Virginia gazette. [volume] (Williamsburg, Va.) 1893-192?, 1903-08-08
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING
OUR REGULAR SUNDAY SERMON.
Principles Which Abide With Those
Who Constantly Walk With Ood--
Pleasure In Christian Suffering.


tist Church. Lee avenue and kcSp street,
preached his first sermon a. pastor Of the
church. he selected for ms text: Hebrews
XII: / and 2. Therefore. let us also, seeing
We are aompassed about with 80 great a
cloud of witnesses. lay aside every weight
and the sin which IS admired by many ana
let us run with patience the race that rs
set before rs. looking unto Jesus. ne au-
thor and pcrfecter OF our faith. who. Tor i
the Joy that was before HIM. endured the
cross, dcspised the shame and hath sat
down at the right hand of the throne OF /
God" y. W. and said.
a very casual observer could easily tell !
that many Christians have lost the JOY OF /
the Christian service which they once had. /
IL takes no scholar. nor. indeed. a critic. OF /
Christian life or human living 20 see that /
many. who one day reloiced with un
spcakablc JOY IN the service OF Jesus |
Christ. are to-day Indifferent Indeed. We
ourselves find some times. when 20 como 20 /
the house of God IL "a burden, and we drag
weary body or reluctant soul INTO me
presence OF the Almighty and Try 20 wor-
shin Him IN the beauty of holiness We
find again and again. NJ we should follow
the inclination OF our hearts and MINDS
that We should stay at home. But those
are new experiences comparatively Once
we could give no any pleasure for ar hour
with God. and when 90 have -een m lis
presence and feel that He was hearing us,
10 enjoy the touch OF kindred spirits; 90
have cnIovcd the song and the PRAYER and
the service. out of Gods heart. would have
been better TO MS than riches and more
precious than fine gold. But that rs gone.
| We find ourselves sometimes coming be-
cause we think we ought. doing this or
| that service because Il IA customary, enter
| inr into this form or that because 70 ls a
| habit 20 do so. and I'm the saner -someuts
| of our conscience We come somettmes 20
| saw "Nhv is this sos" Has God changed
/ Has the power Of the old gospel % allie
! waite human life OF It's brudens and suffer
! ings gone. Is there less OF power and efh-
| cacy IN the saving grace OF Jesus christ
| now than once After all. Is Gods service
| really and truly az bottom nothing but
| drudgcly. Or. has something taken place
| with usy Have we left behind something
/ we once had and have we passed beyond
/ that moment of cXult1nt spirit when in the
/ presence of Jesus our heart bounded with
! the JOY of new faith and the experience
| of salvation Well. we are perfectly sure
| God has not changed. We are perfectly
! sure jesus D. "the same. yesterday. to-day
/ and forever We have not a doubt that
/ the Old gospel VIII save men to-day, and
! when we come 90 think Of 90 after al D.
| not the matter Of being saved n subject of
just as much JOY in the twentieth century
as m the first century, Has there been
! any change ln the attitude OF the gO~nci
/ We are bound 60 confess there has been
| none and if that is true. then the trouble
| is with lis. Somewhere We have lost some
thing and / am looking into faces thus
! morning that know better than ] do. ln
i
the priceless treasure OF Christian hope
/ Now. 60 get that back. When / was d
bow / wept when FIRST / saw the wrinkle.
coming on my mothers face ! wanted
her 20 remain always young. and there art
| thousands OF Christian hearts. some repre-
scented here. doubtless. that have wept Of
the loss of their Christian cVpcriencc-it d
dead. JOY is gone. Oh. what would we gave
90 get 10 back, ! am persuaded that W.
would give q great deal % get 10 back. bu
! am more thoroughly persuaded that th'
way TO get 10 back is 20 get into the attn
tude of life that makes DO constant. Ih'
best thing Is not Co get hack the Christian
experience of years ago. but 60 get into th
attitude Of lie that makes that experience
perennial
am going therefore. 20 discuss TIA
sources of JOY. The thing that most lie
/ behind that experience and the hrst thln
that confr0nts the Christian IN the mat
ter is duty. We do not like that wor
! duty We associate with 'he word duty
sacrifice and are surprised when we nm
| that 10 d. in itself a term OF freedom
your duty" You saw. Don't talk 20 m
about duty; I don't Ike that word Iha
Is largely because the word has com 90 yo
10 mean matter of bondage when ln r,
atty 1t ought 90 mean a matter of freedom
Why 10 was duty ehlnu the text. Let u
there fore. seeing we are COmp3sSed Obou
with SO great cloud of witnesses Law aSid
every weight and the SIN which Is admire
bv many Tor so delight in-some special n
of the age. / supposed and let Us run wat
patience the race that Is set before "a
looking unto Jesus. the author and perfec
or OF our faith. who. for the JOY that W.
set before Him. endured the cross. Il
spised the shame. and hath sat down az a
right hand OF the throne of Goo Tn.
is duty. In the light wl<h which Jesus d
spised the cross we ought not 90 stop az
reason about duty / want YOU 20 notu
that duty is an ethical term. not a leg.
There is a kind of doctrine abroad tod.
which is called the ethical religious idea.
do not mean that at all. Duty is ethic.
: not legal Duty resides in the recesses
a mans character not in the external le
lslatlOn concerning nlm- am nor
being. therefore / ought. \ dog or
horse can never be called upon because
Oughtness-they are not moral beings Tn
are within the restrictions OF master an
that Is legal There is something IN maj
that Is an Oughtness. 4 ought. thereto
! must" Because / am moral being
ought. therefore duty Is ethical Many
man fulhlls the law and breaks every p'
Slble moral duty. The saloonkeeper
keeping the letter of the law. but TIE
doing an immoral thing. IL D. not a matt
- of legality or politics, but of moral ougl
ness. Until that moral Oughtness Is obey
/ am in bondage. but when l obey {
moral oughtness l am free. l pass
through a great sewing machine works
- l}elviderc. H.. and saw the machine call
the automatic screw The ordinary N
chine knows more than lot of men. NJ
TO can't do thing as you tell them to y
set a man on a Job of work and he "
change the way of doing II just sure
- he hves-that is. II he Is an American.
he "a Chinaman or q Russian ne Won
That is why corporations hire thar kind
IL man, because he viii do no more nor il
- than he Is told. But you tell an Americ
III 10 DO a thing precisely IN certain va
he won't do il Won can't hire him TO do