THE OUTPOURING OF THE SPIRIT
By L. A. Phippeny
IN the days immediately preceding the second-coming of Christ, a remarkable energizing of the spirits of all flesh is to take place. For "it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh." (Acts 2:17, cited from Joel, and in harmony with the glad promises of all ages.) Placing the time more definitely, it means now. At the beginning of the Gospel dispensation there was witnessed a special outpouring of the Spirit. For a like manifestation, tho far exceeding the former in glory, the expectation of God's children is transferred to the end of the age, the days in which is consummated the Gospel message of salvation. And, therefore, the present world-wide spiritual activity is one of the striking signs that prove the proximity of the end of the age and the unparalleled events that are grouped around it. Then the solemn but grand truth follows, that already there has been poured upon all flesh a measure of vitalizing power from on high. Not alone upon the earnest seekers after divine grace is the refreshing shower falling, but upon saint and sinner. Do not stumble at the thought that all flesh is receiving the gracious drops from above. It is God's truth, for all flesh is a thirsty land, and needs it. You must have felt the operation of the unseen power upon your own heart. Then for your soul's sake and for eternity yield to its gentle pleading. Were you looking for signs and miracles to follow the outpouring of the Spirit? Well, they will follow where God wills, but it possibly may not be your lot to witness them. Leave that to God, and to Him also leave the responsibility of distributing the gifts of the Spirit where and when and upon whom He wills. Again, remember that the office of the Spirit is to convince of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, and not every soul—far from it—to whom the reproof and the conviction come will turn from the pleasures of sin to the joys of life everlasting. But this reproving, convincing, convicting, is pressing upon the conscience of every living soul of mankind, with power. Therefore, as this is the office of the Spirit, and this work is now actually being accomplished, the Spirit is being poured upon all flesh, according to the Word. You may ask, What is the means by which this work is being done? And the answer is, By the Word of God. By the Word of God only can His Spirit possibly be revealed, or made known, and thus, as it were, poured upon a needy place; just as God Himself is made known by means of His Word. "But what saith it? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith, which we preach. . . . For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? . . . So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." And so through a knowledge of the Word, the Spirit works upon the heart. But there are the heathen, in the midnight of ignorance and degradation. Untold millions of them have neither the printed nor the spoken Word, and know not God. But they have the word in nature, and nature is but God's thought expressed by means of His creative word in the forms we behold about us. And the Word in nature tells of the One who spoke it. "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." And so in this momentous time God is speaking a last message of warning, conviction, reproof, invitation, to every soul, by the printed Word scattered as the autumn leaves; by the preached Word; by precept; by example; by the revelation of His power in nature—but always through the Word in some form accessible to the individual to whom He speaks, and comprehensible by him. And thus His Spirit is being poured upon all flesh. Therefore, preach the Word. And the angels of God are impressing all hearts to receive of that Spirit, and turn, and be saved from the impending destruction. But the descent of this reviving power from above is the signal for the onslaught of all the hosts of hell. With an energy born of inexpressible hatred, and with satanic determination to fight to the bitter end, the legions of evil are plying their diabolical arts, to induce mankind to reject the message of salvation as it comes through the Word of God. As the Spirit of God is refused by the soul it has aroused, the spirit of Satan takes possession, and cunningly deceives the individual, and leads him to believe that error is truth, and that the zeal he feels and the power he witnesses are verily the "great power of God." And with the doctrines of error there is a power, —a power that works miracles, and signs, and wonders. And the universal claim is that the spirit and power thus manifested are the Spirit and the power of God. And if you have not already heard, you will hear the claim made by those who profess to be led by the Spirit of the Lord, that the Spirit has led them into great light independently of the Bible. And you now know of those who make this high profession of divine guidance, who profess great reverence for the Word, but reject certain portions of it. Be not deceived, as you value your eternal happiness. Tho your natural eyes may be unable to detect the false as it stands by the side of the true, pray God to apply the divine eye-salve, that your spiritual eyesight may be undimmed. Apply the infallible test, tho the claimant to divine power be clothed with the panoply of heaven. This test is the Word. "If they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them." They will profess to speak according to it. But let this principle be eternally fixed in your mind, that only by the Word is God's Spirit revealed, and only in harmony with that Word will His Spirit ever be manifested. Know where you stand, and denounce the error boldly and fearlessly. Now is the time pre-eminent of "lo here's" and "lo there's." But they are not all of sudden preparation. Satan is a profound student of prophecy, and has foreseen the end and the final conflict as men have not. And so through the ages he has fostered and developed error and deception, until today we stand in the midst of the elaborations of all sin's history. False religions and systems and isms, of whatever designation, claim their millions,—the vast majority,—and new errors and science, falsely so-called, add daily their theories and speculations and observations. But there is no soul satisfaction in them, for the divine light has flashed across men's visions, and left its impress of truth and purity. Consequently, there is intense but blind groping after the ideal, while a sense of impending calamity, and an eager looking for some world-revolutionizing event, agitate the minds of all men, of every nation and creed. The very atmosphere quivers with in-11tensity, for the life-giving energy from above is met by the deadly downpour of the spirit and power of Satan. And the crying, and heart-rending, and saddest fact of all—unless it be the other, that the deceived do not realize their condition—is that the Spirit and power of God are being grieved away from a large portion of His professed followers. And so surely as the night follows the day, a spirit not of God takes possession of the house once swept and garnished for the indwelling of the holy Presence. Have you felt the divine quickening? Then “grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption;” for that day is at hand.