The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-10-05

down" oh, no,~ he says; It'll put
o down." But some day h spirit
Of Christ comes into you, and you go
over and you say: MY brother, give
nifty is near, and we can't afford t o
quarrel Now, let bygones be bygones,
and let us act i X Christians" It Is
all settled How? By the gentleness
of Christ.
HOW TO LOVE THE FATHER.
Did you ever know a drunkard re-
claimed by mimicry of his staggering
steps, his thick tongue or his h~iccough?
No, you only madden his brain. But
you go to him and let him know you
appreciate wha an awful struggle he
has with the evil habit, and o let him
know % have been acquainted with
people who were down in the same
depth who by the grace OF God have
rescued. He a your voice, he re-
spends to hat sympathy, and he Is
saved. You cannot scold h world
into anything better. You may attract
it into something better. rne
wind comes out from its hiding place
and says, "I will rou this sea.
And it blowws upon the sea. Half or
the sea is aroused or a fourth OF the
sea is aroused. yet not the entire At
lantic. But after awhile the moon
comes out, calm and placid. It shines
upon the Sed anu TIE OCcdh pS5iAo "
lift. 1t embraces all the highlands; the
beach is all covered. The heart throb
of one world beating against the heart
thob Of another world. The storm could
not rouse the whole Atlantic; the moon
lifted it. And l." said Christ, IF 1
be lifted up will draw all men unto
me-"
Christ's disposition was also n Of
self sacrifice. No young man ever
~,% ~ 90 -i0h% n nrncnnnt
as Christ started out with if he had
been willing to follow a worldly ambi-
ton. In the time hat he gave to the
sick he might have gathered the vast
est fortune of his time. With his pow
er to ~popularize himself and magne-
tie the people he could have gained an
official position No orator never won
such plaudits as he might have won
from s%anhedrin and synagogue and
vast audiences by the seaside. No ply
stefan ever got such a reputation for
healing power as he might have OBJ
tanned if he had performed his won
derful cures before the Roman aris-
ocrac / 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
manager 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 tor
ture. To save our race from sin n
death and hell he faced all the sorrowS
of mis- world and the sorrows of eter-
nifty. How much of hat self sacrifice
have we?
CLOTHINK OUR NAKEDNESS-
What is self sacrifice? 1t is my
walking a long journey to save you
from fatigue. 1t is my lifting a great
number of ponds to save o from the
awful strain. 1t is a subtraction from
my comfort and prosperity 50 that
there may be an addition to your COM
fort and prosperity. How much OF
that have we? Might not 1 rather say.
How little have we?" Two children
brother and sister-were passing
down the road. They were both very
destitute. The lad had hardly n
garments at all. His sister had a coat
that she had outgrown. 1t was a very
cold daJ. She said, Johnny, come
under this coat "Oh, no." he said:
1.-THE coat isn't large enough" "Oh."
she said, st will stretch!" Ha comes
under the coat, but the coat would not
stretch. So n took off the coat and
put it on him. Self sacrifice pure and
simple. Christ taking off his robe to
clothe our nakedness. Self sacrifice.
i have not any of it, nor have you
compared with that. The sacrifice of
the Son of God.
Christ walked to Emmaus, CriSt
walked from Capernaum to Bethany,
Christ walked from Jerusalem to Col
gotha. How far have you and [ walk
ed for Christ? His head ached, his
heart ached, his back ached. How
much have We aehed for Christ?
The disposition of Jesus was also a
-. H1~4 T@-l of
earth and heaven in the garb of a
rustic. He who poured all the waters
of the earth out of his right hand
the Amazon and the Euphrates and the
Oregon and the Ohio and the Missis-
sippi-bending e. a we'll to ask a
Samaritan woman for a drink He
who spread the canopy of the heavens
and set the earth for a footstool. adj
hitting that he had not where to lay
his head. He whose chariots the clouds
are, walking with sore feet. flushing
the tempest on Gennesaret n wiping
the spray of the storm from his beard,
then sitting down in the ABR beside
his disciples, as though he had done no
more than wipe the sweat from his
brow in Joseph's carpenter shop. TAX
ing the foot Of death off the hear of
Lazarus and breaking the chain of the
grave against the marble of the tomb
n then walking out with Mary and
Martha without any more ~pretenSions
than a plain citizen going out in the
suburban village to spend the evening,
JoStled as though he were a nobody.
Pursued as though he were an outlaw.
Nicknamed. Seated with publicans
and with sinners. King Of heaven and
earth trailing his robes in the dust
THE NEED OF HUMILITY.
How much of that humility have we?
If we get a few more dollars than other
people or gain a little higher position,
oh, how we strut! We go around
wanting everybody to know their place
and say rs not this great Babylon
that I have built for the honor Of my
kingdom and by the might of my
strength?"Who has anything OF the
humility of Christ?
The disposition of Christ was also
the spirit of prayer. Prayer on the
mountain, prayer on the sea, prayer
among the sick, prayer everywhere
Prayer for little children: Father,
thank the hat thou hast hidden these
things from the wise and prudent and
revealed them unto babes" Prayer fol
his friends, Father, I will that they
be with me where I am" Prayer fol