The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-09-09
REV. IRA w. KIMMEI,.
Preached Sunday Morning On .sPower for
God, How Gained.n

these things, both we, and they of that |
place, sought him not to go up to ,Jrru-
salem. Then Paul answered, what mean |
ye to weep.and to break mine heart? for
am ready not to be bound only, hut also
to die ut Jerusalem for the name of the
Lord Jesus.''
This utterance marked crisis in the
life of Paul. Here at Caesarea was made
that decision which meant so much for
the cause of Christ and the worlds civil.
ization. After making his farewell adj
dress, he kneeled down and prayeda with
them all, they wept sore, fell on his neck
and kissed him, sorrowipg most of NIL
that they should see his face no more
From this moment the Apostle went
bravely forward to persecution at Jerusa-
lem, trials, fluctuations and hnall5 i'm
prsopmcnt at Rome. When his decision
to 90 to Jerusalem was made known to
Luke and his other companions, they i'm
mediately begun to dissuade him from
going, knowing the bitterness of the Jews
against him. ''Then Paul answered,
what mean ye weeping to break my heart?
for | am ready not TO be bound only but
also to die at Jerusalem for the name of
the Lord Jesus His mind was fixed.
no die if needs he for Christ, was now
the Interchangeable purpose of his life.
The remonstrance of his beloved friends
'"o SHSSSoihSiJ Poihiui w MIN, Wulle IL
was unnecessary on their part, for what
they considered calamity, he esteemed
the highest privilege of his whole life. 1t
WAS this spirit that enabled him to say
i'll the HebreT letter Looking unto
Jesus the author and finsher Of our
faith; who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of G od," so Paul, like Je.
sus, set his face steadeastly toward Jeru-
salem. All this meant suffering, hard
ship, possibly martyrdom, but never fall
tering this God like man pursued his
way to the end. Praise the name of God
The spirit of Paul is living yet! Be-
cause the Lord of Paul still lives to make
strength" Let us learn from this
scripture, first, Pau's complete and en-
tire surren Ter to God, it is only when
Christians are right with God that He
can use them in his service. When one
wants to serve the Master, full, free
and unreserved conservation must be
made before either Christ or the indi-
vidual can be benefited. Unchrisulike
service is to-day the curse of the church.
and the "dry rot'' of Christian life. Tn
Til one can say with the Apostle, s'For
ME to live is Christ" service finds no ia
vor in Gods sight. God don't care for
church life, nor is He interested in theol-
ogy. 1t is II life lie wants, the Christ life
reproduced in our faith in us reaching
that height of trust, when we can say ~
can do all thirgs throuh Jesus Christ
who strengJheneth me-" then God will
use us to do great things even as he did
Paul.
The Christian worker who is aciuated
by anything short of IAN intense love for
Christ, is doomed to disastrous failure.
hie 81,
it is God working through us. The Holy
Spirit is the enei gizer of a life lived in
and with the unseen Christ, then out
from the Christian will flow good works
as the water from n fountain. The ir-
religious church memb Der must heed the
bugle call of the Lord Jesus, ito more
holy and Christlike life,-or they shall
all likewise perish. The line between the
church and the world is beirg more
closely drawn day by day The test of
our favor in Gods sight must he Christ's
way of living, thinking and working.
This was PaGl's way. Doing and endur-
ing, he conquered the world for the Lord
Jesus.
The next thought is the true source of
the Apostles power. Where'dd Paul get
the mind, to he bound if necessary to die
for the Lord Jesus: We have no reason
TO presume that Paul was either strong
man, or an unusually brave one, but he
had one quality in common with other
| great servants of the Lord God that is
too important not to be mentioned here,
that was an unhesitating, unswerving
coniide zee in God. We have an evidence
of this in one of the heroes OF the old
Testament, that greatest of all men
Moses. For by faith he forsook Egypt
not fearing the wrath of the king, for he
endured as seeing Him who is invisible"
The exam pie OF this Hebrew seer has
brought hope to every soul struggling
to serve God. He turned his back on the
| Egyptian courts, renounced it with is
righteousness, ease, intellectual advan-
tages. culture and hope of advancement
TO crafty his one grand passion, that of
bringing his people out of slavery his
| strength was, confidence in Cod"
Again we read how at the time of sore
FAMINE In the city of Snmaria, where the
starving woman said, "We boiled NV son
and did eat him." that Elisha the man of
God, i'll his supreme confidence of Jeho-
vah's ultimate goodness told the starving
people that ut the same hour on the NOR
row the famine would be relieved, it
came to pass. He had confidence God.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust
also in Him, and He shall bring iJ to
pass This is the best attitude of mind
for the christian, ''Whate'er befall yon.n
trust in God. The sin of unbelief is
staying its ten thousands daily. Note
Paul's confidence, and how through the
Lord Jesus it has been transmitted.
Every missionary who ever braved the
te rrors of heathenism, had this same con
fidence in God. Morrison in China:
Huntington on the Congo Livingstone in
Central Africa, that heroic man who
said, II never made a sacriiice:" Eaton in
the South Sea Islands; Judson in Bur
nah all these having obtained a good