The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-10-12
REVIVAL
At 7 RAG 7 {
Bic CROWD
ABLE SERMON PREACHED BY
Or. COOPER AT BROADWAY
BAPTIST CHURCH LAST NIGHT
MUCH INTEREST.

Baptist church were opened last night
by the pastor, Rev. DR.. David II. Coop
er, and, while the congregation was
not as large as it should have been,
every one left impressed with the i'm
portance of the coming meetings, and
it was easily discernable that great
interest will be manifested before the
close
The service was directed especially
to the church members, the import
ance of themselves getting right be
fore attempting to convert others, and
every sentence was fraught with food
for deep thought upon the part of the
membership.
His text was taken from II CORN
thians s, 5, as follows:
And this they did, not as We hoped
but first gave their own selves to the
Lord. and unto us by the will of God. y
After an introduction TO this subject,
he said, in part:
THE churches of Macedonia had a
great revival. In studying that re.
vival we discover three things: first,
they gave themselves to God; sec
ond, they gave their service to His
cause; third, they gave their money
to their fellow Christians in Palestine
Let the first three things be our
ideal at the beginning of this series
of meetings with the direct prayer
that we may have revival like this
First: they first gave themselves to
God
This denotes self-surrender, self
dedication, self offering, full personal
consecration to God to be His forever
This is the most important act in
every life their gift of themselves
was first in importance, and first in
point of time. This they did as indi.
viduals and as church collectively
There is no genuine Christianity in
the heart without this total self-sur.
render to God
at is easy to give money spare
time, patronage, fashionable condes
cension, outward conformity, to be re
| ligiously respectable, but the secret OF
all genuine religion is to be found in
the personal surrender of the entire
will in profound submission to God
sincere in our love TO Him.
when we give ourselves to God as
they did then He gives Himself to us
When we first give ourselves to God
then We viii be able to lead Others
to do likewise. Hearts and lives given
to Him are made clean, and noble
and good. These Graw whenever
words fail
Second: These Macedonian Chris
tians offered themselves to Paul for
any personal service under his leader
ship within their power to render
They understood that this new life
meant obligations, and they were
eager to meet the calls upon them.
ale taught everywhere and to every
new disciple that he must be conform
ed to the image of Christ who went
about doing good that he was created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, that
he must be jealous of good works
This high ideal Is toned down by our
modern easy going church members.
AS you read in Acts, Thessalonians,
and Philippians, you can see how loyal
these early disciples were TO these
instructions. The gos?e; sounded out
from all Of them, and Paul speaks OF
them in unstinted praise.
at is easy to imagine the many
forms in which this service was shown
To have such churches today would
sweep We poor pastors off our feet
and startle this sin-ioving, God for
getting age No wonder the churches
of Macedonia had a great revival
"The third thing that marked the
work OF grace in these churches was
that they gave their money to the
Lords cause.
I'VE Baptists claim with much dem
onstration. to be the orthodox OF the
orthodox and say that we are like the
churches Of the New Testament All
the reply that needs to be made is
just TO line ourselves up to the side
of these Macedonian disciples, and
then hang our heads in shame. They
urged and entreated Paul to give their
money. They were an humble lot,
and miserably poor. Paul says that
he did not expect much from them,
but adds that they exceeded his ex-
pectations They loved the fellow
Christians In Palestine. who were
smitten with famine and they helped
them. they first gave themselves to
God and when that is done, any body
OF Christians can surprise themselves
al what they can do.
Gifts Of money and service for