded expression? When the Holy Spirit enters the soul, heaven enters with Him. The heart is compared to a temple. God never enters without His attendants; _repentance_ cleanses the house; _faith_ provides…
131 wordsSECTION 43POWER IN OPERATION.
THE power we have been considering is the Presence of the Holy Spirit. He is omnipotent. Power in operation is the actions of the Spirit or the fruit of the Spirit. This we shall now consider. Paul writes in Gal. v, 16, etc.: "This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the…
364 wordsSECTION 44LOVE, PEACE, AND JOY.
When a man who has been living in sin turns from his sins, and turns to God with all his heart, he is met on the threshold of the divine life by these sister graces. The love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost. The peace of God comes at the same time, and also the joy of the Lord. We can all put the t…
462 wordsSECTION 45WHAT WINS.
A great many parents have inquired of me how to win their children. They say they have talked with them, and sometimes they have scolded them and have lectured them, and signally failed. I think there is no way so sure to win our families and our neighbors, and those about whom we are anxious, to Christ, than just to a…
613 wordsSECTION 46POWER OF LOVE.
Love is the badge that Christ gave His disciples. Some put on one sort of badge and some another. Some put on a strange kind of dress, that they may be known as Christians, and some put on a crucifix, or something else, that they may be known as Christians. But love is the only badge by which the disciples of our Lord …
649 wordsSECTION 47LOVE'S WONDERFUL EFFECTS.
"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil." That's the work of love. It is not easily provoked. Now if a man has no love of God in his heart, how easy it is to…
186 wordsSECTION 48CRITICS BEWARE.
Love will rebuke evil, but will not rejoice in it. Love will be impatient of sin, but patient with the sinner. To form the habit of finding fault constantly, is very damaging to spiritual life; it is about the lowest and meanest position that a man can take. I never saw a man who was aiming to do the best work, but the…
512 wordsSECTION 49AFTER LOVE, WHAT?
After love comes peace. I have before remarked, a great many people are trying to make peace. But that has already been done. God has not left it for us to do; all that we have to do is to enter into it. It is a condition, and instead of our trying to make peace and to work for peace, we want to cease all that, and swe…
598 wordsSECTION 50NOT EASILY OFFENDED.
In the 119th Psalm and the 165th verse, we find "Great peace have they who love Thy law; and nothing shall offend them." The study of God's Word will secure peace. You take those Christians who are rooted and grounded in the Word of God, and you find they have great peace; but it is these who don't study their Bible, a…
515 wordsSECTION 51SWEET WORDS.
In the 6th chapter of Numbers and 22d verse we read: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, on this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them: The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord l…
623 wordsSECTION 52PEACE DECLARED.
When France and England were at war, a French vessel had gone off on a long voyage, a whaling voyage; and when they came back, the crew were short of water, and being now near an English port, they wanted to get water; but they were afraid that they would be taken if they went into that port; and some people in the por…
459 wordsSECTION 53SECRET OF JOY.
Remember, then, that love is power, and peace is power; but now I will call attention to another fruit of the Spirit, and this too is power--the grace of JOY. It is the privilege, I believe, of every Christian to walk in the light, as God is in the light, and to have that peace which will be flowing unceasingly as we k…
449 wordsSECTION 54JOY IS UNSELFISH.
Now, there are three kinds of joy; there is the joy of one's own salvation. I thought, when I first tasted that, it was the most delicious joy I had ever known, and that I could never get beyond it. But I found, afterward, there was something more joyful than that, namely, the joy of the salvation of others. Oh, the pr…
457 wordsSECTION 55JOY IN PERSECUTION.
Then it says in Luke vi, 22: "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day and leap for joy, for behold your reward is great in heaven for in like manner did their fat…
835 wordsSECTION 56Part 56
I am so thankful that I have a joy that the world can not rob me of; I have a treasure that the world can not take from me; I have something that it is not in the power of man or devil to deprive me of, and that is the joy of the Lord. "No man taketh it from you." In the second century, they brought a martyr before a k…
365 wordsSECTION 57POWER HINDERED.
The strokes of the "Sword of the Spirit" alight only on the conscience, and its edge is anointed with a bairn to heal every wound it may inflict.--_Dr. J. Harris_. Every vain thought and idle word, and every wicked deed, is like so many drops to quench the Spirit of God. Some quench Him with the lust of the flesh; som…
174 wordsSECTION 58POWER HINDERED.
ISRAEL, we are told, limited the Holy One of Israel. They vexed and grieved the Holy Spirit, and rebelled against His authority, but there is a special sin against Him, which we may profitably consider. The first description of it is in Matthew xii, 22d verse:…
46 wordsSECTION 59THE UNPARDONABLE SIN.
"Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb; and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the pr…
758 wordsSECTION 60WHAT IT IS NOT.
I admit there is such a thing as resisting the Spirit of God, and resisting till the Spirit of God has departed; but if the Spirit of God has left any, they will not be troubled about their sins. The very fact that they are troubled, shows that the Spirit of God has not left them. If a man is troubled about his sins, i…
303 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.