A Short Sermon by H. A. St. John

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · May 1, 1913

A Short Sermon

By H. A. St. John

H. A. ST. JOHN

Text: “Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.” Zech. 10:1. “There shall be showers of blessing.” Eze. 34:26. “Sir, we would see Jesus.” John 12:21.

THE former rain, on the day of Pentecost, was preceded by many showers of blessing. These showers prepared the disciples for the great outpouring when the day of Pentecost had fully come. After the resurrection, the manifestation of Christ constituted a shower of blessing to some soul, or souls, in every instance. When Jesus revealed himself to Mary, what a shower of blessing came to her sorrowing heart! She was made a missionary at once, and started in haste to deliver the joyful message, “He is risen.” To the other women, the same morning, when they were on their way to the sepulcher with sad hearts, bearing sweet spices for the dead, the shower of blessing came suddenly in the manifestation of Christ, and they were filled with the same joyful message, “He is risen.” In quick succession similar showers of blessing came to many others in the manifestation of Christ,—to Peter alone; to ten disciples together; then to the eleven disciples when Thomas was with them; to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus; to seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee; to more than five hundred at once on a mountainside; and last of all, to the disciples on Mt. Olivet, when Jesus ascended in glory to his Father.

For a period of forty days, by many infallible proofs Jesus showed himself alive, and in each instance it was a shower of blessing to somebody; and every heart to whom Jesus revealed himself was filled and thrilled with the joyful message, “He is risen.” Yes, and we have just as much cause for rejoicing that Jesus is risen as they had. He rose, that we may rise. He rose for our justification, sanctification, and eternal glorification. O, let us continually praise him!

And that company who received that last shower of blessing on Mt. Olivet returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. In addition to the joyful message, “He is risen,” they were inspired with another still more thrilling message, He is coming again. A shining angel told them that the same Jesus would come again in like manner as they had seen him depart. And when the pentecostal outpouring came, they joyfully testified that it came from the glorified Jesus.

* Sanitarium, Cal.