Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-12-28
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
Review Lesson:
FAITHS VICTORIES,
Hebrews, 1892.
Golden Text: This is the VIC
tory that hath overcome the
world, even our faith.-I John,
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON,

BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON.
With the exception Of the Christ
mas lesson. the last quarter has been
entirely devoted to the study of the
old heroic figures of the book of
Genesis. We have seen at close hand
the development Of Abram, Isaac,
Jacob and Joseph. We have caught
glimpses of the characters of Re-
bekah and Esau. 1t is appropriate
that we should now pause and re-
. view the quarter as a whole.
One Of the characteristics common
to these Bible heroes is that they
possessed vision. They were able to
see into the future. They saw be-
yond the everyday affairs of the
world around them, and could see the
hand of Jehovah working out the
problems of His people Abram was not
content to remain in Ur of the Chal-
dees, surrounded by barbarism and
heathenism. God had given him
vision of better things. And it was
because he followed that vision that
he became a truly great man, a friend
of Gods. He had the vision of a
great people who would worship in
sincerity and truth. From it came
race who transmitted to the world
the Christian religion. Likewise with
Isaac and Jacob, their inspiration
!! came from the great ideals which
had been handed down to them. How
great part the dream of the angel
ladder played in Jacobs life we can
only estimate. It is safe to presume.
however, that 1t was that which kept
him true to his lofty purpose during
of his uncle, Laban. Similarly Jo-
seph was man of vision. He was
even called dreamer by his breth-
rem. Yet it was the dream of future
greatness that sustained him during
the days of slavery and finally
brought him to the place of power on
the throne of Pharaoh.
Where there is no vision the peo-
pie perish" wrote Solomon in the
book of Proverbs. 1t is one of the
| needs of the Christian Church of to-
day The great masses need to catch
| a glimpse of the glory of the King of
| Kings. They need to see the hand of
| God in their daily lives, in their joys.
| in their sorrows. Having caught that
| vision. it will prove to be the motive
power just as it was in the days of
| old.
Another common denomination in
| the character of these heroes of
Genesis is faith. It is the keynote
| of the eleventh chapter Of the book
| of Hebrews. from which our scrip
tural reference is taken. It was not
vision alone that made Abram a great
man; it required faith to leave the
| home of his fathers and to seek a
| land which he did not know, trust
| ing solely in God to lead and keep
him. To his credit it should be said
| that he never lost that belief and
confidence in Jehovah. There were
| times when he strayed from the path,
| times when he failed. but he always
came back to the altar to renew his
| fellowship with God. 1t was mani
tested when he took his only son.
to follow. as he believed. the man
date of the Father and to slay him
upon the sacrifcial altar. Jacob was
also man of unfaltering faith.
joseph stood in the strength Of his
manhood and in the presence of the
court publicly proclaimed his faith
| in his God, who could, through him,
| interpret dreams.
1t is not enough to dream dreams
| or to see with clearneSs and vision
men of faith to translate ideas into
realities. The pathway of time is
strewn with the wrecks Of men and
| women who could see things, but who
did not have faith enough to carry
on" Faith and still more faith
J SHOulu NC luS SAS - LIZ N. At1OA- -
day. God is looking for those who
can see the great opportunities and
who will in faith. go forth to min
lister. What good is the Christian
religion to the world today if it hasn't
supreme and abiding faith in its own
| ability to supply the spiritual de-
sires of a sorrowing world? OF what
| yalue to YOU or to the world around
Won is your personal faith unless it
| is more than a statement of creeds or
+, religious beliefs? If you have not
] transformed those ideas into action
F.! vol, may well doubt the value OF your
| faith.
| There are other qualities that go to
| make up the characters of the splen-
| did men we have een<studying, but
vision and faith are perhaps the out
standing and most prominent ones:
| These qualities are not God-g1ven:
They are not bestowed by reason OF
any particular merit They are rather
/ the result of slow, spiritual develop
ment within our own souls. AS one
| has said, God provides the means
| hardship, disappointment, toll and
| suffering-from which these qualities
come forth purified as gold from the
| fire. Vision and faith are matters OF
| growth. This is well exemplihed in
| the life of Jacob. In the first lessons.
(! we saw him mean, small, scheming
| and INSCRIPTIONS. But there was that
| germ in his heart which slowly un-
7! folded and expanded until he became
| an entirely different character. SINH
| larly, Abrams faith was not the falth
| of Abraham the Patriarch.
| AS the work of the quarter and the
year is concluded, it is good time to