Evening star., 1928-10-27

| words OF the LOrQ Jesus, Ln3G ne
himself said. 1t is more blessed to
give than to receive.-Acts, XX.35.
When the tumult and shouting of the
riot in Ephesus had ended Paul deter
mined to pay a farewell visit to the
churches that he had established in
Macedonia and Achaia. assemble the
collections for the poor in Jerusalem at
some central point and arrange With the
representatives of these Gentle churches
to carry the funds collected to Jeru-
salem. He then proposed to visit Rome
and afterward carry the gospel into
Spain. The ambassador to the Gentlles
knew the strategic Importance OF Rome
as the capital of the empire in winning
the world for Christ. Paul had Vls-
ion. based upon the final orders OF
Christ to His church. of making the
Roman empire Christian and using
Rome as the most influential city TO
hello capture the world for Christ. just
as TO-DAY washington is recognized as
not only the Capital City of our coun--
try. but of the world. SO Rome appeared
to the apostle to the Gentiles. He un-
folded his program Ito all that are In
Rome. beloved of God, called to be
saints" in his letter to the Romans,
written from Corinth while he was Wis
iting that church. paying them fare-
well call along with the other churches
of Macedonia and Achaia, The story
of his visit to these churches is con-
densed into the opening verses OF our
lesson.
When. after spending three months in
Corinth. Paul learned of plot against
his life, this caused him to change ms
itinerary. He had planned to sail dl-
rect to Syria. but under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit the ambassador OF
the Lord to the Gentiles determined to
return to Jerusalem through Macedonia.
Arriving at Troas, he found the dele
gates appointed to carry the relief
funds to Jerusalem waiting for the ar
rival of Paul and his companions. 1t
is not easy to say farewell but PauFs
desire to meet all his disciples caused
them to wait for the assembling of the
brethren on the night of the first day
of the week Many of the disciples may
have been slaves who had to toll dur
ing the day. so they met to "break
bread" at night. 1t was not secret
meeting. for their meeting place was
well lighted and the windows were
opened. The fall of EutYchus and his
restoration to life was evidence that the
apostle possessed powers to work mira
cles. Paul was able to leave Troas with
full assurance as a result Of the restora-
ton of Eutychus. that God was watch
ing over and helping His servant. He
walked 20 miles over the hills unaccom-
panied, while the eight members sailed
to Assos. where he joined them and pro-
ceeded to Miletus by boat From there
Paul summoned the elders of the Ephe-
sian Church to meet him and receive
his farewell message.
Farewell Message.
There is a "pathos, passion and per-
spective" in Paul's address to the Ephe-
sian brethren who came to see their
former pastor for the last time. One
can feel the heart throbs of the apostle,
who clearly saw that he and they were
facing dificulties and dangers. After
he reviewed his work among them, re-
calling the spirit, diligence and mesa
sage of his ministry. Paul presented
the purpose of his going to Jerusalem,
pointed out the perils that he recog-
nized he faced, and his determination
to be obedient to his duty. He pre-
dicted that they would never meet
again in this world, and insisted that
he had been faithful to them and that
he had preached the whole truth to
them.
Looking ahead, Paul saw signs of an
unsuspected danger in the life OF the
EpheSian Church, concerning which ne
warned the elders. They had a respon-
sibility In the matter that they could
not slirk, because they had been chosen
for their work by the Holy Spirit, and
it was their duty to care for the church
tAntS lffn hind If nNNnSSoYu
Paul detected a danger from the phil
osophical system that, by its similarity
of goals and methods, would prove de-
structive Of the faith. He warned them
to be on their guard against the false
teachers who would arise in their midst,
teaching dangerous doctrines, even to
the extent of destroying the funda-
mental teachings of Christianity. Paul
had commenced his work among them
as a radical and progressive, but he was
seeking by recalling his messages among
them to develop a conservative spirit
in the Ephesian Church.
Paul had entered their city. as he had
Corinth, determined to know nothing
among them save Jesus Christ and Him
crucified." Here is the secret OF his
power as a preacher. He had but one
message. The great-minded man and
master intellect of the early Church
had only one theme. All others-and
there we're many that he preached
we're all subordinated to that great
message. The germs of a. false phil
cscphy had appeared, and Paul recog-
nized with his gigantic intellect the
a. -oaching peril that the Church had
to face, sand which shows itself in diff
ferent forms at the present moment.
Paul sought through praye- to secure
for the leaders of the Ephesian Church
protection against the dangers they
faced. He sought for them a life
dwelling deep in Christ as source of
personal purity and full of the power
of the Holy Snirit. His farewell ad-
dress closed with truly Eastern scene;
for efter his Draver for them we read
that they all wept sore and fell on
Pauls neck and kissed him" The
writer recalls such a scene In Palestine
when fathers and friends gave just
such an Oriental farewell to the SOL
diers who had been called to the colors
at the opening of the World War.
Facing Perils CourageOusIy.
All along the way to Jerusalem Paul
was saying farewell to groups of his
disciples. whom he had won for Christ
and started upon their Christian ca
reer. Between Miletus and Jerusalem
the historian hurries us along toward
the City of Jerusalem, where Paul had
studied, attained distinction as rab-
binical scholar, had served with credit
as a member of the Sandhedrin. per-
secuted the church and won his victory
for religious liberty He loved its walls
and everything connected with its his
tory, vet he knew that he faced un-
known perils there. He had been
varied but he refused to turn aside
from the path of duty. Gods call for