The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-01-12
s INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL, LESSON
BY w. T. ELLIS

scores or hundreds of persons crowd
to the Fifth Avenue church, New
| York, from distant states and foreign
lands to hear the Rev. DR.. j. H. Jow-
EFT. Only last week friend of mine
made a three-day journey to hear
Billy Sunday.
1t is no before breakfast jaunt to
go to the Jordan from Jerusalem: all
of US who have made the trip know
that it is not easy. Yet John drew
men of all classes that far, and farth-
er, to hear his message. He did not
have to go after them: they came TO
| him. Rochester, Mimi, has been put
on the worlds maps because tive
brothers who led the world in surgery
| dWelt there: and many special train,
| with a millionaire invalid aboard, has
sped to that little town. East North-
! field, Mass, has been trodden by pill
I grim feet from all continents, because
| Dwight L. Moody established center
! of vital spiritual teaching there. The
world makes path to the man with a
message.
i John stood for something. He had
something to say. Would it embar-
krass the average graduate of a theo-
/ logical seminary if the examining COM
mittee were to say to him, Now, tell
US in your own words, what have you
to say to the world? Have you mes
sage that justifies a pulpit and con-
gregation? %
Orsto press the case a little farther,
what does the average Christian pos
sess that the world has not? Wherein
| is he different? Has he a spiritual
faith and body of moral convictions.
that other men, without his creed, do
not own? Has he principles that are
not on sale in the market place.? Is
his belief in God clear and steady and
strong, in a day of nebulous thinking?
We are celebrating this year the
Quadff- Centennial of the Reformation;
have we Reformation convictions?
! Here is where the example of the
| Baptist crowds us close. Christians
are given power of proclamation and
protest; but they do not always exer-
else either. 1 once investigated a
horrible lynching in Pennsylvania
one of the most barbarous murders in
all Americas dark history-and 1 was
told by an eyewitness that many of
the good people" of this church. going
| town were spectators, and that the
whole thing could have been stopped
had there been any one man of force
to protest against it. Some lea ding
churchmen have since been noisy de-
tenders of that murder and of the
murderers, but there was no man in
town with enough militant righteous
ness to prevent the crime, or to bring
the criminals to justice. All of which
is a comment upon the principle of
John, that piety which does not bear
witness to the truth is only pretense.
Winning by Witnessing.
Only witnessing wins the world
That message thunders to us from
the banks of the Jordan. When
everybody testifies by life rather thar
by voice, to the best she knows, So
ciety'S level will be steadily lifted
Christ counts on His friends to be His
witnesses; but it almost seems as il
the church counted on organizatio on
We have organized religion, fromgths
cradle roll to the institutions forE ole
its society. We have societies ever
for the personal qualities, as truth
telling. non-swearing, non-smoking
non-drinking, Bible-rea ding, church.
going, daily prayer. family-worship
tithe-giving, smile-scattering, and
what not. Logically, we should have q
league of non-murderers, non-wife
heaters, non-safe-robbers,
This tendency to substitute organ.
ization for personal witness-bearing i.
sharply characterized in H. G. Wells.
new novel, Mr. Britling Sees i
Through"
You see all organization, with it.
implication of finality, is death Wha
) you organize you kill. Organized NOR
ais or organized religion or organized
5 thought are dead morals and dead re
hg1on and dead thought. Yet som,
organization you must have Organ
. izatfon is like killing cattle. If you d.
not kill some the herd is just waste
But you mustn't kill all or you will
kill the herd. The unkilled cattle ar,
| the herd, the continuation; the unor
| ganlzed side of life is the real life
) The reality of life is adventure, no
: performance. What isn't adventur,
. isn't life
: Heralds of the New Day.
Organization can never do tn,
great things. The very tendency O
our day to multiply organizations il
a sign of weakness What we mos
of all need is ringing voice tina
. will show us the way. John the Bar
, fist was such a herald. He an
, nounced himself as only a forerun
ner, an oriental ''sais," the servan
who runs ahead of the horse of tn
notable. His function was merely
, preparer of the path of a greater one
All, John, you were a great man
When you had the crowds in YOU
hand, when you held the center O
the stage, when all the world honor
ed you, to turn all the power an,
privilege and prestige over to an
, other-that is the quintessence O
greatness. Your mighty message O
repentance and of a new social order
was a step in advance of all that ha,
been uttered by the Hebrew proph
cts; it was worthy or being the cen
. ter OF attenlIOn NeVeftneleSS, yOl
) insisted that you were only voic
. in the desert, a fingerboard on tn
road home to God.
Only greatness could thus recog
nize greater greatness. Johns self
7 Subordination to Jesus is sufficien
. proof that he was a God-caIled an
God-equipped man. He asked n
greater work than to be herald O
heaven, a messenger of the Messiah
J a servant of the Saviour. He mus
! increase, 1 must decrease" In cart
: or heaven is there any greater wor
: than this, ia exalt the Christ who
Sufficiency for all the needs of man
: Just now, the world waits for tn
l | Peacemaker: and there is none. ex
> cept Jesus. So the spirit of job
E is the spirit of supreme service
= | bearing witness to the Lord of Life
: when morning gilds the skies,
Ny heart awakening cries