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The Acts of the Apostles
realize that he himself is weary, cold, and hungry. He has but one
object in view—the saving of the lost.
He who serves under the bloodstained banner of Immanuel will
have that to do which will call for heroic effort and patient endurance.
But the soldier of the cross stands unshrinkingly in the forefront of
the battle. As the enemy presses the attack against him, he turns to
the stronghold for aid, and as he brings to the Lord the promises of
the word, he is strengthened for the duties of the hour. He realizes his
need of strength from above. The victories that he gains do not lead to
self exaltation, but cause him to lean more and more heavily on the
Mighty One. Relying upon that Power, he is enabled to present the
message of salvation so forcibly that it vibrates in other minds.
He who teaches the word must himself live in conscious, hourly
communion with God through prayer and a study of His word, for
here is the source of strength. Communion with God will impart
to the minister’s efforts a power greater than the influence of his
preaching. Of this power he must not allow himself to be deprived.
With an earnestness that cannot be denied, he must plead with God to
strengthen and fortify him for duty and trial, and to touch his lips with
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living fire. All too slight is the hold that Christ’s ambassadors often
have upon eternal realities. If men will walk with God, He will hide
them in the cleft of the Rock. Thus hidden, they can see God, even
as Moses saw Him. By the power and light that He imparts they can
comprehend more and accomplish more than their finite judgment had
deemed possible.
Satan’s craft is most successfully used against those who are de-
pressed. When discouragement threatens to overwhelm the minister,
let him spread out before God his necessities. It was when the heav-
ens were as brass over Paul that he trusted most fully in God. More
than most men, he knew the meaning of affliction; but listen to his
triumphant cry as, beset by temptation and conflict, his feet press heav-
enward: “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for
us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not
at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.”
2
Corinthians 4:17, 18
. Paul’s eyes were ever fastened on the unseen and
eternal. Realizing that he was fighting against supernatural powers, he
placed his dependence on God, and in this lay his strength. It is by