MAN’S CRY—GOD’S GIFT
Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness. Consciously or unconsciously, his inner being longs for both. There are times when man actually cries for them, even though in his restlessness, confusion, loneliness, fear, and pressures he may not know what he is crying for.
God heard that first cry for help, that cry for forgiveness, and answered it at Calvary. God sent His only Son into the world to die for our sins, so that we might be forgiven. This is a gift for us— God’s gift of salvation. This gift is a permanent legacy for everyone who truly admits he has “fallen short” and sinned. It is for everyone who reaches out and accepts God’s gift by receiving Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Paul calls it God’s “indescribable” gift (2 Cor. 9:15).
But God also heard our second cry, that cry for goodness, and answered it at Pentecost. God does not want us to come to Christ by faith, and then lead a life of defeat, discouragement, and dissension.
Rather, He wants to “fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power; in order that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you” (2 Thess. 11- 12, ). To the great gift of forgiveness God adds also the great gift of the Holy Spirit. He is the source of power who meets our need to escape from the miserable weakness that grips us. He gives us the power to be truly good.
If we are to live a life of sanity in our modern world, if we wish to be men and women who can live victoriously, we need this two-sided gift God has offered us: first, the work of the Son of God for us; second, the work of the Spirit of God in us. In this way God has answered mankind’s two great cries: the cry for forgiveness and the cry for goodness.
As a friend of mine has said, “I need Jesus Christ for my eternal life, and the Holy Spirit of God for my internal life.”
If you believe in Jesus Christ, a power is available to you that can change your life, even in such intimate areas as your marriage, your family , and every other relationship. Also, God offers power that can change a tired church into a vital, growing body, power that can revitalize Christendom.
Unfortunately, this power has been ignored, misunderstood, and misused.
By our ignorance we have short-circuited the power of the Holy Spirit.
Many books are written about this power; many prayers are said pleading for this power. Scores of Christians would like to have it, but they aren’t sure what it is.
When the world looks at a Christian, certain mental cliches come to mind: it sees the believer as a stiff-necked, sober-faced person without a sense of humor; a person who can’t make it himself so he uses “God as a crutch”; one who has left his brains in kindergarten.
Now, if this cold stereotype applies in any way to us or the Church, then we need to know about the exciting, revolutionary power available exclusively to Christian believers.
- Billy Graham ( The Holy Spirit )
Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness. Consciously or unconsciously, his inner being longs for both. There are times when man actually cries for them, even though in his restlessness, confusion, loneliness, fear, and pressures he may not know what he is crying for.
God heard that first cry for help, that cry for forgiveness, and answered it at Calvary. God sent His only Son into the world to die for our sins, so that we might be forgiven. This is a gift for us— God’s gift of salvation. This gift is a permanent legacy for everyone who truly admits he has “fallen short” and sinned. It is for everyone who reaches out and accepts God’s gift by receiving Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Paul calls it God’s “indescribable” gift (2 Cor. 9:15).
But God also heard our second cry, that cry for goodness, and answered it at Pentecost. God does not want us to come to Christ by faith, and then lead a life of defeat, discouragement, and dissension.
Rather, He wants to “fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power; in order that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you” (2 Thess. 11- 12, ). To the great gift of forgiveness God adds also the great gift of the Holy Spirit. He is the source of power who meets our need to escape from the miserable weakness that grips us. He gives us the power to be truly good.
If we are to live a life of sanity in our modern world, if we wish to be men and women who can live victoriously, we need this two-sided gift God has offered us: first, the work of the Son of God for us; second, the work of the Spirit of God in us. In this way God has answered mankind’s two great cries: the cry for forgiveness and the cry for goodness.
As a friend of mine has said, “I need Jesus Christ for my eternal life, and the Holy Spirit of God for my internal life.”
If you believe in Jesus Christ, a power is available to you that can change your life, even in such intimate areas as your marriage, your family , and every other relationship. Also, God offers power that can change a tired church into a vital, growing body, power that can revitalize Christendom.
Unfortunately, this power has been ignored, misunderstood, and misused.
By our ignorance we have short-circuited the power of the Holy Spirit.
Many books are written about this power; many prayers are said pleading for this power. Scores of Christians would like to have it, but they aren’t sure what it is.
When the world looks at a Christian, certain mental cliches come to mind: it sees the believer as a stiff-necked, sober-faced person without a sense of humor; a person who can’t make it himself so he uses “God as a crutch”; one who has left his brains in kindergarten.
Now, if this cold stereotype applies in any way to us or the Church, then we need to know about the exciting, revolutionary power available exclusively to Christian believers.
- Billy Graham ( The Holy Spirit )
MAN’S CRY—GOD’S GIFT
Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness. Consciously or unconsciously, his inner being longs for both. There are times when man actually cries for them, even though in his restlessness, confusion, loneliness, fear, and pressures he may not know what he is crying for.
God heard that first cry for help, that cry for forgiveness, and answered it at Calvary. God sent His only Son into the world to die for our sins, so that we might be forgiven. This is a gift for us— God’s gift of salvation. This gift is a permanent legacy for everyone who truly admits he has “fallen short” and sinned. It is for everyone who reaches out and accepts God’s gift by receiving Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Paul calls it God’s “indescribable” gift (2 Cor. 9:15).
But God also heard our second cry, that cry for goodness, and answered it at Pentecost. God does not want us to come to Christ by faith, and then lead a life of defeat, discouragement, and dissension.
Rather, He wants to “fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power; in order that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you” (2 Thess. 11- 12, ). To the great gift of forgiveness God adds also the great gift of the Holy Spirit. He is the source of power who meets our need to escape from the miserable weakness that grips us. He gives us the power to be truly good.
If we are to live a life of sanity in our modern world, if we wish to be men and women who can live victoriously, we need this two-sided gift God has offered us: first, the work of the Son of God for us; second, the work of the Spirit of God in us. In this way God has answered mankind’s two great cries: the cry for forgiveness and the cry for goodness.
As a friend of mine has said, “I need Jesus Christ for my eternal life, and the Holy Spirit of God for my internal life.”
If you believe in Jesus Christ, a power is available to you that can change your life, even in such intimate areas as your marriage, your family , and every other relationship. Also, God offers power that can change a tired church into a vital, growing body, power that can revitalize Christendom.
Unfortunately, this power has been ignored, misunderstood, and misused.
By our ignorance we have short-circuited the power of the Holy Spirit.
Many books are written about this power; many prayers are said pleading for this power. Scores of Christians would like to have it, but they aren’t sure what it is.
When the world looks at a Christian, certain mental cliches come to mind: it sees the believer as a stiff-necked, sober-faced person without a sense of humor; a person who can’t make it himself so he uses “God as a crutch”; one who has left his brains in kindergarten.
Now, if this cold stereotype applies in any way to us or the Church, then we need to know about the exciting, revolutionary power available exclusively to Christian believers.
- Billy Graham ( The Holy Spirit )
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