The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-12-07
\ WILL OF GOD IN !
OUR LIVES
By REV. J. W. LOVING
Pastor of Tadm Ave. Baptist Church
4 Houston, Texas

the Lord will. we shall live, and do this
or that-"-James Nv. Is.
The central thought of this chapter
Is that the root of all worldl1ness is
pride, arrogance of heart towards
God, and that the only remedy Is to
submit ones self to God. to humble
ones self in the sight Of God. The
spirit Of worldliness here takes the
specific form of presumptuous conf
dence in the feature, calculating on
time to come without reference to the
providence Of God. as If the future
we're in Dur hands.
The writer tells us that we ought to
say that If 1t be Gods will we shall
do so and so. He is pleading that
Gods will shall have the right of way
even in our planning. One can not
but recall the subject Of n Of Hor-
ace BushnelIs great sermons on
Every mans life a plan Of God" 1t
has not been my privilege to read
that particular sermon, nor do I know
just the text Of It. There are three
great sayings coming from three sew
eral men that will furnish our divi-
sions for this mornings discourse.
/. Prince Albert, consort Of the
late Queen Victoria, used to say:
Find out the plan Of God in your
generation, and then beware lest you
cross that plan or fail to find your
own place in it." All true life has a.
divine plan. 1T is not in man that
walketh to direct his steps,"
For a moment let your thoughts run
back over your life. Many Of us will
60 back to the quiet country place,
far from the maddening crowd. 1t
seemed at the time very uneventful
and commonplace. Often you caught
visions and grew a bit restless for a
larger life. At length the time came
when you started forth. Now 1t may
not be that you have seriously longed
to go back and bury yourself, as you
used to say, in that retired sphere
again. But have not the disappoint-
ments, disenchantments, revelations
Of life caused you to appreciate more
highly the care-free exemptions Of
that earlier life?
Oh, thrice happy you were when
you had others to decide for you,
when 1t was yours just to obey them
that had authority over you. Do you
think 1t a mere accident, or even in
cident, that your lot was thus cast?
Nay, was it not rather Gods good pro-
violence, His great plan in your life?
His own hand has guided. you, His
power kept you. He has been your
shield and buckler, your defense on
the right hand and on the left your
reward and your all c%onquering lead
er.
Don't you believe that had you ear
lier recognized the good hand Of your
God upon you and submitted your life
and all to Him your life had not only
been more fruitful Of good. but in
comparably happier, too? Let US
catch up the words of Prince Albert
and try to find out the plan Of God
in our generation. True there is no
variableness in God. He Is ever the
same. And yet we know that the
work of this generation is not just
that of the Apostolic age; not just
that of tuther's day. We are living
in an age of unrest, Of new adjust
ments and alignments. Men are
straining to adopt" things. More
than one man even in this land of
ours are trying to evolve a new reli-
gion.
Some of the features Of these new
religions call on us to find Gods plan,
for He, His plan, all miraculous pow
er, all authority, all restraint is elimi-
mated. So we need to ask for the old
parts, and to raise the warning voice
to try to lead others into the plain,
which is yet the narrow, but living
way, the only way. More and more
is there a call to stand for God and to
illustrate in individual lives what
God does in, through and with the life
surrendered to Him. In the face OF
the widespread feeling Of unrest and
uncertainty, let US exhibit that rest
Jesus gives and which we find
in obedience to Him by taking His
yoke and learning from Him.
2. Pastor Monod used to say, Our
work is but a segment In the great
sphere Of Gods eternal work, and If
we have eyes to see We may read in
that portion Of his work which be-
longs to US our name and the date Of
the present year." This is another
way of saying that the work Of the
Christian Is to do Gods work, and
that each worker as an individual is
known to God and has a particular
place in Gods plan. Doesn't this give
great dignity and value to our work?
must partake of the priceless value,
the high quality Of God himself, for
It is a part of his own work which
he assigned to us as individuals to do.
3. Constantine when marking out
the bounds of Constantinople, being
told that the city would never fill out
vast an area, replied: II am fol-
him who is leading me-" We
may not here pause to discuss the
Christianity of the great emperor,
save only to say that he was astute
and %sagacious enough to adopt it as
q plank in his political platform. But
the point before us is submission to
Gods leading. Again and again does
the call of the master bid us follow
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