The Penn's Grove record., 1916-04-07
NEED FOR FAITH
Imperative if the Church and the
World Is to Be Ready for
His Coming.

In spite OF the fact that Jesus him
SELF said, No mar knoweth the day
o the hour when the Son Of Man
cometh," there has been a great deal
or speculation as to the date and the
manner OF our Lords second coming.
such speculation is idle and unproit-
able. 1t is more to our purpose to
ask, Are we ready for his coming?
Is the church ready? Is the world
ready? When the Son of Mar cometh.
shall he find faith upon the earth ?'
That is rather a startling question.
Perhaps you are inclined to answer
at once, of course he shall find
faith upon the earth, for is not the
church upon the earth, and is it no
the church of Jesus Christ? Was it
not founded by him, nurtured by his
spirit, redeemed by his blood! Sure
Iy, II nowhere else, he shall find faith
in the church, for it is built on faith
and lives by faith in Jesus Christ"
True that is where it ought to be
found. Not only a faith that recites a
creed, no matter how elaborate il ia
and how logical it is, but a faith that
Is a living, active, glowing, burning
power in the lives of its people. A
faith which offers prayers, not as a
mere habit, but as if it expected to
De heard. Lots of prayers are offered
as If they expected an answer.
A faith which offers gifts and service,
not as ii wrung out by hard necessity,
but as If it were a privilege to give
unto the Lord and all honor to serve
him. A faith that places not reli-
ance on things hat are temporal, but
banks on things that are eternal.
II Jesus came now, would he find
faith upon the earth? Would he find
it in the church of which you are a
member? The church needs no apol-
ogy, for it is our Lords own institu-
ton upon the earth. I would not apol-
ogize for the church, but for many
people who are in the church. The
church needs no apology, but as an
organization it often needs a rebuke
and an awakening.
Necessity for Faith.
II you want to know how much DOW.
er the church has and how efficient it
is, know that its power and success
are according to its faith. Jesus said,
IF We had faith as a grain of mustard
seed, We could remove mountains"
There is hardly any limit to what the
church could accomplish if it had
faith. I do not believe that the world,
the flesh and the devil could place
enough obstacles in the way of the
church to stay its progress if it had
faith. That saying of our Lord also
suggests to me that he expects great
things from his people. The trouble
is that the people of the church use
up their time and energy in spectacu.
lar attempts to remove molehills,
when by faith in their God they ought
to be removing mountains.
You remember that one time Jesus
came into a certain section Of the
country, and he found himself power
less to work any deeds of might or
mercy there because of their unbe-
lief. God himself cannot work through
that channel, but wherever there is
a man of faith there is a storage plant
Of power for heavenly influence.
The faith which Jesus demands ex-
presses itself in service. A person
may be loud in profession of faith n
Christ, but l doubt his sincerity when
l see that he will not do a stroke Of
work for the upbuilding of his king
dom. You say, 81 love the Lord Jesus
Christ" but do not ask me to believe
it if you are not striving to express
that love in service for him.
Peace and Harmony.
Faith expresses itself in peace and
harmony. Satan disrupted the Gar
den of Eden with false insinuations.
When you spend your energies in criti-
cizing the church and finding fault
with every good work that is attempt
ed, Satan is chuckling at your elbow,
for you are doing his work. When
the Son of Man cometh shall he find
faith in you?
Faith expresses itself in liberality.
Nothing of any account for the up
building of the kingdom of God or
for the good of humanity has ever
sprung from infidelity. God has given
unto us means, not only for our own
qualification, but for the good uses
to which We may put them. Not, how
little will salve our conscience, but
how much our circumstances will per-
NIT, should be the standard of our CIV
ing. And when I see the niggardliness
of many who call themselves Chris
tians | have grave doubts as to the
reality of their faith, for faith with
out works is dead"
Faith expresses itself in prayer and
praise. The Christian life is hardly
possible without prayer, and every
strong mar in the kingdom of God has