St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-03-14
ALONE WITH JESUS.
The Privilege of Gaining the Divine
Presence Is Open t. ALI.
sometimes the Devil II Instrume ntal
In Getting a Soul There-Ser-
mon by the .Highway
and Byway'' Preacher.

lCopyrlght, 1915, py "A. N. helOgs NeWS-
paper Col
Chicago, Feb s, 1903.
Text:-"Ano Jesus was left alone. and
the woman standing in the midst. John
49,
always happening in the presence of
Jesus. The human mind or heart can
not compass or anticipate the methods
or purposes of the Son of God, and be-
cause it is true, as God declares, that,
''as the heavens are higher than the
earth, SO are My ways higher than
your ways, and My thoughts than
your thoughts it is not strange that
the soul of man as it comes in touch
with God should experience the unex-
pected. The incidents surrounding
our text are a striking illustration of
this fact. The accusing Scribes and
Pharisees had their surprise which
shook the whited sepulchers of their
hypocrisy and set the dry bones of
hidden sins within to rafting an ig-
nominious defeat as they sneaked 81
lently away. The sinful woman had
her surprise, for instead of the crush
ing stones of just condemnation OF
which she was worthy she felt the up
lifting hand of Jesus and heard Him
say: $50, and sin no more" The
company of disciples and Others stand
ing around and witnessing the strange
and remarkable scene had their sur
prise, for never before had they seen
such dignifed, uncompromising con-
demnation of sin and such compass
sionate tenderness toward the sinner
as was revealed here. Surely, lit was
never so seen in Israeli before. The
Scribes and Pharisees had it all out
lined in their minds how their
wicked, disgusting plotting would
succeed; the unfortunate woman I'M
doubtedly had her mind made up that
condemnation and punishment would
be melted out to her, and the assem-
bled company Of people surrounding
Jesus hastily concluded that at last
trap had been sprung from which
Jesus would not be able to extricate
Himself; but as the Divine and sur
passing wisdom and grace, the digni-
fed silence and the tender word, were
so sl1illfully manifested, all were
silenced and subdued in the face of the
unexpected.
1t is always so. The soul comes into
the presence of Jesus with its mind
made up just how He is going to deal
with it, just what is to take place, and
always finds that human reckoning
falls short of the infinite resources
and methods of God. God always deals
with the soul according to its needs
and not in accordance with its expec-
tations, and thus does for it Exceeding
abundantly above all that it could
ask or think" The unsaved soul that
makes up its mind just what kind of
an experience it is going to have when
it accepts Christ as Saviour is always
disappointed. In the presence OF
Jesus and alone with Him the human
programme is discarded and Gods
programme is marvelously carried
out. And if the soul will not yield the
programme it has arranged and ac-
cept that which God has prepared for
needs must abide in the darkness of
its own mind and withdraw from the
presence of Jesus, even as the self
righteous Pharisees did in the Incl
dent before us.
The matter of experience is enc
which troubles more souls than per-
haps any other. Almost invariably
the mind is made up to this or that
condition or feeling or circumstance,
in connection with conversion, and be-
cause it is not realized doubt and unhap-
piness prevail, and sometimes COM
plete rejection of Christ and His prom
Uses follows. Again oneis impressed
with the striking and beautiful ex-
perience of friend and makes up his
mind that he must have a similar ex-
perience if he is to come to Christ,
and because such is not youchsafed to
him, he fails to find any comfort in
the promises of salvation, and fails to
receive from God an unexpected and
blessed experience of his very own.
That rich young ruler who came to
Jesus asking the way of salvation I'M
doubtedly had a beautiful programme
all made out as to just what Jesus was
going to tell him to do, and because'the
unexpected happened and Jesus told
him to sell all that he had and give
to the poor he went away disappoint-
ed. Whether the young man ever did
find salvation or not Scripture does
not tell us. I have always hoped that,
on sober second thought, as he
weighed the things of time with the
weightier things of eternity, he did,
but be that as it may, one thing is GER
tain, if he did it was along the line of
Gods programme for him and not in
accordance with his own.
. How many, many Christians fail to
find light or blessing in their Christian
experience, because their human plans
and ideas and purposes are carried
into the presence of Jesus and chung
to, and then carried away again to dis
tress and harass them as the days
drag unhappily by, and to bring sad
in the end. The rea-
son so many Christians fail to get real
light and sure leading when they go
to God and talk over with Him the mat
ter they have in their minds and upon
their hearts is because they tell God
all about it and then try to argue
Him around to their preconceived no
ton and purpose in regard to it. They
do not realize it, probably. because
they have not patiently and submits
sively learned at Jesus feet that it is
almost always the unexpected which
happens when Jesus is dealing with
and speaking to the human heart.
The disciples were constantly fall
ing into the error of planning for