November 26th — THE CONCENTRATION OF SPIRITUAL ENERGY
November 26th.THE CONCENTRATION OF SPIRITUAL ENERGY
". . . save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Galatians 6:14
If you want to know the energy of God (i.e., the resurrection life of Jesus) in your mortal flesh, you must brood on the tragedy of God. Cut yourself off from prying personal interest in your own spiritual symptoms and consider bare-spirited the tragedy of God, and instantly the energy of God wil be in you.
"Look unto Me," pay attention to the objective Source and the subjective energy wil be there. We lose power if we do not concentrate on the right thing.
The effect of the Cross is salvation, sanctification, healing, etc., but we are not to preach any of these, we are to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
The proclaiming of Jesus wil do its own work. Concentrate on God's centre in your preaching, and though your crowd may apparently pay no attention, they can never be the same again. If I talk my own talk, it is of no more importance to you than your talk is to me; but if I talk the truth of God, you wil meet it again and so wil I. We have to concentrate on the great point of spiritual energy - the Cross, to keep in contact with that centre where al the power lies, and the energy wil be let loose. In holiness movements and spiritual experience meetings the concentration is apt to be put not on the Cross of Christ, but on the effects of the Cross.
The feebleness of the churches is being criticized to-day, and the criticism is justified. One reason for the feebleness is that there has not been this concentration of spiritual energy; we have not brooded enough on the tragedy of Calvary or on the meaning of Redemption.