South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-03-15
URGES OBEDIENCE
IN SUNDAY TALK
Rev. b. ID. Beck of the Grace
Methodist Church breaches
Striking Sermon.


The Rev. p. u. Beck of Grace
Methodist church delivered an eIo-
quent sermon q. che sunday morn
ing services on When God Clothed
Himself in Gideon" re said in
part.
The story OF Gideon carries Us
back 10 one OF IsraeTs hard times.
Invaders drove them 20 live i'm caves
in the hills and robbed them OF all
the cattle and grain they could get
their hands upon The reason was
not the strength OF the Medianities
but the weakness OF Israel The
cause for that Is summed up in these
words. We have not obeyed Ny
IOice'
"Iu their extremity Israel cried
unto the Lord and He heard them.
That became His opportunity 10 do
something for Israel that He always
desired 90 do. Israers weakness
grew out Of the character OF her re-
igiOn. she had turned TO Baal Baal
Worship was sensual. il glOried ia
the physical. That ideal OF God had
changed all her conduct Instead Of
Of IL making for strength IL made
FOR weakness. Strength comes from
ethical. moral, intellectual and spirit
ual Ideals. To save Israel from
darkness and destruction was 10
change her religion from the physi-
cal and sensuous 10 the spiritual,
from BaaI TO Jehovah.
Need Leader.
Jehovah. who Is spirit. intelli-
gent and active. needed leader in
q 70.
that leader in Gideon. Therefore He
clothed Himself in Gideon and be
gan another deliveranCe of Israel
from ignorance and bondage.
In a wine press. hidden from the
AIidiauites while He threshed his
wheat. the angel OF God IN his soul
was saying 10 Gideon. The Lord is
with you. Go in this tfFy might
and thou shalt sa"e Israel on the
physical side In which Baal glOried
lac had nothing. His family was
poor and ne was the least OF his
fathers house. But In soul he was
a. mighty man Of yalOr.
Begins Reform.
The reform began in the realm Of
ideas. In obedience TO God Gideon
went out one night and tore down
the image Of Baal and smashed II;
he cut down the sacred groves and
built a fire Of the wood TO offer up
n sacrifice 10 Jehovah an the very
site. The next day some Of the peO-
ple wanted TO deal with him for it,.
BUT wiser heads among those wOr-
slippers OF physical force said, VIII
Sc plea Tor Baal VIII ye save him ?
Ir ne be "a god, let him plead for
himself Gradually the people saw
The light until two thousand men
had rallied about Gideon. In turn
ing Co Gideon they turned away
from Baal worship toward Jehovah.
The reform then became mill
Jary But was a war of religions a
war of faiths and ideals. with ideals
Jriumphing.
Reduce lumber.
"Thirty-two thousand men were
too many 10 take against the Midi
antics lest Isreal should glory in
the physical victory. Twenty
thousand were afraid and were al
lowed 90 go home. Ten thousand
were vet too many. Another sitting
brought the number down TO three
hundred.
"The night before the battle Cid
con and one other man crept over
<o-Man's land and listened in ON
the Nidianite camp. Ideas were at
work there. Already thief had dis
covered both Jehovah and Gideon
and were i'm a state OF fear, physical
multitude that they were. Gideon
went back 20 his camp and organized
his army OF three hundred. Each
man was 20 bear. not physical arms
but symbols OF ideas, "a trumpet and
pitcher with light within. lie
. sent these men up on three sides of
the enemy camp, one man every
ten or twenty feet Rather thin
line Of battle. At the given mo-
mcnt every trumpet sounded The
sword OF the Lord and Gideon I'm
Wcdiate'y afterward every pitcher
was broken and lights cleaned out
It filled the Mededu camp with ter
ror They fought among themselves
and fled FOR their lives.
spirit supreme.
This is just one chapter an the
history of the struggle for the SUI
premacy Of the spiritual over the
material The world war lis am
other We are making another now
Which shall be first. God or Mann
moue Food, drink. clothing aut
other material objects, or the King
dom OF God and His Righteousness.
AS President Chase of the UniverS
Ity OF North Carolina says. The mex
great world task IS that OF making
real the t1lltiut OK INA -t-l ia - lll
The worship Of a sensuous or ma
teriaI god will always make FOL
weakness and decay. For no othel
foundation can no man lay than tina
is laid which IS Christ the Lord.
The work of that man or nation
that stands the test of fire is tina
which is built on this foundation.
TO bring South Bend through
her battle for the supremacy OF th'
spiritual values over material things
God needs men like Gideon +,
whom He ;msy clothe Himself TO
mCn whose good angels are whisper
ing 20 them The spirit of the Lor,
Isl with thee. Go in thy might an,
chou shalt save thy city and nation.
need only TO CIOthe themselves %
God through faith and obedience "a
Gideon did and the hosts OF sin wi,
flee before them