The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-10-10
out with if He had been willing to folio"
a Worldly ambition.

| might have gathered the vastest 1orIuue
of His time. With His power to popular
ize Himself and magnetic the people he
could have gained any official position. r.
No orator ever won such plaudlts as lie
might have won from sanhedrin and syn
agogue and vast audiences by the seaside;
no physician ever got such a reputation
for healing power as He might have OBJ
tanned if He had performed His wonder
| full cures before the Roman aristocracy;, :,
say these things to let you know what
Paul meant when he said, "He pleased not
HIMSELF" and to show something OF the
wonders of His self sacrifice. All human
power together could not have thrown
Christ into the manger if He had not
chosen to go there; all satanic strength
could not have lifted Christ upon the
cross if He had not elected Himself to the
torture.
To save our race from sin and death
and hell He faced all the sorrows OF this
world and the SORROWS of eternity. How
much of that self sacrifice have we?
What is self sacrifice? It is my WALK
ing a long journey to save you from ia
tigue: it is my lifting a great number OF
pounds to save you from the awful strain;
it is a subtraction from my comfort and
prosperity 80 that there may be an addl-
ton to your comfort and prospe7ity. How
much Of that have we? Might not l
rather say. "How. little have we?
Two children. brother and sister, were
passing down the road. They were both
garments at all. His sister had coat
that she had outgrown. 1t was very
cold day. She said, Johnnie, come un.
coat c isn't large couch" ooh" she said,
at will stretch, He comes under the
coat, but the coat would NOT stretch. So
she took off the coat and put it ON him.
Christ walked to Emmaus; Christ
walked from Capernaum to Bethany;
Christ walked from Jerusalem to Col,
zotha. How far have YOU and | walked
for Christ? His head ached; His .leart
ached; His back ached. How much have
we ached for Christ?
The disposition OF Jesus was also dis
and heaven in the garb OF a rustic. lie
who poured all the :watersaof the earth
out OF His right hand-the; Amazon and
the Euphrates. and the Oregon, and the
Ohio, and the Mississppi-bending over
we'll to ask a Samaritan woman Tor
drink.
He who spread the canopy of the heav-
ems and set. the earth for a footstool ad.
mitting that He had not where to lay His
head. He whose chariot the clouds are
walking with sore feet: hushing the tenn
pest ON Gennesaret and wiping the spray
| of the storm from His beard. then sitting
down in the cabin beside His disciples as
| though He had done no more than wipe
the sweat from His brow in. Joseph's
carrenter shop: taking the foot of death
of the heart of Lazarus and breaking the
chain Of the grave against the marble OF
the tomb. and then walking out with Mary
| and Martha without any more pretenslon
than a plain citizen going out in the. su-
burban village to spend the evening;
tiostled as though He were nobody; Pur-
sued as though He were an outlaw: nick
| named; seated with publicans and with
sinners-King of heaven and earth trail.
ing his robes in the dust!
How much of that humility have we?
If we get few more dollars than other
people or gain little higher position, oh,
how we strut! We 60 around wanting
everybody to know their, place and say,
'Is not this great Babylon that l have
built for the honor of my kingdom and by
| the might of M strength" Who has
ANYTHING of the humility Of Christ? :,
The disposition of Christ was also the
spirit of prayer. Prayer on. the mount
aims, prayer. on the sea, PRAYER. among the
sick-prayerg everywhere. Prayer for lit
| tie children: "Father, I thank Thee that
Thou hast hidden these things from the
wise and prudent and revealed them unto
babes" Prayer for His friends. Father:
I will that they be With Me where | am.
Prayer for His enemies, Father, forgive,
them; they know not What m they 60:
Prayer for all nations, Thy Kingdom
come"
How little of that spirit you and I have!
How soon our knees get tired! Where Is
the vial full of odors which are the pray
ers of all the saints! Which of lis can
keep our mind ten minutes on a prayer
without wandering? Not you: not /. Oh,
that we might have the spirit ofjprayer
which was the spirit of Christ!
We want more prayer in the family,
more PRAYER in the church, more prayer
in the legislative hall, more prayer among
the sick, more PRAYER among the aged,
advancement of the church is to be IN that
direction yet. ....
While the council of Nuremberg was
signing the iedict that gave the church its
| freedom Martin Luther was away. of IN
room by himself praying for that ac-
complishment. Though there was no line
| of communication between the place where
| the council was assembled and the room
/ where Martin Luther was praying, Martin
Luther suddenly rose from his knees and
said: "It is accomplished! The church
is free! Victory, victory" Oh, tor TINS
direct line of communication with the
throne of God. so that it may be said OF
US, as it was said of Luther, "He got what
he asked for" =. -.
was a spirit of hard work. Not one lazy
moment in all His life. Whether He was
talking to the fishermen on the beach,
or preaching to the sailors on the dock,
or administering to the rustics amid the
mountains, or. spending an evening IN
Bethany. always busy for others. With
hands, heart, head. busy for others--bew-
ing in the Nazareth carpenter shop, teach
ing the lame how to walk without crutch.
es, curing the childs tits, providing ra-
tions for the hungry host, Busy busy,
busy! The hardy men who pulled the
net out of the sea filled WI tn tiounderips
treasures, the shepherds VINO hunted up
grassy plots for their fo,ks to nibble at,
the shipwrights pounding away IN the
| ping tn, Juices from the vat and pouring
| them into the goatslans, were not more
busy than Christ. Busy, busy for others!
From the moment He went out of the car
auansary of Bethlehem to the moment
when the cross plunged into the soctet on
the bloody mount busy for Others; Does
that remind you of yourself! It does
not remind ne of myself. If we lift a bur.
den it must be light; if we do work, it
must be popular; if we sit in the pew, it
must be safe; if we move in a sphere OF
usefulness, it must be brilliant; if we have
to take hold of load, give US the light
end of the log In this way to seaven fan
us, rock us, sing us to sleep: Lift US up
toward heaven on the tips Of your finger:
| out Of