Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-29
BOUNTY OF GOD SUBJECT
FOR POWERFUL ADDRESS
MINISTER SHOWS MARVELLOUS
GIFTS RECEIVED
Rev. Mr.. smaIe Speaks to Audience
at Burbank Hall in Regard to the
Position Of Man in Relation to
His Lord

AT Burbank hall yesterday Pastor
Joseph Smale of the First New Testa-
ment church preached from the text:
Whom have in heaven but thee, and
there is none on earth that desire be-
side thee" Ps. 1925. He said in part:
1--WE are to enjoy the best truth that
is in Gods word, but not to the with
holding of ourselves from him who has
so blessed us. We ought to be in truth
like the person who had just gotten
saved and who turned to the Lord and
said Now, you have saved me, you
shall never hear the last of it. Once
we were AFFECTS but now are we the
sons of God. He has taken us from
the innermost dungeon of a horrible
prison house and set us upon the throne
and given himself over to us--this is
marvellous! He has given himself over
to us to crown us with the glores of
his own person, and who can describe
him?
"Christ asks for voluntary devo-
ton. A forced spirituality is wretched
religion. Remember. Jesus Christ will
be no slave driver standing there with
a whip. We ought to be as Moses,
who, when it was Egypt or Christ, said
Christ, and he esteemed the reproach
of Christ greater treasure than the
riches in Egypt. We ought to be as
Daniel, who refused under all circum-
stances to be separated from his Lord,
or as Mary who counted the alabaster
box none too costly an offering to
annoint her Lord.
people of the world are going mad
today--mad over scholarship, over
science, over honors, over position--ma-
terial comforts and wealth. but what
low state the people of God are in
spiritually when they are engaged with
the mercies that flow from the Lord
instead of being engaged with the Lord
himself. We want a race of believers
who will get beyond the stage of crav-
ing for things and see nothing but
Jesus only.
"Can we dare to pile up all the best
riches and bring together in our i'm
agination all things beautiful in heaven
or on earth and then say. These are
nothing compared with my Lord-give
me Christ or else 1 die. 1t is blessed
to get there, and it is just this that
is meant by sanctification-a life of
perfect love to the Lord Jesus Christ.
To love God is to reign. He who can
say God is my exceeding joy is not
bothered by the lust of the flesh and
the lust of the eyes and the pride of
life. Jesus Christ so engrosseS all his
affections that every evil spell is broken
over the man. Many affections then
become one affection, and idols are de-
throned.
THE problem today in the churches,
that of spirituality and devotion. is
solved Immediately a man gets in love
with Christ. This is cure for formal
ism. for coIdness, for religious heart
lessness. All we need is this. the love
of the Lord, to love the Lord. Jesus
prayed that the love of the Father
might be in us, and how can we get
that love? The love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost so we are then back again upon
the subject of the Holy Ghost. and this
subject is indispensable to the highest
life on earth. Some people do not be-
lieve in the second work of grace, but
| the Bible believes in it. and we had
better overthrow our church creeds that
try to imprison all the truth for we
cannot know the highest life on earth
| apart from the Holy Ghost. A man
must know his personal Pentecost IL
he is going to live the life of perfect
| 1--we"