p. 376 | Power from on High by Stephen N. Haskell

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Jun 24, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 24.

Power from on High.

By Stephen N. Haskell

As JESUS was about to ascend to Heaven, he said to the disciples, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” Luke 24:49. The disciples had been with Christ three and a half years. They had received such instructions as no one on earth had ever before received. Many of the things that the disciples heard from him were heard by others; for in teaching them he often did it so that the multitudes might hear as well, as in the sermon on the mount; but more than this, the disciples were with him at all times, in private as well as in public, and thus they received many things from their Lord that none others knew. There was no phase of instruction which they had not received. The Saviour had sent them out to preach, and had given them “power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of diseases.” Matt. 10:1. Likewise to the seventy he said: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” Luke 10:19.

And yet after all this, they were not qualified for the work which was now to be done until they were endued with power from on high. There was a height yet to be reached, there was that yet to be received which would clothe the word with a power never before known. Pentecost was the fulfillment of this word of the Saviour. There Peter gave a simple discourse, not a deep process of reasoning, yet three thousand souls were converted. And again, only shortly afterward, five thousand more were converted. Why were not such great things done before? There was a power attending the word that had not been manifested before. The Spirit of God set the word to the hearts of men, and thousands were moved by its power.

In this is shown what will be also in the last days. James, speaking of the coming of the Lord, refers to the early and the latter rain. The prophet Hosea, in foretelling the resurrection of Christ on the third day after he was smitten, says: “Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord; his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” Hos. 6:2, 3. John the Baptist had gone before to prepare the way for the work of Christ. John sowed precious seed. Jesus sowed the good seed of the word of God. The twelve and again the seventy sowed the good seed in many hearts. But it was the former rain of the Pentecost—the power that came by the Spirit of God—that caused it to spring up and bring forth fruit thus, even a thousand fold in a day. So now the truth that is to prepare the world for the coming of the Saviour in the clouds of heaven is being sent to all nations. By the efforts of the missionary workers in sending the SIGNS and other publications, seed is being sown, fields are opened, the way is prepared for the voice of the living preacher. And now what is wanted most of all is that the preacher as he goes forth may be endued with that power from on high that will clothe his words, as it were, with a living flame.

When we went to Australia we prayed earnestly that God would reveal his power in such a way that it could be seen that God was in the movement, that it might be an encouragement to our brethren in America. God graciously heard us, and answered our prayers in a most wonderful manner. He gave such power to his word that in a little while many were brought to a full decision in favor of the truth without ever hearing a sermon. The “loud cry,” so much talked about, will come in a different way from what many have looked for. It will come by the word of God running through the earth, and the power of God bearing it to hearts. The field is ready. God has gone out before us, brethren. The way is prepared, and now the Lord waits to be gracious to his people. He waits to endue us with power from on high. He wants us to come near to him. See the prayer of Moses when he prayed to God for the people! Such a prayer was never before offered by mortal man: “Yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me I pray thee out of thy book which thou hast written.” The Lord heard his prayer and spared the people, and said, “Now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee.” This leads Moses to ask more: “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” And the Lord said, “I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken.” But this grace emboldens Moses to go yet a step further. He says: “I beseech thee, show me thy glory.” Did the Lord rebuke him? No; he said: “I will make all my goodness pass before thee . . . and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen. Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live.”

God wants us to come into that place where he can bestow his power upon us. The time has come when God will have more done than he has ever done before. A minister in Australia rejected the Sabbath and the Law of God, because it searched his heart so closely that he could not stand before it. But, said I to him, That is the strongest testimony in favor of the Law of God that I have heard in these Colonies. Brethren, if there is a truth that will search the heart to its very depths, give us that truth. Thank God for such a truth. Oh, that we could have the place where we are a Jerusalem to us! Then we shall see souls converted. I believe the words of the text should come home with power to every one of us, that we may “be endued with power from on high.” S. N. H.