Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-09-12

turned to the home church at Antioch
| And If they had gone back any sooner
| there would have been some miserable
hitch in the Rally Day arrangements
and they never would have been able
| to gather all the church together.
The Reunion.@"And when they were
! come they gathered the church to-
gether." Paul and Barnabas didn't
send back word they were coming,
so that grand public reception could
| be arranged in their honor. They
were not looking for personal glory,
and did not plan dramatic entry, with
| popular applause and a glowing speech
! of praise and welcome from the chair
man of the meeting. No, they came
| quietly into Antioch with no blowing
of trumpets. and the first thing the
church knew of their return was when
Paul called upon this member and
| Barnabas on that. If you want to make
| your Rally Day a success get the re-
! turned teachers and members of the
| church out calling. Paul didn't wait
to hear from the platform how the
church was getting along. He knew
that such public reports sounded well,
but they were not altogether reliable.
He wanted to learn the real condition
of affairs, and he knew the surest way
| of doing it was to talk with the indi-
| vidua1 members. A pastor of church,
a superintendent of Sunday school,
| a teacher of a class can secure more
| reliable information in regard to the
! conditions and needs of the church,
the school or the class, by little jul
dicious calling than by public re-
| port from every member of the church,
| the school or the class. I believe
Paul had two reasons for gathering
| the church together. He wanted not
only to make a report as to his misa
| sionary tour, but he wanted to make
| his report fit the needs of the church.
The incidents he told were adapted
| to the peculiar conditions in the
church. He told of the opposition of
| the Jews at Antioch to show how
| prejudice shut out the true light and
| led to destruction. He told of the
| despised Gentiles receiving the Cos
pei so as to make the proud and vain
| glorious realize that God is no respect
or of persons. He drew the picture
of the lame man at Lystra with such
vividness as to quicken the sight of all
| the members of the church to the suf-
fering of those about them. He re-
ferred to the first faint glimmering of
faith in the mind of the poor cripple
towards God which went reaching up,
up, up, until it brought down the bless
ing of healing and sound feet, so IS to
| encourage the weakest brother in the
faith to understand how the love and
| care of God reaches to the lowest and
the weakest and the most unfortunate,
if there is the slenderest thread of
faith down which the blessing can
flow. He told how the popular &C
claim which would have made of Paul
and Barnabas gods and done sacri-
flee to them was soon turned to bitter
est hate and violence, so as to show
that the heart is deceitfu1 above all
things, and desperately wicked" He
perhaps turned the thoughts of the
disciples back to Jerusalem, where
the same multitude which had been
praising Jesus and proclaiming Him
King a few days before, were now
hoarsely and madly crying for His
blood, and impressed upon his hear
ers the fckleness of the moods of the
people of the world, and that only he
whose mind is stayed upon the Lord
is kept in perfect peace.
Paul told of the stoning he suffered,
his voice, saying: "See how much more
I have suffered for Christ's sake than
you!" Not for the purpose of exciting
sympathy for himself, but that he
might again drive home to the hearts
of his hearers that he who is not
willing to take up his cross and fol-
low Christ in suffering cannot be His
disciple; that it is only as we suffer
hr.ic hof ole
with him.
Paul "rehearsed all that God had
done with them.' Notice that Scrip
ture does not say that they told all
that they had done for the Lord. Paul
and Barna bas take back seat and ex-
alt their Lord. All that God had done
with them is the burden of their re-
port. If we were less occupied with
ourselves and more completely lost in
desire to glorify and honor God there
would be more power and inspiration
in the reports we make respecting the
Lords work.
Get busy telling what God has done
with you and quit telling about what
the big ego (self) has done for God.
Let the Rally Day reports observe this
vital condition, let everything that is
done and said be performed with the
purpose of fitting peculiar need OF
the church and Sunday school. Let no
one be glorified and praised save God
and His Christ and the most stimulat-
ing reunion you have ever had in your
church or Sunday school will be the
result and you will be surprised at
the impetus which will be given the
work. Let the Home Coming be filed
with the thought of what God is and
what you can be for Him in His hands.