The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-03-04
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
Dr.. T. h. WHITE.
Subject: Preparing to Receive Bless
ing.

London.--A very practical address
vas given at the opening of Keswlck
Convention. The sermon preached
by DR.. T. H. White befitted so pre-
paratory a gathering. Attention was
directed to Luke 22:11: THE Mas
ter saith, Where is the guest cham
Der, that I may eat the passover with
My %disciples?" and with this passage
was coupled Rev. 500: Behold, I
stand at the door and knock. If any
man hear My voice and open the
door, l will come in and sup with
him, and he with Me-"
Our Lord was looking for the
guest chamber, and is seeking for it.
i Will He find it in each of our hearts?
The word translated guest cham
Der" also occurs in the story OF
the nativity, Luke 2:7: And she
brought forth her first born son, and
wrapped Him in swaddling clothes,
and laid Him in a manger, for there
was no room for Him in the inn" If
your heart is only as an inn, Christ
is seeking to make it a guest cham
Der, where He will be the Guest. He
will only make your heart and nina
the guest chamber on one condition
He must be the only Guest, n
must have the preparation of the
chamber In His W hands.
A remarkable word appears in
Prov. 4:23: Keep thy heart with
all diligence, for out Of it are the is
sues Of life" The heart of man is
mentioned nearly nine hundred times
in Gods BOOK, and chiefly in three
connections.
First we have Gen. SIS: God
saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every
IMAGINATION of the thought Of his
heart was only evil continually" In
the New Testament the same thought
occurs: Mary kept all these things
and pondered them in her heart"
duke 2:19.) In both these passages
we have one fact emDhasized-the
heart in connection with the intellect
of man. =,
Turn to Deut. 6:5: Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thine
heart, with all thy soul, and with all
thy might" and to 1 Pet. 1922:
Love one another with a pure heart
fervently"-the heart in connection
with the affections. Look at Dan. l:
s: But Daniel purposed in his
heart that he would not defle him
self with the kings meat" also Acts
1923: "That with purpose of heart
they would cleave unto the Lord
the heart in connection with the Will.
1t is plain, therefore, that by the
heart of man" we NEAR the place
where his intellect, affections and
will are focused; the centre OF the
intellectual, loving, p%urposeful self
in every one. If we want a picture
of what we are naturally, we have
it here: 1.-THE heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately
wicked" and "out of the heart pro-
coed evil thoughts" etc. Yet what
ever the condition Of every heart,
Christ is seeking to make 1t His guest
chamber.
Are we willing to allow Him to do
this? Have we responded to the in
vitation: my son, give Me thine
| heart"-the heart looked at from
the three standpoints we have no.
ticed? Have we surrendered our
thinking, loving and %purposing pow
ers to Him?
1t may be that some n has come
to Keswick with the desire to know
what is taught here, because you
have an idea that it does not fit in
with your theological position. God
wants your intellect. Are you willing
to give Him your speculations, your
criticisms of His word and His mes
sengers? Are you willing to make
the confession of the Psalmist your
own: Lord, my heart is not lifted
up, nor mine eyes lofty; neither do l
exercise myself in great matters or
| in things too high for me-"
Shall we not begin this convention
right with God by yielding our hearts
that He may cleanse the chamber
| and make it fit for Him to dwell in?
Our intellects, affections and wills
given to Him, the lower we get be-
fore Him the deeper will be our
union and communion with Him.
! Are we willing to do His will? II
not are we willing to be made will
ing?
Running through the life of every
child of God are two great forces
Divine will and human will. So long
as they are side By side, all is well;
but ofttimes your will and the will or
the Master cross, and then there is a
stop, and this is where you find 1t
necessary to die to self. The Chris
tian life means the intellect, enec
lions and will made over absolutely
to the Master, that He may do what
seemeth Him good.
And what will He do? He will
take full possession of the guest
| chamber, turning the ~searchlight OF
| His Holy Spirit into every corner.
Eut He does this, not all at once, but
gradually, as we are able to bear the
light revealing the sinful thing, need
ing the Blood that it may beremoved.
Then He takes His own wondrous
Word and enlightens it by His Spirit;
and we como to know what is His
will for us, and that the enlightened
Word will fashion our lives. There
is no pattern in the Word Of God for
the child of God but the Son Of God.
What times we are living in! In
our morning papers the first thing
one notices seems some indication Of
the coming of the Lord. And if He
is coming soon, what does He want
from you and me? You recall His
last recorded words: 'Ye snail re.
| ceiye power after that the Holy Ghost
has come upon you, and We snail De
NV Witnesses" Never since thai day
has there been more need OF wit
nesses to Him than at the present
time. He may have called you to
Keswick to teach you how to be 2
witness to Him. We shall be wit
nesSes unto Him exactly in proper
ton as our hearts are the Masters
guest chambers, for only as He lives
in us can He work through us His
wondrous, gracious, loving purpose.
- o,rDocao fgWhom