The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-03-31

attempt to be q Jester lot q IrleHu.
Bidder enliven life for those around
him by the appreciation Of the things
which are humorous, he would STICK
to that one thing, and that alone and
in that would achieve success. You
and I might never have heard OF
Martin Luther unless he had placed
the emphasis Alright. We might
never have heard of Jesus Christ II
He had taken the taunts of the OIL
GERS and those in high places and had
given all that was best in Him over
to their within and will, If He had
subverted His holy power because
they laughed Him to scorn, because
they informed Him that He was a
dalously wrong when He claimed to
be the Son of God. We might never
have heard of Him unless He had
placed the emphasis Of His whole
life correctly.
It is a rule in the law of mechanics
that q man to achieve success must
direct his power to the right place.
There Is only one place where he can
achieve most by the application of
power, and that Is where the power
needs most to be applied. And so,
IL we are to run course and In
herit q crown, WI must first OF all
find out what our abilities are and
then lay our efforts where God leads
us.
While there are many mel who
have appreciation of their own ability
and have measurable success in lay
ing their abilities in the line Of least
-z.I-ao kL4ra hora hann man Uhn
have not accomplished anything be-
cause they had no tenacity, who were
so anxious for attainment all at once
that they would constantly shift.
themselves and lose their direction.
In the desire to accomplish many
things they have never accomplished
anything at all.
A mar may appreciate his own
powers and size himself up well; he
may direct his powers in the right
way and be tenacious, but unless he
has a clean heart and a conscience
undehled before God and man he
cannot accomplish much in this
world. One Of the worst things with
which we have to deal Is an accusing
conscience, a soul which Is constantly
calling unto us that we are hamper
ing it. We cannot accomplish much
IL we are hampering u souls
against the achievement which might
be ours. A clean heart fits a man for
life's labors; it is a mighty power.
No mar can do the work which God
hath given unto him to do save as
his own life Is pure in Gods sight, in
the sight Of his neighbor and in his
own eyes. Many a man who might
have done something has done moth
ing because, first of all, he has stulti-
fed and strangled his soul, because
he has forgotten that the secret Of all
success unto good work is a happy
heart. A happy heart cannot come
save as a man is right before God.
These are the elements which un-
derlie the life of Jesus Christ and OF
Paul. AS they underlie these two
lives, they spell success for you and
me. How many there are who never
achieve in the spiritual life because
they have no understanding of their
own divinity. How many do not
achieve because they have never con-
sidered the soul from an understand
ing point of view. How many men
we meet who are built physically by
the plans Of God, but whose souls
are small and shrivelled and mean
because they have never given the
same attention to the erection and
understanding Of the soul life which
they have given to the building up
of their physical beings. How many
there are who have understood the
power Of the mind, but whose souls
are misshapen and warped because
they have never grasped the divine
powers Of their souls.
We need to consider soul forces
as much as physical. We need to I'M
derstand the soul and the laws Of
it's actions even as we understand the
human animal. No man can achieve
in the physical world save as he has
studied his soul effectively to see in
what manner he was made. A man
cannot understand what his soul is
until first of all he gets neal to Jesus
Christ. He must have gotten a full
knowledge of the nature and dignity
Of the human soul. It behooves US
to get hold of some real appreciation
of our innate divinity, of the ele-
ments Of personal purity and right
eousness which are ours before God,
and then to address our lives to at
tainment in spiritual things, unto the
building up of our souls in righteous
ness and purity and perfectness.
And above all, to keep at it. The
trouble with the church and the indi-
vidual Christian Is too much that we
work by fits and starts. We are care
full that we get three meals a day
and eight hours Of sleep, to get
money to supply the body's needs.
We manage to keep out of jail, to
have a house over our heads to pro-
tect us against the weather. We
labor assiduously and continuously
toward these things. But we nur-
ture the soul by fits and starts; we
give God the Sabbath or one night a
week or two minutes and a hHlf when
we retire to rest. We r not con-
tinuous but spasmodic servants.
If men by marvellous tenacity have
achieved miraculous success in the
physical life, so you and l may
achieve majestic spiritual success il
we will lay our emphasis upon spirit
-ual things; and, getting a good grasp
upon the things which are eternal
and upon God Himself, stand fast,
fight the good fight, finish the course.
keep the faith.