The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-03-30
H PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. ROBERT J. KENT.
Theme: The Worldwide Vision.

IAAStA Ab0 StN I~NS
| Robert j. Kent, preached on Tho
Worldwide Vision" He took for
his text, Revelation Ills: "The
kingdom of the world is become the
kingdom of our Lord and Of HIS
Christ, and He shall reign forever
and ever" DR.. Kent said:
"The Worldwide Vision" and the
men who have been privileged to see
it is my theme this morning. The
| power to see visions and to dream
dreams is one of the noblest God has
given to men. Men might be CLASH
fed according to the scope and quail
ity of their visions. There are those
who cannot see beyond the narrow
horizon of their OWL selfish inter-
ests, their own health and happiness,
their own home and business. They
, are spiritually near-sighted. God
| bless me and mine" is the burden Of
their prayer if they pray at all. Then
there are those whose vision includes
their village, their political party,
their denomination. They dream of a
| glorious future, but of a future
hemmed in by their narrow interests.
They are like men who have climbed
to some spur of the mountains whence
they get a splendid view, but it is
only in one direction. Others there
are who climb to the summit and get
the inspiring prospect of a far-extend-
ed and unbroken horizon. Such men
are thinking not only of their city,
State, nation, but of the world; not
only of their family, their clan, their
social class, their race, but of human
ity.
There have always been men who
have thought and hoped and prayed in
terms of the whole world. Their feet
may never have crossed the boundary
of their native land, but their love
and hope and prayer have encom-
passed the earth. In a recent classif1-
cation of the books of the Bible, two
of the sacred writings, Daniel and
Revelation, have been called books of
vision. But the entire collection,
psalm and prophecy, gospel and epis-
tie, is bright with the light Of the
worldwide vision. That magnificent
statesman-prophet, Isaiah, prince Of
preachers, whose messages we have
been bordering Sunday mornings,
stood on the summit and saw all ma
lions walking with glad willingness in
the light of the divine revelation that
should shine forth from Jerusalem.
And we hear the great prophet of the
exile proclaiming in words that after
all the intervening centuries still
sound like majestic music: Arise,
shine; for thy light Is come, and the
glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
For, behold, the darkness shall cover
the earth, and gross darkness the peo-
pie, but the Lord shall arise upon
thee and His glory shall be seen by
thee. And the nations shall come to
thy light and kings to the brightness
of thy rising" True, in the golden
future that the prophet saw, Jerusa-
lem was the centre and her dominion
was worldwide. Nevertheless, it was
a universal reign Of righteousness,
good will and peace.
It seems strangethat anyone should
be satisfied with anything less than a
worldwide vision, who has vowed
loyal allegiance to Jesus and has pom
dered the Masters words. For in
parable and prayer, in cheering assur-
ance and in the final commission He
spoke in terms of the wide world. You
recall His familiar words, "The field
Is the world. The kingdom of heaven
Is like the grain of mustard seed that
grows into a great tree. 1t is like
leaven that in time leavens the whole
lump. When the Son of Man shall
come to judge, all nations shall be
gathered before Him. Be of good
cheer, I have overcome the world.
When We pray, say, our Father, which
art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
on the earth as it is in heaven. All
power in heaven and in earth is given
unto Me; go We, therefore, and make
disciples of all the nations" How
significant in this connection is the IT,
tie He assumed, Son Of Man! AS if
thereby to proclaim that He stood in
relation to the whole of humanity,
and that His mission of love and life
was to the whole world. That world
wide vision has been part of the hertz
age handed down through the Chris
tian centuries. 1t set on fire the heart
If Paul. He recognized no barrier. to
the conquerqing advance Of the Cos
pei. The world was divided into Jew
and Gentle, and to boththe gospel was
; the power of God unto salvation. That
worldwide vision has given us our
New Testament.
Never in the worlds history have
there been so many men and women
who have beheld the vision as to-day.
The increasing number of those who
stand on the highest peak of hope and
aspiration for humanity is an out
standing feature of u own day. 1t
Is a sign of the times. The young
men who say visions while they
prayed in tho shelter of the haystack,
the men who dreamed dreams while
they worked at the cobbler's bench or
in the mill, have been followed by a
vast multitude, whose prayer is, "Thy
kingdom come" and whose song is
Christ for the world" This is the
day of great missionary conventions,
when the largest auditoriums in the
city are needed to accommodate the
multitudes who have seen the vision,
but the largest gathering is but a very
/ small minority of those who believe
and pray that the kingdom of this
world shall become the kingdom of
Christ.
1t is only when we consider the es-
sential features of this worldwide VS.
ion that we appreciate the sublime
faith and hope Of which it has been
born. 1t includes the establishment
of the kingdom of God in this world.
Men still believe in heaven; its faith
is their comfort and support in be-