As the divine endowment--the power of the
Holy Spirit--was given to the disciples, so it will today be
given to all who seek aright. This power alone is able to make
us wise unto salvation and to fit us for the courts above. Christ
wants to give us a blessing that will make us holy. "These
things have I spoken unto you," He says, "that My joy
might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John
15:11. Joy in the Holy Spirit is health-giving, life-giving joy.
In giving us His Spirit, God gives us Himself, making Himself
a fountain of divine influences, to give health and life to the
world.
As God so liberally bestows His gifts on
you, remember that it is in order that you may return them to
the Giver, multiplied by being imparted. Bring into the lives
of others light and joy and peace. Every day we need the discipline
of self-humiliation, that we may be prepared to receive the heavenly
gift, not to hoard it, not to rob God's children of His blessing,
but to give it in all its rich fullness to others. When more
than now shall we need a heart open to receive, aching, as it
were, with its longing to impart?
We are in duty bound to draw largely from
the treasure house of divine knowledge. God wants us to receive
much, in order that we may impart much. He desires us to be channels
through which He can impart richly of His grace to the world.
Let sincerity and faith characterize your
prayers. The Lord is willing to do for us "exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think." Ephesians 3:20. Talk it;
pray it. Do not talk unbelief. We cannot afford to let Satan
see that he has power to darken our countenances and sadden our
lives.
Pray in faith. And be sure to bring your
lives into harmony with your petitions, that you may receive
the blessings for which you pray. Let not your faith weaken,
for the blessings received are proportionate to the faith exercised.
"According to your faith be it unto you." "All
things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
receive." Matthew 9:29; 21:22. Pray, believe, rejoice. Sing
praises to God because He has answered your prayers. Take Him
at His word. "He is faithful that promised." Hebrews
10:23. Not one sincere supplication is lost. The channel is open;
the stream is flowing. It carries with it healing properties,
pouring forth a restoring current of life and health and salvation.
To every teacher is given the sacred privilege
of representing Christ. And as teachers strive to do this, they
may cherish the reassuring conviction that the Saviour is close
beside them, giving them words to speak for Him, pointing out
ways in which they can show forth His excellence.
Teachers meet with many trials. Discouragements
press upon them as they see that their efforts are not always
appreciated by their pupils. Satan strives to afflict them with
bodily infirmities, hoping to lead them to murmur against God,
to forget His goodness, His mercy, His love, and the exceeding
weight of glory that awaits the overcomer. Let them remember
that by trial God is leading them to more perfect confidence
in Him. His eye is ever upon them, and if in their perplexity
they look to Him in faith, He will bring them forth from the
furnace refined and purified as gold tried in the fire. He permits
trials to come to them to draw them nearer to Him, but He lays
on them no burden greater than they are able to bear. And He
declares: "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Hebrews 13:5. He is always ready
to deliver those who trust in Him. Let the hard-pressed, sorely
tried teacher say: "Though He slay Me, yet will I trust
in Him." "Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall
fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be
cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
Job 13:15; Habakkuk 3:17, 18.
Students, co-operate with your teachers.
As you do this you give them hope and courage. You are helping
them, and at the same time you are helping yourselves to advance.
Remember that it rests largely with you whether your teachers
stand on vantage ground, their work an acknowledged success.
In the highest sense you are to be learners,
seeing God behind the teacher, and the teacher co-operating with
Him.
Your opportunities for work are fast passing.
You have no time to spend in self-pleasing. Only as you strive
earnestly to succeed will you gain true happiness. Precious are
the opportunities offered you during the time you spend in school.
Make your student life as perfect as possible. You will pass
over the way but once. And it rests with you yourself whether
your work shall be a success or a failure. As you succeed in
gaining a knowledge of the Bible you are storing up treasures
to impart.
If you have a fellow student who is backward,
explain to him the lesson that he does not understand. This will
aid your own understanding. Use simple words; state your ideas
in language that is clear and easy to be understood.
By helping your fellow student, you help
your teachers.
And often one whose mind is apparently stolid
will catch ideas more quickly from a fellow student than from
a teacher.
This is the co-operation that Christ commends.
The Great Teacher stands beside you, helping you to help the
one who is backward.
In your school life you may have opportunity
to tell the poor and ignorant of the wonderful truths of God's
word. Improve every such opportunity. The Lord will bless every
moment spent in this way.
We are living in a time when Satan is working
with all his power to discourage and defeat those who are laboring
in God's service. But we must not fail nor be discouraged. We
must exercise greater faith in God. We must trust His living
word. Unless we have a firmer hold from above, we shall never
be able to cope with the powers of darkness that will be seen
and felt in every department of the work.
Earth's cisterns will often be empty, its
pools become dry; but in Christ there is a living spring from
which we may continually draw. However much we draw and give
to others, an abundance will remain. There is no danger of exhausting
the supply; for Christ is the inexhaustible wellspring of truth.
The ethics inculcated by the gospel acknowledge
no standard but the perfection of God's mind, God's will. All
righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect,
harmonious whole. Everyone who receives Christ as his personal
Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes. This is the
science of holiness.