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‘I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.’
Luk_11:24-25
Under the influence of the good Spirit of God a man’s ideas and objects in life may undergo a blessed change.
I. The improvement is not maintained.—Sometimes at a parochial mission men and women are powerfully affected. Their past life is revealed to them as by a flash of lightning. They are led to a wholly different view of the meaning of life. Nay, even like Herod at the preaching of John the Baptist, they will ‘do many things.’ The evil spirit of worldliness and unbelief appears to have been cast out of their hearts. But behold them again after the lapse of a few years or months, and they are as careless, as worldly, as indifferent to the claims of God upon their hearts and lives as before. Nay, perhaps even more so. What is the explanation? To adopt the metaphorical language of the text, the evil spirit came back.
II. One very common reason why so many fall away, who seem to have made their decision for Christ and His service, is to be found in the fact that, when they are, as they think, converted, their is no real love to their Saviour in their hearts. They do not at once endeavour, from gratitude for salvation, to bring others to salvation and to promote the Kingdom of Christ upon earth. But they are satisfied with being, as they think, safe. And the selfish heart, even the spiritual selfish heart, is an empty heart.
III. If we are successfully to combat our sinful nature, we shall submit ourselves to be ‘led by the Spirit’; we shall ‘walk in the Spirit.’
(a) The first step is to realise our own utter weakness, that we have no sufficiency of ourselves, our sufficiency must be of God. Self-reliance is fatal.
(b) We must be men of prayer. Neglect of prayer issues always in unbelief, or sensuality, or indifference. Prayer keeps us humble.
(c) There must be constant meditation upon the Holy Word of God.
(d) Then the regular attendance upon Divine Service keeps us mindful of God.
In those who, responding to Divine Grace, walk through life ‘led by the Spirit,’ in them the Comforter manifests His sanctifying power.
—
Bishop Sheepshanks.
Illustrations(1) ‘An aged clergyman, vicar of a London parish, kept a careful record of the sick cases which he visited. In a forty years’ ministry he visited two hundred careless people who seemed to repent when they thought themselves dying, and yet recovered. Of that number one hundred and eighty, or nine-tenths, went back to their old irreligious, unbelieving life, and were as bad or worse than before.’
(2) ‘A saint of old was once asked what his secret was which enabled him to lead so pure and blameless a life. He replied, “I cannot tell. I have no secret. But this I know, that did God my Father withdraw His grace from me but for an instant, I should plunge into the most dreadful sins.” This conviction was his strength.’