I will read two texts of Scripture. The first, found in Acts 1:8, reveals Christ's parting message to His disciples just before He ascended on high: "But 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 Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." The other text is in Luke 24: 49: "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." In each case these words were spoken by the Lord Jesus to the disciples, and that which He talked about was power.
Please notice, in connection with the first text, that the disciples had come to Christ with the question, "Lord, wilt o u at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" These men were anxious about having power. They were all looking for position. Upon one occasion they had disputed among themselves concerning which of them should have the greatest position in the kingdom. They looked forward to the establishment of an earthly government. They expected that Jesus would proclaim Himself king, and that He would naturally place them in positions of power and authority in connection with that kingdom. Notwithstanding the lessons of the crucifixion and of the resurrection, there still lingered in their hearts a hope that something of that kind would take place. With just one statement Jesus set that all aside by telling them, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power."
Just what were they to understand and to know?—"But ye shall receive power." What was the source of that power?—"After that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." The work Jesus came to do was a spiritual one. He came to this world to engage in the work of saving men for the kingdom of God. The thing we need to realize today is that to us has been committed that same work,—a spiritual work. It can be done only with spiritual power. This awaits our demand and reception.
More than once Jesus referred to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. When He spoke of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, He spoke of power. Is it not comforting to know that the Lord Himself has provided power for the great work to which we have been called? How helpless we should be if we had to undertake the work before us in our own strength! I am per-suaded that many times we do undertake too much in our own strength. What we need today is to be endued with power.
Satisfied With So Little
The thing that causes me much concern is the fact that we are satisfied with so little when we might have so much. Unlimited power is at our command—all the power that the Lord Himself offers to us through the enduement of the Holy Spirit! Yet we are satisfied with but a pittance of what we might have. I believe, brethren, that this is a matter which ought to engage our most earnest thought. If we could compare our attainments and our possession of power with our real need of power, it would stagger us to see how far short we fall.
Look at the world as we face it. The words of Jesus describing our times are fast reaching fulfillment. He asks, "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" Atheism, infidelity, and unbelief in their most arrogant forms sweep the world today. Whole nations are blighted with them as with a deadly mildew. Evil is becoming aggressive. Crime and violence are increasing. The whole world is about to be swept to destruction; yet it is unconscious of its danger. I wonder sometimes whether we are not just standing by, powerless to do anything in the face of the situation. If ever there has been a time in the history of God's work when we ought to be men of power, we should today. We ought to know what it means to be endued with power.
A few days ago I was reading some of the counsel the Lord has given us, and was very much impressed by a statement in "Special Testimonies," Series B, No. 10, page 28: "Special instruction has been given me for God's people, for perilous times are upon us. In the world, destruction and violence are increasing."
We recognize that we are in that time. But what impressed me was that right along with the development of that condition in the world the servant of the Lord speaks of the development of a certain condition in the church:
"In the church, man power is gaining the ascendency; those who have been chosen to occupy positions of trust think it their prerogative to rule. Men whom the Lord calls to important positions in His work are to cultivate a humble dependence upon Him. They are not to seek to embrace too much authority, for God has not called them to a work of ruling, but to plan and counsel with their fellow laborers. Every worker alike is to hold himself amenable to the requirements and instructions of God."
Authority Substituted for Power
Destruction and violence are increasing in the world; but in the church, man power is gaining the ascendency. Man power in the church! It isn't man power that is needed in the church; it is the Holy Spirit's power. This is indeed a striking statement.
I was also impressed with another statement, found on page 26:
"There is a deplorable lack of spirituality among our people. A great work must be done for them before they can become what Christ designed they should be—the light of the world. For years I have felt deep anguish of soul as the Lord presented before me the want of our churches of Jesus and His love. There has been a spirit of self-sufficiency, and a disposition to strive for position and supremacy I have been shown that self-glorification was becoming common among Seventh-day Adventists, and that unless the pride of man should be abased and Christ exalted, we should, as a people, be in no better condition to receive Christ at His second coming than were the Jewish people to receive Him at His first advent."
When I read such things, it makes me cry out, "Lord, give us more of that real spirit of humility, that real desire to have our lives filled with spiritual power,—less man power and more divine power." Men today are substituting authority for power, and it is a poor substitute. Jesus didn't say anything about our being endued with authority. He didn't say, "When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, ye shall receive authority." He never talked in that manner.
What we need is power. I am convinced that the man who has the Spirit of God revealed in him and in his ministry will have true authority; but this authority will not be exercised as the princes of this world exercise it. I have said many, many times—and I believe it is true—that the man who exercise his authority best exercises it least. He does not need to talk about his authority if his heart is right, if he is filled with the Spirit of God. There will be a power manifested in his ministry that will prove to be a blessing and an uplift and an encouragement to those with whom he associates.
Shun Prevailing Tendencies
I wish that the Lord might lead us to sense our own need of a deeper spirituality, of a larger, fuller inning of the Spirit of God, in preparation for the service before us. It is my belief that if any of us are to continue in positions of leadership, our success will depend largely upon our being men of power. We must be men endued with the Holy Spirit, men who know what it means to live with God and to manifest the principles of His kingdom. The principles that prevail in the world must never find admittance into the church. God's work is a spiritual work, governed by spiritual principles—the principles that obtain in heaven. It is not a spirit of dictatorship, it is not a spirit' of rulership, but it is a spirit of fellowship, a spirit that gives fuller expression to that principle enunciated by Jesus when He declared, "Ye are brethren." May the Lord help us to sense the full meaning of these words.
Committees can, and of course do, recommend men for office; but it is only the Holy Spirit who can prepare men for service. No committee action can impart the spiritual power that we need. We need to realize that this power can come only from an Mailing of the Spirit of God. We face a world in which violence and wickedness are increasing, in which faith is dying out, in which infidelity nd unbelief are gaining the ascendency, and Ilk is my profound conviction that the greatest need of the cause of God is leaders who are spiritual, who are endued with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Power Imperative
God must do a work for us, and I believe that that work must begin by His imparting to us a sense of our own need. God cannot do very much for us until we ourselves realize the need of having that work done. He can do but very Iittle while our hearts are calloused, while our attitude is one of coldness and indifference. God must work for us. Brethren, we cannot look out on the world today, we cannot feel the pulse of this movement the world around, without being convinced over and over again that God must fill us with power. This is too urgent to be postponed. The need is too great, too outstanding, to be put aside. God must do something for us.
If this movement is to be led triumphantly over into the kingdom of God, something must be done for us as leaders. We must be sure that our leadership is "trued up" in harmony ith the principles that the Lord has so freely given to us. How little, perhaps, does our ministry really comprehend this. Do the men laboring out in the fields sense it? Do they have a keen appreciation of their need? Surely the hour has come when we ought to pray to God to touch our own hearts and help us to sense our need. This is not something that we can bring to pass by talking about it. We can discuss it, but it will take something more than that to bring to us the thing we need.
I repeat, What we need is to experience the fulfillment of that promise given to us by Jesus, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." Ye shall "be endued with power." Brethren, let us pray for power, not to be used or to be exercised according to our own will or our own judgment, but to be so used that we ourselves may be freed from sin, freed from the domination of the selfish propensities of our own hearts.
Also, let us pray that we may be successful in our endeavors for God as leaders. Let us clear the King's highway. Let us resolve by the help of God that we will keep out the principles that dominate the world today—out of the church, out of our own lives, out of our own leadership. May He help us to learn what it means to be God's men, filled with power.
