But man’s will cannot be forced.  The Lord cannot compel any one to love him, any more than one of us can force a man to be our friend who inwardly hates us.  The Lord is every day seeking to turn the hearts of men to himself through the life-giving, holy, healing power of the Word of gospel grace.  He does this through the faithful ministers who preach it.  In this way he causes the sun of truth and love to rise and shine upon even the very worst of sinners, and sends the rain of his grace to fall upon them.  Without the sun and the rain the seed would forever lie dead in the ground; but what is very wonderful in the gospel seed is the fact that it carries along with itself, as it falls upon the ground, all the light, and heat, and moisture it needs.  Our blessed Lord says:  “My words are spirit, and they are life.”

In illustration of this let us notice the power of his words in several instances recorded in the New Testament Scriptures.  Let me refer to Jairus’s daughter. She was dead. Every one could know this that saw her.  Jesus said to this dead girl:  “Maiden, arise.”  Her spirit came back into her.  The heart, that before was pulseless and still, began to beat; and the breast, over which the pall of death had fallen, began to heave.  In obedience to his word she rose up and lived.  Were not his words spirit and life to this girl?  The very same thing took place with the dead boy, the only son of the widow of Nain.  Things no less wonderful were of daily occurrence in the life of Jesus.  The cleansing of the lepers, the healing of the sick, the casting out of devils, all, all proved the spirit and life that are in his words.

His words, however, have not only natural life and breath in them; but they have spiritual life and breath; and this means eternal life.  My brother, my sister, if the Word of Christ is in your heart you have a holy, heavenly beating there of love to God and love to all his dear people; and you have a holy, heavenly breathing after more knowledge of his words, and for larger and clearer views of the revelations of his grace.  These are proofs of the inward, heavenly life in the soul.

DO NOT FORGET THE TEXT.

Every intelligent human being is a sower of some kind of seed.  Every one is either sowing the Word of God or the word and spirit of some one else; but let the seed be of whatever kind it may, this thing is sure:  “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”  Sowing to the flesh is living after the flesh with its affections and lusts; but sowing to the Spirit is crucifying and mortifying the flesh, and living the new life of faith, and hope, and love.

Brethren and sisters, there is a mighty, mighty difference between the two.  What has the mere fleshly, carnal mind to hope for in the world to come?  It can feel no delight, no enjoyment in heavenly things, such as love to God and love to man.  It knows nothing of that love which is the bond of perfectness.