The power is of God the Holy Ghost. His coming to earth is the promise of the Father, and when the Lord ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Ghost to earth to abide with us forever. He came to be the Comforter, who should not depart, but who should dwell in us, and be with us; He came to be the Teacher, to lead us into all truth; He came to be the energy within, who should work in us, so that He might use us to be God’s instruments for the cause and glory of Christ.
The Holy Ghost has come—this we believe. We have read of His coming to the earth in the book of Acts, just as we read of Christ’s coming to the earth in the gospels; we believe one reality even as we believe the other. We know, too, that He is here carrying out the promise of the Lord. May we not add that here again we have another step, for herein is faith in the truth of God’s word—yea, in the verity of the presence of the Holy Ghost on earth.
Nevertheless, we feel that, with these steps taken, how very little of the power from on high is really in us. We stand, for example, face to face with a godless soul, a skeptic, an indifferent spirit, or, shall we say, with one halting between two opinions, or, perhaps, with one who is seeking salvation. But how little penetrative force is in our words! They seem to glance off—or, if they seem to enter, they enter too slightly, and the one to whom we speak remains very nearly in the same state as before we spoke. Or shall our example be the public service? The sermon is preached, but who cries to God for salvation.