St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-05-30


TeXt:-"A great door and effectual is
| opened unto me, and there are many ad-
versaries.''-I. Cor 1879.
.-oSSs7F;7 1- - AUL had been la
!. !: !. ! !. !. !.
I&MlxH boring in the Cos
k ok pei in the city of
EHE8NbHESEAN Ephesus about
l3 lflRlgNktAS two years, and,
L. vi feeling that his
E Bhxa Ve4t work there was
NV, & = completed, be was
asNMHANa about to with
Ef V&MMyNAul draw into Mace
ri NNXG Aa- donia and Greece
Fk%AE4NG]l H. to visit tn e
churches there,
! when unexpected
IL the door of further and fuller serV-
ice was opened 70 him, and, writing 'c
the Corin1hian brethren. he says:
"But will tarry at Epkesus until ZEN
tecost; for great door ana eHec'u"i
is opened unto me, and there are many
adyersaries.'' 1t is interesting ana
imDortant to note Two things at
the outset in connection with TINS
experience of the great aposile III
Ephesus: In the first place Paul
was not so set in his purposes anu
plans and methods as 30 blind hlm 10
the unexpected opportunities opening
before him; and secondly, he was ever
ready to adapt himself to the new con-
ditions and make the most OF theh'
Perception and adaptability are quar-
tiles which are indispe nsable in CHRIS
tan service, even as they are also IN
the secular affairs of the lndustr1al
and commercial world. God wants men
and women whose eyes are wide open
and whose hands are keenly alert.
Such an one was Paul. Read the life
of Paul as God has recorded it in the
Acts and the Epistles and observe how
forcibly these two qualities are illus
trated by this great and brave ana
faithful soldier. of tho cross of Jesus
Christ. At Philippi how many mod
ern-day preachers and Christian work
ers are there who would have been
quick to observe that down by the riv-
erside where a few women were gath
cred in prayer was the open door of OPP
portunity. and how many would have
been willing and ready to adapt their
carefully prepared sermons and Bible
readings to the peculiar needs OF that
slim and humble audience? If ours
had been the Jail experience OF Paul
and Silas, how many do you suppose
would have been wide awake and alert
enough to see with the opening doors
of the prison the swinging of the door
of opportunity. and have been ready
with eager hands to point the way OF
salvation to one who had but a few
hour s before so brutally imprisoned
scholars and philosophers. at Jerusa-
lem when facing the mobs, on ship
board when tossed helplessly by the
storm, among the rough, ignorant,
half-civilized ISLANDERS. at Rome in the
prison house of the Caesars, every
where, Paul's perception in discover
ing open doors of service and his
adapta bility IN fitting his message to
the peculiar needs are always mani
fest. And God needs just such men
and women to-day.
THAT Paul was enthusiastic over the
new and unexpected developments
at Ephesus is evident from the adjec-
tives he uses 10 describe the door which
has opened to him. 1t was great and
effectual. and we need but to read the
story of Paul's closing work at Ephesus
in the nineteenth chapter of the Acts
to realize how nightly it stirred not
only the city but the entire province of
Asia Minor. of which Ephesus was the
commercial and political center. En-
thusiasm Ten theos. God in us) is a
condition as essential to the successful
issue in the Christian warfare as is
steam in the operation of the big manu-
featuring plant. Perception discovers
the door, but enthusiasm measures its
dimensions. Adaptability equips for
the service, but enthusiasm furnishes
the power which uses every ability and
faculty in the accomplishment of the
work. Paul was an enthusiast of the
most pronounced type. The one who
is face to face with an open door must
needs be. if it is to be entered and its
possibilities adequately realized.
What was the explanation of Paul's
enthusiasm? Surely not the adver~
saries which awaited him on the other
side of that open door, of which he
speaks in our text. Some vision, how
ever, came to him through the open
door which thrilled him and made him
realize that, no Notwithstanding the MANY
adversaries ambusfled along his path
way. it was great and an effectual
work which he was to be permitted to
accomplish. What was that vision? It
was the vision of the God Whose hand
had swung wide the door, His glory
streamed through and marked with
bright light the pathway which Paul's
feet were to tread. His power over
Swallowed every turn in the way and
marked where the adversary lay hid
den. This was one of the conclusive
evidences to Paul that it was an open
door of opportunity before which he
stood. The fact that God stood there
with the drawn sword of His Word
ready to strike decisive blow against
the goddess Diana and her devotees
made Paul realize that that was the
place for him to labor rather than in
Macedonia and at Corinth where he
had laid his plans to go and where his
desires were leading him.
r HIS is important for the Christian
II mn