The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1903-12-31
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
THE CHRISTIANS MISSION"

THE CHRISTIANS MISSION"
The Rev. r. J. yillers, One of the Most
Popular Clergymen in Indiana, De-
liyers Strong Sermon, tho Theme of
Which is Evangelism.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.-The Rev. Thomas
J. Villers, pastor of the First Baptist
Church, of this city, preached Sunday
which was evangelism. His subject was
'The Christians Mission to the World"
The text was chosen from John xvii:l8:
'As Thou hast sent Me into the world.
even SO have | sent them into the world"
Mr.. Villers said:
The farewell discourses to the disciples
were ended Gethsemane with it's mental
anguish and bloody sweat was but step
in the distance. The shadows flung from
| the cross were deepening and darkening.
Jesus knew that before another sun should
set His work on earth would be done In
t ese last moments He betook Himself to
prayer. Dying words are undying words.
We embalm them in fragrant memories.
! With eyes uphfted toward the Father, the
divine Suppliant first reviewed His own
ministry. q have gloriied Thee on the
earth; 1 have finished the work which
Thou gavest Me to do" Then His mind
turned toward His disciples; He prayed
/
continuation of His own. This thought He
emphasized before His death, on the earth
ward side of Calvary, while standing in
the deep shade and gloom. GAS Thou hast
sent Me into the world, even SO have
also sent them into the world" The same
thought emerged with Him from the tomb,
and dropped from His lips on the heaven
ward side of the cross, while standing in
the light reflected from the crown. ''Then
said Jesus to them again, Peace be with
/ you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so
send YOU" Thus with the emphasis of
repetition our Lord announces the Chris
tian's mission to the world
Jesus is called the apostle of our confess
sion. He is Gods sent one, whom we con-
fess. He repeatedly laid emphasis on this
fact, declaring Himself to be the one whom
the Father sanctifed and sent into the
world. In Johns Gospel alone He speaks
Of Himself thirty-six times as being sent
of God. He was sent to preach &C ID It'd
ings to the poor, to proclaim release the
captives and recovering Of sight t. the
blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of
the Lord. Having finished the work which
God gave Him to do, He formed new
apostolate, dignifying all disciples as His
apostles: for while His commission "even
so send you" may have primary reference
to the twelve. it applies with equal force
to all who have obtained a like precious
fai.,l God sent Him. He sends us. In
the Acts we read that when Stephen suf-
fered martyrdom there arose that day a
great persecution against the church at Je-
rusalem. And they were all scattered
throughout the regions of Iudea and Sa-
/ maria, except the twelve. They, therefore,
that were scattered abroad = not the
twelve, for they stayed at Jerusalem. but
the laymen. the rank and file of the church
they that were scattered abroad went
about preaching the word.
Do you plead your lack OF eloquence., at.
frming. that you are slow Of speech and OF
slow tongue? Listen. The gospel is good
| news and good news does not need orna-
menting, it needs telling. Listen! One
nicht at Corinth, after day of depressing
toll when there had been little to cheer
Pauls SOUL Jesus appeared to him in a
vision, saving ''Be not afraid. but sneak.
The word which Christ used is, significant.
Tt is not the term for a formal set dis
course II suggests the simplest form OF
human language. It means merely to talk.
Our Lord did not want Paul to sugarcoat
his message with poetic. rhetorical descrip-
t;ons Of the glory of Corinth's two seas,
hecked with white sails from many lands
did not want him to wax eloquent amid
| that pageant Of islands and mountains and
groves of cypress and pine hathed IN the
row of Grecian sunsets. Jesus wanted
Paul lust to talk the gospel. At the apos-
Aegean Jesus did not want Paul to. pre-
pare learned disquisitions; whose profund-
ity would equal the unplumbed sea. like
the preacher who was said to be invisible
six DAYS in the week and incomprehensiOe
on the seventh Christ only wanted Paul
to talk the gospel In the distance
cleaned the snowy summit of Helicon
whose muses. had inspired Hesiod and has
school of writers. Jesus did not want Paul,
with a head as cold and vocabulary as
icy as Helcon's summit, to show the rhet-
oric loving Corinthians that he was as Gull
tured as themselves. He wanted Paul Just
to talk the gospel Towering within sight
stood two-peaked Parnassus, whose side
poets had climbed for inspiration. Jesus
did not want Paul to give the impression
that his inspiration had been kindled on
Parnassus, lest, coming with the enticing
words of mans wisdom his message should
be made of none effect. He anted Paul
simply to talk the gospel.
O beloved, this is what the church and
the -vorld need to-day-not more clergy
men to expound the gospel, but more men
and women to talk the gospel: talk. it in
shop, talk it in the factory. talk it in the
store, talk it on the farm, talk it on the
streets, talk it on the trains-talk it every
where Suppose people call us babblers.
That is what the Athenians called Paul:
Jesus says: "Be not afraid; keep talking.
suppose LHey Say tndt OuI sPcSCH - CoH-
temptible. That is what the Corinthians
said of Paul. Jesus says: "Be not afraid |;
keep talking" Suppose they affirm that
the old gospel will not do in these modern
days, that it must be refined and intelec-
tualized. trimmed and Topped and polished
and perfumed. Jesus says: BE not afraid;
keep talking"
It is profoundly significant that when the
Holy Ghost came on the day of Pentecost
He appeared in the shape of tongue,
which sat not only on the twelve, but on
each member Of the church, and when that
tongue of fire touched them they began to
speak as the Spirit gave them utterance.
It is by the tongues of Gods. people that
! His gospel must be published. We may
try to excuse our. silence by saying that
actions speak louder than words, and SO
if our life is right, speech is unnecessary.
It is true that, the life may be eloquent,
and ought to be. 1t is true that words
without works are like faith without works
dead. But no excuse that we can frame
will satisfy Christ for our dumbness. More
than once He healed men who were pos
sessed by dumb devils, and it must .grieve
Him that so many of His people in our
|. dow ara similarly afflicted Nv brother If