The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-02-07

waved their torches and shouted, The
sword Of the Lord and of Gideon
throwing the whole camp into confu-
sion.
Obedience to orders. Every soldier,
every one acquainted with warfare
knows its Importance. Our orders are
to be armed with the sword Of the Spir
it which is the word of God The world
thinks it strange weapon. They
say the Bible is an ldfashioned book.
cut of date, good for our ancestors, but
behind the times for the people of this
generation. And I think they make
some soldiers of the cross more than
half believe what they say. make them
believe the old sword of the spirit is
rusty, and send them into the armories
of the world to find some brighter wea-
pom to fight the devil with. They ridi-
Guile the shield of faith and the helmet
of salvation.
But the worlds ridicule should not
interfere with the soldiers obedience.
When the orders come to put on the
whole armor Of God he should put on
the Girdle Of truth the breast-plate CT
righteousness. the shield of faith and
the helmet OF salvation. and grasp the
sword Of the Spirit and stand. The
Christian soldier should obey orders.
Gods commands are never foolish.
When we obey him our weapons are
mighty to the pulling down of strong
holds.
1t was the place of faith and of trust
in the Lord Commander Gideon was
a man of faith in God. He relied some
what upon strategy, but he relied more
4 = I, ol1o -
Hebrews, where the writer makes
list of some of the mighty men OF faith
of different periods, he says: For the
time would fail me to tell of Gideon,
and many others, who through faith
subdued Kingdoms, wrought righteous
ness. out of weakness We're made
strong. waxed valiant in fight, turned
to flight the armies of the aliens" Their
leader Gideon occupied the place of
faith, and they stood with him in the
place of faith. They knew they were
but 300 and the enemy were a multi
tude. But they had faith in God and
stood in their place. Their battle cry
shows that they trusted mainly in the
Lord. They cried, The sword of the
Lord and CT Gideon" not the sword
of Gideon and of the Lord They OBJ
served the right order. They had con-
fidence in Gideon, but greater confidence
in the Lord.
This is the place for the Christian
soldier TO occupy. the place of conf
dence in God There are great diff
culties before the people of God to-day
but are they greater than Moses and
the children of Israel faced in Egypt
and in the wilderness? Are they
greater than Gideon and his 800 men
faced? Are they greater than the dis
ciples faced when their Master had as
cended and after three and half years
of labor of the Son of man only 12D
Christians could be gathered? Are
they greater than the church of the
first century faced when Christians
We're smeared with pitch and set on fire
to light the streets and imperial gar
dens? Are they greater than the diff
culties God with his people has again
and again overcome through these
nineteen centuries?
Through these awful prosecutions.
and over these mountains of difficulty
the church of God has advanced. until
it now counts its members by million
upon millions. having built hospitals.
asylums and churches without number.
blessing the world beyond ali account.
holding aloft the sword of the Spirit
which is the word of God, brighter than
in any other age of the world. Fellow
soldiers of the cross. let us have faith
in God Let Us stand round about the
camp with perfect confidence in God.
Having referred to the place in which
the Christian soldier should stand, let
US consider further the Importance OF
his standing in 1T.
An army would be very weak if every
other man. or even every third man
was out of his place when the orders
We're given TO advance against the en-
envy Under such circumstances the
commander would expect defeat His
only safety would be in giving orders
to close up the ranks The same thing
is true Of the church. One of the
points of weakness in the Christian
Church is that so few are regularly al
the post of duty. There are too many
who are one week there and two weeks
absent. 1t must be admitted that
many things occur which necessarily
keep enc from his post OF duty.
But after every legitimate excuse has
been made, there are many unexcused
absences. Many are not standing in
their place round about the camp who
ought to be there. and who might be
there Every one who absents him
self from his place at any Of the ser
vices Of the church thereby detracts
from the success of those services.
What an efficient church that Would
be in which every member should be at
his post of duty except when detained
by some absolute necessity.
When greater stress is laid upon
faithfulness to duty as members ara
received into the church. when they
are made to feel that uniting with the
church means not only confessng
Christ. but becoming a supporter OF the
varied services of the church the
church will be more efficient in carrying
forward its work. 1t is said that a
lady who wished TO change her church
connection. and did not know just how
to apply for her letter Of removal, asked
her husband for advice. He said
Write to your former pastor that there
IS a vacancy In the church you now
attend and that you are thinking Of
applying for the situation, and would
be pleased to receive from him a letter
of recomme ndation'' II was a humor-
Gus reply. and yet full of good Christian
sense. If every one who comes into
| the church. whether on profession or
by certificate should do so with the
determination Of filling place, il would
soon work a great change in the life