The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-03-11
SERMON TAKEN FROM
BLIND BARTIMAES.
Crowds Still Gather to Hear Noted
Evangelist and Singers at First
Christian Church.

| Splendid audiences have been as
sembling from night to night at the
First Christian church. to hear the
messages Of Rev. Ben Edwards, the
evangelist. and also to enjoy the mu-
sic. for the message in song has been
wonderfully helpful. Mr.. and Mrs. Pol
lock are fine chorus leaders and have
been most effective in getting people
to sing. The excellent congregational
singing has been one Of the delights
of this meeting and to the Pollocks is
due the credit for this pleasant fea-
ture. The choruses of boys and girls
were present in large numbers last
night and gave plenty OF zest to the
service with their bright faces and
cheerful voices.
| Mr.. Edwards, the evangelist, Is a
very forceful speaker, who has way
of putting his personality into his
message. He speaks with intense
conviction and drives home to the
minds and hearts of his audience the
truths which he Is portraying.
The sermon OF last night was drawn
from the story of Blind Bartimaeus,
which is related in the tenth charter
of Mark, and the subject as stated by
the evangelist was 1.-THE Touch of the
Master"
AS Jesus was leaving Jericho ac-
companied by great throng of peo-
pie Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, heard
the noise, and on learning that Jesus
was passing by insisted upon calling
upon Him for help. Doubtless there
were those who tried to keep him from
appealing to the Master, and still to-
day there are some who viii discour-
age the attempts of a soul to find its
Lord. But these are only the diff
culties in the way, and every man
should be bigger than his difficulties.
Jesus heard Bartima Gus when he
called, and granted his request. So
today the tender-hearte Master is
never too weary to hear the cry of the
burdened soul. His great sympathy
never fails. He pities when we fall by
the way, and is ever ready to reach
to the weak helping hand. Other
friends may fail, the church may fail
you because its members are but hui
man, but the Master never.
The disciples brought Bartimaeus to
Jesus. Christ is calling His followers
yet today to go out to serve, to go
forth into the highways and byways
of earth and bring the lost to Him,
for in Him alone can a bruised world
find healing. 1t is the duty as well as
the high privilege of the child OF God
to serve wherever he may be, 1t is
better to be a winner of souls than to
receive the highest nonors the world
can give.
With a touch Jesus healed the man
who was blind, and oh, how sadly a
the Master! We strive and fail to &C
complish the desired object and 10!
the Master comes and with His touch
perfects that on which we have failed
The story is told of youthful paint
err who tried to complete a great mas
ter-piece in the absence of his teacher.
All his efforts and labor Were I'M
availing, and in encouragement he
felt like putting aside the task, when
suddenly the master came and with
stroke of his brush brought glory and
to that which the stu
dent was about to abandon as a fail
ure The lives of men and women all
need the touch of the Master to make
them complete, and He alone can
touch our incompleteness and make it
splendid and fine.
There have been twenty-five Access
sions to the church UP to the present
time, ten OF whom came last night.