Power was the outstanding characteristic of early Christianity. We turn to the Book of the Acts. of the Apostles and sce there men and women doing wonderful things. They were only a handful in num ders but their enemies testified that they turned the world upside down. 'Their religion was a force to be reckoned with at all times. It} nerved them for conflict, it enabled them to endure hardships and make acvifices. Paul and Silas. could Sing in' the lowest dungeon at} Philippi. Frail women could—face the lions in the arena, martyrs endure the flames and the rack; these had power, mighty powe We have none of the hardships they had in the early days. They worshipped in caves, in. the open fields, they dared not gather in any Jarge' numbers for fear of their enemies. We can worship in pere without fear of disturbance,—We have splendid churches and regular services, and good congregations} sometimes. But they had power. Have we?
You may have a factory splendid.
equipped with the most modern machinery and provided with en-fines of the latest and most cient construction to drive them, But unless the power is turned on the machinery is useless.and the! wheels stand idle.
We have a splendid equipment. All the machinery of a church 60 times as powerful as anything the early church ever dreamt of, but what are we accomplishing? Do we realize that we may have all the organization and machinery of an ficient "religion ut that neither organization, machinery or observances necessarily spell power, form of religion but no force, no! pow "Ye shall receive power" was the Lord's promise, A promise as we have seen abundantly fulfilled in the early church. And that same power is available to-day. The pro. mise stands. Power to overcome the fiercest temptations, to give courage in the darkest days, and strength for the most dificult tasks. Is the promise being fulfilled in our ives? Do we go from this house, from this form of communion with od conscious of power received to ight in the battle of life? Do we rise from our knees after private prayer with a feeling that we have Received strength for conflict? Do we know? Can we feel the life giving power of the presence of God with us?) Or if we may continue our simile of a few moments ago. The factory stands in all its perfection but only a few, units of electricity are coming in over wires, hardly enough keep the wheels feebly turning.
Modern Wastage We stand aghast at wastage material and physical things. For instance when we were told after the war of ships of the newest and most, expensive construction broken up for serap iron, Or acres of in' transportation parks standing exposed to wind and weather and fast becoming useless. Or when we read the reports of the Department of Agriculture and see there that it is estimated that the loss done to fruit trees and crops in the United States alone total over a thousand million dollars in one year. We see the poverty about us and our hearts cry out against such tragic waste, But. can we not see how much] greater and more important is the loss of power, the wasted opportunity in the spiritual lives of men and women. This is the tragedy of tragedies. Worse a million times than those wasted ships and motor lorries, than the financial loss incurred' through insects and disease to tke crops. That men continue to live in moral weakness—when they might have strength; wasted, ineffective lives that might be used abundantly for God and their. fellow] men; dissatisfied and unhappy when they' might have a peace and joy which passes understanding.
We look about and see men whom God made in His image and meant to live as sons and brothers, living estranged from him and in enmity! with one another. Men who have capacity for mighty victories ing as the helpless slaves of sin. Men who have the capacity for service living as parasites. We are only cecompl'shirg a small fraction of what God intended us to be a-d do, There is {ar more possible t, in the power of God than anyone of us imagines, power untold lies available to us. ' We only know religion as a form, nothing of it] as a mighty force,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.