The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-10-07

There is something about Him that at
tracts all kinds Of men, and it is true in
those old days.
Come, if you will, outside the Bible, and
eom the day that this Man walked among
nen in Judea until now there has never
5een so attractive a personality in human
history as Jesus And | want to say this
;uperlative thing about Christ. No CEN
ury, whatever its popularity, or quality,
II quantity, has produced any person who
vas so popular as Jesus Christ. He has
WAYS lowered above His fellows, above
hose historical peEsonages that the centu-
les look back to, or to those imaginative
nersonages that the centuries give to us ia
literature. Jesus has been the most at
tractve parsonage always
/ come to this very hour. Who IS the
most attractive personality in the world at
this hour? Let me take a narrower circle.
Who is the most attractive personality IN
England at this hour? / answer without
fear of contradiction-Jesus Christ.
| am not saying that the majority OIL
people have vet crowned Him. Let me
take my illustration to the lowest level.
Cen you think of any person in history,
dead or alive, or any person IN imaginative
literature, that will be talked OF, and
thought Of, and sung Of, and discussed,
and criticised, and abused and crowned as
Jesus Christ? There is not single theatre
in Manchester or London that can run
Shakespeare's plays continually. l ara
glad you look ignorant, and can assure you
I don't speak from any inside knowledge,
but every one knows It TO be true. There
is not single theatre That can exist with
out variety. There must be change; some
other genius than Shakespeare. must be
forthcoming And yet, with AL our wall
about the deeadence of the church and the
failure of Christianity, every sunday Ia
r. Ia Cyat hnpa1
cether to sing the old hymns and hear the
old sermons-I beg your pardon. " heaK
sermons on the old texts-and hN@a DO
the old, old story of the cross than TOR any
other purpose. rr, c.
Let us begin with the last. When Ghyst
was as fond of a phrase as lie eyioenry
was of that phrase Follow Me. there
have been going through my New 1e4ta-
ment during the last few months. tracing
that phrase. It has been very Interest
ing study to see how constantly Chrlss
used it. It was the almost perpetual foI~
mula of His call to individual soul-"fof
low Mel"
are involved. Neither of them covers all
the ground, taken alone. Both are re-
CURED.
First. to follow, I must trust. ! shah
never follow any one / haven't confidence
in. may trust and yet not follow.
Secondly, not only is trust necessary, but
obedience is necessary. Christ confronts
the individual soul, bringing that soul out
from the crowd as He is calling some man
here this morning, He says Would you
trust Me? Then obey Me"
How am | going to do it? What does it
mean. this trusting and obeying? Deny
yourself, take up the cross. 1t seems
to me that is the point which must be OBJ
served first. that to deny self is the only
way in which you can follow Christ. How
shall / follow Him? Deny thysefl Ihe
two things are intimately. related, ana
seems to me that everything is sald wDeA
s'Follow Me- is said, and yet it Is neces-
sarv to cav the other in order to undeSr
stand what He means 5y following HIM.
What is it Christ calls me to! 10 deny
myselfi Not to practice self-denial; thas
Is a very cheap business, but to deny self
a very costly matter. He says Deny
yourself. Listen no longer to the call OF
your SELF but listen to My call. Dont con- con,
slider any more whether this thing VIII
minister to your pleasure or to your az
| prandizement, or answer the cry OF your
ambition. But Me first" Christ says,
'Deny yourself and follow Me. Put Me on
the throne and dethrone yourself Don*
let the question OF the morning be, Whas
shall I like to do, but What will Christ
have me do: not Will this pay me, but VIII
it hasten the coming of the kingdom Oh
Coo. Don't let the underlying, mastering
passion of your life be your, own SELFISH
desire; crown Me. follow Me-, :, =.
tt is a superlative call, and the call OF
Jesus is always imperial. He will brook no
division of your loyalty, and that IS what WA
| He means. "You must hate father, MOTH
or. wife, child. That means that when the
soul comes into contact with Me must DE
absolutely first" Let me stop here to say
that whenever soul does thaG ne gets
mother and father and children. Jesus
Christ said He must be first, and lie has
never lowered that standard, and the re-
licion that is simply an addendum is WORTH
nothing to Him.
Jesus Christ comes and says, Deny
YOURSELF but there is the other word
'Take up the cross" Well. what is It.
Christ's cross. What then? Your own. :.
What is this cross? l don't think that II
is ever the same in two persons. The
cross is that in your life which Immediate
" costs you something if you crown
Christ. There is business man here tins
morning who Is saying IN MS neart, w en-,
f that is Christianity, ] will have. TO g2
home and change my method OF business.
That is your cross There is young man
here m%' saws "a that "If that is Christianity, 7
It means putting Christ first, then l VIII
have to 90 home and give up that compan'
ionship." That is your cross; Some one
here says, "If that is what Christ, MEANS
that / am not to listen to the call OF my
own life, I shall have to go home and say
| was wrong and confess my wrong. Z
those to whom it is SO hard to confess it..
That is your cross. And somebody else
says, eff that is Christianity shaii NAYS
- -, hook ON INV history throw up every
thing / am doing and go into the minis
try" That is your cross.
You know what your cross it. Don le'
INV one come and ask me. You know tina