Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

man."wise."path"another."you"name."us to "let our light so shine before men, that theymay see our good works and glorify our Fatherwhich is in heaven."The Scriptures teach "what duty God requiresof This is the message of Peter, "Sanctify theLord God in your hearts" ; of James, "Be ye doers ofthe word, and not hearers only"; of Paul, "Be notconformed to this world ; but be ye transformed bythe renewing of your mind, that ye may prove whatis that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God"and of John, "Beloved, let us love oneIt isa sin to waste the time of another. We are not ourown. How sinful then, it is to waste the time of Himwho hath redeemed us. Redeem the time by walkingcircumspectlylove.walking in the light, in truth and inII. By Understanding the Will of the LordThis word,"understand" seems to mean to"bring together." The idea evidently is that we areto bring God's Word into our daily lives. Do we applyGod's word to our daily living? Are we doers of theWord ? The Psalmist said, "Thy Word is a lamp untomy feet, and a light unto my here we have alamp unto our feet, a message for every step of theway, as well as a light unto our path.But if we are to make application of God's Wordto the conduct of our daily life, we must know it. In arecent Gallup Poll in which people were asked toname the first four books of the New Testament,over half of the people were unable to name any oneof the Gospels. Can this be true? If it is, then itmeans that over half the people of this country areignorant of the contents of these Gospels. If peopledo not know the names1 of the Gospels is it likely thatthey will know much about the teaching, life anddeath of Jesus Christ ? Of course people who are ignorant of God's will cannot make any adequate application of it to their own lives.In the COVENANTER WITNESS, May 11, is anarticle on "How Drunkards Are Produced" by Dr.W. J. Robinson. Dr. Robinson stated that accordingto Proverbs 20:1 "more than half of our people arenotMore than half the people who were asked toname the four Gospels were unable to do it. Morethan half the people are not wise because they aredeceived by strong drink. Is there any relationshipbetween these two things ? If men do not know theWill of the Lord, they are unwise. What is the result? They are deceived by strong drink and otherkindred evils. Let us learn to redeem the time by applying God's holy and perfect will to our daily livingmay we truly understand the Will of the Lord !III. By Being Filled with the Holy Spirit"Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess butbe filled with the Spirit." Stimulation might come ina right way or a wrong way. "Be not drunk withwine."Does this include all worldly methods bywhich men are stimulated amassing a large fortune, seeking pleasure, honor, power or in beingdrunk with wine ? These things cannot give the truestimulation. This is found by being filled with theSpirit. Would there be any doubt about redeemingthe time if we were so filled?August 31, 1955The lexicon says, that "What wholly takes possession of the mind, is said to fill it." Zacharias, Johnthe Baptist, the disciples on the day of Pentecost, thefirst Christian martyr, Paul, Barnabas and doubtlessmany others were filled with the Spirit. At leastthree things will characterize those who are so filled.The first evidence will be the fruit of the Spirit,"Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance."The acknowledgment of the Lordship of Christin our lives is the second characteristic. The greatwork of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ. "He shallglorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine and shallshow it unto (John 16:13-14). This is emphasized in our Covenant. "We believe in the one livingand true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as revealed in the Scriptures; we accept Jesus Christ asour Saviour from sin, and we acknowledge Him asour LORD."The third evidence is the Spirit in our heartsWho "maketh intercession for us with groaningsuttered."which cannot be This is the secret of power in prayer (Romans 8:26-27). Surely we would beredeeming the time if we were filled and refilledwith the Holy Spirit, being led, controlled and usedby Him.IV. By Worshiping"Speaking to yourselves in Psalms, hymns andspiritual songs, singing and making melody in ourhearts to the Lord," and "giving thanks always forall things unto God and the Father in the name ofour Lord Jesus Christ."It is said that the last words of P. T. Barnumwere, "What were today's receipts ?" The ruling passion in life is strong in death. Mr. Barnum was thinking of "receipts" in terms of dollars. Doubtless thathad been his ruling passion in life, and so his lastwords were, "What are today's receipts ?"Lifting this thought to a higher plane, we ask,"What are today's receipts ?" The answer, of course,is everything. All our spiritual, mental, physical andmateria] blessings are from above. What have wethat we have not received? And from Whom did wereceive them ? "He that spared not his own Son, butdelivered him up for us all, how shall he not withHim also freely give us all things.""0 Lord my God, how manifold,The wonders Thou hast wroughtIf I would tell and speak of themThey cannot numbered be." Psalm 40.Should not the ruling passion of our lives be theGiving thanks . . . unto God and the Father in theName of our Lord Jesus Christ ? The Psalmist understood the power of the ruling passion of life andsaid,"I will Thee praise, My God, O King,And I will ever bless thyThe Lord give us grace and strength to redeem thetime by walking circumspectly, by understanding thewill of the Lord, by being filled with the Spirit andby worshiping Him making Him the ruling passionof our lives."And let all bless His holy Name,evermore."Forever and for135