The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1902-12-18
five IN THE SUNSHINE
Al Eloquent Sunday Discourse by Dr..
Chapman.
Faith Produces Men, and Their Living ia the
World Is contendins For the falih-.Keep-
Ing In the Love Of God.

Rev. DR.. j. Wilbur Chapman. It was
preached from the text Keep yourselves
in the love of Cod" Jude 81.
Jude's is enc of the briefest Of all the
letters IN the New Testament, containing
only twenty-five verses. 1t is perhaps, the
last Of the epistles. Though the date is not
definitely settled, it was probably written
after the destruction of Jerusalem. when
most Of, the apostles had finished their
work.. There is most delightful spirit Of
humility in the letter. The writer called
himself servant, and the bondsman of
Jesus Christ and the brother of James. and
that is beautiful modesty. for, in fact,
il is generally believed that he was the
Lords own brother and the son of Joseph
and Mary.
To, no particular church or people was
the letter written, but the accounts make
it especially applicable to us. It is very
practical. The heart of Jude was stirred
because certain men were DENYING God
and the Lord Jesus Christ He said, be.
cause of this, 81 exhort you that You
should contend earnestly for the faith once
delivered to the saints" That expression
in the Greek, however, reads for the faith
delivered "once and for alp to the saints.
So the doctrine is the same to-day as in
the days of Jude and before then Read.
ing on to the twentieth and twenty-ffth
verses they indicate that we are expected
to contend as did the early disciples.
IL, has always seemed to me that faith
produced men, and their living in the
world was contending for the faith. We
have the pattern of the life OF the apos-
tolic Christian given to us. If you study
the Acts of the Apostle. the letters of Paul.
Peter, John, and, better still, the wonder
ful prayer OF Christ in the seventeenth
chapter of John. you will see that there
were three great elements in their char.
acter They were in the world. but not OF
1t; they were constantly looking for the
coming Of Christ, and they were filled
with missionary fire and zeal. These three
characteristics must predominate now if
the church is to have power When one
is in the world and not of it he realizes
he IS pilgrim and a stranger here, and he
endures trials and temptations because he
knows that they are but for little while
The second characteristic has Just as great
an influence. The disciples were constant
ly exp ,cting the return of our Lord; they
remembered the testimony of the men who
had heard the angels ON the slopes of Oil
vet, and again and again they opened their
eyes, expecting to behold Him face 10 face
1t was this hope in their hearts which in
splred their lives, transigured the cross
and its shame and kept them pure in the
midst OF all temptation and sin.
The third characteristic is equally inn
portant How much we need to long for
the salvation of othersl Nothing SO
touches the hidden springs of the Christian
heart as to feel in some measure that he is
responsible for those about him. Some one
has said, when God would draw out all the
iathomess love. OF woman's heart, He
lays helpless babe upon her bosom, and
1t IS true that the church will awake to
power when she awakes to responsibility.
There IS something which | have in mind
which will give. us all the things l have
spoken about. 1t is described in the text
II there could be any subject growing out
OF the text to describe it, should say that
It would be Live in the sunshine"
know what. the sunshine does for the
clouds; it gives them silver lining. 1
Know what 1t does for the grass and the
trees and the flowers; it warns and nour-
ishes until they blossom into beauty and
iruitfulness. Take the plant away from
the light and it will droop and die; place
1t where the sun will kiss it and every leaf
rrejoices. This is the very poorest illustra-
ton as to what the love of God will do for
God.
i; That word keep" is the key word of
Jude,'s epistle. In it we are told that God
viii keep us. but we are also told to keen
ourselves. We are told to persevere, but
u Is also said we will be preserved. This
Is God and man working together and it is
singular, to say the least, that the word
preserve" and the word "persevere" are
composed of exactly the same letters. The
literal rendering of the expression that
Tod will keep us is "as in garrison" How
secure, then, we must be!
HOW NAY WE KEEP OURSELVES IN
THE LOVE OF GOD?
,,l. No way SO efficient as by PRAYER.
There are, different kinds of prayer. Jacob
prayed when he met the angel of Jabbok,
and had his name changed from Jacob to
israel Moses prayed when he plead with
God to look with favor again upon His
SaO SSaoSen people. Christ prayed in the gar
ue uen, i9r 1T is said Being in an agony, He
prayed more earnestly" But this is not
the kind of prayer | have in mind; it is
THather the kind that Christ offered when
ne was alone on the mountain with God.
imagine the Father talked with Him
more than He with the Father. 1t is the
9lnd smlnad that David describes when he says:
nay meditation of Him shall be sweet
Faith is the eye with which we can see
oou, and meditation the wing with which
We ny to Him. 1t is the kind of PRAYER
onered when the suppliant feels that he is
sne only one in all the universe; it is the
kklnd OF prayer which if our mother could
near, or the dearest friend we had on
earth, we should feel that it had been di.
fa ftertea and had not reached God. 1t is the
= tanu nihu oil prayer we offer when we let God
iaik iik TO US as well as talk to Him. This will
keep US in the love of God.
~, rev things will SO help as this old
i, inook, the Bible. Two gentlemen We're rid.
-
sVo sV separate one asked the other, "Do you
friend; Il do, but receive no benefit be.
saqse sSasqse l feel that / do not love God"
cNe cNeelther did H. replied the other ''but
,;ss H,ad loved me- and that answer fairly
hhh.eu the man into the skies, for it gave
az ap'i q new thought The question is not
,e.i ~ an as to how much | love God, but
prshsr as TO how much God loves me.
Voc, l,eat the Bible in that way and it viii help
Fop to live in the text.
a,e love dictated every word love selected
Every sentence, love presented every prov.
c, 1uehce, love sent Christ to die upon the
n.vsss, ,r,s and you can not read it in this way
Cod C.dpouc keeping yourself in the love of
h,SI All the means of grace will keen us,
ba' 4 there Is one above another it would
10 tne Lords Supper. The very coming
sem e tne ~ fable and taking that which repre-
tSa tSSa's - ms body and His blood really fits
WIFI so9I ~ INTO such condition that it is one
hail Nhrlst; lie that hath seen Christ
St 0nrlst is in the Father. What better wav
IL n mere m be OF entereing into His love?
H. There must be emphasis upop the
exposition in" The Greek signifies the
c;ss;st competition, the most intimate asso-
All AIl',Jn sh ana the most perfect communion.
,Jonstpese upese Things are possible The soul of
and adtihnah thh was knit TO the soul of David
betw.annere .nere may be just as close fellowship
AMI sS"sen ~ Christ and His followers. Now
snhasne WIN snen In this world we find persons
most hves are so blended that thew al
Of H. 'ook alike. This is oftentimes true
IL IN husband and wife. 'Tennyson had
wears III N, mind when he said: "In the long