The Lexington advertiser., 1904-04-07

belong to His followers, and are
freely and fully placed at their, dis
posal. Paul says: "All things are
yours" And then he goes on to emu
merate what those "all things" include
Paul was theirs to teach them the full
liberty in Christ Jesus. Apollos was
theirs to stir and animate them with his
eloquence. Peter was theirs to nerve
and fire them with his courage. In fact
every author was theirs toimpart to them
some treasure of the Divine Kingdom.
The world was theirs to win and possess
for Christ. This life was theirs in all OF
its fullness to live for Christ. Thlngs
present and things to come were all TO
be counted theirs because this present
state and the glory OF the next were ali
planned of God for the good of His saints,
and the salvation of the world. And
even death itself, which seems to come
like a tyrant-death is theirs in Christ,
their minister to lead to higher life.
Great possessions, surely. Carnegie,
Rockefeller, the Vanderbilts, the Roths-
childs, and others of the worlds rich can
count their possessions in the hundreds
of millions of shining yellow gold dol
lars, and the burdens of the rich in car
ing for and keeping and handling these
vast riches are heavy upon them, but
the possessions of the Christian are in
finitely greater, for "all things" are his,
If 1t is true, as it certainly is, let us
prayerfully and earnestly seek to learn
in what way it is true, and what it should
mean to the Christian because it is true.
EIRST of all we want to remind you
l that the Christian cannot boast
that it is by his own thrift and en-
ergy and astuteness that he becomes
possessed of "all things" Carnegie
can point you back to time in his
career when he did not have dollar
which he could call his own, and then
he can lead you step by step from
spool boy in the factory through the
successive stages of engineer in the
factory, messenger boy, telegraph op-
orator, railroad man. stockholder In
the first sleeping car company, iron
master and then retired capitalist with
a gigantic steel corporation as mon
ument to his great energies and abili-
ties. He can remind you Of all this,
and proudly say: "See the vast prop
critics, and wealth which have by my
own energies, and thrift, and keen
financial and business foresight. ac-
quired." But the Christian cannot
make any such claim as he points to
the declaration OF Scripture that "all
things are his. His great possessions
are inherited. He has a rich Father,
who bequeaths through the only begot-
ten Son to His adopted sons His pos
sessions. A rich Heavenly Father.
Yea, rich, for all things belong to Him.
The psalmist sings:
"The earth is the Lords and the full
ness thereof; -a.. |
The world. they that dwell therein"
And Paul quotes that passage in this
very letter to the Corinthians from
which our text is taken. A rich Heav-
emily Father. who has created all
things. and who, despite the seeming
of the claim in the world
.o-day, possesses all things And be-
sause the Heavenly Father possesses
Ill things, His true children have
right to claim heirship, and share in
hose riches. The daughter of Andrew
Carnegie, although she cannot claim
hat single dollar of her fathers vast
wealth was acquired by any effort or
lelp of her own, has right to claim
hare in those riches. because she is
his daughter She has right to an
Inheritance as his child and the courts
# the world would sustain her claim.
md it is SO with the Christian. "All
hings" are his because they belong to
he Father. s' ''' 'r.' .rH@