Excerpted from Therefore Stand by Wilbur M. Smith (Published 1945):
A revival which does not rest solidly upon the Word of God will ultimately either fade out (because there is no fountain of divine truth continually refreshing it) or it will run into dangerous and sensational emotionalism. After it has passed, will make those who have been the subject of such an experience exhausted, and indifferent to the things of God, and at times more easily accessible than ever to the inroads of Satan himself.
There is something about the Word of God that men recognize as divine. When it is preached, men know that they are hearing the Word of God, and nothing less will ever arouse a nation sunk deep into selfishness, self-satisfaction, and godlessness.
In this battle of increasing intensity, in an hour when the waves of unbelief are striking at, and have even broken through many of the doors of our churches, and have already overwhelmed too many of our more important educational institutions, the church needs, for its own life, for the protection of its young, for power in meeting attacks upon her beliefs, for vigor and strength, for courage and hope.
It needs its own life for power in winning souls, the church needs to return to the Word of God. We do not know if it will; we do not know when it will; we do not know how it will do this. Certainly many sections of Christendom are deliberately and intentionally walking straight away from the Word of God. That does not in any way alter the fact that what we need today, as a church, is to go back into that divine revelation, to understand it anew, to believe it, to proclaim it and live it.
Words of Grace for Strength:
The battle Dr. Smith so aptly described in 1945 is still raging today. It is the battle which had its beginnings, for the True Church, in the book of Acts, and will only be finally won at Christ’s return. Not only did the early church in Acts face persecution from forces externally, it was also assailed by false teachers and false prophets within the church just as His Remnant Church, the True Church of these Last Days is today.
The attacks on the true church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ have taken many forms throughout the centuries, but the adversary remains the same. The apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us both; who we battle against, and how to withstand him. It is from this passage Dr. Smith drew his inspiration, and it is this passage which we must stand upon in the battle we face in these last days.
The Sword of the Spirit in this passage is the Word of God, and it is in and on the Word, we make our Stand. Though this battle has raged on for years, decades, and centuries, we understand it will continue tomorrow, yet His remnant church still stands undefeated through it all and eagerly awaits the soon return of Jesus Christ. Although we may feel the struggle daily; although we may need to encourage and exhort one another to “Therefore, Stand”; we can take great comfort in this one simple fact, Jesus is Coming Soon!
Dr. Tuck Whitaker and Andy Coticchio