The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1908-05-14

He went into tho
streets, the markets and the lanes
proclaiming the gospel to the wicked
and irreligious. He opened tho gates
of heaven that he might entice his
people into the Fathers house. He
opened the gates Of he'll, that they
might see "the fire that is not
Quenched,' and "the worm that dieth
not" 1t was Jesus who did this
not Milton nor any medieval monk.
And he did 1t because love prompted
him to be faithful and tell the whole
truth. He went into every depart
ment Of human life from the cook
mixing the meal in the kitchen to tic
king on his throne inviting to his
sons marriage, that he might set an
Illustration, a handle by which the
people might take hold of the truth
Tact Is Needed.
In fishing there must be sllllfu
adaptation. There are fish that you
cannot catch singly. They go in
schools. They do not bite hooks. If
you ever catch fish of that kind, you
have to draw the seine around the
whole school. There are people like
these fish. They are fond of crowds.
You can reach that class of people
only through the crowd. They are So
cial beings and you must touch them
in their social nature.
There are other fish that do not go
in schools. Like the brook trout, they
hide in out-of-the way places. They
are timid and wsry. A fly out of sea
son has no attraction for them. The
fisherman must keep out of their
sight; and IL he breaks a stick, he has
lost his chance of catching that fish.
There are men CT this kind. They dis
like the crowd. They are timid. They
do not like the personal approach. II
you go in the open, you will frighten
them away. We need the wisdom OF
God in tactful approach, that we may
say just the right word and speak it
in the right spirit. Nicodemus could
in the right spirit.
The Heroic Method.
There are others that you must win
in more heroic fashion. Saul of Tar
sus could never have been won in a
quiet way. To have mentioned the
fact that you wanted him to become a
Christian would have led to your ar
rest. 1t took the light from heaven,
the fash from God; it took the blind
ing and the dark to bring him to con-
slider and make him pray.
Edward Payson, with his tones Of
tender love, put some people to sleep.
What they needed was Jonathan
Edwards with tLunderbolt against
sin in every paragraph. Gypsy"
Smith, with his fascinating gypsiness,
| that has In it the fragrance of the
wild flowers and the sweetness OF the
| birds song in the woods, is very at
tractive to some; and they are glad to
hear the gospel as he breaches it.
But there are others (and perhaps
the larger number) who need the
sledge-hammer blows of r. A. Torrey
and the fiery zeal OF Billy Sunday.
Do not fish for trout as you do
for sturgeon. Try your trout bait
on sturgeon and you will get no fish;
try your sturgeon bait on trout, and
you viii not fill your basket. SO do
not criticise the trout fisher because
he refuses to use the sturgeon meth
cd: and do not criticise the sturgeon
fisher because he refuses to use the
trout methcd. by all means save
some"
A Wcrd as to Process.
A word as to process. Come ye
after me and will make you to become
fishers OF men," If you are not a soul.
winner, Christ can make you one.
Just transfer the experience of your
business to the spiritual realm and
see how it works. You are a mer-
chant? Come ye after me-" says
Jesus. "and will make you a mer-
chant of men. will help you to deal
in good5 that do not perish with the
using-in merchandise better than
| gold" Are you carpenter? Come
| yo after mo, and ! will make you a
carpenter OF men. building structures
| of character that will outlast marble
and granite" Are you a sculptor?
! Come ye after me, and | will make
you q sculptor of men, chiseling into
! shape that which will stand after the
marble of Phidlas has crumbled into
dust, Whatever your occupation, let
your experiences in that occupation be
| projected into the fishing for men.
But fishing depends upon more than
skill. 1t depends upon the elements
! above us; the sun, moon and stars,
! fer some fish can be caught only at
food tide.
You can argue with the science OF
IT. but when you go fishing you find
that the catching OF fish depends upon
| the wind, weather and tide. Our sue
cess si fishing for men depends upon
the wind that comes from God. the
tides that are moved by heavenly influ-
ences, the atmosphere that comes
from Penteccstal prayer and preach
ing.