How to bring men to Christ 11

How to bring men to Christ 11

For example, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit will not make every one who

receives it a successful evangelist or teacher. Some quite different

gift may be imparted. This fact is often overlooked and much

disappointment and doubt are the result. The manifestations or results

vary with the lines of service to which God has called different

individuals. One receives the gift of an evangelist, another of a

teacher, another of government, another of a helper, another of a

mother, (1 Cor. xii. 28‒31; Eph. iv. 8, 11.) (b.) 1 Cor. xii. 7, 11.

_There will be some gift in every case._ Not the same gift but some

gift, of an evangelist, or a pastor, or of a teacher or some other. (c.)

1 Cor. xii. 11. _The Holy Spirit is Himself the one who decides what the

gift or gifts shall be which he will impart to each individual._ It is

not for us to select some place of service and then ask the Holy Spirit

to qualify us for that service, nor for us to select some gift, and then

ask the Spirit to impart to us that gift. It is for us to put ourselves

entirely at the disposal of the Holy Spirit to send us where “He will,”

into what line of service “He will” (Acts xiii. 2,) and to impart what

gift “He will.” He is absolutely sovereign and our rightful position is

that of absolute and unconditional surrender to Him. This is where many

fail of a blessing and meet with disappointment. I know a most sincere

and self–sacrificing man who gave up a lucrative business and took up

the work of an evangelist. He had heard of the Baptism of the Holy

Spirit; and had been led to suppose that, if he received it, it would

qualify him for the work of an evangelist. The man came more than four

thousand miles to this country, but the work did not open to him. He was

in much perplexity and doubt until he was led to see that it was not for

him to select the work of an evangelist, as good as that work was, and

then expect the Holy Spirit to qualify him for this self–chosen work. He

gave himself up to be sent into whatever work the Spirit might will.

Into the work in which he was sent the power of the Spirit came upon him

and he received this very gift of an evangelist which he had coveted.

(d.) Acts i. 5, 8. _The Baptism of the Holy Spirit always imparts power

for service, the services to which God calls us._ In a certain city was

an uneducated boy who was led to Christ. In his very lowly occupation he

began witnessing for Jesus. He went on from step to step in Christ’s

work. My attention was called to him by a gentleman who was interested

in him, and who said he would like to have me meet him. The gentleman

brought him to Chicago, and I invited him one night to speak in one of

our tents. It was in an exceedingly hard neighborhood. Into the same

tent an organized mob once came to break up the meeting. It was a

difficult audience to hold. The young man began in what appeared to me

to be a very commonplace way, and I was afraid I had made a mistake in

asking him to speak, but I prayed and watched the audience. There was

nothing remarkable in his address as he went on—excepting the bad

grammar. But I noticed that all the people were listening. They

continued to listen to the end. When I asked if there was any one who

wished to accept Christ, people rose in different parts of the tent to

signify that they did. Thinking it all over, I told the facts to a man

who had known the speaker before. “It is just so wherever he goes” was

the reply. What was the explanation? This uneducated boy had received

the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and had received power. One night at the

close of an address on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, a minister came

to me on the platform and said: “I need this power, won’t you pray for

me?” “Let us kneel right down here now,” I replied, and we did. A few

weeks after I met a gentleman who had been standing by. “Do you

remember,” he said “the minister with whom you prayed at New Britain. He

went back to his church; his church is packed Sunday evenings, a large

part of the audience are young men and he is having conversions right

along.” He had received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and “power.” (e.)

Acts iv. 29‒31. _The Baptism of the Holy Spirit always imparts boldness

in testimony and service._ Peter is a notable example of this. Contrast

Peter in Acts iv. 8‒12 with Peter in Mark xiv. 66‒72. Perhaps some one

who reads this book has a great desire to speak to others and win them

to Christ, but an insuperable timidity stands in the way. If you will

only get the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, all that will be overcome.

 

We are now in a position to define the baptism of the Holy Spirit. _The

Baptism of the Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of God falling upon the

believer, taking possession of his faculties, imparting to him gifts not

naturally his own, but which qualify him for the service to which God

has called him._

 

 

2. THE NECESSITY OF THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A PREPARATION FOR

CHRISTIAN WORK.

 

(1.) _In Luke xxiv. 49. Jesus bade the apostles to tarry in Jerusalem

until they were “endued with power from on high.”_ These men had been

appointed to be witnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

(Luke xxiv. 45‒48. Acts; i. 22; x. 39‒41.) They had received what would

seem to be a splendid and sufficient training for this work. For more

than three years they had been to school to the best of teachers, Jesus

Himself. They had been eye witnesses of his miracles, death, burial,

resurrection and ascension. But there was still one thing needed. And

this need was of such vital importance that Jesus would not permit them

to enter upon their appointed work until that need had been met. That

need was the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. If the apostles with their

unparalleled fitting for service, were not permitted to enter that

service until all their other training had been supplemented by the

Baptism of the Holy Spirit, what daring presumption it is for any of us

with our inferior training to dare to do it. But this is not all, _even

Jesus Himself did not enter upon his ministry until specially anointed

with the Holy Spirit and with power_. (Acts x. 38, comp. Luke iii. 22

and iv. 1, 14). _This baptism is an absolutely essential preparation for

Christian work._ It is either ignorance of the plain requirements of

God’s word or the most daring presumption on our part when we try to do

work for Christ until we know we have been Baptized with the Holy

Spirit.

 

 

(2.) _It is the privilege of every believer to be baptized with the Holy

Spirit._ This appears from Acts ii. 39, R. V. “To you is the promise and

to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord

our God shall call unto him.” The context, the use of the word “promise”

in this and the preceding chapter (ch. i. 4; ii. 16, 33.) and the use of

the __EXPRESSION__ “gift of the Holy Spirit” throughout the book, all prove

conclusively that “the promise” of this verse means the promise of the

Baptism of the Holy Spirit; and the verse tells us that this promise is

for all in all ages of the church’s history whom God shall call unto

him, _i. e._ for every believer. If we have not this baptism it is our

own fault. It is for us and we are responsible before God for all the

work we might have done, and all the souls we might have won if we were

so baptized, and we are guilty to the extent that the work is not done

and the souls not won.

 

 

3. HOW CAN WE OBTAIN THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

 

We now come to the practical question: how can we obtain this Baptism of

the Holy Spirit which is such an absolute necessity in our work for

Christ? Fortunately the answer to this question is very plainly stated

in the Bible.

 

 

(1) “Repent ye and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus

Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of

the Holy Spirit” (Acts ii. 38 R. V.) _The first step toward obtaining

this Baptism is repentance._ Repentance means “a change of mind,” a

change of mind about sin, about God, and in this case especially (as the

context shows) a change of mind about Christ. A real change of mind such

as leads to action—to our turning away from all sin, our turning to God,

our turning away from rejecting Jesus Christ to accepting Him. _The

second step is the confession of our renunciation of sin and acceptance

of Jesus Christ in God’s appointed way by baptism in the name of Jesus

Christ._ The Baptism with the Holy Spirit in at least one instance (Acts

x. 44‒48) preceded the baptism with water but this was manifestly an

exceptional case and God says “repent ye and be baptized every one of

you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye

shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” (Acts ii. 38, R. V.)

 

 

(2) “The Holy Spirit whom God hath given to them that obey him.” (Acts

v. 32). _The condition of the gift of the Holy Ghost here stated is that

we “obey Him.”_ Obedience means more than the mere performance of some

of the things that God bids us do. It means the entire surrender of our

wills, ourselves and all we have, to Him. It means that we come to Him

and say from the heart, “here I am, I am thine, thou hast bought me with

a price, I acknowledge thine ownership. Take me, do with me what thou

wilt, send me where thou wilt, use me as Thou wilt.” This entire

yielding of ourselves to God is the condition of our receiving the

Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it is at this point that many fail of

this blessing. At the close of a convention a gentleman hurried to the

platform and said there was a lady in great distress who wished to speak

with me. It was an hour before I could get to her, but I found her still

in great mental suffering in the intensity of her desire for the Baptism

of the Holy Spirit. Others had talked to her but it had seemed to do no

good. I sat down behind her and said, “Is your will wholly surrendered?”

She did not know. “You wish to be a Christian worker do you not?” “Yes.”

“Are you willing to go back to Baltimore and be a servant girl if it is

God’s will?” “No!” “You will never receive this blessing until your own

will is wholly laid down.” “I can’t lay it down.” “Would you like to

have God lay it down for you?” “Yes.” “Well, let us ask Him to do it.”

We did, he heard the prayer, the will was laid down, the Baptism of the

Holy Spirit was received and she went from the church rejoicing.

 

Obedience means also the doing in all matters great and small, the will

of God as revealed in His Word or by His Spirit. Any refusal to do what

God bids us do, any conscious doing of what he bids us not do, even in

very little matters, is sufficient to shut us out of this blessing. If

there is anything no matter how little, that comes up before us to

trouble us as we pray over this matter, we should set it right with God

at once. Mr. Finney tells of one who, in great agony prayed for days for

the Baptism of the Holy Spirit but received no answer. At last as she

was praying one night she put her hand to her head and took off some

little adornment that always came up before her when she prayed and cast