DL Moody 1937-1899
WHAT IS NEEDED Nine-tenths, at least, of the
church members never think of speaking for
Christ. If they see a man, perhaps a near relative, just going right down to
ruin, going rapidly, they never think of speaking to him about his
sinful course and of seeking to win him to
Christ. Now certainly there must be something wrong. And yet when you talk with them you find they have
faith, and you can not say they are not
children of
God; but they have not the
power, they have not the
liberty, they have not the
love that real
disciples of
Christ should have.
A great many people are thinking that we need new measures, that we need new
churches, that we need new organs, and that we need new choirs, and all these new things. That is not what the
Church of
God needs today. It is the old
power that the
Apostles had; that is what we want, and if we have that in our
churches, there will be new
life. Then we will have new
ministers - the same old
ministers renewed with
power; filled with the Spirit.
I remember when in Chicago many were toiling in the
work, and it seemed as though the car of
salvation didn’t move on, when a
minister began to
cry out from the very
depths of his
heart, “Oh,
God, put new
ministers in every pulpit.” On next Monday I heard two or three men stand up and say, “We had a new
minister last Sunday - the same old
minister, but he had got new
power.” and I firmly believe that is what we want today all over America. We want new
ministers in the pulpit and new people in the pews. We want people quickened by the Spirit of
God, and the Spirit coming down and taking possession of the
children of
God and giving them
power.
(sad to think this was the state of the church in his day!)