What the Spirit Saith to the Churches
Five weeks have been spent, in the personal study and investigation of the great revival movement in Wales, being providentially called to speak to converts in the revival centres, in hopes of leading them to a deeper experience and knowledge of Christ. That investigation has left the profound conviction that the Holy Spirit is speaking to the Churches with emphasis; and we are reminded of the sevenfold command in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of the Book of the Revelation: ‘‘ He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches.’’
First of all, the Holy Spirit is showing to us the sovereignty of His operations. Nothing is more conspicuous in the work in Wales, than the fact that the Spirit has “divided to every man severally as He will.” This Divine wind has blown where it listed, and we have heard the sound thereof, but could not tell whence it came, nor whither it went. He has been choosing the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty, that no flesh might glory in His presence. The times and the ways in which He has wrought, the methods He has followed, and the personal instruments He has chosen, have all been unique. He has passed by those whom men would have selected, and He has taken as one prominent leader in this movement a collier student yet in his very youth, and having no qualities that, to the eye of man, would have fitted him for this great service, yet singularly filled with the Holy Ghost and qualified by Him for this leadership; most of all, remarkable in his humility, in his own obedience to the Spirit, and in His insistance upon such obedience on the part of others, in all His operations in the assemblies.
Again, the Holy Spirit is reminding us that He is the Presiding Officer in every assembly of the saints. The ships, though they be great, are moved by a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth; and it is quite time that we had our hands off the helm of the Church of God, and remembered the Divine Pilot, the Governor of the ship — the Holy Ghost, in the assemblies. Our notions of propriety, how oft-times they interfere with His conceptions! What is disorder to us k often sublime order to Him. How He scorns our rigid and frigid programmes, and tramples them in the dust when He mightily moves I How marvellous are all His ways of working! How singular is the authority that He exhibits and manifests
WHERE HE HAS FULL CONTROL,
where we are willing that He should control in everything; where we are willing that He should set us aside. That will glorify Him more than to use us as we had expected and purposed. 1 would not dare to speak, with the conviction I have of His presidency in the assembly, if I were not willing to break down; or like Peter, never get through with a purposed address, if He might be honoured more by such failure than by apparent success. We must be ready to fail that He may evermore be honoured. He must occupy the chair, whoever formally presides; and we must look past any human chairman to the invisible presiding Presence that makes the house of God at once dreadful, and yet sublimely privileged.
The Holy Spirit has been teaching us that lesson that Dr. Cynddylan Jones so aptly describes — “the difference between human mechanics and Divine dynamics, He has been showing us the source of all trm power. We are too apt to forget that power is only in God, and not in men. We have taken that old heathen maxim, “Magna est veritas, et proevalebif — ‘‘great is the truth, and it will prevail ’’; but it is a false maxim. Truth is great, but does not prevail; it is not prevailing in the earth to-day. Error prevails rather. Truth itself is not the source of the highest power apar, from the Spirit of Truth. Even the truth of the Gospel does not actually convict and convert without the Holy Ghost. We may preach the truth for forty years and not make a convert, if He is not behind the truth we preach. Let us remember, therefore, that it is not truth alone, but truth plus the Holy Ghosty by which the world is to be brought to Christ. The revival has taught us this lesson — that power is not found in eloquent sermons. Some sermons are so eloquent that there is
NO SPIRITUAL POWER IN THEM, —
very learned and finished, but they fail to penetrate; plenty of knowledge and logic, but no love. The sword is not keen at the edge, or burning at the point; the blade is polished, but has no power to thrust to the very vitals, to the joints and marrow, discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart. God has shown us, not only that even the truth itself without the thrust of the Spirit is unsuccessful, but that, where the Holy Ghost really does work, there is a heavenly dynamic that changes human lives, that brings men out of darkness into light, and from the power of Satan unto God; that breaks up habits of drink and takes away the appetite for drink; that brings men out from the power of lust — that most imperious of all the appetites that control sinful man. He alone delivers from the baser passions, and makes men servants of Almighty God. Wales has seen whole villages transformed by the power of the Spirit of God. And God is teaching us that He can take the simplest testimony of a converted soul, that can scarcely speak “five words with the understanding,’’ and make it more mighty for the progress of His Kingdom than five thousand words spoken with our university training and fine delivery, our polished rhetoric and worldly eloquence. God forbid that I should say a word against preaching of the best character; but as long as our dependence is upon the intellectual we shall never wield the mighty power of the spiritual.
I have often thought that some of the addresses delivered from the platform of great conventions are too fine for the Holy Ghost to use as He would like to use them. There is too much of the tendency, on the part of many, to exploit themselves, to depend upon that which is merely intellectual, rhetorical and scholarly, instead of falling back for evermore in helplessness upon the Almighty arm.
Then, the Holy Ghost has been teaching us that, if we want His blessing, we must devoutly honour His inspired Word. 1 have noticed this fact — and I do not hesitate to emphasize it thus standing in view
8o The Spirifs Voice to the Churches
of eternity — that not one solitary church in which the modern notions of the “Higher Criticism are regnant, has had any revival of religion in this country or in America. They stand frigidly, rigidly locked up under the frost; while other churches enjoy the tropical sunshine of the summer. And it is also remarkable that, when the Holy Ghost, in these latter days, would revive the fires of Pentecost, He took that part of the British dominions which is comparatively untouched by modern rationalistic criticism I We can see the philosophy of God in it; for the Holy Ghost not only honours His own inspired Word, but He depends upon the Word and upon the acceptance of it as
THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD.
Even when Paul was speaking to Agrippa, he challenged his confidence in the prophets, saying “I know that thou believest; and, before Felix he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. If those men had had access to some modern works of the “Higher Criticism,” Agrippa might have said: “It is all very well to appeal to the prophets, but we have long since concluded that they did not prophesy of Christ at all and Felix might have said: “Your reasoning is well enough, but we have long learned that sin is only a fall forward, a part of the process of evolution, and that there is no judgment to come.”
What the Spirit Saith to the Churches 8i
When men meet the Word of God as it s preached, not only with the shield of unbelief, but with the double armour of unbelief and disbelief, how difficult it becomes to make any impression for God! They turn aside the sharp arrows of His Word, by lack of confidence even in its inspiration, authority, and infallibility. A man came to me during my period of preaching in London, and said to me: “I was greatly impressed by your sermon; but then, look at what other preachers have said. I read the other day, as coming from Dean Fremantle, that there is no authentic proof of Christ’s miraculous Incarnation or of His miraculous Resurrection.’^ Men thus come to us saying,
‘ What shall I believe?” The reports of such sentiments appear uncontradicted in the newspapers, and unbelievers take up these insinuations of doubt on the part of God’s own people, and use them to turn ofP the arrows of truth from their own souls. How can God honour a community, a church, or a minister, where such questions about the inspiration of His Word are entertained, and such doubtful views are promulgated in the hearing of the multitude?
The Holy Ghost has also been laying mighty emphasis upon the power of believing prayer. This whole Welsh revival began in prayer, in the hearts of some men who have prayed, not for eighteen months, like Evan Roberts, but for as many years, for a revival 8a The Spirit’s Voice to the Churches
in Wales and for a baptism of the Spirit in their own lives; and this spirit of prayer has been the grand secret of the extension of the work* This Revival has been carried into other districts, hitherto unaffected, by the most simple methods. Little companies of praying believers went to the extremities of the villages, and began to hold house to house meetings, moving toward the centre; and, by the time the centre was reached, God’s power was exhibited afresh in the new locality.
Then the Holy Spirit has been teaching us that we have to get hindrances out of His way* “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight His paths. Gather out the stones.” Evan Roberts, in his message to the churches, has given a fourfold motto or rule for guidance, which shows spiritual insight: First, every sinful thing must be put away. Then every doubtful indulgence must be sacrificed for the sake of holiness. Third, there must be prompt obedience to the voice of the Holy Ghost. And, then, last of all, there must be public confession of Christ before all men. Those have been the
FOUR MOTTOS OF THIS GREAT REVIVAL WORK
—everything sinful put away, everything doubtful surrendered, the Holy Spirit obeyed, and confession of Christ publicly made. In almost every case, the work has begun in the removal of obstacles in the mind and heart of the pastor himself. The “priest ’’ of the Lord has prostrated himself “between the porch and the altar,” and has besought God for a renewal of spiritual power in his own heart and life; and then he has gone forth to secure, under God, another state of things in his church and congregation. So promptly has the Spirit begun to work when favourable conditions have been secured, that oftentimes immediate reviving has resulted; so that in the very assembly itself, which had met under conditions unfavourable to the Spirit, whenever there has been rectification, then and there the blessing has begun, even in the conversion of souls, though not a word had been directly addressed to the ungodly. Comp. 1 Cor. xiv., 23-25: An unbeliever, coming into the assembly, is convinced of all, is judged of all, and the secrets of his heart are made manifest, and he is constrained to worship God.
All through Professor Finney’s ministry he insisted upon this getting right with God’’; and it was from him that Dr. Torrey obtained this motto.
A friend of mine, a pastor, after preaching on parental fidelity, made a public confession of his own sin in this respect. His wife rose in the pew to join him in such confession; and at once the spirit of confession took hold of the entire congregation, and a revival began then and there.
Another case of a similar character occurred in western New York. A minister had been bewailing the awful failure of his ministry. He had been comparatively dead and formal, preaching intellectual sermons without dependence upon the Holy Ghost. He made public confession, saying: ‘‘ Here I empty myself of all my self-sufficiency, and I pray God to bestow His blessing upon my church and congregation.” One of the elders stood up, and said: “I sympathize with you; but there will be no revival
in this church while I and brother S do
not speak to each other.” These men had not spoken to each other for years; but he stepped across the aisle and shook hands with the other. Another man stood up and said: “There will never be a revival while we say smooth things to our minister before his face, and evil things behind his back, as I have been doing.” A third stood up, and said: “There will never be a revival here while my wife and I do not live in peace;” and then he kissed her before them all. Before that assembly dispersed a mighty work of God had begun which
EXTENDED FOR SCORES OF MILES
in every direction.
Over and over again, similar scenes have been witnessed in the principality of Wales. People have come together without any thought of a special work by God; wrongs between them and God, and between one and the other, have been confessed; and when these things have been rectified, on the spot, the Holy Ghost has at once marvellously wrought; and without one word having been spoken to the unconverted, they have been brought to Christ, then and there by the new atmosphere created in the assembly.
Even in Christian conventions, held for the deepening of spiritual life, personal confession is often a mighty factor for blessing. How often is a whole assembly melted into a penitential frame, when some revered teacher acknowledges that he has been unduly emphasizing personal comfort, or self indulgence in his work, or seeking human glory, or in some way hindering single-eyed service to God! How important for even the speaker to get right with God, if he would get others right. There is
NEED OF WIDESPREAD CONFESSION,
both from the pulpit and the pew, of things which have hindered the power of the Holy Ghost. Nothing do I crave more than to see whole congregations bowed down before God in sobs, tears, and profound penitence, that the Holy Ghost might begin His mighty work.
One word in conclusion — the Holy Spirit is distinctly saying to us that it is quite a possibility to be in the midst of great Divine manifestations that have not been paralleled, perhaps, since Pentecost, and yet not to know the time of our visitation, “The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the judgment of the Lord,” “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.,.
how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate, because thou knowest not the day of thy visitation,” In Wales, side by side, might be seen two churches, one ablaze with Holy Ghost power, the other like a frigid Arctic iceberg. It is possible for you and for me to live in the midst of revival, and yet not know the time of God’s visitation. I have noticed, in the course of a long ministry, that men and women who have passed through powerful revivals of religion unsaved, are very unlikely ever to be converted. I remember one man, who died a few weeks ago, a member of the congregation to which I ministered for years. In the midst of a revival that brought hundreds of souls into the various churches,
HE STOOD UNSAVED AND UNAFFECTED.
I pleaded with him, and I have his letter among the relics of my ministry, in which he says; “Discharge yourself of all responsibility for me; you have done your duty.” He died, having passed the age of seventy years; and he never had, as far as I know, any moving of God upon his soul after that time. In a church near which I lived, a minister said, on one occasion when a revival was passing through the other churches: “I do not want any revival in this church”; and that church has never since had a revival. Dr. Gordon told of a church in New England which went down so low that the building was sold to a coloured congregation at a nominal figure. This was the more remarkable because a large number of these converted coloured people had besought this church to admit them to membership, years before, but had been refused, simply because they were black — and God decreed that the building should thus pass over to be the property of these very people who had been refused admission to membership, thirty years before I
Let us now gather up the lessons God has been teaching us in this great revival:
1. The Sovereignty of the Spirit’s operations.
2. His Supremacy in the Christian
Assembly.
3. Our Absolute Dependence upon Him
for all Spiritual Power.
4. The Honour He puts upon the Inspired Word.
5. The Use He makes of believing and united Prayer.
6. The Necessity of putting away all Hindrances to His working.
7. The Immediateness of Blessing when conditions are favourable.
8. The danger of Missing the time of His Visitaton.
Let us come at once into the right attitude before God. Let there be such prostration of soul before Him that it shall be possible for God at once to begin to bless. Let wrongs be righted, pride and self-sufficiency be put away, and every hindrance removed. God waits to bless — how willing are we to be blessed?