Arizona republican., 1899-06-05
"NeTy truly,
 "T. J. BOLTZ,
THE PREsBYTERIAN CHURCH.

In spite of the warmer weather
 there was a large congregation at yes
 tsrdays morning service at the Pres
 byterian church. The choral music
 was quite up to the standard of tho
 excellent quartette. The response
 was Praise Waiteth for Thee, O God
 in Zi0n," the anthem, 70 Sing Unto
 the Lord' (Chandler), and the offer
 tory duet, Tn the CrCss Of Christ We
 ''1Pfs The sermon sronf} was very helpful and
 inspiring. Mr MoAfee chose for lis
 text part of the last verse of the sec
 ond epistle of Peter, But grow in
 grace and in the knowledge of our
 Lord and SaviCr Jesus Christi and
 particularly emphasized the three
 words, grow in grace"
 A little more than two years ago
 there passed from this earth the
 spirit of one of the most remarkable men of the age, Henry M. Drummond, and than WhCm no man ever did more pr actical good in making simple,
 truths toe great for the minds of most
 men to grasp. No man ever made it
 more plain that natural laws are
 maintained in the spiritual world.
 Today no theme is attracting mere at
 tcntiOn than how can Christians grow in grace? How can they grow nearer tol Christ? How may I grow in grace? Two things we hear daily. One, the world is growing verse the other, '%The power of Jesus Christ
 in the church is daily more manifest, and the world is growing better" Both are true; the world is growing better; the world is growing worse. At no time has wickedness been more rampant in this world, and 8 the same time, at no time in the his tcry of the church has there been such Q desire for personal consecra- tiOn, the fruits of which are filling the earth. In cur great society cf 1 Christian Endeavor and in many other | kindred societies, organizations for | Christian work, two sayings we hear | SD often nowadays are characteristic | Of the times and which belong tc this end of the century. If in my place. What would Jesus do?" The other, Make Jesus king"
 Growth in grace is not something hat has been prescribed by man for Our betterment, but a cOmmandm .o us from God. Are we not pleased when we see the growth Of our own earthly made plans? How much more must God delight in the growth of His laws to make better His children How can we grow in grace? How do hings grow in natural life? How dO 1ur bodies grow? Slowly, day by lay. up the long hill of life until we each the top, and then follows the shorter descent Cm the other side. When a plant stops growing, then de- ay begins. So it is with our spiritual Tes. The question, How may ws grew in graca?" may first be an wercd in a negation. Growth js lever accomplished by an effort on . he part of man to grow. Can you Fho have five feet by taking thought idd another foot to your stature?
 MT. McAfee then referred to Q book ( le had been reading, the ''DeVOteF " )ne of the characters much given to ( greatly desired spirit lal growth, burned midnight Gil n tudy, read not Cnly the bible in her ] 'wn tongue, but delved into Greek ] md Hebrew to get at the shade of 1 meaning of the original text. The { logical points were carried to con- ! lusiCns, and all to no purpose. Her emPer grew sour and her manner ( ross. Her servants said, If she is a Christian l never want to see nn- { ther." Her friends fled from her. |
 The great Master says: Consider I he lilies how they grow" We see hem grow. Can we explain how 1 hey grow? First the tiny green boot, then the dark leaves and finally 7 he glory Of the beautiful blossom. For { what is the story of the lilies given , not to teach us trust. If God so I lJthes the grass, shall lie not care ( or us? So is not this the first of he i rsWer, Trust in GOd?"
 In growth Of the body I do not in [ rease the strength of my arm by { one specia. food that I eat for its q evelcpment. but by exercise. When I re repeat the use of a muscle many i ines we call it exercise and our \ lUscle increases its power. When g -2 do the same thing day after day :; 0r many days it becomes very easy ! 1r Us to dc. We do it almost uncon- ciously and we call that habit. If ! ur trust in God is daily hourly, and a LIT communion with God is constant T hen temptation comes, a petition T Ces tC God for help as naturally as f -cense arises. As Gods people we q ro His garden and make ourselves z row more than do the lilies. But wa D re to he gardeners as well and by -moving weeds, by cultivating Che :. 1il and by watering it we can make e3 avorable the conditions for growth. |
 One suggestion is that we follow < eds ordinances. We are told by !,