Tl " A servant is not greater than his lord ; neither one that is sent greater than he that sent him " (John xiii. 16). The way in which the Master entered upon His ministry is the way in which
1 W. Arthur, The Tongue of Fire, 171.
ACTS i. 8 ii
the Apostles are to enter upon theirs. We say it with head uncovered, as in the presence of the supreme mystery, Jesus Christ Himself did not begin His life task until He too had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Coming up out of the Jordan at His baptism He prayed; and as He prayed, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. Then the record says : " Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led in the Spirit into the wilderness." And later, when His temptations were over, the Scripture says : " Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee : and He taught in their synagogues." Of Himself He said : " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach." And it was in this power, too, that He cast out devils and performed His many miracles. Jesus, the only begotten of the Father, very God of very God, prepared through eternity for His task, tarried as a man until the Spirit baptized Him and He could in this power perform His part in the Temple-building plans of the Trinity.1
3. How did the disciples receive the power of the Holy Ghost?
(1) First, they waited for it : " Tarry in Jerusalem, tarry till ye be clothed with power from on high." They did not force the hand of God, they did not get impatient, they waited — they waited upon God.
Tf When I find people giving up their prayers because they do not feel anything, when I find them disheartened because when they were confirmed they used to be full of warm aspirations, but now they have to go on their way feeling cold and dead, then I know that they have missed the first lesson. Wait for the power of the Holy Ghost. It is certain to come whether they feel it or not. It does not depend on feeling at all. If there is some one here tired, depressed about his spiritual life, let him tarry in Jerusalem ; let him keep his head bowed between his knees as Elijah on the top of Carmel, and at last there will be borne on the breeze to his thirsty soul the sound of abundance of rain.2
Tj Some speak of waiting for salvation as if it meant making ourselves at ease, and dismissing both effort and anxiety. Who so waits for any person, or any event ? When waiting, your mind is set on a certain point ; you can give yourself to nothing else. You are looking forward, and preparing ; every moment of delay increases the sensitiveness of your mind as to that one thing. A servant waiting for his master, a wife waiting for the footstep of her husband, a mother waiting for her expected boy,
1 C. B. Keenleyside. s A. F. Wilmington Ingram.
12 POWER FOR WITNESS
a merchant waiting for his richly laden ship, a sailor waiting for the sight of land, a monarch waiting for tidings of the battle: all these are cases wherein the mind is set on one object, and cannot easily give attention to another.1
We wait, O Lord, Thy power to know, Before we forth to service go,
Or else we serve in vain. We trust not human thought or might, Our souls are helpless for the fight,
Until that power we gain.
In solemn tarriance we seek
The power that strengthens what is weak,
To overcoming zeal. O Holy Ghost, equip us here; With fire our waiting souls come near,
Thy mightiness to feel ! —
The fire that cleanseth through and through, Inspiring every nerve anew,
With energy Divine! The fire that burns its conquering way Within, without; and every day
Doth keep us wholly Thine.
So forth to conflict, cleansed and strong, Baptized for war with godless wrong,
Now send us, God of Eight ! Our ransomed lives for warfare take, And all thou wouldst, our spirits make,
All holy in Thy sight !
(2) The disciples prayed for the power of the Holy Spirit. They did not merely wish vaguely for a little more spiritual power. That is not the way to get it. They prayed with all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their strength. If power is to come at all, it is the most precious thing in the world, it is a thing for which to agonize in prayer. It is the violent who take the kingdom of God by force. Let us pray, then, with all our soul — let us pray in faith, and pray all together.
4. Now consider the power of the Holy Spirit as given to the
1 W. Arthur, The Tongue of Fire, 24.
ACTS i. 8 13
Church. There are three principles, which we should remember, incident upon the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Church.
(1) The gift is constant. Because the Holy Spirit is the source of power, therefore the power which was thus to arrive on a specific occasion was not to be transitory or occasional. The Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, shall " abide with you for ever." " I am with you alway " — in your making disciples, baptizing and teaching — " even unto the end of the world."