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Gordon + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + body { margin:5%; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .75em; margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-align: justify; font-size: 80%; font-style: italic;} + + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + .xx-small {font-size: 60%;} + .x-small {font-size: 75%;} + .small {font-size: 85%;} + .large {font-size: 115%;} + .x-large {font-size: 130%;} + .indent5 { margin-left: 5%;} + .indent10 { margin-left: 10%;} + .indent15 { margin-left: 15%;} + .indent20 { margin-left: 20%;} + .indent25 { margin-left: 25%;} + .indent30 { margin-left: 30%;} + .indent35 { margin-left: 35%;} + .indent40 { margin-left: 40%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 1%; font-size: 0.6em; + font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; + text-align: right; background-color: #FFFACD; + border: 1px solid; padding: 0.3em;text-indent: 0em;} + .side { float: left; font-size: 75%; width: 15%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + .head { float: left; font-size: 90%; width: 98%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + p.pfirst, p.noindent {text-indent: 0} + span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 0.8 } + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} +</style> + </head> + <body> + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Quiet Talks with World Winners, by S. D. Gordon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Quiet Talks with World Winners + +Author: S. D. Gordon + +Release Date: July 1, 2004 [EBook #12799] +Last Updated: February 28, 2020 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK QUIET TALKS WITH WORLD WINNERS *** + + + + +Produced by Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +</pre> + + <h1> + QUIET TALKS WITH WORLD WINNERS + </h1> + <h2> + By + </h2> + <h2> + S. D. Gordon + </h2> + <h5> + Author of "Quiet Talks on Power," "Quiet Talks About Jesus," "Quiet Talks + on Personal Problems," Etc. + </h5> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_TOC"> Contents </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> I. World-winning </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> The Master Passion </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> The Master Passion </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> The Genesis Water-mark. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_ILL"> Illustrations of God from our common life are never + full, and must not be </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> The Master's Plan </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> The Plan </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> The Urgent Need </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> The Need </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> The Present Opportunity </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> The Present Opportunity </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> The Pressing Emergency </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> The Pressing Emergency </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> The Past Failure </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> The Past Failure </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> The Coming Victory </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> The Coming Victory </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> The Church </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> The Church </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> Each One of Us </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> Each One of Us </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> Jesus </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> Jesus </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> The Holy Spirit </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> The Holy Spirit </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> Prayer </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> Prayer </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0027"> Money </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> Money </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0029"> Sacrifice </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0030"> Sacrifice </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_FOOT"> Footnotes: </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0032"> Transcriber's Notes </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_TOC" id="link2H_TOC"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I. World-winning + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 1. The Master Passion + 2. The Master's Plan + 3. The Need + 4. The Present Opportunity + 5. The Pressing Emergency + 6. The Past Failure + 7. The Coming Victory +</pre> + <h2> + II. Winning Forces + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 1. The Church + 2. Each One of Us + 3. Jesus + 4. The Holy Spirit + 5. Prayer + 6. Money + 7. Sacrifice +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Master Passion + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The Earliest Calvary Picture. + The Love Passion. + Mother-love. + The Genesis Picture. + God Giving Himself. + God's Fellow. + The Genesis Water-mark. + A Human Picture of God. + On a Wooing Errand. + Jesus' World-passion. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Master Passion + </h2> + <p> + The Earliest Calvary Picture. + </p> + <p> + There's a great passion burning in the heart of God. It is tenderly warm + and tenaciously strong. Its fires never burn low, nor lose their fine + glow. That passion is to win man back home again. The whole world of man + is included in its warm, eager reach. + </p> + <p> + The old home hearth-fire of God is lonely since man went away. The family + circle is broken. God will not rest until that old home circle is complete + again, and every voice joining in the home songs. + </p> + <p> + It is an <i>overmastering</i> passion, the overmastering passion of God's + heart. It has guided and controlled all His thoughts and plans for man + from the first. The purpose of winning man, and the whole race, back again + is the dominant gripping passion of God's heart to-day. Everything is made + to bend to this one end. + </p> + <p> + When Eden's tragedy came so early, to darken the pages of this old Book, + and, far worse, to darken the pages of human life, there is a great + glimpse of this passion of God's heart in the guarding of those Eden + gates. The presence of the angels with their sword of flame told plainly + of a day when man would be coming back again to the old Eden home of God. + The place must be carefully guarded for him. + </p> + <p> + This is a <i>love</i> passion, a passion of love. And love itself is the + master passion both of the human heart and of God's heart. Nothing can + grip and fill and sway the heart either of man or God like that. + </p> + <p> + We would all easily agree that the greatest picture of God's marvellous, + overmastering passion of love is seen in the cross. All men as they have + come to know that story have stood with heads bowed and bared before the + love revealed there. They have not understood it. They have quarrelled + about its meaning. But they have acknowledged its love and power as beyond + that of any other story or picture. + </p> + <p> + However men may differ as to why Jesus died, and how His dying affects us, + they all agree that the scene of the cross is the greatest revelation of + love ever known or ever shown. All theories of the atonement seem to be + lost sight of in one thought of grateful acknowledgment of a stupendous + love, as men are drawn together by the magnetism of the hill-top of + Calvary. + </p> + <p> + But there is a wondrously clear foreshadowing of that tremendous cross + scene in the earliest page of this old Book. Nowhere is love, God's + passion of love, made to stand out more distinctly and vividly than in the + first chapter of Genesis. The after-scene of the cross uses intenser + coloring; the blacks are inkier in their blackness; the reds deeper and + redder; the contrasts sharper to the startling-point; yet there is nothing + in the cross chapters of the Gospels not included fully in this first leaf + of revelation. But it has taken the light of the cross to open our eyes to + see how much is plainly there. Let us look at it a bit. + </p> + <p> + The Love Passion. + </p> + <p> + What is this greatest of passions called love? There is no word harder to + get a satisfactory definition of. Because, whatever you say about it, + there comes quickly to your mind some one who loves you, or you think of + the passion that burns in your own heart for some one. And, as you think + of that, no words that anybody may use seem at all strong enough, or + tender enough, to tell what love is, as you know it in your own inner + heart. + </p> + <p> + Yet I think this much can be said—love is the tender, strong + outgoing of your whole being to another. It is a passion burning like a + fire within you, a soft-burning but intense fire within you, for some + other one. Every mention of that name stirs the flame into new burning. + Every passing or lingering thought of him or her is like fresh air making + the flames leap up more eagerly. And each personal contact is a clearing + out of all the ashes, and a turning on of all the draughts, to feed new + oxygen for stronger, fresher burning. + </p> + <p> + There are many other things that seem like love. Kindliness and + friendliness, and even intenser emotions, use love's name for themselves. + But though these have likenesses to love, they are not love. They have + caught something of its warm glow. A bit of the high coloring of its + flames plays on them. But they are not the real thing, only distant + kinsfolk. The severe tests of life quickly reveal their lack. + </p> + <p> + Love itself is really an aristocrat. It allows very, very few into its + inner circle, often only one. The real thing of love is never selfish. Now + we know very well that in the thick of life the fine gold of love gets + mixed up with the baser metals. It is very often overlaid, and shot + through with much that is mean and low. Rank selfishness, both the coarse + kind and the refined, cultured sort, seeks a hiding-place under its cloak. + But the stuff mixed in it is not love, but a defiling of it. That is a bit + of the slander it suffers for a time, from the presence in life of sin. + </p> + <p> + Weeds with their poison, and snakes and spiders with their deadly venom, + draw life from the sun. That is a bit of the bad transmuting the good, + pure sun into its own sort. The sun itself never produces poison or any + hurtful thing. + </p> + <p> + Love itself is never mean, nor bad, nor selfish. The man who truly loves + the woman whom he would have for his own lifelong, closest companion is + not selfish. He does not want her chiefly for his own sake, but for her + sake, that so he may guard and care for her, and her life be fully grown + in the sunlight of the love it must have. And, if you think that is + idealizing it out of all practical reach, please remember that true love + will steadily refuse the union that would not be best for the loved one. + </p> + <p> + What is the finest and highest love that we know? There are many different + sorts and degrees of love revealed in man's relation with his fellow: + conjugal, the love between husband and wife; paternal, the love of a + father for his child; maternal, the mother's love for her child; filial, + the love of children for father and mother; fraternal, or brotherly, + meaning really the love of children of the same parents for each other, + both brothers and sisters—the same word is used for love between + friends where there is no tie of blood; and patriotic, or love for one's + country. And under that last word may be loosely grouped the love that one + may have for any special object, to which he may devote his life, outside + of personal relationships, such as music or any profession or occupation. + </p> + <p> + This is putting them in their logical order. Though in our experience we + know the father-and mother-love for ourselves first; and then in turn the + others, so far as they come to us, until we complete the circle and reach + the climax of father-and mother-love in ourselves going out to another. + </p> + <p> + Mother-love. + </p> + <p> + Now of these sorts and degrees which is the highest and finest? Well, your + answer to that question will depend entirely on your own experience; as + every answer and every thought we have of everything does. All children + have mothers, or have had, but thousands of children don't know a mother's + love. + </p> + <p> + I was speaking one time in New York City about the conception, of which + the Bible is so full, that God is a mother. And the English evangelist + Gypsy Smith, who lost his mother when very young, but who had an unusually + devoted father, said with charming simplicity that he could not just see + how God could be called a mother, but he knew He was a father. And then he + went on to speak very winsomely of God as a father. + </p> + <p> + Many times love is not born in the heart at all, until there comes into + the life some one clear outside of one's own kin. Many a woman never knows + love until it is awakened in her heart by him who henceforth is to be a + part of herself. + </p> + <p> + But the common answer, that most people everywhere give to that question, + is that <i>a mother's love</i> is the greatest human love we know. And if + you press them to tell why they think so, this stands out oftenest and + strongest—that it is because she gives so much of herself. She gives + her very life. If need be, she sacrifices everything in life, and then + sacrifices life itself, going out into the darkness of death that her + child may come into fulness and sweetness of life. This is the mother + spirit, giving one's very self to bring life to another. + </p> + <p> + The mother gives her very life-blood that the new life may come. And, if + need be, will gladly give her life <i>out</i> to the death that the new + life may come into life. And yet more, she gives her life out daily and + yearly, throughout its length, that so the full strength and fragrance of + life may come in her child's life. + </p> + <p> + Yet, when all this has been said, I am strongly inclined to think that the + mother's love, though the greatest that can be found in any one heart, is + not the perfect, fully grown love. The human unit is not a man nor a + woman, but a man <i>and</i> a woman. Perfect love requires more than one + or two for its matured growth into full life. It cannot exist in its full + strength and fragrant sweets except where three are joined together to + draw out its full depth and meaning. + </p> + <p> + There must be two whose hearts are fully joined in love, each finding + answering and ever-satisfying love in the other; and so each love growing + to full ripeness in the warm sunshine of the other love. And then there + needs to be a third one, who comes as a result of that mutual love, and + who constantly draws out the love of the other two. + </p> + <p> + For love in itself is creative. It yearns to bring into being another upon + whom it may freely lavish itself. That other one must be of its own sort, + upon its own level. Nothing less ever satisfies. And so the love poured + out draws out to itself an answering love fully as full as its own. And + then, having yearned, it does more. It creates. It must create. It must + bring forth life; and life like its own in all its powers and privileges. + This is the very life of love in its full expression. + </p> + <p> + Yet to say all this is simply to spell out fully, in all its letters and + syllables, the great, the greatest of passions, mother-love, which we + agreed a moment ago was the highest. For mother-love is not restricted to + woman, though among us humans it often finds its brightest expressions in + her. It knows no restriction of sex. It is simply love at its fullest and + highest and freest and tenderest; free to do as it will, and to do it as + fully as it will. Love left to itself, free to do as its heart dictates, + will give its very self, its life, that life may come to another. This is + the great passion called love, the greatest of all passions. + </p> + <p> + The Genesis Picture. + </p> + <p> + Now, maybe you think we have swung pretty far away from that first chapter + of the Genesis revelation. No; you are mistaken there. We have been + walking, with rapid stride, by the shortest road, straight into its inner + heart. Let us look a bit at the picture of God sketched for us in this + earliest page of revelation. + </p> + <p> + There are two creations here, first of the earth, man's home; and then of + man himself who was to live in the home. Here at once in the beginning is + mother-love. Before the new life comes the mother is absorbed in getting + the home ready; the best and softest and homiest home that her mother-love + can think of, and her fingers fix. The same mother instinct in the birds + spends itself in getting the nest ready, and then patiently broods until + the new occupants come to take possession. + </p> + <p> + The Bible never calls God a mother, though the mother language, as here, + is used of Him many times. It takes more of the human to tell the divine. + You must take many words, and several of our human relationships, and put + them together, in the finest meaning of each, to get near the full meaning + of what God is. Up on the higher level, with God, the word "father" really + includes all that both father and mother mean to us. + </p> + <p> + The word "father" is even used once of God in what we think of as the + strict mother sense. In speaking of God's early care of the Hebrews Paul + says, "as a <i>nursing-father</i> bore he them in the wilderness."<a + href="#linknote-1" name="linknoteref-1" id="linknoteref-1"><small>1</small></a> + That word "nursing-father" is peculiar in coupling the distinctive + function of the mother in caring for the babe with the word father. + </p> + <p> + The word "father" applied to God includes not only our meaning of father + in all its strength as we know it at its best; but all of the meaning of + the word "mother," in all its sweet fragrance, as we have had it breathed + into our own very life. + </p> + <p> + We have come commonly to think of the word mother as a tenderer word than + father. Though I have met many, both men and women, who unconsciously + revealed that their experience has made father the tenderer, and the + tenderest word to them. Father stands commonly for the stronger, more + rugged qualities; and mother for the finer, gentler, sweeter, maybe softer + qualities, in the strong meaning of that word soft. + </p> + <p> + God Giving Himself. + </p> + <p> + Here in this Genesis story the creation of the whole sun-system to give + life to the earth, and of the earth itself, was the outward beginning of + this greatest passion of love in the heart of God. And if you would know + more of that love in this early stage of it, just look a bit at the home + itself. It has been pretty badly mussed, soiled and hurt by sin's foul + touch. Yet even so it is a wonder of a world in its beauty and + fruitfulness. What must it have been before the slime and tangle of sin + got in! But that's a whole story by itself. We must not stop there just + now. + </p> + <p> + When the home was ready God set Himself to bringing the new life He was + planning. And He did it, even as father and mother of our human kind and + of every other kind do:—He gave some of Himself. He breathed into + man His own life-breath. He came Himself, and with the warmth and vitality + of His life brought a new life. The new life was a bit of Himself. + </p> + <p> + That phrase, "breathed into his nostrils," brings to us the conception of + the closest personal, physical contact; two together in most intimate + contact, and life passing from one to the other. The picture of Elijah + stretching his warm body upon that of the widow's son until the + life-breath came again comes instinctively to mind. And its companion + scene comes with it, of Elisha lying prone upon the child, mouth to mouth, + eye to eye, hand to hand, until the breath again softly reentered that + little, precious body. + </p> + <p> + And if all this seems too plain and homely a way to talk about the great + God, let us remember it is the way of this blessed old Book. It is the + only way we shall come to know the marvellous intimacy and tenderness of + God's love, and of God's touch upon ourselves. + </p> + <p> + How shall we talk best about God so as to get clear, sensible ideas about + Him? Why not follow the rule of the old Bible? Can we do better? It + constantly speaks of Him in the language that we use of men. The scholars, + with their fondness for big words, say the Bible is anthropomorphic. That + simply means that it uses man's words, and man's ideas of things in + telling about God. It makes use of the common words and ideas, that man + understands fully, to tell about the God, whom he doesn't know. Could + there be a more sensible way? Indeed, how else could man understand? + </p> + <p> + Some dear, godly people have sometimes been afraid of the use of simple, + homely language in talking about God. To speak of Him in the common + language of every-day life, the common talk of home and kitchen, and shop + and street and trade, seems to them lacking in due reverence. Do they + forget that this is the language of the common people? And of our good old + Anglo-Saxon Bible? Has anybody ever yet used as blunt homely, talk as this + old Book uses? And has any other book stuck into people's memories and + hearts with such burr-like hold as it has? + </p> + <p> + That breathing by God into man's nostrils of the breath of life suggests + the intensest concentration of strength and thought and heart. The whole + heart of God went out to man in that breath that brought life. + </p> + <p> + God's Fellow. + </p> + <p> + The whole thought of God's heart was to have a man <i>like Himself</i>. + Over and over again, with all the peculiar emphasis of repetition, it is + said that the man was to be in the very image, or likeness, of God. God + gave Himself that the man might be a bit of Himself. Here is the + love-passion, the mother-passion, the father-mother-passion, in its + highest mood, and at its own finest work. + </p> + <p> + The man was to be the very best, that so he might have fellowship of the + most intimate sort with God. Of course, only those who are alike can have + fellowship. Only in that particular thing which any two have in common can + they have fellowship together. Let me use a common word in its old, fine, + first meaning: man was made to be <i>God's fellow</i>, His most intimate + associate and companion. + </p> + <p> + As you read this early story in Genesis of God's passion of love, you + know, if you stop to think into it, that if ever the need for it came, He + will climb any Calvary hill, however steep, and receive the jagging nails + of any cross, however cutting, for the sake of His darling child—man. + </p> + <p> + This love-passion never faileth. There is no emergency that can arise that + is too great for love's resources. Any danger, however great, every need, + no matter how distressing, is already provided for by love. The emergency + may sorely test and tax love to its last limit, but it can never outdo it, + nor outstrip it in the race. No matter how great the danger, love is a bit + greater. No matter how strong the enemy threatening, love is always yet + stronger. However deep down into the very vitals of life the poison-sting + may sink its fangs, love goes yet deeper, neutralizing the deadly + influence with its own fresh life-blood. + </p> + <p> + Have you ever looked into a single drop of water and seen the sun? the + whole of that brilliant ball of fire there in one tiny drop of water? + Well, there's one word on this first leaf of the Book which contains the + clear reflection, sharply outlined, of the whole creation story; ah! yes, + more than that, of the whole Gospel story. + </p> + <p> + Come here and look; you can see in its clear surface the form of a man + climbing a little, steep hill, and being hung, thorn-crowned, upon a cross + of pain and shame. It is in chapter one, verse two, the word "brooding." + The old version and the Revision, both English and American, have the word + "moved." The Revisions add "brooding" in the margin. And that is the root + meaning of the word underneath our English—"brooding," or, rendered + more fully, "was brooding tremulous with love." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Genesis Water-mark. + </h2> + <p> + That English word "brooding," as well as the old word underneath, is a + mother word. The brooding hen sits so faithfully, day after day, upon the + eggs, bringing the new lives by the vital warmth of her own body. The + mother-bird nestles softly down upon the nest in the crotch of the tree, + patiently, expectantly brooding, by the strength of her own life giving + life to the coming young. She who, in the holiest, greatest function + entrusted to her, comes nearest to God in creative power and love—the + mother of our human kind, broods for long months over her coming child, + giving her very life, until the crisis of birth comes; and then broods + still, for months and years longer, that the new life may come into + fulness of life. That is the great word used here. + </p> + <p> + Now, will you please notice very keenly the connection in which it occurs. + It was because the earth was "waste and void, and darkness upon the face + of the deep," that the Spirit of God was brooding. It is only fair to say + that our scholarly friends who think in Hebrew are divided as to the + meaning here. Some think that these words, "waste and void," simply + indicate a stage, or step, in the processes of creation. + </p> + <p> + But others of them are just as positive in saying that the words point + plainly to a disaster of some sort that took place. In their view the + whole story of creation is in the ten opening words of the chapter. Then + follows a bad break of some sort; then the brooding of God in verse two; + and the rest of the chapter is taken up in what is practically a reshaping + up again of the whole affair. Some of this second group of Hebrew scholars + have made this translation,—"the earth became a waste," or "a + wreck," or "a ruin," or "without inhabitant." + </p> + <p> + If we may so read it now, it gives a world of additional meaning to this + word "brooding." Here was love not merely giving life, but giving itself + to overcome a disaster. The brooding was to mend a break. Love creates. It + also redeems. It stoops down with great patience, and washes the dirt and + filth thoroughly off, in the best cleansing liquid to be found, and brings + the cleansed, redeemed man back again. + </p> + <p> + Love does indeed create. It gave man the power to choose freely, without + any restriction, whatever he would choose to choose. Redeeming love does + more. It woos him to choose the right, and only the right. It gets down by + his side after his eyesight has become twisted, and his will badly kinked + by wrong choosing, and patiently, persistently works to draw him up to the + level of choosing right. Love makes us like God in the power of choice. + But there's a greater task ahead. It makes us yet more like Him in the + desire to choose only the right, and in the power to choose it, too. All + this is in that marvellous world of a word—"brooding." + </p> + <p> + The whole story of the sacrifice of Calvary is included in this wondrous + first leaf of revelation. If we had lost the Gospels, and didn't know + their story, nor the history of man, we yet could know from this Genesis + page that, if ever the need arose, God would lavishly give out His very + life, at any cost of suffering and pain, that His man might be saved. + John, three, sixteen is in the first chapter of Genesis. Calvary is in the + creation. God gave His breath to man in creation, and His blood for man on + Calvary. He gave His blood because He had given His breath. Each was His + very life. + </p> + <p> + You know the way publishers have of putting an imprint in a book by means + of what is called a water-mark. By the skilful use of water in + manufacturing the paper, a name or trade imprint is made a part of the + very paper of which the book is made. + </p> + <p> + Have you ever noticed God's water-mark on the paper of this first leaf of + His Book? Hold your Bible up as we talk; separate this first leaf and hold + it up to the light and try to see through it. The best light to use is + that which came from Calvary. Can you see the water-mark plainly imprinted + there? Look closely and carefully, for it is there. In clear-cut outline, + every bit of it showing sharply out, is a cross. And if you look still + more closely you will find this water-mark different from those in common + use, in this—<i>there is a distinct blood-red tinge to it</i>. + </p> + <p> + A Human Picture of God. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_ILL" id="link2H_ILL"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Illustrations of God from our common life are never full. + </h2> + <p> + They must not betaken too critically, but they are sometimes wonderfully vivid and very + <br />helpful. Anything that makes God seem real and near helps. <br /> + <br />A few years ago I heard a simple story of real life from the lips of + a New <br />England clergyman. It was told of a brother clergyman of the + same <br />denomination, and stationed in the same city with the man who + told me. <br /> <br />This clergyman had a son, about fourteen years of age, + who, of course, was <br />going to school. One day the boy's teacher called + at the house and asked <br />for the father. When they met he said: <br /> + <br />"Is your son sick?" <br /> <br />"No; why?" <br /> <br />"He was not at + school to-day." <br /> <br />"You don't mean it!" <br /> <br />"Nor + yesterday." <br /> <br />"Indeed!" <br /> <br />"Nor the day before." <br /> + <br />"Well!" <br /> <br />"And I supposed he was sick." <br /> <br />"No, he's + not sick." <br /> <br />"Well, I thought I should tell you." <br /> <br />And + the father thanked him, and the teacher left. The father sat thinking + <br />about his son, and those three days. By and by he heard a click at + the <br />gate, and he knew the boy was coming in. So he went to the door + to meet <br />him at once. And the boy knew as he looked up that the father + knew about <br />those three days. <br /> <br />And the father said, "Come + into the library, Phil." <br /> <br />And Phil went and the door was shut. + <br /> <br />Then the father said very quietly, "Phil, your teacher was here + a little <br />while ago. He tells me you were not at school to-day, nor + yesterday, nor <br />the day before. And we thought you were. You let us + think you were. And <br />you don't know how bad I feel about this. I have + always said I could trust <br />my boy Phil. I always have trusted you. And + here you have been a living <br />lie for three whole days. I can't tell + you how bad I feel about it." <br /> <br />Well, it was hard on the boy to + be talked to in that gentle way. If his <br />father had spoken to him + roughly, or had taken him out to the wood-shed, <br />in the rear of the + dwelling, it wouldn't have been nearly so hard. <br /> <br />Then the father + said, "We'll get down and pray." And the thing was getting <br />harder for + Phil all the time. He didn't want to pray just then. Most <br />people + don't about that time. <br /> <br />And they got down on their knees, side + by side. And the father poured out <br />his heart in prayer. And the boy + listened. Somehow he saw himself in the <br />looking-glass of his + knee-joints as he hadn't before. It is queer about <br />that mirror of the + knee-joints, the things you see in it. Most people <br />don't like to use + it much. And they got up from their knees. The father's <br />eyes were + wet. And Phil's eyes were not dry. <br /> <br />Then the father said, "My + boy, there's a law of life, that where there is <br />sin there is + suffering. You can't get those two things apart. Wherever <br />there is + suffering there has been sin, somewhere, by somebody. And <br />wherever + there is sin there will be suffering, for some one, somewhere; <br />and + likely most for those closest to you." <br /> <br />"Now," he said, "my boy, + you have done wrong. So we'll do this. You go <br />up-stairs to the attic. + I'll make a little bed for you there in the <br />corner. We'll bring your + meals up to you at the usual times. And you stay <br />up in the attic + three days and three nights, as long as you've been a <br />living lie." + And the boy didn't say a word. They climbed the attic steps. <br />The + father kissed his boy, and left him alone. <br /> <br />Supper-time came, + and the father and mother sat down to eat. But they <br />couldn't eat for + thinking of their son. The longer they chewed on the food <br />the bigger + and drier it got in their mouths. And swallowing was clear out <br />of the + question. And the mother said, "Why don't you eat?" And he said <br />softly, + "Why don't <i>you</i> eat?" And, with a catch in her throat, she said, + <br />"I can't, for thinking of Phil." And he said, "That's what's + bothering <br />me." <br /> <br />And they rose from the supper-table, and + went into the sitting-room. He <br />took up the evening paper, and she + began sewing. His eyesight was not very <br />good. He wore glasses, and + to-night they seemed to blur up. He couldn't <br />see the print + distinctly. It must have been the glasses, of course. So he <br />took them + off, and wiped them with great care, and then found the paper <br />was + upside-down. And she tried to sew. But the thread broke, and she <br />couldn't + seem to get the thread into the needle again. How we all reveal <br />ourselves + in just such details! <br /> <br />By and by the clock struck ten, their + usual hour of retiring. But they <br />made no move to go. And the mother + said quietly, "Aren't you going to <br />bed?" And he said, "I'm not + sleepy, I think I'll sit up a while longer; <br />you go." "No, I guess + I'll wait a while too." And the clock struck eleven; <br />then the hands + clicked around close to twelve. And they arose, and went to <br />bed; but + not to sleep. Each one pretended to be asleep. And each knew the <br />other + was not asleep. <br /> <br />After a bit she said—woman is always the + keener—"Why don't you sleep?" <br />And he said softly, "How did you + know I wasn't sleeping? Why don't you <br />sleep?" And she said, with that + same queer catch in her voice, "I can't, <br />for thinking of Phil." He + said, "That's the bother with me." And the clock <br />struck one; and then + two; still no sleep. At last the father said, <br />"Mother, I can't stand + this. <i>I'm going up-stairs with Phil.</i>" <br /> <br />And he took his + pillow, and went softly out of the room; climbed the attic <br />steps + softly, and pressed the latch softly so as not to wake the boy if he <br />were + asleep, and tiptoed across to the corner by the window. There the boy + <br />lay, wide-awake, with something glistening in his eyes, and what + looked <br />like stains on his cheeks. And the father got down between the + sheets, and <br />they got their arms around each other's necks, for they + had always been <br />the best of friends, and their tears got mixed up on + each other's <br />cheeks—you couldn't have told which were the + father's and which the <br />son's. Then they slept together until the + morning light broke. <br /> <br />When sleep-time came the second night the + father said, "Good-night, <br />mother. I'm going up with Phil again." And + the second night he shared his <br />boy's punishment in the attic. And the + third night when sleep-time came <br />again, again he said, "Mother, + good-night. I'm going up with the boy." And <br />the third night he shared + his son's punishment with him. <br /> <br />That boy, now a man grown, in + the thews of his strength, my acquaintance <br />told me, is telling the + story of Jesus with tongue of flame and life of <br />flame out in the + heart of China. <br /> <br />Do you know, I think that is the best picture + of God I have ever run <br />across in any gallery of life? It is not a + perfect picture. No human <br />picture of God is perfect, except of course + the Jesus human picture. The <br />boy's punishment was arbitrarily chosen + by the father, unlike God's <br />dealings with our sin. But it is the + tenderest and most real of any that <br />has come to me. <br /> <br />God + couldn't take away sin. It's here. Very plainly it is here. And He <br />couldn't + take away suffering, out of kindness to us. For suffering is <br />sin's + index-finger pointing out danger. It is sin's voice calling loudly, <br />"Look + out! there's something wrong." So He came down in the person of His <br />Son, + Jesus, and lay down alongside of man for three days and nights, in <br />the + place where sin drove man. <br /> <br />That's God! And that suggests + graphically the great passion of His heart. <br />Sin was not ignored. Its + lines stood sharply out. The boy in the garret <br />had two things burned + into his memory, never to be erased: the wrong of <br />his own sin, and + the strength of his father's love. <br /> <br />Jesus is God coming down + into our midst and giving His own very life, and <br />then, more, giving + it out in death, that He might make us hate sin, and <br />might woo and + win the whole world, away from sin, back to the intimacies <br />of the old + family circle again. <br /> + </p> + <p> + On a Wooing Errand. + </p> + <p> + Jesus was a mirror held up to the Father's face for man to look in. So we + may know what the Father is like. When you look at Jesus and listen to Him + you are looking into the Father's heart and listening to its warm + throbbing. And no one can look there without being caught by the great + passion burning there, and feeling its intense soft-burning glow, and + carrying some of it for ever after in his own heart. + </p> + <p> + Jesus was on <i>a wooing errand</i> to the earth. The whole spirit of His + dealings with men was that of a great lover, wooing them to the Father. He + was insistently eager to let men know what His Father was like. He seemed + jealous of His Father's reputation among men. It had been slandered badly. + Men misunderstood the Father. He would leave no stone unturned to let men + know how good and loving and winsome God is. For then they would eagerly + run back home again to Him. This was His method of approach to the world + He came to win. + </p> + <p> + Jesus is the greatest wooer the old world has ever known, and will be the + greatest winner of what He is after, too. Run thoughtfully through these + Gospels, and stand by Jesus' side in each one of these simple, tremendous + incidents of His contact with the common people. Then listen anew to His + teaching talks, so homely and so gripping. And the impression becomes + irresistible that the one thought that gripped at every turn, never + forgotten, was to woo man back to the Father's allegiance. + </p> + <p> + Jesus' World-passion. + </p> + <p> + Have you not marked <i>the world-wide swing</i> of Jesus' thought and + plan? It is stupendous in its freshness and bold daring. The bigness of + His idea of the thing to be done is immense. To use a favorite phrase of + to-day, He had <i>a world-consciousness</i>. It is hard for us to realize + what a startling thing His world-consciousness was. We are so familiar + with the Gospels that we lose much of their force through mere rote of + familiarity. + </p> + <p> + It takes a determined effort, and the fresh touch of the Holy Spirit, too, + to have them come with all the freshness of a new book. And then we have + gotten sort of used in our day, and in our part of the world especially, + to talking about world-wide enterprises. + </p> + <p> + We don't realize what a stupendous thing a world-consciousness was in + Jesus' day. He certainly did not get it from His own generation; not from + the Jews. It stands out in keen contrast to their ideas. They lived within + very narrow alleyways. They supposed they were the favorites of God; and + everybody else—<i>dogs,</i> and <i>damned</i> dogs, too; not in the + profane usage, but actually. + </p> + <p> + But Jesus thought of a <i>world</i>, and yearned for a world. The words + "world" and "earth" are constantly on His lips. He said He came "into the + world;" not to Palestine; that was only the door He used for entrance. It + was from Him that John learned, what he wrote down, that He was to + "lighten <i>every man</i> that cometh into <i>the world</i>." + </p> + <p> + To the Jewish senator of the inner national circle He said plainly in that + great sentence that contains the gist of the whole Bible—John, + three, sixteen—that it was <i>a world</i> he was after. <i>A saved + world</i> was the one purpose of His errand to the earth. He had come to "<i>save + the world</i>,"<a href="#linknote-2" name="linknoteref-2" + id="linknoteref-2"><small>2</small></a> and would stop at nothing short of + giving His very self "for the life of <i>the world</i>." + </p> + <p> + He tells His own inner circle that "the field" is a <i>world</i>. And that + it is to be won by the means He Himself was using; namely, men, human + beings, "sons of the kingdom"<a href="#linknote-3" name="linknoteref-3" + id="linknoteref-3"><small>3</small></a> were to be sown as seed all over + its vast extent. + </p> + <p> + You remember, that last week, the request of the Greeks for an interview?<a + href="#linknote-4" name="linknoteref-4" id="linknoteref-4"><small>4</small></a> + The outside non-Jewish world came to Him in the visit and earnest request + of those Greeks. And His whole being became greatly agitated. It was as + when one, at last, after years of labor without any seeming success, gets + a first faint glimpse of the results he longs so earnestly for. Here was a + touch, a glimpse of the very thing on which His heart was so set. The + great outside world was coming to Him. + </p> + <p> + The realization of its tremendous meaning, the sure promise it held of the + day when <i>all the world would be coming</i> seems to set Him all + a-tremble with intensest emotion. The delight of the possible realizing of + His life-dream, His earth errand, and yet the terrific conviction that only + by travelling the red road of the cross could that world be won, made a + fierce conflict within. It was the world-vision that agitated Him. + </p> + <p> + And it was that same world-vision that held Him steady. He would not + scatter. By concentrating all in one act He would generate and set off a + dynamic power on Calvary that would shake and then shape a world. The + knowledge that all men would be irresistibly drawn by the loadstone of the + cross steadied His steps. + </p> + <p> + A few days later, as He sat resting a bit, on the side of the Hill of + Olivet, the disciples earnestly ask for some idea of His plan. And He + explains that the Gospel was to be "preached to the <i>whole inhabited + earth</i>."<a href="#linknote-5" name="linknoteref-5" id="linknoteref-5"><small>5</small></a> + That conception was never out of His mind. How could it be! + </p> + <p> + But the great purpose and passion of His life stands out most sharply in + the words of that last imperial command. He shows the whole of His heart + in that stirring "Go ye into <i>all the world</i> and make disciples of <i>all + the nations</i>"; "preach the gospel to <i>the whole creation</i>." The + passion of Jesus' heart was to win the world. And that passion has grown + intenser in waiting. To-day more than ever the one passion of yonder + enthroned Man is to win His world. Everything else bends to that with Him. + Nothing less will satisfy His heart. + </p> + <p> + Now, the God-touched man is always swayed by the same purpose and passion + as sway God. The passion of every God-touched man, fresh from direct + contact with Him, is to win the whole world up to God. Everything will be + held under the strong thumb of this, and made to fit and bend and blend + into it. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Master's Plan + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Will the World Be Won? + Some Bad Drifts. + Great Incidental Blessings. + The World Really Lost. + God's Method of Saving. + The Programme of World-winnng. + Early Moorings. + Service Unites. + The World-winning Climb. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Plan + </h2> + <p> + Will the World Be Won? + </p> + <p> + The great passion of God's heart is a love-passion. Love never fails. It + waits and, if need be, waits long; but it never fails to get what it is + waiting for. Love sacrifices; though it never uses that word. It doesn't + know it <i>is</i> sacrificing, it is so absorbed in its gripping purpose. + There may be keen-cutting pain, but it is clean forgotten in the passion + that burns within. God means to win His world of men back home to Himself. + </p> + <p> + But some earnest friend is thinking of an objection to all this talk about + a world being won. You are taken all anew with the great picture of God's + passion of love in the opening page of this old Book. But all the time we + have been talking together you have been having a cross-cutting train of + thought underneath. It has been saying, "Isn't this going a bit too far? + will the whole world be won?" + </p> + <p> + Let us talk over that a bit. We have been used all our lives to hearing + about <i>soul-winning</i>. We have been urged, more or less, to do it. A + favorite motto in some Christian workers' convention has been, "Win one." + But this idea of winning the world has not been preached. At first it + doesn't seem exactly orthodox. + </p> + <p> + The old-time preaching, of which not so much is heard now, except in + restricted quarters, is that the whole world is lost; and that we are to + save people out of it. We used to be told that the world is bad, and only + bad; bad beyond redemption, and doomed. In his earlier years Mr. Moody + used to say often with his great earnestness that this was a doomed world, + and that the great business of life was to save men out of it. + </p> + <p> + But of late years there has been a distinct swing away from this sort of + preaching and talking. Everything we humans do seems to go by the clock + movement, the pendulum swing: first one side, then the other. Now we hear + a very different sort of preaching. This is really a good world. There is + some wickedness in it, to be sure. Indeed, there is quite a great deal of + it. But in the main it is not a bad world, we're told. + </p> + <p> + The old-time preaching was chiefly concerned with getting ready for + heaven. Now it is concerned, for most part, with living pure, true lives + right here on the earth. And that change is surely a good one. But it is + also the common thing to be told that the world is not nearly so bad as we + have been led to believe. + </p> + <p> + Some Bad Drifts. + </p> + <p> + It is striking that with that has come a change of talk about sin, the + thing that was supposed to be responsible for making the world so bad. Sin + is not such a damnable thing now, apparently. It is largely constitutional + weakness, or prenatal predilection, or the idiosyncrasy of individuality. + (Big words are in favor here. They always make such talk seem wise and + plausible.) Heaven has slipped largely out of view; and—hell, too, + even more. Churchmen in the flush of phenomenal material prosperity, with + full stomachs and luxurious homes and pews, are well content with things + as they are in this present world, and don't propose to move. + </p> + <p> + And with that it is easy to believe what we are freely told, that there is + really no need of giving our Christian religion to the heathen world. + Those peoples have religions of their own that are remarkably good. At + least they are satisfactory to them. Why disturb them? They are doing very + well. This talk about their being lost, and needing a Savior, is reckoned + out of date. The old common statements about so many thousands dying + daily, and going out into a lost eternity, are not liked. They are called + lurid. And, indeed, they are not used nearly so much now as once. + </p> + <p> + This swing away has had a great influence upon the mass of church-members, + and upon their whole thought of the foreign-mission enterprise. There is a + vaguely expressed, but distinctly felt idea both in the Church and outside + of it, for the two seem to overlap as never before—that the sending + of missionaries is really not to save peoples from being lost. That sort + of talk is almost vulgar now. + </p> + <p> + Mission work is really a sort of good-natured neighborliness. It is + benevolent humanitarianism in which we may all help, more or less (usually + less), regardless of our beliefs or lack of beliefs, our church-membership + or attendance. We should show these heathen our improved methods of + living. We have worked out better plans of housekeeping and schooling, of + teaching and doctoring, and farming and all the rest of it. And now we + want to help these poor deficient peoples across the seas. + </p> + <p> + We think we are a superior people in ourselves, as well as in our type of + civilization, decidedly so. And having taken good care of ourselves, and + laid up a good snug sum, we can easily afford to help these backward + far-away neighbors a bit. It is really the thing to do. + </p> + <p> + Such seems to be the general drift of much of the present-day talk about + foreign missions. The Church, and its members individually, have grown so + rich that we have forgotten that we were ever poor. The table is so loaded + with dainties that we are quite willing to be generous with the crumbs, + even cake crumbs. + </p> + <p> + Great Incidental Blessings. + </p> + <p> + Now, without doubt the sending of the missionaries has vastly improved + conditions of human life in the foreign-mission lands. The missionaries + have been the forerunners of great improvements. They have been the + pioneers blazing out the paths along which both trade and diplomacy have + gone with the newer and better civilization of the West. Civilization has + developed marvellously in the western half of the world. And the + missionaries have been its advance agents into the stagnant East, and the + savage wilds of the southern hemisphere. + </p> + <p> + Full, accurate knowledge of nature's resources and laws, and adaptation of + that knowledge to practical uses, have been among the most marked + conditions of the western world during the past century. And, as a result, + education, medical and hygienic and sanitary science, development of the + earth's soil, and resources above and below the soil, have gone forward by + immense strides. So far as is known, our progress in such matters exceeds + all previous achievements in the history of the race. + </p> + <p> + And some of all this has been seeping into the heathen world. It hasn't + gotten in far yet; only into the top soil, and about the edges, so far. + The progress in this regard has seemed both rapid and slow. When the great + mass of these peoples have not yet gotten even a whiff of the purer, + better civilization air of the western nations the progress seems slow. + But when we remember the incalculably tremendous inertia, and the + strangely stagnant spirit of heathen lands, it seems rapid. + </p> + <p> + The effort to get the heathen world simply to clean up; to open the + windows and let in some fresh air, and use plain soap and water to scrub + off the actual dirt makes one think of the typical small boy's dislike of + being washed up. It has been a hard job. Yet a great beginning has been + made. The boy seems to be beginning to find out that his face <i>is</i> + dirty, and <i>feels</i> dirty. And that is an enormous gain. + </p> + <p> + The World Really Lost. + </p> + <p> + Yet while this is good, and only good, it isn't the thing we are driving + at in missions. While it would fully warrant all the expenditures of + money, and vastly more than has yet been given, it should be said in + clearest, most ringing tones that all this is <i>merely incidental</i>. It + is blessed. It is sure to come. It is remarkable that it always has come + where the Gospel of Jesus is preached. + </p> + <p> + Yet this is not the thing aimed at in missions. The one driving purpose is + to carry to men <i>a Saviour from sin</i>. And to take Him so earnestly + and winsomely that men yonder shall be wooed and won to the real God, whom + they have lost knowledge of. + </p> + <p> + It cannot be said too plainly that the world <i>is</i> lost. It has + strayed so far away from the Father's house that it has lost all its + bearings, and can't find its way back without help. The old preaching that + this is a lost world, is true. + </p> + <p> + But we need to remember the different uses of that word "world." In the + old-time conception it was used in a loose way as meaning the spirit that + actuates men in the world. The scheme of selfishness and wickedness and + sinfulness which has overcast all life is commonly spoken of in the Bible + as the world spirit. In that sense the world is bad, and only bad. Men are + to be saved out of it, as Moody said. + </p> + <p> + But, in the other commoner use of it, that word "world" simply means the + whole race of men. And we must remind ourselves vigorously of the plain + truth that this is a lost world. That is to say, men have gotten away from + God. They completely misunderstand Him. Then they do more, and worse, they + misrepresent and slander Him. The result is complete lack of trust in Him. + They have lost their moorings, and have drifted out to deep sea with no + compass on board. Thick fogs have risen and shut out sun and stars and + every guiding thing. They are hopelessly and helplessly lost, and need + some one to bring the compass so as to get back to shore, back home to + God. + </p> + <p> + But this world of men is to be won. Jesus said He came to save a world. + And He will not fail nor rest content until He has done it, and this has + become a saved world. He said that He gave His life for the life of the + world. And the world will yet know the fulness of that life of His + throbbing in its own heart. + </p> + <p> + This does not mean that all men will be saved. There seems to be clear + evidence in the Book that some will insist on preferring their own way to + God's. And I am sure I do not know anything except what the Book teaches. + It is the only reliable source of information I have been able to find so + far. It must be the standard, because it is the standard. + </p> + <p> + There will be a group of stubborn irreconcilables holding out against all + of God's tender pleading. John's Patmos vision of glory, with its + marvellous beauty and sweep, has yet a lake of fire and a group of men + insisting upon going their own way. If a man choose that way, he may. He + is still in the likeness of God in choosing to leave out God. He remains a + sovereign in his own will even in the hell of his own choosing. + </p> + <p> + God's Method of Saving. + </p> + <p> + <i>The method of saving</i> is by <i>winning</i>. The Father would not be + content with anything else. Such a thing as might be represented by + throwing a blanket over the head of a horse in a burning stable, and so + getting it out by coaxing, and forcing, and hiding the danger, is not to + be thought of here. Sin is never smoothed over by God, nor its results, + their badness and their certainty. + </p> + <p> + He would have us see the sin as ugly and damning as it actually is, and + see Him as pure and holy and winsome as He is; and then to reject the sin + and choose Himself. The method of much modern charity, the long-range + charity that helps by organization, without the personal relation and warm + touch, is unknown to God. He touches every man directly with His own warm + heart, and appeals to Him at closest quarters. + </p> + <p> + Man's highest power is his power of choosing. It is in that He is most + like God. God's plan is to clear away the clouds, sweep down the cobwebs + that bother our eyes so, and let us get such a look at Himself that we + will be caught with the sight of His great face, and choose to come, and + to come a-running back to Himself. The world will be saved by its own + choosing to be. It will be saved by being won. Men will choose to leave + sin and accept God's Saviour Jesus Christ. + </p> + <p> + It is a great method. It is the only method God could use. The creative + love-passion of His heart was that we should choose Himself in preference + to all else, and choose life with Him up on His level as the only life. + </p> + <p> + And the method of winning is by getting each man's consent. The old cry of + soul-winning is the true cry. It tells the method of work for us to + follow. Each man is to be won by his own free glad consent. There is to be + no wholesaling except by retailing. In business the wholesale comes after + the retail. It is the child and servant of the retail. + </p> + <p> + Here the method is to be one by one; and the results, a great multitude + beyond the power of any arithmetic to count. Soul-winning is the method, + and world-winning is the object and the final result. + </p> + <p> + The Programme of World-winning. + </p> + <p> + There is <i>a programme of world-winning</i> repeatedly outlined in this + old Book of God. That programme has not always been clearly understood. + Indeed, it may be said that for the most part it has been misunderstood, + and still is by many. And, as a result, many churchmen have lost their + bearings, and strayed far from the Master's plan for their own lives and + service. It helps greatly to get the programme clear in mind, so we can + steer a straight course, and not get confused nor lost. + </p> + <p> + The first item of that programme is world-wide evangelization. That is the + great service and privilege committed to the Church, and to every + Christian, for this present time. Every other service is second to this. + This does not mean world-wide conversion. That comes later. It does mean a + full, winsome telling of the story of Jesus' Gospel, to all nations and to + all men. + </p> + <p> + It means the doing of it by all sorts of helpful, sensible means; the + hospital and medical dispensary, the school and college, the printed page, + and the practical helping of men in every way that they can be helped. + Above all, it means the warm, sympathetic, brotherly touch. Not simply by + preaching; that surely, but in addition to that the practical preaching of + the Gospel by all of these means.. + </p> + <p> + When that has been accomplished the Kingdom will come. The King will come, + and with Him the Kingdom. There will be radical changes in all the moral + conditions of the earth. It will be a time of greatly increased + evangelization, and of conversions of people in immense numbers. It will + seem as if all were giving glad allegiance to Jesus the King. The world + will then seem to be indeed a won world. + </p> + <p> + But there will be many who have simply been swung into line outwardly by + the general movement among the mass of peoples, just as it always is. And + our King wants whole-hearted love and service. + </p> + <p> + And so, at the end of the kingdom period, there will come another crisis. + It is spoken of by John in his Revelation vision<a href="#linknote-6" + name="linknoteref-6" id="linknoteref-6"><small>6</small></a> as a loosing + of Satan, and a renewal of his activity among men. That used to puzzle me + a good bit. I wondered why, when that foul fiend had once been securely + fastened up, he should be loosed again. But I'm satisfied that the reason + is that at the end of the Kingdom time there is to be full opportunity for + those who are not at heart loyal to Jesus, and who simply bow to Him + because the crowd is doing so, to be perfectly free to do and go as they + choose. + </p> + <p> + Jesus wants a <i>heart</i> allegiance, and only that. The great thing is + that every man shall freely choose as he really prefers. This it is that + both makes and reveals character. And so there will be a final crisis. All + who at heart prefer to do so may swing away from Jesus. + </p> + <p> + That crisis ends with the final and overwhelming defeat of Satan and all + the forces of evil. He goes to his own place, the place he has chosen and + made for himself; and all who prefer to leave God out will go by the moral + gravitation of their own choice to that place with him. + </p> + <p> + Then follows the full vision of a won world, which John pictures in such + glowing colors in these last two chapters of Revelation, as a city come + down from God out of heaven. + </p> + <p> + Early Moorings. + </p> + <p> + There are two leading passages that speak of this programme. You remember + that during the last week of His life Jesus told His disciples of the fall + of Jerusalem. They came earnestly asking for fuller information regarding + the future events. They asked when the present period of time would come + to an end. And in answering He said—and the answer became a pivotal + passage around which much else swings—that the Gospel of the Kingdom + would be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony unto all + nations. And then the end of the present age or period of time would come<a + href="#linknote-7" name="linknoteref-7" id="linknoteref-7"><small>7</small></a>. + </p> + <p> + The first council of the Christian Church was held as a result of the + remarkable success attending the beginning of world-wide evangelization. + It was held in Jerusalem to consider the serious question of what to do + with the great multitude of foreign or Gentile converts. + </p> + <p> + The Church had been practically a Jewish church. But Paul had commenced + his remarkable series of world-wide preaching-tours. Great numbers of the + outside peoples had accepted Christ, and been organized into Christian + churches. Some of the Jewish Church in Jerusalem thought that all of these + should become Jewish in their observance of the old Mosaic requirements. + Both Paul and Peter, the two great church leaders, object to this. + </p> + <p> + It is at the close of the conference that James, who was presiding, + outlines in his decision the programme of world-winning of which we are + talking together<a href="#linknote-8" name="linknoteref-8" + id="linknoteref-8"><small>8</small></a>. He quotes from the prophecy of + Joel. He says there are to be three steps or stages in working out God's + plan. + </p> + <p> + First of all is the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus to all the nations, + in which work Paul had been so earnestly engaged, and the remarkable + success of which it was that had given rise to the whole discussion. When + this has been completed the kingdom is to be established with the nation + of Israel in the central place, the tabernacle of David set up, as he + quotes it. The purpose of this is that all the rest of the peoples on the + earth, all the nations, "may <i>seek</i> after the Lord." + </p> + <p> + The purpose of the Kingdom is the same, in the main, as is now the purpose + of the Church. It is to push forward on broader lines, and more vigorously + than ever, the work of bringing all men back to the Father's house. + </p> + <p> + There are many other passages that might be referred to, but these will + answer our purpose just now. There is to be a won world, and the old Book + outlines plainly just how and when it will be won. + </p> + <p> + Service Unites. + </p> + <p> + Now, I know that all ministers and Christian teachers are not agreed about + this. There has been a controversy in the Church, both long and sometimes + bitter, unfortunately, about the Lord's return and the setting up of the + Kingdom. And I have no desire to take any part in that, but instead, a + strong desire to keep out of it. There is too much pressing emergency + among men for helpful service to spend any time or strength in + controversy. + </p> + <p> + In a word it may be put this way. There are those who believe that Jesus' + coming is a thing to be expected as likely to occur at any time, or within + our lifetime, within any generation. His coming is to be the beginning of + the Kingdom period, when all peoples will be loyal to Him. + </p> + <p> + The others believe that the preaching of the Gospel will bring the whole + world into allegiance, and that will be the Kingdom, and then Jesus will + return. Both agree fully that the thing to be desired, and that will come, + is the world-wide acknowledgment of Jesus as Saviour and King. + </p> + <p> + It may be added, however, that of later years there is a third great group + in the Church, which is really the largest of the three. These people + practically ignore the teaching about an actual return of Jesus to the + earth. They believe that He has already come, and is continually coming in + the higher ideals, the better standards, and nobler spirit that pervade + society. + </p> + <p> + If it be true that the present preaching of the Gospel is to result in + winning the whole world at once, without waiting for this programme of + which I have spoken, then there is in that a very strong argument for + world-wide evangelization. For only so can the desired result be secured. + And so we can heartily join hands together in service regardless of what + we believe on this question. I make a rule not to ask a man on which side + of the question he stands, but to work with him hand in hand so far as I + can in spreading the glad good news of Jesus everywhere. + </p> + <p> + The difference of view regarding the Lord's return need not affect the + practical working together of all earnest men. We are perfectly agreed + that the great thing is to have the story of Jesus' dying and rising again + told out earnestly and lovingly to all men. And we can go at that with + greatest heartiness, side by side. + </p> + <p> + The great concern now is to make Jesus fully known. That is the plan for + the present time. It is a simple plan. Men who have been won are to be the + winners. Nobody else can be. The warm enthusiasm of grateful love must + burn in the heart and drive all the life. There must be simple, but + thorough organization. + </p> + <p> + The campaign should be mapped out as thoroughly as a Presidential campaign + is organized here in our country. The purpose of a Presidential campaign + is really stupendous in its object and sweep. It is to influence quickly, + up to the point of decisive action, the individual opinion of millions of + men, spread over millions of square miles, and that, too, in the face of a + vigorous opposing campaign to influence them the other way. The whole vast + district of country is mapped out and organized on broad lines and into + the smallest details. + </p> + <p> + Strong brainy men give themselves wholly to the task, and spend hundreds + of thousands of dollars within a few months. And then, four years later, + they proceed as enthusiastically as before to go over the whole ground + again. We need as thorough organizing, as aggressive enthusiasm, and as + intelligent planning for this great task which our Master has put into our + hands. + </p> + <p> + And we have a driving motive power greater than any campaign-manager ever + had or has—<i>a Jesus</i> who sets fire to one's whole being, with a + passion of love that burns up every other flame. We need a Church as + thoroughly organized, and every man in it with a burning heart for this + great service. + </p> + <p> + The World-winning Climb. + </p> + <p> + An old school-master, talking to his class one morning, many years ago, + told a story of an early experience he had had in Europe. He was one of a + party travelling in Switzerland. They had gotten as far as Chamounix, and + were planning to climb Mont Blanc. That peak, you know, is the highest of + the Alps, and is called the monarch of European mountains. While it is now + ascended every day in season, the climb is a very difficult task. + </p> + <p> + It requires strength and courage and much special preparation; and is + still attended with such danger that the authorities of Chamounix have + laid down rigid regulations for those who attempt it. One's outfit must be + reduced to the very lowest limit. And, of course, nothing else can be done + while climbing. It absorbs all one's strength and thought. + </p> + <p> + There were two parties in the little square of the town, making their + preparations with the guides. One young Englishman disregarded all the + directions of the guides. He loaded himself with things which he + positively declared were absolutely essential to his plans. + </p> + <p> + He had a small case of wine and some delicacies for his appetite. He had a + camera with which he proposed to take views of himself and his party at + different stages of the climb. He had a batch of note-books in which he + intended recording his impressions as he proceeded, which were afterward + to be printed for the information, and, he hoped, admiration of the world. + A picturesque cap and a gayly colored blanket were part of his outfit. + </p> + <p> + The old toughened guides, experienced by many a severe tug and storm in + the difficulties ahead, protested earnestly. But it made no impression on + the ambitious youth. At last they whispered together, and allowed him to + have his own way. And the party started. + </p> + <p> + Six hours later the second party followed. At the little inn where they + spent the first night they found the wine and food delicacies. The guides + laughed. "The Englishman has found that he cannot humor his stomach if he + would climb Mont Blanc," one of them said grimly. A little farther up they + found the note-book and camera; still higher up, the gay robe and fancy + cap had been abandoned. And at last they found the young fellow at the + summit in leather jacket, exhausted and panting for breath. + </p> + <p> + He had encountered heavy storms, and reached the top of the famous + mountain only at the risk of his life. But he reached it. He had the real + stuff in him, after all. Yet everything not absolutely essential had to be + sacrificed. And his ideas of the meaning of that word "essential" + underwent radical changes as he labored up the steep. + </p> + <p> + Then the old teacher telling the story suddenly leaned over his desk and, + looking earnestly at the class, said, "When I was young I planned out my + life just as he planned out his climb. Food and clothing, and full records + of my experiences for the world's information, figured in big. But at + forty I cared only for such clothes as kept me warm, and at fifty only for + such food as kept me strong. And so steep was the climb up to the top I + had set my heart upon that at sixty I cared little for the opinions of + people, if only I might reach the top. And when I do reach it I shall not + care whether the world has a record of it or not. That record is in safety + above." + </p> + <p> + We laugh at the ambitious young Englishman. But will you kindly let me + say, plainly, without meaning to be critical in an unkind sense, that <i>most + of us do just as he did</i>. And will you listen softly, while I say this—many + of us, when we find we can't reach the top with our loads, let the top go, + and pitch our tents in the plain, and settle down with our small plans and + accessories. The plain seems to be quite full of tents. + </p> + <p> + The plan of the Swiss guides is <i>the plan</i> for the life-climb. It is + <i>the</i> plan, and the only one for us to follow in the world-winning + climb. That was Jesus' plan. He left behind and threw away everything that + hindered, and at the last threw away life itself, that so the world might + find life. We must follow Him. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Urgent Need + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Three Great Groups. + The Needle Of The Compass Of Need. + A Quick Run Round The World. + West By Way Of The East. + Christian Lands. + The Greatest Need. + Groping In The Dark. + Living Messages Of Jesus. + The Great Unknown Lack. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Need + </h2> + <p> + Three Great Groups. + </p> + <p> + The human heart is tender. It answers quickly to the cry of need. It is + oftentimes hard to find. In Christian lands it is covered up with + selfishness. And in heathen lands the selfishness seems so thickly crusted + that it is hard to awaken even common humanitarian feeling. + </p> + <p> + But that heart once dug out, and touched, never fails to respond to the + cry of need. We know how the cry of physical distress, of some great + disaster, or of hunger will be listened to, and how quickly all men + respond to that. When the terrible earthquake laid San Francisco in + burning ruins the whole nation stopped, and gave a great heart-throb; and + then commenced at once sending relief. Corporations that are rated + soulless and men that are spoken of as money-mad, knocking each other + pitilessly aside in their greed for gold and power, all alike sent quick + and generous help of every substantial sort. + </p> + <p> + Beside expressing their sympathy in kindest and keenest word, they gave + millions of dollars. Yet this might seem to be a family affair, as indeed + it was. But the great famines in India and in other foreign lands farthest + removed from us, have awakened a like response in our hearts. Great sums + have been given in money and supplies to feed the hunger of far-away + peoples, and help them sow their fields and get a fresh start. + </p> + <p> + There is a need far deeper and greater than that of physical suffering. + And there is a heart far more tender than the best human heart. That need + is to know God, whom to know is to enter into fulness of life, both + physical and mental; and into that life of the spirit that is higher and + sweeter than either of these lower down. And that tender heart is the + human heart touched by the warm heart of God. + </p> + <p> + Many of us Christian people who are gathered here to-night have had + unusual blessing in having our hearts touched into real life by the touch + of God. And there's much more of the same sort waiting our fuller touch + with Him. And now we want to see to-night something of the needs of God's + great world-family, which is our own family because it is God's. Then we + shall respond to it as freely and quickly and intelligently, as He Himself + did and does. + </p> + <p> + I am going to ask you to come with me for a brief journey around the + world. We want to get something of a clear, even though rapid view, of the + whole of this world of ours. For the whole world is a mission field. + Missionaries are sent everywhere, including our own home-land, and + including all of our cities. + </p> + <p> + Our cities are as really mission fields as are the heathen lands. There is + a difference, but it is only one of degree. The Christian standards + present in our American life, and absent from these foreign-mission lands, + make an enormous difference. But, apart from that great fact, the need of + mission service is as really in New York as it is in Shanghai. + </p> + <p> + If we are to pray for the whole world, and to help in other ways to win + it, we ought to try to get something of a clear idea of it, to help us in + our thinking and praying and planning. + </p> + <p> + It will help toward that if we remember at the outset that the world from + the religious point of view, divides up easily into three great groups. + First there are the great non-Christian, or heathen, lands and nations. + This includes those called Mohammedan; for, while that religion is based + upon a partial Christian truth, it is so utterly corrupt in teaching and + morally foul in practice that it is distinctly classed with the heathen + religions. + </p> + <p> + Then there are the lands and nations under the control of those two great + mediaeval historic forms of Christianity, the Roman and Greek Churches, in + which the vital principles of the Christian life seem to have been almost + wholly lost in a network of forms and organization. The essential truths + are there. But they are hidden away and covered up. There are untold + numbers of true Christians there, but they live in a strangely clouded + twilight. + </p> + <p> + The third great group is of lands and peoples under the sway of the + Protestant churches. + </p> + <p> + The Needle of the Compass of Need. + </p> + <p> + Let us look a little at these peoples. Where shall we start in? The old + rule of the Master's command, and of the early Church's practice, was to + begin "at Jerusalem," and keep moving until the outmost limit of the world + was reached. I suppose that practically, in service, beginning at + Jerusalem means beginning just where you are, and then reaching out to + those nearest, and then less near, until you have touched the farthest. + </p> + <p> + But the old Jerusalem rule will make a good geographical rule for us + English-speaking people, with an ocean between us, in getting a fresh look + at this old world that the Master asks us to carry in our hearts and on + our hands. So we'll begin there. + </p> + <p> + The needle of a magnetic compass always points north. The needle of the + compass of progress has always pointed west; at least always since the + Medo-Persian was the world-power. But it is striking that the compass of + the world's <i>need</i> always points its needle toward the east. And so, + starting at Jerusalem, we may well turn our faces east as we take our + swing around the world to learn its need. + </p> + <p> + It may be a relief to you to know at once that there will not be any + statistics in this series of talks. We want instead just now to get broad + and general, but distinct, impressions. Statistics are burdensome to most + people. They are a good deal of a bugbear to the common crowd of us + every-day folks. They are absolutely essential. They are of immense, that + is, immeasurable, value. You need to have them at hand where you can + easily turn for exact information, as you need it, to refresh your memory. + And an increasing amount of it will stick in your memory and guide your + thinking and praying. + </p> + <p> + There are easily available, in these days of such remarkable missionary + activity, an abundance of fresh statistics, in attractive form. We are + greatly indebted to the Student Volunteer Movement and the Young People's + Missionary Movement and the Church Societies for the great service they + have done in this matter of full fresh information. + </p> + <p> + But the thing of first importance is to get an intelligent thought of the + <i>whole world</i>. And then to add steadily to our stock of particular + information, as study and prayer and service call for it. It is possible + to get a simple grasp of the whole world. And it helps immensely to do it. + </p> + <p> + It helps at once to this end to remember that two-thirds of all the + peoples of the earth are in the distinctly heathen, or non-Christian, + lands. This in itself is a tremendous fact, telling at once of the world's + need. At the beginning of the twentieth hundred-years since Jesus gave His + command to preach His Gospel to all men, two-thirds of them are still in + ignorance of Him and under the same moral sway as when He went away. + </p> + <p> + I might add that there are a billion people in these two-thirds. But that + figure is so big as only to stagger the mind in an attempt to take it in. + The important thing is to see that it doesn't by its sheer bigness, + stagger our faith or our courage or our praying habit. We want to be like + the old Hebrew who "staggered not" at God's promise to do for him a + naturally impossible thing. Yet it is well to repeat that word "billion," + for it brings up sharply and gigantically the staggering need of the world + for Christ. + </p> + <p> + One-third is in lands commonly called Christian. Though we must use that + word "Christian" in the broadest and most charitable sense in making that + statement. + </p> + <p> + A Quick Run Round the World. + </p> + <p> + Beginning at Jerusalem, then, means for us just now beginning with the + Turkish Empire. And with that, in this rapid run through, we may for + convenience group Arabia and Persia and Afghanistan. This is the section + where Mohammedanism, that corrupt mixture of heathenism with a small + tincture of Christian truth, has its home, and whence it has gone out on + its work throughout the world. + </p> + <p> + Great populations here have practically no knowledge at all of the Gospel, + for missionary work is extremely scant. The land of the Saviour, with its + eastern neighbors, has no Saviour, so far as knowing about Him is + concerned, though it needs His saving very sorely. + </p> + <p> + Next to it, on the east, lies the great land of India, with the smaller + countries that naturally group with it. And here are gathered fully <i>a + fifth</i> of the people of the earth. These are really in large part our + blood-brothers. Their fathers away back were brothers to our fathers. And + so missionary work here ought to be reckoned largely as a family affair. + British rule has had an immense humanizing influence here. Missionary + activity has been carried on aggressively for years, and great and blessed + progress has been made. + </p> + <p> + Yet it is merely a preparation for the work now so sorely needed. These + years of faithful seed-sowing have made the soil dead ripe for a harvest + in our day. A strange religiousness utterly lacking both in religion and + in morality, abominably repugnant in its gross immorality, honey-combs the + life of these people. The cry of need here is deep and pathetic. + </p> + <p> + Pushing on still to the east, the great land of China with its + dependencies, looms up in all its huge giant size. Roughly speaking, + almost <i>a third</i> of the world's people are grouped here. There are + practically almost as many in what is reckoned Chinese territory as in all + Christian lands. Here is found the oldest and best civilization of the + non-Christian sort. The old common religion of Confucius is practically + not a religion at all, but a code of maxims and rules, and utterly lacking + in moral uplift or power. + </p> + <p> + The peculiarly impressive thing about China, as indeed about nearly all of + the heathen world, <i>is the spirit of stagnation</i>. There is a + deadness, or sort of stupor, over everything. It is as if a blight had + spread over the land, checking all progress. Habits, customs, and + institutions remain apparently as they were a thousand years ago. This + stands out in sharp contrast with the spirit of growth that marks + Christian lands. + </p> + <p> + It seems strange to us because the spirit of growth is the atmosphere of + our western world, breathed in from infancy. The one word that seems + peculiarly to describe China is that word "stagnant." The people + themselves are remarkable both for their mental power and their habits of + industry. The Chinese may well be called the Anglo-Saxons of the Orient, + in latent power and mental character. + </p> + <p> + In our modesty we think the Anglo-Saxon, the English-speaking, the + greatest of living peoples. Certainly the leadership of the world is in + Anglo-Saxon hands, and has been for centuries. And the marvellous, + unprecedented progress of the world has been under that leadership. + </p> + <p> + Well, when these Chinese wake up we are very likely to find the race + getting a new leadership, and the history of the world a new chapter + added. What sort of leadership it will be morally, and what sort of a + chapter, will depend on how much statesmanship there is in our praying and + giving and missionary service. But the need is enormously intensified by + the unawakened power of these Chinese. + </p> + <p> + West by Way of the East. + </p> + <p> + Still moving east, we come to the newly awakened and very attractive + island-nation of Japan, which, because of its geographical and territorial + situation, has been called the Great Britain of the Orient. Japan stands + at present as the exception to the common stagnation of the heathen world. + It has made a record nothing less than phenomenal as a student of Western + life. It has absorbed, and imitated, and adapted to its own use, the + Western knowledge and spirit with a wonderful power and intelligence. + </p> + <p> + Japan is both bright and ambitious to an almost abnormal degree, and as + tricky in its dealings, and morally unclean in its life, as it is bright + and ambitious. They have been called the Frenchmen of the Orient, and that + characterization fits remarkably in many respects. Great progress has been + made in giving the Gospel to Japan, but the present moral need is + immensely intensified by the very aggressiveness of the Japanese spirit. + </p> + <p> + With Japan, the island-kingdom, it is easy to group the whole island-world + lying to the east and south, though these are utterly different peoples. + This includes the great number of islands scattered throughout the Pacific + Ocean. The conditions are largely those of savagery except where affected + by Christian civilization through the missionary enterprise. The Gospel + has done some wonderful feats of transformation here. And there is plenty + of room for more. Australia, the "island continent," is a British colony, + and of course now reckoned among Christian lands; as is also the large + island of New Zealand, also a British colony, which has been a leader in + some of the most advanced steps of modern civilization. + </p> + <p> + Crossing the Pacific to the east brings up the South American Continent; + and Central America, the connecting stretch of land with our own + continent; and Mexico, which is commonly grouped with foreign-mission + lands. South America has been spoken of both as the "neglected continent" + and as the "continent of opportunity." The common characteristic + religiously of all this vast section from Mexico to the "Land of Fire," at + the southernmost toe of South America, is that it is under the sway of the + Roman Catholic Church. Some parts of it have been spoken of as "baptized + heathenism." A vast network of church forms and organization, practically + lifeless, holds these peoples in an iron grasp. The need of the Gospel of + Jesus is fully as great as in civilized China or savage Africa. + </p> + <p> + One more long easterly stride, across the Atlantic, brings black Africa, + and completes this rapid run around the globe, so far as distinctly + heathen lands are concerned. Africa is peculiarly the savage continent, + though it has the oldest civilization in its northeast corner, and the + newest British civilization rapidly developing on its southern edge. It is + the "dark continent," both in the color of its inhabitants and in its sad + destitution and degradation. About <i>a tenth</i> of the world's + population is here; with as many missionaries as in civilized India, but + unable to reach the people as effectually as there because of the lack of + national organization and the absence of great highways of travel. + </p> + <p> + Africa is essentially a great mass of separate tribes, larger and smaller, + most of them in deepest savagery, with sorest need not only of salvation, + but of civilization. The sore need of its very savagery has seemed to make + it a magnet to missionary enterprise. And yet all that has been done, and + is being done, seems almost swallowed up in the depth of its degradation + and savagery. + </p> + <p> + I have taken you with me in this very rapid run that we might try to get a + simple practical grasp of the heathen world. And if you and I might often + take just such a run, with map or globe and Bible at hand, and our knees + bent, it would greatly help us in getting close to the world our Lord died + for; and which He means to win; and to win through you and me; and which + He <i>will</i> win. + </p> + <p> + Christian Lands. + </p> + <p> + But I must talk with you a bit about our Christian lands, Europe and + America, with huge Russia sitting astride both Europe and Asia, with a + foot dangling on each side of the globe. For these, too, are mission + lands. <i>Foreign</i>-mission lands, would you call them? Well, that + depends entirely on what spot you happen to call home. They are all + mission fields. The whole world is a mission field to God. <i>Foreign</i>-mission + field? or <i>home</i>-mission? Which? It makes no practical matter which + term you choose to use. + </p> + <p> + It will be well to remember just what that common phrase, "Christian + lands," really means. It may help us in our praying. And it may help us, + too, to keep humble as we think about heathen lands. It means, of course, + the lands where Christian standards are commonly recognized as the proper + standards of morals and of life. + </p> + <p> + It does <i>not</i> mean that the people are all Christian. Only a minority + so class themselves; the great majority do not. Neither does it mean that + that minority called Christian is <i>controlled</i> in daily life and in + business by the principles of Jesus. For by pretty general consent they + are not so controlled. It is not too much to say that there is more of + that same spirit of selfishness that marks the heathen world, dominating + the personal lives of people in Christian lands, than there is of the + unselfish Christ spirit. That may sound unkind and too critical to you. It + is not said in a critical spirit, but simply in the desire to get the + facts as they are. I am fully persuaded that the more you think about it + the more you will come to see that this is simply the truth. + </p> + <p> + Nor yet does that term, "Christian lands," mean that these lands are as + distinctly Christian through and through as heathen lands are distinctly + heathen, or non-Christian, through and through. As a matter of fact, + Christian lands are not dominated as thoroughly by the Christian spirit as + heathen lands are by the heathen spirit. We really don't deserve our + distinctive phrase as much as they deserve theirs. + </p> + <p> + It does mean chiefly this, that here in these lands the Christian Church + has its stronghold; that Christian standards are commonly recognized, + though in practice they are so commonly disregarded. It means that the + enormous incidental blessings, in material and mental life, that always + follow the preaching of the Gospel are here enjoyed most fully. And it + means, too, that much of the humanizing, softening, and energizing power + of the Gospel of Christ has seeped and soaked into our common civilization + and affected all our life. + </p> + <p> + This is true; yet the mass of persons living in this atmosphere, and + enjoying its great advantages, are wholly selfish in the main drive of + their lives, and so in being selfish are un-Christian. While Christian + ideals dominate so much of our life, the term "Christian lands" really + describes our <i>privileges</i> more than it does our <i>practices</i>. + </p> + <p> + The Greatest Need. + </p> + <p> + A word now about these great Christian lands of Europe and America. The + Catholic countries of Europe have been regarded as mission fields by the + Protestant churches, and missionary operations have been conducted in them + for many years. Russia has likewise been commonly regarded as missionary + territory, and a very difficult one at that. In portions of Great Britain, + in our own Western States and frontiers, in the Southern mountain States, + and in other sections, and among special classes, missionary work has been + regularly carried on. + </p> + <p> + And the cities, those great, strange, throbbing hearts of human life, are + all peculiarly mission fields. It is remarkable how the modern city + reproduces world conditions morally. The city is a sort of miniature of + the world. All the varying moral conditions of the heathen world, atheism, + savagery almost, crude heathenish superstition, degradation of woman, + neglect of children, and untempered lust, may be found in New York and + Chicago, in London and Paris, in Vienna and Berlin, and in varying degree + in all cities of Christian lands. The grosser parts are hidden away, more + or less. + </p> + <p> + These conditions are softened in intensity by the commonly recognized + moral standards of life. But they are there. The man immersed in mission + service in any of these cities is apt to think that there can be no + greater nor sorer need than this that pushes itself insistently upon him + at every turn. + </p> + <p> + The slum ends and sides of our Christian cities and huge heathendom, + jostle elbows in the likeness of their moral conditions. The need is + everywhere, crying earnestly, wretchedly out to us. There is good mission + ground anywhere you please to strike in. + </p> + <p> + But—<i>but</i>, by far the greatest need, with that word "greatest" + intensified beyond all power of description, is in the heathen lands. The + vastness of the numbers there, the utter ignorance, the smallness of their + chance of getting any of the knowledge and uplift of the Gospel, all go to + spell out that word "greatest." The awful cumulative power of sin, + unchecked by the common moral standards of life, with the terrific + momentum of centuries; the common temptations known to us, but with a + fierceness and subtlety wholly unknown to us in Christian lands—and + yet how terrifically fierce and cunningly subtle some of us know them to + be!—these all make every letter in that word "greatest" stand out in + biggest capitals, and in blackest, inkiest ink. + </p> + <p> + Groping in the Dark. + </p> + <p> + That is a bare suggestion of the need of the world <i>in bulk</i>. But we + want to get a much closer look than that. These are <i>men</i> that we are + talking about; our <i>brothers</i>, not merely hard, unfeeling, + statistical totals of millions. Each man of them contains the whole + pitiable picture of the sore need of the world vividly portrayed in + himself. + </p> + <p> + The very heathen religions themselves are the crying out, in the night, of + men's hearts, after something they haven't, and yet need so much. Strange + things these heathen superstitions and monstrous practices and beliefs + called religions! It has been rather the thing of late to speak somewhat + respectfully of them, and rather apologetically. They have even been + praised, so strangely do things get mixed up in this world of ours. It has + been supposed that God was revealing Himself in these religions; and that + in them men were reaching up to God, and <i>could</i> reach up to Him + through them. + </p> + <p> + They really are the twilight remnants of the clear direct light of God + that once lightened all men; <i>but</i> so mixed through, and covered up + with error and superstition and unnatural devilish lust, that they are + wholly inadequate to lead any man back home to God. In almost all of them + there is indeed some distinct kernel of truth. But that kernel has been + invariably shut up in a shell and bur that are hard beyond any power of + cracking, to get at the kernel of truth for practical help, even if the + people knew enough to try. + </p> + <p> + They tell pathetically of the groping of man's heart after God. But the + groping is in the pitch dark, and amid a mass of foul, filthy cobwebs that + blind the eyes with their dust, and grime all the life. I have no doubt + that untold numbers of true hearts in heathen lands are feeling after God, + and in some dim way coming into touch with Him. He is not far from any one + of them; but they find Him chiefly in spite of these religions, rather + than through any help found in them. + </p> + <p> + The story is told of a Chinese tailor who had struggled hopelessly for + light, and had finally found it in finding Jesus. He put his idea of the + heathen religions that he knew, and had tried, in this simple vivid way: + </p> + <p> + "A man had fallen into a deep, dark pit, and lay in its miry bottom, + groaning and utterly unable to move. He heard a man walking by close + enough to see his plight. But with stately tread he walked on without + volunteering to help. That is Mohammedanism. + </p> + <p> + "Confucius walking by approached the edge of the pit, and said, 'Poor + fellow! I am sorry for you. Why were you such a fool as to get in there? + Let me give you a piece of advice: If ever you get out, don't get in + again.' 'I can't get out,' said the man. That is Confucianism. + </p> + <p> + "A Buddhist priest next came by and said: 'Poor fellow! I am very much + pained to see you there. I think if you could scramble up two-thirds of + the way, or even half, I could reach you and lift you up the rest.' But + the man in the pit was entirely helpless and unable to rise. That is + Buddhism. + </p> + <p> + "Next the Saviour came by, and, hearing his cries, went to the very brink + of the pit, stretched down and laid hold of the poor man, brought him up, + and said, 'Go, sin no more.' This is Christianity." + </p> + <p> + The awful moral or immoral conditions prevalent throughout the heathen + world are the most graphic comment on the influence of these religions. It + can be said thoughtfully that, instead of ever helping up to God and the + light, they drag down to the devil and to black darkness. There is not + only an utter lack of any moral uplift in them, but a deadly downward + pull. The very things called religions point out piteously the terrible + need of these peoples. + </p> + <p> + Living Messages of Jesus. + </p> + <p> + Now, what is it that these people need, and that we can give to them? May + I first remind you what they don't need? Well, let it be said as plainly + as it can be that they don't need the transferring to heathen soil of our + Western church systems, nor our schemes of organizations. It is not our + Western creeds and theology that they stand in need of. + </p> + <p> + Of course, there need to be both churches and organizations. Only so will + the work be done, and what is gotten held together. But these are in + themselves temporary. They are immensely important and indispensable, but + not the chief thing. The great need is of <i>the story of Jesus</i>. That + is, plain teaching about sin—the hardest task of all for the + missionary, whether in Asia or America—and the damnable results + locked up in sin. Then the winsome telling, the tirelessly patient and + persistently gentle telling of the story of love, God's love as revealed + in Jesus. The telling them that Jesus will put a new moral power inside a + man that will make him over new. + </p> + <p> + But they need even more than this, aye, far more. They need <i>men</i>—human + beings like themselves, living among them in closest touch—whose + clean, strong, sweet lives spell out the Jesus-story as no human lips can + ever tell it. + </p> + <p> + To live side by side with men who like themselves are tempted sorely, but + who show plainly in their lives a power that downs the temptation—this + is their great need. The good seed, after all, is not the message of truth + merely, but the "sons of the kingdom,"<a href="#linknote-9" + name="linknoteref-9" id="linknoteref-9"><small>9</small></a> men living + the message of Jesus, and more, the power of Jesus, daily. + </p> + <p> + A kindergarten teacher opened a mission among the slum children of a very + poor section of Chicago. She began her work by gathering a number of + dirty, unkempt children of the street into the neat mission room. Then, + instead of preaching or praying or something of the conventional sort at + the first, she brought in and set on a table a large beautiful calla lily, + bewitching in its simple white beauty. + </p> + <p> + The effect of the flower on one child, a little girl, was striking. No + sooner had she looked at it than she looked down at her own dirty hands + and clothes, with a flush creeping into her face. Then she quickly went + out into the street. In a little while she was back again, but with her + face washed, her hair combed, her dress tidied up, and a bit of colored + ribbon added. She walked straight up to the lily again, and looked long, + with deep wondering admiration in her eyes, at the beautiful white flower. + </p> + <p> + The flower's purity was a mirror in which she saw her own dirtiness. It + was a magnet drawing her gently but strongly up to its own higher level. + It was an inspiration moving her irresistibly to respond to its own upward + pull. + </p> + <p> + A simple, pure, human life is the greatest moral magnet. Jesus Himself + down here was just such a magnet. Such a life is impossible for us without + Jesus. It tells His power as no tongue can. It spells out loudly a + standard of life and, far more, a power that can lift the life up to the + standard. It doesn't simply tell what we should be. That may only + tantalize and tease. But it tells what we actually can be. + </p> + <p> + Jesus is more than a message. He is a living power in a man's life. This + is the great need of men's hearts,—the message of Jesus' purity and + of Jesus' power <i>embodied in live men</i>, living side by side, in the + thick of things, with their brothers of the great world. + </p> + <p> + The Great Unknown Lack. + </p> + <p> + The greatness of men's need stands out most pathetically in this, that men + don't know their need. They have gotten so used to the night that they + don't care for the sunlight. They have been hungry so long that the sense + of hunger and the call of appetite have wholly gone. + </p> + <p> + There is a simple, striking story told of two famous Scandinavians, Ole + Bull, the great violinist, and John Ericsson, the great inventor, who + taught the world to use the screw in steam navigation. The one was a + Norwegian, the other a Swede. They had been friends in early life, but + drifted apart and did not meet again until each had become famous. The old + friendship was renewed on one of Ole Bull's tours to this country. + </p> + <p> + As Bull was leaving his friend, after a delightful visit, he gave him a + cordial invitation to attend his concert that evening. But the + matter-of-fact, prosaic Ericsson declined, pleading pressure of work, and + saying that he had no time to waste on music. + </p> + <p> + Bull renewed his invitation, time and again, finally saying, "If you won't + come, I'll bring my violin down here to your shop, and play." "If you do," + replied the famous engineer laughingly, "I'll smash the thing to pieces." + The violinist, knowing the marvellous, almost supernatural, power of his + instrument to touch and awaken the human heart into new life, felt curious + to know what effect it would have on this scientific man steeped in his + prosaic physics. So he planned a bit of diplomacy. + </p> + <p> + Taking the violin with him, he called upon Ericsson at his workshop one + day. He removed the strings and screws and apron, and called Ericsson's + attention to certain defects, asking about the scientific and acoustic + principles involved, and discussing the differing effect of the different + grain of certain woods. From this he went on to a discussion of sound + waves. Finally, to illustrate his meaning and his questions, he replaced + the parts, and, bringing the bow softly down upon the tense strings, drew + out a few marvellously sweet, rich tones. + </p> + <p> + At once the workmen in the shop dropped their tools, and listened with + wide-eyed wonder. Ole Bull played on and on, with his simple great skill, + making the workshop a place of worship. When finally he paused, Ericsson + lifted his bowed head, and showed eyes that were wet. Then he said softly, + with the touch of reverent awe in his voice, "Play on! Don't stop. Play + on. <i>I never knew before what it was that was lacking in my life.</i>" + </p> + <p> + That is what men everywhere say when they come to know Jesus. They fight + against knowing Him because of their ignorance of Him. At home, prejudice + against theology of this sort and that; against some preaching, or church + service, or some Christian people they have unpleasant memories of + perhaps, bar the way. Abroad, prejudice against their treatment at the + hands of Christian nations, or against anything new, shuts the door with a + slam and a sharp push of the bolt. + </p> + <p> + It takes great diplomacy, love's diplomacy, the combination of serpent and + dove, subtlety and harmlessness, to get an entrance. But when the door is + pried open, or coaxed open enough for some sound or sight of Jesus to get + in, they passionately cry out, "This is what I need. This Jesus is the + lacking thing in my life!" + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Present Opportunity + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Somebody's Knocking at the Door. + They're Standing in the Dark. + Who's There? + The Coming Leaders. + What They're After. + Returning Our Call. + "Inasmuch." +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Present Opportunity + </h2> + <p> + Somebody's Knocking at the Door. + </p> + <p> + There's a soft, tender passion in the heart of God. Its flame burns + steadily. It never flags nor dims. It's a passion for His child-man. And + that very passion itself draws man to Himself with a drawing power that is + irresistible. They can't resist being drawn, even though they may refuse + to yield to it. + </p> + <p> + There is an answering passion in man's heart for God. It is often a sort + of dumb longing, not clearly defined nor well understood. It is a mute + yearning of his heart for God, though often he doesn't think of it that + way. But it is there; for these two, man and God, belong together. They + were together until sin drove its ugly wedge in between. They are a part + of each other. Neither one is complete nor happy without the other. + </p> + <p> + The heart of God can be satisfied only as man comes back home to Him. And + man's heart never rests until it finds rest in comradeship with God. These + two are always drawing toward each other. God is always drawing man by the + great master-passion of His heart. And man is always responding to that + tender, strong pull in the underneath, mute yearning of his heart. + </p> + <p> + By and by the thing that keeps them apart will be gotten rid of. Sin will + be shipped overboard, to fall by its own dead weight to the bottom of the + sea. Then there will be glad reunion of God and man, their hearts in full + glad accord again. To-night we want to talk together a bit about this + answering passion of man's heart for God. + </p> + <p> + The heathen world is knocking to-day at the door of the Christian Church. + It has found out who has the fullest and truest information about God. And + it is knocking loudly and earnestly at that door. And it keeps on + knocking, though the door seems to be barely open yet; and a good many—most?—inside + don't seem to have heard the knocking. + </p> + <p> + The most remarkable thing about the present time from the Church point of + view is that the heathen peoples are asking for what the Master has told + us to give them. The centre of Church attraction and of Christian action + to-day is on the swing toward heathen lands. + </p> + <p> + When the Church began again, a hundred years ago, to enter the great + heathen world, it had to use pick and axe, jimmy and chisel. It seemed + like using burglar's tools. Certainly it was working in the dark, with + only the burglar's dark-lantern to show the way. But now the heathen door + is wide open. Instead of our knocking at their door, the heathen world is + knocking at our door. + </p> + <p> + Our billion brothers stand in the night-time of their darkness blindly + feeling for our door, and knocking, now timidly, now earnestly and loudly, + ay, imperiously, for the light that we have. It has been a cold night for + them, and a long night, too. But the darkest hour of it is already + throbbing with the flood of coming light. They have found the door and are + using it. The whole foreign non-Christian world is knocking with + incessant, insistent clamor at our church door. + </p> + <p> + They're Standing in the Dark. + </p> + <p> + I do not mean that actually every country in the world is open to the + Gospel. For there are a few countries with comparatively scanty + populations that are not open; except, indeed, on the edges, to the man + prying earnestly around for a way to get in. + </p> + <p> + I don't mean that every man in these open countries is actually asking us + to send him some word of Jesus. For vast numbers of them have never heard + either about us or about Him. They don't know there is a Jesus to ask + about; or, judging by others, they would be asking. + </p> + <p> + Neither do I mean that these multitudes who are asking are, in every case, + asking for the Gospel itself. For many times that is not so. They ask for + that which appeals to them strongly as something that they want. They want + our Western science and learning. They want to get from us the secret of + harnessing nature up to their wagon to pull their heavy loads. + </p> + <p> + In many cases, without doubt, they don't want our Christianity at all. + They regard it simply as something that goes along inseparably with the + thing they do want. They are willing to put up with some of it for a + while, if only they can get the thing they are after. Their eyes have been + caught by the bright light of our Christian civilization. They don't + understand how it came to us. They haven't wakened up enough, most of + them, to think into that. + </p> + <p> + They want the light we have, as we might want something that we could + order a shipment of. They haven't learned enough yet to want to get the + light-generating plant installed in their midst. The great fact that all + our civilization has come to us through the partial presence of the Light + of the world hasn't dawned upon their minds yet. + </p> + <p> + But, however selfish motives and a crude understanding or misunderstanding + may enter in, the great strange unprecedented fact still remains true that + the world of heathenism is knocking at the door of Christendom as never + before in the world's history. + </p> + <p> + And then, too, everywhere some of them are asking plainly and piteously + for the real thing. Great numbers in all the foreign-mission lands are + asking that Christian teachers be sent to them with Bibles and other books + to teach them the way back home to God. Wherever they find out that there + is a knowledge of God to be gotten, from there comes the insistent + knocking that it be brought to them. + </p> + <p> + I remember Bishop Bashford, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, stationed + in China, telling of one of his thrilling experiences out there. He had + gone inland quite a bit into China on one of his tours. One day he was + preaching the story of Jesus to a crowd of Chinese gathered in the open + air. As his interpreter turned his words into Chinese the crowds listened + with great respect and keenest interest. + </p> + <p> + As he finished he asked them if they had ever heard the Gospel before. No; + none of them had. He was turning up absolutely fresh soil. And they + pressed in about him, earnestly asking that men be sent to tell them. And + this experience of Bishop Bashford's is being repeated, over and over + again, throughout the foreign-mission world. + </p> + <p> + Who's There? + </p> + <p> + But there is yet more than this. Everywhere among these peoples, as one + comes into close enough touch to find their hearts, there can be found + underneath the inarticulate, inexpressible yearning for something they + haven't. And they don't know enough to know what it is they long for. But + they are conscious of the constant, weary, yearning tug within. The great + heart of the non-Christian world to-day is asking dumbly, but earnestly, + as only the heart can ask, for the light we have. Its knocking at our + front door is growing louder in its insistent earnestness. + </p> + <p> + Since Commodore Perry steamed into the harbor of Yokohama, fifty years + ago, with open Bible and American flag, and knocked at the front door of + the Orient, the whole situation has completely changed. Then we knocked + for admission to these shut-in lands. Now they are knocking at our door, + for the knowledge and light that we have in Christian lands because we + have Jesus. + </p> + <p> + May I call your attention to some of the louder of these knockings? + </p> + <p> + For years students in great numbers, thousands, have been coming from + these heathen nations to our country to get our Western learning. + Throughout the colleges and lower schools of the land, both East and West, + in the greater universities, and in the more modest small church colleges + they can be found. + </p> + <p> + I remember a sight that never failed to thrill me in my visitations among + the colleges of our Central West. Almost always I saw one or more of these + young men, from Japan, and less frequently from China and India and other + countries, and sometimes young women, too; studying in these institutions. + Quite frequently they came from the better families of their people; often + from old wealthy families of position and influence. So that by blood ties + and position they will be the future men of influence and leaders of their + people. And it is a notable fact that many of them are to-day the leaders + in Japan. Literally thousands of them have come, these thousands of miles + around the world, to knock at our doors, and ask for what we have and they + haven't. + </p> + <p> + Even more striking is the recent visitation to us of official commissions + from the non-Christian lands. One after another, these national + governmental deputations have come to us. They have been composed of the + strongest men in these lands, men in leading official position. They have + come by government appointment, and at government expense, to learn the + secret of our marvellous Western progress. + </p> + <p> + And in addition to these official deputations others have come, men of + like prominence and influence, coming on their own account, to witness our + civilization and learn its secrets. + </p> + <p> + The Coming Great Leaders. + </p> + <p> + One of the most remarkable incidents of this most remarkable movement has + been the great migration of young Chinese men to study in the colleges of + Japan. Within a very short space of time, as though by a concerted + movement, fifteen thousand Chinese young men have flocked to Tokyo. The + inevitable sifting process has sent many back, but fully ten thousand + remain, engaged in earnest, hard study. + </p> + <p> + Will you mark very keenly why they went to <i>Japan</i>? Because to them + Japan, in its new life, stood for the new light and life of the West. + Their little, but mighty, aggressive neighbor on their eastern shore had + brought to their very door the new civilization of the Christian West. + </p> + <p> + Here was an unusual opportunity. Where hundreds had come clear around the + earth to us, thousands have seized this opportunity close at hand. They + come from every province of China; even that farthest away, on the border + of Tibet, sending hundreds. + </p> + <p> + The travel involved thousands of miles. And if their slow means of travel + be taken into account, it meant what would be to us practically hundreds + of thousands of miles. Hundreds of them have been sent by the provincial + and local governments. Others have come through private funds made up for + the purpose. And wealthy men have sent their sons. They have gone to Japan + only because Japan has opened her doors so widely to our Christian + civilization. It is not to their conqueror, Japan, they have come, but to + the civilization which Japan has imported from Christian lands. + </p> + <p> + Was there ever such a knocking at the door of the Christian Church as + this? Ten thousand picked men, of the best and keenest young manhood of + China, representing all parts of the empire, and in large part + representing the government, settling down to years of close study of our + Christian civilization as found in Japan—a tremendous fact for the + Church to-day! Things are crowding in on us. It is the non-Christian world + knocking at our back door. It was too far around to the front. So they + have commenced their knocking at the nearest and handiest door they could + find. + </p> + <p> + Then there are direct requests coming constantly to the missionaries, from + the peoples in all these lands, earnestly asking and even pleading that + men be sent to teach them of God and of Christ. Whole villages have been + found in the fastnesses of Africa's wilds spending days together, and all + day long, on their knees in prayer; most of ten mute prayer with upturned + faces—their very bent bodies their prayer—that news of the + white man's God might be sent to them. + </p> + <p> + In Korea and other lands it is no uncommon thing for men and women to + travel hundreds of miles by their slow transportation, or even to come + a-foot, to attend gatherings where the story of Jesus is being preached. + </p> + <p> + And then, too, there is the indirect knocking in the imitation of our + Western ways, and throwing away of their own. Imitation is the highest + form of compliment that can be paid. It tells of admiration, and of a + desire to be as those imitated. The adapting of Western learning by these + conservative Oriental peoples, the establishment of thousands of colleges + and schools on the model of Christian countries is so radical a thing as + to be nothing short of startling. The abandoning of bad customs, as well + as of their old systems of education, is as startling. Where there were + antagonisms there is now the friendliest imitation. + </p> + <p> + If to this we add the remarkable immigration to our shores, of a million a + year, it intensifies enormously the opportunity of service brought to us + by foreign peoples. Yet please notice that this latter is not Asia nor + Africa coming to us, but Europe. + </p> + <p> + However crying their need may be, these are, nominally, not heathen + peoples, but chiefly from Christianized Europe. The Asiatics would have + come in great numbers, but that door was promptly shut and carefully + locked by official hands. + </p> + <p> + As you swing your eye over these seething masses of the heathen world, and + listen to their voices, let me ask you, with the earnest softness of tone + that belongs to the heart, could there be a louder knocking at the door of + the Christian Church? + </p> + <p> + What Do They Want? + </p> + <p> + There can be no doubt about the knocking. But—<i>but</i> what is it + they are after? Well, in plainest talk, they are after the thing that has + made Christian nations great, great to the point of world-leadership and + world-supremacy. + </p> + <p> + Do you remember the famous reply, often quoted, given to a foreign visitor + at the English court? He had asked the secret of the greatness of England, + which impressed him so forcibly. And her gracious majesty, of blessed + memory, Queen Victoria, placed her hand upon a Bible, and replied in the + memorable words, "<i>This</i> is the secret of England's greatness." + </p> + <p> + Just how much that wise woman had in mind I am sure I do not know. I feel + very sure she did not refer to the church system of England. But to + something far more and deeper than that, of which the church system is + only one expression. Where the Bible has gone, and where it has so largely + dominated the life of the people, as in England, there has been both a + moral regeneration <i>and</i>, mark it keenly, a <i>new mental life</i>. + Its touch has awakened the mental powers. There has been aroused and + released into activity that <i>spirit of energy</i> which has become the + most marked characteristic of the Western world. + </p> + <p> + These two, the mental life and the remarkable energy, lie at the basis of + all our wonderful modern science. And this, in turn, lies at the basis of + all our phenomenal development. It is this that makes the West different + from the East. The leading nations are Christian nations. The germ of + vigorous life is in the Gospel of Christ. + </p> + <p> + This is the thing the heathen world is knocking so earnestly at our door + for to-day. I do not say that they think of it in that way. They are just + coming, groping out of the darkness, with eyes blinking and blinded by the + brightness of our light. They stretch eager, reaching fingers out toward + the light, without knowing much about it. The glare of it has caught them. + </p> + <p> + And if they are caught, moth-like, and hurt by its flame—if they + copy our vile vices, which are no part of our Christianity, but the + remnants of our own original savagery cropping out in spite of + Christianity—if so, is it surprising? Their eyes are bothered by the + sudden change from black darkness to brilliant light. + </p> + <p> + But there's a deeper asking. Underneath all, the thing they are really + asking for, all unconsciously most of them, is that which lies at the root + of all our Western progress. They ask unknowingly for the Gospel of + Christ, the heart of this precious old Bible. When they get that they will + find that it brings the new awakening of mental life and the new + aggressive energy that has made us Christian nations what we are. + </p> + <p> + Returning Our Call. + </p> + <p> + Will you please remember that their knocking at our door is a direct + result of our knocking at their door? They are very polite, these far-away + kinsfolk of ours. They are simply returning our call. + </p> + <p> + The missionary, from Great Britain, and America, and Europe, has been the + West's pathfinder in these foreign-mission lands. He has blazed a way into + these thick woods, and beaten down narrow foot-paths through them. It's + been hard, heroic work. The pathfinder has often gotten his hands and face + badly torn by the thick brambly thorn bushes as he pushed resolutely on. + </p> + <p> + Then diplomacy entered and broadened the roads. And commerce quickly came + and beat them down into good hard shape for easy travel. And in turn the + missionaries have freely used the broader, better roads. + </p> + <p> + And now these roads are being trodden by other feet, and in an opposite + direction. Along the pathways made by the Church, and made better by + diplomacy and commerce, these peoples are coming, coming a-running, to ask + us to give them what we have. We received it from Another. He bade us give + it as freely as we received it. + </p> + <p> + Here they come eagerly knocking at our doors, front door, and back door, + and wherever there is a door. Do you hear them? + </p> + <p> + Ah! The great question to-day is not a question for the heathen world, but + for the Christian Church—shall we respond to the opportunity they + are flinging in our faces? To-day there are more hands in heathen lands + stretched out <i>for</i> the Gospel of Jesus than there are Christian + hands stretched out <i>with</i> the Gospel. More hearts in those far-away + lands are dumbly praying for the light than there are of us praying that + they may receive the light—far more. + </p> + <p> + The greatest question for the Church to-day is—shall we enter the + open door? And this is a key-question, too. Its answer includes a full + satisfactory answer to all the other questions we are discussing. All + questions of finance, of uncertain wabbling pulpit voices, of careless and + indifferent or empty pews, and of city evangelization will quickly find an + answer as the Church fully and faithfully answers this. Here is the work + that, if done, and well done, will bring a new circulation of blood into + the whole life of the Church. + </p> + <p> + Have you noticed the sharp contrast that there is gradually growing up + between the way people at home and these foreign peoples are receiving the + Gospel? Out there there is an openness to the truth, an eager willingness + to believe it simply, and to act upon it, that suggests the way they did + in the Book of Acts. In our home-lands of America and Great Britain and + Germany there seems to be either indifference, or an atmosphere of quibble + and criticism. With questions and doubts naturalistic explanations are + sought that do away with much of the simple force of God's truth. + </p> + <p> + A like difference is showing itself between the results there and here. + Here they are scantier, and gotten with great difficulty; there much + larger, and with greater ease. There the door is wide-open, and people + crowding in; here there is a feeling that the door is closing, surely and + not slowly people turn away elsewhere. There has come to be an unusual + proportion of pickles and salads and other relishes served with every + spreading of the Gospel meal here. There, just plain unbuttered bread is + eagerly and thankfully sought for. They are hungry. And their hunger is a + wide-open door to us. We need the exercise of foreign travel, and a great + deal of it, to bring back our zest. + </p> + <p> + "Inasmuch." + </p> + <p> + May I speak very softly of another side of this knocking at our door? <i>Who</i> + is it that is knocking? Aye, <i>Who</i>? + </p> + <p> + Do you remember Jesus' words in Matthew, chapter twenty-five? He is + speaking of the settling-up time that is to come at the close of things. + And He does something there that is startling. He <i>identifies Himself</i> + with the hungry and cold and poor. That is, He puts Himself in their + place. They are reckoned as though they were He. He says that when they + asked for some food and warm clothes <i>it was really Himself asking for + food and warmth!</i> We have been really dealing with Him when we have met + these needy ones. The one test question He makes for all is this—What + did you do for these hungry people? Because what you did, or didn't do for + them, was done or refused to <i>Me</i>. Jesus comes in the guise of the + needy. Who is it knocking at our door so loudly to-day? + </p> + <p> + I suppose if you could think of Jesus actually coming to-day to New York, + the human Jesus I mean, coming as a man just as He came to Jerusalem, but + known to us as He is now—I suppose there is hardly a door that would + not open to Him. He might not be any better understood in New York than He + was in Jerusalem, but the doors of the wealthy would quickly open to Him. + I mean the Christian wealthy, the Church wealthy; other doors, too, no + doubt, but these surely. He would have a great welcome. + </p> + <p> + And I suppose, too, that if in some wealthy home on Fifth Avenue or + Madison Avenue He were to ask His host to give some large sum, a million + dollars or ten millions, for sending the Gospel to China or Japan His + request would likely be granted. It seems to me rather probable that it + would. Well, how can it be put plainly enough that He does come to our + doors, rich, and less rich, and poor. He's at the front door now, knocking + and asking our help. + </p> + <p> + In these heathen peoples of His, <i>Jesus</i> comes to us. And we have + been giving Him—shall I say it very softly for sheer shame?—we + have given, not all, but most of us, what is practically the loose change + in our trousers' pocket; not actually, of course; sometimes even that. We + have spent more on everything else. We have made up boxes of cast-off + clothes and old shoes for—<i>Jesus!</i> This has been a large part + of our answer. Is it any wonder the hot blood sends the color climbing + into our cheeks at the thought, and that we instinctively seek for some + explanation that will soften the hard rub of the truth! + </p> + <p> + I found a bit of a poem in a magazine some time ago that caught fire as I + read it. It was written, I judge, in a personal sense; but it came to me + at once with a wider meaning; and it persists in so coming at every + reading of it. + </p> + <p> + In this poem there is some one knocking at a door for admission, and a + voice without calls, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "'Friend, open to <i>Me</i>.' Who is this that calls? + Nay, I am deaf as are my walls; + Cease crying, for I will not hear + Thy cry of hope or fear. + What art thou indeed + That I should heed + Thy lamentable need? + Hungry, should feed, + Or stranger, lodge thee here? +</pre> + <p> + But the voice persists— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "'Friend, My feet bleed. + Open thy door to Me and comfort Me.' + 'I will not open; trouble me no more. + Go on thy way footsore, + I will not arise and open unto thee. +</pre> + <p> + And still the pleading, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "'Then is it nothing to thee? Open, see + Who stands to plead with thee. + Open, lest I should pass thee by, and thou + One day entreat My face + And cry for grace, + And I be deaf as thou art now; + Open to Me' + + "Then I cried out upon him: Cease, + Leave me in peace; + Fear not that I should crave + Aught thou may'st have. + Leave me in peace, yea, trouble me no more, + Lest I arise and chase thee from my door. + What! shall I not be let + Alone, that thou dost vex me yet? + + "But all night long that voice spake urgently— + 'Open to Me.' + Still harping in mine ears— + 'Rise, let Me in.' + Pleading with tears— + 'Open to Me, that I may come to thee.' + While the dew dropp'd, while the dark hours were cold— + 'My feet bleed, see My Face, + See My hands bleed that bring thee grace, + My heart doth bleed for thee— + Open to Me.' + + "So, till the break of day; + Then died away + That voice, in silence as of sorrow; + Then footsteps echoing like a sigh + Pass'd me by; + Lingering footsteps, slow to pass. + On the morrow + I saw upon the grass + Each footprint mark'd in blood, and <i>on my door</i> + <i>The mark of blood forevermore</i>."<a href="#linknote-10" + name="linknoteref-10" id="linknoteref-10">10</a> +</pre> + <p> + That same voice still comes with a strangely gentle persistence— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Inasmuch as ye did it + Unto one of these my brethren, even these least, + Ye did it unto Me. + + "Inasmuch as ye did it <i>not</i> + Unto one of these least, + Ye did it <i>not</i> unto Me."<a href="#linknote-11" name="linknoteref-11" + id="linknoteref-11">11</a> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Pressing Emergency + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The October Panic. + Danger and Victory Eying Each Other. + Spirit Contests. + A Crisis of Neglect and Success. + A Westernized Heathenism.[A] + A Powerless Christianity. + Death or Deep Water. + Saved by Saving. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Pressing Emergency + </h2> + <p> + The October Panic. + </p> + <p> + A man walked up the steps of a well-known bank in lower New York one + morning, about a half-hour before opening-time, and stood before the shut + door. In a few minutes another came, and stood waiting beside him. Others + came, one by one, until soon a small group stood in line, waiting for the + door to open. + </p> + <p> + A messenger boy, coming down the street, quickly took in the unusual + sight. He wasn't old enough to have been through any of New York's notable + panics, and he had never witnessed a run on a bank; but quick as a flash, + or as a Wall-Street messenger boy, he knew as though by instinct that a + run was on at that bank. Instantly he started running down the street to + tell others. + </p> + <p> + No prairie wild-fire ever spread so quickly as the news ran over 'phone + wires of the beginning of that run. As though by some sort of invisible + ether-waves, the news seemed to spread through the financial district. + Every bank president seemed to know at once. Then it spread throughout the + city, and the greater city. + </p> + <p> + So began what has been called the October panic of last year, which + quickly spread through the land, and then throughout the world until every + country bank here, and every capital city abroad, felt the sharp + tightening of the money-bag strings. + </p> + <p> + It was a strange panic. You couldn't just tell what was responsible for + it. The very variety of explanations, editorial and other, told of the + lack of a common understanding of what caused it. There had been no famine + or drought. The crops, the chief financial barometer of the country's + condition, had been remarkably abundant. There had been no overproduction + or glutting of the industrial world. Indeed, great numbers of concerns had + been embarrassed by orders that they couldn't fill fast enough. The cause + seemed to be wholly in people's <i>minds</i>. A spirit of distrust of some + of the great money leaders and of their methods was abroad. That feeling + of fear sent a few men, by an unplanned concert of action, to a certain + bank before ten o'clock one morning. + </p> + <p> + The unusual sight of a few men standing in line waiting for the opening of + that bank door was like a lighted match to a barn full of dry hay. At the + first inkling of a suggestion of a financial panic money began to + disappear. Nothing is so cowardly in its cautiousness as money. + Scholarship comes next to it. The savings of years have the tightest grip + on most human hands. As though by magic, money began hunting dark holes in + stockings and cellars and safety-deposit boxes. And the hard grip of the + panic was quickly felt everywhere. It was a fear panic. A terrible danger + was at hand. + </p> + <p> + At once the regular habit of life was disturbed for great numbers of men. + The Secretary of the Treasury quit his Washington desk and spent several + days in New York so as to be able to give the help of the Government's + funds and enormous prestige where they would count for most, and to give + promptly. Bank officials and other financial leaders cut social + engagements and everything else that could be cut, and devoted themselves + to meeting the sudden emergency. They ate scantily, both to save time and + for lack of appetite, and to help keep their heads clear for quick + decisive thinking and action. The tension was intense. Men sat up all + night conferring on best measures. + </p> + <p> + A group of the leading money men met in the private quarters of one of + their numbers, about whose rugged personality and leadership they + instinctively rallied. More than one night the gray dawning light of the + morning found them, with white, drawn faces, still in conference. The + emergency gripped them. An emergency always does. The habits of life are + upset, helter-skelter, in the effort to avert the threatening danger. That + was an emergency in the money world. Grave danger threatened. Everything + else was forgotten, and every bit of available resource strained to turn + the danger aside. It <i>was</i> turned aside. That was a splendid + achievement. And even though men have been feeling the effects for this + whole year, what they have felt is as nothing compared with what might + have come. + </p> + <p> + Danger and Victory Eying each other. + </p> + <p> + An emergency means a great danger threatening, perhaps the very life. But + it means, too, that if the danger can be gripped and overcome there will + be great victory. Two possibilities come up close and stare each other + angrily in the face; the possibility of great disaster impending, and of + great victory over it within grasp, if there be a reaching hand to grasp + it. The deciding thing is the human element, the strong, quick hand + stretched out. If strength can be concentrated, the situation gripped, + then great victory is assured. But it takes the utmost concentration of + strength, with rare wisdom and quick steady action, to turn the tide + toward flood. If this is not done, either because of lack of leadership or + of enough strength or enough interest, disaster comes. + </p> + <p> + Just such emergencies come to us constantly. A severe illness lays its + hand upon a loved one in the home. The crisis comes. Death and life stand + in the sick-room eying each other. Either one may be victor. No one can + tell surely which it will be. And every effort is strained, the habit of + life broken, other matters forgotten and neglected, that death may be + staved off, and life wooed to stay. And when the crisis passes safely the + joy over the new lease of life makes one forget all the cost of strain and + effort. + </p> + <p> + Who of us cannot recall some time back there, when some emergency came in + personal business matters, and personal and home expenses and plans were + cut down to the lowest notch, to the bleeding-point, that the emergency + might be safely met. + </p> + <p> + Teachers and parents know that moral emergencies come at intervals in a + child's life, until young manhood and womanhood are reached. One of the + greatest tasks in child-training is to note the emergency, and meet it + successfully. And what keenness and patience and subtlety it does take + only he knows who has been through the experience. + </p> + <p> + Spirit Contests. + </p> + <p> + Emergencies come in spiritual matters, too. They are the hardest kind to + meet. It is hardest to make people see them and grip them. In the life of + many a church a spiritual emergency has come, but has not been met. The + church goes on holding services, raising money and paying it out, going + through all the proper forms, but with the life itself quite gone out of + it. The thing is being kept in motion by a humanly manipulated electric + current; there is no free life-movement. + </p> + <p> + Evangelistic leaders say that such emergencies come in their campaigning. + There has to be a struggle of spirit forces. And the victory that comes, + comes only as a result of close hand-to-hand conflict of soul by the + leaders. + </p> + <p> + We all know that such crises come in our personal experience. And those + who know about changing things by prayer do not need to be told of the + emergency that comes at times; nor of how it requires a tightening of all + the buckles, a new reviewing of the promises on which prayer rests, a new + steadying of one's faith, a quietly persistent hanging on, an intenser + insistence of spirit in prayer and more arrow-praying in the daily round + of work—sending out the softly breathed heart-pleadings while busy + with common duties, until the assurance comes that the danger is past and + the victory secure. + </p> + <p> + It is remarkable to what an extent the great events of history have been + emergency events. With the greatest reverence, it can be said that + history's central event, the dying of Jesus, was an emergency action. Even + though we understand clearly that it was known and counselled from before + the foundation of the world, that He was to shed His precious blood for + our salvation, His dying can never be fully understood save as a great + emergency measure, <i>the</i> great emergency measure, because of the + crisis made by sin. + </p> + <p> + Now that is the sort of thing—an emergency—that is now on in + this great task of world-wide evangelization which Jesus has committed to + our hands. Some of you may be strongly inclined to lift your eyebrows and + ask—Is there really any such emergency? I know that people don't + like those words "crisis" and "emergency." It is much more comfortable to + think that things are going on very smoothly and well. Even though all is + not just as we might choose to have it, yet we like to think that it will + turn out well. There is a sort of optimism that is very popular. Things + will all come out right somehow, we like to think. But the fact is that + things don't turn out right of themselves. They have to be turned by + somebody who gives heart and life to the turning. + </p> + <p> + It can be said with sane, sober sense that without doubt there is an + emergency, and a great one, in this foreign-mission enterprise. It is, of + course, true that in a sense there is <i>a continual emergency</i> here. + There are thousands of these foreign brothers of ours slipping the tether + of life daily. The light might easily have been taken to them, and have + changed their choices. But then it hasn't been, and the dark shadow of the + possibility of their separating themselves forever from God, through wrong + choice persisted in, hangs down over each one of them. There can be no + darker shadow except the actual knowledge that they have so separated + themselves from life in Him. + </p> + <p> + A Crisis of Neglect and Success. + </p> + <p> + But quite distinct from that, and in addition to it, it is quite safe to + say that there is <i>an emergency now on</i> in the heathen world such as + it has never known before. Such is the mature judgment of our missionary + leaders. + </p> + <p> + And we do well to remind ourselves that we have some remarkable men among + these leaders. There are men on the foreign fields and at the missionary + helm at home of most remarkable ability and genius. There are to-day men + of statesmanlike grasp and power, who could easily have taken front rank + in public life, in diplomacy, and professional life, men fully able to + fill the Presidential chair and do it masterfully, who are giving their + life-blood to this great missionary task. + </p> + <p> + The sober judgment of these men, taken from every angle of vision, is that + the present is a time of unparalleled emergency. It exists peculiarly in + Asia, the greatest of all foreign-mission lands. It has been caused by a + number of things that now come together with such force as to make a + crisis, <i>the</i> crisis of missions, the gravest that has yet come, and + that, it is probably safe to say, will ever come. For the future will be + largely settled, one way or the other, within a few years. + </p> + <p> + At the basis of all is <i>the great need</i>, of course. That looms big + and gaunt and spectral in any survey of the matter. + </p> + <p> + Then <i>the neglect</i> by the Church for many generations has greatly + intensified the present situation. The Master's plan plainly is that every + generation of the Church shall give the Gospel to its generation; that is, + to all the people living in the world at that time. Every generation of + men must have the Gospel afresh. No land is beyond the need of a fresh + gospelizing. If Christian America were to lose its churches and the + Gospel, it would surely revert to the heathen type from which we sprung. + </p> + <p> + But many generations went by with practically nothing of this sort being + done. These generations of inactivity have piled up on the present + generation. The undone work of the past adds greatly to the task of the + present. The present situation is abnormal because of what hasn't been + done. + </p> + <p> + Then <i>the success of the present</i> has played a big part. Modern + missionary activity has had a big share in making this emergency. A + century of missions is reaching a tremendous climax. The splendid + aggressiveness of church leaders and missionaries is now an embarrassment + to a Church, or any one in the Church, who doesn't want to keep up the + pace. It is an emergency of success, the logical result of what has been + accomplished. So much has been done, and been done so well by a + comparatively few, that now more must be done by the rest of us. + </p> + <p> + It's because the heathen world is awake that there is an emergency. Their + awakeness is the thing that crowds in on us. And we waked them up. We must + now do more and better, because we have done so well. We have indeed waked + them up, but—to what? A business man would stamp it as rank + foolishness to fail to take advantage of the splendid opening that we have + made in the foreign-mission world. + </p> + <p> + A Westernized Heathenism. + </p> + <p> + Now, let us look just a bit at this present pressing emergency. There are + grave perils threatening, and a great victory possible. + </p> + <p> + Well, first of all there is real danger of <i>a new aggressive heathenism;</i> + a new, energetic, but distinctly un-Christian civilization, in the heathen + world. Many thoughtful men who are keenly watching the world movement + believe that without doubt there is to be a new leadership of the human + race in the Orient. It <i>may</i> be a heathen leadership. That danger is + a distinct possibility. The new world-leadership may have all the enormous + energy and mental keenness of Christian peoples, but without the Christian + spirit. + </p> + <p> + That means practically a new heathenism, no longer asleep but wide-awake; + no longer being manipulated by the Western nations, but maybe manipulating + and managing them. An aroused, organized, energized heathen world, with + all the science and inventiveness and restless aggressiveness of the + western nations and, mark you—<i>and</i> all the spirit of the old, + Godless, Christless heathenism dominating its new life—that is the + danger. + </p> + <p> + The heathen world is awake at last after a sleep of centuries. It is + sitting up, rubbing its eyes, and taking notice. It is entering upon a new + life. That's as clear as a sunbeam on a cloudless morning. What that life + shall be depends entirely on the Church waking up. That means, to be more + practical, that it depends on you and me waking up, just now, and doing + what we easily can. It <i>may</i> be a new <i>Christian</i> life, shot + through and through with the blessed principles and spirit of Jesus. It <i>may</i> + be a new life of energized, Westernized heathenism! They may get merely + our energy and mental awakeness without the Christian spirit that gave + these to us. + </p> + <p> + These two opposite things are standing by the bedside eying each other. + Which will get the patient? Who knows? If the Church fail—! + </p> + <p> + This is a real peril seriously threatening. It is probably far more grave + and far more likely than the best-informed and keenest observer is aware + of. + </p> + <p> + A Powerless Christianity. + </p> + <p> + Then there is a second danger climbing in fast on the heels of this, that + is already being plainly felt. <i>These peoples may turn away from a + Christianity that seems powerless to them.</i> As they come to know better + the simple principles of our faith they may see that we are not true to + it. Our Master bade us go everywhere and tell all men of Him, and tell + them most and best by the way we live. But we haven't done it. The Church + of the past nineteen centuries, taken as a whole, hasn't done it. The + Church to-day, taken as a whole, isn't doing it. + </p> + <p> + How many times have the missionaries been obliged to listen to the + question, which is a reproach rather than a question, "Why didn't you come + before? My father lived and died in distress, seeking for this light you + bring us now. <i>Why didn't your father come and tell my father?"</i> If + they find that our faith hasn't gripped <i>us</i> enough to master our + lives they will naturally doubt if, after all, there is any more real + practical power in it than in their own heathen beliefs. + </p> + <p> + It <i>seems</i> better in theory, but it seems to lose its ideals in the + stiff test of practice. They would be wrong in thinking that, of course. + But what conclusion more natural to the crowd that never thinks deep. When + all the difficulties and hardships come in the way of their acceptance of + Christ, and the easiest way is not to, how easy to throw the whole thing + aside. + </p> + <p> + The story is told of a Chinaman in this country who applied for a position + as house-servant in a family which belonged to a fashionable church. He + was asked: + </p> + <p> + "Do you drink whiskey?" + </p> + <p> + "No, I Clistian man." + </p> + <p> + "Do you play cards?" + </p> + <p> + "No, I Clistian man." + </p> + <p> + He was engaged, and proved to be a capable servant. By and by the lady + gave a bridge-party, with wine accompaniments. The Chinaman did his part + acceptably, but the next morning he appeared before his mistress. + </p> + <p> + "I want quit," he said. + </p> + <p> + "Why? What is the matter?" + </p> + <p> + "I Clistian man. I told you so before; no heathen; no workee for 'Melican + heathen." + </p> + <p> + These heathen brothers of ours are not fools. They are a keen lot. They + judge our religion by us who profess it, as we do with them and theirs. + There may come a wide-spread practical disbelief, or lack of belief, that + there is any practical power in Christ to change a man's life, and really + control his actions. And it will be a perfectly logical conclusion from + what they find in us Christian nations as a whole. + </p> + <p> + Death or Deep Water. + </p> + <p> + And then there are some mighty bad dangers on the other side—<i>our</i> + side. If it be true that every generation <i>needs</i> the Gospel, it is + just as true that every generation of Christians <i>needs to give</i> the + Gospel. It is the very life of a Christian to give himself out in earnest + service for others. The man who is failing there has started on the down + grade in his Christian life. If we lose the spirit of "go" we have lost + the very Christian spirit itself. A disobedient church will become a dead + church. It will die of heart failure. + </p> + <p> + It was John's Man with eyes of searching flame, and tongue of keen-edged + sword, and feet that had been through the fire, who said to a Christian + church, "I will move thy candlestick out of its place except thou change + thy ways."<a href="#linknote-12" name="linknoteref-12" id="linknoteref-12"><small>12</small></a> + The candlestick isn't the light. It holds the light. The Church's great + mission is to be the world's light-holder. + </p> + <p> + But unsnuffed candles and cobwebby window-panes seem to have been in + evidence sometimes. The Christian Church in some lands has plainly lost + its privilege of service, and lost its life, too. The old organizations + are kept up, but all life has gone. There's a grave danger threatening the + American Church and the British Church just at this present time. + </p> + <p> + Long years ago, in the days before steam navigation, an ocean vessel came + from a long sea voyage, up St. George's Channel, headed for Liverpool. + When the pilot was taken on board, he cried abruptly to the captain, "What + do you mean? You've let her drift off toward the Welsh coast, toward the + shallows. Muster the crew." The crew was quickly mustered, and the pilot + told the danger in a few short words, and then said sharply, "Boys, it's + death or deep water, hoist the mains'l!" And only by dint of hardest work + was the ship saved. + </p> + <p> + If I could get the ear of the Church to-day, I would, as a great kindness + to it, cry out with all the earnestness of soul I could command, "<i>It's + death or deep water;</i> deep water in this holy service of world-winning, + or death from foundering." + </p> + <p> + Saved by Saving. + </p> + <p> + And then there's a yet graver peril threatening. It's quite the common + thing to appeal to selfish motives. It is striking that the great strides + that prohibition has made of recent years, have been due to a sort of + legislation and to business regulation that appeal to selfish motives. The + economic motive, and the disagreeable and injurious likelihood of a saloon + being close to one's own home, have had greater influence than higher + moral motives. And we are glad of any motive that will put the damnable + traffic down and out. + </p> + <p> + Well, I'm going to come down a step here, and remind you of a yet graver + peril that threatens. There is serious danger of <i>a heathenized + Christianity</i> dominating our boasted Christian civilization and + Christian lands. And in time that would be a serious menace to our + pocket-books. + </p> + <p> + That is to say, there may be the energy and keen mental life without the + mellowing and sweetening influence of the Christian spirit. The restless + aggressiveness may come without the poise; the ceaseless activity without + the deeper steadying quality; the keenness without the softening touch of + the true life. In other words, if we don't Christianize heathendom, they + will exert an influence on us that will practically amount to their + heathenizing Christendom. + </p> + <p> + Already such influences are seeping in at more than one crack. + Mohammedanism has an active propaganda in Great Britain. Heathen wedges + are slipping their thin edges in, in our land. More and more it will + extend, in time influencing our whole moral fabric, and affecting our + whole national life. + </p> + <p> + During some recent researches among the ruins of Pompeii the explorers + turned up a find that told its own story. It was the body of a crippled + boy. He was lame in his foot. And around the body there was a woman's arm, + a finely shaped, beautiful, bejewelled arm. The mute find told its simple + story. The great stream of fire suddenly coming from the volcano, the + crowd fleeing for life, the little cripple unable to get along fast + enough, the woman's heart touched, her arm thrown about the boy to aid his + escape; then the overtaking fire-flood, and both lost. The arm that was + stretched out to save another was preserved, and only that. All the rest + of the brave rescuer's body had gone. The saving part was saved. Only that + mercifully outstretched to save another was itself saved. + </p> + <p> + The Church or the man that selfishly saveth his life shall lose it. He + that forgetteth about his own life in eagerly saving others shall find + that he has saved his own life, and that it has grown into a new fulness + and richness of life. + </p> + <p> + These are some of the dark ugly faces peering into ours. But there's + another face among them. It is a very bright face, with eyes all aglow, + and features all shining with light. It is the face of victory over every + danger and difficulty that threatens. Many believe that the emergency will + be met. The victory will surely be achieved. But the fact to mark keenly, + just now, is that it will be achieved only by a vigorous, masterful + gripping of the present pressing emergency. + </p> + <p> + Ah! God, may Thy Church—we men who make Thy Church, who <i>are</i> + Thy Church—may we see the emergency, and be gripped by it; for + Jesus' sake; aye, for men's sake; for the Church's sake; for our own sake; + in Jesus' great name. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Past Failure + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Some of God's Failures. + Where the Reproach of Failure Lies. + God's Sovereignty. + The Church Mission. + "Christ also Waits." + "Somebody Forgets." +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Past Failure + </h2> + <p> + Some of God's Failures. + </p> + <p> + God fails, sometimes. That is to say, the plan He has made and set His + heart upon fails. + </p> + <p> + Eden was God's plan for man. A weedless, thornless, world-garden of great + beauty and fruitfulness; a man and woman living together in sweet purity + and strong self-mastery; their children growing up in such an atmosphere, + trained for the highest and best; the earth with all its wondrous forces + developed and mastered by man; full comradeship and partnership between + man and all the living creation, beast and bird; and in the midst of all + God Himself walking and working in closest touch with man in all his + enterprises—that was God's Eden plan for man. But it failed. + </p> + <p> + The Israel plan was a failure, too. The main purpose of Israel being made + God's peculiar people has failed up to the present hour. That plan + originally was a simple shepherd people, living on the soil close to + nature. They were to be, not a democracy ruled by the direct vote of the + people in all things; nor a republic ruled by the vote of selected + representatives; nor yet a kingdom ruled over by the will of an autocrat; + but something quite distinct from all of these, what men have been pleased + to call a theocracy. + </p> + <p> + That is to say, God Himself was to be their ruler in a very real, + practical sense, directing and working with them in the working out of all + their national life. They were to combine all the best in each of these + forms of government, with a something added, not in any of them as men + know them. + </p> + <p> + They were to be wholly unlike the other nations, utterly unambitious + politically, neither exciting war upon themselves by others nor ever + making war upon others. Their great mission was to be a teacher-nation to + all the earth, teaching the great spiritual truths; and, better yet, + embodying these truths in their personal and national life. + </p> + <p> + But the plan failed. The glitter of the other nations turned them aside + from God's plan. They set up a kingdom, "like all the nations," very much + like them. + </p> + <p> + Then God worked with them where they would work with Him. He planned a + great kingdom to overspread the earth in its rule and blessed influence, + but not by the aggression of war and oppression. Their later literature is + all a-flood with the glory light of the coming king and kingdom. Yet when + the King came they rejected Him and then killed Him. They failed at the + very point that was to have been their great achievement. God's plan + failed. The Hebrew people from the point of view of the direct object of + their creation as a nation have been a failure up to the present hour. + </p> + <p> + God's choice for their first king, Saul, was a failure, too. No man ever + began life, nor king his rule, with better preparation and prospects. And + no career ever ended in such dismal failure. God's plan for the man had + failed. + </p> + <p> + Jesus' plan for Judas failed. The sharpest contrasts of possible good and + actual bad came together in his career in the most startling way. He + failed at the very point where he should have been strongest—his + personal loyalty to his Chief. + </p> + <p> + There can be no doubt that Jesus picked him out for one of His inner + circle because of his strong attractive traits. He had in him the making + of a John, the intimate, the writer of the great fourth Gospel. He might + have been a Peter, rugged in his bold leadership of the early Church. + </p> + <p> + But, though coached and companioned with, loved and wooed, up to the very + hour of the cowardly contemptible betrayal, he failed to respond even to + such influence as a Jesus could exert. Jesus planned Judas the apostle. He + became Judas the apostate, the traitor. He was to be a leader and teacher + of the Gospel. He became a miserable reproach and by-word of execration to + all men. Jesus' plan failed. + </p> + <p> + Where the Reproach of Failure Lies. + </p> + <p> + Will you please mark very keenly that the failure always comes because of + man's unwillingness to work with God? It always takes two for God's plan—Himself + and a man. All His working is through human partnership. In all His + working among men He needs to work <i>with</i> men. + </p> + <p> + Some good earnest people don't like, and won't like, that blunt statement + that God fails sometimes. It seems to them to cast a reproach upon God. + They may likely think it lacking in due reverence. But if these kind + friends will sink the shaft of their thinking just a little deeper down + into the mine of truth, they will find that the reproach is somewhere + else. + </p> + <p> + There <i>is</i> reproach. Every failure that could have been prevented by + honest work and earnest faithfulness spells reproach. And there is + reproach here. But it isn't upon God; it is upon man. God's plan depends + upon man. It is always man's failure to do his simple part faithfully that + causes God's plan to fail. + </p> + <p> + There is a false reverence that fears to speak plainly of God. It seeks by + holding back some things, and speaking of others with very carefully + thought-out phrase, to bolster up God's side. True love has two marked + traits: it is always plain-spoken in telling all the truth when it should + be known; and it is always reverential. It can't be otherwise. The + bluntest words on the lips combine with the deepest reverence of spirit. + God doesn't need to be defended. The plain truth need never be apologized + for. + </p> + <p> + It's a false reverence that holds back some of the truth, lest stating it + may seem to reflect on God's character. Such false reverence is a distinct + hindrance. It holds back from us some of the truth, and the strong + emphasis that the truth needs to arouse our attention and get into our + some-time thick heads. We men need the stirring up of plain truth, told in + plainest speech. The Church has suffered for lack of plain telling of the + truth. The deepest, tenderest reverence insists upon plain talk, and + reveals itself in such talk. + </p> + <p> + It is irreverent to hold back some of God's truth. For so men get wrong + impressions of God. It is unfair as well as irreverent. Theology has + sometimes been greatly taken up with adjusting its statements so as to + defend God's character. But the plainest, fullest telling of truth is the + greatest revealer of His great wisdom and purity and unfailing love. + </p> + <p> + God's Sovereignty. + </p> + <p> + There has been a good bit of teaching about "God's sovereignty". Behind + that mysterious, indefinite phrase has crept much that badly needs the + clear, searching sunlight of day. God's sovereignty is commonly thought of + as a sort of dead-weight force by which He compels things to come His way. + If a man stand in the way of God's plan so much the worse for the man. It + is thought of as a sort of mighty army, marching down the road, in close + ranks, with fixed bayonets. If you happen to be on that road better look + out very sharply, or you may get crushed under foot. + </p> + <p> + I do not mean that the theologians put it in that blunt fashion, nor that + I have ever heard any preacher phrase it in that way. I mean that as I + have talked with the plain common people, and listened to them, this is + the distinct impression that comes continually of what it means to them. + Then, too, the phrase has often been used, it is to be feared, as a + religious cloak to cover up the shortcomings and shirkings of those who + aren't fitting into God's plan. + </p> + <p> + God is a sovereign. The truth of His sovereignty is one of the most + gracious of all the truths in this blessed old Book of God. It means that + the great gracious purpose and plan of God will finally be victorious. It + means that in our personal lives He, with great patience and skill and + power, works <i>through</i> the tangled network of circumstances and + difficulties to answer our prayers, and to bring out the best results for + us. + </p> + <p> + It means further that, with a diplomacy and patience only divine, He works + <i>with</i> and <i>through</i> the intricate meshes of men's wills and + contrary purposes to bring out good now—not good out of bad, that is + impossible; but good in spite of the bad—and that finally all + opposition will be overcome, or will have spent itself out in utter + weakness, and so His purposes of love will be fully victorious. + </p> + <p> + But the practical thing to burn in deep just now is this, that we can + hinder God's plan. His plans <i>have</i> been hindered, and delayed, and + made to fail, because we wouldn't work with Him. + </p> + <p> + And God <i>lets</i> His plan fail. It is a bit of His greatness. He will + let a plan fail before He will be untrue to man's utter freedom of action. + He will let a man wreck his career, that so through the wreckage the man + may see his own failure, and gladly turn to God. Many a hill is climbed + only through a swamp road. + </p> + <p> + God cares more for a man than for a plan. The plan is only for the sake of + the man. You say, of course. But, you know, many men think more of + carrying through the plan on which they have set themselves, regardless of + how it may hurt or crush some man in the way. God's plan is for man, and + so it is allowed to fail, for the man's sake. + </p> + <p> + Yet, because the plan is always made for man's sake, it will be carried + through, because by and by man will see it to be best Many a man's + character has been made only through the wrecking of his career. If God + had had His way He would have saved both life and soul, both the earthly + career and the heavenly character. + </p> + <p> + Let us stop thoughtfully, and remember that God has carefully thought out + a plan for every man, for each one of us. It is a plan for the <i>life</i>, + these human years; not simply for getting us to what we may have thought + of as a psalm-singing heaven, when we're worn out down here. + </p> + <p> + It is the best plan. For God is ambitious for us; more ambitious for you + and me than we are for ourselves, though few of us really believe that. + But He will carry out His plan—aye, He <i>can</i> carry it out only + with our hearty consent. He must work <i>through</i> our wills. He honors + us in that With greatest reverence be it said that God waits reverently, + hat in hand, outside the door of a man's will, until the man inside turns + the knob and throws open the door for Him to come in and carry out His + plan. We can make God fail by not working with Him. The greatest of all + achievements of action is to find and fit into God's plan. + </p> + <p> + The Church Mission. + </p> + <p> + Now, God had and has a plan for His Church. That plan is simply this: The + Church was to be His messenger to the nations of the earth. There are + other matters of vast importance committed to the Church, without doubt: + the service of worship and the training and developing of the life of its + members. But these, be it said very thoughtfully, are distinctly secondary + to the service of taking the Gospel to all men. + </p> + <p> + These two, the chief and the secondary, are interwoven, each contributing + to and dependent upon the other. But there is always a main purpose. And + that here, without question, is the carrying of the message of Jesus fully + to all the earth. In each generation the chief plan, to which all else was + meant to be contributory, was that all men should hear fully and winsomely + the great thrilling story of Jesus. + </p> + <p> + Shall I say that that plan has failed? It hurts too much even to repeat + such words. I will not <i>say</i> the Church has failed. But I will ask + you to note God's plan for the Church, and then in your inner heart to + make your own honest answer. + </p> + <p> + And in making it remember the practical point is this—the Church is + <i>you. I</i> am the Church. Its mission is mine. If I say it has failed I + am talking about myself. I can keep it from failing so far as part of it + is concerned, the part that I am. My concern is not to be asking + abstractly, theoretically, about the Church, but about so much of it as I + am. + </p> + <p> + In annual church reports, and triennial and quadrennial, much space is + given to telling of the <i>wealth</i> of the Church. Of course, I suppose + its wealth is meant to be an index of all its work. It may seem a bit odd + to use the world's index-finger to point out our faithfulness to our + Master's will. It is used, of course, to impress the world in the way the + world can most quickly and easily understand. + </p> + <p> + But the Church was not meant by the Master to be a rich institution in + money and property; though it has grown immensely so. The Master's thought + was that its power and faithfulness should be revealed entirely in the + extent to which all men of all nations know about Himself and have been + won to Him. + </p> + <p> + If we think only a little bit into the past history of the Church, and + then into present world conditions, we know the answer to that hurting + question about the Church being a failure. + </p> + <p> + I know that many of you are thinking of the triumphs of the Church; of her + imperishable and incalculable influence upon the life of the world. And I + will join you heartily in that, some other time. Just now we are not + talking of that, but of just one particular fact of its history. One truth + at a time makes sharper outlines and brings the whole circle of truth out + more plainly. I love to sing, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "I love Thy Kingdom, Lord, + The house of Thine abode; + The Church our blest Redeemer saved + With His own precious blood." +</pre> + <p> + We shudder to attempt to think into what these centuries would have been + without the influence of the Church. + </p> + <p> + But at present we are talking about something else. Let me ask you, + softly, if God's plan for the Church was that it was to be His messenger + to all men, as you think back through nineteen centuries and then think + out into the moral world conditions to-day, would you say the plan had + succeeded? Or had—? + </p> + <p> + "Christ also Waits." + </p> + <p> + There's a bit of light here on that vexed question of the Lord's second + coming, about which good, earnest people differ so radically. The Master + said, you remember, that we were to be watching for His return. But many + ask, how can we be watching when it's been two thousand years since He + told us to watch, and the event seems as far off as ever? + </p> + <p> + I remember one day in a Bible class the lesson was in the twelfth of Luke, + about watching for the Lord's return. Some of the class seemed to think + that it means that we should be in a constant attitude of expectancy, + looking for His return. But one man, an earnest, godly old minister said, + "How can you be looking expectantly for a <i>thousand years?"</i> + </p> + <p> + But will you mark keenly that the teaching of Jesus Himself was that His + return depended on His followers' doing a certain thing?<a + href="#linknote-13" name="linknoteref-13" id="linknoteref-13"><small>13</small></a> + When all men had been told fully of Jesus, then He was to return and carry + out a further part of His plan. Clearly if the part we were to play has + not been done, it delays His part. The telling of all men about Jesus + seems to bear a very close connection with what will occur when Jesus + returns. + </p> + <p> + Some of our good friends have been much taken up with figuring out when + the Lord would come back. Some of them seem to have great skill in making + calendars. They even go so far as to fix exact dates. They seem to forget + that word of the Master, "In such an hour as ye think <i>not</i> the Son + of Man cometh." If you think He will come at a certain given time, then + you can know one thing certainly, that He won't come then. + </p> + <p> + The only calendar we men have is a calendar of <i>dates</i>, fitted to the + movements of the sun and moon. God has a calendar, too, but it is a + calendar of <i>events</i>, not of dates. The completion of His plans + doesn't depend on so many revolutions of the earth about the sun, but on + the faithful revolution of His followers in their movement around the + earth telling men of Jesus. + </p> + <p> + It looks very much as though the Master's coming has been delayed, and His + plans delayed, because we have not done the preparatory part assigned us. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "The restless millions wait the light, + Whose coming maketh all things new. + <i>Christ also waits;</i> but men are slow and late. + Have we done what we could? Have I? Have you ?" +</pre> + <p> + "Somebody Forgets." + </p> + <p> + A little fellow, of a very poor family, in the slum section of one of our + large cities, was induced to attend a mission Sunday-school. By and by, as + a result of the teacher's faithful work, he became a Christian. He seemed + quite bright and settled in his new Christian faith and life. + </p> + <p> + Some one, surely in a thoughtless mood, tried to test or shake his simple + faith in God by a question. He was asked, "If God loves you, why doesn't + He take better care of you? Why doesn't He tell some one to send you warm + shoes and some coal and better food?" + </p> + <p> + The little fellow thought a moment, and then with big tears starting in + his eyes, said, "I guess He does tell somebody, <i>but somebody forgets</i>." + </p> + <p> + Without knowing it, the boy touched the sore point in the Church's + history. I wonder if it is the sore point with you or me. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Coming Victory + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Failure Swallowed By Victory. + The Revised Missionary Motto. + Ahead, But Behind. + In A Swift Current. + Power Of Leadership. + A Minority Movement. + A Great World-chorus. + The Oratorio Of Victory. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Coming Victory + </h2> + <p> + Failure Swallowed by Victory. + </p> + <p> + But God's failures are only for a while. They are real. There is the + tragic element in them. There is the deep, sad tinge of disappointment + running throughout this old Book of God. Yet the failures are only for a + time. Sometimes it seems a very long time, especially if you are living + through some of it. But the time reaches eagerly to an end. Victory comes. + And God's victory will be so great as to make us completely forget the + failures that marred the road. + </p> + <p> + The Eden plan was more than a plan. It was a prophecy of the final + outcome. The Book of God begins with failure, but it ends with a glowing + picture of great victory, painted with rose colors. Every feature of + beauty and of good in Eden has grown greatly in John's Revelation climax. + The garden of Genesis becomes a garden-city. All the simplicity and purity + of garden life, and all the development and power represented by city + life, are brought together. There is now a <i>river</i> of <i>life</i>, + and the <i>tree</i> of life has grown into a grove. + </p> + <p> + And God isn't through with that nation of Israel yet. The Jew can't be + lost. In every nation under heaven he can be found to-day, a walking + reminder of God's plan. Every Jew, in whatever ghetto he may be found, is + an unconscious prophecy of a coming fulfilment of God's purpose. The + strange racial immortality of the Jew is a puzzle from every standpoint, + except God's. He can't be killed off; though men have never ceased trying + to kill him off. The Jew looms up bigger to-day than for many generations. + </p> + <p> + The present strange restless Jewish longing for national existence again, + that will not down, spells out the coming victory of God's plan after + centuries of failure. And even though the present tide may run out toward + ebb, it will be to gather force for a new and fuller flood. When God's + plan works out the world will have a wholly new idea of national life, and + of a world-power without army or navy or any show of force, touching all + men, and touching them only to bless. + </p> + <p> + And though King Saul failed, there was already the ruddy David, out among + the sheep, waiting the anointing oil, and carrying about in his person his + nation's greatest king. + </p> + <p> + Jesus' Judas failed to realize the promise of his earlier days. He struck + the record note for baseness. But Paul was being prepared by blood + inheritance and scholarly training. Under the touch of the Master's own + hand he became the Church's greatest leader in its life-mission. If Judas + struck the lowest note, Paul rang the changes on the highest note of + personal loyalty to Jesus and to His world-wide passion and purpose. + </p> + <p> + And the Church has waked up. I said, you remember, last evening, that if + you look over the whole history of the Church since its birthday on + Pentecost, you are pained by the sore fact that the chief mission + entrusted to it has been for the most part forgotten. There has been more + forgetting of it, and neglecting it, than fulfilling it. + </p> + <p> + Yet always, be it keenly noted, in every generation of these centuries + there have been those whose vision of Olivet never dimmed. There have + always been those who have tried faithfully to carry out the Church's + great mission. The darkest days have never been without some of the + brightest light, made all the brighter by the surrounding night. + </p> + <p> + The Revised Missionary Motto. + </p> + <p> + But there's a new chapter of the Church's life being written as we talk + together. Its writing began in the closing twilight of the eighteenth + century. That chapter isn't finished yet. Some of its best pages are now + being written, with more and better clearly coming. + </p> + <p> + Its first lines were written by a very common pen. Carey's English + cobbler-shop became a sounding-board whose insistent, ringing messages + began to waken the Church. The Church is waking up, and shaking itself, + and tightening on its clothes, for the greatest work yet to be done in + fulfilling the life-mission entrusted to it. + </p> + <p> + A hundred years ago the fire of God found fresh kindling stuff in the + hearts and brains of a few young college fellows in an old New England + village. The sore need of the world crowded in upon them by night and by + day. But they were few, and young, and unknown. And the task was + stupendous. The rain-storm of a Sabbath afternoon drove them to the + shelter of a hay-stack. And the storm of the world's need drove them to + the shelter of prayer, and then to the shelter of a great purpose. With + simple faith in God, and strong devotion to the great neglected task, they + spoke out to the Church the thrilling words, "We can do it if we will". + </p> + <p> + And on that same spot a hundred years later the Church gathered. Those + intense words had been heard. The Church had waked up. Men of long service + in far-away lands stood with those of the home circle. They talked of the + past, but far more of the present and future. They revised the century-old + motto. No group of scholars in the Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster Abbey + ever did finer revision work. They said, "We can do it, <i>and</i> we + will". No greater tribute to the memory of the faithful little hay-stack + group was ever made than in that changed motto. + </p> + <p> + The young collegians' bold cry had sounded out throughout the Church. And + the Church heard and roused up. The modern missionary movement of the + Church is the most marked development of the past century of church + history. It can be said that the Church of our day in its missionary + activity far exceeds the early Church. That is to say, in certain + particulars we have exceeded. + </p> + <p> + It is common to refer to the missionary zeal of the first centuries. Fresh + from the Master's touch, the early Church was chiefly a missionary church. + One great purpose gripped it, and that was to take the news of Jesus + everywhere. And they went everywhere. We know most about Paul's journeys + in the Grecian and Roman worlds. But there is good evidence that there is + another "Acts of Apostles" beside the one bound up in this Bible. Out to + the farthest reaches of the earth they seemed to have gone in those early + days, preaching and winning men and establishing church societies. + </p> + <p> + The <i>bulk</i> of the modern movement is without doubt greatly in excess + of the early movement. The number of men out in various fields, the amount + of money being given annually by the Church in America and Great Britain + and the Continental countries is so much greater as to leave comparison + practically out. + </p> + <p> + In the thoroughness of organization, the elements of permanency, the great + variety of means used such as hospitals, schools, literature, and + industrial helps, the present probably exceeds by far the early movement. + The statesmanlike study by church leaders of the whole world-field, the + steadiness of movement year after year, in spite of difficulties and + discouragements, the careful systematic effort to inform and arouse the + home church—these are marked features of the present foreign-mission + campaign. They are such as to awaken the deepest admiration of any + thoughtful onlooker. In all of this the modern Church is making a wholly + new record. + </p> + <p> + Ahead, But Behind. + </p> + <p> + Yet, while all this is true, it can be said just as truly that the Church, + <i>as a whole,</i> is so far behind the primitive Church as, again, + practically to leave comparison out of the question. <i>They</i> were so + far ahead in the <i>mass</i> of their movement that we are scarcely in the + lists at all. Then the <i>whole</i> Church was an active missionary + society. <i>Every one</i> went and preached. The nearest approach to it in + modern times probably is the movement of the native Church of Korea. This + foreign people seems to have caught the early spirit. Our heathen brothers + are taking their place as pace-setters for the Church. + </p> + <p> + By contrast with that, the modern activity has been by a minority, really + a small minority, though a steadily growing one. The leaders have + struggled heroically against enormous odds in the backward pull of the + majority. + </p> + <p> + <i>Then</i> they went <i>everywhere</i>. That is, they went everywhere + that they could, so far as open doors, or doors that could be pried open, + let them. We have gone actually farther, and to more places probably, but + we haven't begun to go everywhere that we could. + </p> + <p> + Our ability to go, and the urgent requests for us to come, would carry us + to thousands of places not yet touched. If we began to do things as the + early Church people did, it would stand out as one of the greatest + movements in the history of the race. If a small minority of us have made + such enormous strides what could the whole of us do if we would! + </p> + <p> + In a Swift Current. + </p> + <p> + The <i>momentum</i> of the present missionary movement has been startling. + It suggests that we are on the eve of an advance undreamed of by the most + enthusiastic. The last twenty-odd years have seen progress clear + outstripping that of the previous hundred, though all built upon the + foundations so well laid by the earlier leaders of the century. + </p> + <p> + In answer to the earnest persistent prayer of a few, the Spirit of God + found new stuff ready for His kindling fires among the colleges. The story + of the prayer of a few that preceded the forming of the Student Volunteer + Movement is thrilling. That great movement was literally conceived and + brought forth in the travail of prayer. Its wide-spread influence upon the + colleges, and then upon the churches; its early campaigning, its + remarkable leaders, its great conventions, the steadiness of its growing + influence through more than twenty years, and the distinct mark it has + made upon the whole mission propaganda abroad, make up one of the most + thrilling chapters of church history, ancient or modern. To-day its + influence encircles the earth. Its volunteers are found everywhere. + </p> + <p> + Its reflex influence upon that other movement, the Young Men's Christian + Association, has been no small part of its work. The two have been + interwoven from the beginning, each contributing immeasurably to the + other. The practical power of the Young Men's Christian Association on + foreign soil is recognized by the Church, and by foreign governments, as + of a value clear beyond calculation or statement. + </p> + <p> + It has come to be one of the great expressions of the unifying spirit of + the Church on foreign-mission soil. Our churches at home may go their + separate ways, largely. But the pressure of the sore need of the foreign + world has been welding the churches there together remarkably. The + Christian Associations, both of young men and young women, belonging to + all the Church and representing all, have held a strategic position in + action, and been of inestimable service to the Church in its missionary + propaganda. + </p> + <p> + The Young People's Missionary Movement, whose long, warm fingers are + reaching throughout the whole Church, and the newer Laymen's Missionary + Movement with its aggressive campaigning, are both remarkable expressions + of the new uprising. + </p> + <p> + The women of the Church were forehanded in their earnest working and + praying. They were up at dawn of day. Their influence is mighty, clear + beyond any words to express. And now at last the men are waking up, and + the new life is showing itself anew within organic church lines. Men's + missionary conventions, with great attendances, are swinging into line, + and revealing the awakeness of the Church. + </p> + <p> + Power of Leadership. + </p> + <p> + The enormous power of personal influence and of devoted leadership has + been most marked. In the throng of strong men that lead in all this + activity there are two men that by common consent stand out big in the + group. Young men they are, both of them, not yet in the full prime of + their powers. One has a genius for organization probably never surpassed, + if equalled, by military general, or Jesuit chief, or modern captain of + industry. The other has mental grasp, keenness of thought, and power of + persuasive speech not surpassed by any, if equalled. Both are marked by a + singularly deep, tender spirituality, a rare gift of leadership, a poise + of judgment, and a devotion to the Church's great mission as true and + steady as the polar star. + </p> + <p> + Around these two young men has grouped up in no small measure this later + missionary activity. And it is probably quite within the mark to say that + no stronger, abler men can be found in any of the great activities of life + to-day in either of these two great English-speaking peoples. It is surely + significant that the modern missionary movement rallies around such + giants. + </p> + <p> + It is worthy of special note, too, that the body of men to whom is + entrusted the administration of this vast network of foreign service, the + foreign-board members and secretaries of the Church, have developed such + remarkable power and skill. No body of men has problems more intricate and + exacting and difficult. And no body of men in any sphere of activity has + shown greater diplomacy and astuteness, hard sound sense, and untiring + devotion. + </p> + <p> + Some good friends are sometimes disposed to be critical of methods and + management. They think the affair could be conducted better in some + details which they think important. Well, it would be surprising if it + were not so. The same criticisms are made of every governmental and great + industrial enterprise. Everything human seems to make progress by + correcting and improving. But the thing for you and me to keep a + critically keen eye upon is this: that no such detail be allowed to affect + by so much as a hair's weight the steadfast ardor of our support. + </p> + <p> + No strong man in the thick of the great driving purpose of his life is + turned aside or stopped by the biting or buzzing of a few insects. If even + they can't be brushed aside, let them buzz and bite, but don't let the + great passion of a life be affected by them. Indeed, they will be clean + forgot, even while they are remembered, by the man who has been caught and + swept by the fire of his Master's passion for a world. + </p> + <p> + A Minority Movement. + </p> + <p> + Yet, be it keenly marked, these great strides have been made by a + minority, who have followed the strong leaders. The whole Church is not + yet awake. Many protest strenuously against being waked up. The + alarm-clocks bother them. Sometimes one is inclined to think that the + foreign boards are peculiarly placed between a refrigerator and a furnace. + </p> + <p> + Missionaries come back home fresh from the front fairly aflame with the + fervor of their enthusiasm. Their convictions of what could be done, and + should be done, are apt to be spoken out with great positiveness. They + seem to some to suggest in an uncomfortable way the thought of a glowing + furnace. And many in the home churches seem able to listen with such + indifference as to suggest to these returned men and women the chilling + air of an ice-box. In between the two sits the Church board engaging in + the difficult task of trying to equalize the temperature. But that's + merely a detail in passing. + </p> + <p> + The great fact to mark is that never has the missionary movement bulked so + large. And never have such broad statesmanlike plans, such aggressiveness + of spirit, coupled with deep devotion, marked the Church in its great + life-mission. + </p> + <p> + One morning at a popular summer resort on the Long Island Sound coast + thousands of bathers were enjoying the surf-bathing. The life-saving crew + were stationed for duty, on the lookout for any accident. A gentleman + standing by one of the crew asked him how he could tell if help were + needed. There were thousands of bathers, and a perfect babel of noises. + The weather-beaten man, bronzed and toughened and trained to keenness in + his work by years of service, said, "I can always hear a cry of distress, + no matter how great the noise and confusion. There never yet has been a + cry of need I haven't heard." + </p> + <p> + For a long time the confusion of noises bothered the Church ears. But now + the cry of distress from over the wide seas is being heard again + distinctly, and is being responded to splendidly. The very earnestness of + response and effort is a forerunner of sure victory. + </p> + <p> + A Great World-chorus. + </p> + <p> + I recall vividly a scene in Albert Hall in London nearly fifteen years + ago. A remarkable gathering from all parts of the world had come together + to celebrate the jubilee of the Young Men's Christian Association. About + two thousand men had come from the ends of the earth. It was a + world-gathering. There were sturdy Englishmen, cosmopolitan Americans, + canny Scots, quick-witted Irishmen, sweet-voiced, fervid-spirited + Welshmen, and courtly, suave Frenchmen. + </p> + <p> + Fair-haired, blue-eyed Scandinavians mingled with olive-skinned, + black-eyed sons of Italy. The steady-going Hollander and the intense + German mingled their deep gutturals with the songs of praise and the + discussions. A few turbaned heads, inscrutably quiet almond-eyes, and + others of energetic step and speech brought to mind the Great Orient, + India and China and Japan. Men won up out of the savagery of Africa sat + with Islanders from the Pacific. + </p> + <p> + They came from many communions and represented many creeds, and spoke as + many tongues as the Jerusalem crowds on the day of Pentecost. But they + were drawn together not by their attractive diversity, but because of + their oneness. The drawing-power of Jesus was the magnet that drew them. + It was the music of His Name that made all their tongues and languages + blend and chord in sweet harmony. + </p> + <p> + This night I speak of they had gathered in the great oval-shaped Albert + Hall opposite Hyde Park. With the Londoners, probably, fully ten thousand + persons were present. And I think I shall never forget the vast volume of + sound, as, led by a chorus of Scandinavian students, they all united in + singing, "All hail the power of Jesus' Name." + </p> + <p> + They didn't sing it to our American tune of "Coronation," but to the old + English "Miles Lane." That tune, you remember, repeats over four times the + words, "Crown Him," in the last line, gradually increasing in volume, and + the fourth time touched with a bit of quieting awe. + </p> + <p> + I can close my eyes now, and see that great world-gathering and hear again + the sweet rhythmic thunder of their singing: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "And crown Him, + <i>Crown Him</i>, + CROWN HIM, + <i>Crown Him</i>, Lord of all." +</pre> + <p> + No one can tell to another the thrill and thrall of such a sight and + sound. It was all unconsciously a bit of prophecy acted out, faint but + distinct, of the great day of victory that is coming. + </p> + <p> + The Oratorio of Victory. + </p> + <p> + Have you ever noticed the Oratorio of Revelation? Lovers of music should + study the book of the Revelation of Saint John, for its mighty choruses. + It is striking just now to notice the double key-note of that closing + climactic book of this old Bible. It is this: Satan chained, and Christ + crowned. But note for a moment the oratorio sounding its music through + these pages. + </p> + <p> + It opens with a <i>solo</i> in the first chapter.<a href="#linknote-14" + name="linknoteref-14" id="linknoteref-14"><small>14</small></a> John + begins writing with steady pen until he seems to get a glimpse of Jesus. + Then his pen drops the story, and he begins singing: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Unto Him that loveth us, + And loosed us from our sin by His own blood; + And hath made us a kingdom, + Priests unto His God and Father; + To Him the glory and the dominion + Forever and ever." +</pre> + <p> + In chapter four<a href="#linknote-15" name="linknoteref-15" + id="linknoteref-15"><small>15</small></a> comes a <i>quartette</i>. The + four living creatures round about the throne take up the refrain of John's + solo. And, as they sing, their song is caught up by a <i>sextuple + quartette</i>, twenty-four white-robed, crowned men before the throne.<a + href="#linknote-16" name="linknoteref-16" id="linknoteref-16"><small>16</small></a> + </p> + <p> + In chapter five the <i>Angel Chorus</i> swings in.<a href="#linknote-17" + name="linknoteref-17" id="linknoteref-17"><small>17</small></a> They are + grouped round about the quartette, and the twenty-four elders. John begins + to count them. Then his figures give out. His knowledge of mathematics is + too limited. There were ten thousand times ten thousand, and unnumbered + thousands of thousands. As far as his eye could reach, to left and right, + before and behind, was one vast sea of angel faces. + </p> + <p> + And John listened enraptured and awed, as their wondrous volume of rhythm + rang and thundered out. Sweet sopranos and mellow contraltos; ringing + tenors and deep basses; first one, then the other, back and forth + responding to each other, then all together; marvellous music it must have + been. + </p> + <p> + Then the refrain of their song is caught up by the <i>Creation Chorus</i>. + Every living creature in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, as + though unable to resist the contagious sweep, catch up the music and add + their own to it. We don't commonly associate music with the animal + creation, nor with nature. It has been said that all the sounds of nature + are keyed in the minor, as though some suffering had affected them. We + talk of the sighing of the wind, the moaning of the sea-waves, and the + mourning of the doves. Though the singing-birds must be excepted. They + seem to have caught and kept some of the upper strains. + </p> + <p> + But evidently something has occurred to strike a new key-note. For now + they take up the refrain of the joyous song of the others, and increase + the mighty song by their own. + </p> + <p> + In chapter seven the music has ceased or softened down and is taken up + afresh by the <i>Martyr Chorus</i>.<a href="#linknote-18" + name="linknoteref-18" id="linknoteref-18"><small>18</small></a> Again + John's figures give out. He declares that nobody could count the + multitudes that make up this chorus. It is a polyglot chorus. They sing in + many different languages, but all blend into full rhythm. It's a scarred + chorus, too. These have been through great tribulation. Their scars tell + the mute story of the fierceness of the fight, and the steadiness of their + faith. + </p> + <p> + Through their singing runs a distinct strain of the minor. Its strangely + sweet cadence, learned in many an hour of pain, runs as an under-chording + through the song of triumph that now fills their hearts and mouths. And as + they sing, the angel chorus and the quartette drop to their knees, and + swell the wondrous refrain. + </p> + <p> + In chapter fourteen comes the music of the <i>Chorus of Pure Ones</i>.<a + href="#linknote-19" name="linknoteref-19" id="linknoteref-19"><small>19</small></a> + They are gathered close about the person of Jesus. They sing to the + accompaniment of a great company of harpers. They sing with a peculiar + clearness in their tones. Theirs is a new song. Purity always makes a + music of its own, unapproachable for sweetness and clearness. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Victors' Chorus</i> rings out its song in chapter fifteen.<a + href="#linknote-20" name="linknoteref-20" id="linknoteref-20"><small>20</small></a> + These have been in the thickest of the fighting. The smoke of the battle + has tanned their faces. They have struggled with the enemy at close range, + hip and thigh, nip and tuck, close parry and hard thrust. And they have + come off victors. The ring of triumph resounds in their voices, as to the + sound of their own harps, harps of God, they add their tribute of song to + all the others. + </p> + <p> + And at the last comes the great <i>Hallelujah Chorus</i>, in chapter + nineteen.<a href="#linknote-21" name="linknoteref-21" id="linknoteref-21"><small>21</small></a> + In response to the precentor's call, they all join their voices in one + vast melody. The Quartette, the Sextuples, the Angels, the Creation, the + Martyrs, the Pure-Ones, the Victors—all sing their song together. + </p> + <p> + John tries to tell what it was like. His mind went quickly back to earlier + days in his home city, Jerusalem, when thousands of pilgrims crowded the + temple areas and narrow streets, and spread out over the hills. The + unceasing sound of their voices in speech and in their pilgrim songs of + praise comes back to him. He says it was like that. + </p> + <p> + But that isn't satisfactory. It is so much more. He thinks of how the + ocean-waves keep pounding, with cannon-roar, on the rocky beach of his + Patmos prison isle. So he said it was like that. But still more is needed + to give an idea of the vast volume of sound. And he remembers how + sometimes the thunders crashed and boomed and roared above him as he lay + in his solitude on that lonely bit of sea-girt land. It was like that. It + was like all of these together. + </p> + <p> + And what is it they are singing? Well, there's a variety in the wording of + their song, as well as in their voices. But through all runs a refrain that + brings back to me the great London chorus. It is this— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "And crown Him! + <i>Crown Him!!</i> + CROWN HIM!!! + Yes, <i>Crown Him</i> + Lord of all." +</pre> + <p> + It is the rehearsal of the great Oratorio of Victory that we are all to + join in singing. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Church + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Forces that Win. + The Divine Law of Leadership. + God's Messenger. + Reaching Out for a World. + "Keep Step." + "Find My World, And Win It Back." +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Church + </h2> + <p> + Forces That Win. + </p> + <p> + God's world is full of winning forces. The great ball of fire around which + our earth revolves is the greatest winning force in the life of the earth. + It is constantly winning the earth to itself with a power unseen but + tremendous, beyond anybody's power to calculate. The swing of the earth + away from the sun is being continually overcome. By an immense drawing + power it steadily holds the earth where it can pour down its wealth of + warmth and light and life into it. + </p> + <p> + It woos the moisture up from river and lake and sea, until its gravity + partner in the centre of the earth woos it back again in refreshing rain + and sheltering snow. It wins out of the earth's warm heart bounteous + harvests of grains and fruits, the wealth of forests which affects the + earth's life so radically, the flowers with their beauty and fragrance, + and the soft carpeting of green to ease the journey for our feet. All the + life and beauty of the earth is due to the winning power of the sun. + </p> + <p> + God Himself is the greatest winning force in all our world. Everywhere men + feel the upward drawing toward Him. They may protest against church + organizations and creeds, against teachings and long-settled practices and + habits of thought, as they do so much, but there is always everywhere a + longing in the human heart for God. It is the answer to the longing of His + heart for us. + </p> + <p> + And man is a great winning force. Everywhere men are attracted to each + other. There is a winning power within each of us that draws certain + others irresistibly to us. And there are winning forces in life that each + one of us is powerfully affected by. The old home of earlier days has a + marvellous power of attraction for most men. The old fireside, the + familiar rooms, the subtle aroma that seems inseparable from the very + bricks and boards—who has not felt the tremendous drawing power of + these? + </p> + <p> + What a strange power of attraction a man's mother-tongue has for him. How + the heart will give a quick leap, in a foreign land, when, amid a + confusing jargon of strange sounds, all unexpectedly some one speaks the + dear old familiar words. The person speaking may not be specially + congenial or attractive to us, but that sound his tongue gives draws us to + him. + </p> + <p> + The Divine Law of Leadership. + </p> + <p> + Now I want to talk with you a bit about the forces at hand for winning our + old world back to our Father's heart and home. God means us to use all the + attractive powers we have in this great world-wooing and world-winning + task. The world is to be <i>won</i> back, not driven. Men drive men, when + they can. But God woos and wins. Man's coming back must be by his own + glad, sweet consent. God won't have it any other way. + </p> + <p> + There are certain strangely winsome forces at our command for winning man. + They are mighty in their drawing power. But there are counter-currents + that divert and hinder their influence. We need to be familiar with these + winning forces, and with the counter-currents, too. + </p> + <p> + There are seven great forces at our command for this blessed service of + soul-winning and world-winning. They are not peculiar to foreign-mission + service, for the foreign service itself is not essentially different from + other service, except in the greatness of its need. They are the forces + for use in all our winning work. + </p> + <p> + Two of these are distinctly human forces. The first is an organization, + the Church. And then that of which the Church is made up, men and women; I + mean the power of personality, developed and consecrated personality. + </p> + <p> + There are two divine forces that work through the human—Jesus and + the Holy Spirit. I have put these second in order, because they work + through the human. The leadership is in human hands. The initiative of all + action is with us. Of course, if you go a bit deeper in, the initiative is + with God who moves upon our hearts to make us act. But on the distinctly + human level the beginning of service rests in human hands, and these two + mighty, almighty, divine forces work through us. + </p> + <p> + The divine law of leadership and of cooperation in leadership has not + always been clearly understood. And there has been bad delay often because + of the lack of understanding. Our Lord Jesus in the days of His humanity + surrendered Himself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in His great + mission to men. The Spirit worked through Jesus. After Jesus' Ascension + the order was reversed. The Spirit yielded Himself to the control of the + glorified Son of God. Jesus worked through the Spirit. It was Jesus who + sent down the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost for the special mission + begun that day. + </p> + <p> + And now, with the greatest awe coming into our hearts at the thought, be + it said that these two work through our human leadership. The leadership + in service among men is human leadership. The wondrous Spirit of God works + through our leadership to reveal Jesus to men in all His winsomeness and + power. + </p> + <p> + There can be no power at all in our human action and leadership except as + the Spirit leads and controls us, and is allowed to. And, on the other + side, we must not forget, though it has sometimes been forgotten, that + God's working waits upon human action and leadership. Memory quickly + brings up the fact, so often repeated in the history of the Church, that + when men have failed to respond to God's call His work has fallen behind. + Whenever a new chapter of earnest service has been begun it has always + been through a new leadership. Some man has listened to God, and let Him + have the free use of himself in reaching out to other men. + </p> + <p> + God needs men. He needs you and me. We are the wire for the transmission + of His current of power. The wire is useless without the current. And the + current must have the wire along which to travel to its place of service. + The divine power is through human action and human leadership. The power + is all divine. And the means through which it works is all human. Jesus + and the Holy Spirit work through the Church and through each one of us who + is willing. + </p> + <p> + Then there are three spirit forces, or influences, of mighty power in + human hands; namely, prayer, and money, and sacrifice. + </p> + <p> + God's Messenger. + </p> + <p> + To-night we want to talk about the first of the two human forces—the + Church. + </p> + <p> + We ought to remind ourselves of just what that word "Church" means in this + connection. It has many meanings. There are at least two that we should + note here in thinking of it as a great winning force. In its broadest + meaning, the word is commonly used for the whole group of church + organizations taken together, the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox, + the Protestant, and the few primitive societies that still retain their + old original organization. In the deeper, less used meaning, it stands for + the body of those men and women everywhere who are trusting Jesus Christ, + and are allied with Him in the purpose of their hearts. + </p> + <p> + These two meanings, of course, should be the same. All who trust Jesus + should be in the church organizations. And all who are in the + organizations should be there because of their relation to Jesus. Whatever + the facts regarding that may be, the mission of each is the same. And it + is with that mission that we are concerned just now. + </p> + <p> + Jesus planned that His Church should be a great man-winning and + world-winning organization. <i>The</i> mission of the Church is to take + Jesus to all men. It is God's messenger of His truth to all. In that it is + the direct lineal descendant and heir of the Hebrew nation. + </p> + <p> + That nation was chosen to be a messenger or missionary nation. That was + the one purpose of its special creation as a nation. It was not to be as + the other nations, in the characteristics that commonly mark strong + nations. It was to be a <i>teacher</i>-nation, receiving its message of + truth direct from God, embodying that message in its own life, personally + and nationally, and giving it out clearly and fully and winsomely to all + the nations of the earth. And, in spite of its failures and breaks, that + mission was accomplished to a remarkable extent. + </p> + <p> + The Church is its heir. It was born in the Jewish nation. It became the + heir to its world-wide messenger mission. The great commission given by + Jesus as He was leaving is the Church's commission for its great + life-work. It was spoken to the group of Jewish men who were the nucleus + of that body called the Church, that came into being on the day of + Pentecost. That ringing, "Go ye into all the world and preach my gospel to + the whole creation," is the Master's command to the Church which He + brought into being. That is the Church's marching order by which its life + is to be controlled and its faithfulness judged. + </p> + <p> + The scene of the Church's birth gives a vivid picture of its + world-mission. It was born in a world-gathering. It was a world-church in + its make-up at its birth. Men from all parts of the world became united in + one body by the Spirit's touch that great Church birthday. Its birth-gift, + the power of speaking many tongues, reveals at once the wide sweep of its + service. + </p> + <p> + It was the Master's plan that His Church should speak all the languages of + the earth then and now and always, as well as the language of heaven, the + language of love. So every man would learn of Jesus in his native speech. + The language of the cradle and of love-making and of the fireside, the + language that most quickly kindles the fires in a man's heart, that was + the language to be used in carrying Jesus to every man. That was Jesus' + plan. The Church was rarely equipped with winning power for a + world-service on its birthday in the gift of tongues. + </p> + <p> + Of course, this is not the only mission of the Church. That is to say, + there are other purposes necessarily included in this. Taking the Gospel + of Jesus to all men means more than merely taking it and telling it. The + teaching and training and developing of those won to Jesus is an + inseparable part of the Church mission. The great service of worship has + always been recognized as a vital part of the Church life. Sometimes + indeed these have been thought of, and still are thought of, as its only + mission. But they grow distinctly out of the chief mission and are + distinctly contributory and secondary to it. Indeed, they come into being + only through the faithful doing of the chief task. Men were won. Then they + met for worship and for training. + </p> + <p> + Reaching Out For a World. + </p> + <p> + The Church of those first years thoroughly understood what its great + mission was to be. The first chapters of the Book of Acts vividly describe + the ideal Church as planned by the Master, and as understood by those who + felt His own personal touch upon themselves. Everybody went. They went to + everybody. They went everywhere. There is pretty clear evidence that they + actually went everywhere that men could go. They held their lives, and + even their property, subject to the one great gripping purpose. + </p> + <p> + The greatest leader of the first century of the Church, Paul, who + contributed most to its literature and exerted the greatest influence upon + its life, was above all else a missionary leader. He went practically + everywhere. He didn't go hastily, but by carefully thought-out plans. He + won men to Christ, organized them into church societies, taught them, and + sent them out to win others. + </p> + <p> + He worked in and out of the world's great city centres of his time. + Ephesus, the Asiatic centre, Corinth, the centre of Greek influence, and, + Rome, the centre of the world's governing power, were the scenes of his + longest and most thorough campaigns. His choice of the centres was a + master's strategic choice. For these centres sent their influence out to + the ends of the earth. Paul's body might be in Ephesus or Corinth or Rome, + but his thought and heart were on the world these cities reached by + constant streams of influence. + </p> + <p> + And to these churches which he had won out of the raw stuff of heathenism + he taught the same world-wide message. They became filled with this same + world-wide spirit. The Thessalonian and Corinth Churches made their + winning power felt throughout Greece and wherever Greek culture had gone, + that is to say, everywhere.<a href="#linknote-22" name="linknoteref-22" + id="linknoteref-22"><small>22</small></a> The Church in Rome sent out the + message of Jesus from its golden centre of all Roman roads, out to the + farthest reaches of those far-reaching roads.<a href="#linknote-23" + name="linknoteref-23" id="linknoteref-23"><small>23</small></a> + </p> + <p> + It is striking, though not surprising, that the days of the Church's + missionary activity have been the days of its greatest purity and vigor. + When the vision of the Master's face on Olivet, and the ringing sound of + His "Go ye" have been lost, the Church has written pages that would gladly + be blotted out. + </p> + <p> + The Church <i>has</i> been a winning force beyond any power of calculation + or words of description. All that has been done has been done through its + activity and leadership. It is to-day a tremendous winning force, reaching + its warm hands out to the very ends of the earth, and drawing men to + Jesus. With our earnest prayer it will exert a yet mightier influence in + taking Jesus to all men and in winning men everywhere to Jesus. + </p> + <p> + "Keep Step." + </p> + <p> + The Church is organized Christendom. It stands for the power of + organization in God's service. All the vast power of the men and women + whose hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit can be brought to bear + at a given point with tremendous force through the Church. That was and is + the Master's plan. + </p> + <p> + Organization is rhythmic action, a crowd of men working by agreement as + one man. Never was the world so impressed with the almost magical power of + organization as to-day. Never has organization been brought up to so high + a pitch of efficiency. The unparalleled progress of the world in our day + is due to the marvellous skill that has been developed in organized + action. + </p> + <p> + Now, this almost omnipotent power of organization was meant to be used in + winning the world back home. That is the meaning of the birth of the + Church on that great Pentecost day. It is remarkable that the most + perfectly matured bit of organization, in this day of matured and + perfected organizations, is a church. For by common consent of thoughtful + students the most finely adjusted and thoroughly matured bit of human + machinery is the Roman Catholic Church. + </p> + <p> + If such a masterpiece of organization were controlled by the Spirit that + controls in these early chapters of Acts, what tremendous and thorough and + rapid work would be done in world-winning! And that is the goal toward + which we should be driving. The evangelization of the whole world is <i>an + easy task</i> for the whole Church. It would be a stupendous, if not an + impossible task for the few. It has been a gigantic task for the leaders, + who by dint of great planning and persuasion and earnest pleading have + done as much as has been done. But if the whole Church or half of it were + to go at it as earnestly as men go at other things, it would be an easy + task. + </p> + <p> + I remember one October morning walking across an old smoke-begrimed bridge + that spans the Ohio at Cincinnati. My eye was caught by a dingy sign in + large plain letters nailed up in a prominent place. It simply, said, + "Processions in crossing this bridge must break step." That was all. But + it was imperative. It was a law. The processions <i>must</i> break step. + The same men might cross the bridge, in as large numbers, at the same + time, but they must not keep step. + </p> + <p> + The authorities knew perfectly well that for a body of men to march <i>in + step</i>, every left foot set down at once, the impact of every right foot + striking at the same moment, would so—I do not say, <i>add</i> to + the force exerted—would so <i>multiply</i> the force exerted upon + the bridge as to endanger its safety. The power of concerted action is + immense beyond any power of conception. Every bit of power at command can + so be brought to bear at one point with a force beyond any words to + express. + </p> + <p> + Our Master reverses for us the old bridge sign. Out from Pentecost rings + this word: "Let my followers all form in line, close ranks, and move out + to a world conquest, and—<i>keep step</i>." That command of His will + make a winning force so great as to shorten up the world's present + calendars, and shorten up the world's pain, and lengthen out the new life + that will come to untold numbers through Jesus. + </p> + <p> + "Find My World and Win it Back." + </p> + <p> + Nearly forty years ago David Livingstone, one of the Church's great + world-winning pioneers, was lost in the depths of equatorial Africa. That + is to say, he had advanced so far ahead of everybody else that the rest of + us lost track of him, and so we called him lost. Perhaps we got the use of + the word twisted, and we were the lost ones because we hadn't kept up. He + had gone where the Church was told to go, but the rest of us had lingered + behind, and so the main column became detached from its leader. Everybody + was talking about the lost leader. + </p> + <p> + James Gordon Bennett, the owner of the <i>New York Herald,</i> sent a + telegram to one of its correspondents, Henry M. Stanley. Bennett was in + Paris, and Stanley at Gibraltar. The telegram summoned Stanley to come to + Paris at once. Stanley went, reached Paris at midnight, knocked at the + great newspaper-man's door, and asked what was wanted. "Find Livingstone," + was the short, blunt reply. "How much money do you place at my disposal?" + asked Stanley. "Fifty thousand dollars, or a larger sum. Never mind about + the money; find Livingstone." + </p> + <p> + Stanley went. It took two years' time to get ready. It required a + specially planned campaign and thorough preparation. The planning was + done, and the world was thrilled when the bold missionary leader was + found. + </p> + <p> + Our Master has sent a message to His Church. It is written down in a Book, + and is being repeated by wireless messages constantly. He says, "Find my + world, and bring it back; never mind about the expense of money and lives. + <i>Find my world and win it back.</i>" And the Church has the winning + power to do it. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Each One of Us + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Our Drawing Power. + Sowing Ourselves in Life's Soil. + Our Need of a World to Win. + Living Broad Lives in Narrow Alleys. + Giving God Free Use of Ourselves. + Growing Bigger for Service's Sake. + My Mission-field. + Our Spirit-touch. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Each One of Us + </h2> + <p> + Our Drawing Power. + </p> + <p> + The greatest human winning force is a man swayed in every bit of his being + by the Spirit of Jesus. Man himself is the most attractive thing on God's + earth. He has the greatest drawing power. + </p> + <p> + He is attractive to God. He drew out of the creative power of God this + world of beauty and splendor. He drew Jesus down from the throne of God to + the earth, to poverty and hard labor, to the limitations of human life, to + misunderstandings and suffering and pain and death. These were gladly + yielded to because it was all for man. How the crowds used to draw Jesus! + He would give His strength out to them without stint, until those closest + to Him, not understanding, sought to interfere for the sake of his + strength. + </p> + <p> + One man was a sufficient magnet to draw him away from His rest, and to + draw out of Him the best of love and strength He had. Nicodemus' earnest + presence wooed out of His busy life a whole evening, and drew out the + matchless words that the world has been feeding upon ever since. The woman + of little half-breed Sychar, though an outcast, drew from Him the touch of + power that transformed her life and her village. + </p> + <p> + Man is attractive to his fellows. There is no power so attractive to a man + as another man. The phenomenal growth of modern cities is one of the + evidences of this. Everywhere men acknowledge the attractiveness that + their fellows have for them. Every friendship, every leadership, every + family circle, and gathering of men for whatever purpose tells of the + winning power that man has for his fellows. It is modified by all sorts of + surrounding conditions, and exists in many different degrees. The great + leader and the great orator have it in unusual measure. Every man has some + of it. Each man is a magnetic north pole. Every man of his spirit-current + is drawn toward him with a steady pull. + </p> + <p> + Man can win man. That fact at once brings out strikingly his winning + power. For the hardest thing in all this world to win is a man. Of all + luggage man is the hardest to move. He won't move unless he will move. + Only as the string is tied inside to his will can he be persuaded to move. + The heart may help open the door into the will. Most often that is the way + to get in. Sometimes intelligence, the reasoning powers, open the way in, + but rarely; often these two, the heart and the reason, combined. But even + then they go tandem, with the heart in the lead; only man can get that + door open, and tie the tether to the other man's will, and draw him out, + whither he will. He can do it. And only he can. Man yields to the drawing + power of his fellow. + </p> + <p> + With the deepest reverence be it said that when God would redeem a world + He sent a Man. Aye, He came as a man. And, while Jesus was so much more + than man, we must always insistently remind ourselves that He was truly + and fully a man. He was as really human in every bit of His make-up and + life as though only human. Because of man's power to win his fellow, Jesus + came to the man-level, as a Man, that so He might win men. + </p> + <p> + Sowing Ourselves in Life's Soil. + </p> + <p> + Man is winsome, wherever found, just as he is. He may be shackled and + slimed over with sin, as he plainly is. He may have lost much of his + winsomeness, as probably he has, through deeply rooted prejudice and + superstitions, and endless limitations of surroundings and education, but + he still remains a powerful magnet to his fellow. + </p> + <p> + But he is most winning in his winningness as he returns to the original as + God planned him. His native winning power comes out fully only as sin is + taken out of him, washed out, and burned out; the desire for it removed, + and the hurt of sin upon his bodily and mental powers overcome. Jesus is + the sort of human that God planned. And only as He is allowed to come into + a man's life, and treat the sin trouble at the core, and rule from within, + can man come to his own in his rare winsomeness. + </p> + <p> + Only <i>won</i> men can win men, of course. Only the man who has felt the + power of Jesus can tell some one else of that marvellous power. Nobody + else wants to. Nobody else can. For nobody else knows that power. But that + man must. There is something inside that compels him to. The man who + realizes most keenly that he has been saved will be the most intent on + getting others saved, too. The passion for Jesus becomes a passion for + telling others about Jesus. + </p> + <p> + Jerry McCauley must spend out his life in Water Street because he had been + gripped by the Man who spent out His life for him. The passion is + irresistible. Splendid young Hugh Beaver must win the Pennsylvania + students to Jesus because Jesus had become the magnet of his own life. + Livingstone must plunge into the depths of the African wilds, and Duff + into India's heat, and Hudson Taylor into China's inner provinces because + of the Jesus-passion that gripped them. + </p> + <p> + Now the thing to mark very keenly is this: that God's chief reliance in + His passionate outreach for His world is <i>men</i>. He is counting on you + and me. The power that actually wins men is the power of God. Only He can + so play upon human wills and hearts as to induce them gladly to open to + Him. That is true. But it is as true that only <i>through</i> the winsome + power of men can He use His winning power fully. + </p> + <p> + I am not going to take up just now why this is so, though that is full of + helpful suggestion. But simply to have you mark that straight through this + old Book, and through church history, and in actual experience this has + been His way of reaching men. God's pathway to one human heart is through + another human heart. + </p> + <p> + When men have failed Him God's plan has failed. His sovereignty doesn't + mean that His plan doesn't fail. It means here that with endless patience + He clings to the failed plan until He can get the man through whom it can + be carried out. But meanwhile there has been serious delay and sad + suffering for man. + </p> + <p> + There is a most striking sentence spoken by Jesus in explaining the + parable of the tares, in Matthew, Chapter thirteen. He said, "The good + seed are the sons of the kingdom." We think of the truth, the Gospel + message, as the good seed that we are to sow, and so it is. But there's a + far better seed. It is men, saved men. We are to sow our saved selves, our + lives, in the soil of men's lives. Our presence among men was meant to be + God's greatest sowing of the seed of life. Upon that seed He sends the dew + and rain and sunlight of His Spirit. And through that sort of sowing He + wins His greatest harvests. + </p> + <p> + Our Need of a World to Win. + </p> + <p> + Now I want to turn aside here a bit, and say this: we men need a world to + win. The world needs winning. There's no doubt of that. And just as really + we men need a world to win. We need the impetus and stimulus, the grip and + the swing of having a world to win. The Master's command fits with great + exactness into the need of our lives. + </p> + <p> + Every man needs a great purpose to grip his life. So he is anchored and + held steady against the world's tidal movements. If he isn't tied to some + great gripping purpose the wash of the sea will send him adrift, or the + fierce undertow will suck him under. And many are adrift. And many are in + the deadly suction of the undertow. + </p> + <p> + Jesus' command provides the great purpose that every man needs to hold him + steady and to bring out, and bring out best, all the splendid powers with + which we are endowed. When we are not gripped by the great purpose planned + for us we swing off into smaller, meaner purposes. + </p> + <p> + I mean, of course, those of us who are awake. Many people are habitual + somnambulists. All their walking and moving about is done in a state of + sleep. Some men never wake up. They go through the motions of life so far + as they must. The mechanism of habit keeps certain motions going, but the + real man within is asleep or dozing, with occasional spells of being + sleepily awake. + </p> + <p> + But men who are awake, and doing something, find a vent for their energy + on some lower level. The God-given energy will move out and stir itself to + action. But, having somehow missed the real purpose planned for them, they + allow the lower purposes to grip them. They organize great affairs, or + less great, industrial, intellectual, political, fraternal, social, and + spend their energy on these. It is the response they make to the call of + their natures for some great gripping purpose. But it looks very much like + another case of meeting a request for bread with cold hard stones. + </p> + <p> + These things in themselves are right, of course; so far as they are right. + They belong in the scheme of life. They should be given full place in + one's life. But that place is always a distinctly secondary place. They + belong in as number two. + </p> + <p> + A Christian business man gives most of the day and year to his business, + and gives of the best of his thought and strength to it. But if he have + gotten his bearings straight, his business is not in first place. It is + made to serve something higher. It earns the gold with which to finance + the great purpose of Jesus' life, and of his own life, namely, the purpose + of winning men, and of winning a whole world of them. How it would sweeten + business and fraternal and social contacts and friendships, if the salt of + this great purpose seasoned them! + </p> + <p> + Living Broad Lives in Narrow Alleys. + </p> + <p> + We need the <i>bigness</i> of this great purpose. So many lives are + dwarfed by their very littlenesses. We are bothered with being + short-sighted. The eyeglasses of the Master's purpose for us would + wondrously widen out our scope of vision. And through the new eyes would + come broader, farther, clearer views, and changed action. The littleness + of our ideas would be amusing if it were not so distressing. + </p> + <p> + I recall one day riding on a Fort-Wayne train through Indiana. I chanced + to overhear a bit of conversation. Two men, chance acquaintances, were + talking. One of them had his home in Elkhart. The other asked him where + Elkhart is. By the side of the Elkhart man there sat a little sweet-faced + boy. Instantly, as the question was asked, he looked up with surprised + eyes, and said, "Don't you know where Elkhart is? Why, Elkhart is down + where I live." + </p> + <p> + The amusing childish words seemed to have a familiar sound. I seem to have + run across a few people whose idea of God's world is about on the level of + the small boy's. The world is where they live. The rest is a hazy, vague + something, or—nothing. It exists for them, if it exists at all in + their thoughts. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Living for self, for self alone, for self and none beside; + Just as if Jesus had never lived, as if Jesus had never died." +</pre> + <p> + It would be pitiable and pathetic enough if only these people themselves + were concerned in their poor, stunted, narrow-alley living. But it is more + than that; it is tragic, because of the multitude of brothers, here and + abroad, sorely needing the help that was meant to go out to them through + us. + </p> + <p> + Then most men live narrow lives so far as the daily round is concerned. + The home, or shop, or store, or office is their daily horizon, with + practically the same round of duties day after day, year in and year out. + The very narrowness of the round tends to make narrow people. They get + into as much of a rut in their thinking as their daily action is apt to + become. Their work runs in fixed grooves that are apt to become fixed + ruts. And this makes ruts in their thinking. Their souls seem to grow + small by the very smallness and sameness of the daily tread. That is the + life of the great crowd of men all over the world. + </p> + <p> + It's an immense relief to see something big Big things always attract. Is + it partly because our daily round is so narrow and small? Jesus plans a + bigness that shall refresh us constantly. We have hearts big enough to + hold a world, and brains able to plan for a planet, even while our feet + tread the same old shut-in path. + </p> + <p> + A young man may be going a commonplace, treadmill sort of grind, in a + small corner of some great manufacturing concern, and be at the same time + carrying on a bigger enterprise than the president of his concern. For he + may be planning and praying for a world, and actually lifting it up in the + arms of his strong purpose toward the level of God. + </p> + <p> + The shipping clerk may be hammering in barrel-heads all day long, but each + blow may help emphasize the prayer of his heart for China, or India, or + his Sunday-school class. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Forenoon, afternoon, and night, + Forenoon, afternoon, and night, + Forenoon, afternoon, and what? no more? + The empty song repeats itself. Yea, that is life. + Make this forenoon sublime, this afternoon a psalm, + This night a prayer, and time is conquered, and thy + crown is won." +</pre> + <p> + The Master's gracious plan is that we shall have the refreshment of doing + big things. We are made for big things. They help us grow into the big + size that belongs to us. World-winning is a great boon to the crowd + compelled by the habit of life to tread a narrow path. + </p> + <p> + Giving God Free Use of Ourselves. + </p> + <p> + Now the great question every earnest man asks himself is, How can I be of + most use to God and my fellows? I want to suggest three things that have + helped me in answering that question. It may be that they will help you, + too, in getting your answer to it. + </p> + <p> + First of all is this: that we let God have the free use of us. Whatever I + am, whatever gifts and opportunities I have—these I will turn over + to God, that He may have the fullest and freest use of them. God asks from + each of us <i>a consecrated personality</i>. And "consecrated" simply + means that I give God the use of myself, and that He makes use of what I + have given to Him. That's the double meaning of the word in the Bible. + </p> + <p> + My personality, that is, what I am in myself, is the chief thing I have in + life. It is through this personality, which men recognize as I, that the + Spirit of God works in His reaching out for others. My personality is the + make-up of all that I am. My presence is that subtle something that + combines all that I am. It clings to me wherever I go. Men know it by my + name. Out through it goes the power of the man within. + </p> + <p> + The body, the glance of the eye, the quality and intonation of the voice, + the way the body is carried, and the something more than these that unites + them into one—these go to make up the presence, the outer shell of + the personality. All the power within makes itself felt through this. A + man's mere presence is an immeasurable influence. + </p> + <p> + There is a subtle, intangible, but very real spirit influence breathing + out of every man's presence. It is proportioned entirely to the strength + of the man living within. With some it is very attractive. Sometimes it is + positively repulsive. It is the expression of the man within. The presence + becomes the mould of the spirit within, large or small, noble or mean, + coarse or fine, as he makes it. The strength of a man's will or its + weakness; the purity of his heart or its lack of purity; the ideals of his + life, high or low; the keenness or slowness of his thinking—all + these express themselves in his presence. + </p> + <p> + We know the difference between a man of strong presence and one whose + presence is weak; though very few of us are skilled in reading, except in + a very small way, the character it reveals; through our presence each of + us is constantly influencing those with whom we come in contact. Now this + is the chief thing we have for our winning work. This is the thing that + Jesus uses. It is this that the Spirit of God takes possession of, if He + may, and that He uses in His outreach to others. We win most and best + through what we are. + </p> + <p> + Now, of course, I do not mean that we are to be thinking of it that way + all the time. The thinking that you have a winsome presence would itself + rob you of the most winsome part of it. Winsomeness of presence is + greatest and sweetest when we are wholly unconscious that there is such a + thing about us. As we are absorbed in Jesus, and in our fellows, the + winsomeness that is native to us shines out most attractively. It has been + covered up and hidden away a good bit by sin. Some men seem to have none. + Some have a great deal, in spite of their ignoring of God. + </p> + <p> + But as He is allowed to play upon us, as we seek to let His Spirit rule + our conduct and control our powers, the original God-image comes out. This + is a return to natural conditions as planned by God. What has been lost + through sin is restored and grown bigger and richer by the Spirit's + presence. I can give God the full use of this precious gift of + personality. + </p> + <p> + Growing Bigger for Service's Sake. + </p> + <p> + There's a second thing to do. This consecrated personality can be made <i>a + developed personality</i>. We don't start into life full size. We have to + grow. The greatest task of life, as well as one of the sweetest, is in + growing fine in grain, and big in size, and skilled in action. The highest + achievement of life and the rarest to find is self-mastery, that is, all + that one is in himself grown big and fine-grained, skilfully used and held + steadily to its true use. All other achievements are through this one. + </p> + <p> + The stronger I can make my body the more I can give God to use. The more + thoroughly I can understand the great, simple laws of my body, and the + more I can get into the habit of obeying them, the more can God use me in + His plans. Such common things as eating and drinking, breathing and + exercising, sleeping and resting and dress, may not be called common any + more, if through thoughtfulness here you and I can be of greater use to + our Master and our fellows. + </p> + <p> + The keener and clearer and stronger we can make our thinking, by dint of + self-discipline, the greater power have we with other men. The purer the + heart, the loftier the practical ideals that control the personal habits, + the greater is the winning power at command. + </p> + <p> + We may not be conscious of the difference. We will not be thinking of + that. But the increased power of attraction is there, and is breathing out + of one's presence, and is distinctly felt by others. And, more, it is + making a distinct mark upon others, more than they know. We must set + ourselves to growing bigger and better for service's sake. + </p> + <p> + My Mission-field. + </p> + <p> + The third thing is <i>a world-wide vision</i>. That is to say, our + thinking and planning and praying and giving shall be on a world scale. + There is nothing remarkable about this. The strangely remarkable thing is + that there is so little of it. Man was made on the world size. It is + natural to us to grasp the world in our thinking and action. This other + thing of living on a smaller scale is the cramping effect of sin. We were, + made big. We are big. We need a big world. We enjoy bigness. We get this + from God. We are truest to ourselves as we live on the world plan. The + world was given us originally to subdue, and now to win. + </p> + <p> + This does not mean to neglect anything or anybody nearby. It's a bit of + the cramping of sin that anybody thinks so. The man who spreads a map of + the world beside his open Bible in the morning or evening prayer-hour is + likely to have a warm hand for the fellow next him. We are made that way, + to grasp the globe, <i>and</i> each thing close at hand that needs our + care. That's a bit of the image of God in us. As we allow Him sway, the + original power is restored to us. + </p> + <p> + One result of this will be that many of us will go in person to some + far-away part of the great world-field. That's a serious thing to do, + requiring some special qualification of body and of training. For the task + out there is a great one. There are trying conditions to be met. The very + best is called for. + </p> + <p> + If a man may go in person to the foreign field he is greatly favored. Let + nothing hold him back. It is a privilege to serve anywhere. But the + highest privilege of service is out there. Many cannot go; and many may + not go. Some are plainly bidden to stay. The home administration of the + missionary enterprise requires strong men at home. + </p> + <p> + A second result will be that wherever we are, will be a mission-field to + us. We are, where we are, <i>to give</i>, not to get. Whether in far-off + China or maybe in some disillusioned commonplace home town, we will be + winning men to Jesus all the time <i>by direct touch</i>. The mastering + thought will be to let the wondrous Spirit reach out through us, freely + and fully, unhindered by anything in us, and so touch every one whom we + touch. + </p> + <p> + In any circle, business or social, our hearts will be saying, "I am among + you as he that serveth." Consciously, by direct word, by indirect touch, + with love's rare diplomacy we will win men. Unconsciously, by our + presence, we will as really be winning them. + </p> + <p> + No one has an imagination vivid enough, or words graphic enough, to tell + the power of that direct human touch. All life is athrill with its magic. + Even when it becomes less direct, a bit removed from the personal, its + power is indescribably great. + </p> + <p> + John Eliot's work among the Massachusetts Indians kindled David Brainerd. + Brainerd's flame touched Jonathan Edwards. Edwards' pamphlet on + "Extraordinary Prayer for a Revival of Religion and the Advancement of + Christ's Kingdom on Earth" suggested to William Carey the plan of an + organized society. Fire spreads. Where the touch of God comes the fire of + God goes out through that human touch. + </p> + <p> + Our Spirit-touch. + </p> + <p> + A third result will be this: we will be reaching out and winning men in + all the rest of the world by <i>our spirit-touch</i>. You may be in some + African fastness or in the midst of China's age-old civilization or just + here at home, but you can be exerting a tremendous spirit-power that can + be felt out to the ends of the earth. + </p> + <p> + It will all be in the Name of Jesus. It will be in the power of the Holy + Spirit. Only in that Name and through the Spirit can such winning + influence be exerted at all. So a man can have spirit-touch with the man + by his side. And just as truly he can have spirit-touch with men at the + farthest reach of the earth. + </p> + <p> + There is a spirit influence going out from each of us in addition to that + which goes through the direct personal touch. It is not a conscious + influence. That is, we are not concsious that it is being exerted. It goes + out from us as we pray. It goes out of us as our thought is centered on + those far-away parts and peoples. Its strength will depend on the strength + of one's personality. + </p> + <p> + We are familiar with the fact that a man of strong personality has a + greater influence upon his fellows whom he touches directly than a weaker + man has. It is just the same with regard to one's spirit-touch. The + stronger and keener and purer I may become, the more I know of the + self-mastery which comes through Jesus-mastery, the greater force can I + exert as a winner of men, both by direct touch and by spirit-touch. + </p> + <p> + Will you kindly come up nearer in spirit, as we close our talk together, + and let me ask softly: Have we given the free use of ourselves to the + Master? Are we growing ourselves into bigger-sized, finer-grained, + better-controlled men and women daily? For the Master is depending on us. + He is counting much on having the use of us. He can reach out to the very + ends of the earth <i>through each one of us</i>. May we not fail Jesus! + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Jesus + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Jesus Draws Men. + Jesus Draws Out the Best. + Many Doors, but One Purpose. + Make It a Story. + How Peter Told Paul. + "A More Excellent Way." +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Jesus + </h2> + <p> + Jesus Draws Men. + </p> + <p> + The great heart-magnet is God. No one is so winsomely attractive as He. + His winning power is beyond any other. Man is winsome. But it is because + God made him winsome, and re-makes him yet more winsome. He gave him a bit + of His own self. That's the secret of all our human winsomeness. + </p> + <p> + Now Jesus is God to us. We know God only as we know Jesus. Jesus is the + heart of God beating in time and tune with human hearts. Nobody is so + winsome as Jesus. All the native winsomeness of man and all the divine + winsomeness of God combine and blend in Him. He has always drawn men to + Himself. And He still does, and always will. + </p> + <p> + He drew men of all classes when He was down here. The reverent + star-students of far-away Babylon were drawn to His birth by a compelling + they could not resist. He drew the thoughtful, scholarly men of His own + nation, such as Nicodemus of the inner, highest circle. And He drew + military officials of high rank and wealth in the service of imperial + Rome. By the same power the half-breed, despised Samaritans and the + earnest seekers after truth from cultured Greece were drawn to Him. + </p> + <p> + The plain farmer people of Galilee, and the hardy fisherfolk, and + hard-handed laboring-men came as eagerly to him. He drew the pure, fine + grained, gentle Mary of Bethany, with her unusual keenness of spirit + insight; and drew as well the unnamed outcast woman, steeped in sin, who + was forgiven much, and who loved much, and so gave much. + </p> + <p> + Practical hard-headed men of sharp bargains and shrewd trading, like + Matthew, felt His pull upon their hearts equally with men of pure heart + and lofty ideals like Nathanael. By special effort, for a special purpose + He drew high-bred, high-strung, scholarly, intense Paul, out of his mad + enmity into a lifelong devotion. + </p> + <p> + The crowds came until His daily routine and ministering help were + repeatedly and seriously interrupted. And strong men sought Him alone to + lay bare the longings and questionings of their hearts. His Roman judge + felt the strange winsomeness of His presence and speech, though lacking in + the courage to follow his convictions regarding Him. And the Roman officer + in charge of His execution was forced to admit the power of His presence. + </p> + <p> + All the world gathered about His cross. Representatives from all parts, in + large numbers, were at the Jerusalem feast; and on that morning, by common + consent, they were drawn out to the place where He hung. + </p> + <p> + He even drew the arch-tempter. He came with his subtlest temptations, and + bitterest enmity, and most malignant cunning. Could there be greater + evidence, by contrast, of the drawing power of His purity and goodness and + steadfast devotion to His mission? + </p> + <p> + Jesus Draws Out the Best. + </p> + <p> + And Jesus had the power to draw out of men the best there was in them. + Possibilities, traits, and powers that neither they nor their friends + supposed they had came out into strong life under the spell of His touch. + There seemed to be something in Him that drew the same sort of thing out + of them. + </p> + <p> + Out of Simon, the hot-headed, impulsive fisherman, He drew the steady man + of rock. Out of fiery John, the son of thunder, He drew the man of tender, + strong love. And out of quiet, retiring Andrew He drew a man with a + reputation for bringing others to Jesus. + </p> + <p> + He drew out of the Sychar outcast a sense of her sin, and then a winner of + souls; and out of that other woman of open sin, a longing for purity that + paved the way to all else that came. Under His compelling touch there came + out of the blind-born man a willingness to sacrifice all for such a + Master; and out of James, the other son of thunder, a courage to endure + suffering that men had not known he had. + </p> + <p> + That was when He was down here, a man. And ever since that fleecy cloud + received Him out of sight He has been drawing men of all the world. And + time would as utterly fail me, as it did the writer of the Hebrews, if I + tried to tell of the men He has drawn. Men of every rank, high and low, in + every nation, savage and civilized, in every generation of all these + centuries have felt the thrill of His power. And they have followed Him at + the cost of all that men hold most dear. + </p> + <p> + And He is just the same to-day. He is as available now in all His drawing + power wherever men meet, in city slum and savage wild, in college hall and + business street, among the philosophical and cultured, and among the + ignorant and untrained. If we will take Him to them, and let Him out + through our lips and lives, He will draw men up the heights. He can draw + against any power of downward suction, and He will. He promised to draw + men, if lifted up. And He has never failed to do it. + </p> + <p> + Now, it is this drawing Jesus that men need and want. There is an enormous + advantage in taking Jesus to men, because there is a something inside men + everywhere that responds to Jesus. That something may be choked and + covered up, crowded down and fought against, as it is. But it is there. + When you take Jesus to a man you may know that you are taking a supply to + a demand. You are bringing a man the answer to his heart's questions. It + is as the coming together of two parts that belong together, but have been + held apart by some hindrance. + </p> + <p> + That hindrance is stubborn. It has to be fought. It can be overcome. + That's the chief task. Then the part in man that answers to Jesus eagerly + fits into its place in Him. That coming together is always blessed, beyond + words. Everywhere men of all sorts and ranks and degrees of savagery and + culture eagerly respond to Him. And they declare that they find in Him the + full answer to their deepest longings. + </p> + <p> + Many Doors, but One Purpose. + </p> + <p> + It is this marvellous magnet, Jesus, that we are to take to men; not + theology, nor education, nor medical skill, nor hospitals, nor industrial + helps, except incidentally. These are the tin cup which one is glad to use + to give the thirsty traveller water from the spring. + </p> + <p> + You will understand at once that I have no thought of criticizing theology + or of discrediting it, if I could. It has its place. But that place is not + out in the thick of the crowd, but back in the quiet hall of study. There + must be thorough study and systematic putting together of the truth. There + needs to be patient plodding and mental drilling. + </p> + <p> + You have no need to be told of the immeasurable value of the splendid + foundation building of Christian scholars. But this is school work, in the + main. It is to make us better workmen. So a man gets his bearings and + poise. But the people down in the dust and drive of the crowd don't want + theology. They want Jesus. It is striking that everywhere men want to hear + about Jesus. + </p> + <p> + Educational work has played an indispensably great part in the scheme of + missions. But the purpose of it, of course, is to make an open door for + the entrance of Jesus into men's lives. It is invaluable in itself alone, + regardless of any other purpose. But the teacher of any sort of learning + in the mission school, who is chiefly absorbed in the teaching itself + instead of using it as a means to something higher, is missing the whole + purpose of his work. + </p> + <p> + And what words can be used strong enough in speaking of the blessed work + of medical men in foreign-mission lands? These skilled, patient, faithful + men and women in hospital and dispensary and private service are doing a + work of incalculable value. It should be done even if the bodily results + were all. But the underlying purpose through it all is to lead men to know + Jesus. And no one has such a short, quick road into a man's heart as he + who can relieve his body. + </p> + <p> + These things are doorways into men's lives; and great doorways, too. They + are well worth all the money and lives expended if they went no farther + than body and mind and better conditions. But the main purpose in them is + to find a way into men's hearts, and take in Jesus; that so men may get + the greater as well as the less. + </p> + <p> + Make it a Story. + </p> + <p> + Now, how shall we best tell men of Jesus? Well, the modern newspaperman's + rule in his work is this: "Make it a story." This is his leading rule in + all his writing work. Whatever the occasion may be, whether a meeting of + scholars or an accident on the street, it is to be put into story-form. + That is the ideal toward which he works. All the descriptions, and + quotations, and information, and philosophizings are to be woven into this + web. They know that a story is the easiest thing to read and to listen to, + and also the hardest to tell well. + </p> + <p> + That should be our rule here: <i>Make it a story about Jesus.</i> When it + comes to talking the Gospel to a group of people, large or small, in New + York or Shanghai, make it a story. Wherever you may begin the story, see + that its purpose is to lead up to Jesus. You may use twenty-five minutes + in getting your story out, and then put the Jesus touch in the last five + minutes. But as they go away that last five has given its flavor to the + whole half-hour's talk. Or, you may begin with Him, and so run through. + But the rule should be: Make it a simple, natural, attractive story, such + as people will want to listen to, because it interests them. + </p> + <p> + That means a lot of hard work in preparation. The simpler and easier and + more natural it seems to the crowd the more it will have cost you in + study. You will have to study so carefully that they won't guess you have + studied at all. You must absorb this Bible story, bit by bit, through and + through, until it becomes a bit of yourself. + </p> + <p> + You must use books that help make this Book clearer and plainer. That is + really the mission of biblical books, to make <i>the</i> Book plainer. If + they send you to the Bible they have fulfilled their mission. If you stay + in them, they have failed. + </p> + <p> + The Bible is an Oriental book in its way of putting things. Its story is + built upon the habits of those Eastern peoples. While it is full of simple + teaching easily understood, one needs to understand those habits to get + the real meat of the meaning. This means a habit of hard work for him who + would be a winner of men. He should have an ambition to know the Bible + story thoroughly, and to get it from the Bible itself. + </p> + <p> + But, whatever your particular message may be at any time, let it lead up + by a straight road to Jesus. Follow the rule of the Book itself here. The + Old Testament all points to Jesus. It can be understood only as He is + understood. And the New is aflame with His presence. Tell the story of + Jesus to men. They never tire of that. Tell it accurately. Tell it simply. + Tell it with endless variety. Put it in simple every-day words, so they + think about the story and not about you or your words. + </p> + <p> + Tell Jesus' life; His characteristics; how He mingled among men, and + talked with them. Take up the Gospel incidents, and give them their + natural flavoring and coloring in present-day speech. Tell of the Nazareth + life, in home and carpenter shop and village. Go through those wondrous + three and a half years, bit by bit. + </p> + <p> + Go into the temptation wilderness, out on the blue waters of Galilee, and + into Gethsemane's olive-grove. Climb that bit of a rise of ground called + Calvary. Wherever you are in that story, make sure that the coloring of + Calvary gets distinctly in, by word or phrase or climax or somehow. + </p> + <p> + Now, of course, there will be some theology in your telling. You will make + comments and explanations. And preachers call that theology. That is + unavoidable. That is the place for such teaching, as it naturally grows + out of the story. But the story should be the main thing. Men should be + sent away thinking about a Man, Jesus; not about a theory of doctrine. + </p> + <p> + How Peter Told Paul. + </p> + <p> + I remember very distinctly one time Mr. Moody was speaking at the Ohio + Sunday-school Convention in Cleveland. He was saying that teachers should + open up the Bible and make it attractive. Then he told the story of how, + in '84, in London he was talking with a lawyer friend who had just come + down from Edinburgh. He had been hearing Andrew Bonar preach up there, and + was greatly taken with his way of preaching. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Moody told the story something like this: + </p> + <p> + "Bonar was preaching in Galatians, where it says that Paul went to + Jerusalem to see Peter, and he said that he could imagine Peter saying to + Paul, 'Would you like to take a walk?' and Paul said he would, so they + went down through the streets of Jerusalem, over the brook Kidron, arm in + arm, and Peter stopped and said, 'Look, Paul, this is the very spot where + He wrestled and where He suffered, and sweat great drops of blood. There + is the very spot where John and James fell asleep, right there. And right + here is the very spot where I fell asleep. I don't think I should have + denied Him if I hadn't gone to sleep, but I was overcome. I remember the + last thing I heard Him say before I fell asleep was, "Father, let this cup + pass from me if it is Thy will." And when I awoke an angel stood right + there where you are standing, talking to Him, and I saw great drops of + blood come from His pores and trickle down His cheeks. It wasn't long + before Judas came to betray Him. And I heard Him say to Judas, so kindly, + "Betrayest thou the Master with a kiss?" And then they bound Him and led + Him away. And that night when He was on trial I denied Him.' + </p> + <p> + "He pictured the whole scene. And the next day Peter turned again to Paul + and said, 'Wouldn't you like to take another walk to-day?' and Paul said + he would. That day they went to Calvary. And when they got on the hill + Peter said, 'Here, Paul, this is the very spot where He died for you and + me. See that hole right there? That is where His cross stood. The + believing thief hung there, and the unbelieving thief there on the other + side. Mary Magdalene and Mary, His mother, stood there, and I stood away + on the out-skirts of the crowd. + </p> + <p> + "'The night before, when I denied Him, He looked at me so lovingly that it + broke my heart, and I couldn't bear to get near enough to see Him. That + was the darkest hour of my life. I was in hopes that God would intercede + and take Him from the cross. I kept listening, and I thought I would hear + His voice.' And he pictured the whole scene, how they drove the spear into + His side, and put the crown of thorns on His brow, and all that took + place. + </p> + <p> + "And the next day Peter turned to Paul again and asked him if he wouldn't + take another walk. And Paul said he would. Again they passed down the + streets of Jerusalem, over the brook Kidron, over Mount Olivet, up to + Bethphage, and over to the slope near Bethany. All at once Peter stopped + and said: 'Here, Paul, this is the last place where I ever saw Him. I + never heard Him speak so sweetly as He did that day. + </p> + <p> + "'It was right here He delivered His last message to us, and all at once I + noticed that His feet didn't touch the ground. He arose and went up. All + at once there came a cloud and received Him out of sight. I stood right + here gazing up into the heavens, in hopes I might see Him again and hear + Him speak. And two men dressed in white dropped down by our sides and + stood there and said: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven? + This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall come in like + manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven."'" + </p> + <p> + Then Mr. Moody said, "My friends, I want to ask you this question: Do you + believe that picture is overdrawn? Do you believe Peter had Paul as his + guest and didn't take him to Gethsemane, didn't take him to Calvary and + Mount Olivet? I myself spent eight days in Jerusalem, and every morning I + wanted to steal down into the garden where my Lord sweat great drops of + blood. Every day I climbed Mount Olivet and looked up into the blue sky + where He went to His Father. + </p> + <p> + "I have no doubt Peter took Paul out on those three walks. If there had + been a man that could have taken me to the very spot where the Master + sweat those great drops of blood, do you think I would not have asked him + to take me there? Now, you ministers, don't you believe the people want + preaching like that? They do. They want to hear about the Lord." + </p> + <p> + I remember that I was sitting in that convention where I could easily see + the faces of the people. It was a sight not to be forgotten. I remember + that sea of eager upturned faces as distinctly as I remember Mr. Moody's + talk. The people sat so still, as though in a spell, with eyes big and + shining with something wet, and occasionally a slight twitching of emotion + and a handkerchief called into service. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Moody talked in that natural way of his, so quiet and yet so intense + in its quietness. That's what people want—Jesus brought to them, + simply and naturally. And Moody knew it. It took years of hard + self-discipline for him to be able to talk as he did. Such talking takes + study and hard work. But it's all worth while if we can make Jesus plain + to men in all His wondrous winsomeness. + </p> + <p> + "A More Excellent Way." + </p> + <p> + Then there's another way of telling the story of Jesus to men. It's a yet + better way. <i>Tell it with your life.</i> That was Jesus' own plan. He + lived what He taught. He proposed coming down into each one of us and + living His life over again in us. He does just that now. Then as men meet + us they are meeting Him, too, in us. The things that marked Him will be + noticed in us. + </p> + <p> + The intense hatred of sin, the purity, the gentleness and patience, the + warm sympathy, the constant self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice, the + eagerness to win men, the tireless going wherever men could be helped—these + may be in us as they were in Him, and will be, as we let Him live in us. + And men will recognize the Jesus-story being lived in their midst. Jesus + wants to reach out through us to men. And He will; He will; more than we + ever know or will know. This is the best telling of the story. + </p> + <p> + I am told that in the Palace of Justice in Rome there is a remarkable + chamber where visitors are sometimes taken. The remarkable thing about it + is the decorations. The ceiling and walls and even the floors are covered + with strangely painted frescoes. That is, they seem strange as one enters. + They seem grotesque. They do not harmonize. They are out of touch with + each other, and make a bewildering maze of confusion. But there is one + spot in the chamber, just one spot upon the floor, where, if you stand, + everything falls into place. The artist's conception stands out perfect in + perspective and color and beauty. + </p> + <p> + To the great crowd of men in this old world life seems a good bit like + that Roman chamber. Things seem out of harmony—sin, pain, confusion, + unsatisfied longings, unconquered weaknesses, broken plans, and + disappointed ambitions. But there is one spot, a central point, just one, + where all that concerns you will come into harmony, and bring heart-rest. + </p> + <p> + That one spot is where you take your stand side by side with Jesus. His + presence clears everything up. He sweetens the life, and straightens the + path, and leads you steadily on toward the dawning of the day. And that's + as true for China and the Pacific islanders as for Britisher or American. + Men need Jesus. He satisfies them. He is the great magnet. He draws men as + no other can. He places Himself at our disposal to be taken to men. They + can't resist Him. Let us take Him. + </p> + <p> + O Jesus Master, thou hast drawn me till I want to be Thy slave forever. + Help me take Thee to all other men that they may feel Thy wondrous drawing + power, and satisfying power, too. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Holy Spirit + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The Last Talk Together. + The Partnership of Service. + The Power that Never Fails. + The Trinity of Service. + Living on the Top Floor. + Partial Weavings of the Strands. + Unbroken Connection Above. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + The Holy Spirit + </h2> + <p> + The Last Talk Together. + </p> + <p> + A little group of men were climbing the winding path that led up Olivet's + slope. The Master was in the midst, and the others before and behind, + where they could hear His voice. For they were talking together as they + walked along. That is to say, He was talking, and they were listening, + with an occasional question. They went on until they were over against + where little Bethany nestles in among the blue hills. There they stood a + little while, still talking together earnestly. + </p> + <p> + It was their last talk together. And there were two things the Master was + saying. Those two things came with all the tender emphasis of a last + message. They were to go on an errand to the world; a lifelong errand, and + to the whole world. That was being burned in. But they weren't to start on + the errand until the Holy Spirit had come upon them. The errand and the + Spirit's presence were coupled together. That was to be their errand. And + He was to be their life-power as they went on the errand. + </p> + <p> + They were to go. The Spirit was to come. He would come before they went. + They must not go until He had come. Then they were to go in His presence + and power. They would be able to go because of Him. Their going would be + worth while, because wherever they went He would be at work in them and + through them. The real work would be done by Him. But it would be done + through them. His presence was essential to their work being done. Their + presence was essential to His doing His work. He would work as they went, + and where they went. + </p> + <p> + That was the new blessed partnership of world-wide service planned by the + Master as He went away. They would tell of Jesus. The Spirit would open + doors, guide their tongues, guard their persons, and make the message of + Jesus as a flame of fire in men's hearts. + </p> + <p> + Just before this, Jesus had talked a great deal with His disciples about + the Holy Spirit. They didn't yet know how much this that He was saying, + would come to mean to them. But they remembered after the Master was gone, + and then they understood. When they got down into the thick of the world's + crowds they understood the great significance of what He had said. + </p> + <p> + That last talk<a href="#linknote-24" name="linknoteref-24" + id="linknoteref-24"><small>24</small></a> they had together in the upper + room and along the Jerusalem streets, on the betrayal night, was full of + teaching about the Holy Spirit. And the next time after that that they + met, in the upper room,<a href="#linknote-25" name="linknoteref-25" + id="linknoteref-25"><small>25</small></a> on the evening of the + resurrection day, He breathed strongly upon them, and said, "Receive ye + the Holy Spirit." And the very last word on the Olivet slope was, "Wait; + wait until the Holy Spirit comes." He burned in deep that their dependence + must be entirely upon the Spirit. + </p> + <p> + The Partnership of Service. + </p> + <p> + Jesus Himself is an illustration of what He told them about this. He was + on a missionary errand. He had been sent by His Father, even as later + these men and we have been sent. With awe ever growing, one remembers that + the divine Jesus in the days of His humanity gave Himself over to the + control of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was the dominant factor in His life + and in all His activities. All His teachings and movements were at the + suggestion and direction and control of the Spirit. The power in speech + and action, in healing, in raising the dead, and in the wondrous mastery + of Himself was the Holy Spirit's power working upon and through Jesus. + </p> + <p> + Then it was that as He was going away He said, "As the Father hath sent + me, even so I send you." And with that He coupled the significant + breathing upon them, with the word, "Take ye the Holy Spirit." We are to + be as He, both in our utter dependence upon the Spirit and in our + assurance of His power in us. + </p> + <p> + Ever since then that has been the effective partnership for world-service: + men and the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit and men. If you are thinking of + the human side you say, "<i>Men</i> and the Holy Spirit." If you are + speaking of the divine side, you say, "<i>The Holy Spirit</i> and men." + The two belong together. Where men have failed to go the Spirit has been + hampered in speaking to men. He has spoken, but the story of salvation + through Jesus has not been known. The Spirit's mouth-piece for the telling + of that story was lacking. That seriously hindered Him in His work. + </p> + <p> + Where men have gone without the Spirit, that is without yielding + themselves habitually to His control, they have been sorely hampered. It + is like having the kindling wood set in order for a fire, but the fire not + started. There is no heat, nor any of fire's results. The kindling must + have the flame, and the flame must have the coals. The two are partners in + service. + </p> + <p> + This partnership belongs peculiarly in the world-wide service of winning + men. If anybody needs the Spirit's presence, he does who attempts to win a + man to Jesus anywhere. But if any man-winner needs that presence more than + another, he does who goes into the peculiar atmosphere of a non-Christian + people. And, on the other hand, if anybody can be sure of the Spirit's + presence and power always with him, and working through him, he can who + has gone out on the world-errand. + </p> + <p> + That man is in the direct line of obedience to Jesus' command. The Spirit + Himself is sent by Jesus, and comes to us in direct obedience to Jesus' + desire. These two, the man and the Spirit, are as one in the purpose that + controls them. That man may depend on the gracious, irresistible Spirit's + power at every turn. He is a thrice West man, if he have learned to depend + upon His unseen Partner. + </p> + <p> + The Power That Never Fails. + </p> + <p> + You and I have to remind ourselves constantly that our chief dependence is + not upon organization, nor method, nor personal talent, nor personal + training, but upon the Holy Spirit working <i>through</i> these. The + better organized the human machinery, the better the methods used, the + more there is of personal gift, and the more thoroughly one's powers have + been drilled, the more there is at the Spirit's disposal for Him to use. + The practical bother is to remember this; to get it rubbed in until it is + like an instinct in us, that the power is all from Him, through us. Not + without Him, and not without us; the two together; but always His the far + greater part—indeed, the real part. + </p> + <p> + The Holy Spirit has a double work to do: with us who go; and upon those to + whom we go. Within us He has to work out the character of Jesus. He opens + the Word, making its meaning stand clearly out. He wakens the mind up to + do its best work. He guides in our decisions, suggesting and directing and + controlling our thoughts, and in our actions, in our dealings with men. In + things that are little in themselves, but on which so much hinges, He + guides. + </p> + <p> + It constantly occurs that we are not at all conscious of His control at + the time. But afterward we can see how He has been deftly, softly guiding, + with His rare light touch upon us. When, in the thick of work, we may be + pressed hard, and a bit wearied, and in doubt, He sends the quiet, quick + suggestion into our thoughts that leads out of the tight corner and into + the achievement of the thing desired. He works through us, and through + what we do, giving power that otherwise would not be there. While you are + talking in conversation or in public address, He is working through what + you are saying. + </p> + <p> + And He works upon those to whom we go. He opens doors; the doors of + circumstances that we find locked and double-padlocked against us. He + opens the yet tighter-shut, harder-to-open human doors. He inclines men + favorably toward us personally, and to our message. Under His touch the + message becomes as a tongue of flame, kindling, disturbing, softening, + burning down, and moulding over into new shape the inner man to whom the + message comes. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes quarrymen find a very hard kind of rock in the stone quarries. + They pick little grooves for the iron wedges, and then with great + sledge-hammers drive these wedges into the hard rock. But sometimes this + fails to split the rock. The iron wedges and big sledges have no effect at + all on the stubborn stone. Then they go at it in another way. The iron + wedges are removed from the narrow grooves. Then little wooden ones, of a + very hard fibre are selected. These sharp-edged, well-made wooden wedges + are first soaked in water. Then they are put in the grooves tightly while + wet, and water is kept in the grooves. The sledges are not used. They + would smash the wooden wedges. + </p> + <p> + The water and wedges are left to do their work. The damp wood swells. The + particles must have more room as they swell. The granite heart of rock + can't stand against this new pressure. It takes longer than with iron + wedges and sledge, but after a while the rock yields and lies split + wide-open. The water works on the wood, and that in turn on the stone. The + iron wedges sometimes fail, but the wood and water never fail. + </p> + <p> + It seems to be a part of our make-up to make plans, and to count on the + plans. And planning does much. We don't want to plan less, necessarily, + but to learn to depend more <i>in</i> our planning on the soft, noiseless, + but resistless power of the Holy Spirit. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "The day is long, and the day is hard; + We are tired of the march and of keeping guard; + Tired of the sense of a fight to be won, + Of days to live through, and of work to be done; + Tired of ourselves and of being alone: + Yet all the while, did we only see, + <i>We walk in the Lord's own company.</i> + We fight, but 'tis He who nerves our arm; + He turns the arrows that else might harm, + And out of the storm He brings a calm; + And the work that we count so hard to do, + He makes it easy, for He works, too: + And the days that seem long to live are His— + bit of His bright eternities—and close to our need + His helping is."<a href="#linknote-26" name="linknoteref-26" + id="linknoteref-26">26</a> +</pre> + <p> + The Trinity of Service. + </p> + <p> + Now, we want to mark keenly that <i>full</i> power depends upon three + things. There is a trinity of service, a human-divine trinity. The full + results can come only through its working. The ideal winner of men needs + to believe thoroughly in this trinity. + </p> + <p> + First of all is <i>the message</i>. There needs to be a clear + understanding of the Gospel. That is the winner's message. That is the + direct thing he uses in approaching and laying siege to some man's heart. + It is a simple message, but very often it is grasped only partly by those + who tell it. + </p> + <p> + That message needs to be understood clearly and fully by the man who would + have the greatest power in winning men. From its first plain teaching + about sin, on to the terrible results that sin left to itself works out; + through the blessed teaching of love as shown most in the sacrifice for + sin which Jesus made on the cross; the need of a clean cutting with sin, + and clear-out surrender to Jesus as Saviour and Master; the work of the + Holy Spirit in one's heart; and then the climax of service out among men—this + simple message needs to be grasped fully and clearly. This is the first + great essential hi the trinity of service. + </p> + <p> + There is a second thing, yet more important, that must go with this first. + And that is <i>a man who embodies the message</i> in himself. It isn't + enough to know the story of the Gospel, nor to tell it. It must be <i>lived</i>. + That is the best telling of it. The man must be a living illustration of + the truth he is telling. He may be conscious of not illustrating it as he + should. The earnest man is never aware that he is as good an illustration + of it as he is. He may think himself a poor illustration. He is quite apt + to. But he is yet more apt not to be thinking of that side as he attempts + to win men. He will be all taken up with Jesus, and with getting men to + know Him. + </p> + <p> + The man is more than the message, even when he is less than the message. + When his life fails to live out the truth he is speaking, still even then + he is more. For the life is more than the lips. And, while he is talking, + his life is discounting his words and taking away some of the power that + belongs with them. I do not mean that those he is talking to are making + the comparison, necessarily. They may not know about his life, whether it + embodies the message or not. + </p> + <p> + I mean that the life that is true breathes a force and power into the man + himself and so into his words. <i>Or</i> it doesn't. The message takes on + the quality of the man. One man's talking catches fire; another's doesn't. + The listeners know that it is so, though they don't usually know why. All + the while you and I are trying to win others, in Sunday-school class or + meeting, in Gospel service or church preaching, in personal conversation + or letter-writing, there's a subtle something that goes out of us, as an + atmosphere, that affects the power of the message we're giving out. + </p> + <p> + And that something is actually greater in its power than the truth we are + speaking. It may be a touch of flame making the truth burn within him who + is listening. It may be a deadly, dampening chill checking the fire that + is naturally in the truth. The man is always more than the message. + </p> + <p> + Living on the Top Floor. + </p> + <p> + Then there is a third thing. It is yet more than the message or the man, + or than both message and man together. It is this: <i>the Holy Spirit + controlling the man who embodies the message</i>. I mean by controlling + him that he has surrendered himself to the Spirit's control. And, further + than that, that he cultivates the Spirit's presence. + </p> + <p> + There needs to be a habitual cultivation of the Spirit's presence and + friendship, even as we cultivate our human friendships. There needs to be + time spent alone, habitually, with the Book of God. I do not mean just now + merely studying the Bible to get better acquainted with its contents. + Something more than that—thoughtful meditation on its truths; the + quiet, steady holding of one's self open to the searching and stimulating + and enlightening influence of this rare Book. The Spirit speaks through + these pages. Yet it is to be feared that many a careful student of its + pages does not get deeper in than the print. He doesn't know and meet the + Person who speaks in the print and through it. + </p> + <p> + Then, beyond the quiet time with the Book, there is the holding of one's + whole life open to the Spirit's suggestion and subject to His direction. + He guides through our thinking. <i>And</i> sometimes He guides us when our + thinking, for some reason, has not gotten up high enough for Him to guide + through it. Samuel thought that David's oldest brother was God's chosen + one. But into his rarely sensitized inner ear the Spirit said "No." His + thinking wasn't keen enough to be the channel through which he could be + guided. But he had learned to hold his thinking subject to a higher power. + </p> + <p> + One time Paul thought it would be good to go over east into the province + of Bithynia, and even tried to make a start that way. But the Spirit made + plain His plan that they were to go in just the opposite direction, to the + west. Had Paul's thinking been more open to the Spirit's touch at that + point, he wouldn't have made the false start. But he was wise clear beyond + the great crowd of us. For at once he dropped his own thought-out plans, + and did as he was bid. + </p> + <p> + The keener our mental processes are, the better informed we are, the + better poised our judgment—the better can the Spirit reveal His + plans to us through this natural channel, if it is open to Him. But there + is one thing higher up than our thinking powers. And that is the + spirit-perception. The mental isn't at the top. It's a step up to the + spirit floor, the highest of all. + </p> + <p> + Some men of splendid ability and training and consecration are constantly + hampered because they insist on living on the mental floor. All their + decisions are made there, <i>not</i> subject to change from above. And the + Holy Spirit, who is the Commander-in-chief of all the forces in this + campaign, is unable to use them as He would. + </p> + <p> + They haven't got the sensitized inner ear of the quiet time that would + lead them up into higher, broader service. They go faithfully plodding + along on the lower level. The Spirit can use them, of course. He does; but + never to the full The Spirit of God controlling the man who embodies the + message—this brings fulness of power in winsome service; and only + this can. It is not by keenness of thinking, nor fulness of learning, nor + shrewd, well-balanced judgment, but by the Spirit of God working through + these, and sometimes working higher up than they have reached. + </p> + <p> + Partial Weavings of the Strands. + </p> + <p> + Now it will help us, I am sure, and make the truth stand out more clearly, + to recall a good many variations that belong in here. Running back over + these things brings up certain facts. + </p> + <p> + The truth has power of blessing in itself, regardless of who is speaking + it. A bad man may preach the Gospel, and the truth itself will be felt in + spite of the man. There is a life in truth itself, quite apart from the + medium of its transmission. This explains why men who have turned out to + be bad men have had good results attending their ministry. But it was the + truth making itself felt in spite of the handicap it suffered at the hands + of the man talking. + </p> + <p> + And men whose understanding of the truth is very one-sided and meagre have + been greatly used and blessed in their work. It is striking how a man who + has been rescued from a life of open sin, and who goes into Christian + service with tremendous earnestness, will have great power. His emphasis + of truth may be one-sided. It is quite apt to be. He tells what he has + experienced. The man himself is a living illustration of the truth spoken. + All the truth that can get out through him has the tremendous push forward + of his life. But the extent of his service is limited. + </p> + <p> + And there are men who have a clear, well-rounded grasp of the blessed + message of Jesus, and who give it out clearly and fully. But they are + hampered by their mental swaddling-clothes, in which they have been + wrapped up in school-days. They never get up out of them into the freedom + of strong action through the Spirit's control. + </p> + <p> + Then, too, without doubt God's Spirit works alone, without using anybody. + He speaks through nature's beauty and power. He speaks in the inner heart + of every man. He is speaking directly to men all the time everywhere. But + the message is a partial one. The direct revelation of God, in nature and + in conscience, is a limited revelation. The full revelation of God was + made in Jesus. And so it is in this Book that tells of Jesus. + </p> + <p> + The Spirit of God can speak most fully where that Book is known. He can + work most fully and powerfully through the man who lives the Book. Every + printing of this Bible, or any part of it, is giving the spirit freer + entrance into men's hearts. Every one of us who produces a new translation + of it in the language of his life gives the Spirit a wide-open door where + otherwise the opening had been narrow. + </p> + <p> + Now, whatever combination of these there may be, some of the blessed power + of God will be seen and felt. The truth unembodied or even hampered; men + who embody the truth they know, but whose knowledge is small; men of much + knowledge, but small practice; men of full knowledge, but who have not + learned to let the Spirit sway them fully; the Spirit Himself speaking + where Jesus is not known, and without any man's help—through each of + these, power of life will go out to men. + </p> + <p> + But the fulness of power that runs like a mighty stream goes only as the + three things come into one. The <i>message</i>, full and clear, the <i>man</i> + who lives it, the <i>Holy Spirit possessing and controlling the man</i> + who lives the message—this is the trinity of service through which + alone the flood-tide flows. + </p> + <p> + Unbroken Connection Above. + </p> + <p> + That blessed flood-tide of power may be much more common than it is. There + needs to be daily quiet time, alone with the Master, with the door shut, + the Book open, the knee bent, the will bent too, to a clear right angle, + the mind quiet and open, the inner spirit unhurried; broad, thoughtful + reading; keen, clear, quiet meditation; the rigorous squaring of the life + up to the standard of the Book; the cultivation of the Spirit's presence + and friendship; and these habits steadily followed until they become + second nature. + </p> + <p> + Then will be fulfilled the promise, "Out of His inner being <i>shall flow + rivers of water of life</i>."<a href="#linknote-27" name="linknoteref-27" + id="linknoteref-27"><small>27</small></a> And men have always been drawn + irresistibly to the rivers. And yet, while there will be fulness of power, + there will not be full knowledge of how full the power is. That is + reserved for "the Morning." + </p> + <p> + For hundreds of years men have used a contrivance called a diving-bell for + working under water. Practically it enables a man to live out of his + native element. For a man to live in water for any length of time is + impossible. Expert divers do so for a few minutes at a time, but must rise + constantly to get a fresh supply of air. But their work is dangerous, and + very trying on the body. By means of the diving-bell a man may live and + work for hours under the water; that is to say, in an element that of + itself, unchecked, would quickly take his life. + </p> + <p> + The diving-bell is a sort of huge inverted cup, let down into the water by + its own weight, opening downward, so that the man in the bell faces the + water directly with nothing between himself and it. Death by drowning is + always within arm's length, yet he remains safe. The simple principle on + which the thing is constructed is that water and air can't occupy the same + space at the same time. The bell, being full of air, holds the water out. + </p> + <p> + But there needs to be a continual supply of fresh air sent down by means + of a tube connected with the upper air. Death by drowning and death by + suffocation, both threaten constantly, and each is held off, one by the + air, and the other by the continual supply of fresh air. The man's ability + to work and his very life depend upon the uninterrupted connection with + the fresh air above. + </p> + <p> + The Christian man in this world is living out of his native breathing + element. He needs to have his own atmosphere with him, or else he will + die. And he needs to have a fresh supply continually from above, or his + life will be at very low ebb. + </p> + <p> + Missionaries in foreign-mission lands speak much of the peculiar, + deadening, moral atmosphere there. There is a strange sense of depression + in it. They always plan to have their children brought home at an early + age that they may be brought up through the tender, impressionable years + in a land where Christian standards of life are recognized. + </p> + <p> + There is no language strong enough to put this truth, that we <i>must</i>, + each of us, whether here or there, carry our own atmosphere with us, and + have continual uninterrupted connection with the upper air. And that "<i>must</i>" + cannot be too strongly underscored. + </p> + <p> + Blessed Holy Spirit, breath of God, and breath of my life, help me to let + Thee have full sweep within me, that so my life may be kept sweet and + full; and so Jesus can get freely and fully out of me to the great hungry + crowd. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Prayer + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The Greatest Doing Is Praying. + At the Other End. + A Weekly Journey Round the World. + Prayer a Habit. + A Praying Bent Of Mind. + The Man Is The Prayer. + Unseen Changes Going On. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Prayer + </h2> + <p> + The Greatest Doing Is Praying. + </p> + <p> + The greatest of all things we can <i>do</i> is to <i>pray</i>. + </p> + <p> + Jesus lived a life of prayer. All that He did and said grew out of His + prayer. There is no way of knowing exactly how far it was so. But the more + I study His life the stronger grows the impression that His teaching and + activity, which form the greater part of these Gospel pages, were actually + less than His praying. He seems to have put prayer first. All the rest was + an outgrowth of it. He was on a world-winning errand. And this was what He + thought of prayer. <i>The emphasis of Jesus' personal habit was laid upon + prayer.</i> + </p> + <p> + The Holy Spirit is a prayer-spirit. He is the Master-Intercessor. He + breathes into us the spirit of prayer, and makes it glow into a passion. + He teaches us how to pray. It is a lifelong teaching. You who are teachers + know that patience and skill are more in a good teacher than the knowledge + taught. With greatest skill, and loving, tactful patience the Spirit + teaches us to pray. + </p> + <p> + And then He does more: He uses each of us as His praying-room, praying in + us with yearnings beyond utterance the prayer to which we have not yet + reached up, but which needs to be prayed down on the earth. All the power + needed in this great winning work is in the Holy Spirit and comes from + Him. <i>And the chief thing He emphasizes is prayer.</i> + </p> + <p> + The greatest thing each one of us can do is to pray. If we can go + personally to some distant land, still we have gone to only one place. But + our field is the world. It is impossible for us to reach our whole field + personally. But it can be reached, and reached effectually, by prayer. The + place where you and I are sent, whether at home or abroad, is simply our + <i>base of action</i>. It is our field for <i>personal</i> touch. And that + means very much. But it is more than that. It is only a small part of our + field of activity. It is most significant as our <i>base of action,</i> + from which we send out our secret messengers of prayer to all parts of the + field. + </p> + <p> + And then, in the particular town or city or country district to which we + have been sent, or in which we are being kept, the prayer properly comes + before the personal activity. And it runs along side by side with the + activity, and follows along after. We give the personal touch which must + be given, and which may be so marvellous in power, but there's something + even there greater than the great personal touch; and that is the power of + prayer. + </p> + <p> + It is through the prayer that the personal presence means most. That + personal presence may become a positive hindrance. It may be a drag upon + the work. It often is just that for lack of prayer. For the real sweetness + and efficiency of personal service out among men is in secret prayer. + </p> + <p> + And if we give <i>money</i>, it needs even more the prayer to go with it. + Money seems almost almighty. As a winning force, of course, it must be + reckoned far less than personal service. For it is less. It gets its + almost omnipotence from human hands. If the personal touch depends for its + subtle power on prayer, how much more does money! Money given to missions, + unaccompanied by prayer, can no doubt be made to do great good. But it is + a very pauper in its poverty alongside the bit of money that is charged + with the spirit-current of prayer. + </p> + <p> + At the Other End. + </p> + <p> + One day I ran across a party of about twenty Pittsburg men on their way to + a men's Christian convention in Cincinnati. There were a few ministers in + the party, but it was made up chiefly of business men, typical, keen, + alert American business men. We got together and talked about things of + common interest. + </p> + <p> + And this question was asked: <i>Does prayer do things?</i> Then the + question was spread out some. I go into my room at night to retire. I read + a bit from the Book, and kneel to pray. I pray for a man in Pittsburg or + in Hang-chow, China. Does anything take place in Pittsburg or in Hang-chow + that wouldn't have taken place if I hadn't prayed? Of course, the praying + does <i>me</i> good. The very bending of knee and head before God, the + good wishes in my heart going out to some one else—these influence + me. I rise better for both. + </p> + <p> + But is that all? Does anything happen <i>at the other end?</i> Does my + prayer do anything in Hang-chow? If I write a business letter to + Hang-chow, enclosing a foreign draft, the letter does something. A vast + amount of business is carried on that way. Would the prayer as really do + something as the letter and the draft? + </p> + <p> + There was a good bit of talk back and forth, and questions asked. It was + interesting to find these men were ready to admit that they really + believed that something would occur at the other end. They belonged to a + church noted for its sound teaching, and came from the orthodox church + city of Pittsburg. The matter-of-fact power of prayer to do business "at + the other end" seemed to appeal to these business men. Apparently they had + not been looking at prayer that way. But they readily admitted that it + must be so. Then the next question asked itself: How much of this foreign + business are we doing? And so the little crowd talked along while the + train pounded the rails at the rate of forty-odd miles an hour. + </p> + <p> + Prayer does do things. Something happens at the other end that wouldn't + happen if the prayer were not made. The banker can touch London and Paris + and Shanghai and Calcutta and Tokyo, without moving from the desk where he + is dictating letters, with his correspondence spread out before him. The + praying man can as really touch these cities as he kneels in his room, + with map and Book spread out before him. + </p> + <p> + Things are changed out there that need changing. That banker does + business, too, in his home city and out in the home-land. But many times, + with many a house, the bulk of foreign business is in excess of that done + at home. Now we want to do a large business abroad in soul-winning and in + world-winning, as well as at home. + </p> + <p> + A Weekly Journey round the World. + </p> + <p> + I use that word "business" in this connection thoughtfully and reverently. + I know there is a sacredness, a hallowedness about prayer that never or + rarely enters into business matters. We keep the two things apart in our + thoughts; reckoning the one a common thing, and the other a holy thing. + And I would increase, if I could, that sense of reverence in prayer. But + there is a great advantage in using the familiar language of business in + thinking of the results of our praying. + </p> + <p> + Prayer is doing business for God. It gives a practicality, a + something-you-can-touch-and-feel feeling to think in that way. Shall we + not make plans at once to increase our foreign correspondence? + </p> + <p> + You can have a simple schedule or memorandum to guide your praying. I do + not mean a slavish hard-and-fast system, or set of rules, set down to be + followed, with a feeling that you have been untrue if you forget. Nothing + of that sort at all. But merely a simple something to glance at each day, + and so serve as a reminder to guide your thoughts. + </p> + <p> + A little memorandum can be made running through the days of the week. It + can be so planned as to run around the world during the week. The little + schedule which I use is divided into the days of the week, Sunday to + Saturday. There is a daily page containing notes, catch-words, about + personal affairs, and home, and friends, and church, and appointments, and + such items. Then each day of the week has a page, and on it is marked + home-land items and foreign items. + </p> + <p> + In marking out the weekly world journey I had to begin somewhere. The + Master told the disciples to begin at Jerusalem and work out. So I + followed that rule, and Sunday is marked Turkey and the lands grouped with + it, Arabia and Persia. The memorandum moves east, following the + compass-line of greatest need. Monday is India day, including Ceylon and + the lands and islands lying adjacent. Tuesday is China day; Wednesday, + Japan, the island kingdom; and the island world of the Pacific. + </p> + <p> + This brings me across the Pacific, and so Thursday is marked South + America, including Central America and Mexico. The easterly line takes me + across the Atlantic again to Africa on Friday. Saturday takes an upward + turn to the papal lands of Europe, and to Russia, completing the + world-journey for that week. The matters for prayer here in the home-land + are noted through the days of the week in the same way. Each page has + certain home and certain foreign items. + </p> + <p> + A little prayer-book of that sort grows under constant use. Your reading + of missionary news leads to the making of fresh notes. Names of persons + are added, and dates of coming conferences, and so on, and verses of + Scripture that stand out in the daily reading. So the book becomes to you + a very precious little batch of leaves, lying inside the precious Book of + God. + </p> + <p> + It should be accompanied by a map of the world. For a good while I used + the one which was inserted in one of Dr. A. T. Pierson's mission books. + That copy has long since been replaced by others, larger, giving more + information. It is an immense help to glance at the map daily, and look at + the part marked for the day. The lands get fixed in mind in that way + without special effort. Gradually they stand out more and more clearly, + and come to be very real to you. + </p> + <p> + That map may become dear to you, for it suggests the field that you are + influencing. It is your prayer sailing-chart. It becomes fragrant with + memories. Experiences you have had alone with God over His Word, and over + this map of His World, come back to refresh and sweeten. + </p> + <p> + Prayer a Habit. + </p> + <p> + There's a little sentence of Paul's that used to puzzle and bother me, + "Pray without ceasing." But it has become a great help to me. It puzzled + me because I didn't see any practical way of doing it. It didn't seem to + mean the repetition of prayers, with little mechanical helps, such as some + use. It surely doesn't mean staying on your knees a long time. But, as I + tried to pray my way into its meaning, it came to mean four distinct + things to me. And I would not be surprised to find more yet coming out of + it. + </p> + <p> + First of all, it means that prayer should be <i>a habit</i>. There should + be a fixed time every day, or times, for going off alone to pray. Into + that time the Book is taken. Quiet time is spent in reading it. For this + is listening to God. And that comes first in praying; listening first, + then speaking. The reading may be rapid and broad, or slower and more + meditative. Whichever it may be, there should be a cultivation of <i>the + habit of meditation</i>. + </p> + <p> + I do not mean a sleepy trying to imitate what we suppose some holy men do. + But a keen thinking into the meaning of the words, and into their + practical use in one's own life. Then the praying itself. The being still + before God, and the definite prayer for particular things, and persons, + and places. That habit can be fixed until it becomes second nature. It can + be cultivated until it becomes the sweet spot of the day to you. + </p> + <p> + A Praying Bent of Mind. + </p> + <p> + Then while the daily habit continues prayer may become an attitude, <i>a + bent of mind</i>. Whatever comes up suggests prayer to you. The bent of + your mind is to pray as things come up in the daily round. You can't stop + your work, but you <i>think</i> prayers. Your heart prays while your hands + are busy. + </p> + <p> + I shall never forget the school in which I learned to pray this way. A + case of protracted illness in my home required my personal attention + constantly for a time. It seemed as if no assistance I could get meant + quite as much as what I could do personally. The life in peril was so + precious that all else dropped out of sight. My habits of life were + completely broken up. I was up night and day. The early morning hour of + reading and prayer was broken into, with everything else of a regular + sort. + </p> + <p> + But as I went about my round of service I found myself praying constantly. + I was much wearied, and things sometimes seemed desperate. I realized how + everything depended on God's touch. And without any planning a habit of + continual praying formed itself. I could be engaged in conversation, + thinking intently into something needing great care, and yet there was an + undercurrent of prayer constantly. I shall never cease to be grateful for + that trying experience, because in it this new habit of a praying bent of + mind formed itself. + </p> + <p> + Do you not know how as you go about your ordinary round there is a + constant undercurrent of thought? You may be talking, or reading, or + writing, or doing something more mechanical, and yet this underneath train + of thought is running along apparently of its own accord, regardless of + you. It is broken at times, or you lose consciousness of it, as your work + requires closer attention. When you swing into the habitual things that + you have done over and over again until they almost do themselves, it + reasserts itself. + </p> + <p> + I remember years ago, in a banking-house where I served for a time, I had + long additions to make. Sometimes the rows of figures to be added up were + a foot in length. And I got so used to adding that often I was surprised + to find that my thoughts had been far away, completely taken up with + something else, while I had been adding the figures. And fearing that I + had been slighting my work, I would go back carefully all over the + figures, only to find the footings correct. The adding habit had become + fixed, and left the undercurrent of my thought free. + </p> + <p> + That current is apt to reveal the heart's purpose or set of mind. Whatever + you are most set upon, whatever your favorite fads or hobbies or + inclinations or moods are, they are apt to appear in that involuntary + train of thinking. Now this can be cultivated. It can be cultivated + chiefly by the cultivation of the controlling purpose of your life, and + then by trying to give directions to the undercurrent, and holding it to + that direction. If Jesus has gripped your heart the purpose of the life + will be for Him. And if you have come to realize the tremendous power of + prayer, this undercurrent of thought can be made a prayer-current. + </p> + <p> + I do not mean by any forced or artificial holding of one's self to such a + current by dint of main force, and then mentally whipping yourself if you + have forgotten. The power of all action lies in its being perfectly free + and natural. You can cultivate the Jesus-passion, and the life-purpose, + and the prayer-habit, and all of this will be a training of that + undercurrent of thought toward prayer. + </p> + <p> + The shipping clerk, as he heads up his barrels and boxes, can be sending + out and up his current of prayer. At intervals he is thinking closely + about something connected with his work. Then his thoughts free + themselves. As he hammers in the nails, his thought says, "This is China + day." Each ringing blow of the hammer rings out "This is China day:—Thy + blessing, Master, to-day upon the missionaries in Hang-chow;—upon + Mr. Blank out there;—victory in Jesus' name to-day;—the + physician missionaries, the nurses;—Thy power upon them;—help + the native workers." + </p> + <p> + The picture of his little prayer memorandum comes up before his mind's + eye. The map of China stands out more or less distinctly, according to how + long he may have been practising looking at it in his prayer-hour. His + mind runs of itself from one point to another. And so, all the while, his + undercurrent of praying goes on. It is broken into by newer or more + exacting duties; then free again, and swinging more or less to the thing + his heart is set upon. It becomes a perfectly free, natural thing with + him. This is part of the meaning of "Pray without ceasing." + </p> + <p> + The Man is the Prayer. + </p> + <p> + Then prayer is <i>a life</i>. The life is what you are in yourself. It is + not the mere span of years you live through. Your thoughts and loves, your + heart's ambitions and gripping purposes, the things you will to do, and to + be—that is your life. That exerts an enormous influence upon the + circle in which you live, and upon the world. + </p> + <p> + If underneath all else that driving purpose, that warm, intense + love-power, that yearning desire, is Godward, and manward, and world-ward, + that becomes a prayer, a continual prayer. You are not thinking of it that + way. But that is your life, and that life is a prayer. Its influence + against the evil one and for God is enormous. + </p> + <p> + That is a prayer unceasing, as long and as strong as your life itself. + Satan fears it. It hinders him and thwarts him every day. The fragrant + incense from the censer of your life rises up before the throne of God + continually, and affects the events on the earth.<a href="#linknote-28" + name="linknoteref-28" id="linknoteref-28"><small>28</small></a> + </p> + <p> + And then prayer is <i>a person</i>. That is to say, you yourself may be a + prayer, a walking prayer offered up in Jesus' name. Your presence will + affect the evil one, and change events, and help God in His plans. You may + be so allied with Jesus in the simple gripping purpose of your heart that + you yourself, where you are, by your mere presence, will be recognized by + evil spirits, and by the Master Himself as a mighty power for God. + </p> + <p> + Your presence disturbs the evil one's plan. It has an influence upon those + you meet. It is helping God. The whole effect of your presence is + precisely the same as a prayer. You are a prayer yourself, though + unconsciously. The whole trend of your life says, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy + will be done on earth as in heaven." + </p> + <p> + A few years ago President Roosevelt's daughter was a member of the Taft + party that visited parts of the Orient. She did not go as the President's + daughter, of course. There could be no official significance attached to + her presence. We Americans can understand better than some others that she + went simply as a young woman eager to see Japan and China, not as the + President's daughter. + </p> + <p> + But everywhere she went in the Orient she was treated not merely as a + member of the party, but as the daughter of the President of the United + States. Presents were made to her, receptions tendered, and deference + shown, because of her personal relation to her father. To the Orientals + her presence stood for the head of our Government. They treated her in + relation to him. + </p> + <p> + Even so it is with us Christians. The evil one doesn't think of you and me + for ourselves simply. He thinks of us in relation to the Jesus, who is his + Victor. We stand to him down here for Jesus. He fears us as he fears + Jesus. That is, he can be made to fear us, by our being true to our Lord. + </p> + <p> + The final purpose of prayer is to defeat Satan and to bring about God's + will. And we do just that in our persons, by our presence; or we may. + Prayer is a person. You are a prayer. The man himself becomes a tremendous + prayer, off-setting evil influences, changing men and events, and helping + God in His plans. + </p> + <p> + These last two, the life and the person, may be called unconscious prayer. + The influence is constantly going out, though we are not aware of it. But + it is great encouragement to recall that this prayer-power is going out of + us constantly. And these two are not limited to the place where we are. + They act as a momentum to every wish we breathe, and every spoken prayer + we utter, sending these with renewed force out to the place involved. + Spirit influence does not know anything about the limitations of distance. + </p> + <p> + Unseen Changes Going On. + </p> + <p> + All this praying makes a difference at the other end, the place toward + which it is directed. Things in Tokyo are made different. The copy of a + Gospel that some native in India is reading becomes a plainer book to him + because of this praying. Your prayer is a spirit-force travelling + instantly through the distance between you and the place you are praying + for. And things occur that otherwise would not. + </p> + <p> + Opposition lessens. Difficulties give way. The road some man is travelling + clears and brightens. The truth on the printed page stands out in bigger + letters. The health renews. The sickness or weakness gives way to a new + health and strength. The judgment steers a straight course. The purpose + holds its anchor steady. The man rides the rough seas of temptation + safely. + </p> + <p> + Things are happening. And they are happening because some scarcely noticed + young fellow hammering a barrel-head and marking the shipping directions, + and some typewriter chopping her machine, are praying in the quiet time, + and are praying softly in the undercurrent of their scarcely thought-out + thoughts. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Oh, if our ears were opened + To hear as angels do + The Intercession-chorus + Arising full and true, + We should hear it soft up-welling + In morning's pearly light; + Through evening's shadows swelling + In grandly gathering might; + The sultry silence filling + Of noontide's thunderous blow, + And the solemn starlight thrilling + With ever-deepening flow. + + "We should hear it through the rushing + Of the city's restless roar, + And trace its gentle gushing + O'er ocean's crystal floor; + We should hear it far up-floating + Beneath the Orient moon, + And catch the golden noting + From the busy Western noon; + And pine-robed heights would echo + As the mystic chant up-floats, + And the sunny plain resounds again + With the myriad mingling notes. + + "There are hands too often weary + With the business of the day, + With God-entrusted duties, + Who are <i>toiling while they pray</i>. + They bear the golden vials, + And the golden harps of praise, + Through all the daily trials, + Through all the dusty ways. + <i>These hands, so tired, so faithful, + With odors sweet are filled,</i> + And in the ministry of prayer + Are wonderfully skilled. + + "There are noble Christian workers, + The men of faith and power, + The overcoming wrestlers + Of many a midnight hour; + Prevailing princes with their God, + Who will not be denied, + Who bring down showers of blessing + To swell the rising tide. + The Prince of Darkness quaileth + At their triumphant way, + <i>Their fervent prayer availeth</i> + <i>To sap his subtle sway.</i> + + "And evermore the Father + Sends radiantly down + All-marvellous responses, + His ministers to crown; + The incense cloud returning + As golden blessing-showers, + We in each drop discerning + Some feeble prayer of ours, + Transmuted into wealth unpriced, + By Him who giveth thus + The glory all to Jesus Christ, + The gladness all to us!"<a href="#linknote-29" name="linknoteref-29" + id="linknoteref-29">29</a> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Money + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Limitations. + The Best Partnership. + Jesus' Teaching. + Be Your Own Executor. + Missing the Master's Meaning. + Money Talks. + Debts. + Rusty Money. + Are We True to Our Friend's Trust? +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Money + </h2> + <p> + Limitations. + </p> + <p> + Money seems almost almighty in its power to do things, and make changes. + It can make a desert blossom as a rose. It can even defy death. Medical + skill holds the life here that otherwise would have been snuffed out. + Great buildings go up. Colleges begin their life with apparatus and books, + skilled instructors, and eager students. Mammoth enterprises spring into + being. Hospitals and churches rise up with skilled attendants and talented + preachers. + </p> + <p> + We have come, in our day, and perhaps peculiarly in our country, to think + that there is no limit to the power of money. Our ideas of its value are + really greatly exaggerated. That first sentence I used would be revised by + many to read, "Money is almighty." The cautious words "seems" and "almost" + would be promptly cut out. + </p> + <p> + Yet money has great limitations. It will help greatly to remember what + they are. And many of us need the brain-clearing of that help. Of itself + money is utterly useless, so much dead-weight stuff lying useless and + helpless. It must have human hands to make it valuable. It gets its value + from our conception of its value and from our use of it. It must have a + human partner to be of any service at all. + </p> + <p> + In bad hands it becomes devilish in its badness. And I needn't put an + "almost" in that sentence. It may be as a very demon, or as the arch-devil + himself, as really as it may seem to be divine in its creative and + changing power. + </p> + <p> + Then it is valuable only in this world, on the earth. At the line of death + its value wholly ceases. Over that line it takes its place as a pauper. It + is represented as being used for cobble stones in the streets of the new + Jerusalem. Yet it would need to go through some hardening process to make + it of any account at all as paving material. + </p> + <p> + We ought to remind ourselves of something else, too, that the crowd + constantly forgets, and that we are tempted to forget when touched by the + contagion of the crowd. And that is, that money is always less in its + power than a strong, sweet, pure life. Maybe you think that comparison + can't properly be made. You say that things so unlike can't be compared. + But, whether consciously or intentionally or otherwise, that comparison is + being made constantly in practical life, and most times to the advantage + of money. Commonly the crowd reckons money more than character. + </p> + <p> + We do well to remind ourselves that its influence for good is always + distinctly less than that of a life. To live a life pure and strong and + wholesome in its ideals out among men is more than to be able to give + money in any amount. To keep one's life up to such ideals in the heartless + drive and competition of modern life means more than to extract large + quantities of gold out of the mine of barter and trade, and to give some + of it away. + </p> + <p> + And money is less than personal service. Great deference is paid to checks + and subscriptions. The man who can draw a large check for some good + object, and who may by dint of much dexterous handling be induced to write + his name under some large figure, is treated with awe. But there's another + man who stands higher up in the scale, and to whom hats should go farther + off and more quickly. That is the strong man who gives personal service. + There may be a blessed partnership between the man of money and the man of + service. There often is. But he is an unfortunate man, to be pitied, who + lets anything else crowd out of his life the privilege of giving some of + his self out in personal service for others. These are some of gold's + limitations. + </p> + <p> + The Best Partnership. + </p> + <p> + Give money good partners, and there is no end to what it can do. Let + prayer and sacrifice and money form a life-partnership, and that first + sentence can be revised, and greatly strengthened by the revision: Money + <i>is</i> almost almighty. It gets all the good qualities of its partners + as long as it stays in the partnership, on good working terms. + </p> + <p> + It isn't the head of the firm, however. Prayer belongs in that place. It + must direct. It is the prayer's touch with God that hallows the gold and + gives to it some of God's omnipotence. Money is the working partner, best + when hard at work, and famous for the amount of work it can do in obeying + orders from the head of the house. + </p> + <p> + It gives a strange sense of awe to realize that the bit of money you hold + in your hand can be used to <i>change a life,</i> aye, more, to change + many lives. That money is yours to control. It came to you in exchange for + your labor or your skill. It is yours, for the sweat of your brow or your + brain is upon it. And now it can be sent out, and the result will be a + life utterly changed, purified, and redeemed. + </p> + <p> + Through your partnership the money produces something greater than itself. + And that changed life becomes the centre of a new power, changing other + lives out to the far rim of an ever-widening circle. It may have cost you + much. Some of your very life has gone out in the work that brought into + your hands that bit of gold. It is red with your blood. And now, if you + choose, it can be sent out and made to bring new life in to some one else. + Life has gone from you in getting it, and life will come to another in + your giving it out, under the blessed Master's transmuting touch. + </p> + <p> + Jesus' Teaching. + </p> + <p> + Jesus' teaching about money is startling. I mean that it stands in such + utter contrast to the commonly accepted standards out in the world, and + inside in the Church, that the contrast startles one sharply. + </p> + <p> + There are four passages in which His money teachings group, largely. + There's the "Lay-not-up-for-yourselves-treasure-upon-the-earth" bit in the + sermon on the Mount;<a href="#linknote-30" name="linknoteref-30" + id="linknoteref-30"><small>30</small></a> with the still stronger phrase + in the Luke parallel, "Sell that ye have, and give."<a href="#linknote-31" + name="linknoteref-31" id="linknoteref-31"><small>31</small></a> There is + the incident of the earnest young man who was rich;<a href="#linknote-32" + name="linknoteref-32" id="linknoteref-32"><small>32</small></a> the + parable of the wealthy farmer in Luke, twelfth chapter;<a + href="#linknote-33" name="linknoteref-33" id="linknoteref-33"><small>33</small></a> + and the whole sixteenth chapter of Luke, with that great ninth verse, + whose full meaning has been so little grasped. The truth taught in each of + these is practically the same thing. + </p> + <p> + The Master is evidently talking about what a man has over and above his + personal and family needs. It's a law of life, from Eden on, that a man + should work to supply his daily needs and the needs of those dependent + upon him. Just how much that word "needs" means each man settles for + himself. It means different things at different times to the same man. + </p> + <p> + It is surprising how little it can be made to mean when the pinch comes, + and yet a man have all actual necessities supplied. The man who would have + his life count for most for the Master, and the Master's plan, thinks over + that word prayerfully and sensibly with full regard to personal strength, + and loved ones, and the future. Whatever it may be made to mean, this + teaching is plainly about what is left over after the needs are met. + </p> + <p> + Now, about that left-over amount the Master gives three easily understood + rules, or bits of advice, or commands. First: <i>Don't treasure it up for + the sake of having it.</i> If you do it is in danger, and you are in + danger. It may be stolen. Every vault, and safe, and safety-deposit + company, and lock, and key backs up that statement. Or it may be lost + through rust or moths, the two things that threaten all inactivity. The + stuff that isn't in use wears away. The wear of use can't compare with the + wear of disuse or neglect. + </p> + <p> + Then <i>you</i> are in danger of your heart being affected. It will be + wherever your treasure is. It may get locked up, and so dried up for lack + of air or poisoned by bad air. The blood must have fresh air. The heart + must have touch with men to keep its vigor. It may get all dried up with + <i>things</i>, instead of keeping vigorous by touch with needy men. That's + the twofold danger. That's the first thing Jesus says: Don't store it up, + down here, in the ordinary way. + </p> + <p> + The second thing is this: <i>Store your surplus up.</i> Be careful of it. + Keep strict tally. Let the books be well kept and balanced. Let no + thoughtlessness nor carelessness nor thriftlessness get in. Store it up. + But be careful where you store it. Keep it carefully guarded against the + action of thieves and moths, and against the inaction of decaying, + destroying rust. That is the second thing. Store it up carefully. + </p> + <p> + Be Your Own Executor. + </p> + <p> + The third thing is this: <i>Store it up by means of exchange.</i> Keep it + safe by giving it away. The whole value of money is in exchange. It must + be kept moving. But, <i>but</i>—and the whole heart of the teaching + is here—be very wary about your exchanges. Invest your money in <i>men</i>, + wherever the need may be. All that you invest wisely in men is stored up + against any violence or craftiness of thieves and any corroding of rust. + </p> + <p> + All that is not out in active use directly among men, for men, in Jesus' + name, is in danger of being stolen, or of decaying, or of injuring you, or + of being left behind, utterly worthless to you when you are through down + here. Be your own executor. + </p> + <p> + Some years ago one of the religious papers of New York City told of the + death of a maiden lady named Elizabeth Pellit. Her home was in the + hall-room of a tenement-house, and at her death all her earthly + possessions could be put into one common trunk. No executor or + administrator was needed. Living in narrow circumstances, her friends + thought she had denied herself all luxuries and even many comforts. But in + the forty years of her Christian life she had been able to give over + thirty thousand dollars to missionary work. She had supplied the money to + send out and sustain one missionary in Salvador, and also for another who + was to go out soon. She seemed to have grasped the meaning of the Master's + teaching. + </p> + <p> + Good common sense comes in for free play here, both in adjusting one's + personal and family schedule and in giving. Giving may be done foolishly, + or not wisely. There is no place where there is more room for good sense + in avoiding both the extreme of unwise giving and the other extreme of + handicapping one's gifts. + </p> + <p> + It is a question of personal judgment how far to give money out directly + and how far to invest some of it and use the income wholly in gifts. You + may think that in some directions you can invest it better, and direct the + income better than some organization. That is an important detail. But the + chief thing is that the money itself is dedicated wholly for use out among + needy men. + </p> + <p> + Now you will please mark keenly that in all this I am not talking about + what I think about money. I am simply putting into plain talk Jesus' own + teaching about it, in these four great passages. + </p> + <p> + Missing the Master's Meaning. + </p> + <p> + Christian men, generally, seem to have missed the meaning of Jesus' words. + I think it due largely to the lack of teaching in the Church that + world-evangelizing is a <i>first</i> obligation. + </p> + <p> + Recently a fire destroyed the home of a man of large wealth who lives some + distance east of San Francisco. It was a beautiful palace, full of art + treasures. The value of house and furnishings and the art collection was + reckoned at about two million dollars. He is a Christian man, prominently + identified with active Christian work, and reckoned a liberal giver. He + has visited foreign-mission lands, and made special gifts to missions. + </p> + <p> + But his gifts to missions seem like a copper cent or a silver quarter + given to a beggar in contrast with the two million dollars tied up for + himself in the house that burned. Two millions stored up in a home, while + many millions of men have lived and died in ignorance of the light and + peace that comes with Jesus! Yet this man calls Jesus his Master, and + sincerely, I have no doubt. And his Master said the one great thing was to + tell all men of His love and death. + </p> + <p> + By no extension of the meaning of that word "need" could he be said to + need a two-million-dollar home for himself and family. And there are other + millions under the same man's control. It looks very much as if this good + man had missed the meaning of Jesus' words. The criticism, however, must + be first upon the Church and its leaders, with whose general trend of + teaching this man is in accord. According to the Master's teaching, most + of the money in his house, and stored up in other ways of the sort for + himself, is being lost. Far more serious, the opportunity of investment in + men is being lost. That money will be all loss to him when he reaches the + line of departure over into the next sphere of life. + </p> + <p> + It is very difficult to use such an illustration from life. There is + danger that the words will sound critical in a bad or unkind sense. I + earnestly pray to be kept from that. You will know that I am talking to + myself first of all; and speaking of this only to help. The bother is that + this man is not an exception. Rather he represents the habit and standard + of his generation. + </p> + <p> + I recall another Christian man as I speak, of large wealth, by inheritance + and by dint of business keenness. His face showed plainly his fine + Christian character. He gave liberally in many directions, sometimes very + large sums. But he lived in a home whose value ran close to a half-million + of dollars. When he died, full of years and honors, he left many millions + to a son who does not inherit his father's generous hand with his wealth. + Of course, the son didn't <i>need</i> the vast wealth. + </p> + <p> + And I wondered, silently, within my heart, how things looked to that man, + as he slipped out of life up into the Master's presence, and looked down + on the earth through the eyes of the One whose teaching we have been + talking about. He could see China and India and Africa then as plainly as + America. + </p> + <p> + How did the lost opportunity of laying up his treasure in the lives of men + look to him then, I wondered. He was a good man. I saw him smile once, and + his face seemed to shine as an angel's. I think probably no faithful + friend had ever talked to him of the plain meaning of Jesus' words, and of + world-winning being a <i>first</i> obligation. He hadn't been taught it + from the pulpit. And he hadn't thought into it himself. + </p> + <p> + Money Talks. + </p> + <p> + Many are losing a great opportunity of silently preaching Jesus to their + fellows by their habit of giving. Two men were discussing the evidences of + the Christian religion. The one was a Christian; the other not, and + inclined to be sceptical. Arguments were freely exchanged. At last the + sceptic, who was a blunt, out-spoken man, said frankly, to his friend and + neighbor: "I think we might as well drop this matter. For I don't believe + a word you say. And, more than that, I am quite satisfied in my own mind + that you do not really believe it yourself. For to my certain knowledge + you have not given, the last twenty years, as much for the spread of + Christianity, such as the building of churches and foreign and domestic + missions, as your last Durham cow cost. Why, sir, if I believed what you + say you believe I'd make the church my rule for giving, my farm the + exception." + </p> + <p> + That Christian man's life was contradicting every word he uttered to his + neighbor. Money talks. His was talking very loudly to his sceptical + neighbor. His neighbor was unusually frank in saying out what thousands + are thinking. He had lost a great opportunity of winning his friend. + </p> + <p> + Debts. + </p> + <p> + In a simple little sentence Paul reveals how thoroughly he had grasped + Jesus' meaning. He said, "<i>I am debtor</i> both to Greeks and + barbarians"—to all men.<a href="#linknote-34" name="linknoteref-34" + id="linknoteref-34"><small>34</small></a> Now that word, "debtor," + commonly means two things: that you have received something of value from + some one, and that therefore you owe him for what he gave to you. + </p> + <p> + But Paul hadn't gotten anything special from the men of whom he is + speaking. His birth and training and whatever else he had were Jewish. And + the Jews were a minority in the world. He was not under the debtor + obligation of having gotten something from the men he is speaking of. + </p> + <p> + In his use of that word, "debtor" means <i>three</i> things: first, + something received from God, and that something everything; then something + owing to God; and then that something <i>payable to man</i>. He counted + himself in debt to all men on Jesus' account. And so are we. How much + owest <i>thou</i> to thy Lord? That's how much you are to pay to men on + your Lord's account. + </p> + <p> + We are not even our own, much less our goods. We were bought up when we + were bankrupt A great price was paid for us, even the life-blood of Jesus. + And our Owner bids us pay <i>up</i> by paying <i>out</i>. We are badly and + blessedly in debt; badly, for we can never square the account; blessedly, + because we can be constantly paying on account, out to men in Jesus' name. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Over against the Treasury this day + The Master silent sits; whilst, unaware + Of that Celestial Presence still and fair, + The people pass or pause upon their way. + + And some go laden with His treasures sweet, + And dressed in costly robes of His device + To cover hearts of stone and souls of ice, + Which bear no token to the Master's feet. + + And some pass, gaily singing, to and fro, + And cast a careless gift before His face, + Amongst the treasures of the holy place, + But kneel to crave no blessing ere they go. + + And some are travel-worn, their eyes are dim, + They touch His shining vesture as they pass, + But see not—even darkly through a glass— + How sweet might be their trembling gifts to Him. + + And still the hours roll on; serene and fair + The Master keeps his watch, but who can tell + The thoughts that in His tender spirit swell, + As one by one we pass him unaware? + + For this is He who, on one awful day, + Cast down for us a price so vast and dread, + That He was left for our sakes bare and dead, + Having given Himself our mighty debt to pay! + + Oh, shall unworthy gifts once more be thrown + Into His treasury—by whose death we live? + Or shall we now embrace His cross, and give + Ourselves, and all we have, to him alone?" +</pre> + <p> + Is not that the meaning of Paul's "Owe no man anything, save to love one + another."<a href="#linknote-35" name="linknoteref-35" id="linknoteref-35"><small>35</small></a> + We owe a debt of love to all men on Jesus' account. We can be paying on it + continually, and yet never get a receipt in full that discharges the debt. + But then we get other things in full—peace, and joy, and a life + overflowing in fulness. + </p> + <p> + With an honorable business man <i>a debt is a first obligation</i>. His + personal expenditures and his home schedule are shaped by his debt. The + extras that he would feel quite free in allowing himself and his home are + not allowed until the debt is cleared. The debt controls his spendings + until it is paid off in full. That's reckoned a matter of honor. + </p> + <p> + Rusty Money. + </p> + <p> + James, the first bishop of Jerusalem, had caught the Lord's very language + as well as His thought. He says, "Your gold and silver are rusted, and + their rust shall be for a testimony against you."<a href="#linknote-36" + name="linknoteref-36" id="linknoteref-36"><small>36</small></a> It would + seem as though there were quite a bit of rusty money entered in Christian + names and controlled by Christian people. It is lying in vaults, and + lands, and savings-societies, and old stockings, gathering rust. + </p> + <p> + It is in sore need. It needs friction, the friction of use. Without that + its real, rare value will be completely lost. It is furnishing food for + moths when it was meant to be furnishing food for men, bread of wheat and + bread of life. There'll be many a striking scene when some men come up + into the Master's presence with loaded purses, "caught with the goods," + while millions of their brothers are living such pitiable lives because of + their ignorance of Jesus. + </p> + <p> + But there are men who do understand. And their number is increasing. There + are those who understand <i>the Master's basis</i> for conducting their + business matters. That basis is shrewd, faithful management of the + business itself as good stewards of God; full, proper provision for home + and loved ones—simple, but ample and intelligent; and then all the + rest out in active service for men in Jesus' name. If that basis were more + largely understood and accepted, what wondrous changes would come; changes + out in the world, and changes in the home, and changes in the home church. + </p> + <p> + Many men are supporting their own representatives in the foreign field. + Many a church now sustains its own missionary or missionaries. The ideal + toward which the Church might well aim is that <i>every family</i> should + have its own missionary. The real unit of life is the family. The children + would then grow up with the world-vision dearly and deeply marked. There + are thousands of families in circumstances that are reckoned moderate that + could support a missionary by planning. But the relationship should be + carefully kept one of warm sympathy and prayer, as well as one of money. + The reflex blessing upon the home would be immeasurable in its sweetness + and extent. + </p> + <p> + Are We True To Our Friend's Trust? + </p> + <p> + Jesus admits us into the inner circle of friendship. He gives us the one + rarest token of friendship, that is, a task to do for our Friend's sake. + He asks us to go out to all men, and tell them about His love and + sacrifice for them. And He asks that everything we have be held and used + for this sacred friendship trust. Are we being true to our Friend's trust? + Is there more stored away for ourselves than is being sent out on His + errand? Is there any discoloration on our gold? Anything that looks like + rust, a dull-red color—ah, it looks strangely like the color—the + stain—of blood. + </p> + <p> + Is Judas so lonely, after all? He coupled a token of friendship with a + betrayal of his Friend's trust. In his heart he meant far less than the + act actually involved. Is he so much alone? + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "The latest years shall tremble hearing this + And burn for human shame unto the end, + That one of us betrayed the tryst his Friend + Would keep with God. A sign that none might miss + + He named—the pledge of love. The soul's abyss, + Christ saw, the heart of night, the <i>purse</i>, the end; + Knew all, a Man, and knowing stui could bend + With soul unpoisoned to receive the kiss. + + Before the multitude have I kist Thee + Fresh come from my blood-barter—thou but come + From intercession for all souls—and me. + And, mocking Love Divine, amazed and dumb, + I learn Love's deathlessness, and trembling press + The lips that kiss away my faithlessness."<a href="#linknote-37" + name="linknoteref-37" id="linknoteref-37">37</a> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0029" id="link2H_4_0029"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Sacrifice + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + One Hank Over For the Candle. + Sin's Healing Shadow. + The Underground Way into Life. + A Rare Harvest. + The Fellowship of Scars. + "Won't You Save Me?" +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Sacrifice + </h2> + <p> + One Hank Over For the Candle. + </p> + <p> + The light of a common candle in the window of a little cottage near the + coast shone far out over the sea. It was up north of Scotland, in one of + the Orkney Islands. Near the window sat a frail, gray-haired woman with + cheery, thoughtful face. She was busy working at her spinning-wheel, and + watching the candle, turning now and again to trim it. All night long she + sat at the spinning-wheel and watching the candle. Fishermen out on the + water, heading for home, knew that light could be counted on, and came + safely in, past all the dangers of their coast. + </p> + <p> + For more than fifty years that woman tended her little lighthouse. When + she was a young girl there had been a wild storm, and her father, out in + his fisherman's boat, lost his life. There were no shore-lights. His boat + had struck a huge, dangerous rock called Lonely Rock, and been wrecked. + The father's body was found in the morning washed up on the shore. She + watched by her father's body, as was the habit of her people, until it was + laid away. Then she laid down on her bed and slept the day through. When + night came she rose, lit a candle, put it in the window, drew up her + spinning-wheel, and began her night vigil for the unknown out at sea. + </p> + <p> + All night long, and all her life long, her vigil of love and light + continued. From youth to old age, through winter and summer, storm and + calm, fog and clear, that humble lighthouse beacon failed not. Each night + she spun so many hanks of yarn for her daily bread, and <i>one hank over + for the candle</i>. She turned night into day, reversing the whole habit + of her life, and holding every other thing subject to her self-imposed + task of love. And through the years many a fisherman out at sea, and many + an anxious woman watching by hearth and crib, sent up heart-felt thanks to + God for that little, steady light. And many a life was saved, of which no + record could be kept. + </p> + <p> + That tells the whole story of sacrifice. A need, nobody to meet it; the + need passing into an emergency; and that into the tragedy of an unmet + emergency; a heart sore torn to bleeding by the tragedy thrust bitterly + home; then sacrifice, lifelong, that others might be saved where her loved + one was lost, and still others spared what she herself suffered. And that + story has been repeated with endless variations, and is being repeated, in + every land, on every mission-field, home and foreign, and in almost every + home of all the world. + </p> + <p> + Sin's Healing Shadow. + </p> + <p> + Sacrifice has come to be a law of life. Wherever there is sin there will + be a <i>call for sacrifice</i>. For sin makes need, and need intensifies + into emergency. And need and emergency mean sacrifice thrust upon some one + in peril. And they call for sacrifice, volunteered by some one, who would + save the man in peril. And wherever there are true men and women, as well + as need, there will <i>be</i> sacrifice. + </p> + <p> + And sin is everywhere. Even nature is full of evidence of a bad break in + all of its processes. The finger-marks of decay and death are below and + above and all around in all its domain. That is sin's unmistakable + ear-mark. Man's mental powers, and his loss of a full knowledge of his + powers, tell the same story. And so there is need. Everywhere you turn + need's pathetic face, drawn and white, looks piteously into yours, + pleading mutely for help. + </p> + <p> + And so there is sacrifice. Sacrifice is sin's healing shadow. It follows + sin at every turn, binding up its wounds, pouring in the oil and wine of + its own life, and taking the hurt victims into its own warm heart. Nothing + worth while has ever been done without sacrifice. Every good thing done + cost somebody his life. The life was given out with a wrench under some + sharp tug. Or it was given in the slower, more painful, more taxing way of + being lingeringly given out through years of steadfast doing or enduring. + </p> + <p> + Every man who has done something worth while for others has spilled some + of his life-blood into it. His work and name may have become known. Or he + may belong to the larger number of blessed faithfuls whose names are + unknown here, but treasured faithfully above. Either way, the tinging red + of his life is upon the thing he did. The nations that are freest cost + most in the making, in the lives of men. Every church, and every mission + station, has had to use red mortar as its walls went up. + </p> + <p> + Every bit of advance ground gained for liberty and truth has been stained + with the life-blood of the advance-guard. You can depend upon it that + whatever you are to do that will really help must have a bit of your own + self, your very life in it. Immortality of action comes only by the + infusion of human blood. + </p> + <p> + Sacrifice attends us faithfully from the cradle to the body's last + resting-place. The giving of one's self for others begins with the + beginning of life, and never ends till life ends. Each of us comes into + life through the sacrifice of the mother who bore us. That love-service of + hers would not have been a sacrifice, but only a joy, had sin's cramping, + restricting atmosphere not been breathed into all life. Now, with much + pain, and great danger, and sometimes at the cost of life, it becomes a + sacrifice. Yet it is a sacrifice of great sweet joy to her. + </p> + <p> + And that same spirit of sacrifice attends our baby years, and childhood + experiences, and school-days, and times of sickness, and our matured + years. The more faithfully those who make up your life-circle yield to the + law of sacrifice, and give of themselves out to you, the finer and + stronger you grow to be, and the sweeter life becomes to you. And every + selfish shirking and shrinking back by some one impoverishes your life by + so much. + </p> + <p> + A hush of awe comes over one's spirit as we recall that even for the Son + of God there was no exception to this law, as He took His place down among + human conditions. It was by His own blood that He saved men, and saves + men. It was the spilling out of His own life that brings such blessed + newness of life to us. His was a <i>living</i> sacrifice through all the + years, and then greatest when that life, so long being given, was given + clean out. + </p> + <p> + That sacrifice of His stands unapproached, and can never be approached by + any other. His relation to sin was different from that of all other men. + He made a sacrifice for men in a sense that no other can. Yet, while that + is true, it is equally true that every man who follows Him will drink of + His cup of sacrifice. + </p> + <p> + But it's a cup of joy now, for His drinking drained out all the bitter + dregs. He asks us into the inner fellowship of His suffering. The work He + began isn't yet done. He asks our help. We may fill up the measure of His + sacrifice yet needed, in healing men's wounds and in throttling sin's + power. + </p> + <p> + The Underground Way Into Life. + </p> + <p> + The request of the Greek pilgrims, that last tragic week, drew out of + Jesus wondrous words about the law of sacrifice<a href="#linknote-38" + name="linknoteref-38" id="linknoteref-38"><small>38</small></a>. Their + request made the necessity for His coming sacrifice stand out more sharply + to His view—with edgy sharpness. The realness of that sacrifice of + His stands out very vividly in the intensity of His feelings, of which we + get only glimpses. + </p> + <p> + Listen to Him talking: 'if the grain of wheat doesn't suffer death, it + lives; but it lives alone. But through death it may live in the midst of a + harvest of golden grains. The man who turns away from the appeal of need + will live a lonely life, both here and in the longer life. (Is there + anything more pathetic and pitiable than selfish loneliness!) He who feels + the sharp tug of need, and can't resist the appeal that calls for his + life-blood, rises up through that red pathway into a blessed fellowship + with the lives that owe their life to his.' + </p> + <p> + He goes on: 'he that clingeth with strong self-love to his life will find + it slipping, slipping insistently out of his fingers, leaving a dry husk + of a shell in his tenacious clutch. But he who in the stress of the + world's emergency of need, and in the thick of the subtlest temptations to + put the self-life first, treats that life as a hated enemy, to be opposed + and fought, as he gives himself freely out to heal the world's hurt, <i>he</i> + will find all the sweets and fragrance of life coming to him. Their + unspeakable refreshment will ever increase, and never leave.' + </p> + <p> + Then follow the words that go so deep: 'if any man <i>would serve Me,</i> + let him come along, putting his feet into my prints. Let him come through + a long Nazareth life of common toil in home and shop, then along the + crowded path of glad service for others, responding to every call of need. + Let him come down into the shadowed olive-grove beyond Kidron's waters, up + the bit of a hill outside a city wall, and deep down into the earth-soil + of men's needs. + </p> + <p> + 'And where I am there I will surely have that faithful follower of Mine up + close by my side. He shall find himself rising up out of the common + earth-life into a new life of strangely strong drawing power. And, while + he will be all wrapped up in love's service, My Father will give special + touches of His own hand upon his person, and upon his service.' + </p> + <p> + In one of his exquisitely quiet talks, Henry Drummond used to tell the + story of a famous statue in the Fine Arts Gallery of Paris. It was the + work of a great genius, who, like many a genius, was very poor, and lived + in a garret which served as both studio and sleeping-room. + </p> + <p> + One midnight, when the statue was just finished, a sudden frost fell upon + Paris. The sculptor lay awake in his fireless garret, and thought of the + still moist clay, thought how the moisture in the pores would freeze, and + the dream of his life would be destroyed in a night. So the old man rose + from his cot, and wrapped his bed-clothes reverently about the statue, and + lay down to his sleep. + </p> + <p> + In the morning the neighbors found[B] him lying dead. His life had gone + out into his work. It was saved. He was gone. But he still lived in it, + and still lives in it. He saved not his life, and he found a new life in + the world of his art. He that saveth his life shall surely lose it. He + that gladly giveth his life up for the Master's sake, and for men's sake, + will find a wholly new life coming to him. + </p> + <p> + A Rare Harvest. + </p> + <p> + There is a strange winsomeness about sacrifice, peculiar to itself, and + peculiarly strong in its drawing power. Everywhere men acknowledge the + peculiar fascination for them of the man who is not only wholly unselfish, + but who utterly forgets himself in doing for others. The feeling is very + common that the man in public life is chiefly concerned with what he can + get out of it for himself. And when, now and then, the conviction seizes + the crowd that some public man is not of that sort at all, but is devoting + himself unselfishly and unsparingly to their interest, their admiration + and love for him amounts to a worship and enthusiasm that knows no stint. + </p> + <p> + There's a something in unselfish sacrifice in their behalf that draws the + crowd peculiarly and tremendously. Jesus said that if He were lifted up He + would draw men. And He has. He was lifted up as none other, and He has + been drawing men ever since as none other ever has or can. Quite apart + from other truths involved, that sacrifice of His had in itself the + tremendous drawing power of all unselfish action. + </p> + <p> + And sacrifice brews a subtle fragrance of its own that clings to the + person as the soft sweet odor of wild roses. No one is ever conscious that + there is any such fragrance going out to others. He knows the inner sweets + that none know but they who give sacrifice brewing room within themselves. + Such folks don't stop to think about themselves, except to be thinking of + helping and not hindering. + </p> + <p> + The very winsomeness of the sacrifice spirit has led men to the seeking of + sacrifice. It seems strange to us that earnest men in other generations + have sought by self-inflicted suffering to attain to the power that goes + with sacrifice. And even yet some morbid people may be found following in + their steps. + </p> + <p> + Don't they know that out in common daily life the knife of sacrifice is + held across the path constantly, sharp edge out, barring the way? And no + one can go faithfully his common round, with flag at masthead, and needs + crowding in at front and rear and sides, without meeting its cutting edge. + That edge cutting in as you push on frees out the fine fragrance. Whenever + you meet a man or woman with that fine winsomeness of spirit that can't be + analyzed, but only felt, you may know that there's been some of this sort + of sharp cutting within. + </p> + <p> + Blood is a rare fertilizer. They tell me that the bit of ground over in + Belgium called Waterloo bears each spring a crop of rare blue + forget-me-nots. That bit of ground had very unusual gardening. Ploughed up + by cannon-and gun-shot, sown deep with men's lives, "worked" never so + thoroughly by toiling, struggling feet, moistened with the gentle rain of + dying tears, and soaked with red life, it now yields its yearly harvest of + beauty. All life's a Waterloo and can be made to yield a rich growth of + fragrant flowers. + </p> + <p> + The Fellowship of Scars. + </p> + <p> + And there's yet more of this winsomeness. There's a spirit power that goes + out of sacrifice. It reaches far beyond the limited personal circle, out + to the ends of the earth. It can't be analyzed, nor defined, nor + described, but it can be felt. We don't know much about the law of spirit + currents. But we know the spirit currents themselves, for every one is + affected by them and every one is sending them out of himself. + </p> + <p> + You pick up a book, and suddenly find there's a something in it that takes + hold of you irresistibly. A flame seems to burn in it, and then in you. + Invisible fingers seem to reach out of the page and play freely up and + down the key-board of your heart. Why is it? I don't know much about it. + It's an elusive thing. But I can tell you my conviction, that grows + stronger daily. + </p> + <p> + There's a life back of that book; there is sacrifice in that life of the + keen, cutting sort; and Jesus is in that life, too, giving it His personal + flavor. The life back of the book has come into the book. It's that life + you are feeling as you read. Spirit power knows nothing about distance. + The man who yields to sacrifice has a world-field, and is touching his + field in a sense far greater than he ever knows. + </p> + <p> + And there is still more. The Master knows our sacrifices. He keenly notes + the spirit that would give all, even as He did. He can breathe most of His + own spirit into such a life. For it is most open to Him. He can do most + through that spirit, for it comes nearest to His own. His own winsomeness + breathes out of that life constantly. + </p> + <p> + There's a simple little tale that comes dressed in very homely garb. The + story has in it a bit of that that makes the heart burn. It has all the + marks of real life. It runs thus: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "In one poor room, that was all their home, + A mother lay on her bed, + Her seven children around her; + And, calling the eldest, she said: + + 'I'm going to leave you, Mary; + You're nearly fourteen, you know; + And now you must be a good girl, dear, + And make me easy to go. + + 'You can't depend much on father; + But just be patient, my child, + And keep the children out of his way + Whenever he comes home wild. + + 'And keep the house as well as you can; + And, little daughter, think + He didn't use to be so; + Remember, it's all the drink.' + + The weeping daughter promised + Always to do her best; + And, closing her eyes over weary life, + The mother entered her rest. + + And Mary kept her promise + As faithfully as she might. + She cooked, and washed, and mended, + And kept things tidy and bright. + + And when the father came home drunk, + The children were sent to bed, + And Mary waited alone, and took + The beatings in their stead. + + And the little chubby fingers lost + Their childish softness and grace, + And toughened and chapped and calloused, + And the rosy, childish face. + + Grew thin and haggard and anxious, + Careworn, tired, and old, + As on those slender shoulders + The burdens of life were rolled. + + So, when the heated season + Burned pitiless overhead, + And up from the filth of the noisome street + The fatal fever spread, + + And work and want and drunken blows + Had weakened the tender frame, + Into the squalid room once more + The restful shadow came. + + And Mary sent for the playmate + Who lived just over the way, + And said, 'The charity Doctor, + Has been here, Katie, to-day. + + 'He says I'll never be better— + The fever has been so bad; + And if it wasn't for one thing, + I'm sure I'd just be glad. + + 'It isn't about the children; + I've kept my promise good, + And mother will know I stayed with them + As long as ever I could. + + 'But you know how it has been, Katie; + I've had so much to do, + I couldn't mind the children + And go to the preaching, too. + + 'And I've been so tired-like at night, + I couldn't think to pray, + And now, when I see the Lord Jesus, + What ever am I to say?' + + And Katie, the little comforter, + Her help to the problem brought; + And into her heart, made wise by love, + The Spirit sent this thought: + + 'I wouldn't say a word, dear, + For sure He understands; + I wouldn't say ever a word at all; + But, Mary, <i>just show Him your hands!'"</i> +</pre> + <p> + Jesus knows every scar of sacrifice you bear, and loves it. For it tells + Him your love. He knows the meaning of scars, because of His own. The + marks of sacrifice cement our fellowship with Him. The nearer we come to + fellowship with Him in the daily touch and spirit the more freely can He + reach out His own great winsomeness through us, out to His dear world. + </p> + <p> + "Won't You Save Me?" + </p> + <p> + To outsiders, who don't know about the thing, that word "sacrifice" has an + ugly sound. It drives them away. But to the insiders, who have come in by + the Jesus-door, there is a joyousness of the bubbling-out, singing sort, + that makes the word "sacrifice," and the thing itself, clean forgot even + while remembered. It is remembered as a distinct real thing, but it is + pushed away from the centre of your consciousness by this song that + insists on singing its music into the ears of your heart. + </p> + <p> + I said a while ago in these talks that it would be <i>an easy thing</i> + for the whole Church, or even half of the Church, to take Jesus fully out + to all the world. But may I tell you now plainly that it won't be an easy + thing? Somebody will have to sacrifice if the thing's to be done. And that + somebody will be you, if you go along where the Master calls. If you <i>count</i> + on the Church doing it, or on anybody else doing it, you may be sure of + one thing: some part of what needs doing won't be done. + </p> + <p> + But if you and I will reckon that this thing belongs to us, as if there + were nobody else to do it, and <i>push on;</i>—well, there'll be + sacrifice of the real sort and, too, there'll be all of sacrifice's + peculiar winsomeness going out to draw men. And there will be men changed + where you live, and out where you will never go personally. + </p> + <p> + And there will be a great joy in your heart, but with the greater joy + breaking out in the Morning, when the King comes to His own. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "I hear the sob of the parted, + The wail of the broken-hearted, + The sigh for the loved departed, + In the surging roar of the town. + + And it's, oh, for the joy of the Morning! + The light and song of the Morning! + There'll be joy in the Christmas Morning + When the King comes to His own! + + "Now let our hearts be true, brothers, + To suffer and to do, brothers; + There'll be a song for you, brothers, + When the battle's fought and won. + It won't seem long in the Morning, + In the light and song of the Morning + There'll be joy in the Christmas Morning + When the King comes to His own! + + "Arise, and be of good cheer, brothers; + The day will soon be here, brothers; + The victory is near, brothers; + And the sound of the glad 'Well done!' + There'll be no sad heart in the Morning + No tear will start in the Morning; + There'll be joy in the Christmas Morning + When the King comes to His own! + + "We're in for the winning side, brothers, + Bound to the Lord who died, brothers, + We shall see Him glorified, brothers, + And the Lamb shall wear the crown. + What of the cold world's scorning? + There'll be joy enough in the Morning + There'll be joy in the Christmas Morning, + When the King comes to His own!" +</pre> + <p> + Years ago a steamer out on Lake Erie caught fire, and headed at once for + the nearest land. All was wild confusion, as men and women struggled for + means of escape. In the crowd was a returning California gold-miner. He + fastened the belt containing his gold securely about his waist and was + preparing to try to swim ashore. Just then a little sweet-faced girl in + the crowd touched his hand, and looked up beseechingly into his face, and + said, "Won't you please save me? I have no papa here to save me. Won't + you, please?" + </p> + <p> + What would he do? He gave the belt of gold, that meant such a hard + struggle, one swift glance. But that soft child-touch on his hand, and + that face and voice strangely affected him. He couldn't save both;—which? + The quick-as-flash thoughts came all in a heap. Then he dropped the gold, + and took the child, made the plunge, and by and by reached land, utterly + exhausted, and lay unconscious. As his eyes opened the child he had saved + was standing over him with the tears of gratitude flooding her eyes. And a + human life never seemed quite so precious. He had lost his gold, and his + years of toil, but he had saved a life, and in saving it had found a new + life springing up within himself. + </p> + <p> + As we close our talk together will you listen very softly. Listen: out of + the distance comes a murmur of voices, like a low, long heart-cry. It + comes from near-by, where you live. It comes most from far-away lands. Its + words are pathetically distinct: "<i>Will you save me?</i> I have no one + to save me. Won't <i>you</i>?" And we can do it. But the gold and the life + must go. <i>Shall</i> we do it, hand in hand with Jesus, the only Saviour? + Shall we <i>not</i> do it? + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_FOOT" id="link2H_FOOT"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Footnotes: + </h2> + <p> + <a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-1">return</a>)<br /> [ Acts 13:18, American + Revision.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-2" id="linknote-2"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-2">return</a>)<br /> [ John 3:17.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-3" id="linknote-3"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-3">return</a>)<br /> [ Matthew 13:38.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-4" id="linknote-4"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-4">return</a>)<br /> [ John 12:20-33.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-5" id="linknote-5"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-5">return</a>)<br /> [ Matthew 24:14.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-6" id="linknote-6"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-6">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 20:7-8.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-7" id="linknote-7"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-7">return</a>)<br /> [ Matthew 24:14.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-8" id="linknote-8"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-8">return</a>)<br /> [ Acts 15:13-18.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-9" id="linknote-9"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-9">return</a>)<br /> [ Matthew 13:38.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-10" id="linknote-10"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-10">return</a>)<br /> [ Christina Rossetti, in <i>The + Outlook</i>, slightly altered.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-11" id="linknote-11"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-11">return</a>)<br /> [ Matthew 25 40, 45.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-12" id="linknote-12"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-12">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 2:5] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-13" id="linknote-13"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-13">return</a>)<br /> [ Matthew 24 14.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-14" id="linknote-14"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-14">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 1:5, 6.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-15" id="linknote-15"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-15">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 4:8.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-16" id="linknote-16"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-16">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 4:9-11.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-17" id="linknote-17"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-17">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 5:11-12.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-18" id="linknote-18"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-18">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 7:9-12.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-19" id="linknote-19"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-19">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 14:1-5] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-20" id="linknote-20"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-20">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 15:2-4] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-21" id="linknote-21"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-21">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 19:1-8.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-22" id="linknote-22"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-22">return</a>)<br /> [ Thessalonians 1:8. II + Corinthians 1:1 l.c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-23" id="linknote-23"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-23">return</a>)<br /> [ Romans 1:8.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-24" id="linknote-24"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-24">return</a>)<br /> [ John, chapters 14-16.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-25" id="linknote-25"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-25">return</a>)<br /> [ John 20:19-23.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-26" id="linknote-26"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-26">return</a>)<br /> [ Susan Coolidge.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-27" id="linknote-27"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-27">return</a>)<br /> [ John 7:38.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-28" id="linknote-28"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-28">return</a>)<br /> [ Revelation 8:3-5.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-29" id="linknote-29"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-29">return</a>)<br /> [ Frances Ridley Havergal.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-30" id="linknote-30"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-30">return</a>)<br /> [ Matthew 6:19-21] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-31" id="linknote-31"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-31">return</a>)<br /> [ Luke 12:33,34] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-32" id="linknote-32"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-32">return</a>)<br /> [ Matthew 19:16-29. Mark + 10:17-31. Luke 18:18-30] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-33" id="linknote-33"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-33">return</a>)<br /> [ Luke 12:13-21.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-34" id="linknote-34"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-34">return</a>)<br /> [ Romans 1:14] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-35" id="linknote-35"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-35">return</a>)<br /> [ Romans 13:8] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-36" id="linknote-36"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-36">return</a>)<br /> [ James 5:2, 3] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-37" id="linknote-37"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-37">return</a>)<br /> [ Arthur Peirce Vaughn] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-38" id="linknote-38"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-38">return</a>)<br /> [ John 12:24-26.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0032" id="link2H_4_0032"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Transcriber's Notes + </h2> + <p> + [A] The original chapter contents listing erroneously transposed "A Crisis + of Neglect and Success" and "A Westernized Heathenism". + </p> + <p> + [B] Original text read "fond" for "found". + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <pre> + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Quiet Talks with World Winners, by S. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Quiet Talks with World Winners + +Author: S. D. Gordon + +Release Date: July 1, 2004 [EBook #12799] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK QUIET TALKS WITH WORLD WINNERS *** + + + + +Produced by Distributed Proofreaders + + + + + +Quiet Talks with World Winners + +By + +S. D. Gordon + +Author of "Quiet Talks on Power," "Quiet Talks About Jesus," "Quiet Talks +on Personal Problems," Etc. + + + + +Contents + + + +I. World-winning + + 1. The Master Passion + 2. The Master's Plan + 3. The Need + 4. The Present Opportunity + 5. The Pressing Emergency + 6. The Past Failure + 7. The Coming Victory + + +II. Winning Forces + + 1. The Church + 2. Each One of Us + 3. Jesus + 4. The Holy Spirit + 5. Prayer + 6. Money + 7. Sacrifice + + + + +The Master Passion + + + + The Earliest Calvary Picture. + The Love Passion. + Mother-love. + The Genesis Picture. + God Giving Himself. + God's Fellow. + The Genesis Water-mark. + A Human Picture of God. + On a Wooing Errand. + Jesus' World-passion. + + + + +The Master Passion + + + +<u>The Earliest Calvary Picture.</u> + + +There's a great passion burning in the heart of God. It is tenderly warm +and tenaciously strong. Its fires never burn low, nor lose their fine +glow. That passion is to win man back home again. The whole world of man +is included in its warm, eager reach. + +The old home hearth-fire of God is lonely since man went away. The family +circle is broken. God will not rest until that old home circle is complete +again, and every voice joining in the home songs. + +It is an <i>overmastering</i> passion, the overmastering passion of God's +heart. It has guided and controlled all His thoughts and plans for man +from the first. The purpose of winning man, and the whole race, back again +is the dominant gripping passion of God's heart to-day. Everything is made +to bend to this one end. + +When Eden's tragedy came so early, to darken the pages of this old Book, +and, far worse, to darken the pages of human life, there is a great +glimpse of this passion of God's heart in the guarding of those Eden +gates. The presence of the angels with their sword of flame told plainly +of a day when man would be coming back again to the old Eden home of God. +The place must be carefully guarded for him. + +This is a <i>love</i> passion, a passion of love. And love itself is the master +passion both of the human heart and of God's heart. Nothing can grip and +fill and sway the heart either of man or God like that. + +We would all easily agree that the greatest picture of God's marvellous, +overmastering passion of love is seen in the cross. All men as they have +come to know that story have stood with heads bowed and bared before the +love revealed there. They have not understood it. They have quarrelled +about its meaning. But they have acknowledged its love and power as beyond +that of any other story or picture. + +However men may differ as to why Jesus died, and how His dying affects us, +they all agree that the scene of the cross is the greatest revelation of +love ever known or ever shown. All theories of the atonement seem to be +lost sight of in one thought of grateful acknowledgment of a stupendous +love, as men are drawn together by the magnetism of the hill-top of +Calvary. + +But there is a wondrously clear foreshadowing of that tremendous cross +scene in the earliest page of this old Book. Nowhere is love, God's +passion of love, made to stand out more distinctly and vividly than in the +first chapter of Genesis. The after-scene of the cross uses intenser +coloring; the blacks are inkier in their blackness; the reds deeper and +redder; the contrasts sharper to the startling-point; yet there is nothing +in the cross chapters of the Gospels not included fully in this first leaf +of revelation. But it has taken the light of the cross to open our eyes to +see how much is plainly there. Let us look at it a bit. + + + +<u>The Love Passion.</u> + + +What is this greatest of passions called love? There is no word harder to +get a satisfactory definition of. Because, whatever you say about it, +there comes quickly to your mind some one who loves you, or you think of +the passion that burns in your own heart for some one. And, as you think +of that, no words that anybody may use seem at all strong enough, or +tender enough, to tell what love is, as you know it in your own inner +heart. + +Yet I think this much can be said--love is the tender, strong outgoing of +your whole being to another. It is a passion burning like a fire within +you, a soft-burning but intense fire within you, for some other one. Every +mention of that name stirs the flame into new burning. Every passing or +lingering thought of him or her is like fresh air making the flames leap +up more eagerly. And each personal contact is a clearing out of all the +ashes, and a turning on of all the draughts, to feed new oxygen for +stronger, fresher burning. + +There are many other things that seem like love. Kindliness and +friendliness, and even intenser emotions, use love's name for themselves. +But though these have likenesses to love, they are not love. They have +caught something of its warm glow. A bit of the high coloring of its +flames plays on them. But they are not the real thing, only distant +kinsfolk. The severe tests of life quickly reveal their lack. + +Love itself is really an aristocrat. It allows very, very few into its +inner circle, often only one. The real thing of love is never selfish. Now +we know very well that in the thick of life the fine gold of love gets +mixed up with the baser metals. It is very often overlaid, and shot +through with much that is mean and low. Rank selfishness, both the coarse +kind and the refined, cultured sort, seeks a hiding-place under its cloak. +But the stuff mixed in it is not love, but a defiling of it. That is a bit +of the slander it suffers for a time, from the presence in life of sin. + +Weeds with their poison, and snakes and spiders with their deadly venom, +draw life from the sun. That is a bit of the bad transmuting the good, +pure sun into its own sort. The sun itself never produces poison or any +hurtful thing. + +Love itself is never mean, nor bad, nor selfish. The man who truly loves +the woman whom he would have for his own lifelong, closest companion is +not selfish. He does not want her chiefly for his own sake, but for her +sake, that so he may guard and care for her, and her life be fully grown +in the sunlight of the love it must have. And, if you think that is +idealizing it out of all practical reach, please remember that true love +will steadily refuse the union that would not be best for the loved one. + +What is the finest and highest love that we know? There are many different +sorts and degrees of love revealed in man's relation with his fellow: +conjugal, the love between husband and wife; paternal, the love of a +father for his child; maternal, the mother's love for her child; filial, +the love of children for father and mother; fraternal, or brotherly, +meaning really the love of children of the same parents for each other, +both brothers and sisters--the same word is used for love between friends +where there is no tie of blood; and patriotic, or love for one's country. +And under that last word may be loosely grouped the love that one may have +for any special object, to which he may devote his life, outside of +personal relationships, such as music or any profession or occupation. + +This is putting them in their logical order. Though in our experience we +know the father-and mother-love for ourselves first; and then in turn the +others, so far as they come to us, until we complete the circle and reach +the climax of father-and mother-love in ourselves going out to another. + + + +<u>Mother-love.</u> + + +Now of these sorts and degrees which is the highest and finest? Well, your +answer to that question will depend entirely on your own experience; as +every answer and every thought we have of everything does. All children +have mothers, or have had, but thousands of children don't know a mother's +love. + +I was speaking one time in New York City about the conception, of which +the Bible is so full, that God is a mother. And the English evangelist +Gypsy Smith, who lost his mother when very young, but who had an unusually +devoted father, said with charming simplicity that he could not just see +how God could be called a mother, but he knew He was a father. And then he +went on to speak very winsomely of God as a father. + +Many times love is not born in the heart at all, until there comes into +the life some one clear outside of one's own kin. Many a woman never knows +love until it is awakened in her heart by him who henceforth is to be a +part of herself. + +But the common answer, that most people everywhere give to that question, +is that <i>a mother's love</i> is the greatest human love we know. And if you +press them to tell why they think so, this stands out oftenest and +strongest--that it is because she gives so much of herself. She gives her +very life. If need be, she sacrifices everything in life, and then +sacrifices life itself, going out into the darkness of death that her +child may come into fulness and sweetness of life. This is the mother +spirit, giving one's very self to bring life to another. + +The mother gives her very life-blood that the new life may come. And, if +need be, will gladly give her life <i>out</i> to the death that the new life +may come into life. And yet more, she gives her life out daily and yearly, +throughout its length, that so the full strength and fragrance of life may +come in her child's life. + +Yet, when all this has been said, I am strongly inclined to think that the +mother's love, though the greatest that can be found in any one heart, is +not the perfect, fully grown love. The human unit is not a man nor a +woman, but a man <i>and</i> a woman. Perfect love requires more than one or two +for its matured growth into full life. It cannot exist in its full +strength and fragrant sweets except where three are joined together to +draw out its full depth and meaning. + +There must be two whose hearts are fully joined in love, each finding +answering and ever-satisfying love in the other; and so each love growing +to full ripeness in the warm sunshine of the other love. And then there +needs to be a third one, who comes as a result of that mutual love, and +who constantly draws out the love of the other two. + +For love in itself is creative. It yearns to bring into being another upon +whom it may freely lavish itself. That other one must be of its own sort, +upon its own level. Nothing less ever satisfies. And so the love poured +out draws out to itself an answering love fully as full as its own. And +then, having yearned, it does more. It creates. It must create. It must +bring forth life; and life like its own in all its powers and privileges. +This is the very life of love in its full expression. + +Yet to say all this is simply to spell out fully, in all its letters and +syllables, the great, the greatest of passions, mother-love, which we +agreed a moment ago was the highest. For mother-love is not restricted to +woman, though among us humans it often finds its brightest expressions in +her. It knows no restriction of sex. It is simply love at its fullest and +highest and freest and tenderest; free to do as it will, and to do it as +fully as it will. Love left to itself, free to do as its heart dictates, +will give its very self, its life, that life may come to another. This is +the great passion called love, the greatest of all passions. + + + +<u>The Genesis Picture.</u> + + +Now, maybe you think we have swung pretty far away from that first chapter +of the Genesis revelation. No; you are mistaken there. We have been +walking, with rapid stride, by the shortest road, straight into its inner +heart. Let us look a bit at the picture of God sketched for us in this +earliest page of revelation. + +There are two creations here, first of the earth, man's home; and then of +man himself who was to live in the home. Here at once in the beginning is +mother-love. Before the new life comes the mother is absorbed in getting +the home ready; the best and softest and homiest home that her mother-love +can think of, and her fingers fix. The same mother instinct in the birds +spends itself in getting the nest ready, and then patiently broods until +the new occupants come to take possession. + +The Bible never calls God a mother, though the mother language, as here, +is used of Him many times. It takes more of the human to tell the divine. +You must take many words, and several of our human relationships, and put +them together, in the finest meaning of each, to get near the full meaning +of what God is. Up on the higher level, with God, the word "father" really +includes all that both father and mother mean to us. + +The word "father" is even used once of God in what we think of as the +strict mother sense. In speaking of God's early care of the Hebrews Paul +says, "as a <i>nursing-father</i> bore he them in the wilderness."[1] That word +"nursing-father" is peculiar in coupling the distinctive function of the +mother in caring for the babe with the word father. + +The word "father" applied to God includes not only our meaning of father +in all its strength as we know it at its best; but all of the meaning of +the word "mother," in all its sweet fragrance, as we have had it breathed +into our own very life. + +We have come commonly to think of the word mother as a tenderer word than +father. Though I have met many, both men and women, who unconsciously +revealed that their experience has made father the tenderer, and the +tenderest word to them. Father stands commonly for the stronger, more +rugged qualities; and mother for the finer, gentler, sweeter, maybe +softer qualities, in the strong meaning of that word soft. + + + +<u>God Giving Himself.</u> + + +Here in this Genesis story the creation of the whole sun-system to give +life to the earth, and of the earth itself, was the outward beginning of +this greatest passion of love in the heart of God. And if you would know +more of that love in this early stage of it, just look a bit at the home +itself. It has been pretty badly mussed, soiled and hurt by sin's foul +touch. Yet even so it is a wonder of a world in its beauty and +fruitfulness. What must it have been before the slime and tangle of sin +got in! But that's a whole story by itself. We must not stop there just +now. + +When the home was ready God set Himself to bringing the new life He was +planning. And He did it, even as father and mother of our human kind and +of every other kind do:--He gave some of Himself. He breathed into man His +own life-breath. He came Himself, and with the warmth and vitality of His +life brought a new life. The new life was a bit of Himself. + +That phrase, "breathed into his nostrils," brings to us the conception of +the closest personal, physical contact; two together in most intimate +contact, and life passing from one to the other. The picture of Elijah +stretching his warm body upon that of the widow's son until the +life-breath came again comes instinctively to mind. And its companion +scene comes with it, of Elisha lying prone upon the child, mouth to +mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand, until the breath again softly reentered +that little, precious body. + +And if all this seems too plain and homely a way to talk about the great +God, let us remember it is the way of this blessed old Book. It is the +only way we shall come to know the marvellous intimacy and tenderness of +God's love, and of God's touch upon ourselves. + +How shall we talk best about God so as to get clear, sensible ideas about +Him? Why not follow the rule of the old Bible? Can we do better? It +constantly speaks of Him in the language that we use of men. The scholars, +with their fondness for big words, say the Bible is anthropomorphic. That +simply means that it uses man's words, and man's ideas of things in +telling about God. It makes use of the common words and ideas, that man +understands fully, to tell about the God, whom he doesn't know. Could +there be a more sensible way? Indeed, how else could man understand? + +Some dear, godly people have sometimes been afraid of the use of simple, +homely language in talking about God. To speak of Him in the common +language of every-day life, the common talk of home and kitchen, and shop +and street and trade, seems to them lacking in due reverence. Do they +forget that this is the language of the common people? And of our good old +Anglo-Saxon Bible? Has anybody ever yet used as blunt homely, talk as this +old Book uses? And has any other book stuck into people's memories and +hearts with such burr-like hold as it has? + +That breathing by God into man's nostrils of the breath of life suggests +the intensest concentration of strength and thought and heart. The whole +heart of God went out to man in that breath that brought life. + + + +<u>God's Fellow.</u> + + +The whole thought of God's heart was to have a man <i>like Himself</i>. Over +and over again, with all the peculiar emphasis of repetition, it is said +that the man was to be in the very image, or likeness, of God. God gave +Himself that the man might be a bit of Himself. Here is the love-passion, +the mother-passion, the father-mother-passion, in its highest mood, and at +its own finest work. + +The man was to be the very best, that so he might have fellowship of the +most intimate sort with God. Of course, only those who are alike can have +fellowship. Only in that particular thing which any two have in common can +they have fellowship together. Let me use a common word in its old, fine, +first meaning: man was made to be <i>God's fellow</i>, His most intimate +associate and companion. + +As you read this early story in Genesis of God's passion of love, you +know, if you stop to think into it, that if ever the need for it came, He +will climb any Calvary hill, however steep, and receive the jagging nails +of any cross, however cutting, for the sake of His darling child--man. + +This love-passion never faileth. There is no emergency that can arise +that is too great for love's resources. Any danger, however great, every +need, no matter how distressing, is already provided for by love. The +emergency may sorely test and tax love to its last limit, but it can never +outdo it, nor outstrip it in the race. No matter how great the danger, +love is a bit greater. No matter how strong the enemy threatening, love is +always yet stronger. However deep down into the very vitals of life the +poison-sting may sink its fangs, love goes yet deeper, neutralizing the +deadly influence with its own fresh life-blood. + +Have you ever looked into a single drop of water and seen the sun? the +whole of that brilliant ball of fire there in one tiny drop of water? +Well, there's one word on this first leaf of the Book which contains the +clear reflection, sharply outlined, of the whole creation story; ah! yes, +more than that, of the whole Gospel story. + +Come here and look; you can see in its clear surface the form of a man +climbing a little, steep hill, and being hung, thorn-crowned, upon a cross +of pain and shame. It is in chapter one, verse two, the word "brooding." +The old version and the Revision, both English and American, have the word +"moved." The Revisions add "brooding" in the margin. And that is the root +meaning of the word underneath our English--"brooding," or, rendered more +fully, "was brooding tremulous with love." + + + + +<u>The Genesis Water-mark.</u> + + +That English word "brooding," as well as the old word underneath, is a +mother word. The brooding hen sits so faithfully, day after day, upon the +eggs, bringing the new lives by the vital warmth of her own body. The +mother-bird nestles softly down upon the nest in the crotch of the tree, +patiently, expectantly brooding, by the strength of her own life giving +life to the coming young. She who, in the holiest, greatest function +entrusted to her, comes nearest to God in creative power and love--the +mother of our human kind, broods for long months over her coming child, +giving her very life, until the crisis of birth comes; and then broods +still, for months and years longer, that the new life may come into +fulness of life. That is the great word used here. + +Now, will you please notice very keenly the connection in which it occurs. +It was because the earth was "waste and void, and darkness upon the face +of the deep," that the Spirit of God was brooding. It is only fair to say +that our scholarly friends who think in Hebrew are divided as to the +meaning here. Some think that these words, "waste and void," simply +indicate a stage, or step, in the processes of creation. + +But others of them are just as positive in saying that the words point +plainly to a disaster of some sort that took place. In their view the +whole story of creation is in the ten opening words of the chapter. Then +follows a bad break of some sort; then the brooding of God in verse two; +and the rest of the chapter is taken up in what is practically a reshaping +up again of the whole affair. Some of this second group of Hebrew scholars +have made this translation,--"the earth became a waste," or "a wreck," or +"a ruin," or "without inhabitant." + +If we may so read it now, it gives a world of additional meaning to this +word "brooding." Here was love not merely giving life, but giving itself +to overcome a disaster. The brooding was to mend a break. Love creates. It +also redeems. It stoops down with great patience, and washes the dirt and +filth thoroughly off, in the best cleansing liquid to be found, and brings +the cleansed, redeemed man back again. + +Love does indeed create. It gave man the power to choose freely, without +any restriction, whatever he would choose to choose. Redeeming love does +more. It woos him to choose the right, and only the right. It gets down by +his side after his eyesight has become twisted, and his will badly kinked +by wrong choosing, and patiently, persistently works to draw him up to the +level of choosing right. Love makes us like God in the power of choice. +But there's a greater task ahead. It makes us yet more like Him in the +desire to choose only the right, and in the power to choose it, too. All +this is in that marvellous world of a word--"brooding." + +The whole story of the sacrifice of Calvary is included in this wondrous +first leaf of revelation. If we had lost the Gospels, and didn't know +their story, nor the history of man, we yet could know from this Genesis +page that, if ever the need arose, God would lavishly give out His very +life, at any cost of suffering and pain, that His man might be saved. +John, three, sixteen is in the first chapter of Genesis. Calvary is in the +creation. God gave His breath to man in creation, and His blood for man on +Calvary. He gave His blood because He had given His breath. Each was His +very life. + +You know the way publishers have of putting an imprint in a book by means +of what is called a water-mark. By the skilful use of water in +manufacturing the paper, a name or trade imprint is made a part of the +very paper of which the book is made. + +Have you ever noticed God's water-mark on the paper of this first leaf of +His Book? Hold your Bible up as we talk; separate this first leaf and hold +it up to the light and try to see through it. The best light to use is +that which came from Calvary. Can you see the water-mark plainly imprinted +there? Look closely and carefully, for it is there. In clear-cut outline, +every bit of it showing sharply out, is a cross. And if you look still +more closely you will find this water-mark different from those in common +use, in this--<i>there is a distinct blood-red tinge to it</i>. + + + +<u>A Human Picture of God.</u> + + +Illustrations of God from our common life are never full, and must not be +taken too critically, but they are sometimes wonderfully vivid and very +helpful. Anything that makes God seem real and near helps. + +A few years ago I heard a simple story of real life from the lips of a New +England clergyman. It was told of a brother clergyman of the same +denomination, and stationed in the same city with the man who told me. + +This clergyman had a son, about fourteen years of age, who, of course, was +going to school. One day the boy's teacher called at the house and asked +for the father. When they met he said: + +"Is your son sick?" + +"No; why?" + +"He was not at school to-day." + +"You don't mean it!" + +"Nor yesterday." + +"Indeed!" + +"Nor the day before." + +"Well!" + +"And I supposed he was sick." + +"No, he's not sick." + +"Well, I thought I should tell you." + +And the father thanked him, and the teacher left. The father sat thinking +about his son, and those three days. By and by he heard a click at the +gate, and he knew the boy was coming in. So he went to the door to meet +him at once. And the boy knew as he looked up that the father knew about +those three days. + +And the father said, "Come into the library, Phil." + +And Phil went and the door was shut. + +Then the father said very quietly, "Phil, your teacher was here a little +while ago. He tells me you were not at school to-day, nor yesterday, nor +the day before. And we thought you were. You let us think you were. And +you don't know how bad I feel about this. I have always said I could trust +my boy Phil. I always have trusted you. And here you have been a living +lie for three whole days. I can't tell you how bad I feel about it." + +Well, it was hard on the boy to be talked to in that gentle way. If his +father had spoken to him roughly, or had taken him out to the wood-shed, +in the rear of the dwelling, it wouldn't have been nearly so hard. + +Then the father said, "We'll get down and pray." And the thing was getting +harder for Phil all the time. He didn't want to pray just then. Most +people don't about that time. + +And they got down on their knees, side by side. And the father poured out +his heart in prayer. And the boy listened. Somehow he saw himself in the +looking-glass of his knee-joints as he hadn't before. It is queer about +that mirror of the knee-joints, the things you see in it. Most people +don't like to use it much. And they got up from their knees. The father's +eyes were wet. And Phil's eyes were not dry. + +Then the father said, "My boy, there's a law of life, that where there is +sin there is suffering. You can't get those two things apart. Wherever +there is suffering there has been sin, somewhere, by somebody. And +wherever there is sin there will be suffering, for some one, somewhere; +and likely most for those closest to you." + +"Now," he said, "my boy, you have done wrong. So we'll do this. You go +up-stairs to the attic. I'll make a little bed for you there in the +corner. We'll bring your meals up to you at the usual times. And you stay +up in the attic three days and three nights, as long as you've been a +living lie." And the boy didn't say a word. They climbed the attic steps. +The father kissed his boy, and left him alone. + +Supper-time came, and the father and mother sat down to eat. But they +couldn't eat for thinking of their son. The longer they chewed on the food +the bigger and drier it got in their mouths. And swallowing was clear out +of the question. And the mother said, "Why don't you eat?" And he said +softly, "Why don't <i>you</i> eat?" And, with a catch in her throat, she said, +"I can't, for thinking of Phil." And he said, "That's what's bothering +me." + +And they rose from the supper-table, and went into the sitting-room. He +took up the evening paper, and she began sewing. His eyesight was not very +good. He wore glasses, and to-night they seemed to blur up. He couldn't +see the print distinctly. It must have been the glasses, of course. So he +took them off, and wiped them with great care, and then found the paper +was upside-down. And she tried to sew. But the thread broke, and she +couldn't seem to get the thread into the needle again. How we all reveal +ourselves in just such details! + +By and by the clock struck ten, their usual hour of retiring. But they +made no move to go. And the mother said quietly, "Aren't you going to +bed?" And he said, "I'm not sleepy, I think I'll sit up a while longer; +you go." "No, I guess I'll wait a while too." And the clock struck eleven; +then the hands clicked around close to twelve. And they arose, and went to +bed; but not to sleep. Each one pretended to be asleep. And each knew the +other was not asleep. + +After a bit she said--woman is always the keener--"Why don't you sleep?" +And he said softly, "How did you know I wasn't sleeping? Why don't you +sleep?" And she said, with that same queer catch in her voice, "I can't, +for thinking of Phil." He said, "That's the bother with me." And the clock +struck one; and then two; still no sleep. At last the father said, +"Mother, I can't stand this. <i>I'm going up-stairs with Phil.</i>" + +And he took his pillow, and went softly out of the room; climbed the attic +steps softly, and pressed the latch softly so as not to wake the boy if he +were asleep, and tiptoed across to the corner by the window. There the boy +lay, wide-awake, with something glistening in his eyes, and what looked +like stains on his cheeks. And the father got down between the sheets, and +they got their arms around each other's necks, for they had always been +the best of friends, and their tears got mixed up on each other's +cheeks--you couldn't have told which were the father's and which the +son's. Then they slept together until the morning light broke. + +When sleep-time came the second night the father said, "Good-night, +mother. I'm going up with Phil again." And the second night he shared his +boy's punishment in the attic. And the third night when sleep-time came +again, again he said, "Mother, good-night. I'm going up with the boy." And +the third night he shared his son's punishment with him. + +That boy, now a man grown, in the thews of his strength, my acquaintance +told me, is telling the story of Jesus with tongue of flame and life of +flame out in the heart of China. + +Do you know, I think that is the best picture of God I have ever run +across in any gallery of life? It is not a perfect picture. No human +picture of God is perfect, except of course the Jesus human picture. The +boy's punishment was arbitrarily chosen by the father, unlike God's +dealings with our sin. But it is the tenderest and most real of any that +has come to me. + +God couldn't take away sin. It's here. Very plainly it is here. And He +couldn't take away suffering, out of kindness to us. For suffering is +sin's index-finger pointing out danger. It is sin's voice calling loudly, +"Look out! there's something wrong." So He came down in the person of His +Son, Jesus, and lay down alongside of man for three days and nights, in +the place where sin drove man. + +That's God! And that suggests graphically the great passion of His heart. +Sin was not ignored. Its lines stood sharply out. The boy in the garret +had two things burned into his memory, never to be erased: the wrong of +his own sin, and the strength of his father's love. + +Jesus is God coming down into our midst and giving His own very life, and +then, more, giving it out in death, that He might make us hate sin, and +might woo and win the whole world, away from sin, back to the intimacies +of the old family circle again. + + + +<u>On a Wooing Errand.</u> + + +Jesus was a mirror held up to the Father's face for man to look in. So we +may know what the Father is like. When you look at Jesus and listen to Him +you are looking into the Father's heart and listening to its warm +throbbing. And no one can look there without being caught by the great +passion burning there, and feeling its intense soft-burning glow, and +carrying some of it for ever after in his own heart. + +Jesus was on <i>a wooing errand</i> to the earth. The whole spirit of His +dealings with men was that of a great lover, wooing them to the Father. He +was insistently eager to let men know what His Father was like. He seemed +jealous of His Father's reputation among men. It had been slandered badly. +Men misunderstood the Father. He would leave no stone unturned to let men +know how good and loving and winsome God is. For then they would eagerly +run back home again to Him. This was His method of approach to the world +He came to win. + +Jesus is the greatest wooer the old world has ever known, and will be the +greatest winner of what He is after, too. Run thoughtfully through these +Gospels, and stand by Jesus' side in each one of these simple, tremendous +incidents of His contact with the common people. Then listen anew to His +teaching talks, so homely and so gripping. And the impression becomes +irresistible that the one thought that gripped at every turn, never +forgotten, was to woo man back to the Father's allegiance. + + + +<u>Jesus' World-passion.</u> + + +Have you not marked <i>the world-wide swing</i> of Jesus' thought and plan? It +is stupendous in its freshness and bold daring. The bigness of His idea of +the thing to be done is immense. To use a favorite phrase of to-day, He +had <i>a world-consciousness</i>. It is hard for us to realize what a startling +thing His world-consciousness was. We are so familiar with the Gospels +that we lose much of their force through mere rote of familiarity. + +It takes a determined effort, and the fresh touch of the Holy Spirit, too, +to have them come with all the freshness of a new book. And then we have +gotten sort of used in our day, and in our part of the world especially, +to talking about world-wide enterprises. + +We don't realize what a stupendous thing a world-consciousness was in +Jesus' day. He certainly did not get it from His own generation; not from +the Jews. It stands out in keen contrast to their ideas. They lived within +very narrow alleyways. They supposed they were the favorites of God; and +everybody else--<i>dogs,</i> and <i>damned</i> dogs, too; not in the profane usage, +but actually. + +But Jesus thought of a <i>world</i>, and yearned for a world. The words "world" +and "earth" are constantly on His lips. He said He came "into the world;" +not to Palestine; that was only the door He used for entrance. It was from +Him that John learned, what he wrote down, that He was to "lighten <i>every +man</i> that cometh into <i>the world</i>." + +To the Jewish senator of the inner national circle He said plainly in that +great sentence that contains the gist of the whole Bible--John, three, +sixteen--that it was <i>a world</i> he was after. <i>A saved world</i> was the one +purpose of His errand to the earth. He had come to "<i>save the world</i>,"[2] +and would stop at nothing short of giving His very self "for the life of +<i>the world</i>." + +He tells His own inner circle that "the field" is a <i>world</i>. And that it +is to be won by the means He Himself was using; namely, men, human beings, +"sons of the kingdom"[3] were to be sown as seed all over its vast extent. + +You remember, that last week, the request of the Greeks for an +interview?[4] The outside non-Jewish world came to Him in the visit and +earnest request of those Greeks. And His whole being became greatly +agitated. It was as when one, at last, after years of labor without any +seeming success, gets a first faint glimpse of the results he longs so +earnestly for. Here was a touch, a glimpse of the very thing on which His +heart was so set. The great outside world was coming to Him. + +The realization of its tremendous meaning, the sure promise it held of the +day when <i>all the world would be coming</i> seems to set Him all a-tremble +with intensest emotion. The delight of the possible realizing of His +life-dream, His earth errand, and yet the terrific conviction that only by +travelling the red road of the cross could that world be won, made a +fierce conflict within. It was the world-vision that agitated Him. + +And it was that same world-vision that held Him steady. He would not +scatter. By concentrating all in one act He would generate and set off a +dynamic power on Calvary that would shake and then shape a world. The +knowledge that all men would be irresistibly drawn by the loadstone of the +cross steadied His steps. + +A few days later, as He sat resting a bit, on the side of the Hill of +Olivet, the disciples earnestly ask for some idea of His plan. And He +explains that the Gospel was to be "preached to the <i>whole inhabited +earth</i>."[5] That conception was never out of His mind. How could it be! + +But the great purpose and passion of His life stands out most sharply in +the words of that last imperial command. He shows the whole of His heart +in that stirring "Go ye into <i>all the world</i> and make disciples of <i>all +the nations</i>"; "preach the gospel to <i>the whole creation</i>." The passion of +Jesus' heart was to win the world. And that passion has grown intenser in +waiting. To-day more than ever the one passion of yonder enthroned Man is +to win His world. Everything else bends to that with Him. Nothing less +will satisfy His heart. + +Now, the God-touched man is always swayed by the same purpose and passion +as sway God. The passion of every God-touched man, fresh from direct +contact with Him, is to win the whole world up to God. Everything will be +held under the strong thumb of this, and made to fit and bend and blend +into it. + + + + +The Master's Plan + + + + Will the World Be Won? + Some Bad Drifts. + Great Incidental Blessings. + The World Really Lost. + God's Method of Saving. + The Programme of World-winnng. + Early Moorings. + Service Unites. + The World-winning Climb. + + + + +The Plan + + + +<u>Will the World Be Won?</u> + + +The great passion of God's heart is a love-passion. Love never fails. It +waits and, if need be, waits long; but it never fails to get what it is +waiting for. Love sacrifices; though it never uses that word. It doesn't +know it <i>is</i> sacrificing, it is so absorbed in its gripping purpose. There +may be keen-cutting pain, but it is clean forgotten in the passion that +burns within. God means to win His world of men back home to Himself. + +But some earnest friend is thinking of an objection to all this talk about +a world being won. You are taken all anew with the great picture of God's +passion of love in the opening page of this old Book. But all the time we +have been talking together you have been having a cross-cutting train of +thought underneath. It has been saying, "Isn't this going a bit too far? +will the whole world be won?" + +Let us talk over that a bit. We have been used all our lives to hearing +about <i>soul-winning</i>. We have been urged, more or less, to do it. A +favorite motto in some Christian workers' convention has been, "Win one." +But this idea of winning the world has not been preached. At first it +doesn't seem exactly orthodox. + +The old-time preaching, of which not so much is heard now, except in +restricted quarters, is that the whole world is lost; and that we are to +save people out of it. We used to be told that the world is bad, and only +bad; bad beyond redemption, and doomed. In his earlier years Mr. Moody +used to say often with his great earnestness that this was a doomed world, +and that the great business of life was to save men out of it. + +But of late years there has been a distinct swing away from this sort of +preaching and talking. Everything we humans do seems to go by the clock +movement, the pendulum swing: first one side, then the other. Now we hear +a very different sort of preaching. This is really a good world. There is +some wickedness in it, to be sure. Indeed, there is quite a great deal of +it. But in the main it is not a bad world, we're told. + +The old-time preaching was chiefly concerned with getting ready for +heaven. Now it is concerned, for most part, with living pure, true lives +right here on the earth. And that change is surely a good one. But it is +also the common thing to be told that the world is not nearly so bad as we +have been led to believe. + + + +<u>Some Bad Drifts.</u> + + +It is striking that with that has come a change of talk about sin, the +thing that was supposed to be responsible for making the world so bad. Sin +is not such a damnable thing now, apparently. It is largely +constitutional weakness, or prenatal predilection, or the idiosyncrasy of +individuality. (Big words are in favor here. They always make such talk +seem wise and plausible.) Heaven has slipped largely out of view; +and--hell, too, even more. Churchmen in the flush of phenomenal material +prosperity, with full stomachs and luxurious homes and pews, are well +content with things as they are in this present world, and don't propose +to move. + +And with that it is easy to believe what we are freely told, that there is +really no need of giving our Christian religion to the heathen world. +Those peoples have religions of their own that are remarkably good. At +least they are satisfactory to them. Why disturb them? They are doing very +well. This talk about their being lost, and needing a Savior, is reckoned +out of date. The old common statements about so many thousands dying +daily, and going out into a lost eternity, are not liked. They are called +lurid. And, indeed, they are not used nearly so much now as once. + +This swing away has had a great influence upon the mass of church-members, +and upon their whole thought of the foreign-mission enterprise. There is a +vaguely expressed, but distinctly felt idea both in the Church and outside +of it, for the two seem to overlap as never before--that the sending of +missionaries is really not to save peoples from being lost. That sort of +talk is almost vulgar now. + +Mission work is really a sort of good-natured neighborliness. It is +benevolent humanitarianism in which we may all help, more or less (usually +less), regardless of our beliefs or lack of beliefs, our church-membership +or attendance. We should show these heathen our improved methods of +living. We have worked out better plans of housekeeping and schooling, of +teaching and doctoring, and farming and all the rest of it. And now we +want to help these poor deficient peoples across the seas. + +We think we are a superior people in ourselves, as well as in our type of +civilization, decidedly so. And having taken good care of ourselves, and +laid up a good snug sum, we can easily afford to help these backward +far-away neighbors a bit. It is really the thing to do. + +Such seems to be the general drift of much of the present-day talk about +foreign missions. The Church, and its members individually, have grown so +rich that we have forgotten that we were ever poor. The table is so loaded +with dainties that we are quite willing to be generous with the crumbs, +even cake crumbs. + + + +<u>Great Incidental Blessings.</u> + + +Now, without doubt the sending of the missionaries has vastly improved +conditions of human life in the foreign-mission lands. The missionaries +have been the forerunners of great improvements. They have been the +pioneers blazing out the paths along which both trade and diplomacy have +gone with the newer and better civilization of the West. Civilization has +developed marvellously in the western half of the world. And the +missionaries have been its advance agents into the stagnant East, and the +savage wilds of the southern hemisphere. + +Full, accurate knowledge of nature's resources and laws, and adaptation of +that knowledge to practical uses, have been among the most marked +conditions of the western world during the past century. And, as a result, +education, medical and hygienic and sanitary science, development of the +earth's soil, and resources above and below the soil, have gone forward by +immense strides. So far as is known, our progress in such matters exceeds +all previous achievements in the history of the race. + +And some of all this has been seeping into the heathen world. It hasn't +gotten in far yet; only into the top soil, and about the edges, so far. +The progress in this regard has seemed both rapid and slow. When the great +mass of these peoples have not yet gotten even a whiff of the purer, +better civilization air of the western nations the progress seems slow. +But when we remember the incalculably tremendous inertia, and the +strangely stagnant spirit of heathen lands, it seems rapid. + +The effort to get the heathen world simply to clean up; to open the +windows and let in some fresh air, and use plain soap and water to scrub +off the actual dirt makes one think of the typical small boy's dislike of +being washed up. It has been a hard job. Yet a great beginning has been +made. The boy seems to be beginning to find out that his face <i>is</i> dirty, +and <i>feels</i> dirty. And that is an enormous gain. + + + +<u>The World Really Lost.</u> + + +Yet while this is good, and only good, it isn't the thing we are driving +at in missions. While it would fully warrant all the expenditures of +money, and vastly more than has yet been given, it should be said in +clearest, most ringing tones that all this is <i>merely incidental</i>. It is +blessed. It is sure to come. It is remarkable that it always has come +where the Gospel of Jesus is preached. + +Yet this is not the thing aimed at in missions. The one driving purpose is +to carry to men <i>a Saviour from sin</i>. And to take Him so earnestly and +winsomely that men yonder shall be wooed and won to the real God, whom +they have lost knowledge of. + +It cannot be said too plainly that the world <i>is</i> lost. It has strayed so +far away from the Father's house that it has lost all its bearings, and +can't find its way back without help. The old preaching that this is a +lost world, is true. + +But we need to remember the different uses of that word "world." In the +old-time conception it was used in a loose way as meaning the spirit that +actuates men in the world. The scheme of selfishness and wickedness and +sinfulness which has overcast all life is commonly spoken of in the Bible +as the world spirit. In that sense the world is bad, and only bad. Men +are to be saved out of it, as Moody said. + +But, in the other commoner use of it, that word "world" simply means the +whole race of men. And we must remind ourselves vigorously of the plain +truth that this is a lost world. That is to say, men have gotten away from +God. They completely misunderstand Him. Then they do more, and worse, they +misrepresent and slander Him. The result is complete lack of trust in Him. +They have lost their moorings, and have drifted out to deep sea with no +compass on board. Thick fogs have risen and shut out sun and stars and +every guiding thing. They are hopelessly and helplessly lost, and need +some one to bring the compass so as to get back to shore, back home to +God. + +But this world of men is to be won. Jesus said He came to save a world. +And He will not fail nor rest content until He has done it, and this has +become a saved world. He said that He gave His life for the life of the +world. And the world will yet know the fulness of that life of His +throbbing in its own heart. + +This does not mean that all men will be saved. There seems to be clear +evidence in the Book that some will insist on preferring their own way to +God's. And I am sure I do not know anything except what the Book teaches. +It is the only reliable source of information I have been able to find so +far. It must be the standard, because it is the standard. + +There will be a group of stubborn irreconcilables holding out against all +of God's tender pleading. John's Patmos vision of glory, with its +marvellous beauty and sweep, has yet a lake of fire and a group of men +insisting upon going their own way. If a man choose that way, he may. He +is still in the likeness of God in choosing to leave out God. He remains a +sovereign in his own will even in the hell of his own choosing. + + + +<u>God's Method of Saving.</u> + + +<i>The method of saving</i> is by <i>winning</i>. The Father would not be content +with anything else. Such a thing as might be represented by throwing a +blanket over the head of a horse in a burning stable, and so getting it +out by coaxing, and forcing, and hiding the danger, is not to be thought +of here. Sin is never smoothed over by God, nor its results, their badness +and their certainty. + +He would have us see the sin as ugly and damning as it actually is, and +see Him as pure and holy and winsome as He is; and then to reject the sin +and choose Himself. The method of much modern charity, the long-range +charity that helps by organization, without the personal relation and warm +touch, is unknown to God. He touches every man directly with His own warm +heart, and appeals to Him at closest quarters. + +Man's highest power is his power of choosing. It is in that He is most +like God. God's plan is to clear away the clouds, sweep down the cobwebs +that bother our eyes so, and let us get such a look at Himself that we +will be caught with the sight of His great face, and choose to come, and +to come a-running back to Himself. The world will be saved by its own +choosing to be. It will be saved by being won. Men will choose to leave +sin and accept God's Saviour Jesus Christ. + +It is a great method. It is the only method God could use. The creative +love-passion of His heart was that we should choose Himself in preference +to all else, and choose life with Him up on His level as the only life. + +And the method of winning is by getting each man's consent. The old cry of +soul-winning is the true cry. It tells the method of work for us to +follow. Each man is to be won by his own free glad consent. There is to be +no wholesaling except by retailing. In business the wholesale comes after +the retail. It is the child and servant of the retail. + +Here the method is to be one by one; and the results, a great multitude +beyond the power of any arithmetic to count. Soul-winning is the method, +and world-winning is the object and the final result. + + + +<u>The Programme of World-winning.</u> + + +There is <i>a programme of world-winning</i> repeatedly outlined in this old +Book of God. That programme has not always been clearly understood. +Indeed, it may be said that for the most part it has been misunderstood, +and still is by many. And, as a result, many churchmen have lost their +bearings, and strayed far from the Master's plan for their own lives and +service. It helps greatly to get the programme clear in mind, so we can +steer a straight course, and not get confused nor lost. + +The first item of that programme is world-wide evangelization. That is the +great service and privilege committed to the Church, and to every +Christian, for this present time. Every other service is second to this. +This does not mean world-wide conversion. That comes later. It does mean a +full, winsome telling of the story of Jesus' Gospel, to all nations and to +all men. + +It means the doing of it by all sorts of helpful, sensible means; the +hospital and medical dispensary, the school and college, the printed page, +and the practical helping of men in every way that they can be helped. +Above all, it means the warm, sympathetic, brotherly touch. Not simply by +preaching; that surely, but in addition to that the practical preaching of +the Gospel by all of these means.. + +When that has been accomplished the Kingdom will come. The King will come, +and with Him the Kingdom. There will be radical changes in all the moral +conditions of the earth. It will be a time of greatly increased +evangelization, and of conversions of people in immense numbers. It will +seem as if all were giving glad allegiance to Jesus the King. The world +will then seem to be indeed a won world. + +But there will be many who have simply been swung into line outwardly by +the general movement among the mass of peoples, just as it always is. And +our King wants whole-hearted love and service. + +And so, at the end of the kingdom period, there will come another crisis. +It is spoken of by John in his Revelation vision[6] as a loosing of Satan, +and a renewal of his activity among men. That used to puzzle me a good +bit. I wondered why, when that foul fiend had once been securely fastened +up, he should be loosed again. But I'm satisfied that the reason is that +at the end of the Kingdom time there is to be full opportunity for those +who are not at heart loyal to Jesus, and who simply bow to Him because the +crowd is doing so, to be perfectly free to do and go as they choose. + +Jesus wants a <i>heart</i> allegiance, and only that. The great thing is that +every man shall freely choose as he really prefers. This it is that both +makes and reveals character. And so there will be a final crisis. All who +at heart prefer to do so may swing away from Jesus. + +That crisis ends with the final and overwhelming defeat of Satan and all +the forces of evil. He goes to his own place, the place he has chosen and +made for himself; and all who prefer to leave God out will go by the moral +gravitation of their own choice to that place with him. + +Then follows the full vision of a won world, which John pictures in such +glowing colors in these last two chapters of Revelation, as a city come +down from God out of heaven. + + + +<u>Early Moorings.</u> + + +There are two leading passages that speak of this programme. You remember +that during the last week of His life Jesus told His disciples of the fall +of Jerusalem. They came earnestly asking for fuller information regarding +the future events. They asked when the present period of time would come +to an end. And in answering He said--and the answer became a pivotal +passage around which much else swings--that the Gospel of the Kingdom +would be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony unto all +nations. And then the end of the present age or period of time would +come[7]. + +The first council of the Christian Church was held as a result of the +remarkable success attending the beginning of world-wide evangelization. +It was held in Jerusalem to consider the serious question of what to do +with the great multitude of foreign or Gentile converts. + +The Church had been practically a Jewish church. But Paul had commenced +his remarkable series of world-wide preaching-tours. Great numbers of the +outside peoples had accepted Christ, and been organized into Christian +churches. Some of the Jewish Church in Jerusalem thought that all of these +should become Jewish in their observance of the old Mosaic requirements. +Both Paul and Peter, the two great church leaders, object to this. + +It is at the close of the conference that James, who was presiding, +outlines in his decision the programme of world-winning of which we are +talking together[8]. He quotes from the prophecy of Joel. He says there +are to be three steps or stages in working out God's plan. + +First of all is the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus to all the nations, +in which work Paul had been so earnestly engaged, and the remarkable +success of which it was that had given rise to the whole discussion. When +this has been completed the kingdom is to be established with the nation +of Israel in the central place, the tabernacle of David set up, as he +quotes it. The purpose of this is that all the rest of the peoples on the +earth, all the nations, "may <i>seek</i> after the Lord." + +The purpose of the Kingdom is the same, in the main, as is now the purpose +of the Church. It is to push forward on broader lines, and more vigorously +than ever, the work of bringing all men back to the Father's house. + +There are many other passages that might be referred to, but these will +answer our purpose just now. There is to be a won world, and the old Book +outlines plainly just how and when it will be won. + + + +<u>Service Unites.</u> + + +Now, I know that all ministers and Christian teachers are not agreed about +this. There has been a controversy in the Church, both long and sometimes +bitter, unfortunately, about the Lord's return and the setting up of the +Kingdom. And I have no desire to take any part in that, but instead, a +strong desire to keep out of it. There is too much pressing emergency +among men for helpful service to spend any time or strength in +controversy. + +In a word it may be put this way. There are those who believe that Jesus' +coming is a thing to be expected as likely to occur at any time, or within +our lifetime, within any generation. His coming is to be the beginning of +the Kingdom period, when all peoples will be loyal to Him. + +The others believe that the preaching of the Gospel will bring the whole +world into allegiance, and that will be the Kingdom, and then Jesus will +return. Both agree fully that the thing to be desired, and that will come, +is the world-wide acknowledgment of Jesus as Saviour and King. + +It may be added, however, that of later years there is a third great group +in the Church, which is really the largest of the three. These people +practically ignore the teaching about an actual return of Jesus to the +earth. They believe that He has already come, and is continually coming in +the higher ideals, the better standards, and nobler spirit that pervade +society. + +If it be true that the present preaching of the Gospel is to result in +winning the whole world at once, without waiting for this programme of +which I have spoken, then there is in that a very strong argument for +world-wide evangelization. For only so can the desired result be secured. +And so we can heartily join hands together in service regardless of what +we believe on this question. I make a rule not to ask a man on which side +of the question he stands, but to work with him hand in hand so far as I +can in spreading the glad good news of Jesus everywhere. + +The difference of view regarding the Lord's return need not affect the +practical working together of all earnest men. We are perfectly agreed +that the great thing is to have the story of Jesus' dying and rising again +told out earnestly and lovingly to all men. And we can go at that with +greatest heartiness, side by side. + +The great concern now is to make Jesus fully known. That is the plan for +the present time. It is a simple plan. Men who have been won are to be the +winners. Nobody else can be. The warm enthusiasm of grateful love must +burn in the heart and drive all the life. There must be simple, but +thorough organization. + +The campaign should be mapped out as thoroughly as a Presidential campaign +is organized here in our country. The purpose of a Presidential campaign +is really stupendous in its object and sweep. It is to influence quickly, +up to the point of decisive action, the individual opinion of millions of +men, spread over millions of square miles, and that, too, in the face of a +vigorous opposing campaign to influence them the other way. The whole vast +district of country is mapped out and organized on broad lines and into +the smallest details. + +Strong brainy men give themselves wholly to the task, and spend hundreds +of thousands of dollars within a few months. And then, four years later, +they proceed as enthusiastically as before to go over the whole ground +again. We need as thorough organizing, as aggressive enthusiasm, and as +intelligent planning for this great task which our Master has put into our +hands. + +And we have a driving motive power greater than any campaign-manager ever +had or has--<i>a Jesus</i> who sets fire to one's whole being, with a passion +of love that burns up every other flame. We need a Church as thoroughly +organized, and every man in it with a burning heart for this great +service. + + + +<u>The World-winning Climb.</u> + + +An old school-master, talking to his class one morning, many years ago, +told a story of an early experience he had had in Europe. He was one of a +party travelling in Switzerland. They had gotten as far as Chamounix, and +were planning to climb Mont Blanc. That peak, you know, is the highest of +the Alps, and is called the monarch of European mountains. While it is now +ascended every day in season, the climb is a very difficult task. + +It requires strength and courage and much special preparation; and is +still attended with such danger that the authorities of Chamounix have +laid down rigid regulations for those who attempt it. One's outfit must be +reduced to the very lowest limit. And, of course, nothing else can be done +while climbing. It absorbs all one's strength and thought. + +There were two parties in the little square of the town, making their +preparations with the guides. One young Englishman disregarded all the +directions of the guides. He loaded himself with things which he +positively declared were absolutely essential to his plans. + +He had a small case of wine and some delicacies for his appetite. He had a +camera with which he proposed to take views of himself and his party at +different stages of the climb. He had a batch of note-books in which he +intended recording his impressions as he proceeded, which were afterward +to be printed for the information, and, he hoped, admiration of the world. +A picturesque cap and a gayly colored blanket were part of his outfit. + +The old toughened guides, experienced by many a severe tug and storm in +the difficulties ahead, protested earnestly. But it made no impression on +the ambitious youth. At last they whispered together, and allowed him to +have his own way. And the party started. + +Six hours later the second party followed. At the little inn where they +spent the first night they found the wine and food delicacies. The guides +laughed. "The Englishman has found that he cannot humor his stomach if he +would climb Mont Blanc," one of them said grimly. A little farther up they +found the note-book and camera; still higher up, the gay robe and fancy +cap had been abandoned. And at last they found the young fellow at the +summit in leather jacket, exhausted and panting for breath. + +He had encountered heavy storms, and reached the top of the famous +mountain only at the risk of his life. But he reached it. He had the real +stuff in him, after all. Yet everything not absolutely essential had to be +sacrificed. And his ideas of the meaning of that word "essential" +underwent radical changes as he labored up the steep. + +Then the old teacher telling the story suddenly leaned over his desk and, +looking earnestly at the class, said, "When I was young I planned out my +life just as he planned out his climb. Food and clothing, and full records +of my experiences for the world's information, figured in big. But at +forty I cared only for such clothes as kept me warm, and at fifty only for +such food as kept me strong. And so steep was the climb up to the top I +had set my heart upon that at sixty I cared little for the opinions of +people, if only I might reach the top. And when I do reach it I shall not +care whether the world has a record of it or not. That record is in safety +above." + +We laugh at the ambitious young Englishman. But will you kindly let me +say, plainly, without meaning to be critical in an unkind sense, that +<i>most of us do just as he did</i>. And will you listen softly, while I say +this--many of us, when we find we can't reach the top with our loads, let +the top go, and pitch our tents in the plain, and settle down with our +small plans and accessories. The plain seems to be quite full of tents. + +The plan of the Swiss guides is <i>the plan</i> for the life-climb. It is <i>the</i> +plan, and the only one for us to follow in the world-winning climb. That +was Jesus' plan. He left behind and threw away everything that hindered, +and at the last threw away life itself, that so the world might find life. +We must follow Him. + + + + +The Urgent Need + + + + Three Great Groups. + The Needle Of The Compass Of Need. + A Quick Run Round The World. + West By Way Of The East. + Christian Lands. + The Greatest Need. + Groping In The Dark. + Living Messages Of Jesus. + The Great Unknown Lack. + + + + +The Need + + + +<u>Three Great Groups.</u> + + +The human heart is tender. It answers quickly to the cry of need. It is +oftentimes hard to find. In Christian lands it is covered up with +selfishness. And in heathen lands the selfishness seems so thickly crusted +that it is hard to awaken even common humanitarian feeling. + +But that heart once dug out, and touched, never fails to respond to the +cry of need. We know how the cry of physical distress, of some great +disaster, or of hunger will be listened to, and how quickly all men +respond to that. When the terrible earthquake laid San Francisco in +burning ruins the whole nation stopped, and gave a great heart-throb; and +then commenced at once sending relief. Corporations that are rated +soulless and men that are spoken of as money-mad, knocking each other +pitilessly aside in their greed for gold and power, all alike sent quick +and generous help of every substantial sort. + +Beside expressing their sympathy in kindest and keenest word, they gave +millions of dollars. Yet this might seem to be a family affair, as indeed +it was. But the great famines in India and in other foreign lands farthest +removed from us, have awakened a like response in our hearts. Great sums +have been given in money and supplies to feed the hunger of far-away +peoples, and help them sow their fields and get a fresh start. + +There is a need far deeper and greater than that of physical suffering. +And there is a heart far more tender than the best human heart. That need +is to know God, whom to know is to enter into fulness of life, both +physical and mental; and into that life of the spirit that is higher and +sweeter than either of these lower down. And that tender heart is the +human heart touched by the warm heart of God. + +Many of us Christian people who are gathered here to-night have had +unusual blessing in having our hearts touched into real life by the touch +of God. And there's much more of the same sort waiting our fuller touch +with Him. And now we want to see to-night something of the needs of God's +great world-family, which is our own family because it is God's. Then we +shall respond to it as freely and quickly and intelligently, as He Himself +did and does. + +I am going to ask you to come with me for a brief journey around the +world. We want to get something of a clear, even though rapid view, of the +whole of this world of ours. For the whole world is a mission field. +Missionaries are sent everywhere, including our own home-land, and +including all of our cities. + +Our cities are as really mission fields as are the heathen lands. There +is a difference, but it is only one of degree. The Christian standards +present in our American life, and absent from these foreign-mission lands, +make an enormous difference. But, apart from that great fact, the need of +mission service is as really in New York as it is in Shanghai. + +If we are to pray for the whole world, and to help in other ways to win +it, we ought to try to get something of a clear idea of it, to help us in +our thinking and praying and planning. + +It will help toward that if we remember at the outset that the world from +the religious point of view, divides up easily into three great groups. +First there are the great non-Christian, or heathen, lands and nations. +This includes those called Mohammedan; for, while that religion is based +upon a partial Christian truth, it is so utterly corrupt in teaching and +morally foul in practice that it is distinctly classed with the heathen +religions. + +Then there are the lands and nations under the control of those two great +mediaeval historic forms of Christianity, the Roman and Greek Churches, in +which the vital principles of the Christian life seem to have been almost +wholly lost in a network of forms and organization. The essential truths +are there. But they are hidden away and covered up. There are untold +numbers of true Christians there, but they live in a strangely clouded +twilight. + +The third great group is of lands and peoples under the sway of the +Protestant churches. + + + +<u>The Needle of the Compass of Need.</u> + + +Let us look a little at these peoples. Where shall we start in? The old +rule of the Master's command, and of the early Church's practice, was to +begin "at Jerusalem," and keep moving until the outmost limit of the world +was reached. I suppose that practically, in service, beginning at +Jerusalem means beginning just where you are, and then reaching out to +those nearest, and then less near, until you have touched the farthest. + +But the old Jerusalem rule will make a good geographical rule for us +English-speaking people, with an ocean between us, in getting a fresh look +at this old world that the Master asks us to carry in our hearts and on +our hands. So we'll begin there. + +The needle of a magnetic compass always points north. The needle of the +compass of progress has always pointed west; at least always since the +Medo-Persian was the world-power. But it is striking that the compass of +the world's <i>need</i> always points its needle toward the east. And so, +starting at Jerusalem, we may well turn our faces east as we take our +swing around the world to learn its need. + +It may be a relief to you to know at once that there will not be any +statistics in this series of talks. We want instead just now to get broad +and general, but distinct, impressions. Statistics are burdensome to most +people. They are a good deal of a bugbear to the common crowd of us +every-day folks. They are absolutely essential. They are of immense, that +is, immeasurable, value. You need to have them at hand where you can +easily turn for exact information, as you need it, to refresh your memory. +And an increasing amount of it will stick in your memory and guide your +thinking and praying. + +There are easily available, in these days of such remarkable missionary +activity, an abundance of fresh statistics, in attractive form. We are +greatly indebted to the Student Volunteer Movement and the Young People's +Missionary Movement and the Church Societies for the great service they +have done in this matter of full fresh information. + +But the thing of first importance is to get an intelligent thought of the +<i>whole world</i>. And then to add steadily to our stock of particular +information, as study and prayer and service call for it. It is possible +to get a simple grasp of the whole world. And it helps immensely to do it. + +It helps at once to this end to remember that two-thirds of all the +peoples of the earth are in the distinctly heathen, or non-Christian, +lands. This in itself is a tremendous fact, telling at once of the world's +need. At the beginning of the twentieth hundred-years since Jesus gave His +command to preach His Gospel to all men, two-thirds of them are still in +ignorance of Him and under the same moral sway as when He went away. + +I might add that there are a billion people in these two-thirds. But that +figure is so big as only to stagger the mind in an attempt to take it in. +The important thing is to see that it doesn't by its sheer bigness, +stagger our faith or our courage or our praying habit. We want to be like +the old Hebrew who "staggered not" at God's promise to do for him a +naturally impossible thing. Yet it is well to repeat that word "billion," +for it brings up sharply and gigantically the staggering need of the world +for Christ. + +One-third is in lands commonly called Christian. Though we must use that +word "Christian" in the broadest and most charitable sense in making that +statement. + + + +<u>A Quick Run Round the World.</u> + + +Beginning at Jerusalem, then, means for us just now beginning with the +Turkish Empire. And with that, in this rapid run through, we may for +convenience group Arabia and Persia and Afghanistan. This is the section +where Mohammedanism, that corrupt mixture of heathenism with a small +tincture of Christian truth, has its home, and whence it has gone out on +its work throughout the world. + +Great populations here have practically no knowledge at all of the Gospel, +for missionary work is extremely scant. The land of the Saviour, with its +eastern neighbors, has no Saviour, so far as knowing about Him is +concerned, though it needs His saving very sorely. + +Next to it, on the east, lies the great land of India, with the smaller +countries that naturally group with it. And here are gathered fully <i>a +fifth</i> of the people of the earth. These are really in large part our +blood-brothers. Their fathers away back were brothers to our fathers. And +so missionary work here ought to be reckoned largely as a family affair. +British rule has had an immense humanizing influence here. Missionary +activity has been carried on aggressively for years, and great and blessed +progress has been made. + +Yet it is merely a preparation for the work now so sorely needed. These +years of faithful seed-sowing have made the soil dead ripe for a harvest +in our day. A strange religiousness utterly lacking both in religion and +in morality, abominably repugnant in its gross immorality, honey-combs the +life of these people. The cry of need here is deep and pathetic. + +Pushing on still to the east, the great land of China with its +dependencies, looms up in all its huge giant size. Roughly speaking, +almost <i>a third</i> of the world's people are grouped here. There are +practically almost as many in what is reckoned Chinese territory as in all +Christian lands. Here is found the oldest and best civilization of the +non-Christian sort. The old common religion of Confucius is practically +not a religion at all, but a code of maxims and rules, and utterly lacking +in moral uplift or power. + +The peculiarly impressive thing about China, as indeed about nearly all +of the heathen world, <i>is the spirit of stagnation</i>. There is a deadness, +or sort of stupor, over everything. It is as if a blight had spread over +the land, checking all progress. Habits, customs, and institutions remain +apparently as they were a thousand years ago. This stands out in sharp +contrast with the spirit of growth that marks Christian lands. + +It seems strange to us because the spirit of growth is the atmosphere of +our western world, breathed in from infancy. The one word that seems +peculiarly to describe China is that word "stagnant." The people +themselves are remarkable both for their mental power and their habits of +industry. The Chinese may well be called the Anglo-Saxons of the Orient, +in latent power and mental character. + +In our modesty we think the Anglo-Saxon, the English-speaking, the +greatest of living peoples. Certainly the leadership of the world is in +Anglo-Saxon hands, and has been for centuries. And the marvellous, +unprecedented progress of the world has been under that leadership. + +Well, when these Chinese wake up we are very likely to find the race +getting a new leadership, and the history of the world a new chapter +added. What sort of leadership it will be morally, and what sort of a +chapter, will depend on how much statesmanship there is in our praying and +giving and missionary service. But the need is enormously intensified by +the unawakened power of these Chinese. + + + +<u>West by Way of the East.</u> + + +Still moving east, we come to the newly awakened and very attractive +island-nation of Japan, which, because of its geographical and territorial +situation, has been called the Great Britain of the Orient. Japan stands +at present as the exception to the common stagnation of the heathen world. +It has made a record nothing less than phenomenal as a student of Western +life. It has absorbed, and imitated, and adapted to its own use, the +Western knowledge and spirit with a wonderful power and intelligence. + +Japan is both bright and ambitious to an almost abnormal degree, and as +tricky in its dealings, and morally unclean in its life, as it is bright +and ambitious. They have been called the Frenchmen of the Orient, and that +characterization fits remarkably in many respects. Great progress has been +made in giving the Gospel to Japan, but the present moral need is +immensely intensified by the very aggressiveness of the Japanese spirit. + +With Japan, the island-kingdom, it is easy to group the whole island-world +lying to the east and south, though these are utterly different peoples. +This includes the great number of islands scattered throughout the Pacific +Ocean. The conditions are largely those of savagery except where affected +by Christian civilization through the missionary enterprise. The Gospel +has done some wonderful feats of transformation here. And there is plenty +of room for more. Australia, the "island continent," is a British colony, +and of course now reckoned among Christian lands; as is also the large +island of New Zealand, also a British colony, which has been a leader in +some of the most advanced steps of modern civilization. + +Crossing the Pacific to the east brings up the South American Continent; +and Central America, the connecting stretch of land with our own +continent; and Mexico, which is commonly grouped with foreign-mission +lands. South America has been spoken of both as the "neglected continent" +and as the "continent of opportunity." The common characteristic +religiously of all this vast section from Mexico to the "Land of Fire," at +the southernmost toe of South America, is that it is under the sway of the +Roman Catholic Church. Some parts of it have been spoken of as "baptized +heathenism." A vast network of church forms and organization, practically +lifeless, holds these peoples in an iron grasp. The need of the Gospel of +Jesus is fully as great as in civilized China or savage Africa. + +One more long easterly stride, across the Atlantic, brings black Africa, +and completes this rapid run around the globe, so far as distinctly +heathen lands are concerned. Africa is peculiarly the savage continent, +though it has the oldest civilization in its northeast corner, and the +newest British civilization rapidly developing on its southern edge. It is +the "dark continent," both in the color of its inhabitants and in its sad +destitution and degradation. About <i>a tenth</i> of the world's population is +here; with as many missionaries as in civilized India, but unable to reach +the people as effectually as there because of the lack of national +organization and the absence of great highways of travel. + +Africa is essentially a great mass of separate tribes, larger and smaller, +most of them in deepest savagery, with sorest need not only of salvation, +but of civilization. The sore need of its very savagery has seemed to make +it a magnet to missionary enterprise. And yet all that has been done, and +is being done, seems almost swallowed up in the depth of its degradation +and savagery. + +I have taken you with me in this very rapid run that we might try to get a +simple practical grasp of the heathen world. And if you and I might often +take just such a run, with map or globe and Bible at hand, and our knees +bent, it would greatly help us in getting close to the world our Lord died +for; and which He means to win; and to win through you and me; and which +He <i>will</i> win. + + + +<u>Christian Lands.</u> + + +But I must talk with you a bit about our Christian lands, Europe and +America, with huge Russia sitting astride both Europe and Asia, with a +foot dangling on each side of the globe. For these, too, are mission +lands. <i>Foreign</i>-mission lands, would you call them? Well, that depends +entirely on what spot you happen to call home. They are all mission +fields. The whole world is a mission field to God. <i>Foreign</i>-mission +field? or <i>home</i>-mission? Which? It makes no practical matter which term +you choose to use. + +It will be well to remember just what that common phrase, "Christian +lands," really means. It may help us in our praying. And it may help us, +too, to keep humble as we think about heathen lands. It means, of course, +the lands where Christian standards are commonly recognized as the proper +standards of morals and of life. + +It does <i>not</i> mean that the people are all Christian. Only a minority so +class themselves; the great majority do not. Neither does it mean that +that minority called Christian is <i>controlled</i> in daily life and in +business by the principles of Jesus. For by pretty general consent they +are not so controlled. It is not too much to say that there is more of +that same spirit of selfishness that marks the heathen world, dominating +the personal lives of people in Christian lands, than there is of the +unselfish Christ spirit. That may sound unkind and too critical to you. It +is not said in a critical spirit, but simply in the desire to get the +facts as they are. I am fully persuaded that the more you think about it +the more you will come to see that this is simply the truth. + +Nor yet does that term, "Christian lands," mean that these lands are as +distinctly Christian through and through as heathen lands are distinctly +heathen, or non-Christian, through and through. As a matter of fact, +Christian lands are not dominated as thoroughly by the Christian spirit +as heathen lands are by the heathen spirit. We really don't deserve our +distinctive phrase as much as they deserve theirs. + +It does mean chiefly this, that here in these lands the Christian Church +has its stronghold; that Christian standards are commonly recognized, +though in practice they are so commonly disregarded. It means that the +enormous incidental blessings, in material and mental life, that always +follow the preaching of the Gospel are here enjoyed most fully. And it +means, too, that much of the humanizing, softening, and energizing power +of the Gospel of Christ has seeped and soaked into our common civilization +and affected all our life. + +This is true; yet the mass of persons living in this atmosphere, and +enjoying its great advantages, are wholly selfish in the main drive of +their lives, and so in being selfish are un-Christian. While Christian +ideals dominate so much of our life, the term "Christian lands" really +describes our <i>privileges</i> more than it does our <i>practices</i>. + + + +<u>The Greatest Need.</u> + + +A word now about these great Christian lands of Europe and America. The +Catholic countries of Europe have been regarded as mission fields by the +Protestant churches, and missionary operations have been conducted in them +for many years. Russia has likewise been commonly regarded as missionary +territory, and a very difficult one at that. In portions of Great Britain, +in our own Western States and frontiers, in the Southern mountain States, +and in other sections, and among special classes, missionary work has been +regularly carried on. + +And the cities, those great, strange, throbbing hearts of human life, are +all peculiarly mission fields. It is remarkable how the modern city +reproduces world conditions morally. The city is a sort of miniature of +the world. All the varying moral conditions of the heathen world, atheism, +savagery almost, crude heathenish superstition, degradation of woman, +neglect of children, and untempered lust, may be found in New York and +Chicago, in London and Paris, in Vienna and Berlin, and in varying degree +in all cities of Christian lands. The grosser parts are hidden away, more +or less. + +These conditions are softened in intensity by the commonly recognized +moral standards of life. But they are there. The man immersed in mission +service in any of these cities is apt to think that there can be no +greater nor sorer need than this that pushes itself insistently upon him +at every turn. + +The slum ends and sides of our Christian cities and huge heathendom, +jostle elbows in the likeness of their moral conditions. The need is +everywhere, crying earnestly, wretchedly out to us. There is good mission +ground anywhere you please to strike in. + +But--<i>but</i>, by far the greatest need, with that word "greatest" +intensified beyond all power of description, is in the heathen lands. The +vastness of the numbers there, the utter ignorance, the smallness of their +chance of getting any of the knowledge and uplift of the Gospel, all go to +spell out that word "greatest." The awful cumulative power of sin, +unchecked by the common moral standards of life, with the terrific +momentum of centuries; the common temptations known to us, but with a +fierceness and subtlety wholly unknown to us in Christian lands--and yet +how terrifically fierce and cunningly subtle some of us know them to +be!--these all make every letter in that word "greatest" stand out in +biggest capitals, and in blackest, inkiest ink. + + + +<u>Groping in the Dark.</u> + + +That is a bare suggestion of the need of the world <i>in bulk</i>. But we want +to get a much closer look than that. These are <i>men</i> that we are talking +about; our <i>brothers</i>, not merely hard, unfeeling, statistical totals of +millions. Each man of them contains the whole pitiable picture of the sore +need of the world vividly portrayed in himself. + +The very heathen religions themselves are the crying out, in the night, of +men's hearts, after something they haven't, and yet need so much. Strange +things these heathen superstitions and monstrous practices and beliefs +called religions! It has been rather the thing of late to speak somewhat +respectfully of them, and rather apologetically. They have even been +praised, so strangely do things get mixed up in this world of ours. It +has been supposed that God was revealing Himself in these religions; and +that in them men were reaching up to God, and <i>could</i> reach up to Him +through them. + +They really are the twilight remnants of the clear direct light of God +that once lightened all men; <i>but</i> so mixed through, and covered up with +error and superstition and unnatural devilish lust, that they are wholly +inadequate to lead any man back home to God. In almost all of them there +is indeed some distinct kernel of truth. But that kernel has been +invariably shut up in a shell and bur that are hard beyond any power of +cracking, to get at the kernel of truth for practical help, even if the +people knew enough to try. + +They tell pathetically of the groping of man's heart after God. But the +groping is in the pitch dark, and amid a mass of foul, filthy cobwebs that +blind the eyes with their dust, and grime all the life. I have no doubt +that untold numbers of true hearts in heathen lands are feeling after God, +and in some dim way coming into touch with Him. He is not far from any one +of them; but they find Him chiefly in spite of these religions, rather +than through any help found in them. + +The story is told of a Chinese tailor who had struggled hopelessly for +light, and had finally found it in finding Jesus. He put his idea of the +heathen religions that he knew, and had tried, in this simple vivid way: + +"A man had fallen into a deep, dark pit, and lay in its miry bottom, +groaning and utterly unable to move. He heard a man walking by close +enough to see his plight. But with stately tread he walked on without +volunteering to help. That is Mohammedanism. + +"Confucius walking by approached the edge of the pit, and said, 'Poor +fellow! I am sorry for you. Why were you such a fool as to get in there? +Let me give you a piece of advice: If ever you get out, don't get in +again.' 'I can't get out,' said the man. That is Confucianism. + +"A Buddhist priest next came by and said: 'Poor fellow! I am very much +pained to see you there. I think if you could scramble up two-thirds of +the way, or even half, I could reach you and lift you up the rest.' But +the man in the pit was entirely helpless and unable to rise. That is +Buddhism. + +"Next the Saviour came by, and, hearing his cries, went to the very brink +of the pit, stretched down and laid hold of the poor man, brought him up, +and said, 'Go, sin no more.' This is Christianity." + +The awful moral or immoral conditions prevalent throughout the heathen +world are the most graphic comment on the influence of these religions. It +can be said thoughtfully that, instead of ever helping up to God and the +light, they drag down to the devil and to black darkness. There is not +only an utter lack of any moral uplift in them, but a deadly downward +pull. The very things called religions point out piteously the terrible +need of these peoples. + + + +<u>Living Messages of Jesus.</u> + + +Now, what is it that these people need, and that we can give to them? May +I first remind you what they don't need? Well, let it be said as plainly +as it can be that they don't need the transferring to heathen soil of our +Western church systems, nor our schemes of organizations. It is not our +Western creeds and theology that they stand in need of. + +Of course, there need to be both churches and organizations. Only so will +the work be done, and what is gotten held together. But these are in +themselves temporary. They are immensely important and indispensable, but +not the chief thing. The great need is of <i>the story of Jesus</i>. That is, +plain teaching about sin--the hardest task of all for the missionary, +whether in Asia or America--and the damnable results locked up in sin. +Then the winsome telling, the tirelessly patient and persistently gentle +telling of the story of love, God's love as revealed in Jesus. The telling +them that Jesus will put a new moral power inside a man that will make him +over new. + +But they need even more than this, aye, far more. They need <i>men</i>--human +beings like themselves, living among them in closest touch--whose clean, +strong, sweet lives spell out the Jesus-story as no human lips can ever +tell it. + +To live side by side with men who like themselves are tempted sorely, but +who show plainly in their lives a power that downs the temptation--this is +their great need. The good seed, after all, is not the message of truth +merely, but the "sons of the kingdom,"[9] men living the message of Jesus, +and more, the power of Jesus, daily. + +A kindergarten teacher opened a mission among the slum children of a very +poor section of Chicago. She began her work by gathering a number of +dirty, unkempt children of the street into the neat mission room. Then, +instead of preaching or praying or something of the conventional sort at +the first, she brought in and set on a table a large beautiful calla lily, +bewitching in its simple white beauty. + +The effect of the flower on one child, a little girl, was striking. No +sooner had she looked at it than she looked down at her own dirty hands +and clothes, with a flush creeping into her face. Then she quickly went +out into the street. In a little while she was back again, but with her +face washed, her hair combed, her dress tidied up, and a bit of colored +ribbon added. She walked straight up to the lily again, and looked long, +with deep wondering admiration in her eyes, at the beautiful white flower. + +The flower's purity was a mirror in which she saw her own dirtiness. It +was a magnet drawing her gently but strongly up to its own higher level. +It was an inspiration moving her irresistibly to respond to its own upward +pull. + +A simple, pure, human life is the greatest moral magnet. Jesus Himself +down here was just such a magnet. Such a life is impossible for us without +Jesus. It tells His power as no tongue can. It spells out loudly a +standard of life and, far more, a power that can lift the life up to the +standard. It doesn't simply tell what we should be. That may only +tantalize and tease. But it tells what we actually can be. + +Jesus is more than a message. He is a living power in a man's life. This +is the great need of men's hearts,--the message of Jesus' purity and of +Jesus' power <i>embodied in live men</i>, living side by side, in the thick of +things, with their brothers of the great world. + + + +<u>The Great Unknown Lack.</u> + + +The greatness of men's need stands out most pathetically in this, that men +don't know their need. They have gotten so used to the night that they +don't care for the sunlight. They have been hungry so long that the sense +of hunger and the call of appetite have wholly gone. + +There is a simple, striking story told of two famous Scandinavians, Ole +Bull, the great violinist, and John Ericsson, the great inventor, who +taught the world to use the screw in steam navigation. The one was a +Norwegian, the other a Swede. They had been friends in early life, but +drifted apart and did not meet again until each had become famous. The old +friendship was renewed on one of Ole Bull's tours to this country. + +As Bull was leaving his friend, after a delightful visit, he gave him a +cordial invitation to attend his concert that evening. But the +matter-of-fact, prosaic Ericsson declined, pleading pressure of work, and +saying that he had no time to waste on music. + +Bull renewed his invitation, time and again, finally saying, "If you won't +come, I'll bring my violin down here to your shop, and play." "If you do," +replied the famous engineer laughingly, "I'll smash the thing to pieces." +The violinist, knowing the marvellous, almost supernatural, power of his +instrument to touch and awaken the human heart into new life, felt curious +to know what effect it would have on this scientific man steeped in his +prosaic physics. So he planned a bit of diplomacy. + +Taking the violin with him, he called upon Ericsson at his workshop one +day. He removed the strings and screws and apron, and called Ericsson's +attention to certain defects, asking about the scientific and acoustic +principles involved, and discussing the differing effect of the different +grain of certain woods. From this he went on to a discussion of sound +waves. Finally, to illustrate his meaning and his questions, he replaced +the parts, and, bringing the bow softly down upon the tense strings, drew +out a few marvellously sweet, rich tones. + +At once the workmen in the shop dropped their tools, and listened with +wide-eyed wonder. Ole Bull played on and on, with his simple great skill, +making the workshop a place of worship. When finally he paused, Ericsson +lifted his bowed head, and showed eyes that were wet. Then he said softly, +with the touch of reverent awe in his voice, "Play on! Don't stop. Play +on. <i>I never knew before what it was that was lacking in my life.</i>" + +That is what men everywhere say when they come to know Jesus. They fight +against knowing Him because of their ignorance of Him. At home, prejudice +against theology of this sort and that; against some preaching, or church +service, or some Christian people they have unpleasant memories of +perhaps, bar the way. Abroad, prejudice against their treatment at the +hands of Christian nations, or against anything new, shuts the door with a +slam and a sharp push of the bolt. + +It takes great diplomacy, love's diplomacy, the combination of serpent and +dove, subtlety and harmlessness, to get an entrance. But when the door is +pried open, or coaxed open enough for some sound or sight of Jesus to get +in, they passionately cry out, "This is what I need. This Jesus is the +lacking thing in my life!" + + + + +The Present Opportunity + + + + Somebody's Knocking at the Door. + They're Standing in the Dark. + Who's There? + The Coming Leaders. + What They're After. + Returning Our Call. + "Inasmuch." + + + + +The Present Opportunity + + + +<u>Somebody's Knocking at the Door.</u> + + +There's a soft, tender passion in the heart of God. Its flame burns +steadily. It never flags nor dims. It's a passion for His child-man. And +that very passion itself draws man to Himself with a drawing power that is +irresistible. They can't resist being drawn, even though they may refuse +to yield to it. + +There is an answering passion in man's heart for God. It is often a sort +of dumb longing, not clearly defined nor well understood. It is a mute +yearning of his heart for God, though often he doesn't think of it that +way. But it is there; for these two, man and God, belong together. They +were together until sin drove its ugly wedge in between. They are a part +of each other. Neither one is complete nor happy without the other. + +The heart of God can be satisfied only as man comes back home to Him. And +man's heart never rests until it finds rest in comradeship with God. These +two are always drawing toward each other. God is always drawing man by the +great master-passion of His heart. And man is always responding to that +tender, strong pull in the underneath, mute yearning of his heart. + +By and by the thing that keeps them apart will be gotten rid of. Sin will +be shipped overboard, to fall by its own dead weight to the bottom of the +sea. Then there will be glad reunion of God and man, their hearts in full +glad accord again. To-night we want to talk together a bit about this +answering passion of man's heart for God. + +The heathen world is knocking to-day at the door of the Christian Church. +It has found out who has the fullest and truest information about God. And +it is knocking loudly and earnestly at that door. And it keeps on +knocking, though the door seems to be barely open yet; and a good +many--most?--inside don't seem to have heard the knocking. + +The most remarkable thing about the present time from the Church point of +view is that the heathen peoples are asking for what the Master has told +us to give them. The centre of Church attraction and of Christian action +to-day is on the swing toward heathen lands. + +When the Church began again, a hundred years ago, to enter the great +heathen world, it had to use pick and axe, jimmy and chisel. It seemed +like using burglar's tools. Certainly it was working in the dark, with +only the burglar's dark-lantern to show the way. But now the heathen door +is wide open. Instead of our knocking at their door, the heathen world is +knocking at our door. + +Our billion brothers stand in the night-time of their darkness blindly +feeling for our door, and knocking, now timidly, now earnestly and loudly, +ay, imperiously, for the light that we have. It has been a cold night for +them, and a long night, too. But the darkest hour of it is already +throbbing with the flood of coming light. They have found the door and are +using it. The whole foreign non-Christian world is knocking with +incessant, insistent clamor at our church door. + + + +<u>They're Standing in the Dark.</u> + + +I do not mean that actually every country in the world is open to the +Gospel. For there are a few countries with comparatively scanty +populations that are not open; except, indeed, on the edges, to the man +prying earnestly around for a way to get in. + +I don't mean that every man in these open countries is actually asking us +to send him some word of Jesus. For vast numbers of them have never heard +either about us or about Him. They don't know there is a Jesus to ask +about; or, judging by others, they would be asking. + +Neither do I mean that these multitudes who are asking are, in every case, +asking for the Gospel itself. For many times that is not so. They ask for +that which appeals to them strongly as something that they want. They want +our Western science and learning. They want to get from us the secret of +harnessing nature up to their wagon to pull their heavy loads. + +In many cases, without doubt, they don't want our Christianity at all. +They regard it simply as something that goes along inseparably with the +thing they do want. They are willing to put up with some of it for a +while, if only they can get the thing they are after. Their eyes have been +caught by the bright light of our Christian civilization. They don't +understand how it came to us. They haven't wakened up enough, most of +them, to think into that. + +They want the light we have, as we might want something that we could +order a shipment of. They haven't learned enough yet to want to get the +light-generating plant installed in their midst. The great fact that all +our civilization has come to us through the partial presence of the Light +of the world hasn't dawned upon their minds yet. + +But, however selfish motives and a crude understanding or misunderstanding +may enter in, the great strange unprecedented fact still remains true that +the world of heathenism is knocking at the door of Christendom as never +before in the world's history. + +And then, too, everywhere some of them are asking plainly and piteously +for the real thing. Great numbers in all the foreign-mission lands are +asking that Christian teachers be sent to them with Bibles and other books +to teach them the way back home to God. Wherever they find out that there +is a knowledge of God to be gotten, from there comes the insistent +knocking that it be brought to them. + +I remember Bishop Bashford, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, stationed +in China, telling of one of his thrilling experiences out there. He had +gone inland quite a bit into China on one of his tours. One day he was +preaching the story of Jesus to a crowd of Chinese gathered in the open +air. As his interpreter turned his words into Chinese the crowds listened +with great respect and keenest interest. + +As he finished he asked them if they had ever heard the Gospel before. No; +none of them had. He was turning up absolutely fresh soil. And they +pressed in about him, earnestly asking that men be sent to tell them. And +this experience of Bishop Bashford's is being repeated, over and over +again, throughout the foreign-mission world. + + + +<u>Who's There?</u> + + +But there is yet more than this. Everywhere among these peoples, as one +comes into close enough touch to find their hearts, there can be found +underneath the inarticulate, inexpressible yearning for something they +haven't. And they don't know enough to know what it is they long for. But +they are conscious of the constant, weary, yearning tug within. The great +heart of the non-Christian world to-day is asking dumbly, but earnestly, +as only the heart can ask, for the light we have. Its knocking at our +front door is growing louder in its insistent earnestness. + +Since Commodore Perry steamed into the harbor of Yokohama, fifty years +ago, with open Bible and American flag, and knocked at the front door of +the Orient, the whole situation has completely changed. Then we knocked +for admission to these shut-in lands. Now they are knocking at our door, +for the knowledge and light that we have in Christian lands because we +have Jesus. + +May I call your attention to some of the louder of these knockings? + +For years students in great numbers, thousands, have been coming from +these heathen nations to our country to get our Western learning. +Throughout the colleges and lower schools of the land, both East and West, +in the greater universities, and in the more modest small church colleges +they can be found. + +I remember a sight that never failed to thrill me in my visitations among +the colleges of our Central West. Almost always I saw one or more of these +young men, from Japan, and less frequently from China and India and other +countries, and sometimes young women, too; studying in these institutions. +Quite frequently they came from the better families of their people; often +from old wealthy families of position and influence. So that by blood ties +and position they will be the future men of influence and leaders of their +people. And it is a notable fact that many of them are to-day the leaders +in Japan. Literally thousands of them have come, these thousands of miles +around the world, to knock at our doors, and ask for what we have and they +haven't. + +Even more striking is the recent visitation to us of official commissions +from the non-Christian lands. One after another, these national +governmental deputations have come to us. They have been composed of the +strongest men in these lands, men in leading official position. They have +come by government appointment, and at government expense, to learn the +secret of our marvellous Western progress. + +And in addition to these official deputations others have come, men of +like prominence and influence, coming on their own account, to witness our +civilization and learn its secrets. + + + +<u>The Coming Great Leaders.</u> + + +One of the most remarkable incidents of this most remarkable movement has +been the great migration of young Chinese men to study in the colleges of +Japan. Within a very short space of time, as though by a concerted +movement, fifteen thousand Chinese young men have flocked to Tokyo. The +inevitable sifting process has sent many back, but fully ten thousand +remain, engaged in earnest, hard study. + +Will you mark very keenly why they went to <i>Japan</i>? Because to them Japan, +in its new life, stood for the new light and life of the West. Their +little, but mighty, aggressive neighbor on their eastern shore had brought +to their very door the new civilization of the Christian West. + +Here was an unusual opportunity. Where hundreds had come clear around the +earth to us, thousands have seized this opportunity close at hand. They +come from every province of China; even that farthest away, on the border +of Tibet, sending hundreds. + +The travel involved thousands of miles. And if their slow means of travel +be taken into account, it meant what would be to us practically hundreds +of thousands of miles. Hundreds of them have been sent by the provincial +and local governments. Others have come through private funds made up for +the purpose. And wealthy men have sent their sons. They have gone to Japan +only because Japan has opened her doors so widely to our Christian +civilization. It is not to their conqueror, Japan, they have come, but to +the civilization which Japan has imported from Christian lands. + +Was there ever such a knocking at the door of the Christian Church as +this? Ten thousand picked men, of the best and keenest young manhood of +China, representing all parts of the empire, and in large part +representing the government, settling down to years of close study of our +Christian civilization as found in Japan--a tremendous fact for the Church +to-day! Things are crowding in on us. It is the non-Christian world +knocking at our back door. It was too far around to the front. So they +have commenced their knocking at the nearest and handiest door they could +find. + +Then there are direct requests coming constantly to the missionaries, from +the peoples in all these lands, earnestly asking and even pleading that +men be sent to teach them of God and of Christ. Whole villages have been +found in the fastnesses of Africa's wilds spending days together, and all +day long, on their knees in prayer; most of ten mute prayer with upturned +faces--their very bent bodies their prayer--that news of the white man's +God might be sent to them. + +In Korea and other lands it is no uncommon thing for men and women to +travel hundreds of miles by their slow transportation, or even to come +a-foot, to attend gatherings where the story of Jesus is being preached. + +And then, too, there is the indirect knocking in the imitation of our +Western ways, and throwing away of their own. Imitation is the highest +form of compliment that can be paid. It tells of admiration, and of a +desire to be as those imitated. The adapting of Western learning by these +conservative Oriental peoples, the establishment of thousands of colleges +and schools on the model of Christian countries is so radical a thing as +to be nothing short of startling. The abandoning of bad customs, as well +as of their old systems of education, is as startling. Where there were +antagonisms there is now the friendliest imitation. + +If to this we add the remarkable immigration to our shores, of a million a +year, it intensifies enormously the opportunity of service brought to us +by foreign peoples. Yet please notice that this latter is not Asia nor +Africa coming to us, but Europe. + +However crying their need may be, these are, nominally, not heathen +peoples, but chiefly from Christianized Europe. The Asiatics would have +come in great numbers, but that door was promptly shut and carefully +locked by official hands. + +As you swing your eye over these seething masses of the heathen world, and +listen to their voices, let me ask you, with the earnest softness of tone +that belongs to the heart, could there be a louder knocking at the door of +the Christian Church? + + + +<u>What Do They Want?</u> + + +There can be no doubt about the knocking. But--<i>but</i> what is it they are +after? Well, in plainest talk, they are after the thing that has made +Christian nations great, great to the point of world-leadership and +world-supremacy. + +Do you remember the famous reply, often quoted, given to a foreign visitor +at the English court? He had asked the secret of the greatness of England, +which impressed him so forcibly. And her gracious majesty, of blessed +memory, Queen Victoria, placed her hand upon a Bible, and replied in the +memorable words, "<i>This</i> is the secret of England's greatness." + +Just how much that wise woman had in mind I am sure I do not know. I feel +very sure she did not refer to the church system of England. But to +something far more and deeper than that, of which the church system is +only one expression. Where the Bible has gone, and where it has so +largely dominated the life of the people, as in England, there has been +both a moral regeneration <i>and</i>, mark it keenly, a <i>new mental life</i>. Its +touch has awakened the mental powers. There has been aroused and released +into activity that <i>spirit of energy</i> which has become the most marked +characteristic of the Western world. + +These two, the mental life and the remarkable energy, lie at the basis of +all our wonderful modern science. And this, in turn, lies at the basis of +all our phenomenal development. It is this that makes the West different +from the East. The leading nations are Christian nations. The germ of +vigorous life is in the Gospel of Christ. + +This is the thing the heathen world is knocking so earnestly at our door +for to-day. I do not say that they think of it in that way. They are just +coming, groping out of the darkness, with eyes blinking and blinded by the +brightness of our light. They stretch eager, reaching fingers out toward +the light, without knowing much about it. The glare of it has caught them. + +And if they are caught, moth-like, and hurt by its flame--if they copy our +vile vices, which are no part of our Christianity, but the remnants of our +own original savagery cropping out in spite of Christianity--if so, is it +surprising? Their eyes are bothered by the sudden change from black +darkness to brilliant light. + +But there's a deeper asking. Underneath all, the thing they are really +asking for, all unconsciously most of them, is that which lies at the +root of all our Western progress. They ask unknowingly for the Gospel of +Christ, the heart of this precious old Bible. When they get that they will +find that it brings the new awakening of mental life and the new +aggressive energy that has made us Christian nations what we are. + + + +<u>Returning Our Call.</u> + + +Will you please remember that their knocking at our door is a direct +result of our knocking at their door? They are very polite, these far-away +kinsfolk of ours. They are simply returning our call. + +The missionary, from Great Britain, and America, and Europe, has been the +West's pathfinder in these foreign-mission lands. He has blazed a way into +these thick woods, and beaten down narrow foot-paths through them. It's +been hard, heroic work. The pathfinder has often gotten his hands and face +badly torn by the thick brambly thorn bushes as he pushed resolutely on. + +Then diplomacy entered and broadened the roads. And commerce quickly came +and beat them down into good hard shape for easy travel. And in turn the +missionaries have freely used the broader, better roads. + +And now these roads are being trodden by other feet, and in an opposite +direction. Along the pathways made by the Church, and made better by +diplomacy and commerce, these peoples are coming, coming a-running, to ask +us to give them what we have. We received it from Another. He bade us +give it as freely as we received it. + +Here they come eagerly knocking at our doors, front door, and back door, +and wherever there is a door. Do you hear them? + +Ah! The great question to-day is not a question for the heathen world, but +for the Christian Church--shall we respond to the opportunity they are +flinging in our faces? To-day there are more hands in heathen lands +stretched out <i>for</i> the Gospel of Jesus than there are Christian hands +stretched out <i>with</i> the Gospel. More hearts in those far-away lands are +dumbly praying for the light than there are of us praying that they may +receive the light--far more. + +The greatest question for the Church to-day is--shall we enter the open +door? And this is a key-question, too. Its answer includes a full +satisfactory answer to all the other questions we are discussing. All +questions of finance, of uncertain wabbling pulpit voices, of careless and +indifferent or empty pews, and of city evangelization will quickly find an +answer as the Church fully and faithfully answers this. Here is the work +that, if done, and well done, will bring a new circulation of blood into +the whole life of the Church. + +Have you noticed the sharp contrast that there is gradually growing up +between the way people at home and these foreign peoples are receiving the +Gospel? Out there there is an openness to the truth, an eager willingness +to believe it simply, and to act upon it, that suggests the way they did +in the Book of Acts. In our home-lands of America and Great Britain and +Germany there seems to be either indifference, or an atmosphere of quibble +and criticism. With questions and doubts naturalistic explanations are +sought that do away with much of the simple force of God's truth. + +A like difference is showing itself between the results there and here. +Here they are scantier, and gotten with great difficulty; there much +larger, and with greater ease. There the door is wide-open, and people +crowding in; here there is a feeling that the door is closing, surely and +not slowly people turn away elsewhere. There has come to be an unusual +proportion of pickles and salads and other relishes served with every +spreading of the Gospel meal here. There, just plain unbuttered bread is +eagerly and thankfully sought for. They are hungry. And their hunger is a +wide-open door to us. We need the exercise of foreign travel, and a great +deal of it, to bring back our zest. + + + +<u>"Inasmuch."</u> + + +May I speak very softly of another side of this knocking at our door? +<i>Who</i> is it that is knocking? Aye, <i>Who</i>? + +Do you remember Jesus' words in Matthew, chapter twenty-five? He is +speaking of the settling-up time that is to come at the close of things. +And He does something there that is startling. He <i>identifies Himself</i> +with the hungry and cold and poor. That is, He puts Himself in their +place. They are reckoned as though they were He. He says that when they +asked for some food and warm clothes <i>it was really Himself asking for +food and warmth!</i> We have been really dealing with Him when we have met +these needy ones. The one test question He makes for all is this--What did +you do for these hungry people? Because what you did, or didn't do for +them, was done or refused to <i>Me</i>. Jesus comes in the guise of the needy. +Who is it knocking at our door so loudly to-day? + +I suppose if you could think of Jesus actually coming to-day to New York, +the human Jesus I mean, coming as a man just as He came to Jerusalem, but +known to us as He is now--I suppose there is hardly a door that would not +open to Him. He might not be any better understood in New York than He was +in Jerusalem, but the doors of the wealthy would quickly open to Him. I +mean the Christian wealthy, the Church wealthy; other doors, too, no +doubt, but these surely. He would have a great welcome. + +And I suppose, too, that if in some wealthy home on Fifth Avenue or +Madison Avenue He were to ask His host to give some large sum, a million +dollars or ten millions, for sending the Gospel to China or Japan His +request would likely be granted. It seems to me rather probable that it +would. Well, how can it be put plainly enough that He does come to our +doors, rich, and less rich, and poor. He's at the front door now, knocking +and asking our help. + +In these heathen peoples of His, <i>Jesus</i> comes to us. And we have been +giving Him--shall I say it very softly for sheer shame?--we have given, +not all, but most of us, what is practically the loose change in our +trousers' pocket; not actually, of course; sometimes even that. We have +spent more on everything else. We have made up boxes of cast-off clothes +and old shoes for--<i>Jesus!</i> This has been a large part of our answer. Is +it any wonder the hot blood sends the color climbing into our cheeks at +the thought, and that we instinctively seek for some explanation that will +soften the hard rub of the truth! + +I found a bit of a poem in a magazine some time ago that caught fire as I +read it. It was written, I judge, in a personal sense; but it came to me +at once with a wider meaning; and it persists in so coming at every +reading of it. + +In this poem there is some one knocking at a door for admission, and a +voice without calls, + + "'Friend, open to <i>Me</i>.' Who is this that calls? + Nay, I am deaf as are my walls; + Cease crying, for I will not hear + Thy cry of hope or fear. + What art thou indeed + That I should heed + Thy lamentable need? + Hungry, should feed, + Or stranger, lodge thee here? + +But the voice persists-- + + "'Friend, My feet bleed. + Open thy door to Me and comfort Me.' + 'I will not open; trouble me no more. + Go on thy way footsore, + I will not arise and open unto thee. + +And still the pleading, + + "'Then is it nothing to thee? Open, see + Who stands to plead with thee. + Open, lest I should pass thee by, and thou + One day entreat My face + And cry for grace, + And I be deaf as thou art now; + Open to Me' + + "Then I cried out upon him: Cease, + Leave me in peace; + Fear not that I should crave + Aught thou may'st have. + Leave me in peace, yea, trouble me no more, + Lest I arise and chase thee from my door. + What! shall I not be let + Alone, that thou dost vex me yet? + + "But all night long that voice spake urgently-- + 'Open to Me.' + Still harping in mine ears-- + 'Rise, let Me in.' + Pleading with tears-- + 'Open to Me, that I may come to thee.' + While the dew dropp'd, while the dark hours were cold-- + 'My feet bleed, see My Face, + See My hands bleed that bring thee grace, + My heart doth bleed for thee-- + Open to Me.' + + "So, till the break of day; + Then died away + That voice, in silence as of sorrow; + Then footsteps echoing like a sigh + Pass'd me by; + Lingering footsteps, slow to pass. + On the morrow + I saw upon the grass + Each footprint mark'd in blood, and <i>on my door</i> + <i>The mark of blood forevermore</i>."[10] + +That same voice still comes with a strangely gentle persistence-- + + "Inasmuch as ye did it + Unto one of these my brethren, even these least, + Ye did it unto Me. + + "Inasmuch as ye did it <i>not</i> + Unto one of these least, + Ye did it <i>not</i> unto Me."[11] + + + + +The Pressing Emergency + + + + The October Panic. + Danger and Victory Eying Each Other. + Spirit Contests. + A Crisis of Neglect and Success. + A Westernized Heathenism.[A] + A Powerless Christianity. + Death or Deep Water. + Saved by Saving. + + + + +The Pressing Emergency + + + +<u>The October Panic.</u> + + +A man walked up the steps of a well-known bank in lower New York one +morning, about a half-hour before opening-time, and stood before the shut +door. In a few minutes another came, and stood waiting beside him. Others +came, one by one, until soon a small group stood in line, waiting for the +door to open. + +A messenger boy, coming down the street, quickly took in the unusual +sight. He wasn't old enough to have been through any of New York's notable +panics, and he had never witnessed a run on a bank; but quick as a flash, +or as a Wall-Street messenger boy, he knew as though by instinct that a +run was on at that bank. Instantly he started running down the street to +tell others. + +No prairie wild-fire ever spread so quickly as the news ran over 'phone +wires of the beginning of that run. As though by some sort of invisible +ether-waves, the news seemed to spread through the financial district. +Every bank president seemed to know at once. Then it spread throughout the +city, and the greater city. + +So began what has been called the October panic of last year, which +quickly spread through the land, and then throughout the world until every +country bank here, and every capital city abroad, felt the sharp +tightening of the money-bag strings. + +It was a strange panic. You couldn't just tell what was responsible for +it. The very variety of explanations, editorial and other, told of the +lack of a common understanding of what caused it. There had been no famine +or drought. The crops, the chief financial barometer of the country's +condition, had been remarkably abundant. There had been no overproduction +or glutting of the industrial world. Indeed, great numbers of concerns had +been embarrassed by orders that they couldn't fill fast enough. The cause +seemed to be wholly in people's <i>minds</i>. A spirit of distrust of some of +the great money leaders and of their methods was abroad. That feeling of +fear sent a few men, by an unplanned concert of action, to a certain bank +before ten o'clock one morning. + +The unusual sight of a few men standing in line waiting for the opening of +that bank door was like a lighted match to a barn full of dry hay. At the +first inkling of a suggestion of a financial panic money began to +disappear. Nothing is so cowardly in its cautiousness as money. +Scholarship comes next to it. The savings of years have the tightest grip +on most human hands. As though by magic, money began hunting dark holes in +stockings and cellars and safety-deposit boxes. And the hard grip of the +panic was quickly felt everywhere. It was a fear panic. A terrible danger +was at hand. + +At once the regular habit of life was disturbed for great numbers of men. +The Secretary of the Treasury quit his Washington desk and spent several +days in New York so as to be able to give the help of the Government's +funds and enormous prestige where they would count for most, and to give +promptly. Bank officials and other financial leaders cut social +engagements and everything else that could be cut, and devoted themselves +to meeting the sudden emergency. They ate scantily, both to save time and +for lack of appetite, and to help keep their heads clear for quick +decisive thinking and action. The tension was intense. Men sat up all +night conferring on best measures. + +A group of the leading money men met in the private quarters of one of +their numbers, about whose rugged personality and leadership they +instinctively rallied. More than one night the gray dawning light of the +morning found them, with white, drawn faces, still in conference. The +emergency gripped them. An emergency always does. The habits of life are +upset, helter-skelter, in the effort to avert the threatening danger. That +was an emergency in the money world. Grave danger threatened. Everything +else was forgotten, and every bit of available resource strained to turn +the danger aside. It <i>was</i> turned aside. That was a splendid achievement. +And even though men have been feeling the effects for this whole year, +what they have felt is as nothing compared with what might have come. + + + +<u>Danger and Victory Eying each other.</u> + + +An emergency means a great danger threatening, perhaps the very life. But +it means, too, that if the danger can be gripped and overcome there will +be great victory. Two possibilities come up close and stare each other +angrily in the face; the possibility of great disaster impending, and of +great victory over it within grasp, if there be a reaching hand to grasp +it. The deciding thing is the human element, the strong, quick hand +stretched out. If strength can be concentrated, the situation gripped, +then great victory is assured. But it takes the utmost concentration of +strength, with rare wisdom and quick steady action, to turn the tide +toward flood. If this is not done, either because of lack of leadership or +of enough strength or enough interest, disaster comes. + +Just such emergencies come to us constantly. A severe illness lays its +hand upon a loved one in the home. The crisis comes. Death and life stand +in the sick-room eying each other. Either one may be victor. No one can +tell surely which it will be. And every effort is strained, the habit of +life broken, other matters forgotten and neglected, that death may be +staved off, and life wooed to stay. And when the crisis passes safely the +joy over the new lease of life makes one forget all the cost of strain and +effort. + +Who of us cannot recall some time back there, when some emergency came in +personal business matters, and personal and home expenses and plans were +cut down to the lowest notch, to the bleeding-point, that the emergency +might be safely met. + +Teachers and parents know that moral emergencies come at intervals in a +child's life, until young manhood and womanhood are reached. One of the +greatest tasks in child-training is to note the emergency, and meet it +successfully. And what keenness and patience and subtlety it does take +only he knows who has been through the experience. + + + +<u>Spirit Contests.</u> + + +Emergencies come in spiritual matters, too. They are the hardest kind to +meet. It is hardest to make people see them and grip them. In the life of +many a church a spiritual emergency has come, but has not been met. The +church goes on holding services, raising money and paying it out, going +through all the proper forms, but with the life itself quite gone out of +it. The thing is being kept in motion by a humanly manipulated electric +current; there is no free life-movement. + +Evangelistic leaders say that such emergencies come in their campaigning. +There has to be a struggle of spirit forces. And the victory that comes, +comes only as a result of close hand-to-hand conflict of soul by the +leaders. + +We all know that such crises come in our personal experience. And those +who know about changing things by prayer do not need to be told of the +emergency that comes at times; nor of how it requires a tightening of all +the buckles, a new reviewing of the promises on which prayer rests, a new +steadying of one's faith, a quietly persistent hanging on, an intenser +insistence of spirit in prayer and more arrow-praying in the daily round +of work--sending out the softly breathed heart-pleadings while busy with +common duties, until the assurance comes that the danger is past and the +victory secure. + +It is remarkable to what an extent the great events of history have been +emergency events. With the greatest reverence, it can be said that +history's central event, the dying of Jesus, was an emergency action. Even +though we understand clearly that it was known and counselled from before +the foundation of the world, that He was to shed His precious blood for +our salvation, His dying can never be fully understood save as a great +emergency measure, <i>the</i> great emergency measure, because of the crisis +made by sin. + +Now that is the sort of thing--an emergency--that is now on in this great +task of world-wide evangelization which Jesus has committed to our hands. +Some of you may be strongly inclined to lift your eyebrows and ask--Is +there really any such emergency? I know that people don't like those words +"crisis" and "emergency." It is much more comfortable to think that things +are going on very smoothly and well. Even though all is not just as we +might choose to have it, yet we like to think that it will turn out well. +There is a sort of optimism that is very popular. Things will all come out +right somehow, we like to think. But the fact is that things don't turn +out right of themselves. They have to be turned by somebody who gives +heart and life to the turning. + +It can be said with sane, sober sense that without doubt there is an +emergency, and a great one, in this foreign-mission enterprise. It is, of +course, true that in a sense there is <i>a continual emergency</i> here. There +are thousands of these foreign brothers of ours slipping the tether of +life daily. The light might easily have been taken to them, and have +changed their choices. But then it hasn't been, and the dark shadow of the +possibility of their separating themselves forever from God, through wrong +choice persisted in, hangs down over each one of them. There can be no +darker shadow except the actual knowledge that they have so separated +themselves from life in Him. + + + +<u>A Crisis of Neglect and Success.</u> + + +But quite distinct from that, and in addition to it, it is quite safe to +say that there is <i>an emergency now on</i> in the heathen world such as it +has never known before. Such is the mature judgment of our missionary +leaders. + +And we do well to remind ourselves that we have some remarkable men among +these leaders. There are men on the foreign fields and at the missionary +helm at home of most remarkable ability and genius. There are to-day men +of statesmanlike grasp and power, who could easily have taken front rank +in public life, in diplomacy, and professional life, men fully able to +fill the Presidential chair and do it masterfully, who are giving their +life-blood to this great missionary task. + +The sober judgment of these men, taken from every angle of vision, is that +the present is a time of unparalleled emergency. It exists peculiarly in +Asia, the greatest of all foreign-mission lands. It has been caused by a +number of things that now come together with such force as to make a +crisis, <i>the</i> crisis of missions, the gravest that has yet come, and that, +it is probably safe to say, will ever come. For the future will be largely +settled, one way or the other, within a few years. + +At the basis of all is <i>the great need</i>, of course. That looms big and +gaunt and spectral in any survey of the matter. + +Then <i>the neglect</i> by the Church for many generations has greatly +intensified the present situation. The Master's plan plainly is that every +generation of the Church shall give the Gospel to its generation; that is, +to all the people living in the world at that time. Every generation of +men must have the Gospel afresh. No land is beyond the need of a fresh +gospelizing. If Christian America were to lose its churches and the +Gospel, it would surely revert to the heathen type from which we sprung. + +But many generations went by with practically nothing of this sort being +done. These generations of inactivity have piled up on the present +generation. The undone work of the past adds greatly to the task of the +present. The present situation is abnormal because of what hasn't been +done. + +Then <i>the success of the present</i> has played a big part. Modern missionary +activity has had a big share in making this emergency. A century of +missions is reaching a tremendous climax. The splendid aggressiveness of +church leaders and missionaries is now an embarrassment to a Church, or +any one in the Church, who doesn't want to keep up the pace. It is an +emergency of success, the logical result of what has been accomplished. So +much has been done, and been done so well by a comparatively few, that now +more must be done by the rest of us. + +It's because the heathen world is awake that there is an emergency. Their +awakeness is the thing that crowds in on us. And we waked them up. We must +now do more and better, because we have done so well. We have indeed waked +them up, but--to what? A business man would stamp it as rank foolishness +to fail to take advantage of the splendid opening that we have made in the +foreign-mission world. + + + +<u>A Westernized Heathenism.</u> + + +Now, let us look just a bit at this present pressing emergency. There are +grave perils threatening, and a great victory possible. + +Well, first of all there is real danger of <i>a new aggressive heathenism;</i> +a new, energetic, but distinctly un-Christian civilization, in the heathen +world. Many thoughtful men who are keenly watching the world movement +believe that without doubt there is to be a new leadership of the human +race in the Orient. It <i>may</i> be a heathen leadership. That danger is a +distinct possibility. The new world-leadership may have all the enormous +energy and mental keenness of Christian peoples, but without the Christian +spirit. + +That means practically a new heathenism, no longer asleep but wide-awake; +no longer being manipulated by the Western nations, but maybe manipulating +and managing them. An aroused, organized, energized heathen world, with +all the science and inventiveness and restless aggressiveness of the +western nations and, mark you--<i>and</i> all the spirit of the old, Godless, +Christless heathenism dominating its new life--that is the danger. + +The heathen world is awake at last after a sleep of centuries. It is +sitting up, rubbing its eyes, and taking notice. It is entering upon a new +life. That's as clear as a sunbeam on a cloudless morning. What that life +shall be depends entirely on the Church waking up. That means, to be more +practical, that it depends on you and me waking up, just now, and doing +what we easily can. It <i>may</i> be a new <i>Christian</i> life, shot through and +through with the blessed principles and spirit of Jesus. It <i>may</i> be a new +life of energized, Westernized heathenism! They may get merely our energy +and mental awakeness without the Christian spirit that gave these to us. + +These two opposite things are standing by the bedside eying each other. +Which will get the patient? Who knows? If the Church fail--! + +This is a real peril seriously threatening. It is probably far more grave +and far more likely than the best-informed and keenest observer is aware +of. + + + +<u>A Powerless Christianity.</u> + + +Then there is a second danger climbing in fast on the heels of this, that +is already being plainly felt. <i>These peoples may turn away from a +Christianity that seems powerless to them.</i> As they come to know better +the simple principles of our faith they may see that we are not true to +it. Our Master bade us go everywhere and tell all men of Him, and tell +them most and best by the way we live. But we haven't done it. The Church +of the past nineteen centuries, taken as a whole, hasn't done it. The +Church to-day, taken as a whole, isn't doing it. + +How many times have the missionaries been obliged to listen to the +question, which is a reproach rather than a question, "Why didn't you come +before? My father lived and died in distress, seeking for this light you +bring us now. <i>Why didn't your father come and tell my father?"</i> If they +find that our faith hasn't gripped <i>us</i> enough to master our lives they +will naturally doubt if, after all, there is any more real practical +power in it than in their own heathen beliefs. + +It <i>seems</i> better in theory, but it seems to lose its ideals in the stiff +test of practice. They would be wrong in thinking that, of course. But +what conclusion more natural to the crowd that never thinks deep. When all +the difficulties and hardships come in the way of their acceptance of +Christ, and the easiest way is not to, how easy to throw the whole thing +aside. + +The story is told of a Chinaman in this country who applied for a position +as house-servant in a family which belonged to a fashionable church. He +was asked: + +"Do you drink whiskey?" + +"No, I Clistian man." + +"Do you play cards?" + +"No, I Clistian man." + +He was engaged, and proved to be a capable servant. By and by the lady +gave a bridge-party, with wine accompaniments. The Chinaman did his part +acceptably, but the next morning he appeared before his mistress. + +"I want quit," he said. + +"Why? What is the matter?" + +"I Clistian man. I told you so before; no heathen; no workee for 'Melican +heathen." + +These heathen brothers of ours are not fools. They are a keen lot. They +judge our religion by us who profess it, as we do with them and theirs. +There may come a wide-spread practical disbelief, or lack of belief, that +there is any practical power in Christ to change a man's life, and really +control his actions. And it will be a perfectly logical conclusion from +what they find in us Christian nations as a whole. + + + +<u>Death or Deep Water.</u> + + +And then there are some mighty bad dangers on the other side--<i>our</i> side. +If it be true that every generation <i>needs</i> the Gospel, it is just as true +that every generation of Christians <i>needs to give</i> the Gospel. It is the +very life of a Christian to give himself out in earnest service for +others. The man who is failing there has started on the down grade in his +Christian life. If we lose the spirit of "go" we have lost the very +Christian spirit itself. A disobedient church will become a dead church. +It will die of heart failure. + +It was John's Man with eyes of searching flame, and tongue of keen-edged +sword, and feet that had been through the fire, who said to a Christian +church, "I will move thy candlestick out of its place except thou change +thy ways."[12] The candlestick isn't the light. It holds the light. The +Church's great mission is to be the world's light-holder. + +But unsnuffed candles and cobwebby window-panes seem to have been in +evidence sometimes. The Christian Church in some lands has plainly lost +its privilege of service, and lost its life, too. The old organizations +are kept up, but all life has gone. There's a grave danger threatening +the American Church and the British Church just at this present time. + +Long years ago, in the days before steam navigation, an ocean vessel came +from a long sea voyage, up St. George's Channel, headed for Liverpool. +When the pilot was taken on board, he cried abruptly to the captain, "What +do you mean? You've let her drift off toward the Welsh coast, toward the +shallows. Muster the crew." The crew was quickly mustered, and the pilot +told the danger in a few short words, and then said sharply, "Boys, it's +death or deep water, hoist the mains'l!" And only by dint of hardest work +was the ship saved. + +If I could get the ear of the Church to-day, I would, as a great kindness +to it, cry out with all the earnestness of soul I could command, "<i>It's +death or deep water;</i> deep water in this holy service of world-winning, or +death from foundering." + + + +<u>Saved by Saving.</u> + + +And then there's a yet graver peril threatening. It's quite the common +thing to appeal to selfish motives. It is striking that the great strides +that prohibition has made of recent years, have been due to a sort of +legislation and to business regulation that appeal to selfish motives. The +economic motive, and the disagreeable and injurious likelihood of a saloon +being close to one's own home, have had greater influence than higher +moral motives. And we are glad of any motive that will put the damnable +traffic down and out. + +Well, I'm going to come down a step here, and remind you of a yet graver +peril that threatens. There is serious danger of <i>a heathenized +Christianity</i> dominating our boasted Christian civilization and Christian +lands. And in time that would be a serious menace to our pocket-books. + +That is to say, there may be the energy and keen mental life without the +mellowing and sweetening influence of the Christian spirit. The restless +aggressiveness may come without the poise; the ceaseless activity without +the deeper steadying quality; the keenness without the softening touch of +the true life. In other words, if we don't Christianize heathendom, they +will exert an influence on us that will practically amount to their +heathenizing Christendom. + +Already such influences are seeping in at more than one crack. +Mohammedanism has an active propaganda in Great Britain. Heathen wedges +are slipping their thin edges in, in our land. More and more it will +extend, in time influencing our whole moral fabric, and affecting our +whole national life. + +During some recent researches among the ruins of Pompeii the explorers +turned up a find that told its own story. It was the body of a crippled +boy. He was lame in his foot. And around the body there was a woman's arm, +a finely shaped, beautiful, bejewelled arm. The mute find told its simple +story. The great stream of fire suddenly coming from the volcano, the +crowd fleeing for life, the little cripple unable to get along fast +enough, the woman's heart touched, her arm thrown about the boy to aid +his escape; then the overtaking fire-flood, and both lost. The arm that +was stretched out to save another was preserved, and only that. All the +rest of the brave rescuer's body had gone. The saving part was saved. Only +that mercifully outstretched to save another was itself saved. + +The Church or the man that selfishly saveth his life shall lose it. He +that forgetteth about his own life in eagerly saving others shall find +that he has saved his own life, and that it has grown into a new fulness +and richness of life. + +These are some of the dark ugly faces peering into ours. But there's +another face among them. It is a very bright face, with eyes all aglow, +and features all shining with light. It is the face of victory over every +danger and difficulty that threatens. Many believe that the emergency will +be met. The victory will surely be achieved. But the fact to mark keenly, +just now, is that it will be achieved only by a vigorous, masterful +gripping of the present pressing emergency. + +Ah! God, may Thy Church--we men who make Thy Church, who <i>are</i> Thy +Church--may we see the emergency, and be gripped by it; for Jesus' sake; +aye, for men's sake; for the Church's sake; for our own sake; in Jesus' +great name. + + + + +The Past Failure + + + + Some of God's Failures. + Where the Reproach of Failure Lies. + God's Sovereignty. + The Church Mission. + "Christ also Waits." + "Somebody Forgets." + + + + +The Past Failure + + + +<u>Some of God's Failures.</u> + + +God fails, sometimes. That is to say, the plan He has made and set His +heart upon fails. + +Eden was God's plan for man. A weedless, thornless, world-garden of great +beauty and fruitfulness; a man and woman living together in sweet purity +and strong self-mastery; their children growing up in such an atmosphere, +trained for the highest and best; the earth with all its wondrous forces +developed and mastered by man; full comradeship and partnership between +man and all the living creation, beast and bird; and in the midst of all +God Himself walking and working in closest touch with man in all his +enterprises--that was God's Eden plan for man. But it failed. + +The Israel plan was a failure, too. The main purpose of Israel being made +God's peculiar people has failed up to the present hour. That plan +originally was a simple shepherd people, living on the soil close to +nature. They were to be, not a democracy ruled by the direct vote of the +people in all things; nor a republic ruled by the vote of selected +representatives; nor yet a kingdom ruled over by the will of an autocrat; +but something quite distinct from all of these, what men have been pleased +to call a theocracy. + +That is to say, God Himself was to be their ruler in a very real, +practical sense, directing and working with them in the working out of all +their national life. They were to combine all the best in each of these +forms of government, with a something added, not in any of them as men +know them. + +They were to be wholly unlike the other nations, utterly unambitious +politically, neither exciting war upon themselves by others nor ever +making war upon others. Their great mission was to be a teacher-nation to +all the earth, teaching the great spiritual truths; and, better yet, +embodying these truths in their personal and national life. + +But the plan failed. The glitter of the other nations turned them aside +from God's plan. They set up a kingdom, "like all the nations," very much +like them. + +Then God worked with them where they would work with Him. He planned a +great kingdom to overspread the earth in its rule and blessed influence, +but not by the aggression of war and oppression. Their later literature is +all a-flood with the glory light of the coming king and kingdom. Yet when +the King came they rejected Him and then killed Him. They failed at the +very point that was to have been their great achievement. God's plan +failed. The Hebrew people from the point of view of the direct object of +their creation as a nation have been a failure up to the present hour. + +God's choice for their first king, Saul, was a failure, too. No man ever +began life, nor king his rule, with better preparation and prospects. And +no career ever ended in such dismal failure. God's plan for the man had +failed. + +Jesus' plan for Judas failed. The sharpest contrasts of possible good and +actual bad came together in his career in the most startling way. He +failed at the very point where he should have been strongest--his personal +loyalty to his Chief. + +There can be no doubt that Jesus picked him out for one of His inner +circle because of his strong attractive traits. He had in him the making +of a John, the intimate, the writer of the great fourth Gospel. He might +have been a Peter, rugged in his bold leadership of the early Church. + +But, though coached and companioned with, loved and wooed, up to the very +hour of the cowardly contemptible betrayal, he failed to respond even to +such influence as a Jesus could exert. Jesus planned Judas the apostle. He +became Judas the apostate, the traitor. He was to be a leader and teacher +of the Gospel. He became a miserable reproach and by-word of execration to +all men. Jesus' plan failed. + + + +<u>Where the Reproach of Failure Lies.</u> + + +Will you please mark very keenly that the failure always comes because of +man's unwillingness to work with God? It always takes two for God's +plan--Himself and a man. All His working is through human partnership. In +all His working among men He needs to work <i>with</i> men. + +Some good earnest people don't like, and won't like, that blunt statement +that God fails sometimes. It seems to them to cast a reproach upon God. +They may likely think it lacking in due reverence. But if these kind +friends will sink the shaft of their thinking just a little deeper down +into the mine of truth, they will find that the reproach is somewhere +else. + +There <i>is</i> reproach. Every failure that could have been prevented by +honest work and earnest faithfulness spells reproach. And there is +reproach here. But it isn't upon God; it is upon man. God's plan depends +upon man. It is always man's failure to do his simple part faithfully that +causes God's plan to fail. + +There is a false reverence that fears to speak plainly of God. It seeks by +holding back some things, and speaking of others with very carefully +thought-out phrase, to bolster up God's side. True love has two marked +traits: it is always plain-spoken in telling all the truth when it should +be known; and it is always reverential. It can't be otherwise. The +bluntest words on the lips combine with the deepest reverence of spirit. +God doesn't need to be defended. The plain truth need never be apologized +for. + +It's a false reverence that holds back some of the truth, lest stating it +may seem to reflect on God's character. Such false reverence is a +distinct hindrance. It holds back from us some of the truth, and the +strong emphasis that the truth needs to arouse our attention and get into +our some-time thick heads. We men need the stirring up of plain truth, +told in plainest speech. The Church has suffered for lack of plain telling +of the truth. The deepest, tenderest reverence insists upon plain talk, +and reveals itself in such talk. + +It is irreverent to hold back some of God's truth. For so men get wrong +impressions of God. It is unfair as well as irreverent. Theology has +sometimes been greatly taken up with adjusting its statements so as to +defend God's character. But the plainest, fullest telling of truth is the +greatest revealer of His great wisdom and purity and unfailing love. + + + +<u>God's Sovereignty.</u> + + +There has been a good bit of teaching about "God's sovereignty". Behind +that mysterious, indefinite phrase has crept much that badly needs the +clear, searching sunlight of day. God's sovereignty is commonly thought of +as a sort of dead-weight force by which He compels things to come His way. +If a man stand in the way of God's plan so much the worse for the man. It +is thought of as a sort of mighty army, marching down the road, in close +ranks, with fixed bayonets. If you happen to be on that road better look +out very sharply, or you may get crushed under foot. + +I do not mean that the theologians put it in that blunt fashion, nor that +I have ever heard any preacher phrase it in that way. I mean that as I +have talked with the plain common people, and listened to them, this is +the distinct impression that comes continually of what it means to them. +Then, too, the phrase has often been used, it is to be feared, as a +religious cloak to cover up the shortcomings and shirkings of those who +aren't fitting into God's plan. + +God is a sovereign. The truth of His sovereignty is one of the most +gracious of all the truths in this blessed old Book of God. It means that +the great gracious purpose and plan of God will finally be victorious. It +means that in our personal lives He, with great patience and skill and +power, works <i>through</i> the tangled network of circumstances and +difficulties to answer our prayers, and to bring out the best results for +us. + +It means further that, with a diplomacy and patience only divine, He works +<i>with</i> and <i>through</i> the intricate meshes of men's wills and contrary +purposes to bring out good now--not good out of bad, that is impossible; +but good in spite of the bad--and that finally all opposition will be +overcome, or will have spent itself out in utter weakness, and so His +purposes of love will be fully victorious. + +But the practical thing to burn in deep just now is this, that we can +hinder God's plan. His plans <i>have</i> been hindered, and delayed, and made +to fail, because we wouldn't work with Him. + +And God <i>lets</i> His plan fail. It is a bit of His greatness. He will let a +plan fail before He will be untrue to man's utter freedom of action. He +will let a man wreck his career, that so through the wreckage the man may +see his own failure, and gladly turn to God. Many a hill is climbed only +through a swamp road. + +God cares more for a man than for a plan. The plan is only for the sake of +the man. You say, of course. But, you know, many men think more of +carrying through the plan on which they have set themselves, regardless of +how it may hurt or crush some man in the way. God's plan is for man, and +so it is allowed to fail, for the man's sake. + +Yet, because the plan is always made for man's sake, it will be carried +through, because by and by man will see it to be best Many a man's +character has been made only through the wrecking of his career. If God +had had His way He would have saved both life and soul, both the earthly +career and the heavenly character. + +Let us stop thoughtfully, and remember that God has carefully thought out +a plan for every man, for each one of us. It is a plan for the <i>life</i>, +these human years; not simply for getting us to what we may have thought +of as a psalm-singing heaven, when we're worn out down here. + +It is the best plan. For God is ambitious for us; more ambitious for you +and me than we are for ourselves, though few of us really believe that. +But He will carry out His plan--aye, He <i>can</i> carry it out only with our +hearty consent. He must work <i>through</i> our wills. He honors us in that +With greatest reverence be it said that God waits reverently, hat in hand, +outside the door of a man's will, until the man inside turns the knob and +throws open the door for Him to come in and carry out His plan. We can +make God fail by not working with Him. The greatest of all achievements of +action is to find and fit into God's plan. + + + +<u>The Church Mission.</u> + + +Now, God had and has a plan for His Church. That plan is simply this: The +Church was to be His messenger to the nations of the earth. There are +other matters of vast importance committed to the Church, without doubt: +the service of worship and the training and developing of the life of its +members. But these, be it said very thoughtfully, are distinctly secondary +to the service of taking the Gospel to all men. + +These two, the chief and the secondary, are interwoven, each contributing +to and dependent upon the other. But there is always a main purpose. And +that here, without question, is the carrying of the message of Jesus fully +to all the earth. In each generation the chief plan, to which all else was +meant to be contributory, was that all men should hear fully and winsomely +the great thrilling story of Jesus. + +Shall I say that that plan has failed? It hurts too much even to repeat +such words. I will not <i>say</i> the Church has failed. But I will ask you to +note God's plan for the Church, and then in your inner heart to make your +own honest answer. + +And in making it remember the practical point is this--the Church is <i>you. +I</i> am the Church. Its mission is mine. If I say it has failed I am talking +about myself. I can keep it from failing so far as part of it is +concerned, the part that I am. My concern is not to be asking abstractly, +theoretically, about the Church, but about so much of it as I am. + +In annual church reports, and triennial and quadrennial, much space is +given to telling of the <i>wealth</i> of the Church. Of course, I suppose its +wealth is meant to be an index of all its work. It may seem a bit odd to +use the world's index-finger to point out our faithfulness to our Master's +will. It is used, of course, to impress the world in the way the world can +most quickly and easily understand. + +But the Church was not meant by the Master to be a rich institution in +money and property; though it has grown immensely so. The Master's thought +was that its power and faithfulness should be revealed entirely in the +extent to which all men of all nations know about Himself and have been +won to Him. + +If we think only a little bit into the past history of the Church, and +then into present world conditions, we know the answer to that hurting +question about the Church being a failure. + +I know that many of you are thinking of the triumphs of the Church; of her +imperishable and incalculable influence upon the life of the world. And I +will join you heartily in that, some other time. Just now we are not +talking of that, but of just one particular fact of its history. One truth +at a time makes sharper outlines and brings the whole circle of truth out +more plainly. I love to sing, + + "I love Thy Kingdom, Lord, + The house of Thine abode; + The Church our blest Redeemer saved + With His own precious blood." + +We shudder to attempt to think into what these centuries would have been +without the influence of the Church. + +But at present we are talking about something else. Let me ask you, +softly, if God's plan for the Church was that it was to be His messenger +to all men, as you think back through nineteen centuries and then think +out into the moral world conditions to-day, would you say the plan had +succeeded? Or had--? + + + +<u>"Christ also Waits."</u> + + +There's a bit of light here on that vexed question of the Lord's second +coming, about which good, earnest people differ so radically. The Master +said, you remember, that we were to be watching for His return. But many +ask, how can we be watching when it's been two thousand years since He +told us to watch, and the event seems as far off as ever? + +I remember one day in a Bible class the lesson was in the twelfth of +Luke, about watching for the Lord's return. Some of the class seemed to +think that it means that we should be in a constant attitude of +expectancy, looking for His return. But one man, an earnest, godly old +minister said, "How can you be looking expectantly for a <i>thousand +years?"</i> + +But will you mark keenly that the teaching of Jesus Himself was that His +return depended on His followers' doing a certain thing?[13] When all men +had been told fully of Jesus, then He was to return and carry out a +further part of His plan. Clearly if the part we were to play has not been +done, it delays His part. The telling of all men about Jesus seems to bear +a very close connection with what will occur when Jesus returns. + +Some of our good friends have been much taken up with figuring out when +the Lord would come back. Some of them seem to have great skill in making +calendars. They even go so far as to fix exact dates. They seem to forget +that word of the Master, "In such an hour as ye think <i>not</i> the Son of Man +cometh." If you think He will come at a certain given time, then you can +know one thing certainly, that He won't come then. + +The only calendar we men have is a calendar of <i>dates</i>, fitted to the +movements of the sun and moon. God has a calendar, too, but it is a +calendar of <i>events</i>, not of dates. The completion of His plans doesn't +depend on so many revolutions of the earth about the sun, but on the +faithful revolution of His followers in their movement around the earth +telling men of Jesus. + +It looks very much as though the Master's coming has been delayed, and His +plans delayed, because we have not done the preparatory part assigned us. + + "The restless millions wait the light, + Whose coming maketh all things new. + <i>Christ also waits;</i> but men are slow and late. + Have we done what we could? Have I? Have you ?" + + +<u>"Somebody Forgets."</u> + +A little fellow, of a very poor family, in the slum section of one of our +large cities, was induced to attend a mission Sunday-school. By and by, as +a result of the teacher's faithful work, he became a Christian. He seemed +quite bright and settled in his new Christian faith and life. + +Some one, surely in a thoughtless mood, tried to test or shake his simple +faith in God by a question. He was asked, "If God loves you, why doesn't +He take better care of you? Why doesn't He tell some one to send you warm +shoes and some coal and better food?" + +The little fellow thought a moment, and then with big tears starting in +his eyes, said, "I guess He does tell somebody, <i>but somebody forgets</i>." + +Without knowing it, the boy touched the sore point in the Church's +history. I wonder if it is the sore point with you or me. + + + + +The Coming Victory + + + + Failure Swallowed By Victory. + The Revised Missionary Motto. + Ahead, But Behind. + In A Swift Current. + Power Of Leadership. + A Minority Movement. + A Great World-chorus. + The Oratorio Of Victory. + + + + +The Coming Victory + + + +<u>Failure Swallowed by Victory.</u> + + +But God's failures are only for a while. They are real. There is the +tragic element in them. There is the deep, sad tinge of disappointment +running throughout this old Book of God. Yet the failures are only for a +time. Sometimes it seems a very long time, especially if you are living +through some of it. But the time reaches eagerly to an end. Victory comes. +And God's victory will be so great as to make us completely forget the +failures that marred the road. + +The Eden plan was more than a plan. It was a prophecy of the final +outcome. The Book of God begins with failure, but it ends with a glowing +picture of great victory, painted with rose colors. Every feature of +beauty and of good in Eden has grown greatly in John's Revelation climax. +The garden of Genesis becomes a garden-city. All the simplicity and purity +of garden life, and all the development and power represented by city +life, are brought together. There is now a <i>river</i> of <i>life</i>, and the +<i>tree</i> of life has grown into a grove. + +And God isn't through with that nation of Israel yet. The Jew can't be +lost. In every nation under heaven he can be found to-day, a walking +reminder of God's plan. Every Jew, in whatever ghetto he may be found, is +an unconscious prophecy of a coming fulfilment of God's purpose. The +strange racial immortality of the Jew is a puzzle from every standpoint, +except God's. He can't be killed off; though men have never ceased trying +to kill him off. The Jew looms up bigger to-day than for many generations. + +The present strange restless Jewish longing for national existence again, +that will not down, spells out the coming victory of God's plan after +centuries of failure. And even though the present tide may run out toward +ebb, it will be to gather force for a new and fuller flood. When God's +plan works out the world will have a wholly new idea of national life, and +of a world-power without army or navy or any show of force, touching all +men, and touching them only to bless. + +And though King Saul failed, there was already the ruddy David, out among +the sheep, waiting the anointing oil, and carrying about in his person his +nation's greatest king. + +Jesus' Judas failed to realize the promise of his earlier days. He struck +the record note for baseness. But Paul was being prepared by blood +inheritance and scholarly training. Under the touch of the Master's own +hand he became the Church's greatest leader in its life-mission. If Judas +struck the lowest note, Paul rang the changes on the highest note of +personal loyalty to Jesus and to His world-wide passion and purpose. + +And the Church has waked up. I said, you remember, last evening, that if +you look over the whole history of the Church since its birthday on +Pentecost, you are pained by the sore fact that the chief mission +entrusted to it has been for the most part forgotten. There has been more +forgetting of it, and neglecting it, than fulfilling it. + +Yet always, be it keenly noted, in every generation of these centuries +there have been those whose vision of Olivet never dimmed. There have +always been those who have tried faithfully to carry out the Church's +great mission. The darkest days have never been without some of the +brightest light, made all the brighter by the surrounding night. + + + +<u>The Revised Missionary Motto.</u> + + +But there's a new chapter of the Church's life being written as we talk +together. Its writing began in the closing twilight of the eighteenth +century. That chapter isn't finished yet. Some of its best pages are now +being written, with more and better clearly coming. + +Its first lines were written by a very common pen. Carey's English +cobbler-shop became a sounding-board whose insistent, ringing messages +began to waken the Church. The Church is waking up, and shaking itself, +and tightening on its clothes, for the greatest work yet to be done in +fulfilling the life-mission entrusted to it. + +A hundred years ago the fire of God found fresh kindling stuff in the +hearts and brains of a few young college fellows in an old New England +village. The sore need of the world crowded in upon them by night and by +day. But they were few, and young, and unknown. And the task was +stupendous. The rain-storm of a Sabbath afternoon drove them to the +shelter of a hay-stack. And the storm of the world's need drove them to +the shelter of prayer, and then to the shelter of a great purpose. With +simple faith in God, and strong devotion to the great neglected task, they +spoke out to the Church the thrilling words, "We can do it if we will". + +And on that same spot a hundred years later the Church gathered. Those +intense words had been heard. The Church had waked up. Men of long service +in far-away lands stood with those of the home circle. They talked of the +past, but far more of the present and future. They revised the century-old +motto. No group of scholars in the Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster Abbey +ever did finer revision work. They said, "We can do it, <i>and</i> we will". No +greater tribute to the memory of the faithful little hay-stack group was +ever made than in that changed motto. + +The young collegians' bold cry had sounded out throughout the Church. And +the Church heard and roused up. The modern missionary movement of the +Church is the most marked development of the past century of church +history. It can be said that the Church of our day in its missionary +activity far exceeds the early Church. That is to say, in certain +particulars we have exceeded. + +It is common to refer to the missionary zeal of the first centuries. +Fresh from the Master's touch, the early Church was chiefly a missionary +church. One great purpose gripped it, and that was to take the news of +Jesus everywhere. And they went everywhere. We know most about Paul's +journeys in the Grecian and Roman worlds. But there is good evidence that +there is another "Acts of Apostles" beside the one bound up in this Bible. +Out to the farthest reaches of the earth they seemed to have gone in those +early days, preaching and winning men and establishing church societies. + +The <i>bulk</i> of the modern movement is without doubt greatly in excess of +the early movement. The number of men out in various fields, the amount of +money being given annually by the Church in America and Great Britain and +the Continental countries is so much greater as to leave comparison +practically out. + +In the thoroughness of organization, the elements of permanency, the great +variety of means used such as hospitals, schools, literature, and +industrial helps, the present probably exceeds by far the early movement. +The statesmanlike study by church leaders of the whole world-field, the +steadiness of movement year after year, in spite of difficulties and +discouragements, the careful systematic effort to inform and arouse the +home church--these are marked features of the present foreign-mission +campaign. They are such as to awaken the deepest admiration of any +thoughtful onlooker. In all of this the modern Church is making a wholly +new record. + + + +<u>Ahead, But Behind.</u> + + +Yet, while all this is true, it can be said just as truly that the Church, +<i>as a whole,</i> is so far behind the primitive Church as, again, practically +to leave comparison out of the question. <i>They</i> were so far ahead in the +<i>mass</i> of their movement that we are scarcely in the lists at all. Then +the <i>whole</i> Church was an active missionary society. <i>Every one</i> went and +preached. The nearest approach to it in modern times probably is the +movement of the native Church of Korea. This foreign people seems to have +caught the early spirit. Our heathen brothers are taking their place as +pace-setters for the Church. + +By contrast with that, the modern activity has been by a minority, really +a small minority, though a steadily growing one. The leaders have +struggled heroically against enormous odds in the backward pull of the +majority. + +<i>Then</i> they went <i>everywhere</i>. That is, they went everywhere that they +could, so far as open doors, or doors that could be pried open, let them. +We have gone actually farther, and to more places probably, but we haven't +begun to go everywhere that we could. + +Our ability to go, and the urgent requests for us to come, would carry us +to thousands of places not yet touched. If we began to do things as the +early Church people did, it would stand out as one of the greatest +movements in the history of the race. If a small minority of us have made +such enormous strides what could the whole of us do if we would! + + + +<u>In a Swift Current.</u> + + +The <i>momentum</i> of the present missionary movement has been startling. It +suggests that we are on the eve of an advance undreamed of by the most +enthusiastic. The last twenty-odd years have seen progress clear +outstripping that of the previous hundred, though all built upon the +foundations so well laid by the earlier leaders of the century. + +In answer to the earnest persistent prayer of a few, the Spirit of God +found new stuff ready for His kindling fires among the colleges. The story +of the prayer of a few that preceded the forming of the Student Volunteer +Movement is thrilling. That great movement was literally conceived and +brought forth in the travail of prayer. Its wide-spread influence upon the +colleges, and then upon the churches; its early campaigning, its +remarkable leaders, its great conventions, the steadiness of its growing +influence through more than twenty years, and the distinct mark it has +made upon the whole mission propaganda abroad, make up one of the most +thrilling chapters of church history, ancient or modern. To-day its +influence encircles the earth. Its volunteers are found everywhere. + +Its reflex influence upon that other movement, the Young Men's Christian +Association, has been no small part of its work. The two have been +interwoven from the beginning, each contributing immeasurably to the +other. The practical power of the Young Men's Christian Association on +foreign soil is recognized by the Church, and by foreign governments, as +of a value clear beyond calculation or statement. + +It has come to be one of the great expressions of the unifying spirit of +the Church on foreign-mission soil. Our churches at home may go their +separate ways, largely. But the pressure of the sore need of the foreign +world has been welding the churches there together remarkably. The +Christian Associations, both of young men and young women, belonging to +all the Church and representing all, have held a strategic position in +action, and been of inestimable service to the Church in its missionary +propaganda. + +The Young People's Missionary Movement, whose long, warm fingers are +reaching throughout the whole Church, and the newer Laymen's Missionary +Movement with its aggressive campaigning, are both remarkable expressions +of the new uprising. + +The women of the Church were forehanded in their earnest working and +praying. They were up at dawn of day. Their influence is mighty, clear +beyond any words to express. And now at last the men are waking up, and +the new life is showing itself anew within organic church lines. Men's +missionary conventions, with great attendances, are swinging into line, +and revealing the awakeness of the Church. + + + +<u>Power of Leadership.</u> + + +The enormous power of personal influence and of devoted leadership has +been most marked. In the throng of strong men that lead in all this +activity there are two men that by common consent stand out big in the +group. Young men they are, both of them, not yet in the full prime of +their powers. One has a genius for organization probably never surpassed, +if equalled, by military general, or Jesuit chief, or modern captain of +industry. The other has mental grasp, keenness of thought, and power of +persuasive speech not surpassed by any, if equalled. Both are marked by a +singularly deep, tender spirituality, a rare gift of leadership, a poise +of judgment, and a devotion to the Church's great mission as true and +steady as the polar star. + +Around these two young men has grouped up in no small measure this later +missionary activity. And it is probably quite within the mark to say that +no stronger, abler men can be found in any of the great activities of life +to-day in either of these two great English-speaking peoples. It is surely +significant that the modern missionary movement rallies around such +giants. + +It is worthy of special note, too, that the body of men to whom is +entrusted the administration of this vast network of foreign service, the +foreign-board members and secretaries of the Church, have developed such +remarkable power and skill. No body of men has problems more intricate and +exacting and difficult. And no body of men in any sphere of activity has +shown greater diplomacy and astuteness, hard sound sense, and untiring +devotion. + +Some good friends are sometimes disposed to be critical of methods and +management. They think the affair could be conducted better in some +details which they think important. Well, it would be surprising if it +were not so. The same criticisms are made of every governmental and great +industrial enterprise. Everything human seems to make progress by +correcting and improving. But the thing for you and me to keep a +critically keen eye upon is this: that no such detail be allowed to affect +by so much as a hair's weight the steadfast ardor of our support. + +No strong man in the thick of the great driving purpose of his life is +turned aside or stopped by the biting or buzzing of a few insects. If even +they can't be brushed aside, let them buzz and bite, but don't let the +great passion of a life be affected by them. Indeed, they will be clean +forgot, even while they are remembered, by the man who has been caught and +swept by the fire of his Master's passion for a world. + + + +<u>A Minority Movement.</u> + + +Yet, be it keenly marked, these great strides have been made by a +minority, who have followed the strong leaders. The whole Church is not +yet awake. Many protest strenuously against being waked up. The +alarm-clocks bother them. Sometimes one is inclined to think that the +foreign boards are peculiarly placed between a refrigerator and a furnace. + +Missionaries come back home fresh from the front fairly aflame with the +fervor of their enthusiasm. Their convictions of what could be done, and +should be done, are apt to be spoken out with great positiveness. They +seem to some to suggest in an uncomfortable way the thought of a glowing +furnace. And many in the home churches seem able to listen with such +indifference as to suggest to these returned men and women the chilling +air of an ice-box. In between the two sits the Church board engaging in +the difficult task of trying to equalize the temperature. But that's +merely a detail in passing. + +The great fact to mark is that never has the missionary movement bulked so +large. And never have such broad statesmanlike plans, such aggressiveness +of spirit, coupled with deep devotion, marked the Church in its great +life-mission. + +One morning at a popular summer resort on the Long Island Sound coast +thousands of bathers were enjoying the surf-bathing. The life-saving crew +were stationed for duty, on the lookout for any accident. A gentleman +standing by one of the crew asked him how he could tell if help were +needed. There were thousands of bathers, and a perfect babel of noises. +The weather-beaten man, bronzed and toughened and trained to keenness in +his work by years of service, said, "I can always hear a cry of distress, +no matter how great the noise and confusion. There never yet has been a +cry of need I haven't heard." + +For a long time the confusion of noises bothered the Church ears. But now +the cry of distress from over the wide seas is being heard again +distinctly, and is being responded to splendidly. The very earnestness of +response and effort is a forerunner of sure victory. + + + +<u>A Great World-chorus.</u> + + +I recall vividly a scene in Albert Hall in London nearly fifteen years +ago. A remarkable gathering from all parts of the world had come together +to celebrate the jubilee of the Young Men's Christian Association. About +two thousand men had come from the ends of the earth. It was a +world-gathering. There were sturdy Englishmen, cosmopolitan Americans, +canny Scots, quick-witted Irishmen, sweet-voiced, fervid-spirited +Welshmen, and courtly, suave Frenchmen. + +Fair-haired, blue-eyed Scandinavians mingled with olive-skinned, +black-eyed sons of Italy. The steady-going Hollander and the intense +German mingled their deep gutturals with the songs of praise and the +discussions. A few turbaned heads, inscrutably quiet almond-eyes, and +others of energetic step and speech brought to mind the Great Orient, +India and China and Japan. Men won up out of the savagery of Africa sat +with Islanders from the Pacific. + +They came from many communions and represented many creeds, and spoke as +many tongues as the Jerusalem crowds on the day of Pentecost. But they +were drawn together not by their attractive diversity, but because of +their oneness. The drawing-power of Jesus was the magnet that drew them. +It was the music of His Name that made all their tongues and languages +blend and chord in sweet harmony. + +This night I speak of they had gathered in the great oval-shaped Albert +Hall opposite Hyde Park. With the Londoners, probably, fully ten thousand +persons were present. And I think I shall never forget the vast volume of +sound, as, led by a chorus of Scandinavian students, they all united in +singing, "All hail the power of Jesus' Name." + +They didn't sing it to our American tune of "Coronation," but to the old +English "Miles Lane." That tune, you remember, repeats over four times the +words, "Crown Him," in the last line, gradually increasing in volume, and +the fourth time touched with a bit of quieting awe. + +I can close my eyes now, and see that great world-gathering and hear again +the sweet rhythmic thunder of their singing: + + "And crown Him, + <i>Crown Him</i>, + CROWN HIM, + <i>Crown Him</i>, Lord of all." + +No one can tell to another the thrill and thrall of such a sight and +sound. It was all unconsciously a bit of prophecy acted out, faint but +distinct, of the great day of victory that is coming. + + + +<u>The Oratorio of Victory.</u> + + +Have you ever noticed the Oratorio of Revelation? Lovers of music should +study the book of the Revelation of Saint John, for its mighty choruses. +It is striking just now to notice the double key-note of that closing +climactic book of this old Bible. It is this: Satan chained, and Christ +crowned. But note for a moment the oratorio sounding its music through +these pages. + +It opens with a <i>solo</i> in the first chapter.[14] John begins writing with +steady pen until he seems to get a glimpse of Jesus. Then his pen drops +the story, and he begins singing: + + "Unto Him that loveth us, + And loosed us from our sin by His own blood; + And hath made us a kingdom, + Priests unto His God and Father; + To Him the glory and the dominion + Forever and ever." + +In chapter four[15] comes a <i>quartette</i>. The four living creatures round +about the throne take up the refrain of John's solo. And, as they sing, +their song is caught up by a <i>sextuple quartette</i>, twenty-four +white-robed, crowned men before the throne.[16] + +In chapter five the <i>Angel Chorus</i> swings in.[17] They are grouped round +about the quartette, and the twenty-four elders. John begins to count +them. Then his figures give out. His knowledge of mathematics is too +limited. There were ten thousand times ten thousand, and unnumbered +thousands of thousands. As far as his eye could reach, to left and right, +before and behind, was one vast sea of angel faces. + +And John listened enraptured and awed, as their wondrous volume of rhythm +rang and thundered out. Sweet sopranos and mellow contraltos; ringing +tenors and deep basses; first one, then the other, back and forth +responding to each other, then all together; marvellous music it must have +been. + +Then the refrain of their song is caught up by the <i>Creation Chorus</i>.[1] +Every living creature in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, as +though unable to resist the contagious sweep, catch up the music and add +their own to it. We don't commonly associate music with the animal +creation, nor with nature. It has been said that all the sounds of nature +are keyed in the minor, as though some suffering had affected them. We +talk of the sighing of the wind, the moaning of the sea-waves, and the +mourning of the doves. Though the singing-birds must be excepted. They +seem to have caught and kept some of the upper strains. + +But evidently something has occurred to strike a new key-note. For now +they take up the refrain of the joyous song of the others, and increase +the mighty song by their own. + +In chapter seven the music has ceased or softened down and is taken up +afresh by the <i>Martyr Chorus</i>.[18] Again John's figures give out. He +declares that nobody could count the multitudes that make up this chorus. +It is a polyglot chorus. They sing in many different languages, but all +blend into full rhythm. It's a scarred chorus, too. These have been +through great tribulation. Their scars tell the mute story of the +fierceness of the fight, and the steadiness of their faith. + +Through their singing runs a distinct strain of the minor. Its strangely +sweet cadence, learned in many an hour of pain, runs as an under-chording +through the song of triumph that now fills their hearts and mouths. And as +they sing, the angel chorus and the quartette drop to their knees, and +swell the wondrous refrain. + +In chapter fourteen comes the music of the <i>Chorus of Pure Ones</i>.[19] They +are gathered close about the person of Jesus. They sing to the +accompaniment of a great company of harpers. They sing with a peculiar +clearness in their tones. Theirs is a new song. Purity always makes a +music of its own, unapproachable for sweetness and clearness. + +The <i>Victors' Chorus</i> rings out its song in chapter fifteen.[20] These +have been in the thickest of the fighting. The smoke of the battle has +tanned their faces. They have struggled with the enemy at close range, hip +and thigh, nip and tuck, close parry and hard thrust. And they have come +off victors. The ring of triumph resounds in their voices, as to the sound +of their own harps, harps of God, they add their tribute of song to all +the others. + +And at the last comes the great <i>Hallelujah Chorus</i>, in chapter +nineteen.[21] In response to the precentor's call, they all join their +voices in one vast melody. The Quartette, the Sextuples, the Angels, the +Creation, the Martyrs, the Pure-Ones, the Victors--all sing their song +together. + +John tries to tell what it was like. His mind went quickly back to earlier +days in his home city, Jerusalem, when thousands of pilgrims crowded the +temple areas and narrow streets, and spread out over the hills. The +unceasing sound of their voices in speech and in their pilgrim songs of +praise comes back to him. He says it was like that. + +But that isn't satisfactory. It is so much more. He thinks of how the +ocean-waves keep pounding, with cannon-roar, on the rocky beach of his +Patmos prison isle. So he said it was like that. But still more is needed +to give an idea of the vast volume of sound. And he remembers how +sometimes the thunders crashed and boomed and roared above him as he lay +in his solitude on that lonely bit of sea-girt land. It was like that. It +was like all of these together. + +And what is it they are singing? Well, there's a variety in the wording of +their song, as well as in their voices. But through all runs a refrain +that brings back to me the great London chorus. It is this-- + + "And crown Him! + <i>Crown Him!!</i> + CROWN HIM!!! + Yes, <i>Crown Him</i> + Lord of all." + +It is the rehearsal of the great Oratorio of Victory that we are all to +join in singing. + + + + +The Church + + + + Forces that Win. + The Divine Law of Leadership. + God's Messenger. + Reaching Out for a World. + "Keep Step." + "Find My World, And Win It Back." + + + + +The Church + + + +<u>Forces That Win.</u> + + +God's world is full of winning forces. The great ball of fire around which +our earth revolves is the greatest winning force in the life of the earth. +It is constantly winning the earth to itself with a power unseen but +tremendous, beyond anybody's power to calculate. The swing of the earth +away from the sun is being continually overcome. By an immense drawing +power it steadily holds the earth where it can pour down its wealth of +warmth and light and life into it. + +It woos the moisture up from river and lake and sea, until its gravity +partner in the centre of the earth woos it back again in refreshing rain +and sheltering snow. It wins out of the earth's warm heart bounteous +harvests of grains and fruits, the wealth of forests which affects the +earth's life so radically, the flowers with their beauty and fragrance, +and the soft carpeting of green to ease the journey for our feet. All the +life and beauty of the earth is due to the winning power of the sun. + +God Himself is the greatest winning force in all our world. Everywhere men +feel the upward drawing toward Him. They may protest against church +organizations and creeds, against teachings and long-settled practices and +habits of thought, as they do so much, but there is always everywhere a +longing in the human heart for God. It is the answer to the longing of His +heart for us. + +And man is a great winning force. Everywhere men are attracted to each +other. There is a winning power within each of us that draws certain +others irresistibly to us. And there are winning forces in life that each +one of us is powerfully affected by. The old home of earlier days has a +marvellous power of attraction for most men. The old fireside, the +familiar rooms, the subtle aroma that seems inseparable from the very +bricks and boards--who has not felt the tremendous drawing power of these? + +What a strange power of attraction a man's mother-tongue has for him. How +the heart will give a quick leap, in a foreign land, when, amid a +confusing jargon of strange sounds, all unexpectedly some one speaks the +dear old familiar words. The person speaking may not be specially +congenial or attractive to us, but that sound his tongue gives draws us to +him. + + + +<u>The Divine Law of Leadership.</u> + + +Now I want to talk with you a bit about the forces at hand for winning our +old world back to our Father's heart and home. God means us to use all the +attractive powers we have in this great world-wooing and world-winning +task. The world is to be <i>won</i> back, not driven. Men drive men, when they +can. But God woos and wins. Man's coming back must be by his own glad, +sweet consent. God won't have it any other way. + +There are certain strangely winsome forces at our command for winning man. +They are mighty in their drawing power. But there are counter-currents +that divert and hinder their influence. We need to be familiar with these +winning forces, and with the counter-currents, too. + +There are seven great forces at our command for this blessed service of +soul-winning and world-winning. They are not peculiar to foreign-mission +service, for the foreign service itself is not essentially different from +other service, except in the greatness of its need. They are the forces +for use in all our winning work. + +Two of these are distinctly human forces. The first is an organization, +the Church. And then that of which the Church is made up, men and women; I +mean the power of personality, developed and consecrated personality. + +There are two divine forces that work through the human--Jesus and the +Holy Spirit. I have put these second in order, because they work through +the human. The leadership is in human hands. The initiative of all action +is with us. Of course, if you go a bit deeper in, the initiative is with +God who moves upon our hearts to make us act. But on the distinctly human +level the beginning of service rests in human hands, and these two +mighty, almighty, divine forces work through us. + +The divine law of leadership and of cooperation in leadership has not +always been clearly understood. And there has been bad delay often because +of the lack of understanding. Our Lord Jesus in the days of His humanity +surrendered Himself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in His great +mission to men. The Spirit worked through Jesus. After Jesus' Ascension +the order was reversed. The Spirit yielded Himself to the control of the +glorified Son of God. Jesus worked through the Spirit. It was Jesus who +sent down the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost for the special mission +begun that day. + +And now, with the greatest awe coming into our hearts at the thought, be +it said that these two work through our human leadership. The leadership +in service among men is human leadership. The wondrous Spirit of God works +through our leadership to reveal Jesus to men in all His winsomeness and +power. + +There can be no power at all in our human action and leadership except as +the Spirit leads and controls us, and is allowed to. And, on the other +side, we must not forget, though it has sometimes been forgotten, that +God's working waits upon human action and leadership. Memory quickly +brings up the fact, so often repeated in the history of the Church, that +when men have failed to respond to God's call His work has fallen behind. +Whenever a new chapter of earnest service has been begun it has always +been through a new leadership. Some man has listened to God, and let Him +have the free use of himself in reaching out to other men. + +God needs men. He needs you and me. We are the wire for the transmission +of His current of power. The wire is useless without the current. And the +current must have the wire along which to travel to its place of service. +The divine power is through human action and human leadership. The power +is all divine. And the means through which it works is all human. Jesus +and the Holy Spirit work through the Church and through each one of us who +is willing. + +Then there are three spirit forces, or influences, of mighty power in +human hands; namely, prayer, and money, and sacrifice. + + + +<u>God's Messenger.</u> + + +To-night we want to talk about the first of the two human forces--the +Church. + +We ought to remind ourselves of just what that word "Church" means in this +connection. It has many meanings. There are at least two that we should +note here in thinking of it as a great winning force. In its broadest +meaning, the word is commonly used for the whole group of church +organizations taken together, the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox, +the Protestant, and the few primitive societies that still retain their +old original organization. In the deeper, less used meaning, it stands +for the body of those men and women everywhere who are trusting Jesus +Christ, and are allied with Him in the purpose of their hearts. + +These two meanings, of course, should be the same. All who trust Jesus +should be in the church organizations. And all who are in the +organizations should be there because of their relation to Jesus. Whatever +the facts regarding that may be, the mission of each is the same. And it +is with that mission that we are concerned just now. + +Jesus planned that His Church should be a great man-winning and +world-winning organization. <i>The</i> mission of the Church is to take Jesus +to all men. It is God's messenger of His truth to all. In that it is the +direct lineal descendant and heir of the Hebrew nation. + +That nation was chosen to be a messenger or missionary nation. That was +the one purpose of its special creation as a nation. It was not to be as +the other nations, in the characteristics that commonly mark strong +nations. It was to be a <i>teacher</i>-nation, receiving its message of truth +direct from God, embodying that message in its own life, personally and +nationally, and giving it out clearly and fully and winsomely to all the +nations of the earth. And, in spite of its failures and breaks, that +mission was accomplished to a remarkable extent. + +The Church is its heir. It was born in the Jewish nation. It became the +heir to its world-wide messenger mission. The great commission given by +Jesus as He was leaving is the Church's commission for its great +life-work. It was spoken to the group of Jewish men who were the nucleus +of that body called the Church, that came into being on the day of +Pentecost. That ringing, "Go ye into all the world and preach my gospel to +the whole creation," is the Master's command to the Church which He +brought into being. That is the Church's marching order by which its life +is to be controlled and its faithfulness judged. + +The scene of the Church's birth gives a vivid picture of its +world-mission. It was born in a world-gathering. It was a world-church in +its make-up at its birth. Men from all parts of the world became united in +one body by the Spirit's touch that great Church birthday. Its birth-gift, +the power of speaking many tongues, reveals at once the wide sweep of its +service. + +It was the Master's plan that His Church should speak all the languages of +the earth then and now and always, as well as the language of heaven, the +language of love. So every man would learn of Jesus in his native speech. +The language of the cradle and of love-making and of the fireside, the +language that most quickly kindles the fires in a man's heart, that was +the language to be used in carrying Jesus to every man. That was Jesus' +plan. The Church was rarely equipped with winning power for a +world-service on its birthday in the gift of tongues. + +Of course, this is not the only mission of the Church. That is to say, +there are other purposes necessarily included in this. Taking the Gospel +of Jesus to all men means more than merely taking it and telling it. The +teaching and training and developing of those won to Jesus is an +inseparable part of the Church mission. The great service of worship has +always been recognized as a vital part of the Church life. Sometimes +indeed these have been thought of, and still are thought of, as its only +mission. But they grow distinctly out of the chief mission and are +distinctly contributory and secondary to it. Indeed, they come into being +only through the faithful doing of the chief task. Men were won. Then they +met for worship and for training. + + + +<u>Reaching Out For a World.</u> + + +The Church of those first years thoroughly understood what its great +mission was to be. The first chapters of the Book of Acts vividly describe +the ideal Church as planned by the Master, and as understood by those who +felt His own personal touch upon themselves. Everybody went. They went to +everybody. They went everywhere. There is pretty clear evidence that they +actually went everywhere that men could go. They held their lives, and +even their property, subject to the one great gripping purpose. + +The greatest leader of the first century of the Church, Paul, who +contributed most to its literature and exerted the greatest influence +upon its life, was above all else a missionary leader. He went practically +everywhere. He didn't go hastily, but by carefully thought-out plans. He +won men to Christ, organized them into church societies, taught them, and +sent them out to win others. + +He worked in and out of the world's great city centres of his time. +Ephesus, the Asiatic centre, Corinth, the centre of Greek influence, and, +Rome, the centre of the world's governing power, were the scenes of his +longest and most thorough campaigns. His choice of the centres was a +master's strategic choice. For these centres sent their influence out to +the ends of the earth. Paul's body might be in Ephesus or Corinth or Rome, +but his thought and heart were on the world these cities reached by +constant streams of influence. + +And to these churches which he had won out of the raw stuff of heathenism +he taught the same world-wide message. They became filled with this same +world-wide spirit. The Thessalonian and Corinth Churches made their +winning power felt throughout Greece and wherever Greek culture had gone, +that is to say, everywhere.[22] The Church in Rome sent out the message of +Jesus from its golden centre of all Roman roads, out to the farthest +reaches of those far-reaching roads.[23] + +It is striking, though not surprising, that the days of the Church's +missionary activity have been the days of its greatest purity and vigor. +When the vision of the Master's face on Olivet, and the ringing sound of +His "Go ye" have been lost, the Church has written pages that would gladly +be blotted out. + +The Church <i>has</i> been a winning force beyond any power of calculation or +words of description. All that has been done has been done through its +activity and leadership. It is to-day a tremendous winning force, reaching +its warm hands out to the very ends of the earth, and drawing men to +Jesus. With our earnest prayer it will exert a yet mightier influence in +taking Jesus to all men and in winning men everywhere to Jesus. + + + +<u>"Keep Step."</u> + + +The Church is organized Christendom. It stands for the power of +organization in God's service. All the vast power of the men and women +whose hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit can be brought to bear +at a given point with tremendous force through the Church. That was and is +the Master's plan. + +Organization is rhythmic action, a crowd of men working by agreement as +one man. Never was the world so impressed with the almost magical power of +organization as to-day. Never has organization been brought up to so high +a pitch of efficiency. The unparalleled progress of the world in our day +is due to the marvellous skill that has been developed in organized +action. + +Now, this almost omnipotent power of organization was meant to be used in +winning the world back home. That is the meaning of the birth of the +Church on that great Pentecost day. It is remarkable that the most +perfectly matured bit of organization, in this day of matured and +perfected organizations, is a church. For by common consent of thoughtful +students the most finely adjusted and thoroughly matured bit of human +machinery is the Roman Catholic Church. + +If such a masterpiece of organization were controlled by the Spirit that +controls in these early chapters of Acts, what tremendous and thorough and +rapid work would be done in world-winning! And that is the goal toward +which we should be driving. The evangelization of the whole world is <i>an +easy task</i> for the whole Church. It would be a stupendous, if not an +impossible task for the few. It has been a gigantic task for the leaders, +who by dint of great planning and persuasion and earnest pleading have +done as much as has been done. But if the whole Church or half of it were +to go at it as earnestly as men go at other things, it would be an easy +task. + +I remember one October morning walking across an old smoke-begrimed bridge +that spans the Ohio at Cincinnati. My eye was caught by a dingy sign in +large plain letters nailed up in a prominent place. It simply, said, +"Processions in crossing this bridge must break step." That was all. But +it was imperative. It was a law. The processions <i>must</i> break step. The +same men might cross the bridge, in as large numbers, at the same time, +but they must not keep step. + +The authorities knew perfectly well that for a body of men to march <i>in +step</i>, every left foot set down at once, the impact of every right foot +striking at the same moment, would so--I do not say, <i>add</i> to the force +exerted--would so <i>multiply</i> the force exerted upon the bridge as to +endanger its safety. The power of concerted action is immense beyond any +power of conception. Every bit of power at command can so be brought to +bear at one point with a force beyond any words to express. + +Our Master reverses for us the old bridge sign. Out from Pentecost rings +this word: "Let my followers all form in line, close ranks, and move out +to a world conquest, and--<i>keep step</i>." That command of His will make a +winning force so great as to shorten up the world's present calendars, and +shorten up the world's pain, and lengthen out the new life that will come +to untold numbers through Jesus. + + + +<u>"Find My World and Win it Back."</u> + + +Nearly forty years ago David Livingstone, one of the Church's great +world-winning pioneers, was lost in the depths of equatorial Africa. That +is to say, he had advanced so far ahead of everybody else that the rest of +us lost track of him, and so we called him lost. Perhaps we got the use of +the word twisted, and we were the lost ones because we hadn't kept up. He +had gone where the Church was told to go, but the rest of us had lingered +behind, and so the main column became detached from its leader. Everybody +was talking about the lost leader. + +James Gordon Bennett, the owner of the <i>New York Herald,</i> sent a telegram +to one of its correspondents, Henry M. Stanley. Bennett was in Paris, and +Stanley at Gibraltar. The telegram summoned Stanley to come to Paris at +once. Stanley went, reached Paris at midnight, knocked at the great +newspaper-man's door, and asked what was wanted. "Find Livingstone," was +the short, blunt reply. "How much money do you place at my disposal?" +asked Stanley. "Fifty thousand dollars, or a larger sum. Never mind about +the money; find Livingstone." + +Stanley went. It took two years' time to get ready. It required a +specially planned campaign and thorough preparation. The planning was +done, and the world was thrilled when the bold missionary leader was +found. + +Our Master has sent a message to His Church. It is written down in a Book, +and is being repeated by wireless messages constantly. He says, "Find my +world, and bring it back; never mind about the expense of money and lives. +<i>Find my world and win it back.</i>" And the Church has the winning power to +do it. + + + + +Each One of Us + + + + Our Drawing Power. + Sowing Ourselves in Life's Soil. + Our Need of a World to Win. + Living Broad Lives in Narrow Alleys. + Giving God Free Use of Ourselves. + Growing Bigger for Service's Sake. + My Mission-field. + Our Spirit-touch. + + + + +Each One of Us + + + +<u>Our Drawing Power.</u> + + +The greatest human winning force is a man swayed in every bit of his being +by the Spirit of Jesus. Man himself is the most attractive thing on God's +earth. He has the greatest drawing power. + +He is attractive to God. He drew out of the creative power of God this +world of beauty and splendor. He drew Jesus down from the throne of God to +the earth, to poverty and hard labor, to the limitations of human life, to +misunderstandings and suffering and pain and death. These were gladly +yielded to because it was all for man. How the crowds used to draw Jesus! +He would give His strength out to them without stint, until those closest +to Him, not understanding, sought to interfere for the sake of his +strength. + +One man was a sufficient magnet to draw him away from His rest, and to +draw out of Him the best of love and strength He had. Nicodemus' earnest +presence wooed out of His busy life a whole evening, and drew out the +matchless words that the world has been feeding upon ever since. The woman +of little half-breed Sychar, though an outcast, drew from Him the touch of +power that transformed her life and her village. + +Man is attractive to his fellows. There is no power so attractive to a +man as another man. The phenomenal growth of modern cities is one of the +evidences of this. Everywhere men acknowledge the attractiveness that +their fellows have for them. Every friendship, every leadership, every +family circle, and gathering of men for whatever purpose tells of the +winning power that man has for his fellows. It is modified by all sorts of +surrounding conditions, and exists in many different degrees. The great +leader and the great orator have it in unusual measure. Every man has some +of it. Each man is a magnetic north pole. Every man of his spirit-current +is drawn toward him with a steady pull. + +Man can win man. That fact at once brings out strikingly his winning +power. For the hardest thing in all this world to win is a man. Of all +luggage man is the hardest to move. He won't move unless he will move. +Only as the string is tied inside to his will can he be persuaded to move. +The heart may help open the door into the will. Most often that is the way +to get in. Sometimes intelligence, the reasoning powers, open the way in, +but rarely; often these two, the heart and the reason, combined. But even +then they go tandem, with the heart in the lead; only man can get that +door open, and tie the tether to the other man's will, and draw him out, +whither he will. He can do it. And only he can. Man yields to the drawing +power of his fellow. + +With the deepest reverence be it said that when God would redeem a world +He sent a Man. Aye, He came as a man. And, while Jesus was so much more +than man, we must always insistently remind ourselves that He was truly +and fully a man. He was as really human in every bit of His make-up and +life as though only human. Because of man's power to win his fellow, Jesus +came to the man-level, as a Man, that so He might win men. + + + +<u>Sowing Ourselves in Life's Soil.</u> + + +Man is winsome, wherever found, just as he is. He may be shackled and +slimed over with sin, as he plainly is. He may have lost much of his +winsomeness, as probably he has, through deeply rooted prejudice and +superstitions, and endless limitations of surroundings and education, but +he still remains a powerful magnet to his fellow. + +But he is most winning in his winningness as he returns to the original as +God planned him. His native winning power comes out fully only as sin is +taken out of him, washed out, and burned out; the desire for it removed, +and the hurt of sin upon his bodily and mental powers overcome. Jesus is +the sort of human that God planned. And only as He is allowed to come into +a man's life, and treat the sin trouble at the core, and rule from within, +can man come to his own in his rare winsomeness. + +Only <i>won</i> men can win men, of course. Only the man who has felt the power +of Jesus can tell some one else of that marvellous power. Nobody else +wants to. Nobody else can. For nobody else knows that power. But that man +must. There is something inside that compels him to. The man who realizes +most keenly that he has been saved will be the most intent on getting +others saved, too. The passion for Jesus becomes a passion for telling +others about Jesus. + +Jerry McCauley must spend out his life in Water Street because he had been +gripped by the Man who spent out His life for him. The passion is +irresistible. Splendid young Hugh Beaver must win the Pennsylvania +students to Jesus because Jesus had become the magnet of his own life. +Livingstone must plunge into the depths of the African wilds, and Duff +into India's heat, and Hudson Taylor into China's inner provinces because +of the Jesus-passion that gripped them. + +Now the thing to mark very keenly is this: that God's chief reliance in +His passionate outreach for His world is <i>men</i>. He is counting on you and +me. The power that actually wins men is the power of God. Only He can so +play upon human wills and hearts as to induce them gladly to open to Him. +That is true. But it is as true that only <i>through</i> the winsome power of +men can He use His winning power fully. + +I am not going to take up just now why this is so, though that is full of +helpful suggestion. But simply to have you mark that straight through this +old Book, and through church history, and in actual experience this has +been His way of reaching men. God's pathway to one human heart is through +another human heart. + +When men have failed Him God's plan has failed. His sovereignty doesn't +mean that His plan doesn't fail. It means here that with endless patience +He clings to the failed plan until He can get the man through whom it can +be carried out. But meanwhile there has been serious delay and sad +suffering for man. + +There is a most striking sentence spoken by Jesus in explaining the +parable of the tares, in Matthew, Chapter thirteen. He said, "The good +seed are the sons of the kingdom." We think of the truth, the Gospel +message, as the good seed that we are to sow, and so it is. But there's a +far better seed. It is men, saved men. We are to sow our saved selves, our +lives, in the soil of men's lives. Our presence among men was meant to be +God's greatest sowing of the seed of life. Upon that seed He sends the dew +and rain and sunlight of His Spirit. And through that sort of sowing He +wins His greatest harvests. + + + +<u>Our Need of a World to Win.</u> + + +Now I want to turn aside here a bit, and say this: we men need a world to +win. The world needs winning. There's no doubt of that. And just as really +we men need a world to win. We need the impetus and stimulus, the grip and +the swing of having a world to win. The Master's command fits with great +exactness into the need of our lives. + +Every man needs a great purpose to grip his life. So he is anchored and +held steady against the world's tidal movements. If he isn't tied to some +great gripping purpose the wash of the sea will send him adrift, or the +fierce undertow will suck him under. And many are adrift. And many are in +the deadly suction of the undertow. + +Jesus' command provides the great purpose that every man needs to hold him +steady and to bring out, and bring out best, all the splendid powers with +which we are endowed. When we are not gripped by the great purpose planned +for us we swing off into smaller, meaner purposes. + +I mean, of course, those of us who are awake. Many people are habitual +somnambulists. All their walking and moving about is done in a state of +sleep. Some men never wake up. They go through the motions of life so far +as they must. The mechanism of habit keeps certain motions going, but the +real man within is asleep or dozing, with occasional spells of being +sleepily awake. + +But men who are awake, and doing something, find a vent for their energy +on some lower level. The God-given energy will move out and stir itself to +action. But, having somehow missed the real purpose planned for them, they +allow the lower purposes to grip them. They organize great affairs, or +less great, industrial, intellectual, political, fraternal, social, and +spend their energy on these. It is the response they make to the call of +their natures for some great gripping purpose. But it looks very much like +another case of meeting a request for bread with cold hard stones. + +These things in themselves are right, of course; so far as they are +right. They belong in the scheme of life. They should be given full place +in one's life. But that place is always a distinctly secondary place. They +belong in as number two. + +A Christian business man gives most of the day and year to his business, +and gives of the best of his thought and strength to it. But if he have +gotten his bearings straight, his business is not in first place. It is +made to serve something higher. It earns the gold with which to finance +the great purpose of Jesus' life, and of his own life, namely, the purpose +of winning men, and of winning a whole world of them. How it would sweeten +business and fraternal and social contacts and friendships, if the salt of +this great purpose seasoned them! + + + +<u>Living Broad Lives in Narrow Alleys.</u> + + +We need the <i>bigness</i> of this great purpose. So many lives are dwarfed by +their very littlenesses. We are bothered with being short-sighted. The +eyeglasses of the Master's purpose for us would wondrously widen out our +scope of vision. And through the new eyes would come broader, farther, +clearer views, and changed action. The littleness of our ideas would be +amusing if it were not so distressing. + +I recall one day riding on a Fort-Wayne train through Indiana. I chanced +to overhear a bit of conversation. Two men, chance acquaintances, were +talking. One of them had his home in Elkhart. The other asked him where +Elkhart is. By the side of the Elkhart man there sat a little sweet-faced +boy. Instantly, as the question was asked, he looked up with surprised +eyes, and said, "Don't you know where Elkhart is? Why, Elkhart is down +where I live." + +The amusing childish words seemed to have a familiar sound. I seem to have +run across a few people whose idea of God's world is about on the level of +the small boy's. The world is where they live. The rest is a hazy, vague +something, or--nothing. It exists for them, if it exists at all in their +thoughts. + + "Living for self, for self alone, for self and none beside; + Just as if Jesus had never lived, as if Jesus had never died." + +It would be pitiable and pathetic enough if only these people themselves +were concerned in their poor, stunted, narrow-alley living. But it is more +than that; it is tragic, because of the multitude of brothers, here and +abroad, sorely needing the help that was meant to go out to them through +us. + +Then most men live narrow lives so far as the daily round is concerned. +The home, or shop, or store, or office is their daily horizon, with +practically the same round of duties day after day, year in and year out. +The very narrowness of the round tends to make narrow people. They get +into as much of a rut in their thinking as their daily action is apt to +become. Their work runs in fixed grooves that are apt to become fixed +ruts. And this makes ruts in their thinking. Their souls seem to grow +small by the very smallness and sameness of the daily tread. That is the +life of the great crowd of men all over the world. + +It's an immense relief to see something big Big things always attract. Is +it partly because our daily round is so narrow and small? Jesus plans a +bigness that shall refresh us constantly. We have hearts big enough to +hold a world, and brains able to plan for a planet, even while our feet +tread the same old shut-in path. + +A young man may be going a commonplace, treadmill sort of grind, in a +small corner of some great manufacturing concern, and be at the same time +carrying on a bigger enterprise than the president of his concern. For he +may be planning and praying for a world, and actually lifting it up in the +arms of his strong purpose toward the level of God. + +The shipping clerk may be hammering in barrel-heads all day long, but each +blow may help emphasize the prayer of his heart for China, or India, or +his Sunday-school class. + + "Forenoon, afternoon, and night, + Forenoon, afternoon, and night, + Forenoon, afternoon, and what? no more? + The empty song repeats itself. Yea, that is life. + Make this forenoon sublime, this afternoon a psalm, + This night a prayer, and time is conquered, and thy + crown is won." + +The Master's gracious plan is that we shall have the refreshment of doing +big things. We are made for big things. They help us grow into the big +size that belongs to us. World-winning is a great boon to the crowd +compelled by the habit of life to tread a narrow path. + + + +<u>Giving God Free Use of Ourselves.</u> + + +Now the great question every earnest man asks himself is, How can I be of +most use to God and my fellows? I want to suggest three things that have +helped me in answering that question. It may be that they will help you, +too, in getting your answer to it. + +First of all is this: that we let God have the free use of us. Whatever I +am, whatever gifts and opportunities I have--these I will turn over to +God, that He may have the fullest and freest use of them. God asks from +each of us <i>a consecrated personality</i>. And "consecrated" simply means +that I give God the use of myself, and that He makes use of what I have +given to Him. That's the double meaning of the word in the Bible. + +My personality, that is, what I am in myself, is the chief thing I have in +life. It is through this personality, which men recognize as I, that the +Spirit of God works in His reaching out for others. My personality is the +make-up of all that I am. My presence is that subtle something that +combines all that I am. It clings to me wherever I go. Men know it by my +name. Out through it goes the power of the man within. + +The body, the glance of the eye, the quality and intonation of the voice, +the way the body is carried, and the something more than these that +unites them into one--these go to make up the presence, the outer shell of +the personality. All the power within makes itself felt through this. A +man's mere presence is an immeasurable influence. + +There is a subtle, intangible, but very real spirit influence breathing +out of every man's presence. It is proportioned entirely to the strength +of the man living within. With some it is very attractive. Sometimes it is +positively repulsive. It is the expression of the man within. The presence +becomes the mould of the spirit within, large or small, noble or mean, +coarse or fine, as he makes it. The strength of a man's will or its +weakness; the purity of his heart or its lack of purity; the ideals of his +life, high or low; the keenness or slowness of his thinking--all these +express themselves in his presence. + +We know the difference between a man of strong presence and one whose +presence is weak; though very few of us are skilled in reading, except in +a very small way, the character it reveals; through our presence each of +us is constantly influencing those with whom we come in contact. Now this +is the chief thing we have for our winning work. This is the thing that +Jesus uses. It is this that the Spirit of God takes possession of, if He +may, and that He uses in His outreach to others. We win most and best +through what we are. + +Now, of course, I do not mean that we are to be thinking of it that way +all the time. The thinking that you have a winsome presence would itself +rob you of the most winsome part of it. Winsomeness of presence is +greatest and sweetest when we are wholly unconscious that there is such a +thing about us. As we are absorbed in Jesus, and in our fellows, the +winsomeness that is native to us shines out most attractively. It has been +covered up and hidden away a good bit by sin. Some men seem to have none. +Some have a great deal, in spite of their ignoring of God. + +But as He is allowed to play upon us, as we seek to let His Spirit rule +our conduct and control our powers, the original God-image comes out. This +is a return to natural conditions as planned by God. What has been lost +through sin is restored and grown bigger and richer by the Spirit's +presence. I can give God the full use of this precious gift of +personality. + + + +<u>Growing Bigger for Service's Sake.</u> + + +There's a second thing to do. This consecrated personality can be made <i>a +developed personality</i>. We don't start into life full size. We have to +grow. The greatest task of life, as well as one of the sweetest, is in +growing fine in grain, and big in size, and skilled in action. The highest +achievement of life and the rarest to find is self-mastery, that is, all +that one is in himself grown big and fine-grained, skilfully used and held +steadily to its true use. All other achievements are through this one. + +The stronger I can make my body the more I can give God to use. The more +thoroughly I can understand the great, simple laws of my body, and the +more I can get into the habit of obeying them, the more can God use me in +His plans. Such common things as eating and drinking, breathing and +exercising, sleeping and resting and dress, may not be called common any +more, if through thoughtfulness here you and I can be of greater use to +our Master and our fellows. + +The keener and clearer and stronger we can make our thinking, by dint of +self-discipline, the greater power have we with other men. The purer the +heart, the loftier the practical ideals that control the personal habits, +the greater is the winning power at command. + +We may not be conscious of the difference. We will not be thinking of +that. But the increased power of attraction is there, and is breathing out +of one's presence, and is distinctly felt by others. And, more, it is +making a distinct mark upon others, more than they know. We must set +ourselves to growing bigger and better for service's sake. + + + +<u>My Mission-field.</u> + + +The third thing is <i>a world-wide vision</i>. That is to say, our thinking and +planning and praying and giving shall be on a world scale. There is +nothing remarkable about this. The strangely remarkable thing is that +there is so little of it. Man was made on the world size. It is natural +to us to grasp the world in our thinking and action. This other thing of +living on a smaller scale is the cramping effect of sin. We were, made +big. We are big. We need a big world. We enjoy bigness. We get this from +God. We are truest to ourselves as we live on the world plan. The world +was given us originally to subdue, and now to win. + +This does not mean to neglect anything or anybody nearby. It's a bit of +the cramping of sin that anybody thinks so. The man who spreads a map of +the world beside his open Bible in the morning or evening prayer-hour is +likely to have a warm hand for the fellow next him. We are made that way, +to grasp the globe, <i>and</i> each thing close at hand that needs our care. +That's a bit of the image of God in us. As we allow Him sway, the original +power is restored to us. + +One result of this will be that many of us will go in person to some +far-away part of the great world-field. That's a serious thing to do, +requiring some special qualification of body and of training. For the task +out there is a great one. There are trying conditions to be met. The very +best is called for. + +If a man may go in person to the foreign field he is greatly favored. Let +nothing hold him back. It is a privilege to serve anywhere. But the +highest privilege of service is out there. Many cannot go; and many may +not go. Some are plainly bidden to stay. The home administration of the +missionary enterprise requires strong men at home. + +A second result will be that wherever we are, will be a mission-field to +us. We are, where we are, <i>to give</i>, not to get. Whether in far-off China +or maybe in some disillusioned commonplace home town, we will be winning +men to Jesus all the time <i>by direct touch</i>. The mastering thought will be +to let the wondrous Spirit reach out through us, freely and fully, +unhindered by anything in us, and so touch every one whom we touch. + +In any circle, business or social, our hearts will be saying, "I am among +you as he that serveth." Consciously, by direct word, by indirect touch, +with love's rare diplomacy we will win men. Unconsciously, by our +presence, we will as really be winning them. + +No one has an imagination vivid enough, or words graphic enough, to tell +the power of that direct human touch. All life is athrill with its magic. +Even when it becomes less direct, a bit removed from the personal, its +power is indescribably great. + +John Eliot's work among the Massachusetts Indians kindled David Brainerd. +Brainerd's flame touched Jonathan Edwards. Edwards' pamphlet on +"Extraordinary Prayer for a Revival of Religion and the Advancement of +Christ's Kingdom on Earth" suggested to William Carey the plan of an +organized society. Fire spreads. Where the touch of God comes the fire of +God goes out through that human touch. + + + +<u>Our Spirit-touch.</u> + + +A third result will be this: we will be reaching out and winning men in +all the rest of the world by <i>our spirit-touch</i>. You may be in some +African fastness or in the midst of China's age-old civilization or just +here at home, but you can be exerting a tremendous spirit-power that can +be felt out to the ends of the earth. + +It will all be in the Name of Jesus. It will be in the power of the Holy +Spirit. Only in that Name and through the Spirit can such winning +influence be exerted at all. So a man can have spirit-touch with the man +by his side. And just as truly he can have spirit-touch with men at the +farthest reach of the earth. + +There is a spirit influence going out from each of us in addition to that +which goes through the direct personal touch. It is not a conscious +influence. That is, we are not concsious that it is being exerted. It goes +out from us as we pray. It goes out of us as our thought is centered on +those far-away parts and peoples. Its strength will depend on the strength +of one's personality. + +We are familiar with the fact that a man of strong personality has a +greater influence upon his fellows whom he touches directly than a weaker +man has. It is just the same with regard to one's spirit-touch. The +stronger and keener and purer I may become, the more I know of the +self-mastery which comes through Jesus-mastery, the greater force can I +exert as a winner of men, both by direct touch and by spirit-touch. + +Will you kindly come up nearer in spirit, as we close our talk together, +and let me ask softly: Have we given the free use of ourselves to the +Master? Are we growing ourselves into bigger-sized, finer-grained, +better-controlled men and women daily? For the Master is depending on us. +He is counting much on having the use of us. He can reach out to the very +ends of the earth <i>through each one of us</i>. May we not fail Jesus! + + + + +Jesus + + + + Jesus Draws Men. + Jesus Draws Out the Best. + Many Doors, but One Purpose. + Make It a Story. + How Peter Told Paul. + "A More Excellent Way." + + + + +Jesus + + + +<u>Jesus Draws Men.</u> + + +The great heart-magnet is God. No one is so winsomely attractive as He. +His winning power is beyond any other. Man is winsome. But it is because +God made him winsome, and re-makes him yet more winsome. He gave him a bit +of His own self. That's the secret of all our human winsomeness. + +Now Jesus is God to us. We know God only as we know Jesus. Jesus is the +heart of God beating in time and tune with human hearts. Nobody is so +winsome as Jesus. All the native winsomeness of man and all the divine +winsomeness of God combine and blend in Him. He has always drawn men to +Himself. And He still does, and always will. + +He drew men of all classes when He was down here. The reverent +star-students of far-away Babylon were drawn to His birth by a compelling +they could not resist. He drew the thoughtful, scholarly men of His own +nation, such as Nicodemus of the inner, highest circle. And He drew +military officials of high rank and wealth in the service of imperial +Rome. By the same power the half-breed, despised Samaritans and the +earnest seekers after truth from cultured Greece were drawn to Him. + +The plain farmer people of Galilee, and the hardy fisherfolk, and +hard-handed laboring-men came as eagerly to him. He drew the pure, fine +grained, gentle Mary of Bethany, with her unusual keenness of spirit +insight; and drew as well the unnamed outcast woman, steeped in sin, who +was forgiven much, and who loved much, and so gave much. + +Practical hard-headed men of sharp bargains and shrewd trading, like +Matthew, felt His pull upon their hearts equally with men of pure heart +and lofty ideals like Nathanael. By special effort, for a special purpose +He drew high-bred, high-strung, scholarly, intense Paul, out of his mad +enmity into a lifelong devotion. + +The crowds came until His daily routine and ministering help were +repeatedly and seriously interrupted. And strong men sought Him alone to +lay bare the longings and questionings of their hearts. His Roman judge +felt the strange winsomeness of His presence and speech, though lacking in +the courage to follow his convictions regarding Him. And the Roman officer +in charge of His execution was forced to admit the power of His presence. + +All the world gathered about His cross. Representatives from all parts, in +large numbers, were at the Jerusalem feast; and on that morning, by common +consent, they were drawn out to the place where He hung. + +He even drew the arch-tempter. He came with his subtlest temptations, and +bitterest enmity, and most malignant cunning. Could there be greater +evidence, by contrast, of the drawing power of His purity and goodness and +steadfast devotion to His mission? + + + +<u>Jesus Draws Out the Best.</u> + + +And Jesus had the power to draw out of men the best there was in them. +Possibilities, traits, and powers that neither they nor their friends +supposed they had came out into strong life under the spell of His touch. +There seemed to be something in Him that drew the same sort of thing out +of them. + +Out of Simon, the hot-headed, impulsive fisherman, He drew the steady man +of rock. Out of fiery John, the son of thunder, He drew the man of tender, +strong love. And out of quiet, retiring Andrew He drew a man with a +reputation for bringing others to Jesus. + +He drew out of the Sychar outcast a sense of her sin, and then a winner of +souls; and out of that other woman of open sin, a longing for purity that +paved the way to all else that came. Under His compelling touch there came +out of the blind-born man a willingness to sacrifice all for such a +Master; and out of James, the other son of thunder, a courage to endure +suffering that men had not known he had. + +That was when He was down here, a man. And ever since that fleecy cloud +received Him out of sight He has been drawing men of all the world. And +time would as utterly fail me, as it did the writer of the Hebrews, if I +tried to tell of the men He has drawn. Men of every rank, high and low, in +every nation, savage and civilized, in every generation of all these +centuries have felt the thrill of His power. And they have followed Him at +the cost of all that men hold most dear. + +And He is just the same to-day. He is as available now in all His drawing +power wherever men meet, in city slum and savage wild, in college hall and +business street, among the philosophical and cultured, and among the +ignorant and untrained. If we will take Him to them, and let Him out +through our lips and lives, He will draw men up the heights. He can draw +against any power of downward suction, and He will. He promised to draw +men, if lifted up. And He has never failed to do it. + +Now, it is this drawing Jesus that men need and want. There is an enormous +advantage in taking Jesus to men, because there is a something inside men +everywhere that responds to Jesus. That something may be choked and +covered up, crowded down and fought against, as it is. But it is there. +When you take Jesus to a man you may know that you are taking a supply to +a demand. You are bringing a man the answer to his heart's questions. It +is as the coming together of two parts that belong together, but have been +held apart by some hindrance. + +That hindrance is stubborn. It has to be fought. It can be overcome. +That's the chief task. Then the part in man that answers to Jesus eagerly +fits into its place in Him. That coming together is always blessed, beyond +words. Everywhere men of all sorts and ranks and degrees of savagery and +culture eagerly respond to Him. And they declare that they find in Him the +full answer to their deepest longings. + + + +<u>Many Doors, but One Purpose.</u> + + +It is this marvellous magnet, Jesus, that we are to take to men; not +theology, nor education, nor medical skill, nor hospitals, nor industrial +helps, except incidentally. These are the tin cup which one is glad to use +to give the thirsty traveller water from the spring. + +You will understand at once that I have no thought of criticizing theology +or of discrediting it, if I could. It has its place. But that place is not +out in the thick of the crowd, but back in the quiet hall of study. There +must be thorough study and systematic putting together of the truth. There +needs to be patient plodding and mental drilling. + +You have no need to be told of the immeasurable value of the splendid +foundation building of Christian scholars. But this is school work, in the +main. It is to make us better workmen. So a man gets his bearings and +poise. But the people down in the dust and drive of the crowd don't want +theology. They want Jesus. It is striking that everywhere men want to hear +about Jesus. + +Educational work has played an indispensably great part in the scheme of +missions. But the purpose of it, of course, is to make an open door for +the entrance of Jesus into men's lives. It is invaluable in itself alone, +regardless of any other purpose. But the teacher of any sort of learning +in the mission school, who is chiefly absorbed in the teaching itself +instead of using it as a means to something higher, is missing the whole +purpose of his work. + +And what words can be used strong enough in speaking of the blessed work +of medical men in foreign-mission lands? These skilled, patient, faithful +men and women in hospital and dispensary and private service are doing a +work of incalculable value. It should be done even if the bodily results +were all. But the underlying purpose through it all is to lead men to know +Jesus. And no one has such a short, quick road into a man's heart as he +who can relieve his body. + +These things are doorways into men's lives; and great doorways, too. They +are well worth all the money and lives expended if they went no farther +than body and mind and better conditions. But the main purpose in them is +to find a way into men's hearts, and take in Jesus; that so men may get +the greater as well as the less. + + + +<u>Make it a Story.</u> + + +Now, how shall we best tell men of Jesus? Well, the modern newspaperman's +rule in his work is this: "Make it a story." This is his leading rule in +all his writing work. Whatever the occasion may be, whether a meeting of +scholars or an accident on the street, it is to be put into story-form. +That is the ideal toward which he works. All the descriptions, and +quotations, and information, and philosophizings are to be woven into this +web. They know that a story is the easiest thing to read and to listen to, +and also the hardest to tell well. + +That should be our rule here: <i>Make it a story about Jesus.</i> When it comes +to talking the Gospel to a group of people, large or small, in New York or +Shanghai, make it a story. Wherever you may begin the story, see that its +purpose is to lead up to Jesus. You may use twenty-five minutes in getting +your story out, and then put the Jesus touch in the last five minutes. But +as they go away that last five has given its flavor to the whole +half-hour's talk. Or, you may begin with Him, and so run through. But the +rule should be: Make it a simple, natural, attractive story, such as +people will want to listen to, because it interests them. + +That means a lot of hard work in preparation. The simpler and easier and +more natural it seems to the crowd the more it will have cost you in +study. You will have to study so carefully that they won't guess you have +studied at all. You must absorb this Bible story, bit by bit, through and +through, until it becomes a bit of yourself. + +You must use books that help make this Book clearer and plainer. That is +really the mission of biblical books, to make <i>the</i> Book plainer. If they +send you to the Bible they have fulfilled their mission. If you stay in +them, they have failed. + +The Bible is an Oriental book in its way of putting things. Its story is +built upon the habits of those Eastern peoples. While it is full of simple +teaching easily understood, one needs to understand those habits to get +the real meat of the meaning. This means a habit of hard work for him who +would be a winner of men. He should have an ambition to know the Bible +story thoroughly, and to get it from the Bible itself. + +But, whatever your particular message may be at any time, let it lead up +by a straight road to Jesus. Follow the rule of the Book itself here. The +Old Testament all points to Jesus. It can be understood only as He is +understood. And the New is aflame with His presence. Tell the story of +Jesus to men. They never tire of that. Tell it accurately. Tell it simply. +Tell it with endless variety. Put it in simple every-day words, so they +think about the story and not about you or your words. + +Tell Jesus' life; His characteristics; how He mingled among men, and +talked with them. Take up the Gospel incidents, and give them their +natural flavoring and coloring in present-day speech. Tell of the Nazareth +life, in home and carpenter shop and village. Go through those wondrous +three and a half years, bit by bit. + +Go into the temptation wilderness, out on the blue waters of Galilee, and +into Gethsemane's olive-grove. Climb that bit of a rise of ground called +Calvary. Wherever you are in that story, make sure that the coloring of +Calvary gets distinctly in, by word or phrase or climax or somehow. + +Now, of course, there will be some theology in your telling. You will make +comments and explanations. And preachers call that theology. That is +unavoidable. That is the place for such teaching, as it naturally grows +out of the story. But the story should be the main thing. Men should be +sent away thinking about a Man, Jesus; not about a theory of doctrine. + + + +<u>How Peter Told Paul.</u> + + +I remember very distinctly one time Mr. Moody was speaking at the Ohio +Sunday-school Convention in Cleveland. He was saying that teachers should +open up the Bible and make it attractive. Then he told the story of how, +in '84, in London he was talking with a lawyer friend who had just come +down from Edinburgh. He had been hearing Andrew Bonar preach up there, and +was greatly taken with his way of preaching. + +Mr. Moody told the story something like this: + +"Bonar was preaching in Galatians, where it says that Paul went to +Jerusalem to see Peter, and he said that he could imagine Peter saying to +Paul, 'Would you like to take a walk?' and Paul said he would, so they +went down through the streets of Jerusalem, over the brook Kidron, arm in +arm, and Peter stopped and said, 'Look, Paul, this is the very spot where +He wrestled and where He suffered, and sweat great drops of blood. There +is the very spot where John and James fell asleep, right there. And right +here is the very spot where I fell asleep. I don't think I should have +denied Him if I hadn't gone to sleep, but I was overcome. I remember the +last thing I heard Him say before I fell asleep was, "Father, let this cup +pass from me if it is Thy will." And when I awoke an angel stood right +there where you are standing, talking to Him, and I saw great drops of +blood come from His pores and trickle down His cheeks. It wasn't long +before Judas came to betray Him. And I heard Him say to Judas, so kindly, +"Betrayest thou the Master with a kiss?" And then they bound Him and led +Him away. And that night when He was on trial I denied Him.' + +"He pictured the whole scene. And the next day Peter turned again to Paul +and said, 'Wouldn't you like to take another walk to-day?' and Paul said +he would. That day they went to Calvary. And when they got on the hill +Peter said, 'Here, Paul, this is the very spot where He died for you and +me. See that hole right there? That is where His cross stood. The +believing thief hung there, and the unbelieving thief there on the other +side. Mary Magdalene and Mary, His mother, stood there, and I stood away +on the out-skirts of the crowd. + +"'The night before, when I denied Him, He looked at me so lovingly that it +broke my heart, and I couldn't bear to get near enough to see Him. That +was the darkest hour of my life. I was in hopes that God would intercede +and take Him from the cross. I kept listening, and I thought I would hear +His voice.' And he pictured the whole scene, how they drove the spear into +His side, and put the crown of thorns on His brow, and all that took +place. + +"And the next day Peter turned to Paul again and asked him if he wouldn't +take another walk. And Paul said he would. Again they passed down the +streets of Jerusalem, over the brook Kidron, over Mount Olivet, up to +Bethphage, and over to the slope near Bethany. All at once Peter stopped +and said: 'Here, Paul, this is the last place where I ever saw Him. I +never heard Him speak so sweetly as He did that day. + +"'It was right here He delivered His last message to us, and all at once I +noticed that His feet didn't touch the ground. He arose and went up. All +at once there came a cloud and received Him out of sight. I stood right +here gazing up into the heavens, in hopes I might see Him again and hear +Him speak. And two men dressed in white dropped down by our sides and +stood there and said: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven? +This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall come in like +manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven."'" + +Then Mr. Moody said, "My friends, I want to ask you this question: Do you +believe that picture is overdrawn? Do you believe Peter had Paul as his +guest and didn't take him to Gethsemane, didn't take him to Calvary and +Mount Olivet? I myself spent eight days in Jerusalem, and every morning I +wanted to steal down into the garden where my Lord sweat great drops of +blood. Every day I climbed Mount Olivet and looked up into the blue sky +where He went to His Father. + +"I have no doubt Peter took Paul out on those three walks. If there had +been a man that could have taken me to the very spot where the Master +sweat those great drops of blood, do you think I would not have asked him +to take me there? Now, you ministers, don't you believe the people want +preaching like that? They do. They want to hear about the Lord." + +I remember that I was sitting in that convention where I could easily see +the faces of the people. It was a sight not to be forgotten. I remember +that sea of eager upturned faces as distinctly as I remember Mr. Moody's +talk. The people sat so still, as though in a spell, with eyes big and +shining with something wet, and occasionally a slight twitching of emotion +and a handkerchief called into service. + +Mr. Moody talked in that natural way of his, so quiet and yet so intense +in its quietness. That's what people want--Jesus brought to them, simply +and naturally. And Moody knew it. It took years of hard self-discipline +for him to be able to talk as he did. Such talking takes study and hard +work. But it's all worth while if we can make Jesus plain to men in all +His wondrous winsomeness. + + + +<u>"A More Excellent Way."</u> + + +Then there's another way of telling the story of Jesus to men. It's a yet +better way. <i>Tell it with your life.</i> That was Jesus' own plan. He lived +what He taught. He proposed coming down into each one of us and living His +life over again in us. He does just that now. Then as men meet us they are +meeting Him, too, in us. The things that marked Him will be noticed in us. + +The intense hatred of sin, the purity, the gentleness and patience, the +warm sympathy, the constant self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice, the +eagerness to win men, the tireless going wherever men could be +helped--these may be in us as they were in Him, and will be, as we let Him +live in us. And men will recognize the Jesus-story being lived in their +midst. Jesus wants to reach out through us to men. And He will; He will; +more than we ever know or will know. This is the best telling of the +story. + +I am told that in the Palace of Justice in Rome there is a remarkable +chamber where visitors are sometimes taken. The remarkable thing about it +is the decorations. The ceiling and walls and even the floors are covered +with strangely painted frescoes. That is, they seem strange as one enters. +They seem grotesque. They do not harmonize. They are out of touch with +each other, and make a bewildering maze of confusion. But there is one +spot in the chamber, just one spot upon the floor, where, if you stand, +everything falls into place. The artist's conception stands out perfect in +perspective and color and beauty. + +To the great crowd of men in this old world life seems a good bit like +that Roman chamber. Things seem out of harmony--sin, pain, confusion, +unsatisfied longings, unconquered weaknesses, broken plans, and +disappointed ambitions. But there is one spot, a central point, just one, +where all that concerns you will come into harmony, and bring heart-rest. + +That one spot is where you take your stand side by side with Jesus. His +presence clears everything up. He sweetens the life, and straightens the +path, and leads you steadily on toward the dawning of the day. And that's +as true for China and the Pacific islanders as for Britisher or American. +Men need Jesus. He satisfies them. He is the great magnet. He draws men as +no other can. He places Himself at our disposal to be taken to men. They +can't resist Him. Let us take Him. + +O Jesus Master, thou hast drawn me till I want to be Thy slave forever. +Help me take Thee to all other men that they may feel Thy wondrous drawing +power, and satisfying power, too. + + + + +The Holy Spirit + + + + The Last Talk Together. + The Partnership of Service. + The Power that Never Fails. + The Trinity of Service. + Living on the Top Floor. + Partial Weavings of the Strands. + Unbroken Connection Above. + + + + +The Holy Spirit + + + +<u>The Last Talk Together.</u> + + +A little group of men were climbing the winding path that led up Olivet's +slope. The Master was in the midst, and the others before and behind, +where they could hear His voice. For they were talking together as they +walked along. That is to say, He was talking, and they were listening, +with an occasional question. They went on until they were over against +where little Bethany nestles in among the blue hills. There they stood a +little while, still talking together earnestly. + +It was their last talk together. And there were two things the Master was +saying. Those two things came with all the tender emphasis of a last +message. They were to go on an errand to the world; a lifelong errand, and +to the whole world. That was being burned in. But they weren't to start on +the errand until the Holy Spirit had come upon them. The errand and the +Spirit's presence were coupled together. That was to be their errand. And +He was to be their life-power as they went on the errand. + +They were to go. The Spirit was to come. He would come before they went. +They must not go until He had come. Then they were to go in His presence +and power. They would be able to go because of Him. Their going would be +worth while, because wherever they went He would be at work in them and +through them. The real work would be done by Him. But it would be done +through them. His presence was essential to their work being done. Their +presence was essential to His doing His work. He would work as they went, +and where they went. + +That was the new blessed partnership of world-wide service planned by the +Master as He went away. They would tell of Jesus. The Spirit would open +doors, guide their tongues, guard their persons, and make the message of +Jesus as a flame of fire in men's hearts. + +Just before this, Jesus had talked a great deal with His disciples about +the Holy Spirit. They didn't yet know how much this that He was saying, +would come to mean to them. But they remembered after the Master was gone, +and then they understood. When they got down into the thick of the world's +crowds they understood the great significance of what He had said. + +That last talk[24] they had together in the upper room and along the +Jerusalem streets, on the betrayal night, was full of teaching about the +Holy Spirit. And the next time after that that they met, in the upper +room,[25] on the evening of the resurrection day, He breathed strongly +upon them, and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." And the very last word +on the Olivet slope was, "Wait; wait until the Holy Spirit comes." He +burned in deep that their dependence must be entirely upon the Spirit. + + + +<u>The Partnership of Service.</u> + + +Jesus Himself is an illustration of what He told them about this. He was +on a missionary errand. He had been sent by His Father, even as later +these men and we have been sent. With awe ever growing, one remembers that +the divine Jesus in the days of His humanity gave Himself over to the +control of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was the dominant factor in His life +and in all His activities. All His teachings and movements were at the +suggestion and direction and control of the Spirit. The power in speech +and action, in healing, in raising the dead, and in the wondrous mastery +of Himself was the Holy Spirit's power working upon and through Jesus. + +Then it was that as He was going away He said, "As the Father hath sent +me, even so I send you." And with that He coupled the significant +breathing upon them, with the word, "Take ye the Holy Spirit." We are to +be as He, both in our utter dependence upon the Spirit and in our +assurance of His power in us. + +Ever since then that has been the effective partnership for world-service: +men and the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit and men. If you are thinking of +the human side you say, "<i>Men</i> and the Holy Spirit." If you are speaking +of the divine side, you say, "<i>The Holy Spirit</i> and men." The two belong +together. Where men have failed to go the Spirit has been hampered in +speaking to men. He has spoken, but the story of salvation through Jesus +has not been known. The Spirit's mouth-piece for the telling of that story +was lacking. That seriously hindered Him in His work. + +Where men have gone without the Spirit, that is without yielding +themselves habitually to His control, they have been sorely hampered. It +is like having the kindling wood set in order for a fire, but the fire not +started. There is no heat, nor any of fire's results. The kindling must +have the flame, and the flame must have the coals. The two are partners in +service. + +This partnership belongs peculiarly in the world-wide service of winning +men. If anybody needs the Spirit's presence, he does who attempts to win a +man to Jesus anywhere. But if any man-winner needs that presence more than +another, he does who goes into the peculiar atmosphere of a non-Christian +people. And, on the other hand, if anybody can be sure of the Spirit's +presence and power always with him, and working through him, he can who +has gone out on the world-errand. + +That man is in the direct line of obedience to Jesus' command. The Spirit +Himself is sent by Jesus, and comes to us in direct obedience to Jesus' +desire. These two, the man and the Spirit, are as one in the purpose that +controls them. That man may depend on the gracious, irresistible Spirit's +power at every turn. He is a thrice West man, if he have learned to +depend upon His unseen Partner. + + + +<u>The Power That Never Fails.</u> + + +You and I have to remind ourselves constantly that our chief dependence is +not upon organization, nor method, nor personal talent, nor personal +training, but upon the Holy Spirit working <i>through</i> these. The better +organized the human machinery, the better the methods used, the more there +is of personal gift, and the more thoroughly one's powers have been +drilled, the more there is at the Spirit's disposal for Him to use. The +practical bother is to remember this; to get it rubbed in until it is like +an instinct in us, that the power is all from Him, through us. Not without +Him, and not without us; the two together; but always His the far greater +part--indeed, the real part. + +The Holy Spirit has a double work to do: with us who go; and upon those to +whom we go. Within us He has to work out the character of Jesus. He opens +the Word, making its meaning stand clearly out. He wakens the mind up to +do its best work. He guides in our decisions, suggesting and directing and +controlling our thoughts, and in our actions, in our dealings with men. In +things that are little in themselves, but on which so much hinges, He +guides. + +It constantly occurs that we are not at all conscious of His control at +the time. But afterward we can see how He has been deftly, softly +guiding, with His rare light touch upon us. When, in the thick of work, +we may be pressed hard, and a bit wearied, and in doubt, He sends the +quiet, quick suggestion into our thoughts that leads out of the tight +corner and into the achievement of the thing desired. He works through us, +and through what we do, giving power that otherwise would not be there. +While you are talking in conversation or in public address, He is working +through what you are saying. + +And He works upon those to whom we go. He opens doors; the doors of +circumstances that we find locked and double-padlocked against us. He +opens the yet tighter-shut, harder-to-open human doors. He inclines men +favorably toward us personally, and to our message. Under His touch the +message becomes as a tongue of flame, kindling, disturbing, softening, +burning down, and moulding over into new shape the inner man to whom the +message comes. + +Sometimes quarrymen find a very hard kind of rock in the stone quarries. +They pick little grooves for the iron wedges, and then with great +sledge-hammers drive these wedges into the hard rock. But sometimes this +fails to split the rock. The iron wedges and big sledges have no effect at +all on the stubborn stone. Then they go at it in another way. The iron +wedges are removed from the narrow grooves. Then little wooden ones, of a +very hard fibre are selected. These sharp-edged, well-made wooden wedges +are first soaked in water. Then they are put in the grooves tightly while +wet, and water is kept in the grooves. The sledges are not used. They +would smash the wooden wedges. + +The water and wedges are left to do their work. The damp wood swells. The +particles must have more room as they swell. The granite heart of rock +can't stand against this new pressure. It takes longer than with iron +wedges and sledge, but after a while the rock yields and lies split +wide-open. The water works on the wood, and that in turn on the stone. The +iron wedges sometimes fail, but the wood and water never fail. + +It seems to be a part of our make-up to make plans, and to count on the +plans. And planning does much. We don't want to plan less, necessarily, +but to learn to depend more <i>in</i> our planning on the soft, noiseless, but +resistless power of the Holy Spirit. + + "The day is long, and the day is hard; + We are tired of the march and of keeping guard; + Tired of the sense of a fight to be won, + Of days to live through, and of work to be done; + Tired of ourselves and of being alone: + Yet all the while, did we only see, + <i>We walk in the Lord's own company.</i> + We fight, but 'tis He who nerves our arm; + He turns the arrows that else might harm, + And out of the storm He brings a calm; + And the work that we count so hard to do, + He makes it easy, for He works, too: + And the days that seem long to live are His-- + bit of His bright eternities--and close to our need + His helping is."[26] + + + +<u>The Trinity of Service.</u> + + +Now, we want to mark keenly that <i>full</i> power depends upon three things. +There is a trinity of service, a human-divine trinity. The full results +can come only through its working. The ideal winner of men needs to +believe thoroughly in this trinity. + +First of all is <i>the message</i>. There needs to be a clear understanding of +the Gospel. That is the winner's message. That is the direct thing he uses +in approaching and laying siege to some man's heart. It is a simple +message, but very often it is grasped only partly by those who tell it. + +That message needs to be understood clearly and fully by the man who would +have the greatest power in winning men. From its first plain teaching +about sin, on to the terrible results that sin left to itself works out; +through the blessed teaching of love as shown most in the sacrifice for +sin which Jesus made on the cross; the need of a clean cutting with sin, +and clear-out surrender to Jesus as Saviour and Master; the work of the +Holy Spirit in one's heart; and then the climax of service out among +men--this simple message needs to be grasped fully and clearly. This is +the first great essential hi the trinity of service. + +There is a second thing, yet more important, that must go with this first. +And that is <i>a man who embodies the message</i> in himself. It isn't enough +to know the story of the Gospel, nor to tell it. It must be <i>lived</i>. That +is the best telling of it. The man must be a living illustration of the +truth he is telling. He may be conscious of not illustrating it as he +should. The earnest man is never aware that he is as good an illustration +of it as he is. He may think himself a poor illustration. He is quite apt +to. But he is yet more apt not to be thinking of that side as he attempts +to win men. He will be all taken up with Jesus, and with getting men to +know Him. + +The man is more than the message, even when he is less than the message. +When his life fails to live out the truth he is speaking, still even then +he is more. For the life is more than the lips. And, while he is talking, +his life is discounting his words and taking away some of the power that +belongs with them. I do not mean that those he is talking to are making +the comparison, necessarily. They may not know about his life, whether it +embodies the message or not. + +I mean that the life that is true breathes a force and power into the man +himself and so into his words. <i>Or</i> it doesn't. The message takes on the +quality of the man. One man's talking catches fire; another's doesn't. The +listeners know that it is so, though they don't usually know why. All the +while you and I are trying to win others, in Sunday-school class or +meeting, in Gospel service or church preaching, in personal conversation +or letter-writing, there's a subtle something that goes out of us, as an +atmosphere, that affects the power of the message we're giving out. + +And that something is actually greater in its power than the truth we are +speaking. It may be a touch of flame making the truth burn within him who +is listening. It may be a deadly, dampening chill checking the fire that +is naturally in the truth. The man is always more than the message. + + + +<u>Living on the Top Floor.</u> + + +Then there is a third thing. It is yet more than the message or the man, +or than both message and man together. It is this: <i>the Holy Spirit +controlling the man who embodies the message</i>. I mean by controlling him +that he has surrendered himself to the Spirit's control. And, further than +that, that he cultivates the Spirit's presence. + +There needs to be a habitual cultivation of the Spirit's presence and +friendship, even as we cultivate our human friendships. There needs to be +time spent alone, habitually, with the Book of God. I do not mean just now +merely studying the Bible to get better acquainted with its contents. +Something more than that--thoughtful meditation on its truths; the quiet, +steady holding of one's self open to the searching and stimulating and +enlightening influence of this rare Book. The Spirit speaks through these +pages. Yet it is to be feared that many a careful student of its pages +does not get deeper in than the print. He doesn't know and meet the Person +who speaks in the print and through it. + +Then, beyond the quiet time with the Book, there is the holding of one's +whole life open to the Spirit's suggestion and subject to His direction. +He guides through our thinking. <i>And</i> sometimes He guides us when our +thinking, for some reason, has not gotten up high enough for Him to guide +through it. Samuel thought that David's oldest brother was God's chosen +one. But into his rarely sensitized inner ear the Spirit said "No." His +thinking wasn't keen enough to be the channel through which he could be +guided. But he had learned to hold his thinking subject to a higher power. + +One time Paul thought it would be good to go over east into the province +of Bithynia, and even tried to make a start that way. But the Spirit made +plain His plan that they were to go in just the opposite direction, to the +west. Had Paul's thinking been more open to the Spirit's touch at that +point, he wouldn't have made the false start. But he was wise clear beyond +the great crowd of us. For at once he dropped his own thought-out plans, +and did as he was bid. + +The keener our mental processes are, the better informed we are, the +better poised our judgment--the better can the Spirit reveal His plans to +us through this natural channel, if it is open to Him. But there is one +thing higher up than our thinking powers. And that is the +spirit-perception. The mental isn't at the top. It's a step up to the +spirit floor, the highest of all. + +Some men of splendid ability and training and consecration are constantly +hampered because they insist on living on the mental floor. All their +decisions are made there, <i>not</i> subject to change from above. And the Holy +Spirit, who is the Commander-in-chief of all the forces in this campaign, +is unable to use them as He would. + +They haven't got the sensitized inner ear of the quiet time that would +lead them up into higher, broader service. They go faithfully plodding +along on the lower level. The Spirit can use them, of course. He does; but +never to the full The Spirit of God controlling the man who embodies the +message--this brings fulness of power in winsome service; and only this +can. It is not by keenness of thinking, nor fulness of learning, nor +shrewd, well-balanced judgment, but by the Spirit of God working through +these, and sometimes working higher up than they have reached. + + + +<u>Partial Weavings of the Strands.</u> + + +Now it will help us, I am sure, and make the truth stand out more clearly, +to recall a good many variations that belong in here. Running back over +these things brings up certain facts. + +The truth has power of blessing in itself, regardless of who is speaking +it. A bad man may preach the Gospel, and the truth itself will be felt in +spite of the man. There is a life in truth itself, quite apart from the +medium of its transmission. This explains why men who have turned out to +be bad men have had good results attending their ministry. But it was the +truth making itself felt in spite of the handicap it suffered at the +hands of the man talking. + +And men whose understanding of the truth is very one-sided and meagre have +been greatly used and blessed in their work. It is striking how a man who +has been rescued from a life of open sin, and who goes into Christian +service with tremendous earnestness, will have great power. His emphasis +of truth may be one-sided. It is quite apt to be. He tells what he has +experienced. The man himself is a living illustration of the truth spoken. +All the truth that can get out through him has the tremendous push forward +of his life. But the extent of his service is limited. + +And there are men who have a clear, well-rounded grasp of the blessed +message of Jesus, and who give it out clearly and fully. But they are +hampered by their mental swaddling-clothes, in which they have been +wrapped up in school-days. They never get up out of them into the freedom +of strong action through the Spirit's control. + +Then, too, without doubt God's Spirit works alone, without using anybody. +He speaks through nature's beauty and power. He speaks in the inner heart +of every man. He is speaking directly to men all the time everywhere. But +the message is a partial one. The direct revelation of God, in nature and +in conscience, is a limited revelation. The full revelation of God was +made in Jesus. And so it is in this Book that tells of Jesus. + +The Spirit of God can speak most fully where that Book is known. He can +work most fully and powerfully through the man who lives the Book. Every +printing of this Bible, or any part of it, is giving the spirit freer +entrance into men's hearts. Every one of us who produces a new translation +of it in the language of his life gives the Spirit a wide-open door where +otherwise the opening had been narrow. + +Now, whatever combination of these there may be, some of the blessed power +of God will be seen and felt. The truth unembodied or even hampered; men +who embody the truth they know, but whose knowledge is small; men of much +knowledge, but small practice; men of full knowledge, but who have not +learned to let the Spirit sway them fully; the Spirit Himself speaking +where Jesus is not known, and without any man's help--through each of +these, power of life will go out to men. + +But the fulness of power that runs like a mighty stream goes only as the +three things come into one. The <i>message</i>, full and clear, the <i>man</i> who +lives it, the <i>Holy Spirit possessing and controlling the man</i> who lives +the message--this is the trinity of service through which alone the +flood-tide flows. + + + +<u>Unbroken Connection Above.</u> + + +That blessed flood-tide of power may be much more common than it is. There +needs to be daily quiet time, alone with the Master, with the door shut, +the Book open, the knee bent, the will bent too, to a clear right angle, +the mind quiet and open, the inner spirit unhurried; broad, thoughtful +reading; keen, clear, quiet meditation; the rigorous squaring of the life +up to the standard of the Book; the cultivation of the Spirit's presence +and friendship; and these habits steadily followed until they become +second nature. + +Then will be fulfilled the promise, "Out of His inner being <i>shall flow +rivers of water of life</i>."[27] And men have always been drawn irresistibly +to the rivers. And yet, while there will be fulness of power, there will +not be full knowledge of how full the power is. That is reserved for "the +Morning." + +For hundreds of years men have used a contrivance called a diving-bell for +working under water. Practically it enables a man to live out of his +native element. For a man to live in water for any length of time is +impossible. Expert divers do so for a few minutes at a time, but must rise +constantly to get a fresh supply of air. But their work is dangerous, and +very trying on the body. By means of the diving-bell a man may live and +work for hours under the water; that is to say, in an element that of +itself, unchecked, would quickly take his life. + +The diving-bell is a sort of huge inverted cup, let down into the water by +its own weight, opening downward, so that the man in the bell faces the +water directly with nothing between himself and it. Death by drowning is +always within arm's length, yet he remains safe. The simple principle on +which the thing is constructed is that water and air can't occupy the same +space at the same time. The bell, being full of air, holds the water out. + +But there needs to be a continual supply of fresh air sent down by means +of a tube connected with the upper air. Death by drowning and death by +suffocation, both threaten constantly, and each is held off, one by the +air, and the other by the continual supply of fresh air. The man's ability +to work and his very life depend upon the uninterrupted connection with +the fresh air above. + +The Christian man in this world is living out of his native breathing +element. He needs to have his own atmosphere with him, or else he will +die. And he needs to have a fresh supply continually from above, or his +life will be at very low ebb. + +Missionaries in foreign-mission lands speak much of the peculiar, +deadening, moral atmosphere there. There is a strange sense of depression +in it. They always plan to have their children brought home at an early +age that they may be brought up through the tender, impressionable years +in a land where Christian standards of life are recognized. + +There is no language strong enough to put this truth, that we <i>must</i>, each +of us, whether here or there, carry our own atmosphere with us, and have +continual uninterrupted connection with the upper air. And that "<i>must</i>" +cannot be too strongly underscored. + +Blessed Holy Spirit, breath of God, and breath of my life, help me to let +Thee have full sweep within me, that so my life may be kept sweet and +full; and so Jesus can get freely and fully out of me to the great hungry +crowd. + + + + +Prayer + + + + The Greatest Doing Is Praying. + At the Other End. + A Weekly Journey Round the World. + Prayer a Habit. + A Praying Bent Of Mind. + The Man Is The Prayer. + Unseen Changes Going On. + + + + +Prayer + + + +<u>The Greatest Doing Is Praying.</u> + + +The greatest of all things we can <i>do</i> is to <i>pray</i>. + +Jesus lived a life of prayer. All that He did and said grew out of His +prayer. There is no way of knowing exactly how far it was so. But the more +I study His life the stronger grows the impression that His teaching and +activity, which form the greater part of these Gospel pages, were actually +less than His praying. He seems to have put prayer first. All the rest was +an outgrowth of it. He was on a world-winning errand. And this was what He +thought of prayer. <i>The emphasis of Jesus' personal habit was laid upon +prayer.</i> + +The Holy Spirit is a prayer-spirit. He is the Master-Intercessor. He +breathes into us the spirit of prayer, and makes it glow into a passion. +He teaches us how to pray. It is a lifelong teaching. You who are teachers +know that patience and skill are more in a good teacher than the knowledge +taught. With greatest skill, and loving, tactful patience the Spirit +teaches us to pray. + +And then He does more: He uses each of us as His praying-room, praying in +us with yearnings beyond utterance the prayer to which we have not yet +reached up, but which needs to be prayed down on the earth. All the power +needed in this great winning work is in the Holy Spirit and comes from +Him. <i>And the chief thing He emphasizes is prayer.</i> + +The greatest thing each one of us can do is to pray. If we can go +personally to some distant land, still we have gone to only one place. But +our field is the world. It is impossible for us to reach our whole field +personally. But it can be reached, and reached effectually, by prayer. The +place where you and I are sent, whether at home or abroad, is simply our +<i>base of action</i>. It is our field for <i>personal</i> touch. And that means +very much. But it is more than that. It is only a small part of our field +of activity. It is most significant as our <i>base of action,</i> from which we +send out our secret messengers of prayer to all parts of the field. + +And then, in the particular town or city or country district to which we +have been sent, or in which we are being kept, the prayer properly comes +before the personal activity. And it runs along side by side with the +activity, and follows along after. We give the personal touch which must +be given, and which may be so marvellous in power, but there's something +even there greater than the great personal touch; and that is the power of +prayer. + +It is through the prayer that the personal presence means most. That +personal presence may become a positive hindrance. It may be a drag upon +the work. It often is just that for lack of prayer. For the real sweetness +and efficiency of personal service out among men is in secret prayer. + +And if we give <i>money</i>, it needs even more the prayer to go with it. Money +seems almost almighty. As a winning force, of course, it must be reckoned +far less than personal service. For it is less. It gets its almost +omnipotence from human hands. If the personal touch depends for its subtle +power on prayer, how much more does money! Money given to missions, +unaccompanied by prayer, can no doubt be made to do great good. But it is +a very pauper in its poverty alongside the bit of money that is charged +with the spirit-current of prayer. + + + +<u>At the Other End.</u> + + +One day I ran across a party of about twenty Pittsburg men on their way to +a men's Christian convention in Cincinnati. There were a few ministers in +the party, but it was made up chiefly of business men, typical, keen, +alert American business men. We got together and talked about things of +common interest. + +And this question was asked: <i>Does prayer do things?</i> Then the question +was spread out some. I go into my room at night to retire. I read a bit +from the Book, and kneel to pray. I pray for a man in Pittsburg or in +Hang-chow, China. Does anything take place in Pittsburg or in Hang-chow +that wouldn't have taken place if I hadn't prayed? Of course, the praying +does <i>me</i> good. The very bending of knee and head before God, the good +wishes in my heart going out to some one else--these influence me. I rise +better for both. + +But is that all? Does anything happen <i>at the other end?</i> Does my prayer +do anything in Hang-chow? If I write a business letter to Hang-chow, +enclosing a foreign draft, the letter does something. A vast amount of +business is carried on that way. Would the prayer as really do something +as the letter and the draft? + +There was a good bit of talk back and forth, and questions asked. It was +interesting to find these men were ready to admit that they really +believed that something would occur at the other end. They belonged to a +church noted for its sound teaching, and came from the orthodox church +city of Pittsburg. The matter-of-fact power of prayer to do business "at +the other end" seemed to appeal to these business men. Apparently they had +not been looking at prayer that way. But they readily admitted that it +must be so. Then the next question asked itself: How much of this foreign +business are we doing? And so the little crowd talked along while the +train pounded the rails at the rate of forty-odd miles an hour. + +Prayer does do things. Something happens at the other end that wouldn't +happen if the prayer were not made. The banker can touch London and Paris +and Shanghai and Calcutta and Tokyo, without moving from the desk where he +is dictating letters, with his correspondence spread out before him. The +praying man can as really touch these cities as he kneels in his room, +with map and Book spread out before him. + +Things are changed out there that need changing. That banker does +business, too, in his home city and out in the home-land. But many times, +with many a house, the bulk of foreign business is in excess of that done +at home. Now we want to do a large business abroad in soul-winning and in +world-winning, as well as at home. + + + +<u>A Weekly Journey round the World.</u> + + +I use that word "business" in this connection thoughtfully and reverently. +I know there is a sacredness, a hallowedness about prayer that never or +rarely enters into business matters. We keep the two things apart in our +thoughts; reckoning the one a common thing, and the other a holy thing. +And I would increase, if I could, that sense of reverence in prayer. But +there is a great advantage in using the familiar language of business in +thinking of the results of our praying. + +Prayer is doing business for God. It gives a practicality, a +something-you-can-touch-and-feel feeling to think in that way. Shall we +not make plans at once to increase our foreign correspondence? + +You can have a simple schedule or memorandum to guide your praying. I do +not mean a slavish hard-and-fast system, or set of rules, set down to be +followed, with a feeling that you have been untrue if you forget. Nothing +of that sort at all. But merely a simple something to glance at each day, +and so serve as a reminder to guide your thoughts. + +A little memorandum can be made running through the days of the week. It +can be so planned as to run around the world during the week. The little +schedule which I use is divided into the days of the week, Sunday to +Saturday. There is a daily page containing notes, catch-words, about +personal affairs, and home, and friends, and church, and appointments, and +such items. Then each day of the week has a page, and on it is marked +home-land items and foreign items. + +In marking out the weekly world journey I had to begin somewhere. The +Master told the disciples to begin at Jerusalem and work out. So I +followed that rule, and Sunday is marked Turkey and the lands grouped with +it, Arabia and Persia. The memorandum moves east, following the +compass-line of greatest need. Monday is India day, including Ceylon and +the lands and islands lying adjacent. Tuesday is China day; Wednesday, +Japan, the island kingdom; and the island world of the Pacific. + +This brings me across the Pacific, and so Thursday is marked South +America, including Central America and Mexico. The easterly line takes me +across the Atlantic again to Africa on Friday. Saturday takes an upward +turn to the papal lands of Europe, and to Russia, completing the +world-journey for that week. The matters for prayer here in the home-land +are noted through the days of the week in the same way. Each page has +certain home and certain foreign items. + +A little prayer-book of that sort grows under constant use. Your reading +of missionary news leads to the making of fresh notes. Names of persons +are added, and dates of coming conferences, and so on, and verses of +Scripture that stand out in the daily reading. So the book becomes to you +a very precious little batch of leaves, lying inside the precious Book of +God. + +It should be accompanied by a map of the world. For a good while I used +the one which was inserted in one of Dr. A. T. Pierson's mission books. +That copy has long since been replaced by others, larger, giving more +information. It is an immense help to glance at the map daily, and look at +the part marked for the day. The lands get fixed in mind in that way +without special effort. Gradually they stand out more and more clearly, +and come to be very real to you. + +That map may become dear to you, for it suggests the field that you are +influencing. It is your prayer sailing-chart. It becomes fragrant with +memories. Experiences you have had alone with God over His Word, and over +this map of His World, come back to refresh and sweeten. + + + +<u>Prayer a Habit.</u> + + +There's a little sentence of Paul's that used to puzzle and bother me, +"Pray without ceasing." But it has become a great help to me. It puzzled +me because I didn't see any practical way of doing it. It didn't seem to +mean the repetition of prayers, with little mechanical helps, such as some +use. It surely doesn't mean staying on your knees a long time. But, as I +tried to pray my way into its meaning, it came to mean four distinct +things to me. And I would not be surprised to find more yet coming out of +it. + +First of all, it means that prayer should be <i>a habit</i>. There should be a +fixed time every day, or times, for going off alone to pray. Into that +time the Book is taken. Quiet time is spent in reading it. For this is +listening to God. And that comes first in praying; listening first, then +speaking. The reading may be rapid and broad, or slower and more +meditative. Whichever it may be, there should be a cultivation of <i>the +habit of meditation</i>. + +I do not mean a sleepy trying to imitate what we suppose some holy men do. +But a keen thinking into the meaning of the words, and into their +practical use in one's own life. Then the praying itself. The being still +before God, and the definite prayer for particular things, and persons, +and places. That habit can be fixed until it becomes second nature. It can +be cultivated until it becomes the sweet spot of the day to you. + + + +<u>A Praying Bent of Mind.</u> + + +Then while the daily habit continues prayer may become an attitude, <i>a +bent of mind</i>. Whatever comes up suggests prayer to you. The bent of your +mind is to pray as things come up in the daily round. You can't stop your +work, but you <i>think</i> prayers. Your heart prays while your hands are busy. + +I shall never forget the school in which I learned to pray this way. A +case of protracted illness in my home required my personal attention +constantly for a time. It seemed as if no assistance I could get meant +quite as much as what I could do personally. The life in peril was so +precious that all else dropped out of sight. My habits of life were +completely broken up. I was up night and day. The early morning hour of +reading and prayer was broken into, with everything else of a regular +sort. + +But as I went about my round of service I found myself praying constantly. +I was much wearied, and things sometimes seemed desperate. I realized how +everything depended on God's touch. And without any planning a habit of +continual praying formed itself. I could be engaged in conversation, +thinking intently into something needing great care, and yet there was an +undercurrent of prayer constantly. I shall never cease to be grateful for +that trying experience, because in it this new habit of a praying bent of +mind formed itself. + +Do you not know how as you go about your ordinary round there is a +constant undercurrent of thought? You may be talking, or reading, or +writing, or doing something more mechanical, and yet this underneath train +of thought is running along apparently of its own accord, regardless of +you. It is broken at times, or you lose consciousness of it, as your work +requires closer attention. When you swing into the habitual things that +you have done over and over again until they almost do themselves, it +reasserts itself. + +I remember years ago, in a banking-house where I served for a time, I had +long additions to make. Sometimes the rows of figures to be added up were +a foot in length. And I got so used to adding that often I was surprised +to find that my thoughts had been far away, completely taken up with +something else, while I had been adding the figures. And fearing that I +had been slighting my work, I would go back carefully all over the +figures, only to find the footings correct. The adding habit had become +fixed, and left the undercurrent of my thought free. + +That current is apt to reveal the heart's purpose or set of mind. Whatever +you are most set upon, whatever your favorite fads or hobbies or +inclinations or moods are, they are apt to appear in that involuntary +train of thinking. Now this can be cultivated. It can be cultivated +chiefly by the cultivation of the controlling purpose of your life, and +then by trying to give directions to the undercurrent, and holding it to +that direction. If Jesus has gripped your heart the purpose of the life +will be for Him. And if you have come to realize the tremendous power of +prayer, this undercurrent of thought can be made a prayer-current. + +I do not mean by any forced or artificial holding of one's self to such a +current by dint of main force, and then mentally whipping yourself if you +have forgotten. The power of all action lies in its being perfectly free +and natural. You can cultivate the Jesus-passion, and the life-purpose, +and the prayer-habit, and all of this will be a training of that +undercurrent of thought toward prayer. + +The shipping clerk, as he heads up his barrels and boxes, can be sending +out and up his current of prayer. At intervals he is thinking closely +about something connected with his work. Then his thoughts free +themselves. As he hammers in the nails, his thought says, "This is China +day." Each ringing blow of the hammer rings out "This is China day:--Thy +blessing, Master, to-day upon the missionaries in Hang-chow;--upon Mr. +Blank out there;--victory in Jesus' name to-day;--the physician +missionaries, the nurses;--Thy power upon them;--help the native workers." + +The picture of his little prayer memorandum comes up before his mind's +eye. The map of China stands out more or less distinctly, according to how +long he may have been practising looking at it in his prayer-hour. His +mind runs of itself from one point to another. And so, all the while, his +undercurrent of praying goes on. It is broken into by newer or more +exacting duties; then free again, and swinging more or less to the thing +his heart is set upon. It becomes a perfectly free, natural thing with +him. This is part of the meaning of "Pray without ceasing." + + + +<u>The Man is the Prayer.</u> + + +Then prayer is <i>a life</i>. The life is what you are in yourself. It is not +the mere span of years you live through. Your thoughts and loves, your +heart's ambitions and gripping purposes, the things you will to do, and to +be--that is your life. That exerts an enormous influence upon the circle +in which you live, and upon the world. + +If underneath all else that driving purpose, that warm, intense +love-power, that yearning desire, is Godward, and manward, and world-ward, +that becomes a prayer, a continual prayer. You are not thinking of it that +way. But that is your life, and that life is a prayer. Its influence +against the evil one and for God is enormous. + +That is a prayer unceasing, as long and as strong as your life itself. +Satan fears it. It hinders him and thwarts him every day. The fragrant +incense from the censer of your life rises up before the throne of God +continually, and affects the events on the earth.[28] + +And then prayer is <i>a person</i>. That is to say, you yourself may be a +prayer, a walking prayer offered up in Jesus' name. Your presence will +affect the evil one, and change events, and help God in His plans. You may +be so allied with Jesus in the simple gripping purpose of your heart that +you yourself, where you are, by your mere presence, will be recognized by +evil spirits, and by the Master Himself as a mighty power for God. + +Your presence disturbs the evil one's plan. It has an influence upon those +you meet. It is helping God. The whole effect of your presence is +precisely the same as a prayer. You are a prayer yourself, though +unconsciously. The whole trend of your life says, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy +will be done on earth as in heaven." + +A few years ago President Roosevelt's daughter was a member of the Taft +party that visited parts of the Orient. She did not go as the President's +daughter, of course. There could be no official significance attached to +her presence. We Americans can understand better than some others that she +went simply as a young woman eager to see Japan and China, not as the +President's daughter. + +But everywhere she went in the Orient she was treated not merely as a +member of the party, but as the daughter of the President of the United +States. Presents were made to her, receptions tendered, and deference +shown, because of her personal relation to her father. To the Orientals +her presence stood for the head of our Government. They treated her in +relation to him. + +Even so it is with us Christians. The evil one doesn't think of you and +me for ourselves simply. He thinks of us in relation to the Jesus, who is +his Victor. We stand to him down here for Jesus. He fears us as he fears +Jesus. That is, he can be made to fear us, by our being true to our Lord. + +The final purpose of prayer is to defeat Satan and to bring about God's +will. And we do just that in our persons, by our presence; or we may. +Prayer is a person. You are a prayer. The man himself becomes a tremendous +prayer, off-setting evil influences, changing men and events, and helping +God in His plans. + +These last two, the life and the person, may be called unconscious prayer. +The influence is constantly going out, though we are not aware of it. But +it is great encouragement to recall that this prayer-power is going out of +us constantly. And these two are not limited to the place where we are. +They act as a momentum to every wish we breathe, and every spoken prayer +we utter, sending these with renewed force out to the place involved. +Spirit influence does not know anything about the limitations of distance. + + + +<u>Unseen Changes Going On.</u> + + +All this praying makes a difference at the other end, the place toward +which it is directed. Things in Tokyo are made different. The copy of a +Gospel that some native in India is reading becomes a plainer book to him +because of this praying. Your prayer is a spirit-force travelling +instantly through the distance between you and the place you are praying +for. And things occur that otherwise would not. + +Opposition lessens. Difficulties give way. The road some man is travelling +clears and brightens. The truth on the printed page stands out in bigger +letters. The health renews. The sickness or weakness gives way to a new +health and strength. The judgment steers a straight course. The purpose +holds its anchor steady. The man rides the rough seas of temptation +safely. + +Things are happening. And they are happening because some scarcely noticed +young fellow hammering a barrel-head and marking the shipping directions, +and some typewriter chopping her machine, are praying in the quiet time, +and are praying softly in the undercurrent of their scarcely thought-out +thoughts. + + "Oh, if our ears were opened + To hear as angels do + The Intercession-chorus + Arising full and true, + We should hear it soft up-welling + In morning's pearly light; + Through evening's shadows swelling + In grandly gathering might; + The sultry silence filling + Of noontide's thunderous blow, + And the solemn starlight thrilling + With ever-deepening flow. + + "We should hear it through the rushing + Of the city's restless roar, + And trace its gentle gushing + O'er ocean's crystal floor; + We should hear it far up-floating + Beneath the Orient moon, + And catch the golden noting + From the busy Western noon; + And pine-robed heights would echo + As the mystic chant up-floats, + And the sunny plain resounds again + With the myriad mingling notes. + + "There are hands too often weary + With the business of the day, + With God-entrusted duties, + Who are <i>toiling while they pray</i>. + They bear the golden vials, + And the golden harps of praise, + Through all the daily trials, + Through all the dusty ways. + <i>These hands, so tired, so faithful, + With odors sweet are filled,</i> + And in the ministry of prayer + Are wonderfully skilled. + + "There are noble Christian workers, + The men of faith and power, + The overcoming wrestlers + Of many a midnight hour; + Prevailing princes with their God, + Who will not be denied, + Who bring down showers of blessing + To swell the rising tide. + The Prince of Darkness quaileth + At their triumphant way, + <i>Their fervent prayer availeth</i> + <i>To sap his subtle sway.</i> + + "And evermore the Father + Sends radiantly down + All-marvellous responses, + His ministers to crown; + The incense cloud returning + As golden blessing-showers, + We in each drop discerning + Some feeble prayer of ours, + Transmuted into wealth unpriced, + By Him who giveth thus + The glory all to Jesus Christ, + The gladness all to us!"[29] + + + + +Money + + + + Limitations. + The Best Partnership. + Jesus' Teaching. + Be Your Own Executor. + Missing the Master's Meaning. + Money Talks. + Debts. + Rusty Money. + Are We True to Our Friend's Trust? + + + + +Money + + + +<u>Limitations.</u> + + +Money seems almost almighty in its power to do things, and make changes. +It can make a desert blossom as a rose. It can even defy death. Medical +skill holds the life here that otherwise would have been snuffed out. +Great buildings go up. Colleges begin their life with apparatus and books, +skilled instructors, and eager students. Mammoth enterprises spring into +being. Hospitals and churches rise up with skilled attendants and talented +preachers. + +We have come, in our day, and perhaps peculiarly in our country, to think +that there is no limit to the power of money. Our ideas of its value are +really greatly exaggerated. That first sentence I used would be revised by +many to read, "Money is almighty." The cautious words "seems" and "almost" +would be promptly cut out. + +Yet money has great limitations. It will help greatly to remember what +they are. And many of us need the brain-clearing of that help. Of itself +money is utterly useless, so much dead-weight stuff lying useless and +helpless. It must have human hands to make it valuable. It gets its value +from our conception of its value and from our use of it. It must have a +human partner to be of any service at all. + +In bad hands it becomes devilish in its badness. And I needn't put an +"almost" in that sentence. It may be as a very demon, or as the arch-devil +himself, as really as it may seem to be divine in its creative and +changing power. + +Then it is valuable only in this world, on the earth. At the line of death +its value wholly ceases. Over that line it takes its place as a pauper. It +is represented as being used for cobble stones in the streets of the new +Jerusalem. Yet it would need to go through some hardening process to make +it of any account at all as paving material. + +We ought to remind ourselves of something else, too, that the crowd +constantly forgets, and that we are tempted to forget when touched by the +contagion of the crowd. And that is, that money is always less in its +power than a strong, sweet, pure life. Maybe you think that comparison +can't properly be made. You say that things so unlike can't be compared. +But, whether consciously or intentionally or otherwise, that comparison is +being made constantly in practical life, and most times to the advantage +of money. Commonly the crowd reckons money more than character. + +We do well to remind ourselves that its influence for good is always +distinctly less than that of a life. To live a life pure and strong and +wholesome in its ideals out among men is more than to be able to give +money in any amount. To keep one's life up to such ideals in the heartless +drive and competition of modern life means more than to extract large +quantities of gold out of the mine of barter and trade, and to give some +of it away. + +And money is less than personal service. Great deference is paid to checks +and subscriptions. The man who can draw a large check for some good +object, and who may by dint of much dexterous handling be induced to write +his name under some large figure, is treated with awe. But there's another +man who stands higher up in the scale, and to whom hats should go farther +off and more quickly. That is the strong man who gives personal service. +There may be a blessed partnership between the man of money and the man of +service. There often is. But he is an unfortunate man, to be pitied, who +lets anything else crowd out of his life the privilege of giving some of +his self out in personal service for others. These are some of gold's +limitations. + + + +<u>The Best Partnership.</u> + + +Give money good partners, and there is no end to what it can do. Let +prayer and sacrifice and money form a life-partnership, and that first +sentence can be revised, and greatly strengthened by the revision: Money +<i>is</i> almost almighty. It gets all the good qualities of its partners as +long as it stays in the partnership, on good working terms. + +It isn't the head of the firm, however. Prayer belongs in that place. It +must direct. It is the prayer's touch with God that hallows the gold and +gives to it some of God's omnipotence. Money is the working partner, best +when hard at work, and famous for the amount of work it can do in obeying +orders from the head of the house. + +It gives a strange sense of awe to realize that the bit of money you hold +in your hand can be used to <i>change a life,</i> aye, more, to change many +lives. That money is yours to control. It came to you in exchange for your +labor or your skill. It is yours, for the sweat of your brow or your brain +is upon it. And now it can be sent out, and the result will be a life +utterly changed, purified, and redeemed. + +Through your partnership the money produces something greater than itself. +And that changed life becomes the centre of a new power, changing other +lives out to the far rim of an ever-widening circle. It may have cost you +much. Some of your very life has gone out in the work that brought into +your hands that bit of gold. It is red with your blood. And now, if you +choose, it can be sent out and made to bring new life in to some one else. +Life has gone from you in getting it, and life will come to another in +your giving it out, under the blessed Master's transmuting touch. + + + +<u>Jesus' Teaching.</u> + + +Jesus' teaching about money is startling. I mean that it stands in such +utter contrast to the commonly accepted standards out in the world, and +inside in the Church, that the contrast startles one sharply. + +There are four passages in which His money teachings group, largely. +There's the "Lay-not-up-for-yourselves-treasure-upon-the-earth" bit in the +sermon on the Mount;[30] with the still stronger phrase in the Luke +parallel, "Sell that ye have, and give."[31] There is the incident of the +earnest young man who was rich;[32] the parable of the wealthy farmer in +Luke, twelfth chapter;[33] and the whole sixteenth chapter of Luke, with +that great ninth verse, whose full meaning has been so little grasped. The +truth taught in each of these is practically the same thing. + +The Master is evidently talking about what a man has over and above his +personal and family needs. It's a law of life, from Eden on, that a man +should work to supply his daily needs and the needs of those dependent +upon him. Just how much that word "needs" means each man settles for +himself. It means different things at different times to the same man. + +It is surprising how little it can be made to mean when the pinch comes, +and yet a man have all actual necessities supplied. The man who would have +his life count for most for the Master, and the Master's plan, thinks over +that word prayerfully and sensibly with full regard to personal strength, +and loved ones, and the future. Whatever it may be made to mean, this +teaching is plainly about what is left over after the needs are met. + +Now, about that left-over amount the Master gives three easily understood +rules, or bits of advice, or commands. First: <i>Don't treasure it up for +the sake of having it.</i> If you do it is in danger, and you are in danger. +It may be stolen. Every vault, and safe, and safety-deposit company, and +lock, and key backs up that statement. Or it may be lost through rust or +moths, the two things that threaten all inactivity. The stuff that isn't +in use wears away. The wear of use can't compare with the wear of disuse +or neglect. + +Then <i>you</i> are in danger of your heart being affected. It will be wherever +your treasure is. It may get locked up, and so dried up for lack of air or +poisoned by bad air. The blood must have fresh air. The heart must have +touch with men to keep its vigor. It may get all dried up with <i>things</i>, +instead of keeping vigorous by touch with needy men. That's the twofold +danger. That's the first thing Jesus says: Don't store it up, down here, +in the ordinary way. + +The second thing is this: <i>Store your surplus up.</i> Be careful of it. Keep +strict tally. Let the books be well kept and balanced. Let no +thoughtlessness nor carelessness nor thriftlessness get in. Store it up. +But be careful where you store it. Keep it carefully guarded against the +action of thieves and moths, and against the inaction of decaying, +destroying rust. That is the second thing. Store it up carefully. + + + +<u>Be Your Own Executor.</u> + + +The third thing is this: <i>Store it up by means of exchange.</i> Keep it safe +by giving it away. The whole value of money is in exchange. It must be +kept moving. But, <i>but</i>--and the whole heart of the teaching is here--be +very wary about your exchanges. Invest your money in <i>men</i>, wherever the +need may be. All that you invest wisely in men is stored up against any +violence or craftiness of thieves and any corroding of rust. + +All that is not out in active use directly among men, for men, in Jesus' +name, is in danger of being stolen, or of decaying, or of injuring you, or +of being left behind, utterly worthless to you when you are through down +here. Be your own executor. + +Some years ago one of the religious papers of New York City told of the +death of a maiden lady named Elizabeth Pellit. Her home was in the +hall-room of a tenement-house, and at her death all her earthly +possessions could be put into one common trunk. No executor or +administrator was needed. Living in narrow circumstances, her friends +thought she had denied herself all luxuries and even many comforts. But in +the forty years of her Christian life she had been able to give over +thirty thousand dollars to missionary work. She had supplied the money to +send out and sustain one missionary in Salvador, and also for another who +was to go out soon. She seemed to have grasped the meaning of the Master's +teaching. + +Good common sense comes in for free play here, both in adjusting one's +personal and family schedule and in giving. Giving may be done foolishly, +or not wisely. There is no place where there is more room for good sense +in avoiding both the extreme of unwise giving and the other extreme of +handicapping one's gifts. + +It is a question of personal judgment how far to give money out directly +and how far to invest some of it and use the income wholly in gifts. You +may think that in some directions you can invest it better, and direct the +income better than some organization. That is an important detail. But the +chief thing is that the money itself is dedicated wholly for use out among +needy men. + +Now you will please mark keenly that in all this I am not talking about +what I think about money. I am simply putting into plain talk Jesus' own +teaching about it, in these four great passages. + + + +<u>Missing the Master's Meaning.</u> + + +Christian men, generally, seem to have missed the meaning of Jesus' words. +I think it due largely to the lack of teaching in the Church that +world-evangelizing is a <i>first</i> obligation. + +Recently a fire destroyed the home of a man of large wealth who lives some +distance east of San Francisco. It was a beautiful palace, full of art +treasures. The value of house and furnishings and the art collection was +reckoned at about two million dollars. He is a Christian man, prominently +identified with active Christian work, and reckoned a liberal giver. He +has visited foreign-mission lands, and made special gifts to missions. + +But his gifts to missions seem like a copper cent or a silver quarter +given to a beggar in contrast with the two million dollars tied up for +himself in the house that burned. Two millions stored up in a home, while +many millions of men have lived and died in ignorance of the light and +peace that comes with Jesus! Yet this man calls Jesus his Master, and +sincerely, I have no doubt. And his Master said the one great thing was to +tell all men of His love and death. + +By no extension of the meaning of that word "need" could he be said to +need a two-million-dollar home for himself and family. And there are other +millions under the same man's control. It looks very much as if this good +man had missed the meaning of Jesus' words. The criticism, however, must +be first upon the Church and its leaders, with whose general trend of +teaching this man is in accord. According to the Master's teaching, most +of the money in his house, and stored up in other ways of the sort for +himself, is being lost. Far more serious, the opportunity of investment in +men is being lost. That money will be all loss to him when he reaches the +line of departure over into the next sphere of life. + +It is very difficult to use such an illustration from life. There is +danger that the words will sound critical in a bad or unkind sense. I +earnestly pray to be kept from that. You will know that I am talking to +myself first of all; and speaking of this only to help. The bother is that +this man is not an exception. Rather he represents the habit and standard +of his generation. + +I recall another Christian man as I speak, of large wealth, by inheritance +and by dint of business keenness. His face showed plainly his fine +Christian character. He gave liberally in many directions, sometimes very +large sums. But he lived in a home whose value ran close to a half-million +of dollars. When he died, full of years and honors, he left many millions +to a son who does not inherit his father's generous hand with his wealth. +Of course, the son didn't <i>need</i> the vast wealth. + +And I wondered, silently, within my heart, how things looked to that man, +as he slipped out of life up into the Master's presence, and looked down +on the earth through the eyes of the One whose teaching we have been +talking about. He could see China and India and Africa then as plainly as +America. + +How did the lost opportunity of laying up his treasure in the lives of men +look to him then, I wondered. He was a good man. I saw him smile once, and +his face seemed to shine as an angel's. I think probably no faithful +friend had ever talked to him of the plain meaning of Jesus' words, and of +world-winning being a <i>first</i> obligation. He hadn't been taught it from +the pulpit. And he hadn't thought into it himself. + + + +<u>Money Talks.</u> + + +Many are losing a great opportunity of silently preaching Jesus to their +fellows by their habit of giving. Two men were discussing the evidences of +the Christian religion. The one was a Christian; the other not, and +inclined to be sceptical. Arguments were freely exchanged. At last the +sceptic, who was a blunt, out-spoken man, said frankly, to his friend and +neighbor: "I think we might as well drop this matter. For I don't believe +a word you say. And, more than that, I am quite satisfied in my own mind +that you do not really believe it yourself. For to my certain knowledge +you have not given, the last twenty years, as much for the spread of +Christianity, such as the building of churches and foreign and domestic +missions, as your last Durham cow cost. Why, sir, if I believed what you +say you believe I'd make the church my rule for giving, my farm the +exception." + +That Christian man's life was contradicting every word he uttered to his +neighbor. Money talks. His was talking very loudly to his sceptical +neighbor. His neighbor was unusually frank in saying out what thousands +are thinking. He had lost a great opportunity of winning his friend. + + + +<u>Debts.</u> + + +In a simple little sentence Paul reveals how thoroughly he had grasped +Jesus' meaning. He said, "<i>I am debtor</i> both to Greeks and +barbarians"--to all men.[34] Now that word, "debtor," commonly means two +things: that you have received something of value from some one, and that +therefore you owe him for what he gave to you. + +But Paul hadn't gotten anything special from the men of whom he is +speaking. His birth and training and whatever else he had were Jewish. And +the Jews were a minority in the world. He was not under the debtor +obligation of having gotten something from the men he is speaking of. + +In his use of that word, "debtor" means <i>three</i> things: first, something +received from God, and that something everything; then something owing to +God; and then that something <i>payable to man</i>. He counted himself in debt +to all men on Jesus' account. And so are we. How much owest <i>thou</i> to thy +Lord? That's how much you are to pay to men on your Lord's account. + +We are not even our own, much less our goods. We were bought up when we +were bankrupt A great price was paid for us, even the life-blood of Jesus. +And our Owner bids us pay <i>up</i> by paying <i>out</i>. We are badly and blessedly +in debt; badly, for we can never square the account; blessedly, because we +can be constantly paying on account, out to men in Jesus' name. + + "Over against the Treasury this day + The Master silent sits; whilst, unaware + Of that Celestial Presence still and fair, + The people pass or pause upon their way. + + And some go laden with His treasures sweet, + And dressed in costly robes of His device + To cover hearts of stone and souls of ice, + Which bear no token to the Master's feet. + + And some pass, gaily singing, to and fro, + And cast a careless gift before His face, + Amongst the treasures of the holy place, + But kneel to crave no blessing ere they go. + + And some are travel-worn, their eyes are dim, + They touch His shining vesture as they pass, + But see not--even darkly through a glass-- + How sweet might be their trembling gifts to Him. + + And still the hours roll on; serene and fair + The Master keeps his watch, but who can tell + The thoughts that in His tender spirit swell, + As one by one we pass him unaware? + + For this is He who, on one awful day, + Cast down for us a price so vast and dread, + That He was left for our sakes bare and dead, + Having given Himself our mighty debt to pay! + + Oh, shall unworthy gifts once more be thrown + Into His treasury--by whose death we live? + Or shall we now embrace His cross, and give + Ourselves, and all we have, to him alone?" + +Is not that the meaning of Paul's "Owe no man anything, save to love one +another."[35] We owe a debt of love to all men on Jesus' account. We can +be paying on it continually, and yet never get a receipt in full that +discharges the debt. But then we get other things in full--peace, and joy, +and a life overflowing in fulness. + +With an honorable business man <i>a debt is a first obligation</i>. His +personal expenditures and his home schedule are shaped by his debt. The +extras that he would feel quite free in allowing himself and his home are +not allowed until the debt is cleared. The debt controls his spendings +until it is paid off in full. That's reckoned a matter of honor. + + + +<u>Rusty Money.</u> + + +James, the first bishop of Jerusalem, had caught the Lord's very language +as well as His thought. He says, "Your gold and silver are rusted, and +their rust shall be for a testimony against you."[36] It would seem as +though there were quite a bit of rusty money entered in Christian names +and controlled by Christian people. It is lying in vaults, and lands, and +savings-societies, and old stockings, gathering rust. + +It is in sore need. It needs friction, the friction of use. Without that +its real, rare value will be completely lost. It is furnishing food for +moths when it was meant to be furnishing food for men, bread of wheat and +bread of life. There'll be many a striking scene when some men come up +into the Master's presence with loaded purses, "caught with the goods," +while millions of their brothers are living such pitiable lives because of +their ignorance of Jesus. + +But there are men who do understand. And their number is increasing. There +are those who understand <i>the Master's basis</i> for conducting their +business matters. That basis is shrewd, faithful management of the +business itself as good stewards of God; full, proper provision for home +and loved ones--simple, but ample and intelligent; and then all the rest +out in active service for men in Jesus' name. If that basis were more +largely understood and accepted, what wondrous changes would come; changes +out in the world, and changes in the home, and changes in the home church. + +Many men are supporting their own representatives in the foreign field. +Many a church now sustains its own missionary or missionaries. The ideal +toward which the Church might well aim is that <i>every family</i> should have +its own missionary. The real unit of life is the family. The children +would then grow up with the world-vision dearly and deeply marked. There +are thousands of families in circumstances that are reckoned moderate that +could support a missionary by planning. But the relationship should be +carefully kept one of warm sympathy and prayer, as well as one of money. +The reflex blessing upon the home would be immeasurable in its sweetness +and extent. + + + +<u>Are We True To Our Friend's Trust?</u> + + +Jesus admits us into the inner circle of friendship. He gives us the one +rarest token of friendship, that is, a task to do for our Friend's sake. +He asks us to go out to all men, and tell them about His love and +sacrifice for them. And He asks that everything we have be held and used +for this sacred friendship trust. Are we being true to our Friend's +trust? Is there more stored away for ourselves than is being sent out on +His errand? Is there any discoloration on our gold? Anything that looks +like rust, a dull-red color--ah, it looks strangely like the color--the +stain--of blood. + +Is Judas so lonely, after all? He coupled a token of friendship with a +betrayal of his Friend's trust. In his heart he meant far less than the +act actually involved. Is he so much alone? + + "The latest years shall tremble hearing this + And burn for human shame unto the end, + That one of us betrayed the tryst his Friend + Would keep with God. A sign that none might miss + + He named--the pledge of love. The soul's abyss, + Christ saw, the heart of night, the <i>purse</i>, the end; + Knew all, a Man, and knowing stui could bend + With soul unpoisoned to receive the kiss. + + Before the multitude have I kist Thee + Fresh come from my blood-barter--thou but come + From intercession for all souls--and me. + And, mocking Love Divine, amazed and dumb, + I learn Love's deathlessness, and trembling press + The lips that kiss away my faithlessness."[37] + + + + +Sacrifice + + + + One Hank Over For the Candle. + Sin's Healing Shadow. + The Underground Way into Life. + A Rare Harvest. + The Fellowship of Scars. + "Won't You Save Me?" + + + + +Sacrifice + + + +<u>One Hank Over For the Candle.</u> + + +The light of a common candle in the window of a little cottage near the +coast shone far out over the sea. It was up north of Scotland, in one of +the Orkney Islands. Near the window sat a frail, gray-haired woman with +cheery, thoughtful face. She was busy working at her spinning-wheel, and +watching the candle, turning now and again to trim it. All night long she +sat at the spinning-wheel and watching the candle. Fishermen out on the +water, heading for home, knew that light could be counted on, and came +safely in, past all the dangers of their coast. + +For more than fifty years that woman tended her little lighthouse. When +she was a young girl there had been a wild storm, and her father, out in +his fisherman's boat, lost his life. There were no shore-lights. His boat +had struck a huge, dangerous rock called Lonely Rock, and been wrecked. +The father's body was found in the morning washed up on the shore. She +watched by her father's body, as was the habit of her people, until it was +laid away. Then she laid down on her bed and slept the day through. When +night came she rose, lit a candle, put it in the window, drew up her +spinning-wheel, and began her night vigil for the unknown out at sea. + +All night long, and all her life long, her vigil of love and light +continued. From youth to old age, through winter and summer, storm and +calm, fog and clear, that humble lighthouse beacon failed not. Each night +she spun so many hanks of yarn for her daily bread, and <i>one hank over for +the candle</i>. She turned night into day, reversing the whole habit of her +life, and holding every other thing subject to her self-imposed task of +love. And through the years many a fisherman out at sea, and many an +anxious woman watching by hearth and crib, sent up heart-felt thanks to +God for that little, steady light. And many a life was saved, of which no +record could be kept. + +That tells the whole story of sacrifice. A need, nobody to meet it; the +need passing into an emergency; and that into the tragedy of an unmet +emergency; a heart sore torn to bleeding by the tragedy thrust bitterly +home; then sacrifice, lifelong, that others might be saved where her loved +one was lost, and still others spared what she herself suffered. And that +story has been repeated with endless variations, and is being repeated, in +every land, on every mission-field, home and foreign, and in almost every +home of all the world. + + + +<u>Sin's Healing Shadow.</u> + + +Sacrifice has come to be a law of life. Wherever there is sin there will +be a <i>call for sacrifice</i>. For sin makes need, and need intensifies into +emergency. And need and emergency mean sacrifice thrust upon some one in +peril. And they call for sacrifice, volunteered by some one, who would +save the man in peril. And wherever there are true men and women, as well +as need, there will <i>be</i> sacrifice. + +And sin is everywhere. Even nature is full of evidence of a bad break in +all of its processes. The finger-marks of decay and death are below and +above and all around in all its domain. That is sin's unmistakable +ear-mark. Man's mental powers, and his loss of a full knowledge of his +powers, tell the same story. And so there is need. Everywhere you turn +need's pathetic face, drawn and white, looks piteously into yours, +pleading mutely for help. + +And so there is sacrifice. Sacrifice is sin's healing shadow. It follows +sin at every turn, binding up its wounds, pouring in the oil and wine of +its own life, and taking the hurt victims into its own warm heart. Nothing +worth while has ever been done without sacrifice. Every good thing done +cost somebody his life. The life was given out with a wrench under some +sharp tug. Or it was given in the slower, more painful, more taxing way of +being lingeringly given out through years of steadfast doing or enduring. + +Every man who has done something worth while for others has spilled some +of his life-blood into it. His work and name may have become known. Or he +may belong to the larger number of blessed faithfuls whose names are +unknown here, but treasured faithfully above. Either way, the tinging red +of his life is upon the thing he did. The nations that are freest cost +most in the making, in the lives of men. Every church, and every mission +station, has had to use red mortar as its walls went up. + +Every bit of advance ground gained for liberty and truth has been stained +with the life-blood of the advance-guard. You can depend upon it that +whatever you are to do that will really help must have a bit of your own +self, your very life in it. Immortality of action comes only by the +infusion of human blood. + +Sacrifice attends us faithfully from the cradle to the body's last +resting-place. The giving of one's self for others begins with the +beginning of life, and never ends till life ends. Each of us comes into +life through the sacrifice of the mother who bore us. That love-service of +hers would not have been a sacrifice, but only a joy, had sin's cramping, +restricting atmosphere not been breathed into all life. Now, with much +pain, and great danger, and sometimes at the cost of life, it becomes a +sacrifice. Yet it is a sacrifice of great sweet joy to her. + +And that same spirit of sacrifice attends our baby years, and childhood +experiences, and school-days, and times of sickness, and our matured +years. The more faithfully those who make up your life-circle yield to the +law of sacrifice, and give of themselves out to you, the finer and +stronger you grow to be, and the sweeter life becomes to you. And every +selfish shirking and shrinking back by some one impoverishes your life by +so much. + +A hush of awe comes over one's spirit as we recall that even for the Son +of God there was no exception to this law, as He took His place down among +human conditions. It was by His own blood that He saved men, and saves +men. It was the spilling out of His own life that brings such blessed +newness of life to us. His was a <i>living</i> sacrifice through all the years, +and then greatest when that life, so long being given, was given clean +out. + +That sacrifice of His stands unapproached, and can never be approached by +any other. His relation to sin was different from that of all other men. +He made a sacrifice for men in a sense that no other can. Yet, while that +is true, it is equally true that every man who follows Him will drink of +His cup of sacrifice. + +But it's a cup of joy now, for His drinking drained out all the bitter +dregs. He asks us into the inner fellowship of His suffering. The work He +began isn't yet done. He asks our help. We may fill up the measure of His +sacrifice yet needed, in healing men's wounds and in throttling sin's +power. + + + +<u>The Underground Way Into Life.</u> + + +The request of the Greek pilgrims, that last tragic week, drew out of +Jesus wondrous words about the law of sacrifice[38]. Their request made +the necessity for His coming sacrifice stand out more sharply to His +view--with edgy sharpness. The realness of that sacrifice of His stands +out very vividly in the intensity of His feelings, of which we get only +glimpses. + +Listen to Him talking: 'if the grain of wheat doesn't suffer death, it +lives; but it lives alone. But through death it may live in the midst of a +harvest of golden grains. The man who turns away from the appeal of need +will live a lonely life, both here and in the longer life. (Is there +anything more pathetic and pitiable than selfish loneliness!) He who feels +the sharp tug of need, and can't resist the appeal that calls for his +life-blood, rises up through that red pathway into a blessed fellowship +with the lives that owe their life to his.' + +He goes on: 'he that clingeth with strong self-love to his life will find +it slipping, slipping insistently out of his fingers, leaving a dry husk +of a shell in his tenacious clutch. But he who in the stress of the +world's emergency of need, and in the thick of the subtlest temptations to +put the self-life first, treats that life as a hated enemy, to be opposed +and fought, as he gives himself freely out to heal the world's hurt, <i>he</i> +will find all the sweets and fragrance of life coming to him. Their +unspeakable refreshment will ever increase, and never leave.' + +Then follow the words that go so deep: 'if any man <i>would serve Me,</i> let +him come along, putting his feet into my prints. Let him come through a +long Nazareth life of common toil in home and shop, then along the crowded +path of glad service for others, responding to every call of need. Let him +come down into the shadowed olive-grove beyond Kidron's waters, up the bit +of a hill outside a city wall, and deep down into the earth-soil of men's +needs. + +'And where I am there I will surely have that faithful follower of Mine up +close by my side. He shall find himself rising up out of the common +earth-life into a new life of strangely strong drawing power. And, while +he will be all wrapped up in love's service, My Father will give special +touches of His own hand upon his person, and upon his service.' + +In one of his exquisitely quiet talks, Henry Drummond used to tell the +story of a famous statue in the Fine Arts Gallery of Paris. It was the +work of a great genius, who, like many a genius, was very poor, and lived +in a garret which served as both studio and sleeping-room. + +One midnight, when the statue was just finished, a sudden frost fell upon +Paris. The sculptor lay awake in his fireless garret, and thought of the +still moist clay, thought how the moisture in the pores would freeze, and +the dream of his life would be destroyed in a night. So the old man rose +from his cot, and wrapped his bed-clothes reverently about the statue, and +lay down to his sleep. + +In the morning the neighbors found[B] him lying dead. His life had gone +out into his work. It was saved. He was gone. But he still lived in it, +and still lives in it. He saved not his life, and he found a new life in +the world of his art. He that saveth his life shall surely lose it. He +that gladly giveth his life up for the Master's sake, and for men's sake, +will find a wholly new life coming to him. + + + +<u>A Rare Harvest.</u> + + +There is a strange winsomeness about sacrifice, peculiar to itself, and +peculiarly strong in its drawing power. Everywhere men acknowledge the +peculiar fascination for them of the man who is not only wholly unselfish, +but who utterly forgets himself in doing for others. The feeling is very +common that the man in public life is chiefly concerned with what he can +get out of it for himself. And when, now and then, the conviction seizes +the crowd that some public man is not of that sort at all, but is devoting +himself unselfishly and unsparingly to their interest, their admiration +and love for him amounts to a worship and enthusiasm that knows no stint. + +There's a something in unselfish sacrifice in their behalf that draws the +crowd peculiarly and tremendously. Jesus said that if He were lifted up He +would draw men. And He has. He was lifted up as none other, and He has +been drawing men ever since as none other ever has or can. Quite apart +from other truths involved, that sacrifice of His had in itself the +tremendous drawing power of all unselfish action. + +And sacrifice brews a subtle fragrance of its own that clings to the +person as the soft sweet odor of wild roses. No one is ever conscious that +there is any such fragrance going out to others. He knows the inner sweets +that none know but they who give sacrifice brewing room within themselves. +Such folks don't stop to think about themselves, except to be thinking of +helping and not hindering. + +The very winsomeness of the sacrifice spirit has led men to the seeking of +sacrifice. It seems strange to us that earnest men in other generations +have sought by self-inflicted suffering to attain to the power that goes +with sacrifice. And even yet some morbid people may be found following in +their steps. + +Don't they know that out in common daily life the knife of sacrifice is +held across the path constantly, sharp edge out, barring the way? And no +one can go faithfully his common round, with flag at masthead, and needs +crowding in at front and rear and sides, without meeting its cutting edge. +That edge cutting in as you push on frees out the fine fragrance. Whenever +you meet a man or woman with that fine winsomeness of spirit that can't be +analyzed, but only felt, you may know that there's been some of this sort +of sharp cutting within. + +Blood is a rare fertilizer. They tell me that the bit of ground over in +Belgium called Waterloo bears each spring a crop of rare blue +forget-me-nots. That bit of ground had very unusual gardening. Ploughed +up by cannon-and gun-shot, sown deep with men's lives, "worked" never so +thoroughly by toiling, struggling feet, moistened with the gentle rain of +dying tears, and soaked with red life, it now yields its yearly harvest of +beauty. All life's a Waterloo and can be made to yield a rich growth of +fragrant flowers. + + + +<u>The Fellowship of Scars.</u> + + +And there's yet more of this winsomeness. There's a spirit power that goes +out of sacrifice. It reaches far beyond the limited personal circle, out +to the ends of the earth. It can't be analyzed, nor defined, nor +described, but it can be felt. We don't know much about the law of spirit +currents. But we know the spirit currents themselves, for every one is +affected by them and every one is sending them out of himself. + +You pick up a book, and suddenly find there's a something in it that takes +hold of you irresistibly. A flame seems to burn in it, and then in you. +Invisible fingers seem to reach out of the page and play freely up and +down the key-board of your heart. Why is it? I don't know much about it. +It's an elusive thing. But I can tell you my conviction, that grows +stronger daily. + +There's a life back of that book; there is sacrifice in that life of the +keen, cutting sort; and Jesus is in that life, too, giving it His personal +flavor. The life back of the book has come into the book. It's that life +you are feeling as you read. Spirit power knows nothing about distance. +The man who yields to sacrifice has a world-field, and is touching his +field in a sense far greater than he ever knows. + +And there is still more. The Master knows our sacrifices. He keenly notes +the spirit that would give all, even as He did. He can breathe most of His +own spirit into such a life. For it is most open to Him. He can do most +through that spirit, for it comes nearest to His own. His own winsomeness +breathes out of that life constantly. + +There's a simple little tale that comes dressed in very homely garb. The +story has in it a bit of that that makes the heart burn. It has all the +marks of real life. It runs thus: + + "In one poor room, that was all their home, + A mother lay on her bed, + Her seven children around her; + And, calling the eldest, she said: + + 'I'm going to leave you, Mary; + You're nearly fourteen, you know; + And now you must be a good girl, dear, + And make me easy to go. + + 'You can't depend much on father; + But just be patient, my child, + And keep the children out of his way + Whenever he comes home wild. + + 'And keep the house as well as you can; + And, little daughter, think + He didn't use to be so; + Remember, it's all the drink.' + + The weeping daughter promised + Always to do her best; + And, closing her eyes over weary life, + The mother entered her rest. + + And Mary kept her promise + As faithfully as she might. + She cooked, and washed, and mended, + And kept things tidy and bright. + + And when the father came home drunk, + The children were sent to bed, + And Mary waited alone, and took + The beatings in their stead. + + And the little chubby fingers lost + Their childish softness and grace, + And toughened and chapped and calloused, + And the rosy, childish face. + + Grew thin and haggard and anxious, + Careworn, tired, and old, + As on those slender shoulders + The burdens of life were rolled. + + So, when the heated season + Burned pitiless overhead, + And up from the filth of the noisome street + The fatal fever spread, + + And work and want and drunken blows + Had weakened the tender frame, + Into the squalid room once more + The restful shadow came. + + And Mary sent for the playmate + Who lived just over the way, + And said, 'The charity Doctor, + Has been here, Katie, to-day. + + 'He says I'll never be better-- + The fever has been so bad; + And if it wasn't for one thing, + I'm sure I'd just be glad. + + 'It isn't about the children; + I've kept my promise good, + And mother will know I stayed with them + As long as ever I could. + + 'But you know how it has been, Katie; + I've had so much to do, + I couldn't mind the children + And go to the preaching, too. + + 'And I've been so tired-like at night, + I couldn't think to pray, + And now, when I see the Lord Jesus, + What ever am I to say?' + + And Katie, the little comforter, + Her help to the problem brought; + And into her heart, made wise by love, + The Spirit sent this thought: + + 'I wouldn't say a word, dear, + For sure He understands; + I wouldn't say ever a word at all; + But, Mary, <i>just show Him your hands!'"</i> + +Jesus knows every scar of sacrifice you bear, and loves it. For it tells +Him your love. He knows the meaning of scars, because of His own. The +marks of sacrifice cement our fellowship with Him. The nearer we come to +fellowship with Him in the daily touch and spirit the more freely can He +reach out His own great winsomeness through us, out to His dear world. + + + +<u>"Won't You Save Me?"</u> + + +To outsiders, who don't know about the thing, that word "sacrifice" has an +ugly sound. It drives them away. But to the insiders, who have come in by +the Jesus-door, there is a joyousness of the bubbling-out, singing sort, +that makes the word "sacrifice," and the thing itself, clean forgot even +while remembered. It is remembered as a distinct real thing, but it is +pushed away from the centre of your consciousness by this song that +insists on singing its music into the ears of your heart. + +I said a while ago in these talks that it would be <i>an easy thing</i> for the +whole Church, or even half of the Church, to take Jesus fully out to all +the world. But may I tell you now plainly that it won't be an easy thing? +Somebody will have to sacrifice if the thing's to be done. And that +somebody will be you, if you go along where the Master calls. If you +<i>count</i> on the Church doing it, or on anybody else doing it, you may be +sure of one thing: some part of what needs doing won't be done. + +But if you and I will reckon that this thing belongs to us, as if there +were nobody else to do it, and <i>push on;</i>--well, there'll be sacrifice of +the real sort and, too, there'll be all of sacrifice's peculiar +winsomeness going out to draw men. And there will be men changed where you +live, and out where you will never go personally. + +And there will be a great joy in your heart, but with the greater joy +breaking out in the Morning, when the King comes to His own. + + "I hear the sob of the parted, + The wail of the broken-hearted, + The sigh for the loved departed, + In the surging roar of the town. + + And it's, oh, for the joy of the Morning! + The light and song of the Morning! + There'll be joy in the Christmas Morning + When the King comes to His own! + + "Now let our hearts be true, brothers, + To suffer and to do, brothers; + There'll be a song for you, brothers, + When the battle's fought and won. + It won't seem long in the Morning, + In the light and song of the Morning + There'll be joy in the Christmas Morning + When the King comes to His own! + + "Arise, and be of good cheer, brothers; + The day will soon be here, brothers; + The victory is near, brothers; + And the sound of the glad 'Well done!' + There'll be no sad heart in the Morning + No tear will start in the Morning; + There'll be joy in the Christmas Morning + When the King comes to His own! + + "We're in for the winning side, brothers, + Bound to the Lord who died, brothers, + We shall see Him glorified, brothers, + And the Lamb shall wear the crown. + What of the cold world's scorning? + There'll be joy enough in the Morning + There'll be joy in the Christmas Morning, + When the King comes to His own!" + +Years ago a steamer out on Lake Erie caught fire, and headed at once for +the nearest land. All was wild confusion, as men and women struggled for +means of escape. In the crowd was a returning California gold-miner. He +fastened the belt containing his gold securely about his waist and was +preparing to try to swim ashore. Just then a little sweet-faced girl in +the crowd touched his hand, and looked up beseechingly into his face, and +said, "Won't you please save me? I have no papa here to save me. Won't +you, please?" + +What would he do? He gave the belt of gold, that meant such a hard +struggle, one swift glance. But that soft child-touch on his hand, and +that face and voice strangely affected him. He couldn't save both;--which? +The quick-as-flash thoughts came all in a heap. Then he dropped the gold, +and took the child, made the plunge, and by and by reached land, utterly +exhausted, and lay unconscious. As his eyes opened the child he had saved +was standing over him with the tears of gratitude flooding her eyes. And a +human life never seemed quite so precious. He had lost his gold, and his +years of toil, but he had saved a life, and in saving it had found a new +life springing up within himself. + +As we close our talk together will you listen very softly. Listen: out of +the distance comes a murmur of voices, like a low, long heart-cry. It +comes from near-by, where you live. It comes most from far-away lands. Its +words are pathetically distinct: "<i>Will you save me?</i> I have no one to +save me. Won't <i>you</i>?" And we can do it. But the gold and the life must +go. <i>Shall</i> we do it, hand in hand with Jesus, the only Saviour? Shall we +<i>not</i> do it? + + + + +Footnotes + + + +[1] Acts 13:18, American Revision. + +[2] John 3:17. + +[3] Matthew 13:38. + +[4] John 12:20-33. + +[5] Matthew 24:14. + +[6] Revelation 20:7-8. + +[7] Matthew 24:14. + +[8] Acts 15:13-18. + +[9] Matthew 13:38. + +[10] Christina Rossetti, in <i>The Outlook</i>, slightly altered. + +[11] Matthew 25 40, 45. + +[12] Revelation 2:5 + +[13] Matthew 24 14. + +[14] Revelation 1:5, 6. + +[15] Revelation 4:8. + +[16] Revelation 4:9-11. + +[17] Revelation 5:11-12. + +[18] Revelation 7:9-12. + +[19] Revelation 14:1-5 + +[20] Revelation 15:2-4 + +[21] Revelation 19:1-8. + +[22] Thessalonians 1:8. II Corinthians 1:1 l.c. + +[23] Romans 1:8. + +[24] John, chapters 14-16. + +[25] John 20:19-23. + +[26] Susan Coolidge. + +[27] John 7:38. + +[28] Revelation 8:3-5. + +[29] Frances Ridley Havergal. + +[30] Matthew 6:19-21 + +[31] Luke 12:33,34 + +[32] Matthew 19:16-29. Mark 10:17-31. Luke 18:18-30 + +[33] Luke 12:13-21. + +[34] Romans 1:14 + +[35] Romans 13:8 + +[36] James 5:2, 3 + +[37] Arthur Peirce Vaughn + +[38] John 12:24-26. + + + +Transcriber's Notes + + +[A] The original chapter contents listing erroneously transposed "A Crisis +of Neglect and Success" and "A Westernized Heathenism". + +[B] Original text read "fond" for "found". + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Quiet Talks with World Winners, by S. D. 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