OUR ALLY

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 Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.–Acts 1:8   Many years ago I met the famous evangelist Hyman Appleman, a converted Jew, who preached revivals across America. As a young preacher I was deeply impressed by the power in which he preached. The other day I happened to run across a sermon he preached in 1941. Here is an excerpt of the sermon where he speaks of how the Holy Spirit empowers God’s servants to do His service:   “His power is beyond human computation and measure. His wisdom is limitless. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. He can take, He has taken the weakest vessel, the humblest tool, the poorest instrument, and wrought wonders with them. It was He who endowed Moses, enrolled Joshua, enabled Samuel, ennobled David, enlightened Isaiah, emancipated Daniel, encouraged Paul and Silas—.   He is our Comforter also, ready to transform our lives into channels of blessings, making us mighty unto the pulling down of the strong holds of sin, unto the advancing and the upbuilding of the kingdom, unto the winning of multitudes of precious souls. Without Him we are helpless. With Him the gates of hell cannot prevail against us.   He is the key to success, the secret of victory, the door to the impossible. The Holy Spirit is our ally.”   Dear friend if we would keep these glorious truths in mind we would be a lot less prone to get discouraged in the face of difficulty. With the Holy Spirit as our Helper all things are possible and we have good reason to be encouraged.