a religious meeting and is convinced. "Now," the Spirit of God says,
"you must cut off that dishonesty. You cannot come to this meeting
night after night pretending to want to be saved, while you are going
on every day robbing your master! You must cut off that right hand,
and give up that pilfering, and resolve that you will make
restitution, and wait for Me in the way of bringing forth fruits meet
for repentance." You see what I mean. Now, you are just here, some of
you--you know you are. If you are addicted to any evil habit, it is
just the same. Jesus Christ wants you to forswear that habit in your
will, determination, and purpose. You have not the power to deliver
yourself from it. You may struggle, as some of you tell me you are
doing, but it overcomes you, and down you go. He knows all about
that, but He approves of the struggle, and the effort, and the
watchfulness, and the determination, and when He saves you, He will
give you the power, and then you will stand and not fall, for He will
hold you up.

Now you know that you go thus far, and you know that at this moment,
if you had the power in yourself to extinguish the force of that evil
habit over you forever, you would do it without another moment's
hesitation. You say, "Oh yes, I would indeed. Would to God I had the
power." That is repentance; that is _genuine_ repentance. Now,
what you cannot do for yourself, He meets you just where you stand,
and says, "I will do it for you; I will break the power of that
habit; I will deliver you out of the hands of the enemy; I will save
you out of that bondage. Only throw your arm of faith around me, and
I will lift you up; and I will inspire you with my Spirit; you shall
stand in Me and by Me; and what you are now struggling to do for
yourself, I will do for you."