Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-03-10
The SUNDAY
School Lesson

Starting first with "A commission Q,
~ around among the cities ot Jude.
and preach the gospel aud dosth'
works ~ mercy, tho Disciples wer'
getting IA preliminary training foI
the great work Whiyh llo gave then
when lie said. Go vo therefore an,
teach all nations" Al the term o
their disCiplcship was leading To- IN,
one subject. the training needed Is
ri them for the work OF evangolla
ton. They had been personally ii
contact with The Lord and were uual
flied 10 speak at first hand Of IN,
wonders they had seen and OF ia,
power OF the Master. This was TIM
porlant, as even Paul was not sent tt
the icnties until he had persona
evidence OF what he tAught Sumt
OF Ne may saw that this Is a privilege
which We OF this day are denied hut
that is not so Whore We have fallen
short ot the spiritual power and di.
rectness Of testimony that these dis
clples had At their command is IN
the fact that we have not sought
earnestly tho personal acquaintance
with the savior OF meH, Those who
have tried have found him respon
Sire as ever. We are too apt'to loOl,
upon him az something impersona
ana n long Way Off llutait In We who
have put the distance between ~
and him. The way ls open II We will
but walk therein and draw close Ia
HnN n
must put self behind us. We must
shut our eyes to sordid things and
concentrate upon things spiritual
Perhaps much or the failure OF
the Clergy TO reach the hearts OF the
masses IL that they have not known
God intimately and personally They
know only "A principle, an object OF
worship, a deity to he revered long
way or. but not friend and coun-
selor. We have lectured congresn
tlons and argued theological points.
we have labored TO turn their minds
toward Jesus and His salvation. Yet
all the time we have not known Him
ourselves When "A man comes with
a message direct from the heart 10
heart converse with Almighty God.
he will wake mp the dry bones and
make the people know that some
thing unusual has happened. We
can, II We will get even closer To
Jesus than the men who walked and
talked with his visible body for
even they showed great lack OF
OF what his mission
was and OF what Importance his
message was 10 humanity az "A whole,
They had To learn slowly We really
have the advantage OF them. for we
have before us the written record OF
all things that tend 10 enllRhten the
man who desires TO follow christ sin
cerely.
One trouble with us, the reason We
do not accomplish more and get
nearer To the source OF grace, Ia be-
cause we are obsessed with tho idea
that following Christ is essentially
a matter OF conduct. In one sense
OF the word We may any this IA true.
but It Is not the primary essential.
Righteousness is not a cause but a
result First OF all We must realize
that unbounded love for the Lord
without which all Dur pretensions OF
piety are empty folly, We must do
right. not because we hope thereby
to gain Gods favor but because we
love Him so We desire above oil
things TO please Him. Under tho old
NJ osaic dInpensation obedience was
the primal virtue the measure OF
piety: yet in Christ"s time we find
this obedience deterioate into "a spir-
itless formality when, a soul real
Ices that condition OF loving Christ
a hove all things. the way TO right
conduct becomes increasingly easy
ne he progresses In Christian exper-
Ienoe. G6dllneas consists not IN
Jeremiads at the wickedness of tFe
world, but in ourselves alleviatlng
that deplorable condition by making
our light shine In the darkness, Men
are much hore ready to take pat
tern by our conduct than they are
TO heed our rebukes,
The manner of the trnvei OF these
evangellstA liz worthy of study First
and foremost they were not 10 allow
the cares OF material life 10 interfere
with the spirituality OF their mission.
They were not 20 worry about what
they Should eat or wear or where
they should sleep or what sort Of
reception would be given them. The
nearest modern approach to their
r,Sthod Of travel wns found IN the
on pioneer itinerant minister who
around where his work
called lS~i and TOOK what tho people
gnve him ns salary without entering
into any contract es 20 what the size
Of his reward should be. We do not
gather from this that the preachers
" the present day should be ,deprnd-
ent on the generosity ~ their
charges or what they eat and wear.
our manner OF living and our con
reptions OF hospitality at present are
quite different from the customs of
That day. But II 10 n great hindrance
TO effective spiritual ministry when
The prea char has 10 worry about pay
Ing his bills and collecting the salary
that has been promised him. And II
the people do not want their minister
to be handicapped in their spiritual
work by the cares Of sordid life. they
should see 10 n that ne II paid we'll
and promptly. For nothing can more
nulckiv rob him OF spiritual influ~
enca among those he serves than
having to Ecimp and scrape TO make
his money reach his bills or 20 worry
about when he n going 20 get an
other payment on arrears.
on the other side ~ the picture.
while the evanEellsts were TO banish
earthly cares. the people TO whom
they came had duty 10 perform.
They we're receiving the benefits Ot
this ministry and they should be re-
ceptive and grateful They were I'D
he hospitahls and generous 10 these