The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1904-09-07
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS
A Brilliant Sunday Sermon By the
Rev. T. Campbell Morgan, D. D.
Listen to the Call Of christ-he VIII Brook
No Division Of yoar Loyalty.

EypluSlyeneSS OF Jesus, was DTtdCutu
lere on. a recent Sunday by the, Rev. 7.
Campbell Morgan d. D. He took for his
xext: Then said Jesus unto His disciples,
il any man will come after Me let him
deny himself and take up his cross and
follow Me.-St. Matthew 1924.
There were two facts about Jesus Christ
which no one can read the Gospel re-
cords without recognizing; facts which
appear to be contradictory, but which, as
a matter Of fact, are complementary, and
the understanding OF which reveals for
all time the method OF the Master in
the attracttveness and exclusveness OF
Jesus. d,
There can be no question about the
former; there cansequally be no question
about the latter to those who have care
fully read the records and have seen the
methods of Jesus while He was here
among men. He was constantly drawing
people to Him, and He was perpetually
holding them alooi. BY the very win
someness of His person, He was drawing
men and women of all sorts and condi-
tions, at all times and in all places to
Himself, and yet by the uttering of words
so severe, so searching. 80 drastic, making
us tremble even to-day, He held men
back from Him.
| venture to say that the words I read
to you this morning from the Gospel of
Luke come to those who are most familiar
with them bringing sense of surprise.
We never read them without feeling more
or less startled by them - -"Unless YOU
hate father and mother, husband and wife,
parent and child, you cannot be My dis
ciple." We have attempted to account for
ihese words, but l do not hesitate to say
that in some senses they have staggered
the faith OF many, and yet there they
stand.
And not there only, but through all
His teaching there is evident the same
method of Christ, that of holding men
back just as they were approaching Him;
drawing them to Himself by multtudes
and then holding the crowd as they
pressed upon Him, and sitting them with
such surprising words as these. Now there
must be a reason for this. and it is for
that reason that ! want to look, with you,
little this morning.
But first allow me to say few words on
this fact, of the attractiveness OF Jesus,
because the more clearly we recognize and
understand that, the more clearly shall
we understand, as l think, the other truth
of His perpetual method of holding men
back and excluding certain persons from
close companionship with Himself.
Take first, then, this great fact Of His
attractiveness, the most fascinating SUBJ
ject on which to speak. Remember, I
pray you, that if the Gospel records re-
veal one thing more clearly than another
they reveal that Jesus was, somehow or
other, Person that drew men to Him
irresistibly.
/ go back to those silent years at Naza-
reth concerning which we know so very
little. You will remember that on those
days Luke opens for US just little Won
dow through which we look when he says,
in favor with God and with man." l do
not stop one moment to dwell on the
statement that He grew in favor with,
God, although 1T is very interesting
statement, but just for a moment, for the
sake of our argument, listen to the other
part of it: HE grew in favor with man."
Take that as it is simply stated, and you
at once see picture OF the boy growing
up to be youth, and passing from youth
into young manhood until He became the
Carpenter of Nazareth, known to all the
little town that nestled among the hills,
just removed from the highways Of life.
This is all the truth that is revealed. If l
may reverently put it, Jesus was favorite
in Nazareth. am not sure that that doesn't
almost startie you, because somehow or
other we have come to think that holiness
Is almost always accompanied by angular
lty, and there is popular idea that If
man is good he never can be favorite. 1t
is great mistake. 1t is by the measure
in which a man lacks holiness that man
Is not in favor.
Here is a man living in Nazereth, and
He is favorite. l do not want to lift
tldI lutO d sNFtT-sIlTlLutI realm, DuC IL
you have no imagination you can just go to
sleep for two minutes while l imagine
look into that window and / sca the Car
penter at His work, and L tell you what
see. He is favorite. l see children TAX
ing their toys to Him to be mended, and
am quite sure He mended them. / see
young men going at eventide to take their
problems with them because they know
He is sane, honest and pure. l think see
old men, upon whose brow already sat
light that never was on land or sea" talk
ing to Him because He has such wonder
ful way OF talking about MY Fathers
house" and "the many mansions;" favor
lite, sane and strong, and pure, and attract
i've as 30 personality.
I know full well that little later on
these same men took Him to hill and
tried to murder Him, but that was the re.
suit of something else to be discovered
later. The pure, human, simple life of
Jesus was, in itself, attractive, and Luke
says, "He grew in favor"
Leave those hidden years and look at
Him Just for one rapid moment as He
treads the pathway upon which q, tiercer
the pathway of the public teacher, and if
you read these Gospel stories the one thing
that strikes you is the fact Of the multi
tudes around about Jesus Christ. Wher-
ever He went they followed Him. If He
went out into the city the country people
went out into the country place the city
men and women fosked after Him, follow
ing Him SO far that at times there was no
chance for them to provide themselves
with food, and He had to feed them; for
in their eagerness to follow they had for.
gotten food and had forgotten distance.
And wherever He went they came after
Him
/ am not saying that these multtudes
crowned Him; that is not my point, but
He drew the people after Him. The one
thing they could not do with Jesus was to
let Him alone; they came, whether to crit
icise Him or crown Him is not now the
question; the point is, that He drew men
and women after Him in all those days OF
His earthly life. They came after Him, all
sorts and conditions of men, the scholars
and the iliterate, the learned and the igno.
rant, the debased, the depraved, they all
came. Of course, there were more poor
people came than rich because there al.
ways were more poor people than there are
rich, and, OF course, there were more OF
the illiterate than OF the learned for the
self-same reason, but protest against this
idea that Christ only attracted a class.
There is something about Him that at
tracts all kinds Of men, and 1t is true in
those old days.
Come, if you will, outside the Bible, and
from the day that this Man walked among
men in Judea until now there has never
been SO attractive a personality in human
history as Jesus. And / want to say this
superlative thing about Christ. No cen.
tury. whatever ita Deculiarity or quality