The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1912-09-17

POopAblp ulDNlOpNp NhO OhAN ~
power to do 1t, revealing the sympa'
thetic, human Jesus as the one able to
save. A man with a withered hand.
Stand forth. Stretch 1t forth. Whole
as the other. And Jesus. What a Cos
pei the story breaches! What a Saw
Tor II reveals! Eow it rebukes our un-
faith! Good news is better than good
advice. This man needed good news;
he got 1t; he believed 1t; he received
It; he reioiced in 1t; so may you.
Helplessness.
There was a man there which had a
withered hand. This is a typical case,
an illustration Of what Jesus Christ
a do for this and other spiritual dis
orders and diseases set forth by all
his cases Of healing. And no case ever
is too hard for the great physician.
There was only one thing wrong with
this man, he was by no means the
worst in Capernaum. A withered hand
is not so bad as leprosy. But the mar
was helpless. Tradition says he was
a carpenter; what could he do with a
withered hand?
What is your condition before God?
You may think It only as insignificant
as a withered hand, but you are n sim
ner. The whitening of the muscle, the
paralysis of nerve, is no more disas-
trous to bodily effort than the blight
ing and enfeebling power of sin is de-
%structive Of all holy, acceptable serv-
ice with God. Your poverty of life,
your feeble sensibilities with reference
to righteousness, your faint and feeble
desires for a godlike life-how elo.
quent Of these is that withered hand.
And II your right hand is withered you
know It, and other people know 1t too.
Your sin will find you out. Your sin
makes you helpless, your work is use
less, and your testimony is fruitless.
MAY the presence of Christ help you to
realize how vast and vital Is the help
lessness OF a withered hand. 20
wretched man that | am! Who shall
deliver me from this body OF death?"
NY sins, my sins, my Savior!
How sad on Thee they fall!
Seen through Thy gentle patience.
tenfold feel them all,
Hope.
Christ's gracious presence brought
sure hope to that otherwise helpless
sufferer. So far as the record goes,
Christ's gracious intervention was I'M
solicited. But he was there to feel for,
and help. and heal the despairing. DO
you not remember the man at the pool
of Bethesda? When Jesus saw him he
said. Wilt thou be made whole? He
seeks out the sick, the sinful, the sore
distressed. He knows about the sheep
that Is lost, and he goes after 1t until
he finds II. The sinner may be con-
tent in his sins, but the Savior seeks
the sinner-blessed be his name. That
Is nv star of hope In the dark night
Of nv life: that is the comfort in my
hour of sorrow; that Is my Joy when
know that sin Is sapplng and will de-
stroy my soul. But God c~ommendeth
his love toward us in that while we
we're vet sinners Christ died for us"
Thank God for one in whom we may
hone. He Is here, Just now, facing us,
and for the very same purpose. He
detects human incompleteness; he
..- UTn mo 10 fhy hnnnh
NV hope Is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness;
On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand"
Healing.
How simple is the command to the
man. Stand forth. Christ met the
man on his lowest level, taking him
lust as he was. No change, no i'm
provement, and no new feeling was
asked-nothing, except to act at once
and because Christ bade 1t. Stand
forth. The man could do that, and he
did. It seemed like q simple thing
and so It was, but also 1t was the steI
which made healing possible. YOU
cannot save yourself, but you can take
the first step which brings you into
the presence Of Jesus. or course Sa
tan says, Do not stand forth; the
crowd will laugh at you, and then Je
sus will deceive you. Stand forth
You can do it, and you must.
Stretch forth thine hand. But thai
is impossible, you say. But the only
way to health was the obedience o.
faith. Christ saves by the importation
of power, but with the concurrence o.
human effort. The man could no
stretch forth his hand-but he did l
because he took Jesus at his word
Not waiting for feeling In the with
cred hand, not even most earnest pray
ing. Just courage to act at Christ''
command, to act without feeling, or II
fiat opposition to 1t. "And he did so
and his hand was restored whole al
the other"
AS they went they we're cleansed
1t is a splendid illustration of the obed
fence Of faith. BY this faith we la!
hold of the Savlor's might. Power II
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