Secret Power; or, The Secret of Success in Christian Life and WorkMoody, Dwight Lyman
Religion
Secret Power; or, The Secret of Success in Christian Life and Work
Moody, Dwight Lyman
Baptism in the Holy Spirit; Christian life; Holy Spirit
Now, there are three kinds of joy; there is the joy of one's own
salvation. I thought, when I first tasted that, it was the most
delicious joy I had ever known, and that I could never get beyond it.
But I found, afterward, there was something more joyful than that,
namely, the joy of the salvation of others. Oh, the privilege, the
blessed privilege, to be used of God to win a soul to Christ, and to
see a man or woman being led out of bondage by some act of ours toward
them. To think that God should condescend to allow us to be co-workers
with Him. It is the highest honor we can wear. It surpasses the joy of
our own salvation, this joy of seeing others saved. And then John
said, He had no greater joy than to see His disciples walking in the
truth. Every man who has been the means of leading souls to Christ
understands what that means. Young disciples, walk in the truth and
you will have joy all the while.
I think there is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is
caused by things which happen around me, and circumstances will mar
it, but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the
dark; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows all
through persecution and opposition; it flows right along, for it is an
unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; a secret spring which the
world can't see and don't know anything about; but the Lord gives His
people perpetual joy when they walk in obedience to Him.
This joy is fed by the Divine Word. Jeremiah says in chapter xv, 16:
"Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me
the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Thy name, O
Lord."
He ate the words, and what was the result? He said they were the joy
and rejoicing of his heart. Now people should look for joy in the
Word, and not in the world; they should look for the joy which the
Scriptures furnish, and then go work in the vineyard; because a joy
that don't send me out to some one else, a joy that don't impel me to
go and help the poor drunkard, a joy that don't prompt me to visit the
widow and the fatherless, a joy that don't cause me to go into the
Mission Sunday-school or other Christian work, is not worth having,
and is not from above; a joy that does not constrain me to go and work
for the Master, is purely sentiment and not real joy.
JOY IN PERSECUTION.
Then it says in Luke vi, 22: "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you,
and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall
reproach you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's
sake. Rejoice ye in that day and leap for joy, for behold your reward
is great in heaven for in like manner did their fathers unto the
prophets."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account