The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-11-03

New York City.-The Rev. j. H.
Jowett, M. A., the most famous minis
ter of Carr's Lane Congregational
. Church, birmingham, England, who
is on a vi or the first time to this
country, preached Sunday in the Fifth
Avenue Presbyterian Church. The
sermon was on "The Christians Re-
sources" Mr.. Jowett's text was Luke
1881, Cor what king going to make
war against another king, stitch not
down first, and consulteth whether
he Is able with ten thousand to meet
him that cometh against him with
twenty thousand?" He said:
Our Lord was always seeking to
get men to sit down to think. He
, seeks to win their judgment, to touch
their reason, that they may see the
pasonableness of His doings and the
reasonableness of His evangel. He
is continually calling upon men and
women to think What think yer"
What king" He says, about to en-
gage in a campaign stitch not down
first to estimate the strength. Of the
foe and the strength of his W re-
sources, ard then ascertain whether
there is legitimate hope of hin forces
being able to meet and conquer those
who oppose him?"
My simple purpose to-day is to ask
you to do this little thinking, to medi-
tate on what kind Of enemy we have
to meet, and I pray you not to let
your thoughts wander away to a far
off world, but let us consider what
enemies We have to meet In this
world where we have to labor and die,
and whether we can with our own
strength overcome them. And If not,
let US turn to those resources which
are offered to US in Jesus Christ, our
Lord. ,
Now what are these enemies that
we have to meet? What are the enc
mics in front of us? 1 repeat our
Masters own estimate of the foe
which every one of US will have to
meet to-day and tomorrow. Jesus
Christ calls one "the world" Now
what is the world? We sometimes
say a man is a worldly man. What
is the significance of the term? Too
frequently when we use this term we
refer to something a man does or
leaves~undone. Men may be habitues
of the theatre, or fond of cards, and
we say they are worldly; and people
who abstain from these things are
labeled unworldly. I do not think
that covers it in the slightest degree.
Worldliness is not implied in what we
do or do not do. Worldliness is not in
doing this, or not doing this. World.
illness is. in the spirit. It is the at.
mosphere of the soul. Worldliness Is
H. -~s-sk 20 l. 1@-.D.ta1 U1nr111f
ness looks on and out, but it never
looks up and prays. 1t is ambition.
not aspiration. Its motto Is for.
ward" never upward" It's goal is
! success, never holiness. Worldliness
, Is life without the vertical, without
the upward calling in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. And whenever you find a
man yr woman, no matter what they
do or don't do, who always looks out
to the horizontal end, men and WON.
en- who have nc ideal, no aspiration.
no heavenly vision, nc prayer, those
i are men and women who would be
| described by the Master as "of the
world, worldly" Everybody here
knows what an exceedingly strong
grayitation there Is toward the hori-
Zontal life. In the church and out Of
! it you feel this tremendous mesmer-
ism, this worldly fascination, leading
us to turn our eyes from the heights,
from what Paul calls 1.-The heavenly
things in Christ Jesus" We have
got that force Of gravity to meet
the world.
Then there is the flesh" Every
one knows the power of the flesh;
not merely the carnal power of the
body, but of carnal power expressing
itself in vanity and pride. The flesh
that bows down the soul and rides It.
instead of the SOULS determining the
movements of the flesh. We have the
flesh" to meet, whether in appetite
or carnal desire. "The world, the
flesh and the devil" I do not know
how I can define the devil, but Paul's
phrase always seems to describe my
relationship with the devil better than
any other: THE prince Of the power
of the air." He does not leap upon
You like a lion. The devil usually
appears as "the prince of the power of
the air." and he comes into every
life and let's down the temperature;
he changes the moral atmosphere.
You were just praying fervently, and
suddenly you experienced a chill. II
is 1.-The prince Of the power Of the air."
You start with great zeal to lead q
clean life, and before you know it the
/ temperature is perceptibly chilled.
"The prince of the power Of the air"
quietly, silently makes that tremen-
dous change in your moral life by in
f~uencing and changing the atmos-
Dhere- Wa have p1t the devil to
meet.
lave you anything else to meet?
Yes, the fourth enemy is the binding
pow ar of guilt. In my country there
are prominent men whoSsay that men
arL women have no longer the sense
of guilt. / cannot resard that as
hea:thful. There are many who can
not hear the voice of God who are
neve :theless pursued by their guilt.
You do not need to hear the thunder
and see the lightning to have proof
Of The storm. The souring Of the
milk in the dairy proves the storms
presence, and there is often the proof
Of tbs Lords presence and of guilt
in the souring of the disposition, the
man %ufacturing Of cynics. The man
who was once sweet tempered be-
comes a cynic, the optimist becomes a
pess;mist. These things have regis
tered themselves as The binding pres
ence Of guilt"
1t is the bondage of to-day that
comes from yesterdays sin. We have
got that to meet. There are men and
women who have that paralyzing
power of their own yesterday from