The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1916-05-25
Thou NE
Message of the Savior Reveals
the Power Which He Claimed
Had Been Given Him.

Christianity cannot be understood
without Christ. And it cannot be lived
apart from him. The two go together,
because Christianity is more than re-
ligion and that religion is bound up
with life, the most remarkable and
powerful ever lived on this earth.
When Jesus, therefore, says, All
power hath been given unto me in
heaven and on EARTH" we want to
know what that power was, in order
to acquire some of it and obey his
command, GO ye, therefore, into all
the world and make disciples of the
nations"
The first source of Jesus power
lay in his teaching. And it was pow
er because it had these qualities:
1t was simple. THE common peo-
pie heard him gladly" The old phi
losophies common in Jesus lifetime
were obscure and the language was
such that the ordinary man could not
grasp them. Jesus taught so that day
laborers understood. That was power,
and it always will be.
Jesus teaching was fundamental. It
went to the center of mems sins, needs
and hopes. In the Sermon on the
Mount, which can be read aloud in fif-
teen minutes, Jesus talks about anger,
adultery, hypocrisy, murder, injustice
revenge, covetousness, anxiety and
selfishness. He did not teach school
room distractions, impersonal philoso-
ply, but the great basic sins of COM
mon daily life and their remedies.
First to Teach Love.
Jesus teaching was revolutionary.
Take four of his teachings: Love
your enemies" This would and does
create an upheaval in society. 1t was
not like anything in the old pagan
teaching. Resist not evil" This is
distinctly upsetting to ordinary world
belief and practice. The observance
of it would completely change civiliza.
ton. BE perfect, even as your heaven
ly Father is perfect" This destroys
at one blow the easy complacent
morality of world that would like
circumstances"
When we ask, what did Jesus do
that made him POWERFUL" at first we
have to say, judging from worldly
standards, he did not do anything.
He made no money. put up no build
ings, wrote no books, organized no
party, constructed no public works
in short, he did nothing.
But he did do two things We have
mentioned the first-teaching. The
second was healing. "He went about
doing good" In Marks Gospel the
account says he healed every known
disease-b blindness, lameness, paral,
ysis, leprosy, deafness and dumbness,
insanity, consumption-and he even
raised the dead to life. This was an
exhibition of power over disease and
physical weakness which is unparal.
leled in human history. And 1t was
done for the purpose of revealing to
common everyday humanity the ire
mendous truth that the Divine Being
is deeply interested in human happi-
ness and wants to relieve humanity
of pain and make it we'll and strong.
1t was a great power to possess and
gave Jesus a great hold in the affec.
lions and memories of thousands of
people.
What does the Prince of Peace, this
powerful One, want of US? He wants
of us what the divine has always want
ed of the human. He wants his disci.
pies to cooperate with him in estab.
fishing justice and Righteousness in
the earth. "The government" as
Isaiah says, is ION his shoulder" Yes,
we do not have to bear that awful and
majestic and divine burden. but we
can help him bear it, we can share
it with him. and that is the great work
of the church today. 1t is for us to
bring our gold and frankincense and
myrrh and lay them at his feet.
1t is for us to consecrate to him
the best we have. What will you, his
disciple, give to establish peace on
the earth through the power of the
Prince of Peace? What will the
church give to the Wonderful, the
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Ever
lasting Father, the Prince of Peace?
Come! Let us give him our means,
our talents, our time, our enthusiasm
He, our Prince of Peace, has wrought
wonders in the world movements for
world betterment Come! Let us go
to meet him as he comes confident and
strong over the hills of the centuries,
and, wasting no long time over the
tears of our repentance, let us greet
him with shout Of rejoicing. But
are we going to help or hinder the
coming Of his triumph? Make an
swer, men and women of the church,
as ye know we shall stand some day
before his judgment seat to give &C
count of the deeds done in the body
For he is waiting to see what his
disciples will do. All power has been
given him. Will the church ego" with
that power and give it to the world
and make disciples of the nations?-
Rev. Charles NJ Sheldon, D. d.
Need for True Christians.