The Alaska citizen., 1916-01-17
Sermon to the People
 BY THE REV BRUCE
BY THE REV G. G. BRUCE

tried pleasure. and wealth. and SO
 called religions. but let them come to Jesus and be washed white in
 the blood Of Him who is not wilIins
 that any should perish but tLat al should come to repentance Elisha was the representative Of God in Israel. and he was wiling to let Naaman know that there was q Gaa
 in Israel tha- would cure him of his
 leprosy.
 { So Naaman came with his horss.
 and his servants, and his char.ots and stood at the door of the house of Elisha" Here IS pomp and pawes and parade and leprosy all in inc same man. and if it was not for tAa ! leprosy he would not be coming l.
 a man of God Many men stay away from the preachers and church. until they want to get rid of some thing they don't like. But Elisha sent a messenger to him. saying Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall become again to thee and thou shalt ho clean" But Naaman was wroth and
 went away and you remember what i he said Behold, I thought he would surely come to me" To me. "I may
 be leper, but I am DO ordinary leper. am a general. a prince. l
 am here with all this jingle of 1 horses and chariots and money; and will he thus deal with me-
 Yes. Naamau is mad. The best sign that a man is full of sin and wants relief is, when one talks to him about his stns he gets roaring mad. John McNeill used to say T never like to see a man get roaring mad. These people who come and go and never have a thought about sin and it's heinousness will never get any where" If the devil can get you to think that there is neither sin nor sinner, he will take a vacation with you: why try to get a man se- cure when he already has him in | his meshes secure? God was not
 angry and the prophet was not angry; Naaman would do when he had some good advice from his servants When
 men awaken from a deep sleep, they frequently awaken crOss-they often wake up mad but they will get over it. Poor Naaman was far gone
 and he needed some quick medicine l The gospel invites, to be sure, but ] the gospel commands as well. Be lieye, repent, 20 work, and 90 as 1 quickly as ycu can, that is tho 20 l pei, and man disobeys 1t at peril
 of eternal punishment.
 Naaman was wroth and said T ] thought That is what is the mat
 ter with the most of us. We have onr Way of salvation. and VI will
 be saved in no other way. Naaman needed to be humbled before he could be healed. Now, the pride
 of some is intellectual pride, intel i lectuaI vanity, intellectual conceit, l Men juggle with the names of HuX- 1 ley, and Spencer, and Darwin and 1 Ingersoll and swell up with pride,
 holding in ridicule the precious blood
 of the Saviour of the world. The l Lord will have them in derision." l It is certainly a joy to the one who | lives the gospel to know that he
 does not have to answer the taunts
 of the ''learned' but just keep on
 with his simple testimony of thC
 simple gospel. that is a stumbling
 block to the Jew, foolishness to the 1 Greek, but to them that are saNeu 1 it is the power of God. Bu, fl
 you thought" Naaman, let US has"
 your thought. q thought that surelg | he would come to me, and stand, and
 call on the name of the Lord ii5
 God. and wave his hand ova1 tna place and recover me of the leprosy. Poor Naaman was like many otheIs
 who think God is a juggler. HeF' i Presto Pass. and the thing "0uid i te done. God is net a God of su- perstition. God is God of faith
 and works. Naaman spoke out bis
 thought, as you have done. Li5t"..
 My thought are not your thought
 neither are my ways your ways, for
 as the heaven is high above thf earth, so a"a my thoughts hi5Acr
 than your thoughts, and my way,
 than your ways" Listen. God wants
 you to believe.
 Are not Abana and Pharpar- '' ! Oh, yes, with what contempt :.ten
 speak of the gospel until theJ have
 tried it.
 But Naaman, if Abana and Phar- ! par were waters that WOuli have
 clcansed you why did you come to
 Elisha at all? Just so have men
 spoken of what they call narrow
 minded, bigoted, Puritanical doc
 trines. until they have tried eHl
 A Christian is no judge of good
 whiskey; a drunkard is no jul;se
 of the glorious gospel
 But the servant Of Naaman fin
 ally prevail in their request fol him
 to try the word of the propher.
 And his flesh cane unto him
 like the flesh of little child and bo ,rac clean This ic the paSnpI