Newport weekly independent., 1902-12-26


 ing of God in Christ Jesus does not shut the office door, does not hush the hustle of the mart of trade, does not stop the factory wheels, does not close the books of the student or quiet the busy hum of the halls ot learning and invite the cobwebs ot ignorance to weave their disfiguring mantle over the intellect. No, It means a better and fuller life Tn all the essential activities of the world
 Singleness of Purpose.-Caleb says. ''Let us go up at once." Pau! ex- claims: This one thing I do." An, brave hearts, with such a spirit as that burning in their breasts no wonder all the strong cities of Canaan and the mighty sons of Anak could not make Caleb falter, or the chains and prison walls could not cut short the great mission of the mighty Paul. In this day of many ideas and multiplied activities, it is said that the man of a single idea has little or no chance of success. However that may be we are not { prepared to judge, but we are conf { dent in our assertion that the man of single purpose is the man who will succeed in planting his banner on the mountain top of achievement, if any man can. "This one thing I do'' has been blazoned along the rugged and steep pathway which has been travelled by all those who have achieved worthily and nightly in the world. Here is indeed worthy sentiment for the New Year. Many resolutions and elaborate plans are made to-day to be broken and to fail tomorrow. But the single purpose of Caleb or a Paul carries through the difficult way to the Promised Land of the high calling of God.
 The one purpose of Paul was re- troactive as we'll as progressive. It dealt with the past which might hinder and make him wish to go back, and it marked out clearly in the unmeasured distances ahead the goal to which he aspired. "Forget- ting those things which are behind, ' he says, "and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." With the face set stead- fastly towards the rising sun and the coming morning. he was deter mined to press onward and up- ward. He was going to burn the bridges behind him so that the hardships in the unoccupied country ahead might not tempt him to beat an ignominious retreat. What do you suppose it was that Paul was so anx- ious to forget, and the memory of which would so evidently prove a handicap in the race he was running? Certainly it was not the bright One he met in the way on his journey to 1 Damascus, when he heard the voice of his Lord speaking to him out of | the Heavens; certainly it was not his 1 three years communion with his Lord in the Arabian desert, during which time he was caught up to the third heaven and ''heard unspeak- able words, which it is not lawful i for man to utter;" certainly it was not the mighty work he had accom- i plished on his evangelistic tours i through Asia Minor and Europe; cer- 1 tainly it was not his beloved church at Philippi, for he says in his open i ing salutation to them in the letter i from which our text is taken: q thank my God upon every remem- | brance of you;" certainly it was not 1 his bonds and the affiictions which had come to him. What was it then that Paul wanted to forget? The opening verses of the third chapter of Philippians, I believe, tell us. He wanted to forget his splendid pedi- gree, his scholarly attainments, his i spotless life, for they fed pride and self-centered esteem and hindered his gaining the Promised Land of the high calling of God. The things that were gain for him, he counted loss for Christ. And here is where we need to begin to strip for the race into the Promised Land. Pride and self-centered esteem have i wrecked more lives and blocked the | entrance into the Promised Land of the high calling of God than any thing else that touches the human heart and life. If you want to run with Paul you must forget those things which are behind which will nourish pride and self-esteem. Strip yourself of these hindering weights and you may with this New Year en- ter the Promised Land which God sets before you. It was no easy task which Paul set for himself. It will be the hardest thing you ever did in your life to kill that pride which is binding your eyes and narrowing your view of life, to break up that self-centered esteem which has made yourself the axis around which every plan and purpose in life have revolved. Break away from these things which EtIn cn aa acilv hocatD tho b,,r,- ', loo,.