The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-14
SERMON BY Mr.. VILLERS
THE MINISTER TALKED OF As REV.
ID. j. ELLIsoN's SUCCESSOR.
A Special Service at the Y. VI. c. A. in
Interest of Work Among
the Students.

terday morning and evening. Those who
heard him We're highly pleased with his
remarks. Mr.. ViIlers is the present pastor
of the First Baptist Church Of Syracuse,
N. Y. Yesterday morning his topic was
The Mind which Was in Christ Jesus"
His text was from Phil ii, 5: Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus" The minister said, in part:
1T is the mind which Jenny Lind ex-
pressed when, after giving to the world the
one perfect and sublime revelation of the
beauty and ecStacy of music, she said:
can only become the last ehorister in
the choir of heaven / shall rejoice with
ones own faults to correct them, and on
another's virtues to initiate them. 1t is the
mind that counts others better than self,
the mind that in honor prefers one another
Christ Jesus is here presented as the great
eXemplar of humility. Being in the form
OF God, having the attributes of God, or
as John says, being God He did not count
this equal glory with God a thing to be
grasped or chung To. He did not consider
II something TO be held in the spirit of self
exaltation and vain glory but with lowly
mind seeking the Interest of Others rather
than His own He renounced His equality
and from being king became subject and
servant, from being God became man. This
act, the loftiest ideal of self-denying love
known to men. Paul calls a 'self-emptying.
he emptied himself, dispossessed himself
He emDtied himself of position, then hum
bled himself unto death. At Bethlehem He
became a weak babe that at Calvary He
might grasp as in His saving love. Oh,
the pathos of such humiliation. He whose
glory smote the stars, causing them to
burn with light; one sweep of whose robe
struck Paul blind: this being so yelled him
self in human flesh that earths lowest
creature might creep up to Him and touch
Him without fear.
Jesus knew nothing of lowliness in the
sense of self-depreciation. but in that hui
mility which consists of seIf-forgiveness
ana self-denying love. In that He is the un-
rlvaled pattern of the ages. His daily food
was TO do His Fathers will and seek His
Fathers glory. At the last supper we see
how He counted others better than himself.
AT heart He was conscious of lordship
Ye call me Master and Lord, and We say
We'll for so am In choice He accepted
mlnlstratlon. am among you as He that
serveth.' He was master and minister
Counting the disciples better in station than
himself, He took the place of a servant and
washed their feet thereby teaching us that
humility is the form which love must take
when girding itself for service. Let this
mlnd be IN you which was also in Jesus
Christ Humility brings restfulness. Learn
OF me- said Jesus, for am meek and
loWly IN heart, and we shall find rest unto
your souls The soul, as Laura Bridge
man defined it. is that which loves and
thinks, and aches. This loving. thinking
achlng something which call self can
IND rest as we share the mind which was
In Christ Jesus. Humility also marks ripe
ness. AS the wheat ripens the head bends
we may measure our progress in the Chris
tan life by our growth in this grace In
the spring of 81 Paul wrote to the CORN
Inlans: l am the least of the apostles
rms was very small company and a very
honorable one. Three years later he wrote
70 the Ephes1ans: am less than the least
OF All saints. This was much larger
circle, and III that he took the lowest place
Three years later still he wrote to Timothy
Just before Neros sword fell flashing down
L am the chief of Sinners As his charac-
tef rlpened his estimate of his own vir-
tues diminished.
Passing to the second thought. unseIfish-
ness or life, We are exhorted not to look to
our own things merely, but each of us also
70 the things of others. Some people live
IN q very small world. Their attention is
confned to their own interests. They care
iittie for the welfare of others. They know
little about the great movements of the
world. Their life is full of activity, but
IL is ike vortex where everything tends
toward the center-self. George Macdonald
distinguishes between a selfish and an in
sane man by saying that while an insane
man IS beside himself, a selfish man is in
Slue nlmSelT We can never have the mind
OF Christ until the selfishness that we are
housing IS cast out and the love of God
Isl Is poured N m, by the Holy Ghost expanding
our souls till the things of others are in
GUIDED with our own. To Christs ear the
great cry of the world was audible To
his eye all the woes of the world were Wis
1ble. Against His soul pressed the bIr-
den of the worlds guilt.
THE EXAMPLE OF MAXWELL.
Some time ago the body of Horace Max
well was found in the woods of PIaistovv
N. H. He once had the brightest prospects
but, like the prodigal, he left the old home
stead for sins famine land. and. like the
prodigal, too, he soon wasted his substance
or, as Luke's word means he tossed if nm
like chaff TO the wind. Losing one position
after another, he took to wandering. and
at last died apparently of starvation. Bv
his side lay a Bible, the gift of a church in
tHhaa nav and in the Bible card bearing
TINS quotation: When he came to himself
ne said, how many hired servants Of INV
Iatners have bread enough and to snare
ana perish with hunger Somebody desti,
tute of the mind which was i'm Christ
Jesus had looked on his own things to the
exclusion of Horace Maxwell and there in
the woods lay the proof =
10 nave the mind which was in Christ
Jesus we must not only enlarge self but
forget self. On His way TO Calvary the
son OF Man forgot His fatigue in His
anxiety for the daughters of Ter11salann
When being nailed to the cross He foront
his pain in His prayer for them that cursed
Him While bearing our sins in His own
pouy on the tree lie forgot the shame of
cFuclnXlon in His desire to save the. peni-
tent thief and His care to provide a home
Iof his mother. His blessed example is
heavens sublimest argument for enforcing
the duty of looking upon the thinvs nf
others. While charging self and forgeftins.
self we must also give self. This was the
niIu Oh the Master He came not to be
mlnstered unto. but to minister and 10
give His life ransom for many He gave
Mark Hopkins said, not as one gives whom
giving does not impoverish, but He gave of
His hearts blood until the heart ceased 10
beat. Walk in love- Paul exhorts us
even as Christ also loved YOU and gave
himself for you, an Offering and a sacrifice
TO God for an odor of a sweet smell He
gave himself for us. the same apostle de-
clares, that He might redeem us from all
lniqulty and purify unto himself a people
OF His own possession, yea lous of good
works. Professions Valueless so lone
as self sits enthroned in the heart. The
proof that we have the mind of Christ is
that like Him. we deny ourselves and go
about doing good
In New York father dying. left a wife
and two children. Though sober and indus
trfous his wages had been small and he
had been unable to save anything for their
future Just before his death he said Ia
his wife. j wish you would try to main
tain u home, To keep the children to-
gether, With this purpose she toiled early
and late, but her needle could not paw ex-
penses. and to save rent she kept moving a
story higher till at last she found herselt
in an attic. One morning the doctor came
and said. You'd better put your children
some place. for you must go to Il hospital
and die Thinking of the Home for Little
Wanderers, she went there and said tc
Mr.. Van Meter, May l leave my children
here? The doctor says that | must go to q
hospital and die When consent was given
she added. May ] have a mothers last
privilege? [ want to put them to bed once
more She was shown to a room where
she might enjoy this sacred privilege. Sur