The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1903-01-24
A CALL TO SERVICE.
Some Helpful Lessons from the Ex-
perience Of Peter.
The DoubIe Nature OF the Call Of tAs
Apostle-sermon by the "High-
way and Byway"
Preacher.
Copyright, 1903, by a. N. Kellogg News
paper Coz

6ltCtlOu kuTss lOT IL yc W NhNbe thhh6Ss
,e shall never fall: for so an entrance shall
oe mnistered unto YOU abundantly into the
everlasting Kingdom Of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ."-II. Peter. l:lO
and II.
Advice of veteran.-vThe value of
an admonition or piece of advice is
measured by the character and the
experience of the one from whom
such admonition or advice emanates.
The old soldier who has been long In
the service is qualified to speak of mat
tiers pertaining to the calling to which
he has devoted his life. He fully APP
precates its dignity, he understands
its hardships and dangers, and in the
school of experience he has learned
faithfulness TO its responsibilities.
The story of his life is living COM
mentary on the advice which he gives;
ii Eliminates the thought and the les
son he would drive home. AS you
travel back over the milestones in his
life you can read the letterings which
spell out the advice he has given. Take
away the identity of the speaker and,
though the thoughts expressed are
recognized as self-evident truths, still
half of their force is lost. Advice
without an experience behind IT is
IKE picture without background.
The coloring may be vivid and the fig
ure perfect in outline, but If the deeper
shades of the artists brush have been
left out the effect of the painting 10
to very great extent lost. Precept
and example go hand in hand, and to
separate the two is to do violence to
both and to mar the individual beauty
of each and destroy their harmonious
blending.
Gods word is an exquisite dovetail-
ing of precept and example, of eternal
truth and living expression of that
truth in the lives of those whose his
tory fills the sacred pages. David's
Psalms are illuminated by the expert
ences in his life which gave them birth.
The teachings of Christ are reen-
forced and explained by His match
less life. His sacrificial death, His
triumphant resurrection and His
glorious ascension. The epistles of
Paul and the other apostles take on
new meaning and force as we read
them through the lives lived by their
authors. To is fascinating study to
discover the experiences in the life
of Paul or Peter which have re-
vealed to their hearts some wonderful
spiritual truth and to which they give
expression in their letters. Their let
tiers help to fill out the fragmentary
account which Gods Word gives to
us of their lives, and on the other
hand the incidents in their lives which
God has been pleased to preserve for
our edification are wonderful lenses
through which to obtain a clearer and
better view of the truths to which
they have given expression.
Our text throbs with the deepest
experiences in the life of Peter. When
this aged veteran of the cross of Jesus
Christ penned its words, he was living
over again for you and for me incl
dents which had stirred his impulsive
soul to its utmost depths. The silver
dining to the cloud of his denial which
came between his Lord and himself
shines forth in our text with rare
beauty as we hear the reinstated dis
ciple pleading with his brethren in the
faith to give diligence to make their
calling and election sure. The palace
of the high priest, the questioning
damsel the black lie and foul oath,
the reproachful look of his fettered
and soldier-guarded Lord, and his wall
of heart anguish on the darkness of
the night air, all come crowding on
memory's canvas as he earnestly
points out in the preceding verses the
20 nd ehininn o1nnn xuhiph
there could be no such stumbling and
falling as had come into his expert
ence, "for," he says, "if we do these
things, We shall never fall" And then
he hears again the words of Jesus:
"Feed My lambs. Tend My sheep.
Follow Mel" and he feels anew the
emotion that swelled in his soul that
morning before Gnlilee's lake as he
realized that Jesus was swinging wide
the doors of His Kingdom to him and
giving him abundant entrance to the
place from which he felt his denial
had shut him out forever. And with
the stirring of his soul, his faithful
hand writes to you and to me that
IAN entrance shall be ministered unto
you abundantly into the everlasting
Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ" Our text issues not
from the bare, narrow walls of the
cloistcr Of a monastery, but It echoes
with the footsteps of Peter as he
walked the streets of Jerusalem on
that dreadful night, as he went with
fearful heart to the tomb on resur-
rection morning, and as he stood in
the presence of His risen Lord and
received His rebuke and His forgive
ness. Surely we may well sit in Pc
ter's school and learn the true mean
ing of the call to service in the King
dom of Jesus Christ!
The Call to Service.-It came tn
Peter away back In the carly days of
Jesus ministry, when he met Him
and heard His words: Follow Me-"
1t comes to every soul as 1t meets
Jesus and He quickly calls: Follow
Me-" "Follow Me-" But II Is not the
fact of the call which Peter empha.
sizes, but the making of that calling
sure by diligent effort. Here we have
the MAYNARD side of the matter.
The call of God Is universal, for He
ssxvfl1 bava a N m r, IN hn an ved md N