The Brandon news., 1903-07-30
A SERMON FUR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
GODS TRAINING OF A WORKER"


Which Has Settled Over the Spiritual
Thinking of Our Time.
New YORK CITY.-Dr. O. T. Bartholow,
pastor of James M. Z. Church, preached
Sunday morning on Goods Training of a
Worker" His text was taken from Exo-
dus, iv.: !, 2, 3 and 4: And Moses an
swered and said, But, behold, they would
not believe me: nor hearSen unto my
voice; for they will say, The Lord hath
not appeared unto thee. And the Lord
said unto him, What is that in thine hand !!
And he ssid, A rod. And the Lord said,
Cast it on the ground. And he cast it
on the ground and it became serpent; and
Moses fled from beforeit. And the Lord said
unto Moses, Put forth thine hand and take
it by the. tail. And he put forth his hand
and caught it and it became a rod in his
hand" DR.. Bartholow said:
Our text presents Moses in what many
have considered an unfavorable light
Standing in the presence of the great God,
divine command with promise, he appears
hesitating, uncertain and weak. A study
OF the occasion and ground of Moses re-
luctance disslpates the unfavorable light
and presents to us a study in human life
under divine direction altogether true and
common. The call of God to Moses was
certain, clear and well attested. It came
experiences, to one who was more than
familiar with human nature in it's relation
to spiritual truth.
The shepherd of INDIAN knew how dull.
apathetlc and incredulous toward Jehovah
and His truth the children of Israel had
become in their base servitude to the
Egyptian Pharaoh. Foreseeing the cruel
argy of his people, Moses was for the mo-
ment blind to Gods knowledge and power
Under the spell of fear he uttered the
words, But, behold, they will not believe
me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they
will say, the Lord hath not appeared unto
thee"
To Christian faith this may appear weak,
but it certainly is not unnatural History
affords us abundant illustrations of re-
and trembling, not because they doubted
God, but because they feared the reception
Gods truth would receive at the hands of
His reputed friends. Jerome, Huss, Luth-
er, Wesley, Savonarola, ETC., had but little
to fear, from the world but much to fear
from the church, and at times they trem-
bied and We're hesitant at the commands
the house of your friends)
GODS response to this tendency or i'm
pulse of Moses nature is full of interest
and suggestion. 1t is divine encourage
ment to Christian daring and zeal. "And
the Lord said unto him, What is that in
thine hand? And he said, A rod. And He
said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast
and Moses fed from before it. And the
Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine
hand and take it by the tail And he put
forth his hand and caught it and it be-
came rod in his hand"0 Now, it is of no
concern to us, how this miracle was
wrought, or whether magicians could sim.
ulate it or not. What we do desire to
great hesitancy of Moses did Jehovah
give In this peculiar work of power?
10 our mind three truths constitute that
answer-the first of which is this: All the
helps, gifts and attainments of the soul.
disregarded and neglected, tend to become
hostile. Moses was gifted man, an ex-
perienced man. The shepherds staff sym
mllent of defense and rescue, SO might
Moses, by, what he had done and what he
could do, be an instrument in the hand of
God to defend and rescue his people, God
elected him to a mighty and glorious serv.
Ice. lie gave him complete and adequate
preparation, a clear mind, an indomitable
will. spiritual and lofty nature.
Would Moses accept the election? The
significance of possible refusal was seen
in the meaning miracle. The discarded
staff. became serpent It is the common
teaching. of the day that powers and gifts
unused become atrophied, that men may
die to spiritual things through simple neg.
lect. This is correct teaching so far as it
goes, but it does not compass the whole of
the matter. Spiritual calls, gifts and pow
ers cannot wholly die. They may be dis
claimed or cast aside, as was Moses rod,
but they return with inherent life to sting
and bite. AS an example, the direction
and commands of conscience may be cast
aside, the impulses of love and faith may
be. ignored, the. direct calls of the Holy
Spirit be unheeded and yet the soul have
more. conscious relation with these spiritual
entities than ever before.
John Newton, the hymn writer, tells us
that there was a time in his life when he
deliberately insulted and drove from his
mind every holy thing of which he had
knowledge, yet at times the moral iudg-
ment and the hearts love for eternal
things. would so torment him thut life was
full of misery. Those elements in his life
designed for peace and Joy beAme the
morse is no more than the return Of these
spiritual powers crying night and day, in
slience and in great connections, "Alas,
aas It might have BEEN"
The doctrine of annihilation and atrophy
has SO settled over the spiritual thinking
VI our Time InaC the consequence OF dlso-
bedience to the equipments and purposes
of life and to the voice of God are in cer-
tain quarters reduced to mere nothings. It
is high time that the truth illustrated to
Moses. become our truth. that we realize
that there is no such thing as spiritual an.
inhalation, even to the gifts and powers of
God, but that there is transference, trans
formation-the going fin spiritual sense)
from Mount Gerizion (blessing) to Mount
Ebal (cursing).
Disobedience to God and His law is not
mere negatio1 and the withdrawal of cer-
tain gifts, but it is in a certain and awful
sense an affirmation and possession--the
serpent Of menace rather than the support
of life. Gods rain upon the thirsty earth
is in itself good-that it be so for man de-
pends altogether how and for what pur-
poses, he uses it. He may use it for the
growing Of food products or for the produc-
tion of weeds. That the rain was made
for mans blessing is evident. That man
may disregard and SO convert the gift into
a. foe is also evident. What the rain is to
the earth so are the gifts, helps and calls
OF God to man. For these things God shall
bring us unto judgment, the judgment be-
gins with the obedience or disobedience.
In our beloved Methodist church we
have a host of God placers at work. Peo-
pie who do not expect to meet God in new
forms or expressions. who like Mncoo ho.