The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1905-07-06
THE PULPIT.
An ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
The REV. c. c. JEFFERSON.
Subject: Wanted: A New visio. Of God.

The REV. c. c. JEFFERSON.
Subject: Wanted: A New Vision OF God.
New York City. In the famous
| broadway Tabernacle the pastor. the
| ltev. Charles Edward Jefferson. ID. d..
Oh Sunday preached the following SER
mon entitled. Wanted: A New Vision
of God:"
Ihe great word on the lips Of the
conn., preacher will, be "God." The
name which is above every. name has
Decn TOO much neglected in these re-
cent years, even by the men anointed
TO proclaim it.
there have been reasons for this neg
iect.. The evolutionary philosophy
awakened new and thrilling interest
III man. Whence lie came. how he
started. what have been the processes
or his climbing, these are the questions
which have bewitched and absorbed us
all The phenomenal achievements of
the last half century have worked to-
ward the same result. Never has man
peen so wonderful as now. never has
lie done such mighty deeds. He is
miracle worker who says each evening
Il will do greater things tomorrow. !"
Els proWess, cunning and mastery are
astounding, and to chant his praises
has been our pastime and delight.
| The miseries of man have also con-
spired to fix our attention on him. He
has come from the country to the city
and he is in trouble. He has become
the victim of all sorts of economic and
social forces, which have left him
lying bleeding and half dead by the
side OF the road along which the
strong have driven furiously to wealth
and power. To lift the man who is
Gown and place him on our beast and
get nlm into the nearest inn is prob
lem OF vast dimensions, and has taken
deal OF our thought and time.
We have been caught in the COM
pick OF secondary causes, and have lit
tie inclination to consider the Cause
which underlies them all. 10 many
minds Gods presence has become dim.
His personality vague and doubtful.
His holiness has been by many quite
forgotten. In admiring or plying the
creature we have gotten our eyes off
the Creator. Our first duty is the step
of the prodigal, II will arise and go
back to my father"
The prophet of the coming DAYS is
going to say in the words Of one Of
old, II have yet somewhat to say on
Gods behalf" Mans cause has been
pleaded eloquently and long. and the
time has arrived for the forthputting
of the claims of God. Beginning at
the earth always ends in Babel, be-
ginning at the throne Of God leads to
Pentecost.
We are coming back to the old evan
gelism Of the apostles. Wherever Paul
went his message was, 1--WE pray you
IN Chrlsts steal, be We reconciled to
Cod" Simon Peter met the uproar
in the streets of Jerusalem on the Day
OF Pentecost with great Gee aration
OF God-"I will pour out Of My spirit
upon all flesh; and from first to last
1t was upon what God had done in
Christ that he based his passionate ex-
hortation to repentance
All deep-eyed men are seeing with
Increasing clearness that it is not by
ecclesiastical might or political power,
but by the spirit of Jehovah that the
mountains of iniquity are to be leveled
and the rough places made smooth.
~ S'uh5SiiSAu Va Liz (OUlllS uttJ
will begin with God.
Three doctrines will be counted car
dinal. In the forefront will be placed
the sovereignty of God. If the Puri-
tan passion has died out of our blood
it is because the Puritan conception
Of God has faded out of our carts
What we need to see to-day is thron
with God on it, Democracy has made
havoc with our ideas of authority.
I'D the result is fabbiness Of respon-
sibility and laXness of conduct which
unless counteracted, will lead to our
ruin. The pessimism and hopeless
ness so prevalent to-day. even among
processing Christians are the direct
result of failure to grasp the funda-
mental doctrine of Gods omnipotence.
Along with the doctrine of Gods
sovereignty will go the doctrine of
His immanence. It is an old doctrine
couched in fresh phraseology and with
new light shot through it by modern
science. The doctrine is written large
across the pages of Scripture, and in
every land and time the saints have
known that God dwells n the hearts
Of men. In Him we live and move
and have our being. as the apostle
long ago declared And centuries be-
fore Pauls day Hebrew poet thrilled
by the thought Of Gods omn.potence
wrote the 10th Psalm.
That God is above all and through
all, and in all, and that of Him and
through Him and to Him are AL
things is one of the commonplaees of
the Bible: and whether we use tie old
phrase, ''the indwelling Cod or the
phrase now most popular, "the imma-
nent God" the thought needs TO be
emphasized and wrought into the con-
seriousness of the Christians OF orr day
that God is in His world and Gwells
in special fulness in the hearts of those
who love and serve Him.
nor will the holiness of God be for
gotten. The decadence of the sense
Of sin has been caused by the blur
ring Of the doctrine Of Gods holiness.
Holy Father vas the title by wl.cll
Jesus knew God. and it is thus the
we must know Him if it is to be well
with our souls. The forms in which
retribution was often preached in pre-,
ceding generations were SO grOteSuue