The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-08-05

sunlight. IDen we entered a fog, wnere
we could not see more than five or six feet
away. Where was the beauty gomez Our
attention became riveted upon our efforts
to climb out Of the fog Presently we
emerged from 1t and were on the mountain
top. Ny what a scene! There lay the
valley at our feet, like an extensive world;
towns, rivers and railways-the great Val.
ley OF the Mohawk. True, it was nearly
T lSC miles away, ,, but but we Were looking at it.
When you came to the seat that day you
were on the foothill. You forgot all be.
cause Jesus was everything and you saw
the little landscape You thought, The
Christian life is beautiful. / am full Of
joy:" And few weeks passed and you
said, "But to live as a Cshirtian is not so
easy; ! do not see the JOY. The little val.
ley, where is it? What a tremendous
thing it is to be climbing up to God" And
the cloud settles and you get to be selfish.
But If you persevered and climbed up.
ward you have come to the mountain peak
powers and love ought to be settled on
one effort to climb still further and fur.
ther in the vision of the Eternal. / won.
der if some of us are not still in the cloud,
because we have lost the joy of service.
Suffering is only incident to service. /
am perfectly aware, when | ask you to en-.
ter with greater zeal in the service Of God
that l am asking you to suffer. You will
not be killed, or asked to move out OF the
United States or persecuted because you
are Christian, but YOU will have to suf.
fer. and when you suffer you will begin to
enjoy. No man laughs so heartily as the
man who weeps most bitterly. No laugh.
ter rings so in heaven as that which comes
through the tears down here. By suffering
l mean you will be asked to endure the
cross. Jesus endured the cross. Now,
right here let me say that suffering is not
service. Some one says: See here. do YOU
mean to say that when | suffer for Jesus
Christ that is not service?' That is exact
ly what | mean to say. God has no pleas.
ure in your pain, but if your service for
Him demands it, and you bear it heroic
ally, He has pleasure in the attitude OF
your life. Jesus Christ endured the cross.
Why? Because it was incident to the worl;
of saving this race. Somebody will call
me hereto, but am not ] believe, and
you believe, that Jesus Christ came to this
world to save this race. ] believe and you
believe that without Christ there is no sal.
vation. The key note of all my ministry
shall ever be that Jesus is the divine Son
of God. If He is not divine let us stop our
preaching, sell Cur property and be inIi-
dels. If Jesus is a mere man let is all quit
business. | may be an old fogy, but as
long as this tongue breaches the gospel
Jesus Christ will be the divine Christ in
my message. DO ] mean that Jesus came
to His cross by accident? Not at all, lie
saw the cross standing at the end OF His
mission. and for the joy that was set be-
fore Him endured and came to save this
race, and that meant the bearing of a cross
and He bore it. But the real mission was
the saving OF the race, not the bearing OF
the cross. His mission was to save men.
God so loved the world that He gave His
mil Snt, lp+ rtl,n ha1t.
in Him might not perish, but have ever.
lasting life" When the cross stood in the
way or the perfection of salvation Jesus
endured it divinely, heroically and unhinch
ingly died upon it to save us. Suffering is
incident to service, and when l call you to
serve God you will have your cross. The
men you work with will say you are too
much of crank and a fanatic. 1t will hurt
and pain and go deep, and you will finch.
Sometimes you will try to apologize for
being crank and fanatic. and you will
thank God there is something you can en-.
dure. 1t is part of service and behind the
suffering comes a JOY, deep and profound
shame to bear, too. Two or three young
ladies where | have been holding meetings
lately and baptizing some have said, IL do
not like to think of getting up before all
those, people and being baptized" / won.
der if we arc going into the JOY of fulfilling
endure some of that shame He endured.
Let me tell you if you had administered
baptism and you saw as a minister sees in
the face of the believer buried out of sight
and raised to resurrection of newness of
life-if you saw what he sees just once you
would drop your quibbling now. Shame on
us if we cannot bear in the twentieth cen.
tury light of Christian truth all that fol.
lowing Jesus demands of US. A writer in
the British Weekly in an article entitled
Beating to Windward," says sailing
against the wind by steam power was op.
posing one force to another. and was sim.
ply matter of victory for the stronger
force. but to sail to wndward in n sailing
vessel was a matter OF skill for here
forces that oppose are not opposed but
used" Brethren, we must beat to wind.
ward" Christian living that meet with no
opposition is not Christian living at all If
you are beating to windward for Jesus this
world will oppose you. 1t is a matter of
skill then, to take the opposing forces OF
suffering and sin and use them to advance
your life in the kingdom OF heaven. When
| begin to sacrifice | begin to enjoy. Be
loved, If you would have the JOY of Chris.
tian service you must have the heart Of
Christian sacrifice.