is within you." And when did the Kingdom come--that Kingdom of God upon
earth? When the Holy Ghost descended. On Ascension Day the King went and
sat down upon the throne at the right hand of God, and the Kingdom of God,
in Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth, was inaugurated. When the Holy
Ghost came down He brought God into the heart, and Christ, and established
the rule of God in power. I am afraid sometimes, that in speaking of the
Holy Spirit we forget one thing. The Holy Spirit is very much spoken of in
connection with power; and it is right that we should seek power. It is not
so much spoken of in connection with the graces. And yet these are always
more important than the gifts of power--the holiness, the humility, the
meekness, the gentleness, and the lovingness; these are the true marks of
the Kingdom. We speak rightly of the Holy Spirit as the only one who can
breathe all this into us. But I think there is a third thing almost more
important, that we forget, and that is: in the Spirit, the Father and the
Son themselves come. When Christ first promised the Holy Spirit, and spoke
about His approaching coming, He said: "In that day ye shall know that I
am in the Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that loveth me keepeth my
commandments; and my Father will love him, and we will come and make our
abode with him." Brother, would you have the Kingdom of God first in your
life, you must have the Kingdom in your hearts. If my heart be set upon a
thing I may be bound with chains, but the moment the chains are loosened I
fly towards the object of my affection and desire. And just so the Kingdom
must be within us, and then it is easy to say: "The Kingdom first." But
to have the Kingdom within us in truth, we must have God the Father, and
Christ the Son, by the Holy Ghost within us too. No Kingdom without the
King.

You are called to likeness with Christ. Oh, how many Christians strive
after this part and that part of the likeness of Christ, and forget the
root of the whole! What is the root of all? That Christ gave Himself up