The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1905-11-23

to his friends, where is my wheat?"
The first returned to him his two bags
of wheat. which he had kept for the
merchant in a storehouse. The grain
was mildewed and useless. The sec
ond friend took the merchant out upon
the hillside and showed him his fields
below in the valley waving with golden
headed wheat ready for the sickle.
There is your wheat. l have grown it
all for you. 1t is all yours" Then
said the master: "Give me my two
sacks of grain back, and the rest shall
be yours" So it is in the missionary
work of the church. When our church
leaders help us to scatter the gospel
seed upon the other side of the sea they
have faith that God will give us ten
fold a hundredfold blessing. 1t is not
when a church lives for itself that it
prospers. but when it lives for others.
Scatter your missionary seed, and the
abundant spiritual harvest shall be
yours
But lastly, / remark that the min
ister's best friends are to be found
among those who are ready and will
ing to work in inconspicuous places.
These best friends are not the men who
want to push their way into the high
est places of the synagogue. They are
the men and the women who are ready
to take the humble places, the insignifi-
cant places the places which, as rule,
but few people want to fill, and be-
cause these men and women are will
ing to take humble positions, how great
temptation it is for the minister to
give the highest positions to those who
will not work in the church unless they
get these high positionsl l have never
found a true, loyal friend to minister
unless that friend was as willing to
work in an inconspicuous as in con-
spicuous place.
This nation can well rest her safety
upon the loyalty Of her people. Men
of all classes, if necessary, are willing
to die for her in the ranks as common
soldiers and sailors. Commander Broa-
son, late of the Yankee, one of our
naval gunboats, tells this most inter-
esting experience of his: The warship
was rounding a cape and encountering
heavy sea. One of his sailors was at
the wheel. The commander watched
the man for a little while, then he said,
you steer very well, my man. The
common sailor saluted and answered,
II thank you, sir" Have you been
practicing much since joining the
ship?v mo" "WelI, then, where did
you learn to steer so well?" With that
the common sailor replied: "All along
the Atlantic coast, sir. For years |
have been accustomed to steer my own
steam yacht There was one of the
scions of a wealthy New York family
working as a common sailor. Aye,
that country is safe whose wealthy
men are ready to sacrifice for it like
that And that church is safe which is
filled with members who are ready to
work in the inconspicuous places as
well as in the conspicuous. And, my
friends, as a minister / again want to
add my testimony in reference to this
line of thought. | have never found
church layman who was not willing to
work in an inconspicuous place in the
church. who was ever a true, loyal
friend to the minister, If he was placed
in a conspicuous one. And, further
more, / have never found man will
ing to work for Christ in an incon-
spicuous place who, if Christ called
him to higher position in the church,
was not just as true and faithful in
the higher position as in the lower.
hox nh ic for fxuf
reasons. l want you to know the noble
men and the noble women who, like
those mentioned by Paul, have labored
with so many ministers in the gospel.
AS Paul writes in the words of my
text: Salute Urbane, our helper in
Christ, and Stachys, my beloved. Sa-
lutte Appeles in Christ Salute Try
phena and Tryphosa, who labor in the
Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which
labored much in the Lord" | want
you to salute some of the noble men
and women who have done so much to
upbuild the pulpits work. Salute these
older men and women of our church.
How faithful they have been! Then
salute these praying men and women.
How could we have got along without
them? Salute these friends who have
always been so true to the pastors
that are gone. Then salute those who
have been working for our foreign and
home missionary causes. Salute them
, all for Christ's sake.
Then / had another hope in preach
ing this sermon. 1t was that if in the
past any Of us have fallen below the
ideal l have sketched, if the pastor has
in any respect failed in his duty, If
there is any one who has failed to live
near to Christ and so has not been
among the minister's best friends,
there may be repentance and new con-
secration. AS for me, l promise here
and now to surrender myself to His
will. Are you ready to make the same
avowal? / salute thee, Urbane.
copyright, 1905, by Louis Klopsch.]