Los Angeles herald., 1906-02-05
MINISTER'S FIRST SERMON IS
CALL TO ARMS
Rev. Mr.. Northrop's Initial Address
Before First Baptist coneregs-
ton Pictures Great Battle
to Be Fought

Straight before him; and they took
the city" He said i'm part:
There is in the Language of this
text a homely, direct simplicity that
makes it one Of the finest specimens
of genuine old Anglo-Saxon. There is
also in this bulletin of victory bound
of hot animation, a leaping spring Of
vigorous enthusiasm. as If the speaker
was telling the story for the first time
to crowd of eager listeners, and was
anxious and impatient to crown their
curiosity and put emphasis to his own
joy by coming at once to the climax.
re talks like a man who had Just
come out of the fight.
81 am the exponent of sunshine
religion that CLOVIS in every express
sion of the face, i'm every beat of the
heart in every testimony of the lip,
lin every movement of the life; the
gladness of the gospel is the unique
element of its power and achievement.
We want the matchless story told by
the silver tongued heroes who have
come from the capture of the great
city; men whose hearts bear record
of what they affirm with their lips,
and whose living personality Is a royal
pledge as good as the scars of SOL
der; that they are telling the truth,
and a truth which they hold as the
great pride and glory of their lives.
We want the gospel preached over
the land as bulletin of victory.
Cannot this be done for the gospel?
Was there ever a grander message,
was there ever another victory like
that of the cross? If you will furnish
the means and munitions Of spiritual
warfare, and men and women to tell
the good news right from the heart,
with the motto Christ for Los Angeles
and Los Angeles for Christ we will
take, this city for the cross.
Secret of Success
But let lis take up the text and
follow out its various points to the
secret of success which brought the
old time victory, and then apply the
more practical suggestions we may
discover in them. In the first place
there was a city to be taken; a strong
city, with a great massive wall, with
defended towers, and well manned
with determined enemy. A pretty
strong assurance and a pretty large
faith were demanded to undertake
task such as the conquest of Jericho.
MY dear people, address you to-
day for the first time as my people.
There is just such a city before us to-
day as that of Jericho just such a
The city is this Christless world. 1t
lies before us in all it's mad folly and
it will take no ordinary tactics to cap
ture 1t, and 1t will be the church in the
heart of the great metropolitan center
that will do 1t. 1t is our supreme bust
ness to take it by the help Of God, and
we shall take it, with the same in
visible artillery that overthrow Jericho
and conquered the Midianites. But
does it not try our faith to look up at
those frowning walls and see the host
of the enemy and then feel how weak
our own efforts and methods must be
visible artillery.
I'VE lose sight too often Of his cloud
of witnesses that look down from the
battlements of heaven. Not by might,
nor by power, but by my spirit saith
the Lord. This is our hope now, this
is our security.
But let us consider how the people
made ready to capture the city. Their
tactics are peculiar; no Westpointers
III that crowd. OF course Joshua UNDER
stood that the main thing was to carry
out the divine orders. He knew where
the strength lay. This was to be an
unanswerable demonstration of the
power of Gods presence and power
with his people and his peoples trust
in his omnipotent arm. You see how
wisely and significantly Joshua blends
prudence and tact with faith. He sends
forward the ark of the Lord, that
mighty palladium of the host, with it's
attendant priests, but he also takes
care to marshal before it the armed
men and to draw behind it rearguard
of chosen troops.
THAT is always the way Almighty
power consents to do it's best and most
for the church of Jesus Christ in a
great city on the eve of Widespread
| evangelism. Let Gods people do the
| best they can and then call to him for
| help and he will not fail them. 1t is
no sign of courage in a soldier to
thrust himself unarmed and unpre-
pared upon an enemy; it is a fragrant
proof of folly. God will not lift up a
| cowardly arm, nor give strength to a
rash adventurer; neither will he give
victory to haphazard method for even
| the most sacred cause.
Faith Is Needed
"But let a Christian once raise his
arm to smite in the name of the Lord
and let him WELD the trustiest Damas-
Gus blade he can command and his
blow will come down with crash and
| his sword will cleaVe with a crash,
|
as If heaven had opened to give light
Tor his aim. The people of God want
| just now a sublime faith, they want
born leaders like Gideon and Joshua,
and preachers like Paul, and Luther,
and Knox, but they want also n good
vanguard of will drilled men and
| women.
"There Is one command given by
Joshua which we must not pass lightly
by. The order was not TO make any
voclferous noise till permission was
given; he did not make this prohibition
from the desire to conceal their move.
ment. But it was in keeping with the
undertaking that the lips of the people
should be sealed; that the solemn
grandeur of the enterprise should no
be disturbed by tumult of voices. Noise
is costly. 1t is impossible to superin,
tend a good shout and good stroke a
the same time. Never hunt partridgei
with brass bandl Brooks may bah
BILE, but the Nile runs noiselessly on
and The hualer the heart the mon.