,quiet ,talks with ,world ,winners ,by ,s4 ,d4 ,gordon ,author of ,quiet ,talks on ,power1 ,quiet ,talks ,about ,jesus1 ,quiet ,talks on ,personal ,problems1 ,etc4 ,contents ,i4 ,world-winning #a4 ,the ,master ,passion #b4 ,the ,master's ,plan #c4 ,the ,need #d4 ,the ,present ,opportunity #e4 ,the ,pressing ,emergency #f4 ,the ,past ,failure #g4 ,the ,coming ,victory ,,ii4 ,winning ,forces #a4 ,the ,church #b4 ,each ,one of ,us #c4 ,jesus #d4 ,the ,holy ,spirit #e4 ,prayer #f4 ,money #g4 ,sacrifice ,the ,master ,passion ,the ,earliest ,calvary ,picture4 ,the ,love ,passion4 ,mother-love4 ,the ,genesis ,picture4 ,god ,giving ,himself4 ,god's ,fellow4 ,the ,genesis ,water-mark4 ,a ,human ,picture of ,god4 ,on a ,wooing ,errand4 ,jesus' ,world-passion4 ,the ,master ,passion u,the ,earliest ,calvary ,picture4_/u ,there's a great passion burning in the heart of ,god4 ,it is tenderly warm and tenaciously strong4 ,its fires never burn low1 nor lose their fine glow4 ,that passion is to win man back home again4 ,the whole world of man is included in its warm1 eager reach4 ,the old home hearth-fire of ,god is lonely since man went away4 ,the family circle is broken4 ,god will not rest until that old home circle is complete again1 and every voice joining in the home songs4 ,it is an iovermastering_/i passion1 the overmastering passion of ,god's heart4 ,it has guided and controlled all ,his thoughts and plans for man from the first4 ,the purpose of winning man1 and the whole race1 back again is the dominant gripping passion of ,god's heart to-day4 ,everything is made to bend to this one end4 ,when ,eden's tragedy came so early1 to darken the pages of this old ,book1 and1 far worse1 to darken the pages of human life1 there is a great glimpse of this passion of ,god's heart in the guarding of those ,eden gates4 ,the presence of the angels with their sword of flame told plainly of a day when man would be coming back again to the old ,eden home of ,god4 ,the place must be carefully guarded for him4 ,this is a ilove_/i passion1 a passion of love4 ,and love itself is the master passion both of the human heart and of ,god's heart4 ,nothing can grip and fill and sway the heart either of man or ,god like that4 ,we would all easily agree that the greatest picture of ,god's marvellous1 overmastering passion of love is seen in the cross4 ,all men as they have come to know that story have stood with heads bowed and bared before the love revealed there4 ,they have not understood it4 ,they have quarrelled about its meaning4 ,but they have acknowledged its love and power as beyond that of any other story or picture4 ,however men may differ as to why ,jesus died1 and how ,his dying affects us1 they all agree that the scene of the cross is the greatest revelation of love ever known or ever shown4 ,all theories of the atonement seem to be lost sight of in one thought of grateful acknowledgment of a stupendous love1 as men are drawn together by the magnetism of the hill-top of ,calvary4 ,but there is a wondrously clear foreshadowing of that tremendous cross scene in the earliest page of this old ,book4 ,nowhere is love1 ,god's passion of love1 made to stand out more distinctly and vividly than in the first chapter of ,genesis4 ,the after-scene of the cross uses intenser coloring2 the blacks are inkier in their blackness2 the reds deeper and redder2 the contrasts sharper to the startling-point2 yet there is nothing in the cross chapters of the ,gospels not included fully in this first leaf of revelation4 ,but it has taken the light of the cross to open our eyes to see how much is plainly there4 ,let us look at it a bit4 u,the ,love ,passion4_/u ,what is this greatest of passions called love8 ,there is no word harder to get a satisfactory definition of4 ,because1 whatever you say about it1 there comes quickly to your mind some one who loves you1 or you think of the passion that burns in your own heart for some one4 ,and1 as you think of that1 no words that anybody may use seem at all strong enough1 or tender enough1 to tell what love is1 as you know it in your own inner heart4 ,yet ,i think this much can be said--love is the tender1 strong outgoing of your whole being to another4 ,it is a passion burning like a fire within you1 a soft-burning but intense fire within you1 for some other one4 ,every mention of that name stirs the flame into new burning4 ,every passing or lingering thought of him or her is like fresh air making the flames leap up more eagerly4 ,and each personal contact is a clearing out of all the ashes1 and a turning on of all the draughts1 to feed new oxygen for stronger1 fresher burning4 ,there are many other things that seem like love4 ,kindliness and friendliness1 and even intenser emotions1 use love's name for themselves4 ,but though these have likenesses to love1 they are not love4 ,they have caught something of its warm glow4 ,a bit of the high coloring of its flames plays on them4 ,but they are not the real thing1 only distant kinsfolk4 ,the severe tests of life quickly reveal their lack4 ,love itself is really an aristocrat4 ,it allows very1 very few into its inner circle1 often only one4 ,the real thing of love is never selfish4 ,now we know very well that in the thick of life the fine gold of love gets mixed up with the baser metals4 ,it is very often overlaid1 and shot through with much that is mean and low4 ,rank selfishness1 both the coarse kind and the refined1 cultured sort1 seeks a hiding-place under its cloak4 ,but the stuff mixed in it is not love1 but a defiling of it4 ,that is a bit of the slander it suffers for a time1 from the presence in life of sin4 ,weeds with their poison1 and snakes and spiders with their deadly venom1 draw life from the sun4 ,that is a bit of the bad transmuting the good1 pure sun into its own sort4 ,the sun itself never produces poison or any hurtful thing4 ,love itself is never mean1 nor bad1 nor selfish4 ,the man who truly loves the woman whom he would have for his own lifelong1 closest companion is not selfish4 ,he does not want her chiefly for his own sake1 but for her sake1 that so he may guard and care for her1 and her life be fully grown in the sunlight of the love it must have4 ,and1 if you think that is idealizing it out of all practical reach1 please remember that true love will steadily refuse the union that would not be best for the loved one4 ,what is the finest and highest love that we know8 ,there are many different sorts and degrees of love revealed in man's relation with his fellow3 conjugal1 the love between husband and wife2 paternal1 the love of a father for his child2 maternal1 the mother's love for her child2 filial1 the love of children for father and mother2 fraternal1 or brotherly1 meaning really the love of children of the same parents for each other1 both brothers and sisters--the same word is used for love between friends where there is no tie of blood2 and patriotic1 or love for one's country4 ,and under that last word may be loosely grouped the love that one may have for any special object1 to which he may devote his life1 outside of personal relationships1 such as music or any profession or occupation4 ,this is putting them in their logical order4 ,though in our experience we know the father-and mother-love for ourselves first2 and then in turn the others1 so far as they come to us1 until we complete the circle and reach the climax of father-and mother-love in ourselves going out to another4 u,mother-love4_/u ,now of these sorts and degrees which is the highest and finest8 ,well1 your answer to that question will depend entirely on your own experience2 as every answer and every thought we have of everything does4 ,all children have mothers1 or have had1 but thousands of children don't know a mother's love4 ,i was speaking one time in ,new ,york ,city about the conception1 of which the ,bible is so full1 that ,god is a mother4 ,and the ,english evangelist ,gypsy ,smith1 who lost his mother when very young1 but who had an unusually devoted father1 said with charming simplicity that he could not just see how ,god could be called a mother1 but he knew ,he was a father4 ,and then he went on to speak very winsomely of ,god as a father4 ,many times love is not born in the heart at all1 until there comes into the life some one clear outside of one's own kin4 ,many a woman never knows love until it is awakened in her heart by him who henceforth is to be a part of herself4 ,but the common answer1 that most people everywhere give to that question1 is that ia mother's love_/i is the greatest human love we know4 ,and if you press them to tell why they think so1 this stands out oftenest and strongest--that it is because she gives so much of herself4 ,she gives her very life4 ,if need be1 she sacrifices everything in life1 and then sacrifices life itself1 going out into the darkness of death that her child may come into fulness and sweetness of life4 ,this is the mother spirit1 giving one's very self to bring life to another4 ,the mother gives her very life-blood that the new life may come4 ,and1 if need be1 will gladly give her life iout_/i to the death that the new life may come into life4 ,and yet more1 she gives her life out daily and yearly1 throughout its length1 that so the full strength and fragrance of life may come in her child's life4 ,yet1 when all this has been said1 ,i am strongly inclined to think that the mother's love1 though the greatest that can be found in any one heart1 is not the perfect1 fully grown love4 ,the human unit is not a man nor a woman1 but a man iand_/i a woman4 ,perfect love requires more than one or two for its matured growth into full life4 ,it cannot exist in its full strength and fragrant sweets except where three are joined together to draw out its full depth and meaning4 ,there must be two whose hearts are fully joined in love1 each finding answering and ever-satisfying love in the other2 and so each love growing to full ripeness in the warm sunshine of the other love4 ,and then there needs to be a third one1 who comes as a result of that mutual love1 and who constantly draws out the love of the other two4 ,for love in itself is creative4 ,it yearns to bring into being another upon whom it may freely lavish itself4 ,that other one must be of its own sort1 upon its own level4 ,nothing less ever satisfies4 ,and so the love poured out draws out to itself an answering love fully as full as its own4 ,and then1 having yearned1 it does more4 ,it creates4 ,it must create4 ,it must bring forth life2 and life like its own in all its powers and privileges4 ,this is the very life of love in its full expression4 ,yet to say all this is simply to spell out fully1 in all its letters and syllables1 the great1 the greatest of passions1 mother-love1 which we agreed a moment ago was the highest4 ,for mother-love is not restricted to woman1 though among us humans it often finds its brightest expressions in her4 ,it knows no restriction of sex4 ,it is simply love at its fullest and highest and freest and tenderest2 free to do as it will1 and to do it as fully as it will4 ,love left to itself1 free to do as its heart dictates1 will give its very self1 its life1 that life may come to another4 ,this is the great passion called love1 the greatest of all passions4 u,the ,genesis ,picture4_/u ,now1 maybe you think we have swung pretty far away from that first chapter of the ,genesis revelation4 ,no2 you are mistaken there4 ,we have been walking1 with rapid stride1 by the shortest road1 straight into its inner heart4 ,let us look a bit at the picture of ,god sketched for us in this earliest page of revelation4 ,there are two creations here1 first of the earth1 man's home2 and then of man himself who was to live in the home4 ,here at once in the beginning is mother-love4 ,before the new life comes the mother is absorbed in getting the home ready2 the best and softest and homiest home that her mother-love can think of1 and her fingers fix4 ,the same mother instinct in the birds spends itself in getting the nest ready1 and then patiently broods until the new occupants come to take possession4 ,the ,bible never calls ,god a mother1 though the mother language1 as here1 is used of ,him many times4 ,it takes more of the human to tell the divine4 ,you must take many words1 and several of our human relationships1 and put them together1 in the finest meaning of each1 to get near the full meaning of what ,god is4 ,up on the higher level1 with ,god1 the word father really includes all that both father and mother mean to us4 ,the word father is even used once of ,god in what we think of as the strict mother sense4 ,in speaking of ,god's early care of the ,hebrews ,paul says1 as a inursing-father_/i bore he them in the wilderness4#a ,that word nursing-father is peculiar in coupling the distinctive function of the mother in caring for the babe with the word father4 ,the word father applied to ,god includes not only our meaning of father in all its strength as we know it at its best2 but all of the meaning of the word mother1 in all its sweet fragrance1 as we have had it breathed into our own very life4 ,we have come commonly to think of the word mother as a tenderer word than father4 ,though ,i have met many1 both men and women1 who unconsciously revealed that their experience has made father the tenderer1 and the tenderest word to them4 ,father stands commonly for the stronger1 more rugged qualities2 and mother for the finer1 gentler1 sweeter1 maybe softer qualities1 in the strong meaning of that word soft4 u,god ,giving ,himself4_/u ,here in this ,genesis story the creation of the whole sun-system to give life to the earth1 and of the earth itself1 was the outward beginning of this greatest passion of love in the heart of ,god4 ,and if you would know more of that love in this early stage of it1 just look a bit at the home itself4 ,it has been pretty badly mussed1 soiled and hurt by sin's foul touch4 ,yet even so it is a wonder of a world in its beauty and fruitfulness4 ,what must it have been before the slime and tangle of sin got in6 ,but that's a whole story by itself4 ,we must not stop there just now4 ,when the home was ready ,god set ,himself to bringing the new life ,he was planning4 ,and ,he did it1 even as father and mother of our human kind and of every other kind do3--,he gave some of ,himself4 ,he breathed into man ,his own life-breath4 ,he came ,himself1 and with the warmth and vitality of ,his life brought a new life4 ,the new life was a bit of ,himself4 ,that phrase1 breathed into his nostrils1 brings to us the conception of the closest personal1 physical contact2 two together in most intimate contact1 and life passing from one to the other4 ,the picture of ,elijah stretching his warm body upon that of the widow's son until the life-breath came again comes instinctively to mind4 ,and its companion scene comes with it1 of ,elisha lying prone upon the child1 mouth to mouth1 eye to eye1 hand to hand1 until the breath again softly reentered that little1 precious body4 ,and if all this seems too plain and homely a way to talk about the great ,god1 let us remember it is the way of this blessed old ,book4 ,it is the only way we shall come to know the marvellous intimacy and tenderness of ,god's love1 and of ,god's touch upon ourselves4 ,how shall we talk best about ,god so as to get clear1 sensible ideas about ,him8 ,why not follow the rule of the old ,bible8 ,can we do better8 ,it constantly speaks of ,him in the language that we use of men4 ,the scholars1 with their fondness for big words1 say the ,bible is anthropomorphic4 ,that simply means that it uses man's words1 and man's ideas of things in telling about ,god4 ,it makes use of the common words and ideas1 that man understands fully1 to tell about the ,god1 whom he doesn't know4 ,could there be a more sensible way8 ,indeed1 how else could man understand8 ,some dear1 godly people have sometimes been afraid of the use of simple1 homely language in talking about ,god4 ,to speak of ,him in the common language of every-day life1 the common talk of home and kitchen1 and shop and street and trade1 seems to them lacking in due reverence4 ,do they forget that this is the language of the common people8 ,and of our good old ,anglo-,saxon ,bible8 ,has anybody ever yet used as blunt homely1 talk as this old ,book uses8 ,and has any other book stuck into people's memories and hearts with such burr-like hold as it has8 ,that breathing by ,god into man's nostrils of the breath of life suggests the intensest concentration of strength and thought and heart4 ,the whole heart of ,god went out to man in that breath that brought life4 u,god's ,fellow4_/u ,the whole thought of ,god's heart was to have a man ilike ,himself_/i4 ,over and over again1 with all the peculiar emphasis of repetition1 it is said that the man was to be in the very image1 or likeness1 of ,god4 ,god gave ,himself that the man might be a bit of ,himself4 ,here is the love-passion1 the mother-passion1 the father-mother-passion1 in its highest mood1 and at its own finest work4 ,the man was to be the very best1 that so he might have fellowship of the most intimate sort with ,god4 ,of course1 only those who are alike can have fellowship4 ,only in that particular thing which any two have in common can they have fellowship together4 ,let me use a common word in its old1 fine1 first meaning3 man was made to be i,god's fellow_/i1 ,his most intimate associate and companion4 ,as you read this early story in ,genesis of ,god's passion of love1 you know1 if you stop to think into it1 that if ever the need for it came1 ,he will climb any ,calvary hill1 however steep1 and receive the jagging nails of any cross1 however cutting1 for the sake of ,his darling child--man4 ,this love-passion never faileth4 ,there is no emergency that can arise that is too great for love's resources4 ,any danger1 however great1 every need1 no matter how distressing1 is already provided for by love4 ,the emergency may sorely test and tax love to its last limit1 but it can never outdo it1 nor outstrip it in the race4 ,no matter how great the danger1 love is a bit greater4 ,no matter how strong the enemy threatening1 love is always yet stronger4 ,however deep down into the very vitals of life the poison-sting may sink its fangs1 love goes yet deeper1 neutralizing the deadly influence with its own fresh life-blood4 ,have you ever looked into a single drop of water and seen the sun8 the whole of that brilliant ball of fire there in one tiny drop of water8 ,well1 there's one word on this first leaf of the ,book which contains the clear reflection1 sharply outlined1 of the whole creation story2 ah6 yes1 more than that1 of the whole ,gospel story4 ,come here and look2 you can see in its clear surface the form of a man climbing a little1 steep hill1 and being hung1 thorn-crowned1 upon a cross of pain and shame4 ,it is in chapter one1 verse two1 the word brooding4 ,the old version and the ,revision1 both ,english and ,american1 have the word moved4 ,the ,revisions add brooding in the margin4 ,and that is the root meaning of the word underneath our ,english--brooding1 or1 rendered more fully1 was brooding tremulous with love4 u,the ,genesis ,water-mark4_/u ,that ,english word brooding1 as well as the old word underneath1 is a mother word4 ,the brooding hen sits so faithfully1 day after day1 upon the eggs1 bringing the new lives by the vital warmth of her own body4 ,the mother-bird nestles softly down upon the nest in the crotch of the tree1 patiently1 expectantly brooding1 by the strength of her own life giving life to the coming young4 ,she who1 in the holiest1 greatest function entrusted to her1 comes nearest to ,god in creative power and love--the mother of our human kind1 broods for long months over her coming child1 giving her very life1 until the crisis of birth comes2 and then broods still1 for months and years longer1 that the new life may come into fulness of life4 ,that is the great word used here4 ,now1 will you please notice very keenly the connection in which it occurs4 ,it was because the earth was waste and void1 and darkness upon the face of the deep1 that the ,spirit of ,god was brooding4 ,it is only fair to say that our scholarly friends who think in ,hebrew are divided as to the meaning here4 ,some think that these words1 waste and void1 simply indicate a stage1 or step1 in the processes of creation4 ,but others of them are just as positive in saying that the words point plainly to a disaster of some sort that took place4 ,in their view the whole story of creation is in the ten opening words of the chapter4 ,then follows a bad break of some sort2 then the brooding of ,god in verse two2 and the rest of the chapter is taken up in what is practically a reshaping up again of the whole affair4 ,some of this second group of ,hebrew scholars have made this translation1--the earth became a waste1 or a wreck1 or a ruin1 or without inhabitant4 ,if we may so read it now1 it gives a world of additional meaning to this word brooding4 ,here was love not merely giving life1 but giving itself to overcome a disaster4 ,the brooding was to mend a break4 ,love creates4 ,it also redeems4 ,it stoops down with great patience1 and washes the dirt and filth thoroughly off1 in the best cleansing liquid to be found1 and brings the cleansed1 redeemed man back again4 ,love does indeed create4 ,it gave man the power to choose freely1 without any restriction1 whatever he would choose to choose4 ,redeeming love does more4 ,it woos him to choose the right1 and only the right4 ,it gets down by his side after his eyesight has become twisted1 and his will badly kinked by wrong choosing1 and patiently1 persistently works to draw him up to the level of choosing right4 ,love makes us like ,god in the power of choice4 ,but there's a greater task ahead4 ,it makes us yet more like ,him in the desire to choose only the right1 and in the power to choose it1 too4 ,all this is in that marvellous world of a word--brooding4 ,the whole story of the sacrifice of ,calvary is included in this wondrous first leaf of revelation4 ,if we had lost the ,gospels1 and didn't know their story1 nor the history of man1 we yet could know from this ,genesis page that1 if ever the need arose1 ,god would lavishly give out ,his very life1 at any cost of suffering and pain1 that ,his man might be saved4 ,john1 three1 sixteen is in the first chapter of ,genesis4 ,calvary is in the creation4 ,god gave ,his breath to man in creation1 and ,his blood for man on ,calvary4 ,he gave ,his blood because ,he had given ,his breath4 ,each was ,his very life4 ,you know the way publishers have of putting an imprint in a book by means of what is called a water-mark4 ,by the skilful use of water in manufacturing the paper1 a name or trade imprint is made a part of the very paper of which the book is made4 ,have you ever noticed ,god's water-mark on the paper of this first leaf of ,his ,book8 ,hold your ,bible up as we talk2 separate this first leaf and hold it up to the light and try to see through it4 ,the best light to use is that which came from ,calvary4 ,can you see the water-mark plainly imprinted there8 ,look closely and carefully1 for it is there4 ,in clear-cut outline1 every bit of it showing sharply out1 is a cross4 ,and if you look still more closely you will find this water-mark different from those in common use1 in this--ithere is a distinct blood-red tinge to it_/i4 u,a ,human ,picture of ,god4_/u ,illustrations of ,god from our common life are never full1 and must not be taken too critically1 but they are sometimes wonderfully vivid and very helpful4 ,anything that makes ,god seem real and near helps4 ,a few years ago ,i heard a simple story of real life from the lips of a ,new ,england clergyman4 ,it was told of a brother clergyman of the same denomination1 and stationed in the same city with the man who told me4 ,this clergyman had a son1 about fourteen years of age1 who1 of course1 was going to school4 ,one day the boy's teacher called at the house and asked for the father4 ,when they met he said3 ,is your son sick8 ,no2 why8 ,he was not at school to-day4 ,you don't mean it6 ,nor yesterday4 ,indeed6 ,nor the day before4 ,well6 ,and ,i supposed he was sick4 ,no1 he's not sick4 ,well1 ,i thought ,i should tell you4 ,and the father thanked him1 and the teacher left4 ,the father sat thinking about his son1 and those three days4 ,by and by he heard a click at the gate1 and he knew the boy was coming in4 ,so he went to the door to meet him at once4 ,and the boy knew as he looked up that the father knew about those three days4 ,and the father said1 ,come into the library1 ,phil4 ,and ,phil went and the door was shut4 ,then the father said very quietly1 ,phil1 your teacher was here a little while ago4 ,he tells me you were not at school to-day1 nor yesterday1 nor the day before4 ,and we thought you were4 ,you let us think you were4 ,and you don't know how bad ,i feel about this4 ,i have always said ,i could trust my boy ,phil4 ,i always have trusted you4 ,and here you have been a living lie for three whole days4 ,i can't tell you how bad ,i feel about it4 ,well1 it was hard on the boy to be talked to in that gentle way4 ,if his father had spoken to him roughly1 or had taken him out to the wood-shed1 in the rear of the dwelling1 it wouldn't have been nearly so hard4 ,then the father said1 ,we'll get down and pray4 ,and the thing was getting harder for ,phil all the time4 ,he didn't want to pray just then4 ,most people don't about that time4 ,and they got down on their knees1 side by side4 ,and the father poured out his heart in prayer4 ,and the boy listened4 ,somehow he saw himself in the looking-glass of his knee-joints as he hadn't before4 ,it is queer about that mirror of the knee-joints1 the things you see in it4 ,most people don't like to use it much4 ,and they got up from their knees4 ,the father's eyes were wet4 ,and ,phil's eyes were not dry4 ,then the father said1 ,my boy1 there's a law of life1 that where there is sin there is suffering4 ,you can't get those two things apart4 ,wherever there is suffering there has been sin1 somewhere1 by somebody4 ,and wherever there is sin there will be suffering1 for some one1 somewhere2 and likely most for those closest to you4 ,now1 he said1 my boy1 you have done wrong4 ,so we'll do this4 ,you go up-stairs to the attic4 ,i'll make a little bed for you there in the corner4 ,we'll bring your meals up to you at the usual times4 ,and you stay up in the attic three days and three nights1 as long as you've been a living lie4 ,and the boy didn't say a word4 ,they climbed the attic steps4 ,the father kissed his boy1 and left him alone4 ,supper-time came1 and the father and mother sat down to eat4 ,but they couldn't eat for thinking of their son4 ,the longer they chewed on the food the bigger and drier it got in their mouths4 ,and swallowing was clear out of the question4 ,and the mother said1 ,why don't you eat8 ,and he said softly1 ,why don't iyou_/i eat8 ,and1 with a catch in her throat1 she said1 ,i can't1 for thinking of ,phil4 ,and he said1 ,that's what's bothering me4 ,and they rose from the supper-table1 and went into the sitting-room4 ,he took up the evening paper1 and she began sewing4 ,his eyesight was not very good4 ,he wore glasses1 and to-night they seemed to blur up4 ,he couldn't see the print distinctly4 ,it must have been the glasses1 of course4 ,so he took them off1 and wiped them with great care1 and then found the paper was upside-down4 ,and she tried to sew4 ,but the thread broke1 and she couldn't seem to get the thread into the needle again4 ,how we all reveal ourselves in just such details6 ,by and by the clock struck ten1 their usual hour of retiring4 ,but they made no move to go4 ,and the mother said quietly1 ,aren't you going to bed8 ,and he said1 ,i'm not sleepy1 ,i think ,i'll sit up a while longer2 you go4 ,no1 ,i guess ,i'll wait a while too4 ,and the clock struck eleven2 then the hands clicked around close to twelve4 ,and they arose1 and went to bed2 but not to sleep4 ,each one pretended to be asleep4 ,and each knew the other was not asleep4 ,after a bit she said--woman is always the keener--,why don't you sleep8 ,and he said softly1 ,how did you know ,i wasn't sleeping8 ,why don't you sleep8 ,and she said1 with that same queer catch in her voice1 ,i can't1 for thinking of ,phil4 ,he said1 ,that's the bother with me4 ,and the clock struck one2 and then two2 still no sleep4 ,at last the father said1 ,mother1 ,i can't stand this4 i,i'm going up-stairs with ,phil4_/i ,and he took his pillow1 and went softly out of the room2 climbed the attic steps softly1 and pressed the latch softly so as not to wake the boy if he were asleep1 and tiptoed across to the corner by the window4 ,there the boy lay1 wide-awake1 with something glistening in his eyes1 and what looked like stains on his cheeks4 ,and the father got down between the sheets1 and they got their arms around each other's necks1 for they had always been the best of friends1 and their tears got mixed up on each other's cheeks--you couldn't have told which were the father's and which the son's4 ,then they slept together until the morning light broke4 ,when sleep-time came the second night the father said1 ,good-night1 mother4 ,i'm going up with ,phil again4 ,and the second night he shared his boy's punishment in the attic4 ,and the third night when sleep-time came again1 again he said1 ,mother1 good-night4 ,i'm going up with the boy4 ,and the third night he shared his son's punishment with him4 ,that boy1 now a man grown1 in the thews of his strength1 my acquaintance told me1 is telling the story of ,jesus with tongue of flame and life of flame out in the heart of ,china4 ,do you know1 ,i think that is the best picture of ,god ,i have ever run across in any gallery of life8 ,it is not a perfect picture4 ,no human picture of ,god is perfect1 except of course the ,jesus human picture4 ,the boy's punishment was arbitrarily chosen by the father1 unlike ,god's dealings with our sin4 ,but it is the tenderest and most real of any that has come to me4 ,god couldn't take away sin4 ,it's here4 ,very plainly it is here4 ,and ,he couldn't take away suffering1 out of kindness to us4 ,for suffering is sin's index-finger pointing out danger4 ,it is sin's voice calling loudly1 ,look out6 there's something wrong4 ,so ,he came down in the person of ,his ,son1 ,jesus1 and lay down alongside of man for three days and nights1 in the place where sin drove man4 ,that's ,god6 ,and that suggests graphically the great passion of ,his heart4 ,sin was not ignored4 ,its lines stood sharply out4 ,the boy in the garret had two things burned into his memory1 never to be erased3 the wrong of his own sin1 and the strength of his father's love4 ,jesus is ,god coming down into our midst and giving ,his own very life1 and then1 more1 giving it out in death1 that ,he might make us hate sin1 and might woo and win the whole world1 away from sin1 back to the intimacies of the old family circle again4 u,on a ,wooing ,errand4_/u ,jesus was a mirror held up to the ,father's face for man to look in4 ,so we may know what the ,father is like4 ,when you look at ,jesus and listen to ,him you are looking into the ,father's heart and listening to its warm throbbing4 ,and no one can look there without being caught by the great passion burning there1 and feeling its intense soft-burning glow1 and carrying some of it for ever after in his own heart4 ,jesus was on ia wooing errand_/i to the earth4 ,the whole spirit of ,his dealings with men was that of a great lover1 wooing them to the ,father4 ,he was insistently eager to let men know what ,his ,father was like4 ,he seemed jealous of ,his ,father's reputation among men4 ,it had been slandered badly4 ,men misunderstood the ,father4 ,he would leave no stone unturned to let men know how good and loving and winsome ,god is4 ,for then they would eagerly run back home again to ,him4 ,this was ,his method of approach to the world ,he came to win4 ,jesus is the greatest wooer the old world has ever known1 and will be the greatest winner of what ,he is after1 too4 ,run thoughtfully through these ,gospels1 and stand by ,jesus' side in each one of these simple1 tremendous incidents of ,his contact with the common people4 ,then listen anew to ,his teaching talks1 so homely and so gripping4 ,and the impression becomes irresistible that the one thought that gripped at every turn1 never forgotten1 was to woo man back to the ,father's allegiance4 u,jesus' ,world-passion4_/u ,have you not marked ithe world-wide swing_/i of ,jesus' thought and plan8 ,it is stupendous in its freshness and bold daring4 ,the bigness of ,his idea of the thing to be done is immense4 ,to use a favorite phrase of to-day1 ,he had ia world-consciousness_/i4 ,it is hard for us to realize what a startling thing ,his world-consciousness was4 ,we are so familiar with the ,gospels that we lose much of their force through mere rote of familiarity4 ,it takes a determined effort1 and the fresh touch of the ,holy ,spirit1 too1 to have them come with all the freshness of a new book4 ,and then we have gotten sort of used in our day1 and in our part of the world especially1 to talking about world-wide enterprises4 ,we don't realize what a stupendous thing a world-consciousness was in ,jesus' day4 ,he certainly did not get it from ,his own generation2 not from the ,jews4 ,it stands out in keen contrast to their ideas4 ,they lived within very narrow alleyways4 ,they supposed they were the favorites of ,god2 and everybody else--idogs1_/i and idamned_/i dogs1 too2 not in the profane usage1 but actually4 ,but ,jesus thought of a iworld_/i1 and yearned for a world4 ,the words world and earth are constantly on ,his lips4 ,he said ,he came into the world2 not to ,palestine2 that was only the door ,he used for entrance4 ,it was from ,him that ,john learned1 what he wrote down1 that ,he was to lighten ievery man_/i that cometh into ithe world_/i4 ,to the ,jewish senator of the inner national circle ,he said plainly in that great sentence that contains the gist of the whole ,bible--,john1 three1 sixteen--that it was ia world_/i he was after4 i,a saved world_/i was the one purpose of ,his errand to the earth4 ,he had come to isave the world_/i1#b and would stop at nothing short of giving ,his very self for the life of ithe world_/i4 ,he tells ,his own inner circle that the field is a iworld_/i4 ,and that it is to be won by the means ,he ,himself was using2 namely1 men1 human beings1 sons of the kingdom#c were to be sown as seed all over its vast extent4 ,you remember1 that last week1 the request of the ,greeks for an interview8#d ,the outside non-,jewish world came to ,him in the visit and earnest request of those ,greeks4 ,and ,his whole being became greatly agitated4 ,it was as when one1 at last1 after years of labor without any seeming success1 gets a first faint glimpse of the results he longs so earnestly for4 ,here was a touch1 a glimpse of the very thing on which ,his heart was so set4 ,the great outside world was coming to ,him4 ,the realization of its tremendous meaning1 the sure promise it held of the day when iall the world would be coming_/i seems to set ,him all a-tremble with intensest emotion4 ,the delight of the possible realizing of ,his life-dream1 ,his earth errand1 and yet the terrific conviction that only by travelling the red road of the cross could that world be won1 made a fierce conflict within4 ,it was the world-vision that agitated ,him4 ,and it was that same world-vision that held ,him steady4 ,he would not scatter4 ,by concentrating all in one act ,he would generate and set off a dynamic power on ,calvary that would shake and then shape a world4 ,the knowledge that all men would be irresistibly drawn by the loadstone of the cross steadied ,his steps4 ,a few days later1 as ,he sat resting a bit1 on the side of the ,hill of ,olivet1 the disciples earnestly ask for some idea of ,his plan4 ,and ,he explains that the ,gospel was to be preached to the iwhole inhabited earth_/i4#e ,that conception was never out of ,his mind4 ,how could it be6 ,but the great purpose and passion of ,his life stands out most sharply in the words of that last imperial command4 ,he shows the whole of ,his heart in that stirring ,go ye into iall the world_/i and make disciples of iall the nations_/i2 preach the gospel to ithe whole creation_/i4 ,the passion of ,jesus' heart was to win the world4 ,and that passion has grown intenser in waiting4 ,to-day more than ever the one passion of yonder enthroned ,man is to win ,his world4 ,everything else bends to that with ,him4 ,nothing less will satisfy ,his heart4 ,now1 the ,god-touched man is always swayed by the same purpose and passion as sway ,god4 ,the passion of every ,god-touched man1 fresh from direct contact with ,him1 is to win the whole world up to ,god4 ,everything will be held under the strong thumb of this1 and made to fit and bend and blend into it4 ,the ,master's ,plan ,will the ,world ,be ,won8 ,some ,bad ,drifts4 ,great ,incidental ,blessings4 ,the ,world ,really ,lost4 ,god's ,method of ,saving4 ,the ,programme of ,world-winnng4 ,early ,moorings4 ,service ,unites4 ,the ,world-winning ,climb4 ,the ,plan u,will the ,world ,be ,won8_/u ,the great passion of ,god's heart is a love-passion4 ,love never fails4 ,it waits and1 if need be1 waits long2 but it never fails to get what it is waiting for4 ,love sacrifices2 though it never uses that word4 ,it doesn't know it iis_/i sacrificing1 it is so absorbed in its gripping purpose4 ,there may be keen-cutting pain1 but it is clean forgotten in the passion that burns within4 ,god means to win ,his world of men back home to ,himself4 ,but some earnest friend is thinking of an objection to all this talk about a world being won4 ,you are taken all anew with the great picture of ,god's passion of love in the opening page of this old ,book4 ,but all the time we have been talking together you have been having a cross-cutting train of thought underneath4 ,it has been saying1 ,isn't this going a bit too far8 will the whole world be won8 ,let us talk over that a bit4 ,we have been used all our lives to hearing about isoul-winning_/i4 ,we have been urged1 more or less1 to do it4 ,a favorite motto in some ,christian workers' convention has been1 ,win one4 ,but this idea of winning the world has not been preached4 ,at first it doesn't seem exactly orthodox4 ,the old-time preaching1 of which not so much is heard now1 except in restricted quarters1 is that the whole world is lost2 and that we are to save people out of it4 ,we used to be told that the world is bad1 and only bad2 bad beyond redemption1 and doomed4 ,in his earlier years ,mr4 ,moody used to say often with his great earnestness that this was a doomed world1 and that the great business of life was to save men out of it4 ,but of late years there has been a distinct swing away from this sort of preaching and talking4 ,everything we humans do seems to go by the clock movement1 the pendulum swing3 first one side1 then the other4 ,now we hear a very different sort of preaching4 ,this is really a good world4 ,there is some wickedness in it1 to be sure4 ,indeed1 there is quite a great deal of it4 ,but in the main it is not a bad world1 we're told4 ,the old-time preaching was chiefly concerned with getting ready for heaven4 ,now it is concerned1 for most part1 with living pure1 true lives right here on the earth4 ,and that change is surely a good one4 ,but it is also the common thing to be told that the world is not nearly so bad as we have been led to believe4 u,some ,bad ,drifts4_/u ,it is striking that with that has come a change of talk about sin1 the thing that was supposed to be responsible for making the world so bad4 ,sin is not such a damnable thing now1 apparently4 ,it is largely constitutional weakness1 or prenatal predilection1 or the idiosyncrasy of individuality4 7,big words are in favor here4 ,they always make such talk seem wise and plausible47 ,heaven has slipped largely out of view2 and--hell1 too1 even more4 ,churchmen in the flush of phenomenal material prosperity1 with full stomachs and luxurious homes and pews1 are well content with things as they are in this present world1 and don't propose to move4 ,and with that it is easy to believe what we are freely told1 that there is really no need of giving our ,christian religion to the heathen world4 ,those peoples have religions of their own that are remarkably good4 ,at least they are satisfactory to them4 ,why disturb them8 ,they are doing very well4 ,this talk about their being lost1 and needing a ,savior1 is reckoned out of date4 ,the old common statements about so many thousands dying daily1 and going out into a lost eternity1 are not liked4 ,they are called lurid4 ,and1 indeed1 they are not used nearly so much now as once4 ,this swing away has had a great influence upon the mass of church-members1 and upon their whole thought of the foreign-mission enterprise4 ,there is a vaguely expressed1 but distinctly felt idea both in the ,church and outside of it1 for the two seem to overlap as never before--that the sending of missionaries is really not to save peoples from being lost4 ,that sort of talk is almost vulgar now4 ,mission work is really a sort of good-natured neighborliness4 ,it is benevolent humanitarianism in which we may all help1 more or less 7usually less71 regardless of our beliefs or lack of beliefs1 our church-membership or attendance4 ,we should show these heathen our improved methods of living4 ,we have worked out better plans of housekeeping and schooling1 of teaching and doctoring1 and farming and all the rest of it4 ,and now we want to help these poor deficient peoples across the seas4 ,we think we are a superior people in ourselves1 as well as in our type of civilization1 decidedly so4 ,and having taken good care of ourselves1 and laid up a good snug sum1 we can easily afford to help these backward far-away neighbors a bit4 ,it is really the thing to do4 ,such seems to be the general drift of much of the present-day talk about foreign missions4 ,the ,church1 and its members individually1 have grown so rich that we have forgotten that we were ever poor4 ,the table is so loaded with dainties that we are quite willing to be generous with the crumbs1 even cake crumbs4 u,great ,incidental ,blessings4_/u ,now1 without doubt the sending of the missionaries has vastly improved conditions of human life in the foreign-mission lands4 ,the missionaries have been the forerunners of great improvements4 ,they have been the pioneers blazing out the paths along which both trade and diplomacy have gone with the newer and better civilization of the ,west4 ,civilization has developed marvellously in the western half of the world4 ,and the missionaries have been its advance agents into the stagnant ,east1 and the savage wilds of the southern hemisphere4 ,full1 accurate knowledge of nature's resources and laws1 and adaptation of that knowledge to practical uses1 have been among the most marked conditions of the western world during the past century4 ,and1 as a result1 education1 medical and hygienic and sanitary science1 development of the earth's soil1 and resources above and below the soil1 have gone forward by immense strides4 ,so far as is known1 our progress in such matters exceeds all previous achievements in the history of the race4 ,and some of all this has been seeping into the heathen world4 ,it hasn't gotten in far yet2 only into the top soil1 and about the edges1 so far4 ,the progress in this regard has seemed both rapid and slow4 ,when the great mass of these peoples have not yet gotten even a whiff of the purer1 better civilization air of the western nations the progress seems slow4 ,but when we remember the incalculably tremendous inertia1 and the strangely stagnant spirit of heathen lands1 it seems rapid4 ,the effort to get the heathen world simply to clean up2 to open the windows and let in some fresh air1 and use plain soap and water to scrub off the actual dirt makes one think of the typical small boy's dislike of being washed up4 ,it has been a hard job4 ,yet a great beginning has been made4 ,the boy seems to be beginning to find out that his face iis_/i dirty1 and ifeels_/i dirty4 ,and that is an enormous gain4 u,the ,world ,really ,lost4_/u ,yet while this is good1 and only good1 it isn't the thing we are driving at in missions4 ,while it would fully warrant all the expenditures of money1 and vastly more than has yet been given1 it should be said in clearest1 most ringing tones that all this is imerely incidental_/i4 ,it is blessed4 ,it is sure to come4 ,it is remarkable that it always has come where the ,gospel of ,jesus is preached4 ,yet this is not the thing aimed at in missions4 ,the one driving purpose is to carry to men ia ,saviour from sin_/i4 ,and to take ,him so earnestly and winsomely that men yonder shall be wooed and won to the real ,god1 whom they have lost knowledge of4 ,it cannot be said too plainly that the world iis_/i lost4 ,it has strayed so far away from the ,father's house that it has lost all its bearings1 and can't find its way back without help4 ,the old preaching that this is a lost world1 is true4 ,but we need to remember the different uses of that word world4 ,in the old-time conception it was used in a loose way as meaning the spirit that actuates men in the world4 ,the scheme of selfishness and wickedness and sinfulness which has overcast all life is commonly spoken of in the ,bible as the world spirit4 ,in that sense the world is bad1 and only bad4 ,men are to be saved out of it1 as ,moody said4 ,but1 in the other commoner use of it1 that word world simply means the whole race of men4 ,and we must remind ourselves vigorously of the plain truth that this is a lost world4 ,that is to say1 men have gotten away from ,god4 ,they completely misunderstand ,him4 ,then they do more1 and worse1 they misrepresent and slander ,him4 ,the result is complete lack of trust in ,him4 ,they have lost their moorings1 and have drifted out to deep sea with no compass on board4 ,thick fogs have risen and shut out sun and stars and every guiding thing4 ,they are hopelessly and helplessly lost1 and need some one to bring the compass so as to get back to shore1 back home to ,god4 ,but this world of men is to be won4 ,jesus said ,he came to save a world4 ,and ,he will not fail nor rest content until ,he has done it1 and this has become a saved world4 ,he said that ,he gave ,his life for the life of the world4 ,and the world will yet know the fulness of that life of ,his throbbing in its own heart4 ,this does not mean that all men will be saved4 ,there seems to be clear evidence in the ,book that some will insist on preferring their own way to ,god's4 ,and ,i am sure ,i do not know anything except what the ,book teaches4 ,it is the only reliable source of information ,i have been able to find so far4 ,it must be the standard1 because it is the standard4 ,there will be a group of stubborn irreconcilables holding out against all of ,god's tender pleading4 ,john's ,patmos vision of glory1 with its marvellous beauty and sweep1 has yet a lake of fire and a group of men insisting upon going their own way4 ,if a man choose that way1 he may4 ,he is still in the likeness of ,god in choosing to leave out ,god4 ,he remains a sovereign in his own will even in the hell of his own choosing4 u,god's ,method of ,saving4_/u i,the method of saving_/i is by iwinning_/i4 ,the ,father would not be content with anything else4 ,such a thing as might be represented by throwing a blanket over the head of a horse in a burning stable1 and so getting it out by coaxing1 and forcing1 and hiding the danger1 is not to be thought of here4 ,sin is never smoothed over by ,god1 nor its results1 their badness and their certainty4 ,he would have us see the sin as ugly and damning as it actually is1 and see ,him as pure and holy and winsome as ,he is2 and then to reject the sin and choose ,himself4 ,the method of much modern charity1 the long-range charity that helps by organization1 without the personal relation and warm touch1 is unknown to ,god4 ,he touches every man directly with ,his own warm heart1 and appeals to ,him at closest quarters4 ,man's highest power is his power of choosing4 ,it is in that ,he is most like ,god4 ,god's plan is to clear away the clouds1 sweep down the cobwebs that bother our eyes so1 and let us get such a look at ,himself that we will be caught with the sight of ,his great face1 and choose to come1 and to come a-running back to ,himself4 ,the world will be saved by its own choosing to be4 ,it will be saved by being won4 ,men will choose to leave sin and accept ,god's ,saviour ,jesus ,christ4 ,it is a great method4 ,it is the only method ,god could use4 ,the creative love-passion of ,his heart was that we should choose ,himself in preference to all else1 and choose life with ,him up on ,his level as the only life4 ,and the method of winning is by getting each man's consent4 ,the old cry of soul-winning is the true cry4 ,it tells the method of work for us to follow4 ,each man is to be won by his own free glad consent4 ,there is to be no wholesaling except by retailing4 ,in business the wholesale comes after the retail4 ,it is the child and servant of the retail4 ,here the method is to be one by one2 and the results1 a great multitude beyond the power of any arithmetic to count4 ,soul-winning is the method1 and world-winning is the object and the final result4 u,the ,programme of ,world-winning4_/u ,there is ia programme of world-winning_/i repeatedly outlined in this old ,book of ,god4 ,that programme has not always been clearly understood4 ,indeed1 it may be said that for the most part it has been misunderstood1 and still is by many4 ,and1 as a result1 many churchmen have lost their bearings1 and strayed far from the ,master's plan for their own lives and service4 ,it helps greatly to get the programme clear in mind1 so we can steer a straight course1 and not get confused nor lost4 ,the first item of that programme is world-wide evangelization4 ,that is the great service and privilege committed to the ,church1 and to every ,christian1 for this present time4 ,every other service is second to this4 ,this does not mean world-wide conversion4 ,that comes later4 ,it does mean a full1 winsome telling of the story of ,jesus' ,gospel1 to all nations and to all men4 ,it means the doing of it by all sorts of helpful1 sensible means2 the hospital and medical dispensary1 the school and college1 the printed page1 and the practical helping of men in every way that they can be helped4 ,above all1 it means the warm1 sympathetic1 brotherly touch4 ,not simply by preaching2 that surely1 but in addition to that the practical preaching of the ,gospel by all of these means44 ,when that has been accomplished the ,kingdom will come4 ,the ,king will come1 and with ,him the ,kingdom4 ,there will be radical changes in all the moral conditions of the earth4 ,it will be a time of greatly increased evangelization1 and of conversions of people in immense numbers4 ,it will seem as if all were giving glad allegiance to ,jesus the ,king4 ,the world will then seem to be indeed a won world4 ,but there will be many who have simply been swung into line outwardly by the general movement among the mass of peoples1 just as it always is4 ,and our ,king wants whole-hearted love and service4 ,and so1 at the end of the kingdom period1 there will come another crisis4 ,it is spoken of by ,john in his ,revelation vision#f as a loosing of ,satan1 and a renewal of his activity among men4 ,that used to puzzle me a good bit4 ,i wondered why1 when that foul fiend had once been securely fastened up1 he should be loosed again4 ,but ,i'm satisfied that the reason is that at the end of the ,kingdom time there is to be full opportunity for those who are not at heart loyal to ,jesus1 and who simply bow to ,him because the crowd is doing so1 to be perfectly free to do and go as they choose4 ,jesus wants a iheart_/i allegiance1 and only that4 ,the great thing is that every man shall freely choose as he really prefers4 ,this it is that both makes and reveals character4 ,and so there will be a final crisis4 ,all who at heart prefer to do so may swing away from ,jesus4 ,that crisis ends with the final and overwhelming defeat of ,satan and all the forces of evil4 ,he goes to his own place1 the place he has chosen and made for himself2 and all who prefer to leave ,god out will go by the moral gravitation of their own choice to that place with him4 ,then follows the full vision of a won world1 which ,john pictures in such glowing colors in these last two chapters of ,revelation1 as a city come down from ,god out of heaven4 u,early ,moorings4_/u ,there are two leading passages that speak of this programme4 ,you remember that during the last week of ,his life ,jesus told ,his disciples of the fall of ,jerusalem4 ,they came earnestly asking for fuller information regarding the future events4 ,they asked when the present period of time would come to an end4 ,and in answering ,he said--and the answer became a pivotal passage around which much else swings--that the ,gospel of the ,kingdom would be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony unto all nations4 ,and then the end of the present age or period of time would come#g4 ,the first council of the ,christian ,church was held as a result of the remarkable success attending the beginning of world-wide evangelization4 ,it was held in ,jerusalem to consider the serious question of what to do with the great multitude of foreign or ,gentile converts4 ,the ,church had been practically a ,jewish church4 ,but ,paul had commenced his remarkable series of world-wide preaching-tours4 ,great numbers of the outside peoples had accepted ,christ1 and been organized into ,christian churches4 ,some of the ,jewish ,church in ,jerusalem thought that all of these should become ,jewish in their observance of the old ,mosaic requirements4 ,both ,paul and ,peter1 the two great church leaders1 object to this4 ,it is at the close of the conference that ,james1 who was presiding1 outlines in his decision the programme of world-winning of which we are talking together#h4 ,he quotes from the prophecy of ,joel4 ,he says there are to be three steps or stages in working out ,god's plan4 ,first of all is the preaching of the ,gospel of ,jesus to all the nations1 in which work ,paul had been so earnestly engaged1 and the remarkable success of which it was that had given rise to the whole discussion4 ,when this has been completed the kingdom is to be established with the nation of ,israel in the central place1 the tabernacle of ,david set up1 as he quotes it4 ,the purpose of this is that all the rest of the peoples on the earth1 all the nations1 may iseek_/i after the ,lord4 ,the purpose of the ,kingdom is the same1 in the main1 as is now the purpose of the ,church4 ,it is to push forward on broader lines1 and more vigorously than ever1 the work of bringing all men back to the ,father's house4 ,there are many other passages that might be referred to1 but these will answer our purpose just now4 ,there is to be a won world1 and the old ,book outlines plainly just how and when it will be won4 u,service ,unites4_/u ,now1 ,i know that all ministers and ,christian teachers are not agreed about this4 ,there has been a controversy in the ,church1 both long and sometimes bitter1 unfortunately1 about the ,lord's return and the setting up of the ,kingdom4 ,and ,i have no desire to take any part in that1 but instead1 a strong desire to keep out of it4 ,there is too much pressing emergency among men for helpful service to spend any time or strength in controversy4 ,in a word it may be put this way4 ,there are those who believe that ,jesus' coming is a thing to be expected as likely to occur at any time1 or within our lifetime1 within any generation4 ,his coming is to be the beginning of the ,kingdom period1 when all peoples will be loyal to ,him4 ,the others believe that the preaching of the ,gospel will bring the whole world into allegiance1 and that will be the ,kingdom1 and then ,jesus will return4 ,both agree fully that the thing to be desired1 and that will come1 is the world-wide acknowledgment of ,jesus as ,saviour and ,king4 ,it may be added1 however1 that of later years there is a third great group in the ,church1 which is really the largest of the three4 ,these people practically ignore the teaching about an actual return of ,jesus to the earth4 ,they believe that ,he has already come1 and is continually coming in the higher ideals1 the better standards1 and nobler spirit that pervade society4 ,if it be true that the present preaching of the ,gospel is to result in winning the whole world at once1 without waiting for this programme of which ,i have spoken1 then there is in that a very strong argument for world-wide evangelization4 ,for only so can the desired result be secured4 ,and so we can heartily join hands together in service regardless of what we believe on this question4 ,i make a rule not to ask a man on which side of the question he stands1 but to work with him hand in hand so far as ,i can in spreading the glad good news of ,jesus everywhere4 ,the difference of view regarding the ,lord's return need not affect the practical working together of all earnest men4 ,we are perfectly agreed that the great thing is to have the story of ,jesus' dying and rising again told out earnestly and lovingly to all men4 ,and we can go at that with greatest heartiness1 side by side4 ,the great concern now is to make ,jesus fully known4 ,that is the plan for the present time4 ,it is a simple plan4 ,men who have been won are to be the winners4 ,nobody else can be4 ,the warm enthusiasm of grateful love must burn in the heart and drive all the life4 ,there must be simple1 but thorough organization4 ,the campaign should be mapped out as thoroughly as a ,presidential campaign is organized here in our country4 ,the purpose of a ,presidential campaign is really stupendous in its object and sweep4 ,it is to influence quickly1 up to the point of decisive action1 the individual opinion of millions of men1 spread over millions of square miles1 and that1 too1 in the face of a vigorous opposing campaign to influence them the other way4 ,the whole vast district of country is mapped out and organized on broad lines and into the smallest details4 ,strong brainy men give themselves wholly to the task1 and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars within a few months4 ,and then1 four years later1 they proceed as enthusiastically as before to go over the whole ground again4 ,we need as thorough organizing1 as aggressive enthusiasm1 and as intelligent planning for this great task which our ,master has put into our hands4 ,and we have a driving motive power greater than any campaign-manager ever had or has--ia ,jesus_/i who sets fire to one's whole being1 with a passion of love that burns up every other flame4 ,we need a ,church as thoroughly organized1 and every man in it with a burning heart for this great service4 u,the ,world-winning ,climb4_/u ,an old school-master1 talking to his class one morning1 many years ago1 told a story of an early experience he had had in ,europe4 ,he was one of a party travelling in ,switzerland4 ,they had gotten as far as ,chamounix1 and were planning to climb ,mont ,blanc4 ,that peak1 you know1 is the highest of the ,alps1 and is called the monarch of ,european mountains4 ,while it is now ascended every day in season1 the climb is a very difficult task4 ,it requires strength and courage and much special preparation2 and is still attended with such danger that the authorities of ,chamounix have laid down rigid regulations for those who attempt it4 ,one's outfit must be reduced to the very lowest limit4 ,and1 of course1 nothing else can be done while climbing4 ,it absorbs all one's strength and thought4 ,there were two parties in the little square of the town1 making their preparations with the guides4 ,one young ,englishman disregarded all the directions of the guides4 ,he loaded himself with things which he positively declared were absolutely essential to his plans4 ,he had a small case of wine and some delicacies for his appetite4 ,he had a camera with which he proposed to take views of himself and his party at different stages of the climb4 ,he had a batch of note-books in which he intended recording his impressions as he proceeded1 which were afterward to be printed for the information1 and1 he hoped1 admiration of the world4 ,a picturesque cap and a gayly colored blanket were part of his outfit4 ,the old toughened guides1 experienced by many a severe tug and storm in the difficulties ahead1 protested earnestly4 ,but it made no impression on the ambitious youth4 ,at last they whispered together1 and allowed him to have his own way4 ,and the party started4 ,six hours later the second party followed4 ,at the little inn where they spent the first night they found the wine and food delicacies4 ,the guides laughed4 ,the ,englishman has found that he cannot humor his stomach if he would climb ,mont ,blanc1 one of them said grimly4 ,a little farther up they found the note-book and camera2 still higher up1 the gay robe and fancy cap had been abandoned4 ,and at last they found the young fellow at the summit in leather jacket1 exhausted and panting for breath4 ,he had encountered heavy storms1 and reached the top of the famous mountain only at the risk of his life4 ,but he reached it4 ,he had the real stuff in him1 after all4 ,yet everything not absolutely essential had to be sacrificed4 ,and his ideas of the meaning of that word essential underwent radical changes as he labored up the steep4 ,then the old teacher telling the story suddenly leaned over his desk and1 looking earnestly at the class1 said1 ,when ,i was young ,i planned out my life just as he planned out his climb4 ,food and clothing1 and full records of my experiences for the world's information1 figured in big4 ,but at forty ,i cared only for such clothes as kept me warm1 and at fifty only for such food as kept me strong4 ,and so steep was the climb up to the top ,i had set my heart upon that at sixty ,i cared little for the opinions of people1 if only ,i might reach the top4 ,and when ,i do reach it ,i shall not care whether the world has a record of it or not4 ,that record is in safety above4 ,we laugh at the ambitious young ,englishman4 ,but will you kindly let me say1 plainly1 without meaning to be critical in an unkind sense1 that imost of us do just as he did_/i4 ,and will you listen softly1 while ,i say this--many of us1 when we find we can't reach the top with our loads1 let the top go1 and pitch our tents in the plain1 and settle down with our small plans and accessories4 ,the plain seems to be quite full of tents4 ,the plan of the ,swiss guides is ithe plan_/i for the life-climb4 ,it is ithe_/i plan1 and the only one for us to follow in the world-winning climb4 ,that was ,jesus' plan4 ,he left behind and threw away everything that hindered1 and at the last threw away life itself1 that so the world might find life4 ,we must follow ,him4 ,the ,urgent ,need ,three ,great ,groups4 ,the ,needle ,of ,the ,compass ,of ,need4 ,a ,quick ,run ,round ,the ,world4 ,west ,by ,way ,of ,the ,east4 ,christian ,lands4 ,the ,greatest ,need4 ,groping ,in ,the ,dark4 ,living ,messages ,of ,jesus4 ,the ,great ,unknown ,lack4 ,the ,need u,three ,great ,groups4_/u ,the human heart is tender4 ,it answers quickly to the cry of need4 ,it is oftentimes hard to find4 ,in ,christian lands it is covered up with selfishness4 ,and in heathen lands the selfishness seems so thickly crusted that it is hard to awaken even common humanitarian feeling4 ,but that heart once dug out1 and touched1 never fails to respond to the cry of need4 ,we know how the cry of physical distress1 of some great disaster1 or of hunger will be listened to1 and how quickly all men respond to that4 ,when the terrible earthquake laid ,san ,francisco in burning ruins the whole nation stopped1 and gave a great heart-throb2 and then commenced at once sending relief4 ,corporations that are rated soulless and men that are spoken of as money-mad1 knocking each other pitilessly aside in their greed for gold and power1 all alike sent quick and generous help of every substantial sort4 ,beside expressing their sympathy in kindest and keenest word1 they gave millions of dollars4 ,yet this might seem to be a family affair1 as indeed it was4 ,but the great famines in ,india and in other foreign lands farthest removed from us1 have awakened a like response in our hearts4 ,great sums have been given in money and supplies to feed the hunger of far-away peoples1 and help them sow their fields and get a fresh start4 ,there is a need far deeper and greater than that of physical suffering4 ,and there is a heart far more tender than the best human heart4 ,that need is to know ,god1 whom to know is to enter into fulness of life1 both physical and mental2 and into that life of the spirit that is higher and sweeter than either of these lower down4 ,and that tender heart is the human heart touched by the warm heart of ,god4 ,many of us ,christian people who are gathered here to-night have had unusual blessing in having our hearts touched into real life by the touch of ,god4 ,and there's much more of the same sort waiting our fuller touch with ,him4 ,and now we want to see to-night something of the needs of ,god's great world-family1 which is our own family because it is ,god's4 ,then we shall respond to it as freely and quickly and intelligently1 as ,he ,himself did and does4 ,i am going to ask you to come with me for a brief journey around the world4 ,we want to get something of a clear1 even though rapid view1 of the whole of this world of ours4 ,for the whole world is a mission field4 ,missionaries are sent everywhere1 including our own home-land1 and including all of our cities4 ,our cities are as really mission fields as are the heathen lands4 ,there is a difference1 but it is only one of degree4 ,the ,christian standards present in our ,american life1 and absent from these foreign-mission lands1 make an enormous difference4 ,but1 apart from that great fact1 the need of mission service is as really in ,new ,york as it is in ,shanghai4 ,if we are to pray for the whole world1 and to help in other ways to win it1 we ought to try to get something of a clear idea of it1 to help us in our thinking and praying and planning4 ,it will help toward that if we remember at the outset that the world from the religious point of view1 divides up easily into three great groups4 ,first there are the great non-,christian1 or heathen1 lands and nations4 ,this includes those called ,mohammedan2 for1 while that religion is based upon a partial ,christian truth1 it is so utterly corrupt in teaching and morally foul in practice that it is distinctly classed with the heathen religions4 ,then there are the lands and nations under the control of those two great mediaeval historic forms of ,christianity1 the ,roman and ,greek ,churches1 in which the vital principles of the ,christian life seem to have been almost wholly lost in a network of forms and organization4 ,the essential truths are there4 ,but they are hidden away and covered up4 ,there are untold numbers of true ,christians there1 but they live in a strangely clouded twilight4 ,the third great group is of lands and peoples under the sway of the ,protestant churches4 u,the ,needle of the ,compass of ,need4_/u ,let us look a little at these peoples4 ,where shall we start in8 ,the old rule of the ,master's command1 and of the early ,church's practice1 was to begin at ,jerusalem1 and keep moving until the outmost limit of the world was reached4 ,i suppose that practically1 in service1 beginning at ,jerusalem means beginning just where you are1 and then reaching out to those nearest1 and then less near1 until you have touched the farthest4 ,but the old ,jerusalem rule will make a good geographical rule for us ,english-speaking people1 with an ocean between us1 in getting a fresh look at this old world that the ,master asks us to carry in our hearts and on our hands4 ,so we'll begin there4 ,the needle of a magnetic compass always points north4 ,the needle of the compass of progress has always pointed west2 at least always since the ,medo-,persian was the world-power4 ,but it is striking that the compass of the world's ineed_/i always points its needle toward the east4 ,and so1 starting at ,jerusalem1 we may well turn our faces east as we take our swing around the world to learn its need4 ,it may be a relief to you to know at once that there will not be any statistics in this series of talks4 ,we want instead just now to get broad and general1 but distinct1 impressions4 ,statistics are burdensome to most people4 ,they are a good deal of a bugbear to the common crowd of us every-day folks4 ,they are absolutely essential4 ,they are of immense1 that is1 immeasurable1 value4 ,you need to have them at hand where you can easily turn for exact information1 as you need it1 to refresh your memory4 ,and an increasing amount of it will stick in your memory and guide your thinking and praying4 ,there are easily available1 in these days of such remarkable missionary activity1 an abundance of fresh statistics1 in attractive form4 ,we are greatly indebted to the ,student ,volunteer ,movement and the ,young ,people's ,missionary ,movement and the ,church ,societies for the great service they have done in this matter of full fresh information4 ,but the thing of first importance is to get an intelligent thought of the iwhole world_/i4 ,and then to add steadily to our stock of particular information1 as study and prayer and service call for it4 ,it is possible to get a simple grasp of the whole world4 ,and it helps immensely to do it4 ,it helps at once to this end to remember that two-thirds of all the peoples of the earth are in the distinctly heathen1 or non-,christian1 lands4 ,this in itself is a tremendous fact1 telling at once of the world's need4 ,at the beginning of the twentieth hundred-years since ,jesus gave ,his command to preach ,his ,gospel to all men1 two-thirds of them are still in ignorance of ,him and under the same moral sway as when ,he went away4 ,i might add that there are a billion people in these two-thirds4 ,but that figure is so big as only to stagger the mind in an attempt to take it in4 ,the important thing is to see that it doesn't by its sheer bigness1 stagger our faith or our courage or our praying habit4 ,we want to be like the old ,hebrew who staggered not at ,god's promise to do for him a naturally impossible thing4 ,yet it is well to repeat that word billion1 for it brings up sharply and gigantically the staggering need of the world for ,christ4 ,one-third is in lands commonly called ,christian4 ,though we must use that word ,christian in the broadest and most charitable sense in making that statement4 u,a ,quick ,run ,round the ,world4_/u ,beginning at ,jerusalem1 then1 means for us just now beginning with the ,turkish ,empire4 ,and with that1 in this rapid run through1 we may for convenience group ,arabia and ,persia and ,afghanistan4 ,this is the section where ,mohammedanism1 that corrupt mixture of heathenism with a small tincture of ,christian truth1 has its home1 and whence it has gone out on its work throughout the world4 ,great populations here have practically no knowledge at all of the ,gospel1 for missionary work is extremely scant4 ,the land of the ,saviour1 with its eastern neighbors1 has no ,saviour1 so far as knowing about ,him is concerned1 though it needs ,his saving very sorely4 ,next to it1 on the east1 lies the great land of ,india1 with the smaller countries that naturally group with it4 ,and here are gathered fully ia fifth_/i of the people of the earth4 ,these are really in large part our blood-brothers4 ,their fathers away back were brothers to our fathers4 ,and so missionary work here ought to be reckoned largely as a family affair4 ,british rule has had an immense humanizing influence here4 ,missionary activity has been carried on aggressively for years1 and great and blessed progress has been made4 ,yet it is merely a preparation for the work now so sorely needed4 ,these years of faithful seed-sowing have made the soil dead ripe for a harvest in our day4 ,a strange religiousness utterly lacking both in religion and in morality1 abominably repugnant in its gross immorality1 honey-combs the life of these people4 ,the cry of need here is deep and pathetic4 ,pushing on still to the east1 the great land of ,china with its dependencies1 looms up in all its huge giant size4 ,roughly speaking1 almost ia third_/i of the world's people are grouped here4 ,there are practically almost as many in what is reckoned ,chinese territory as in all ,christian lands4 ,here is found the oldest and best civilization of the non-,christian sort4 ,the old common religion of ,confucius is practically not a religion at all1 but a code of maxims and rules1 and utterly lacking in moral uplift or power4 ,the peculiarly impressive thing about ,china1 as indeed about nearly all of the heathen world1 iis the spirit of stagnation_/i4 ,there is a deadness1 or sort of stupor1 over everything4 ,it is as if a blight had spread over the land1 checking all progress4 ,habits1 customs1 and institutions remain apparently as they were a thousand years ago4 ,this stands out in sharp contrast with the spirit of growth that marks ,christian lands4 ,it seems strange to us because the spirit of growth is the atmosphere of our western world1 breathed in from infancy4 ,the one word that seems peculiarly to describe ,china is that word stagnant4 ,the people themselves are remarkable both for their mental power and their habits of industry4 ,the ,chinese may well be called the ,anglo-,saxons of the ,orient1 in latent power and mental character4 ,in our modesty we think the ,anglo-,saxon1 the ,english-speaking1 the greatest of living peoples4 ,certainly the leadership of the world is in ,anglo-,saxon hands1 and has been for centuries4 ,and the marvellous1 unprecedented progress of the world has been under that leadership4 ,well1 when these ,chinese wake up we are very likely to find the race getting a new leadership1 and the history of the world a new chapter added4 ,what sort of leadership it will be morally1 and what sort of a chapter1 will depend on how much statesmanship there is in our praying and giving and missionary service4 ,but the need is enormously intensified by the unawakened power of these ,chinese4 u,west by ,way of the ,east4_/u ,still moving east1 we come to the newly awakened and very attractive island-nation of ,japan1 which1 because of its geographical and territorial situation1 has been called the ,great ,britain of the ,orient4 ,japan stands at present as the exception to the common stagnation of the heathen world4 ,it has made a record nothing less than phenomenal as a student of ,western life4 ,it has absorbed1 and imitated1 and adapted to its own use1 the ,western knowledge and spirit with a wonderful power and intelligence4 ,japan is both bright and ambitious to an almost abnormal degree1 and as tricky in its dealings1 and morally unclean in its life1 as it is bright and ambitious4 ,they have been called the ,frenchmen of the ,orient1 and that characterization fits remarkably in many respects4 ,great progress has been made in giving the ,gospel to ,japan1 but the present moral need is immensely intensified by the very aggressiveness of the ,japanese spirit4 ,with ,japan1 the island-kingdom1 it is easy to group the whole island-world lying to the east and south1 though these are utterly different peoples4 ,this includes the great number of islands scattered throughout the ,pacific ,ocean4 ,the conditions are largely those of savagery except where affected by ,christian civilization through the missionary enterprise4 ,the ,gospel has done some wonderful feats of transformation here4 ,and there is plenty of room for more4 ,australia1 the island continent1 is a ,british colony1 and of course now reckoned among ,christian lands2 as is also the large island of ,new ,zealand1 also a ,british colony1 which has been a leader in some of the most advanced steps of modern civilization4 ,crossing the ,pacific to the east brings up the ,south ,american ,continent2 and ,central ,america1 the connecting stretch of land with our own continent2 and ,mexico1 which is commonly grouped with foreign-mission lands4 ,south ,america has been spoken of both as the neglected continent and as the continent of opportunity4 ,the common characteristic religiously of all this vast section from ,mexico to the ,land of ,fire1 at the southernmost toe of ,south ,america1 is that it is under the sway of the ,roman ,catholic ,church4 ,some parts of it have been spoken of as baptized heathenism4 ,a vast network of church forms and organization1 practically lifeless1 holds these peoples in an iron grasp4 ,the need of the ,gospel of ,jesus is fully as great as in civilized ,china or savage ,africa4 ,one more long easterly stride1 across the ,atlantic1 brings black ,africa1 and completes this rapid run around the globe1 so far as distinctly heathen lands are concerned4 ,africa is peculiarly the savage continent1 though it has the oldest civilization in its northeast corner1 and the newest ,british civilization rapidly developing on its southern edge4 ,it is the dark continent1 both in the color of its inhabitants and in its sad destitution and degradation4 ,about ia tenth_/i of the world's population is here2 with as many missionaries as in civilized ,india1 but unable to reach the people as effectually as there because of the lack of national organization and the absence of great highways of travel4 ,africa is essentially a great mass of separate tribes1 larger and smaller1 most of them in deepest savagery1 with sorest need not only of salvation1 but of civilization4 ,the sore need of its very savagery has seemed to make it a magnet to missionary enterprise4 ,and yet all that has been done1 and is being done1 seems almost swallowed up in the depth of its degradation and savagery4 ,i have taken you with me in this very rapid run that we might try to get a simple practical grasp of the heathen world4 ,and if you and ,i might often take just such a run1 with map or globe and ,bible at hand1 and our knees bent1 it would greatly help us in getting close to the world our ,lord died for2 and which ,he means to win2 and to win through you and me2 and which ,he iwill_/i win4 u,christian ,lands4_/u ,but ,i must talk with you a bit about our ,christian lands1 ,europe and ,america1 with huge ,russia sitting astride both ,europe and ,asia1 with a foot dangling on each side of the globe4 ,for these1 too1 are mission lands4 i,foreign_/i-mission lands1 would you call them8 ,well1 that depends entirely on what spot you happen to call home4 ,they are all mission fields4 ,the whole world is a mission field to ,god4 i,foreign_/i-mission field8 or ihome_/i-mission8 ,which8 ,it makes no practical matter which term you choose to use4 ,it will be well to remember just what that common phrase1 ,christian lands1 really means4 ,it may help us in our praying4 ,and it may help us1 too1 to keep humble as we think about heathen lands4 ,it means1 of course1 the lands where ,christian standards are commonly recognized as the proper standards of morals and of life4 ,it does inot_/i mean that the people are all ,christian4 ,only a minority so class themselves2 the great majority do not4 ,neither does it mean that that minority called ,christian is icontrolled_/i in daily life and in business by the principles of ,jesus4 ,for by pretty general consent they are not so controlled4 ,it is not too much to say that there is more of that same spirit of selfishness that marks the heathen world1 dominating the personal lives of people in ,christian lands1 than there is of the unselfish ,christ spirit4 ,that may sound unkind and too critical to you4 ,it is not said in a critical spirit1 but simply in the desire to get the facts as they are4 ,i am fully persuaded that the more you think about it the more you will come to see that this is simply the truth4 ,nor yet does that term1 ,christian lands1 mean that these lands are as distinctly ,christian through and through as heathen lands are distinctly heathen1 or non-,christian1 through and through4 ,as a matter of fact1 ,christian lands are not dominated as thoroughly by the ,christian spirit as heathen lands are by the heathen spirit4 ,we really don't deserve our distinctive phrase as much as they deserve theirs4 ,it does mean chiefly this1 that here in these lands the ,christian ,church has its stronghold2 that ,christian standards are commonly recognized1 though in practice they are so commonly disregarded4 ,it means that the enormous incidental blessings1 in material and mental life1 that always follow the preaching of the ,gospel are here enjoyed most fully4 ,and it means1 too1 that much of the humanizing1 softening1 and energizing power of the ,gospel of ,christ has seeped and soaked into our common civilization and affected all our life4 ,this is true2 yet the mass of persons living in this atmosphere1 and enjoying its great advantages1 are wholly selfish in the main drive of their lives1 and so in being selfish are un-,christian4 ,while ,christian ideals dominate so much of our life1 the term ,christian lands really describes our iprivileges_/i more than it does our ipractices_/i4 u,the ,greatest ,need4_/u ,a word now about these great ,christian lands of ,europe and ,america4 ,the ,catholic countries of ,europe have been regarded as mission fields by the ,protestant churches1 and missionary operations have been conducted in them for many years4 ,russia has likewise been commonly regarded as missionary territory1 and a very difficult one at that4 ,in portions of ,great ,britain1 in our own ,western ,states and frontiers1 in the ,southern mountain ,states1 and in other sections1 and among special classes1 missionary work has been regularly carried on4 ,and the cities1 those great1 strange1 throbbing hearts of human life1 are all peculiarly mission fields4 ,it is remarkable how the modern city reproduces world conditions morally4 ,the city is a sort of miniature of the world4 ,all the varying moral conditions of the heathen world1 atheism1 savagery almost1 crude heathenish superstition1 degradation of woman1 neglect of children1 and untempered lust1 may be found in ,new ,york and ,chicago1 in ,london and ,paris1 in ,vienna and ,berlin1 and in varying degree in all cities of ,christian lands4 ,the grosser parts are hidden away1 more or less4 ,these conditions are softened in intensity by the commonly recognized moral standards of life4 ,but they are there4 ,the man immersed in mission service in any of these cities is apt to think that there can be no greater nor sorer need than this that pushes itself insistently upon him at every turn4 ,the slum ends and sides of our ,christian cities and huge heathendom1 jostle elbows in the likeness of their moral conditions4 ,the need is everywhere1 crying earnestly1 wretchedly out to us4 ,there is good mission ground anywhere you please to strike in4 ,but--ibut_/i1 by far the greatest need1 with that word greatest intensified beyond all power of description1 is in the heathen lands4 ,the vastness of the numbers there1 the utter ignorance1 the smallness of their chance of getting any of the knowledge and uplift of the ,gospel1 all go to spell out that word greatest4 ,the awful cumulative power of sin1 unchecked by the common moral standards of life1 with the terrific momentum of centuries2 the common temptations known to us1 but with a fierceness and subtlety wholly unknown to us in ,christian lands--and yet how terrifically fierce and cunningly subtle some of us know them to be6--these all make every letter in that word greatest stand out in biggest capitals1 and in blackest1 inkiest ink4 u,groping in the ,dark4_/u ,that is a bare suggestion of the need of the world iin bulk_/i4 ,but we want to get a much closer look than that4 ,these are imen_/i that we are talking about2 our ibrothers_/i1 not merely hard1 unfeeling1 statistical totals of millions4 ,each man of them contains the whole pitiable picture of the sore need of the world vividly portrayed in himself4 ,the very heathen religions themselves are the crying out1 in the night1 of men's hearts1 after something they haven't1 and yet need so much4 ,strange things these heathen superstitions and monstrous practices and beliefs called religions6 ,it has been rather the thing of late to speak somewhat respectfully of them1 and rather apologetically4 ,they have even been praised1 so strangely do things get mixed up in this world of ours4 ,it has been supposed that ,god was revealing ,himself in these religions2 and that in them men were reaching up to ,god1 and icould_/i reach up to ,him through them4 ,they really are the twilight remnants of the clear direct light of ,god that once lightened all men2 ibut_/i so mixed through1 and covered up with error and superstition and unnatural devilish lust1 that they are wholly inadequate to lead any man back home to ,god4 ,in almost all of them there is indeed some distinct kernel of truth4 ,but that kernel has been invariably shut up in a shell and bur that are hard beyond any power of cracking1 to get at the kernel of truth for practical help1 even if the people knew enough to try4 ,they tell pathetically of the groping of man's heart after ,god4 ,but the groping is in the pitch dark1 and amid a mass of foul1 filthy cobwebs that blind the eyes with their dust1 and grime all the life4 ,i have no doubt that untold numbers of true hearts in heathen lands are feeling after ,god1 and in some dim way coming into touch with ,him4 ,he is not far from any one of them2 but they find ,him chiefly in spite of these religions1 rather than through any help found in them4 ,the story is told of a ,chinese tailor who had struggled hopelessly for light1 and had finally found it in finding ,jesus4 ,he put his idea of the heathen religions that he knew1 and had tried1 in this simple vivid way3 ,a man had fallen into a deep1 dark pit1 and lay in its miry bottom1 groaning and utterly unable to move4 ,he heard a man walking by close enough to see his plight4 ,but with stately tread he walked on without volunteering to help4 ,that is ,mohammedanism4 ,confucius walking by approached the edge of the pit1 and said1 ',poor fellow6 ,i am sorry for you4 ,why were you such a fool as to get in there8 ,let me give you a piece of advice3 ,if ever you get out1 don't get in again4' ',i can't get out1' said the man4 ,that is ,confucianism4 ,a ,buddhist priest next came by and said3 ',poor fellow6 ,i am very much pained to see you there4 ,i think if you could scramble up two-thirds of the way1 or even half1 ,i could reach you and lift you up the rest4' ,but the man in the pit was entirely helpless and unable to rise4 ,that is ,buddhism4 ,next the ,saviour came by1 and1 hearing his cries1 went to the very brink of the pit1 stretched down and laid hold of the poor man1 brought him up1 and said1 ',go1 sin no more4' ,this is ,christianity4 ,the awful moral or immoral conditions prevalent throughout the heathen world are the most graphic comment on the influence of these religions4 ,it can be said thoughtfully that1 instead of ever helping up to ,god and the light1 they drag down to the devil and to black darkness4 ,there is not only an utter lack of any moral uplift in them1 but a deadly downward pull4 ,the very things called religions point out piteously the terrible need of these peoples4 u,living ,messages of ,jesus4_/u ,now1 what is it that these people need1 and that we can give to them8 ,may ,i first remind you what they don't need8 ,well1 let it be said as plainly as it can be that they don't need the transferring to heathen soil of our ,western church systems1 nor our schemes of organizations4 ,it is not our ,western creeds and theology that they stand in need of4 ,of course1 there need to be both churches and organizations4 ,only so will the work be done1 and what is gotten held together4 ,but these are in themselves temporary4 ,they are immensely important and indispensable1 but not the chief thing4 ,the great need is of ithe story of ,jesus_/i4 ,that is1 plain teaching about sin--the hardest task of all for the missionary1 whether in ,asia or ,america--and the damnable results locked up in sin4 ,then the winsome telling1 the tirelessly patient and persistently gentle telling of the story of love1 ,god's love as revealed in ,jesus4 ,the telling them that ,jesus will put a new moral power inside a man that will make him over new4 ,but they need even more than this1 aye1 far more4 ,they need imen_/i--human beings like themselves1 living among them in closest touch--whose clean1 strong1 sweet lives spell out the ,jesus-story as no human lips can ever tell it4 ,to live side by side with men who like themselves are tempted sorely1 but who show plainly in their lives a power that downs the temptation--this is their great need4 ,the good seed1 after all1 is not the message of truth merely1 but the sons of the kingdom1#i men living the message of ,jesus1 and more1 the power of ,jesus1 daily4 ,a kindergarten teacher opened a mission among the slum children of a very poor section of ,chicago4 ,she began her work by gathering a number of dirty1 unkempt children of the street into the neat mission room4 ,then1 instead of preaching or praying or something of the conventional sort at the first1 she brought in and set on a table a large beautiful calla lily1 bewitching in its simple white beauty4 ,the effect of the flower on one child1 a little girl1 was striking4 ,no sooner had she looked at it than she looked down at her own dirty hands and clothes1 with a flush creeping into her face4 ,then she quickly went out into the street4 ,in a little while she was back again1 but with her face washed1 her hair combed1 her dress tidied up1 and a bit of colored ribbon added4 ,she walked straight up to the lily again1 and looked long1 with deep wondering admiration in her eyes1 at the beautiful white flower4 ,the flower's purity was a mirror in which she saw her own dirtiness4 ,it was a magnet drawing her gently but strongly up to its own higher level4 ,it was an inspiration moving her irresistibly to respond to its own upward pull4 ,a simple1 pure1 human life is the greatest moral magnet4 ,jesus ,himself down here was just such a magnet4 ,such a life is impossible for us without ,jesus4 ,it tells ,his power as no tongue can4 ,it spells out loudly a standard of life and1 far more1 a power that can lift the life up to the standard4 ,it doesn't simply tell what we should be4 ,that may only tantalize and tease4 ,but it tells what we actually can be4 ,jesus is more than a message4 ,he is a living power in a man's life4 ,this is the great need of men's hearts1--the message of ,jesus' purity and of ,jesus' power iembodied in live men_/i1 living side by side1 in the thick of things1 with their brothers of the great world4 u,the ,great ,unknown ,lack4_/u ,the greatness of men's need stands out most pathetically in this1 that men don't know their need4 ,they have gotten so used to the night that they don't care for the sunlight4 ,they have been hungry so long that the sense of hunger and the call of appetite have wholly gone4 ,there is a simple1 striking story told of two famous ,scandinavians1 ,ole ,bull1 the great violinist1 and ,john ,ericsson1 the great inventor1 who taught the world to use the screw in steam navigation4 ,the one was a ,norwegian1 the other a ,swede4 ,they had been friends in early life1 but drifted apart and did not meet again until each had become famous4 ,the old friendship was renewed on one of ,ole ,bull's tours to this country4 ,as ,bull was leaving his friend1 after a delightful visit1 he gave him a cordial invitation to attend his concert that evening4 ,but the matter-of-fact1 prosaic ,ericsson declined1 pleading pressure of work1 and saying that he had no time to waste on music4 ,bull renewed his invitation1 time and again1 finally saying1 ,if you won't come1 ,i'll bring my violin down here to your shop1 and play4 ,if you do1 replied the famous engineer laughingly1 ,i'll smash the thing to pieces4 ,the violinist1 knowing the marvellous1 almost supernatural1 power of his instrument to touch and awaken the human heart into new life1 felt curious to know what effect it would have on this scientific man steeped in his prosaic physics4 ,so he planned a bit of diplomacy4 ,taking the violin with him1 he called upon ,ericsson at his workshop one day4 ,he removed the strings and screws and apron1 and called ,ericsson's attention to certain defects1 asking about the scientific and acoustic principles involved1 and discussing the differing effect of the different grain of certain woods4 ,from this he went on to a discussion of sound waves4 ,finally1 to illustrate his meaning and his questions1 he replaced the parts1 and1 bringing the bow softly down upon the tense strings1 drew out a few marvellously sweet1 rich tones4 ,at once the workmen in the shop dropped their tools1 and listened with wide-eyed wonder4 ,ole ,bull played on and on1 with his simple great skill1 making the workshop a place of worship4 ,when finally he paused1 ,ericsson lifted his bowed head1 and showed eyes that were wet4 ,then he said softly1 with the touch of reverent awe in his voice1 ,play on6 ,don't stop4 ,play on4 i,i never knew before what it was that was lacking in my life4_/i ,that is what men everywhere say when they come to know ,jesus4 ,they fight against knowing ,him because of their ignorance of ,him4 ,at home1 prejudice against theology of this sort and that2 against some preaching1 or church service1 or some ,christian people they have unpleasant memories of perhaps1 bar the way4 ,abroad1 prejudice against their treatment at the hands of ,christian nations1 or against anything new1 shuts the door with a slam and a sharp push of the bolt4 ,it takes great diplomacy1 love's diplomacy1 the combination of serpent and dove1 subtlety and harmlessness1 to get an entrance4 ,but when the door is pried open1 or coaxed open enough for some sound or sight of ,jesus to get in1 they passionately cry out1 ,this is what ,i need4 ,this ,jesus is the lacking thing in my life6 ,the ,present ,opportunity ,somebody's ,knocking at the ,door4 ,they're ,standing in the ,dark4 ,who's ,there8 ,the ,coming ,leaders4 ,what ,they're ,after4 ,returning ,our ,call4 ,inasmuch4 ,the ,present ,opportunity u,somebody's ,knocking at the ,door4_/u ,there's a soft1 tender passion in the heart of ,god4 ,its flame burns steadily4 ,it never flags nor dims4 ,it's a passion for ,his child-man4 ,and that very passion itself draws man to ,himself with a drawing power that is irresistible4 ,they can't resist being drawn1 even though they may refuse to yield to it4 ,there is an answering passion in man's heart for ,god4 ,it is often a sort of dumb longing1 not clearly defined nor well understood4 ,it is a mute yearning of his heart for ,god1 though often he doesn't think of it that way4 ,but it is there2 for these two1 man and ,god1 belong together4 ,they were together until sin drove its ugly wedge in between4 ,they are a part of each other4 ,neither one is complete nor happy without the other4 ,the heart of ,god can be satisfied only as man comes back home to ,him4 ,and man's heart never rests until it finds rest in comradeship with ,god4 ,these two are always drawing toward each other4 ,god is always drawing man by the great master-passion of ,his heart4 ,and man is always responding to that tender1 strong pull in the underneath1 mute yearning of his heart4 ,by and by the thing that keeps them apart will be gotten rid of4 ,sin will be shipped overboard1 to fall by its own dead weight to the bottom of the sea4 ,then there will be glad reunion of ,god and man1 their hearts in full glad accord again4 ,to-night we want to talk together a bit about this answering passion of man's heart for ,god4 ,the heathen world is knocking to-day at the door of the ,christian ,church4 ,it has found out who has the fullest and truest information about ,god4 ,and it is knocking loudly and earnestly at that door4 ,and it keeps on knocking1 though the door seems to be barely open yet2 and a good many--most8--inside don't seem to have heard the knocking4 ,the most remarkable thing about the present time from the ,church point of view is that the heathen peoples are asking for what the ,master has told us to give them4 ,the centre of ,church attraction and of ,christian action to-day is on the swing toward heathen lands4 ,when the ,church began again1 a hundred years ago1 to enter the great heathen world1 it had to use pick and axe1 jimmy and chisel4 ,it seemed like using burglar's tools4 ,certainly it was working in the dark1 with only the burglar's dark-lantern to show the way4 ,but now the heathen door is wide open4 ,instead of our knocking at their door1 the heathen world is knocking at our door4 ,our billion brothers stand in the night-time of their darkness blindly feeling for our door1 and knocking1 now timidly1 now earnestly and loudly1 ay1 imperiously1 for the light that we have4 ,it has been a cold night for them1 and a long night1 too4 ,but the darkest hour of it is already throbbing with the flood of coming light4 ,they have found the door and are using it4 ,the whole foreign non-,christian world is knocking with incessant1 insistent clamor at our church door4 u,they're ,standing in the ,dark4_/u ,i do not mean that actually every country in the world is open to the ,gospel4 ,for there are a few countries with comparatively scanty populations that are not open2 except1 indeed1 on the edges1 to the man prying earnestly around for a way to get in4 ,i don't mean that every man in these open countries is actually asking us to send him some word of ,jesus4 ,for vast numbers of them have never heard either about us or about ,him4 ,they don't know there is a ,jesus to ask about2 or1 judging by others1 they would be asking4 ,neither do ,i mean that these multitudes who are asking are1 in every case1 asking for the ,gospel itself4 ,for many times that is not so4 ,they ask for that which appeals to them strongly as something that they want4 ,they want our ,western science and learning4 ,they want to get from us the secret of harnessing nature up to their wagon to pull their heavy loads4 ,in many cases1 without doubt1 they don't want our ,christianity at all4 ,they regard it simply as something that goes along inseparably with the thing they do want4 ,they are willing to put up with some of it for a while1 if only they can get the thing they are after4 ,their eyes have been caught by the bright light of our ,christian civilization4 ,they don't understand how it came to us4 ,they haven't wakened up enough1 most of them1 to think into that4 ,they want the light we have1 as we might want something that we could order a shipment of4 ,they haven't learned enough yet to want to get the light-generating plant installed in their midst4 ,the great fact that all our civilization has come to us through the partial presence of the ,light of the world hasn't dawned upon their minds yet4 ,but1 however selfish motives and a crude understanding or misunderstanding may enter in1 the great strange unprecedented fact still remains true that the world of heathenism is knocking at the door of ,christendom as never before in the world's history4 ,and then1 too1 everywhere some of them are asking plainly and piteously for the real thing4 ,great numbers in all the foreign-mission lands are asking that ,christian teachers be sent to them with ,bibles and other books to teach them the way back home to ,god4 ,wherever they find out that there is a knowledge of ,god to be gotten1 from there comes the insistent knocking that it be brought to them4 ,i remember ,bishop ,bashford1 of the ,methodist ,episcopal ,church1 stationed in ,china1 telling of one of his thrilling experiences out there4 ,he had gone inland quite a bit into ,china on one of his tours4 ,one day he was preaching the story of ,jesus to a crowd of ,chinese gathered in the open air4 ,as his interpreter turned his words into ,chinese the crowds listened with great respect and keenest interest4 ,as he finished he asked them if they had ever heard the ,gospel before4 ,no2 none of them had4 ,he was turning up absolutely fresh soil4 ,and they pressed in about him1 earnestly asking that men be sent to tell them4 ,and this experience of ,bishop ,bashford's is being repeated1 over and over again1 throughout the foreign-mission world4 u,who's ,there8_/u ,but there is yet more than this4 ,everywhere among these peoples1 as one comes into close enough touch to find their hearts1 there can be found underneath the inarticulate1 inexpressible yearning for something they haven't4 ,and they don't know enough to know what it is they long for4 ,but they are conscious of the constant1 weary1 yearning tug within4 ,the great heart of the non-,christian world to-day is asking dumbly1 but earnestly1 as only the heart can ask1 for the light we have4 ,its knocking at our front door is growing louder in its insistent earnestness4 ,since ,commodore ,perry steamed into the harbor of ,yokohama1 fifty years ago1 with open ,bible and ,american flag1 and knocked at the front door of the ,orient1 the whole situation has completely changed4 ,then we knocked for admission to these shut-in lands4 ,now they are knocking at our door1 for the knowledge and light that we have in ,christian lands because we have ,jesus4 ,may ,i call your attention to some of the louder of these knockings8 ,for years students in great numbers1 thousands1 have been coming from these heathen nations to our country to get our ,western learning4 ,throughout the colleges and lower schools of the land1 both ,east and ,west1 in the greater universities1 and in the more modest small church colleges they can be found4 ,i remember a sight that never failed to thrill me in my visitations among the colleges of our ,central ,west4 ,almost always ,i saw one or more of these young men1 from ,japan1 and less frequently from ,china and ,india and other countries1 and sometimes young women1 too2 studying in these institutions4 ,quite frequently they came from the better families of their people2 often from old wealthy families of position and influence4 ,so that by blood ties and position they will be the future men of influence and leaders of their people4 ,and it is a notable fact that many of them are to-day the leaders in ,japan4 ,literally thousands of them have come1 these thousands of miles around the world1 to knock at our doors1 and ask for what we have and they haven't4 ,even more striking is the recent visitation to us of official commissions from the non-,christian lands4 ,one after another1 these national governmental deputations have come to us4 ,they have been composed of the strongest men in these lands1 men in leading official position4 ,they have come by government appointment1 and at government expense1 to learn the secret of our marvellous ,western progress4 ,and in addition to these official deputations others have come1 men of like prominence and influence1 coming on their own account1 to witness our civilization and learn its secrets4 u,the ,coming ,great ,leaders4_/u ,one of the most remarkable incidents of this most remarkable movement has been the great migration of young ,chinese men to study in the colleges of ,japan4 ,within a very short space of time1 as though by a concerted movement1 fifteen thousand ,chinese young men have flocked to ,tokyo4 ,the inevitable sifting process has sent many back1 but fully ten thousand remain1 engaged in earnest1 hard study4 ,will you mark very keenly why they went to i,japan_/i8 ,because to them ,japan1 in its new life1 stood for the new light and life of the ,west4 ,their little1 but mighty1 aggressive neighbor on their eastern shore had brought to their very door the new civilization of the ,christian ,west4 ,here was an unusual opportunity4 ,where hundreds had come clear around the earth to us1 thousands have seized this opportunity close at hand4 ,they come from every province of ,china2 even that farthest away1 on the border of ,tibet1 sending hundreds4 ,the travel involved thousands of miles4 ,and if their slow means of travel be taken into account1 it meant what would be to us practically hundreds of thousands of miles4 ,hundreds of them have been sent by the provincial and local governments4 ,others have come through private funds made up for the purpose4 ,and wealthy men have sent their sons4 ,they have gone to ,japan only because ,japan has opened her doors so widely to our ,christian civilization4 ,it is not to their conqueror1 ,japan1 they have come1 but to the civilization which ,japan has imported from ,christian lands4 ,was there ever such a knocking at the door of the ,christian ,church as this8 ,ten thousand picked men1 of the best and keenest young manhood of ,china1 representing all parts of the empire1 and in large part representing the government1 settling down to years of close study of our ,christian civilization as found in ,japan--a tremendous fact for the ,church to-day6 ,things are crowding in on us4 ,it is the non-,christian world knocking at our back door4 ,it was too far around to the front4 ,so they have commenced their knocking at the nearest and handiest door they could find4 ,then there are direct requests coming constantly to the missionaries1 from the peoples in all these lands1 earnestly asking and even pleading that men be sent to teach them of ,god and of ,christ4 ,whole villages have been found in the fastnesses of ,africa's wilds spending days together1 and all day long1 on their knees in prayer2 most of ten mute prayer with upturned faces--their very bent bodies their prayer--that news of the white man's ,god might be sent to them4 ,in ,korea and other lands it is no uncommon thing for men and women to travel hundreds of miles by their slow transportation1 or even to come a-foot1 to attend gatherings where the story of ,jesus is being preached4 ,and then1 too1 there is the indirect knocking in the imitation of our ,western ways1 and throwing away of their own4 ,imitation is the highest form of compliment that can be paid4 ,it tells of admiration1 and of a desire to be as those imitated4 ,the adapting of ,western learning by these conservative ,oriental peoples1 the establishment of thousands of colleges and schools on the model of ,christian countries is so radical a thing as to be nothing short of startling4 ,the abandoning of bad customs1 as well as of their old systems of education1 is as startling4 ,where there were antagonisms there is now the friendliest imitation4 ,if to this we add the remarkable immigration to our shores1 of a million a year1 it intensifies enormously the opportunity of service brought to us by foreign peoples4 ,yet please notice that this latter is not ,asia nor ,africa coming to us1 but ,europe4 ,however crying their need may be1 these are1 nominally1 not heathen peoples1 but chiefly from ,christianized ,europe4 ,the ,asiatics would have come in great numbers1 but that door was promptly shut and carefully locked by official hands4 ,as you swing your eye over these seething masses of the heathen world1 and listen to their voices1 let me ask you1 with the earnest softness of tone that belongs to the heart1 could there be a louder knocking at the door of the ,christian ,church8 u,what ,do ,they ,want8_/u ,there can be no doubt about the knocking4 ,but--ibut_/i what is it they are after8 ,well1 in plainest talk1 they are after the thing that has made ,christian nations great1 great to the point of world-leadership and world-supremacy4 ,do you remember the famous reply1 often quoted1 given to a foreign visitor at the ,english court8 ,he had asked the secret of the greatness of ,england1 which impressed him so forcibly4 ,and her gracious majesty1 of blessed memory1 ,queen ,victoria1 placed her hand upon a ,bible1 and replied in the memorable words1 i,this_/i is the secret of ,england's greatness4 ,just how much that wise woman had in mind ,i am sure ,i do not know4 ,i feel very sure she did not refer to the church system of ,england4 ,but to something far more and deeper than that1 of which the church system is only one expression4 ,where the ,bible has gone1 and where it has so largely dominated the life of the people1 as in ,england1 there has been both a moral regeneration iand_/i1 mark it keenly1 a inew mental life_/i4 ,its touch has awakened the mental powers4 ,there has been aroused and released into activity that ispirit of energy_/i which has become the most marked characteristic of the ,western world4 ,these two1 the mental life and the remarkable energy1 lie at the basis of all our wonderful modern science4 ,and this1 in turn1 lies at the basis of all our phenomenal development4 ,it is this that makes the ,west different from the ,east4 ,the leading nations are ,christian nations4 ,the germ of vigorous life is in the ,gospel of ,christ4 ,this is the thing the heathen world is knocking so earnestly at our door for to-day4 ,i do not say that they think of it in that way4 ,they are just coming1 groping out of the darkness1 with eyes blinking and blinded by the brightness of our light4 ,they stretch eager1 reaching fingers out toward the light1 without knowing much about it4 ,the glare of it has caught them4 ,and if they are caught1 moth-like1 and hurt by its flame--if they copy our vile vices1 which are no part of our ,christianity1 but the remnants of our own original savagery cropping out in spite of ,christianity--if so1 is it surprising8 ,their eyes are bothered by the sudden change from black darkness to brilliant light4 ,but there's a deeper asking4 ,underneath all1 the thing they are really asking for1 all unconsciously most of them1 is that which lies at the root of all our ,western progress4 ,they ask unknowingly for the ,gospel of ,christ1 the heart of this precious old ,bible4 ,when they get that they will find that it brings the new awakening of mental life and the new aggressive energy that has made us ,christian nations what we are4 u,returning ,our ,call4_/u ,will you please remember that their knocking at our door is a direct result of our knocking at their door8 ,they are very polite1 these far-away kinsfolk of ours4 ,they are simply returning our call4 ,the missionary1 from ,great ,britain1 and ,america1 and ,europe1 has been the ,west's pathfinder in these foreign-mission lands4 ,he has blazed a way into these thick woods1 and beaten down narrow foot-paths through them4 ,it's been hard1 heroic work4 ,the pathfinder has often gotten his hands and face badly torn by the thick brambly thorn bushes as he pushed resolutely on4 ,then diplomacy entered and broadened the roads4 ,and commerce quickly came and beat them down into good hard shape for easy travel4 ,and in turn the missionaries have freely used the broader1 better roads4 ,and now these roads are being trodden by other feet1 and in an opposite direction4 ,along the pathways made by the ,church1 and made better by diplomacy and commerce1 these peoples are coming1 coming a-running1 to ask us to give them what we have4 ,we received it from ,another4 ,he bade us give it as freely as we received it4 ,here they come eagerly knocking at our doors1 front door1 and back door1 and wherever there is a door4 ,do you hear them8 ,ah6 ,the great question to-day is not a question for the heathen world1 but for the ,christian ,church--shall we respond to the opportunity they are flinging in our faces8 ,to-day there are more hands in heathen lands stretched out ifor_/i the ,gospel of ,jesus than there are ,christian hands stretched out iwith_/i the ,gospel4 ,more hearts in those far-away lands are dumbly praying for the light than there are of us praying that they may receive the light--far more4 ,the greatest question for the ,church to-day is--shall we enter the open door8 ,and this is a key-question1 too4 ,its answer includes a full satisfactory answer to all the other questions we are discussing4 ,all questions of finance1 of uncertain wabbling pulpit voices1 of careless and indifferent or empty pews1 and of city evangelization will quickly find an answer as the ,church fully and faithfully answers this4 ,here is the work that1 if done1 and well done1 will bring a new circulation of blood into the whole life of the ,church4 ,have you noticed the sharp contrast that there is gradually growing up between the way people at home and these foreign peoples are receiving the ,gospel8 ,out there there is an openness to the truth1 an eager willingness to believe it simply1 and to act upon it1 that suggests the way they did in the ,book of ,acts4 ,in our home-lands of ,america and ,great ,britain and ,germany there seems to be either indifference1 or an atmosphere of quibble and criticism4 ,with questions and doubts naturalistic explanations are sought that do away with much of the simple force of ,god's truth4 ,a like difference is showing itself between the results there and here4 ,here they are scantier1 and gotten with great difficulty2 there much larger1 and with greater ease4 ,there the door is wide-open1 and people crowding in2 here there is a feeling that the door is closing1 surely and not slowly people turn away elsewhere4 ,there has come to be an unusual proportion of pickles and salads and other relishes served with every spreading of the ,gospel meal here4 ,there1 just plain unbuttered bread is eagerly and thankfully sought for4 ,they are hungry4 ,and their hunger is a wide-open door to us4 ,we need the exercise of foreign travel1 and a great deal of it1 to bring back our zest4 u,inasmuch4_/u ,may ,i speak very softly of another side of this knocking at our door8 i,who_/i is it that is knocking8 ,aye1 i,who_/i8 ,do you remember ,jesus' words in ,matthew1 chapter twenty-five8 ,he is speaking of the settling-up time that is to come at the close of things4 ,and ,he does something there that is startling4 ,he iidentifies ,himself_/i with the hungry and cold and poor4 ,that is1 ,he puts ,himself in their place4 ,they are reckoned as though they were ,he4 ,he says that when they asked for some food and warm clothes iit was really ,himself asking for food and warmth6_/i ,we have been really dealing with ,him when we have met these needy ones4 ,the one test question ,he makes for all is this--,what did you do for these hungry people8 ,because what you did1 or didn't do for them1 was done or refused to i,me_/i4 ,jesus comes in the guise of the needy4 ,who is it knocking at our door so loudly to-day8 ,i suppose if you could think of ,jesus actually coming to-day to ,new ,york1 the human ,jesus ,i mean1 coming as a man just as ,he came to ,jerusalem1 but known to us as ,he is now--,i suppose there is hardly a door that would not open to ,him4 ,he might not be any better understood in ,new ,york than ,he was in ,jerusalem1 but the doors of the wealthy would quickly open to ,him4 ,i mean the ,christian wealthy1 the ,church wealthy2 other doors1 too1 no doubt1 but these surely4 ,he would have a great welcome4 ,and ,i suppose1 too1 that if in some wealthy home on ,fifth ,avenue or ,madison ,avenue ,he were to ask ,his host to give some large sum1 a million dollars or ten millions1 for sending the ,gospel to ,china or ,japan ,his request would likely be granted4 ,it seems to me rather probable that it would4 ,well1 how can it be put plainly enough that ,he does come to our doors1 rich1 and less rich1 and poor4 ,he's at the front door now1 knocking and asking our help4 ,in these heathen peoples of ,his1 i,jesus_/i comes to us4 ,and we have been giving ,him--shall ,i say it very softly for sheer shame8--we have given1 not all1 but most of us1 what is practically the loose change in our trousers' pocket2 not actually1 of course2 sometimes even that4 ,we have spent more on everything else4 ,we have made up boxes of cast-off clothes and old shoes for--i,jesus6_/i ,this has been a large part of our answer4 ,is it any wonder the hot blood sends the color climbing into our cheeks at the thought1 and that we instinctively seek for some explanation that will soften the hard rub of the truth6 ,i found a bit of a poem in a magazine some time ago that caught fire as ,i read it4 ,it was written1 ,i judge1 in a personal sense2 but it came to me at once with a wider meaning2 and it persists in so coming at every reading of it4 ,in this poem there is some one knocking at a door for admission1 and a voice without calls1 ',friend1 open to i,me_/i4' ,who is this that calls8 ,nay1 ,i am deaf as are my walls2 ,cease crying1 for ,i will not hear ,thy cry of hope or fear4 ,what art thou indeed ,that ,i should heed ,thy lamentable need8 ,hungry1 should feed1 ,or stranger1 lodge thee here8 ,but the voice persists-- ',friend1 ,my feet bleed4 ,open thy door to ,me and comfort ,me4' ',i will not open2 trouble me no more4 ,go on thy way footsore1 ,i will not arise and open unto thee4 ,and still the pleading1 ',then is it nothing to thee8 ,open1 see ,who stands to plead with thee4 ,open1 lest ,i should pass thee by1 and thou ,one day entreat ,my face ,and cry for grace1 ,and ,i be deaf as thou art now2 ,open to ,me' ,then ,i cried out upon him3 ,cease1 ,leave me in peace2 ,fear not that ,i should crave ,aught thou may'st have4 ,leave me in peace1 yea1 trouble me no more1 ,lest ,i arise and chase thee from my door4 ,what6 shall ,i not be let ,alone1 that thou dost vex me yet8 ,but all night long that voice spake urgently-- ',open to ,me4' ,still harping in mine ears-- ',rise1 let ,me in4' ,pleading with tears-- ',open to ,me1 that ,i may come to thee4' ,while the dew dropp'd1 while the dark hours were cold-- ',my feet bleed1 see ,my ,face1 ,see ,my hands bleed that bring thee grace1 ,my heart doth bleed for thee-- ,open to ,me4' ,so1 till the break of day2 ,then died away ,that voice1 in silence as of sorrow2 ,then footsteps echoing like a sigh ,pass'd me by2 ,lingering footsteps1 slow to pass4 ,on the morrow ,i saw upon the grass ,each footprint mark'd in blood1 and ion my door_/i i,the mark of blood forevermore_/i4#aj ,that same voice still comes with a strangely gentle persistence-- ,inasmuch as ye did it ,unto one of these my brethren1 even these least1 ,ye did it unto ,me4 ,inasmuch as ye did it inot_/i ,unto one of these least1 ,ye did it inot_/i unto ,me4#aa ,the ,pressing ,emergency ,the ,october ,panic4 ,danger and ,victory ,eying ,each ,other4 ,spirit ,contests4 ,a ,crisis of ,neglect and ,success4 ,a ,westernized ,heathenism4,a ,a ,powerless ,christianity4 ,death or ,deep ,water4 ,saved by ,saving4 ,the ,pressing ,emergency u,the ,october ,panic4_/u ,a man walked up the steps of a well-known bank in lower ,new ,york one morning1 about a half-hour before opening-time1 and stood before the shut door4 ,in a few minutes another came1 and stood waiting beside him4 ,others came1 one by one1 until soon a small group stood in line1 waiting for the door to open4 ,a messenger boy1 coming down the street1 quickly took in the unusual sight4 ,he wasn't old enough to have been through any of ,new ,york's notable panics1 and he had never witnessed a run on a bank2 but quick as a flash1 or as a ,wall-,street messenger boy1 he knew as though by instinct that a run was on at that bank4 ,instantly he started running down the street to tell others4 ,no prairie wild-fire ever spread so quickly as the news ran over 'phone wires of the beginning of that run4 ,as though by some sort of invisible ether-waves1 the news seemed to spread through the financial district4 ,every bank president seemed to know at once4 ,then it spread throughout the city1 and the greater city4 ,so began what has been called the ,october panic of last year1 which quickly spread through the land1 and then throughout the world until every country bank here1 and every capital city abroad1 felt the sharp tightening of the money-bag strings4 ,it was a strange panic4 ,you couldn't just tell what was responsible for it4 ,the very variety of explanations1 editorial and other1 told of the lack of a common understanding of what caused it4 ,there had been no famine or drought4 ,the crops1 the chief financial barometer of the country's condition1 had been remarkably abundant4 ,there had been no overproduction or glutting of the industrial world4 ,indeed1 great numbers of concerns had been embarrassed by orders that they couldn't fill fast enough4 ,the cause seemed to be wholly in people's iminds_/i4 ,a spirit of distrust of some of the great money leaders and of their methods was abroad4 ,that feeling of fear sent a few men1 by an unplanned concert of action1 to a certain bank before ten o'clock one morning4 ,the unusual sight of a few men standing in line waiting for the opening of that bank door was like a lighted match to a barn full of dry hay4 ,at the first inkling of a suggestion of a financial panic money began to disappear4 ,nothing is so cowardly in its cautiousness as money4 ,scholarship comes next to it4 ,the savings of years have the tightest grip on most human hands4 ,as though by magic1 money began hunting dark holes in stockings and cellars and safety-deposit boxes4 ,and the hard grip of the panic was quickly felt everywhere4 ,it was a fear panic4 ,a terrible danger was at hand4 ,at once the regular habit of life was disturbed for great numbers of men4 ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury quit his ,washington desk and spent several days in ,new ,york so as to be able to give the help of the ,government's funds and enormous prestige where they would count for most1 and to give promptly4 ,bank officials and other financial leaders cut social engagements and everything else that could be cut1 and devoted themselves to meeting the sudden emergency4 ,they ate scantily1 both to save time and for lack of appetite1 and to help keep their heads clear for quick decisive thinking and action4 ,the tension was intense4 ,men sat up all night conferring on best measures4 ,a group of the leading money men met in the private quarters of one of their numbers1 about whose rugged personality and leadership they instinctively rallied4 ,more than one night the gray dawning light of the morning found them1 with white1 drawn faces1 still in conference4 ,the emergency gripped them4 ,an emergency always does4 ,the habits of life are upset1 helter-skelter1 in the effort to avert the threatening danger4 ,that was an emergency in the money world4 ,grave danger threatened4 ,everything else was forgotten1 and every bit of available resource strained to turn the danger aside4 ,it iwas_/i turned aside4 ,that was a splendid achievement4 ,and even though men have been feeling the effects for this whole year1 what they have felt is as nothing compared with what might have come4 u,danger and ,victory ,eying each other4_/u ,an emergency means a great danger threatening1 perhaps the very life4 ,but it means1 too1 that if the danger can be gripped and overcome there will be great victory4 ,two possibilities come up close and stare each other angrily in the face2 the possibility of great disaster impending1 and of great victory over it within grasp1 if there be a reaching hand to grasp it4 ,the deciding thing is the human element1 the strong1 quick hand stretched out4 ,if strength can be concentrated1 the situation gripped1 then great victory is assured4 ,but it takes the utmost concentration of strength1 with rare wisdom and quick steady action1 to turn the tide toward flood4 ,if this is not done1 either because of lack of leadership or of enough strength or enough interest1 disaster comes4 ,just such emergencies come to us constantly4 ,a severe illness lays its hand upon a loved one in the home4 ,the crisis comes4 ,death and life stand in the sick-room eying each other4 ,either one may be victor4 ,no one can tell surely which it will be4 ,and every effort is strained1 the habit of life broken1 other matters forgotten and neglected1 that death may be staved off1 and life wooed to stay4 ,and when the crisis passes safely the joy over the new lease of life makes one forget all the cost of strain and effort4 ,who of us cannot recall some time back there1 when some emergency came in personal business matters1 and personal and home expenses and plans were cut down to the lowest notch1 to the bleeding-point1 that the emergency might be safely met4 ,teachers and parents know that moral emergencies come at intervals in a child's life1 until young manhood and womanhood are reached4 ,one of the greatest tasks in child-training is to note the emergency1 and meet it successfully4 ,and what keenness and patience and subtlety it does take only he knows who has been through the experience4 u,spirit ,contests4_/u ,emergencies come in spiritual matters1 too4 ,they are the hardest kind to meet4 ,it is hardest to make people see them and grip them4 ,in the life of many a church a spiritual emergency has come1 but has not been met4 ,the church goes on holding services1 raising money and paying it out1 going through all the proper forms1 but with the life itself quite gone out of it4 ,the thing is being kept in motion by a humanly manipulated electric current2 there is no free life-movement4 ,evangelistic leaders say that such emergencies come in their campaigning4 ,there has to be a struggle of spirit forces4 ,and the victory that comes1 comes only as a result of close hand-to-hand conflict of soul by the leaders4 ,we all know that such crises come in our personal experience4 ,and those who know about changing things by prayer do not need to be told of the emergency that comes at times2 nor of how it requires a tightening of all the buckles1 a new reviewing of the promises on which prayer rests1 a new steadying of one's faith1 a quietly persistent hanging on1 an intenser insistence of spirit in prayer and more arrow-praying in the daily round of work--sending out the softly breathed heart-pleadings while busy with common duties1 until the assurance comes that the danger is past and the victory secure4 ,it is remarkable to what an extent the great events of history have been emergency events4 ,with the greatest reverence1 it can be said that history's central event1 the dying of ,jesus1 was an emergency action4 ,even though we understand clearly that it was known and counselled from before the foundation of the world1 that ,he was to shed ,his precious blood for our salvation1 ,his dying can never be fully understood save as a great emergency measure1 ithe_/i great emergency measure1 because of the crisis made by sin4 ,now that is the sort of thing--an emergency--that is now on in this great task of world-wide evangelization which ,jesus has committed to our hands4 ,some of you may be strongly inclined to lift your eyebrows and ask--,is there really any such emergency8 ,i know that people don't like those words crisis and emergency4 ,it is much more comfortable to think that things are going on very smoothly and well4 ,even though all is not just as we might choose to have it1 yet we like to think that it will turn out well4 ,there is a sort of optimism that is very popular4 ,things will all come out right somehow1 we like to think4 ,but the fact is that things don't turn out right of themselves4 ,they have to be turned by somebody who gives heart and life to the turning4 ,it can be said with sane1 sober sense that without doubt there is an emergency1 and a great one1 in this foreign-mission enterprise4 ,it is1 of course1 true that in a sense there is ia continual emergency_/i here4 ,there are thousands of these foreign brothers of ours slipping the tether of life daily4 ,the light might easily have been taken to them1 and have changed their choices4 ,but then it hasn't been1 and the dark shadow of the possibility of their separating themselves forever from ,god1 through wrong choice persisted in1 hangs down over each one of them4 ,there can be no darker shadow except the actual knowledge that they have so separated themselves from life in ,him4 u,a ,crisis of ,neglect and ,success4_/u ,but quite distinct from that1 and in addition to it1 it is quite safe to say that there is ian emergency now on_/i in the heathen world such as it has never known before4 ,such is the mature judgment of our missionary leaders4 ,and we do well to remind ourselves that we have some remarkable men among these leaders4 ,there are men on the foreign fields and at the missionary helm at home of most remarkable ability and genius4 ,there are to-day men of statesmanlike grasp and power1 who could easily have taken front rank in public life1 in diplomacy1 and professional life1 men fully able to fill the ,presidential chair and do it masterfully1 who are giving their life-blood to this great missionary task4 ,the sober judgment of these men1 taken from every angle of vision1 is that the present is a time of unparalleled emergency4 ,it exists peculiarly in ,asia1 the greatest of all foreign-mission lands4 ,it has been caused by a number of things that now come together with such force as to make a crisis1 ithe_/i crisis of missions1 the gravest that has yet come1 and that1 it is probably safe to say1 will ever come4 ,for the future will be largely settled1 one way or the other1 within a few years4 ,at the basis of all is ithe great need_/i1 of course4 ,that looms big and gaunt and spectral in any survey of the matter4 ,then ithe neglect_/i by the ,church for many generations has greatly intensified the present situation4 ,the ,master's plan plainly is that every generation of the ,church shall give the ,gospel to its generation2 that is1 to all the people living in the world at that time4 ,every generation of men must have the ,gospel afresh4 ,no land is beyond the need of a fresh gospelizing4 ,if ,christian ,america were to lose its churches and the ,gospel1 it would surely revert to the heathen type from which we sprung4 ,but many generations went by with practically nothing of this sort being done4 ,these generations of inactivity have piled up on the present generation4 ,the undone work of the past adds greatly to the task of the present4 ,the present situation is abnormal because of what hasn't been done4 ,then ithe success of the present_/i has played a big part4 ,modern missionary activity has had a big share in making this emergency4 ,a century of missions is reaching a tremendous climax4 ,the splendid aggressiveness of church leaders and missionaries is now an embarrassment to a ,church1 or any one in the ,church1 who doesn't want to keep up the pace4 ,it is an emergency of success1 the logical result of what has been accomplished4 ,so much has been done1 and been done so well by a comparatively few1 that now more must be done by the rest of us4 ,it's because the heathen world is awake that there is an emergency4 ,their awakeness is the thing that crowds in on us4 ,and we waked them up4 ,we must now do more and better1 because we have done so well4 ,we have indeed waked them up1 but--to what8 ,a business man would stamp it as rank foolishness to fail to take advantage of the splendid opening that we have made in the foreign-mission world4 u,a ,westernized ,heathenism4_/u ,now1 let us look just a bit at this present pressing emergency4 ,there are grave perils threatening1 and a great victory possible4 ,well1 first of all there is real danger of ia new aggressive heathenism2_/i a new1 energetic1 but distinctly un-,christian civilization1 in the heathen world4 ,many thoughtful men who are keenly watching the world movement believe that without doubt there is to be a new leadership of the human race in the ,orient4 ,it imay_/i be a heathen leadership4 ,that danger is a distinct possibility4 ,the new world-leadership may have all the enormous energy and mental keenness of ,christian peoples1 but without the ,christian spirit4 ,that means practically a new heathenism1 no longer asleep but wide-awake2 no longer being manipulated by the ,western nations1 but maybe manipulating and managing them4 ,an aroused1 organized1 energized heathen world1 with all the science and inventiveness and restless aggressiveness of the western nations and1 mark you--iand_/i all the spirit of the old1 ,godless1 ,christless heathenism dominating its new life--that is the danger4 ,the heathen world is awake at last after a sleep of centuries4 ,it is sitting up1 rubbing its eyes1 and taking notice4 ,it is entering upon a new life4 ,that's as clear as a sunbeam on a cloudless morning4 ,what that life shall be depends entirely on the ,church waking up4 ,that means1 to be more practical1 that it depends on you and me waking up1 just now1 and doing what we easily can4 ,it imay_/i be a new i,christian_/i life1 shot through and through with the blessed principles and spirit of ,jesus4 ,it imay_/i be a new life of energized1 ,westernized heathenism6 ,they may get merely our energy and mental awakeness without the ,christian spirit that gave these to us4 ,these two opposite things are standing by the bedside eying each other4 ,which will get the patient8 ,who knows8 ,if the ,church fail--6 ,this is a real peril seriously threatening4 ,it is probably far more grave and far more likely than the best-informed and keenest observer is aware of4 u,a ,powerless ,christianity4_/u ,then there is a second danger climbing in fast on the heels of this1 that is already being plainly felt4 i,these peoples may turn away from a ,christianity that seems powerless to them4_/i ,as they come to know better the simple principles of our faith they may see that we are not true to it4 ,our ,master bade us go everywhere and tell all men of ,him1 and tell them most and best by the way we live4 ,but we haven't done it4 ,the ,church of the past nineteen centuries1 taken as a whole1 hasn't done it4 ,the ,church to-day1 taken as a whole1 isn't doing it4 ,how many times have the missionaries been obliged to listen to the question1 which is a reproach rather than a question1 ,why didn't you come before8 ,my father lived and died in distress1 seeking for this light you bring us now4 i,why didn't your father come and tell my father8_/i ,if they find that our faith hasn't gripped ius_/i enough to master our lives they will naturally doubt if1 after all1 there is any more real practical power in it than in their own heathen beliefs4 ,it iseems_/i better in theory1 but it seems to lose its ideals in the stiff test of practice4 ,they would be wrong in thinking that1 of course4 ,but what conclusion more natural to the crowd that never thinks deep4 ,when all the difficulties and hardships come in the way of their acceptance of ,christ1 and the easiest way is not to1 how easy to throw the whole thing aside4 ,the story is told of a ,chinaman in this country who applied for a position as house-servant in a family which belonged to a fashionable church4 ,he was asked3 ,do you drink whiskey8 ,no1 ,i ,clistian man4 ,do you play cards8 ,no1 ,i ,clistian man4 ,he was engaged1 and proved to be a capable servant4 ,by and by the lady gave a bridge-party1 with wine accompaniments4 ,the ,chinaman did his part acceptably1 but the next morning he appeared before his mistress4 ,i want quit1 he said4 ,why8 ,what is the matter8 ,i ,clistian man4 ,i told you so before2 no heathen2 no workee for ',melican heathen4 ,these heathen brothers of ours are not fools4 ,they are a keen lot4 ,they judge our religion by us who profess it1 as we do with them and theirs4 ,there may come a wide-spread practical disbelief1 or lack of belief1 that there is any practical power in ,christ to change a man's life1 and really control his actions4 ,and it will be a perfectly logical conclusion from what they find in us ,christian nations as a whole4 u,death or ,deep ,water4_/u ,and then there are some mighty bad dangers on the other side--iour_/i side4 ,if it be true that every generation ineeds_/i the ,gospel1 it is just as true that every generation of ,christians ineeds to give_/i the ,gospel4 ,it is the very life of a ,christian to give himself out in earnest service for others4 ,the man who is failing there has started on the down grade in his ,christian life4 ,if we lose the spirit of go we have lost the very ,christian spirit itself4 ,a disobedient church will become a dead church4 ,it will die of heart failure4 ,it was ,john's ,man with eyes of searching flame1 and tongue of keen-edged sword1 and feet that had been through the fire1 who said to a ,christian church1 ,i will move thy candlestick out of its place except thou change thy ways4#ab ,the candlestick isn't the light4 ,it holds the light4 ,the ,church's great mission is to be the world's light-holder4 ,but unsnuffed candles and cobwebby window-panes seem to have been in evidence sometimes4 ,the ,christian ,church in some lands has plainly lost its privilege of service1 and lost its life1 too4 ,the old organizations are kept up1 but all life has gone4 ,there's a grave danger threatening the ,american ,church and the ,british ,church just at this present time4 ,long years ago1 in the days before steam navigation1 an ocean vessel came from a long sea voyage1 up ,st4 ,george's ,channel1 headed for ,liverpool4 ,when the pilot was taken on board1 he cried abruptly to the captain1 ,what do you mean8 ,you've let her drift off toward the ,welsh coast1 toward the shallows4 ,muster the crew4 ,the crew was quickly mustered1 and the pilot told the danger in a few short words1 and then said sharply1 ,boys1 it's death or deep water1 hoist the mains'l6 ,and only by dint of hardest work was the ship saved4 ,if ,i could get the ear of the ,church to-day1 ,i would1 as a great kindness to it1 cry out with all the earnestness of soul ,i could command1 i,it's death or deep water2_/i deep water in this holy service of world-winning1 or death from foundering4 u,saved by ,saving4_/u ,and then there's a yet graver peril threatening4 ,it's quite the common thing to appeal to selfish motives4 ,it is striking that the great strides that prohibition has made of recent years1 have been due to a sort of legislation and to business regulation that appeal to selfish motives4 ,the economic motive1 and the disagreeable and injurious likelihood of a saloon being close to one's own home1 have had greater influence than higher moral motives4 ,and we are glad of any motive that will put the damnable traffic down and out4 ,well1 ,i'm going to come down a step here1 and remind you of a yet graver peril that threatens4 ,there is serious danger of ia heathenized ,christianity_/i dominating our boasted ,christian civilization and ,christian lands4 ,and in time that would be a serious menace to our pocket-books4 ,that is to say1 there may be the energy and keen mental life without the mellowing and sweetening influence of the ,christian spirit4 ,the restless aggressiveness may come without the poise2 the ceaseless activity without the deeper steadying quality2 the keenness without the softening touch of the true life4 ,in other words1 if we don't ,christianize heathendom1 they will exert an influence on us that will practically amount to their heathenizing ,christendom4 ,already such influences are seeping in at more than one crack4 ,mohammedanism has an active propaganda in ,great ,britain4 ,heathen wedges are slipping their thin edges in1 in our land4 ,more and more it will extend1 in time influencing our whole moral fabric1 and affecting our whole national life4 ,during some recent researches among the ruins of ,pompeii the explorers turned up a find that told its own story4 ,it was the body of a crippled boy4 ,he was lame in his foot4 ,and around the body there was a woman's arm1 a finely shaped1 beautiful1 bejewelled arm4 ,the mute find told its simple story4 ,the great stream of fire suddenly coming from the volcano1 the crowd fleeing for life1 the little cripple unable to get along fast enough1 the woman's heart touched1 her arm thrown about the boy to aid his escape2 then the overtaking fire-flood1 and both lost4 ,the arm that was stretched out to save another was preserved1 and only that4 ,all the rest of the brave rescuer's body had gone4 ,the saving part was saved4 ,only that mercifully outstretched to save another was itself saved4 ,the ,church or the man that selfishly saveth his life shall lose it4 ,he that forgetteth about his own life in eagerly saving others shall find that he has saved his own life1 and that it has grown into a new fulness and richness of life4 ,these are some of the dark ugly faces peering into ours4 ,but there's another face among them4 ,it is a very bright face1 with eyes all aglow1 and features all shining with light4 ,it is the face of victory over every danger and difficulty that threatens4 ,many believe that the emergency will be met4 ,the victory will surely be achieved4 ,but the fact to mark keenly1 just now1 is that it will be achieved only by a vigorous1 masterful gripping of the present pressing emergency4 ,ah6 ,god1 may ,thy ,church--we men who make ,thy ,church1 who iare_/i ,thy ,church--may we see the emergency1 and be gripped by it2 for ,jesus' sake2 aye1 for men's sake2 for the ,church's sake2 for our own sake2 in ,jesus' great name4 ,the ,past ,failure ,some of ,god's ,failures4 ,where the ,reproach of ,failure ,lies4 ,god's ,sovereignty4 ,the ,church ,mission4 ,christ also ,waits4 ,somebody ,forgets4 ,the ,past ,failure u,some of ,god's ,failures4_/u ,god fails1 sometimes4 ,that is to say1 the plan ,he has made and set ,his heart upon fails4 ,eden was ,god's plan for man4 ,a weedless1 thornless1 world-garden of great beauty and fruitfulness2 a man and woman living together in sweet purity and strong self-mastery2 their children growing up in such an atmosphere1 trained for the highest and best2 the earth with all its wondrous forces developed and mastered by man2 full comradeship and partnership between man and all the living creation1 beast and bird2 and in the midst of all ,god ,himself walking and working in closest touch with man in all his enterprises--that was ,god's ,eden plan for man4 ,but it failed4 ,the ,israel plan was a failure1 too4 ,the main purpose of ,israel being made ,god's peculiar people has failed up to the present hour4 ,that plan originally was a simple shepherd people1 living on the soil close to nature4 ,they were to be1 not a democracy ruled by the direct vote of the people in all things2 nor a republic ruled by the vote of selected representatives2 nor yet a kingdom ruled over by the will of an autocrat2 but something quite distinct from all of these1 what men have been pleased to call a theocracy4 ,that is to say1 ,god ,himself was to be their ruler in a very real1 practical sense1 directing and working with them in the working out of all their national life4 ,they were to combine all the best in each of these forms of government1 with a something added1 not in any of them as men know them4 ,they were to be wholly unlike the other nations1 utterly unambitious politically1 neither exciting war upon themselves by others nor ever making war upon others4 ,their great mission was to be a teacher-nation to all the earth1 teaching the great spiritual truths2 and1 better yet1 embodying these truths in their personal and national life4 ,but the plan failed4 ,the glitter of the other nations turned them aside from ,god's plan4 ,they set up a kingdom1 like all the nations1 very much like them4 ,then ,god worked with them where they would work with ,him4 ,he planned a great kingdom to overspread the earth in its rule and blessed influence1 but not by the aggression of war and oppression4 ,their later literature is all a-flood with the glory light of the coming king and kingdom4 ,yet when the ,king came they rejected ,him and then killed ,him4 ,they failed at the very point that was to have been their great achievement4 ,god's plan failed4 ,the ,hebrew people from the point of view of the direct object of their creation as a nation have been a failure up to the present hour4 ,god's choice for their first king1 ,saul1 was a failure1 too4 ,no man ever began life1 nor king his rule1 with better preparation and prospects4 ,and no career ever ended in such dismal failure4 ,god's plan for the man had failed4 ,jesus' plan for ,judas failed4 ,the sharpest contrasts of possible good and actual bad came together in his career in the most startling way4 ,he failed at the very point where he should have been strongest--his personal loyalty to his ,chief4 ,there can be no doubt that ,jesus picked him out for one of ,his inner circle because of his strong attractive traits4 ,he had in him the making of a ,john1 the intimate1 the writer of the great fourth ,gospel4 ,he might have been a ,peter1 rugged in his bold leadership of the early ,church4 ,but1 though coached and companioned with1 loved and wooed1 up to the very hour of the cowardly contemptible betrayal1 he failed to respond even to such influence as a ,jesus could exert4 ,jesus planned ,judas the apostle4 ,he became ,judas the apostate1 the traitor4 ,he was to be a leader and teacher of the ,gospel4 ,he became a miserable reproach and by-word of execration to all men4 ,jesus' plan failed4 u,where the ,reproach of ,failure ,lies4_/u ,will you please mark very keenly that the failure always comes because of man's unwillingness to work with ,god8 ,it always takes two for ,god's plan--,himself and a man4 ,all ,his working is through human partnership4 ,in all ,his working among men ,he needs to work iwith_/i men4 ,some good earnest people don't like1 and won't like1 that blunt statement that ,god fails sometimes4 ,it seems to them to cast a reproach upon ,god4 ,they may likely think it lacking in due reverence4 ,but if these kind friends will sink the shaft of their thinking just a little deeper down into the mine of truth1 they will find that the reproach is somewhere else4 ,there iis_/i reproach4 ,every failure that could have been prevented by honest work and earnest faithfulness spells reproach4 ,and there is reproach here4 ,but it isn't upon ,god2 it is upon man4 ,god's plan depends upon man4 ,it is always man's failure to do his simple part faithfully that causes ,god's plan to fail4 ,there is a false reverence that fears to speak plainly of ,god4 ,it seeks by holding back some things1 and speaking of others with very carefully thought-out phrase1 to bolster up ,god's side4 ,true love has two marked traits3 it is always plain-spoken in telling all the truth when it should be known2 and it is always reverential4 ,it can't be otherwise4 ,the bluntest words on the lips combine with the deepest reverence of spirit4 ,god doesn't need to be defended4 ,the plain truth need never be apologized for4 ,it's a false reverence that holds back some of the truth1 lest stating it may seem to reflect on ,god's character4 ,such false reverence is a distinct hindrance4 ,it holds back from us some of the truth1 and the strong emphasis that the truth needs to arouse our attention and get into our some-time thick heads4 ,we men need the stirring up of plain truth1 told in plainest speech4 ,the ,church has suffered for lack of plain telling of the truth4 ,the deepest1 tenderest reverence insists upon plain talk1 and reveals itself in such talk4 ,it is irreverent to hold back some of ,god's truth4 ,for so men get wrong impressions of ,god4 ,it is unfair as well as irreverent4 ,theology has sometimes been greatly taken up with adjusting its statements so as to defend ,god's character4 ,but the plainest1 fullest telling of truth is the greatest revealer of ,his great wisdom and purity and unfailing love4 u,god's ,sovereignty4_/u ,there has been a good bit of teaching about ,god's sovereignty4 ,behind that mysterious1 indefinite phrase has crept much that badly needs the clear1 searching sunlight of day4 ,god's sovereignty is commonly thought of as a sort of dead-weight force by which ,he compels things to come ,his way4 ,if a man stand in the way of ,god's plan so much the worse for the man4 ,it is thought of as a sort of mighty army1 marching down the road1 in close ranks1 with fixed bayonets4 ,if you happen to be on that road better look out very sharply1 or you may get crushed under foot4 ,i do not mean that the theologians put it in that blunt fashion1 nor that ,i have ever heard any preacher phrase it in that way4 ,i mean that as ,i have talked with the plain common people1 and listened to them1 this is the distinct impression that comes continually of what it means to them4 ,then1 too1 the phrase has often been used1 it is to be feared1 as a religious cloak to cover up the shortcomings and shirkings of those who aren't fitting into ,god's plan4 ,god is a sovereign4 ,the truth of ,his sovereignty is one of the most gracious of all the truths in this blessed old ,book of ,god4 ,it means that the great gracious purpose and plan of ,god will finally be victorious4 ,it means that in our personal lives ,he1 with great patience and skill and power1 works ithrough_/i the tangled network of circumstances and difficulties to answer our prayers1 and to bring out the best results for us4 ,it means further that1 with a diplomacy and patience only divine1 ,he works iwith_/i and ithrough_/i the intricate meshes of men's wills and contrary purposes to bring out good now--not good out of bad1 that is impossible2 but good in spite of the bad--and that finally all opposition will be overcome1 or will have spent itself out in utter weakness1 and so ,his purposes of love will be fully victorious4 ,but the practical thing to burn in deep just now is this1 that we can hinder ,god's plan4 ,his plans ihave_/i been hindered1 and delayed1 and made to fail1 because we wouldn't work with ,him4 ,and ,god ilets_/i ,his plan fail4 ,it is a bit of ,his greatness4 ,he will let a plan fail before ,he will be untrue to man's utter freedom of action4 ,he will let a man wreck his career1 that so through the wreckage the man may see his own failure1 and gladly turn to ,god4 ,many a hill is climbed only through a swamp road4 ,god cares more for a man than for a plan4 ,the plan is only for the sake of the man4 ,you say1 of course4 ,but1 you know1 many men think more of carrying through the plan on which they have set themselves1 regardless of how it may hurt or crush some man in the way4 ,god's plan is for man1 and so it is allowed to fail1 for the man's sake4 ,yet1 because the plan is always made for man's sake1 it will be carried through1 because by and by man will see it to be best ,many a man's character has been made only through the wrecking of his career4 ,if ,god had had ,his way ,he would have saved both life and soul1 both the earthly career and the heavenly character4 ,let us stop thoughtfully1 and remember that ,god has carefully thought out a plan for every man1 for each one of us4 ,it is a plan for the ilife_/i1 these human years2 not simply for getting us to what we may have thought of as a psalm-singing heaven1 when we're worn out down here4 ,it is the best plan4 ,for ,god is ambitious for us2 more ambitious for you and me than we are for ourselves1 though few of us really believe that4 ,but ,he will carry out ,his plan--aye1 ,he ican_/i carry it out only with our hearty consent4 ,he must work ithrough_/i our wills4 ,he honors us in that ,with greatest reverence be it said that ,god waits reverently1 hat in hand1 outside the door of a man's will1 until the man inside turns the knob and throws open the door for ,him to come in and carry out ,his plan4 ,we can make ,god fail by not working with ,him4 ,the greatest of all achievements of action is to find and fit into ,god's plan4 u,the ,church ,mission4_/u ,now1 ,god had and has a plan for ,his ,church4 ,that plan is simply this3 ,the ,church was to be ,his messenger to the nations of the earth4 ,there are other matters of vast importance committed to the ,church1 without doubt3 the service of worship and the training and developing of the life of its members4 ,but these1 be it said very thoughtfully1 are distinctly secondary to the service of taking the ,gospel to all men4 ,these two1 the chief and the secondary1 are interwoven1 each contributing to and dependent upon the other4 ,but there is always a main purpose4 ,and that here1 without question1 is the carrying of the message of ,jesus fully to all the earth4 ,in each generation the chief plan1 to which all else was meant to be contributory1 was that all men should hear fully and winsomely the great thrilling story of ,jesus4 ,shall ,i say that that plan has failed8 ,it hurts too much even to repeat such words4 ,i will not isay_/i the ,church has failed4 ,but ,i will ask you to note ,god's plan for the ,church1 and then in your inner heart to make your own honest answer4 ,and in making it remember the practical point is this--the ,church is iyou4 ,i_/i am the ,church4 ,its mission is mine4 ,if ,i say it has failed ,i am talking about myself4 ,i can keep it from failing so far as part of it is concerned1 the part that ,i am4 ,my concern is not to be asking abstractly1 theoretically1 about the ,church1 but about so much of it as ,i am4 ,in annual church reports1 and triennial and quadrennial1 much space is given to telling of the iwealth_/i of the ,church4 ,of course1 ,i suppose its wealth is meant to be an index of all its work4 ,it may seem a bit odd to use the world's index-finger to point out our faithfulness to our ,master's will4 ,it is used1 of course1 to impress the world in the way the world can most quickly and easily understand4 ,but the ,church was not meant by the ,master to be a rich institution in money and property2 though it has grown immensely so4 ,the ,master's thought was that its power and faithfulness should be revealed entirely in the extent to which all men of all nations know about ,himself and have been won to ,him4 ,if we think only a little bit into the past history of the ,church1 and then into present world conditions1 we know the answer to that hurting question about the ,church being a failure4 ,i know that many of you are thinking of the triumphs of the ,church2 of her imperishable and incalculable influence upon the life of the world4 ,and ,i will join you heartily in that1 some other time4 ,just now we are not talking of that1 but of just one particular fact of its history4 ,one truth at a time makes sharper outlines and brings the whole circle of truth out more plainly4 ,i love to sing1 ,i love ,thy ,kingdom1 ,lord1 ,the house of ,thine abode2 ,the ,church our blest ,redeemer saved ,with ,his own precious blood4 ,we shudder to attempt to think into what these centuries would have been without the influence of the ,church4 ,but at present we are talking about something else4 ,let me ask you1 softly1 if ,god's plan for the ,church was that it was to be ,his messenger to all men1 as you think back through nineteen centuries and then think out into the moral world conditions to-day1 would you say the plan had succeeded8 ,or had--8 u,christ also ,waits4_/u ,there's a bit of light here on that vexed question of the ,lord's second coming1 about which good1 earnest people differ so radically4 ,the ,master said1 you remember1 that we were to be watching for ,his return4 ,but many ask1 how can we be watching when it's been two thousand years since ,he told us to watch1 and the event seems as far off as ever8 ,i remember one day in a ,bible class the lesson was in the twelfth of ,luke1 about watching for the ,lord's return4 ,some of the class seemed to think that it means that we should be in a constant attitude of expectancy1 looking for ,his return4 ,but one man1 an earnest1 godly old minister said1 ,how can you be looking expectantly for a ithousand years8_/i ,but will you mark keenly that the teaching of ,jesus ,himself was that ,his return depended on ,his followers' doing a certain thing8#ac ,when all men had been told fully of ,jesus1 then ,he was to return and carry out a further part of ,his plan4 ,clearly if the part we were to play has not been done1 it delays ,his part4 ,the telling of all men about ,jesus seems to bear a very close connection with what will occur when ,jesus returns4 ,some of our good friends have been much taken up with figuring out when the ,lord would come back4 ,some of them seem to have great skill in making calendars4 ,they even go so far as to fix exact dates4 ,they seem to forget that word of the ,master1 ,in such an hour as ye think inot_/i the ,son of ,man cometh4 ,if you think ,he will come at a certain given time1 then you can know one thing certainly1 that ,he won't come then4 ,the only calendar we men have is a calendar of idates_/i1 fitted to the movements of the sun and moon4 ,god has a calendar1 too1 but it is a calendar of ievents_/i1 not of dates4 ,the completion of ,his plans doesn't depend on so many revolutions of the earth about the sun1 but on the faithful revolution of ,his followers in their movement around the earth telling men of ,jesus4 ,it looks very much as though the ,master's coming has been delayed1 and ,his plans delayed1 because we have not done the preparatory part assigned us4 ,the restless millions wait the light1 ,whose coming maketh all things new4 i,christ also waits2_/i but men are slow and late4 ,have we done what we could8 ,have ,i8 ,have you 8 u,somebody ,forgets4_/u ,a little fellow1 of a very poor family1 in the slum section of one of our large cities1 was induced to attend a mission ,sunday-school4 ,by and by1 as a result of the teacher's faithful work1 he became a ,christian4 ,he seemed quite bright and settled in his new ,christian faith and life4 ,some one1 surely in a thoughtless mood1 tried to test or shake his simple faith in ,god by a question4 ,he was asked1 ,if ,god loves you1 why doesn't ,he take better care of you8 ,why doesn't ,he tell some one to send you warm shoes and some coal and better food8 ,the little fellow thought a moment1 and then with big tears starting in his eyes1 said1 ,i guess ,he does tell somebody1 ibut somebody forgets_/i4 ,without knowing it1 the boy touched the sore point in the ,church's history4 ,i wonder if it is the sore point with you or me4 ,the ,coming ,victory ,failure ,swallowed ,by ,victory4 ,the ,revised ,missionary ,motto4 ,ahead1 ,but ,behind4 ,in ,a ,swift ,current4 ,power ,of ,leadership4 ,a ,minority ,movement4 ,a ,great ,world-chorus4 ,the ,oratorio ,of ,victory4 ,the ,coming ,victory u,failure ,swallowed by ,victory4_/u ,but ,god's failures are only for a while4 ,they are real4 ,there is the tragic element in them4 ,there is the deep1 sad tinge of disappointment running throughout this old ,book of ,god4 ,yet the failures are only for a time4 ,sometimes it seems a very long time1 especially if you are living through some of it4 ,but the time reaches eagerly to an end4 ,victory comes4 ,and ,god's victory will be so great as to make us completely forget the failures that marred the road4 ,the ,eden plan was more than a plan4 ,it was a prophecy of the final outcome4 ,the ,book of ,god begins with failure1 but it ends with a glowing picture of great victory1 painted with rose colors4 ,every feature of beauty and of good in ,eden has grown greatly in ,john's ,revelation climax4 ,the garden of ,genesis becomes a garden-city4 ,all the simplicity and purity of garden life1 and all the development and power represented by city life1 are brought together4 ,there is now a iriver_/i of ilife_/i1 and the itree_/i of life has grown into a grove4 ,and ,god isn't through with that nation of ,israel yet4 ,the ,jew can't be lost4 ,in every nation under heaven he can be found to-day1 a walking reminder of ,god's plan4 ,every ,jew1 in whatever ghetto he may be found1 is an unconscious prophecy of a coming fulfilment of ,god's purpose4 ,the strange racial immortality of the ,jew is a puzzle from every standpoint1 except ,god's4 ,he can't be killed off2 though men have never ceased trying to kill him off4 ,the ,jew looms up bigger to-day than for many generations4 ,the present strange restless ,jewish longing for national existence again1 that will not down1 spells out the coming victory of ,god's plan after centuries of failure4 ,and even though the present tide may run out toward ebb1 it will be to gather force for a new and fuller flood4 ,when ,god's plan works out the world will have a wholly new idea of national life1 and of a world-power without army or navy or any show of force1 touching all men1 and touching them only to bless4 ,and though ,king ,saul failed1 there was already the ruddy ,david1 out among the sheep1 waiting the anointing oil1 and carrying about in his person his nation's greatest king4 ,jesus' ,judas failed to realize the promise of his earlier days4 ,he struck the record note for baseness4 ,but ,paul was being prepared by blood inheritance and scholarly training4 ,under the touch of the ,master's own hand he became the ,church's greatest leader in its life-mission4 ,if ,judas struck the lowest note1 ,paul rang the changes on the highest note of personal loyalty to ,jesus and to ,his world-wide passion and purpose4 ,and the ,church has waked up4 ,i said1 you remember1 last evening1 that if you look over the whole history of the ,church since its birthday on ,pentecost1 you are pained by the sore fact that the chief mission entrusted to it has been for the most part forgotten4 ,there has been more forgetting of it1 and neglecting it1 than fulfilling it4 ,yet always1 be it keenly noted1 in every generation of these centuries there have been those whose vision of ,olivet never dimmed4 ,there have always been those who have tried faithfully to carry out the ,church's great mission4 ,the darkest days have never been without some of the brightest light1 made all the brighter by the surrounding night4 u,the ,revised ,missionary ,motto4_/u ,but there's a new chapter of the ,church's life being written as we talk together4 ,its writing began in the closing twilight of the eighteenth century4 ,that chapter isn't finished yet4 ,some of its best pages are now being written1 with more and better clearly coming4 ,its first lines were written by a very common pen4 ,carey's ,english cobbler-shop became a sounding-board whose insistent1 ringing messages began to waken the ,church4 ,the ,church is waking up1 and shaking itself1 and tightening on its clothes1 for the greatest work yet to be done in fulfilling the life-mission entrusted to it4 ,a hundred years ago the fire of ,god found fresh kindling stuff in the hearts and brains of a few young college fellows in an old ,new ,england village4 ,the sore need of the world crowded in upon them by night and by day4 ,but they were few1 and young1 and unknown4 ,and the task was stupendous4 ,the rain-storm of a ,sabbath afternoon drove them to the shelter of a hay-stack4 ,and the storm of the world's need drove them to the shelter of prayer1 and then to the shelter of a great purpose4 ,with simple faith in ,god1 and strong devotion to the great neglected task1 they spoke out to the ,church the thrilling words1 ,we can do it if we will4 ,and on that same spot a hundred years later the ,church gathered4 ,those intense words had been heard4 ,the ,church had waked up4 ,men of long service in far-away lands stood with those of the home circle4 ,they talked of the past1 but far more of the present and future4 ,they revised the century-old motto4 ,no group of scholars in the ,jerusalem ,chamber of ,westminster ,abbey ever did finer revision work4 ,they said1 ,we can do it1 iand_/i we will4 ,no greater tribute to the memory of the faithful little hay-stack group was ever made than in that changed motto4 ,the young collegians' bold cry had sounded out throughout the ,church4 ,and the ,church heard and roused up4 ,the modern missionary movement of the ,church is the most marked development of the past century of church history4 ,it can be said that the ,church of our day in its missionary activity far exceeds the early ,church4 ,that is to say1 in certain particulars we have exceeded4 ,it is common to refer to the missionary zeal of the first centuries4 ,fresh from the ,master's touch1 the early ,church was chiefly a missionary church4 ,one great purpose gripped it1 and that was to take the news of ,jesus everywhere4 ,and they went everywhere4 ,we know most about ,paul's journeys in the ,grecian and ,roman worlds4 ,but there is good evidence that there is another ,acts of ,apostles beside the one bound up in this ,bible4 ,out to the farthest reaches of the earth they seemed to have gone in those early days1 preaching and winning men and establishing church societies4 ,the ibulk_/i of the modern movement is without doubt greatly in excess of the early movement4 ,the number of men out in various fields1 the amount of money being given annually by the ,church in ,america and ,great ,britain and the ,continental countries is so much greater as to leave comparison practically out4 ,in the thoroughness of organization1 the elements of permanency1 the great variety of means used such as hospitals1 schools1 literature1 and industrial helps1 the present probably exceeds by far the early movement4 ,the statesmanlike study by church leaders of the whole world-field1 the steadiness of movement year after year1 in spite of difficulties and discouragements1 the careful systematic effort to inform and arouse the home church--these are marked features of the present foreign-mission campaign4 ,they are such as to awaken the deepest admiration of any thoughtful onlooker4 ,in all of this the modern ,church is making a wholly new record4 u,ahead1 ,but ,behind4_/u ,yet1 while all this is true1 it can be said just as truly that the ,church1 ias a whole1_/i is so far behind the primitive ,church as1 again1 practically to leave comparison out of the question4 i,they_/i were so far ahead in the imass_/i of their movement that we are scarcely in the lists at all4 ,then the iwhole_/i ,church was an active missionary society4 i,every one_/i went and preached4 ,the nearest approach to it in modern times probably is the movement of the native ,church of ,korea4 ,this foreign people seems to have caught the early spirit4 ,our heathen brothers are taking their place as pace-setters for the ,church4 ,by contrast with that1 the modern activity has been by a minority1 really a small minority1 though a steadily growing one4 ,the leaders have struggled heroically against enormous odds in the backward pull of the majority4 i,then_/i they went ieverywhere_/i4 ,that is1 they went everywhere that they could1 so far as open doors1 or doors that could be pried open1 let them4 ,we have gone actually farther1 and to more places probably1 but we haven't begun to go everywhere that we could4 ,our ability to go1 and the urgent requests for us to come1 would carry us to thousands of places not yet touched4 ,if we began to do things as the early ,church people did1 it would stand out as one of the greatest movements in the history of the race4 ,if a small minority of us have made such enormous strides what could the whole of us do if we would6 u,in a ,swift ,current4_/u ,the imomentum_/i of the present missionary movement has been startling4 ,it suggests that we are on the eve of an advance undreamed of by the most enthusiastic4 ,the last twenty-odd years have seen progress clear outstripping that of the previous hundred1 though all built upon the foundations so well laid by the earlier leaders of the century4 ,in answer to the earnest persistent prayer of a few1 the ,spirit of ,god found new stuff ready for ,his kindling fires among the colleges4 ,the story of the prayer of a few that preceded the forming of the ,student ,volunteer ,movement is thrilling4 ,that great movement was literally conceived and brought forth in the travail of prayer4 ,its wide-spread influence upon the colleges1 and then upon the churches2 its early campaigning1 its remarkable leaders1 its great conventions1 the steadiness of its growing influence through more than twenty years1 and the distinct mark it has made upon the whole mission propaganda abroad1 make up one of the most thrilling chapters of church history1 ancient or modern4 ,to-day its influence encircles the earth4 ,its volunteers are found everywhere4 ,its reflex influence upon that other movement1 the ,young ,men's ,christian ,association1 has been no small part of its work4 ,the two have been interwoven from the beginning1 each contributing immeasurably to the other4 ,the practical power of the ,young ,men's ,christian ,association on foreign soil is recognized by the ,church1 and by foreign governments1 as of a value clear beyond calculation or statement4 ,it has come to be one of the great expressions of the unifying spirit of the ,church on foreign-mission soil4 ,our churches at home may go their separate ways1 largely4 ,but the pressure of the sore need of the foreign world has been welding the churches there together remarkably4 ,the ,christian ,associations1 both of young men and young women1 belonging to all the ,church and representing all1 have held a strategic position in action1 and been of inestimable service to the ,church in its missionary propaganda4 ,the ,young ,people's ,missionary ,movement1 whose long1 warm fingers are reaching throughout the whole ,church1 and the newer ,laymen's ,missionary ,movement with its aggressive campaigning1 are both remarkable expressions of the new uprising4 ,the women of the ,church were forehanded in their earnest working and praying4 ,they were up at dawn of day4 ,their influence is mighty1 clear beyond any words to express4 ,and now at last the men are waking up1 and the new life is showing itself anew within organic church lines4 ,men's missionary conventions1 with great attendances1 are swinging into line1 and revealing the awakeness of the ,church4 u,power of ,leadership4_/u ,the enormous power of personal influence and of devoted leadership has been most marked4 ,in the throng of strong men that lead in all this activity there are two men that by common consent stand out big in the group4 ,young men they are1 both of them1 not yet in the full prime of their powers4 ,one has a genius for organization probably never surpassed1 if equalled1 by military general1 or ,jesuit chief1 or modern captain of industry4 ,the other has mental grasp1 keenness of thought1 and power of persuasive speech not surpassed by any1 if equalled4 ,both are marked by a singularly deep1 tender spirituality1 a rare gift of leadership1 a poise of judgment1 and a devotion to the ,church's great mission as true and steady as the polar star4 ,around these two young men has grouped up in no small measure this later missionary activity4 ,and it is probably quite within the mark to say that no stronger1 abler men can be found in any of the great activities of life to-day in either of these two great ,english-speaking peoples4 ,it is surely significant that the modern missionary movement rallies around such giants4 ,it is worthy of special note1 too1 that the body of men to whom is entrusted the administration of this vast network of foreign service1 the foreign-board members and secretaries of the ,church1 have developed such remarkable power and skill4 ,no body of men has problems more intricate and exacting and difficult4 ,and no body of men in any sphere of activity has shown greater diplomacy and astuteness1 hard sound sense1 and untiring devotion4 ,some good friends are sometimes disposed to be critical of methods and management4 ,they think the affair could be conducted better in some details which they think important4 ,well1 it would be surprising if it were not so4 ,the same criticisms are made of every governmental and great industrial enterprise4 ,everything human seems to make progress by correcting and improving4 ,but the thing for you and me to keep a critically keen eye upon is this3 that no such detail be allowed to affect by so much as a hair's weight the steadfast ardor of our support4 ,no strong man in the thick of the great driving purpose of his life is turned aside or stopped by the biting or buzzing of a few insects4 ,if even they can't be brushed aside1 let them buzz and bite1 but don't let the great passion of a life be affected by them4 ,indeed1 they will be clean forgot1 even while they are remembered1 by the man who has been caught and swept by the fire of his ,master's passion for a world4 u,a ,minority ,movement4_/u ,yet1 be it keenly marked1 these great strides have been made by a minority1 who have followed the strong leaders4 ,the whole ,church is not yet awake4 ,many protest strenuously against being waked up4 ,the alarm-clocks bother them4 ,sometimes one is inclined to think that the foreign boards are peculiarly placed between a refrigerator and a furnace4 ,missionaries come back home fresh from the front fairly aflame with the fervor of their enthusiasm4 ,their convictions of what could be done1 and should be done1 are apt to be spoken out with great positiveness4 ,they seem to some to suggest in an uncomfortable way the thought of a glowing furnace4 ,and many in the home churches seem able to listen with such indifference as to suggest to these returned men and women the chilling air of an ice-box4 ,in between the two sits the ,church board engaging in the difficult task of trying to equalize the temperature4 ,but that's merely a detail in passing4 ,the great fact to mark is that never has the missionary movement bulked so large4 ,and never have such broad statesmanlike plans1 such aggressiveness of spirit1 coupled with deep devotion1 marked the ,church in its great life-mission4 ,one morning at a popular summer resort on the ,long ,island ,sound coast thousands of bathers were enjoying the surf-bathing4 ,the life-saving crew were stationed for duty1 on the lookout for any accident4 ,a gentleman standing by one of the crew asked him how he could tell if help were needed4 ,there were thousands of bathers1 and a perfect babel of noises4 ,the weather-beaten man1 bronzed and toughened and trained to keenness in his work by years of service1 said1 ,i can always hear a cry of distress1 no matter how great the noise and confusion4 ,there never yet has been a cry of need ,i haven't heard4 ,for a long time the confusion of noises bothered the ,church ears4 ,but now the cry of distress from over the wide seas is being heard again distinctly1 and is being responded to splendidly4 ,the very earnestness of response and effort is a forerunner of sure victory4 u,a ,great ,world-chorus4_/u ,i recall vividly a scene in ,albert ,hall in ,london nearly fifteen years ago4 ,a remarkable gathering from all parts of the world had come together to celebrate the jubilee of the ,young ,men's ,christian ,association4 ,about two thousand men had come from the ends of the earth4 ,it was a world-gathering4 ,there were sturdy ,englishmen1 cosmopolitan ,americans1 canny ,scots1 quick-witted ,irishmen1 sweet-voiced1 fervid-spirited ,welshmen1 and courtly1 suave ,frenchmen4 ,fair-haired1 blue-eyed ,scandinavians mingled with olive-skinned1 black-eyed sons of ,italy4 ,the steady-going ,hollander and the intense ,german mingled their deep gutturals with the songs of praise and the discussions4 ,a few turbaned heads1 inscrutably quiet almond-eyes1 and others of energetic step and speech brought to mind the ,great ,orient1 ,india and ,china and ,japan4 ,men won up out of the savagery of ,africa sat with ,islanders from the ,pacific4 ,they came from many communions and represented many creeds1 and spoke as many tongues as the ,jerusalem crowds on the day of ,pentecost4 ,but they were drawn together not by their attractive diversity1 but because of their oneness4 ,the drawing-power of ,jesus was the magnet that drew them4 ,it was the music of ,his ,name that made all their tongues and languages blend and chord in sweet harmony4 ,this night ,i speak of they had gathered in the great oval-shaped ,albert ,hall opposite ,hyde ,park4 ,with the ,londoners1 probably1 fully ten thousand persons were present4 ,and ,i think ,i shall never forget the vast volume of sound1 as1 led by a chorus of ,scandinavian students1 they all united in singing1 ,all hail the power of ,jesus' ,name4 ,they didn't sing it to our ,american tune of ,coronation1 but to the old ,english ,miles ,lane4 ,that tune1 you remember1 repeats over four times the words1 ,crown ,him1 in the last line1 gradually increasing in volume1 and the fourth time touched with a bit of quieting awe4 ,i can close my eyes now1 and see that great world-gathering and hear again the sweet rhythmic thunder of their singing3 ,and crown ,him1 i,crown ,him_/i1 ,,crown ,,him1 i,crown ,him_/i1 ,lord of all4 ,no one can tell to another the thrill and thrall of such a sight and sound4 ,it was all unconsciously a bit of prophecy acted out1 faint but distinct1 of the great day of victory that is coming4 u,the ,oratorio of ,victory4_/u ,have you ever noticed the ,oratorio of ,revelation8 ,lovers of music should study the book of the ,revelation of ,saint ,john1 for its mighty choruses4 ,it is striking just now to notice the double key-note of that closing climactic book of this old ,bible4 ,it is this3 ,satan chained1 and ,christ crowned4 ,but note for a moment the oratorio sounding its music through these pages4 ,it opens with a isolo_/i in the first chapter4#ad ,john begins writing with steady pen until he seems to get a glimpse of ,jesus4 ,then his pen drops the story1 and he begins singing3 ,unto ,him that loveth us1 ,and loosed us from our sin by ,his own blood2 ,and hath made us a kingdom1 ,priests unto ,his ,god and ,father2 ,to ,him the glory and the dominion ,forever and ever4 ,in chapter four#ae comes a iquartette_/i4 ,the four living creatures round about the throne take up the refrain of ,john's solo4 ,and1 as they sing1 their song is caught up by a isextuple quartette_/i1 twenty-four white-robed1 crowned men before the throne4#af ,in chapter five the i,angel ,chorus_/i swings in4#ag ,they are grouped round about the quartette1 and the twenty-four elders4 ,john begins to count them4 ,then his figures give out4 ,his knowledge of mathematics is too limited4 ,there were ten thousand times ten thousand1 and unnumbered thousands of thousands4 ,as far as his eye could reach1 to left and right1 before and behind1 was one vast sea of angel faces4 ,and ,john listened enraptured and awed1 as their wondrous volume of rhythm rang and thundered out4 ,sweet sopranos and mellow contraltos2 ringing tenors and deep basses2 first one1 then the other1 back and forth responding to each other1 then all together2 marvellous music it must have been4 ,then the refrain of their song is caught up by the i,creation ,chorus_/i4#a ,every living creature in heaven and on the earth and under the earth1 as though unable to resist the contagious sweep1 catch up the music and add their own to it4 ,we don't commonly associate music with the animal creation1 nor with nature4 ,it has been said that all the sounds of nature are keyed in the minor1 as though some suffering had affected them4 ,we talk of the sighing of the wind1 the moaning of the sea-waves1 and the mourning of the doves4 ,though the singing-birds must be excepted4 ,they seem to have caught and kept some of the upper strains4 ,but evidently something has occurred to strike a new key-note4 ,for now they take up the refrain of the joyous song of the others1 and increase the mighty song by their own4 ,in chapter seven the music has ceased or softened down and is taken up afresh by the i,martyr ,chorus_/i4#ah ,again ,john's figures give out4 ,he declares that nobody could count the multitudes that make up this chorus4 ,it is a polyglot chorus4 ,they sing in many different languages1 but all blend into full rhythm4 ,it's a scarred chorus1 too4 ,these have been through great tribulation4 ,their scars tell the mute story of the fierceness of the fight1 and the steadiness of their faith4 ,through their singing runs a distinct strain of the minor4 ,its strangely sweet cadence1 learned in many an hour of pain1 runs as an under-chording through the song of triumph that now fills their hearts and mouths4 ,and as they sing1 the angel chorus and the quartette drop to their knees1 and swell the wondrous refrain4 ,in chapter fourteen comes the music of the i,chorus of ,pure ,ones_/i4#ai ,they are gathered close about the person of ,jesus4 ,they sing to the accompaniment of a great company of harpers4 ,they sing with a peculiar clearness in their tones4 ,theirs is a new song4 ,purity always makes a music of its own1 unapproachable for sweetness and clearness4 ,the i,victors' ,chorus_/i rings out its song in chapter fifteen4#bj ,these have been in the thickest of the fighting4 ,the smoke of the battle has tanned their faces4 ,they have struggled with the enemy at close range1 hip and thigh1 nip and tuck1 close parry and hard thrust4 ,and they have come off victors4 ,the ring of triumph resounds in their voices1 as to the sound of their own harps1 harps of ,god1 they add their tribute of song to all the others4 ,and at the last comes the great i,hallelujah ,chorus_/i1 in chapter nineteen4#ba ,in response to the precentor's call1 they all join their voices in one vast melody4 ,the ,quartette1 the ,sextuples1 the ,angels1 the ,creation1 the ,martyrs1 the ,pure-,ones1 the ,victors--all sing their song together4 ,john tries to tell what it was like4 ,his mind went quickly back to earlier days in his home city1 ,jerusalem1 when thousands of pilgrims crowded the temple areas and narrow streets1 and spread out over the hills4 ,the unceasing sound of their voices in speech and in their pilgrim songs of praise comes back to him4 ,he says it was like that4 ,but that isn't satisfactory4 ,it is so much more4 ,he thinks of how the ocean-waves keep pounding1 with cannon-roar1 on the rocky beach of his ,patmos prison isle4 ,so he said it was like that4 ,but still more is needed to give an idea of the vast volume of sound4 ,and he remembers how sometimes the thunders crashed and boomed and roared above him as he lay in his solitude on that lonely bit of sea-girt land4 ,it was like that4 ,it was like all of these together4 ,and what is it they are singing8 ,well1 there's a variety in the wording of their song1 as well as in their voices4 ,but through all runs a refrain that brings back to me the great ,london chorus4 ,it is this-- ,and crown ,him6 i,crown ,him66_/i ,,crown ,,him666 ,yes1 i,crown ,him_/i ,lord of all4 ,it is the rehearsal of the great ,oratorio of ,victory that we are all to join in singing4 ,the ,church ,forces that ,win4 ,the ,divine ,law of ,leadership4 ,god's ,messenger4 ,reaching ,out for a ,world4 ,keep ,step4 ,find ,my ,world1 ,and ,win ,it ,back4 ,the ,church u,forces ,that ,win4_/u ,god's world is full of winning forces4 ,the great ball of fire around which our earth revolves is the greatest winning force in the life of the earth4 ,it is constantly winning the earth to itself with a power unseen but tremendous1 beyond anybody's power to calculate4 ,the swing of the earth away from the sun is being continually overcome4 ,by an immense drawing power it steadily holds the earth where it can pour down its wealth of warmth and light and life into it4 ,it woos the moisture up from river and lake and sea1 until its gravity partner in the centre of the earth woos it back again in refreshing rain and sheltering snow4 ,it wins out of the earth's warm heart bounteous harvests of grains and fruits1 the wealth of forests which affects the earth's life so radically1 the flowers with their beauty and fragrance1 and the soft carpeting of green to ease the journey for our feet4 ,all the life and beauty of the earth is due to the winning power of the sun4 ,god ,himself is the greatest winning force in all our world4 ,everywhere men feel the upward drawing toward ,him4 ,they may protest against church organizations and creeds1 against teachings and long-settled practices and habits of thought1 as they do so much1 but there is always everywhere a longing in the human heart for ,god4 ,it is the answer to the longing of ,his heart for us4 ,and man is a great winning force4 ,everywhere men are attracted to each other4 ,there is a winning power within each of us that draws certain others irresistibly to us4 ,and there are winning forces in life that each one of us is powerfully affected by4 ,the old home of earlier days has a marvellous power of attraction for most men4 ,the old fireside1 the familiar rooms1 the subtle aroma that seems inseparable from the very bricks and boards--who has not felt the tremendous drawing power of these8 ,what a strange power of attraction a man's mother-tongue has for him4 ,how the heart will give a quick leap1 in a foreign land1 when1 amid a confusing jargon of strange sounds1 all unexpectedly some one speaks the dear old familiar words4 ,the person speaking may not be specially congenial or attractive to us1 but that sound his tongue gives draws us to him4 u,the ,divine ,law of ,leadership4_/u ,now ,i want to talk with you a bit about the forces at hand for winning our old world back to our ,father's heart and home4 ,god means us to use all the attractive powers we have in this great world-wooing and world-winning task4 ,the world is to be iwon_/i back1 not driven4 ,men drive men1 when they can4 ,but ,god woos and wins4 ,man's coming back must be by his own glad1 sweet consent4 ,god won't have it any other way4 ,there are certain strangely winsome forces at our command for winning man4 ,they are mighty in their drawing power4 ,but there are counter-currents that divert and hinder their influence4 ,we need to be familiar with these winning forces1 and with the counter-currents1 too4 ,there are seven great forces at our command for this blessed service of soul-winning and world-winning4 ,they are not peculiar to foreign-mission service1 for the foreign service itself is not essentially different from other service1 except in the greatness of its need4 ,they are the forces for use in all our winning work4 ,two of these are distinctly human forces4 ,the first is an organization1 the ,church4 ,and then that of which the ,church is made up1 men and women2 ,i mean the power of personality1 developed and consecrated personality4 ,there are two divine forces that work through the human--,jesus and the ,holy ,spirit4 ,i have put these second in order1 because they work through the human4 ,the leadership is in human hands4 ,the initiative of all action is with us4 ,of course1 if you go a bit deeper in1 the initiative is with ,god who moves upon our hearts to make us act4 ,but on the distinctly human level the beginning of service rests in human hands1 and these two mighty1 almighty1 divine forces work through us4 ,the divine law of leadership and of cooperation in leadership has not always been clearly understood4 ,and there has been bad delay often because of the lack of understanding4 ,our ,lord ,jesus in the days of ,his humanity surrendered ,himself to the leadership of the ,holy ,spirit in ,his great mission to men4 ,the ,spirit worked through ,jesus4 ,after ,jesus' ,ascension the order was reversed4 ,the ,spirit yielded ,himself to the control of the glorified ,son of ,god4 ,jesus worked through the ,spirit4 ,it was ,jesus who sent down the ,holy ,spirit on the day of ,pentecost for the special mission begun that day4 ,and now1 with the greatest awe coming into our hearts at the thought1 be it said that these two work through our human leadership4 ,the leadership in service among men is human leadership4 ,the wondrous ,spirit of ,god works through our leadership to reveal ,jesus to men in all ,his winsomeness and power4 ,there can be no power at all in our human action and leadership except as the ,spirit leads and controls us1 and is allowed to4 ,and1 on the other side1 we must not forget1 though it has sometimes been forgotten1 that ,god's working waits upon human action and leadership4 ,memory quickly brings up the fact1 so often repeated in the history of the ,church1 that when men have failed to respond to ,god's call ,his work has fallen behind4 ,whenever a new chapter of earnest service has been begun it has always been through a new leadership4 ,some man has listened to ,god1 and let ,him have the free use of himself in reaching out to other men4 ,god needs men4 ,he needs you and me4 ,we are the wire for the transmission of ,his current of power4 ,the wire is useless without the current4 ,and the current must have the wire along which to travel to its place of service4 ,the divine power is through human action and human leadership4 ,the power is all divine4 ,and the means through which it works is all human4 ,jesus and the ,holy ,spirit work through the ,church and through each one of us who is willing4 ,then there are three spirit forces1 or influences1 of mighty power in human hands2 namely1 prayer1 and money1 and sacrifice4 u,god's ,messenger4_/u ,to-night we want to talk about the first of the two human forces--the ,church4 ,we ought to remind ourselves of just what that word ,church means in this connection4 ,it has many meanings4 ,there are at least two that we should note here in thinking of it as a great winning force4 ,in its broadest meaning1 the word is commonly used for the whole group of church organizations taken together1 the ,roman ,catholic and the ,greek ,orthodox1 the ,protestant1 and the few primitive societies that still retain their old original organization4 ,in the deeper1 less used meaning1 it stands for the body of those men and women everywhere who are trusting ,jesus ,christ1 and are allied with ,him in the purpose of their hearts4 ,these two meanings1 of course1 should be the same4 ,all who trust ,jesus should be in the church organizations4 ,and all who are in the organizations should be there because of their relation to ,jesus4 ,whatever the facts regarding that may be1 the mission of each is the same4 ,and it is with that mission that we are concerned just now4 ,jesus planned that ,his ,church should be a great man-winning and world-winning organization4 i,the_/i mission of the ,church is to take ,jesus to all men4 ,it is ,god's messenger of ,his truth to all4 ,in that it is the direct lineal descendant and heir of the ,hebrew nation4 ,that nation was chosen to be a messenger or missionary nation4 ,that was the one purpose of its special creation as a nation4 ,it was not to be as the other nations1 in the characteristics that commonly mark strong nations4 ,it was to be a iteacher_/i-nation1 receiving its message of truth direct from ,god1 embodying that message in its own life1 personally and nationally1 and giving it out clearly and fully and winsomely to all the nations of the earth4 ,and1 in spite of its failures and breaks1 that mission was accomplished to a remarkable extent4 ,the ,church is its heir4 ,it was born in the ,jewish nation4 ,it became the heir to its world-wide messenger mission4 ,the great commission given by ,jesus as ,he was leaving is the ,church's commission for its great life-work4 ,it was spoken to the group of ,jewish men who were the nucleus of that body called the ,church1 that came into being on the day of ,pentecost4 ,that ringing1 ,go ye into all the world and preach my gospel to the whole creation1 is the ,master's command to the ,church which ,he brought into being4 ,that is the ,church's marching order by which its life is to be controlled and its faithfulness judged4 ,the scene of the ,church's birth gives a vivid picture of its world-mission4 ,it was born in a world-gathering4 ,it was a world-church in its make-up at its birth4 ,men from all parts of the world became united in one body by the ,spirit's touch that great ,church birthday4 ,its birth-gift1 the power of speaking many tongues1 reveals at once the wide sweep of its service4 ,it was the ,master's plan that ,his ,church should speak all the languages of the earth then and now and always1 as well as the language of heaven1 the language of love4 ,so every man would learn of ,jesus in his native speech4 ,the language of the cradle and of love-making and of the fireside1 the language that most quickly kindles the fires in a man's heart1 that was the language to be used in carrying ,jesus to every man4 ,that was ,jesus' plan4 ,the ,church was rarely equipped with winning power for a world-service on its birthday in the gift of tongues4 ,of course1 this is not the only mission of the ,church4 ,that is to say1 there are other purposes necessarily included in this4 ,taking the ,gospel of ,jesus to all men means more than merely taking it and telling it4 ,the teaching and training and developing of those won to ,jesus is an inseparable part of the ,church mission4 ,the great service of worship has always been recognized as a vital part of the ,church life4 ,sometimes indeed these have been thought of1 and still are thought of1 as its only mission4 ,but they grow distinctly out of the chief mission and are distinctly contributory and secondary to it4 ,indeed1 they come into being only through the faithful doing of the chief task4 ,men were won4 ,then they met for worship and for training4 u,reaching ,out ,for a ,world4_/u ,the ,church of those first years thoroughly understood what its great mission was to be4 ,the first chapters of the ,book of ,acts vividly describe the ideal ,church as planned by the ,master1 and as understood by those who felt ,his own personal touch upon themselves4 ,everybody went4 ,they went to everybody4 ,they went everywhere4 ,there is pretty clear evidence that they actually went everywhere that men could go4 ,they held their lives1 and even their property1 subject to the one great gripping purpose4 ,the greatest leader of the first century of the ,church1 ,paul1 who contributed most to its literature and exerted the greatest influence upon its life1 was above all else a missionary leader4 ,he went practically everywhere4 ,he didn't go hastily1 but by carefully thought-out plans4 ,he won men to ,christ1 organized them into church societies1 taught them1 and sent them out to win others4 ,he worked in and out of the world's great city centres of his time4 ,ephesus1 the ,asiatic centre1 ,corinth1 the centre of ,greek influence1 and1 ,rome1 the centre of the world's governing power1 were the scenes of his longest and most thorough campaigns4 ,his choice of the centres was a master's strategic choice4 ,for these centres sent their influence out to the ends of the earth4 ,paul's body might be in ,ephesus or ,corinth or ,rome1 but his thought and heart were on the world these cities reached by constant streams of influence4 ,and to these churches which he had won out of the raw stuff of heathenism he taught the same world-wide message4 ,they became filled with this same world-wide spirit4 ,the ,thessalonian and ,corinth ,churches made their winning power felt throughout ,greece and wherever ,greek culture had gone1 that is to say1 everywhere4#bb ,the ,church in ,rome sent out the message of ,jesus from its golden centre of all ,roman roads1 out to the farthest reaches of those far-reaching roads4#bc ,it is striking1 though not surprising1 that the days of the ,church's missionary activity have been the days of its greatest purity and vigor4 ,when the vision of the ,master's face on ,olivet1 and the ringing sound of ,his ,go ye have been lost1 the ,church has written pages that would gladly be blotted out4 ,the ,church ihas_/i been a winning force beyond any power of calculation or words of description4 ,all that has been done has been done through its activity and leadership4 ,it is to-day a tremendous winning force1 reaching its warm hands out to the very ends of the earth1 and drawing men to ,jesus4 ,with our earnest prayer it will exert a yet mightier influence in taking ,jesus to all men and in winning men everywhere to ,jesus4 u,keep ,step4_/u ,the ,church is organized ,christendom4 ,it stands for the power of organization in ,god's service4 ,all the vast power of the men and women whose hearts have been renewed by the ,holy ,spirit can be brought to bear at a given point with tremendous force through the ,church4 ,that was and is the ,master's plan4 ,organization is rhythmic action1 a crowd of men working by agreement as one man4 ,never was the world so impressed with the almost magical power of organization as to-day4 ,never has organization been brought up to so high a pitch of efficiency4 ,the unparalleled progress of the world in our day is due to the marvellous skill that has been developed in organized action4 ,now1 this almost omnipotent power of organization was meant to be used in winning the world back home4 ,that is the meaning of the birth of the ,church on that great ,pentecost day4 ,it is remarkable that the most perfectly matured bit of organization1 in this day of matured and perfected organizations1 is a church4 ,for by common consent of thoughtful students the most finely adjusted and thoroughly matured bit of human machinery is the ,roman ,catholic ,church4 ,if such a masterpiece of organization were controlled by the ,spirit that controls in these early chapters of ,acts1 what tremendous and thorough and rapid work would be done in world-winning6 ,and that is the goal toward which we should be driving4 ,the evangelization of the whole world is ian easy task_/i for the whole ,church4 ,it would be a stupendous1 if not an impossible task for the few4 ,it has been a gigantic task for the leaders1 who by dint of great planning and persuasion and earnest pleading have done as much as has been done4 ,but if the whole ,church or half of it were to go at it as earnestly as men go at other things1 it would be an easy task4 ,i remember one ,october morning walking across an old smoke-begrimed bridge that spans the ,ohio at ,cincinnati4 ,my eye was caught by a dingy sign in large plain letters nailed up in a prominent place4 ,it simply1 said1 ,processions in crossing this bridge must break step4 ,that was all4 ,but it was imperative4 ,it was a law4 ,the processions imust_/i break step4 ,the same men might cross the bridge1 in as large numbers1 at the same time1 but they must not keep step4 ,the authorities knew perfectly well that for a body of men to march iin step_/i1 every left foot set down at once1 the impact of every right foot striking at the same moment1 would so--,i do not say1 iadd_/i to the force exerted--would so imultiply_/i the force exerted upon the bridge as to endanger its safety4 ,the power of concerted action is immense beyond any power of conception4 ,every bit of power at command can so be brought to bear at one point with a force beyond any words to express4 ,our ,master reverses for us the old bridge sign4 ,out from ,pentecost rings this word3 ,let my followers all form in line1 close ranks1 and move out to a world conquest1 and--ikeep step_/i4 ,that command of ,his will make a winning force so great as to shorten up the world's present calendars1 and shorten up the world's pain1 and lengthen out the new life that will come to untold numbers through ,jesus4 u,find ,my ,world and ,win it ,back4_/u ,nearly forty years ago ,david ,livingstone1 one of the ,church's great world-winning pioneers1 was lost in the depths of equatorial ,africa4 ,that is to say1 he had advanced so far ahead of everybody else that the rest of us lost track of him1 and so we called him lost4 ,perhaps we got the use of the word twisted1 and we were the lost ones because we hadn't kept up4 ,he had gone where the ,church was told to go1 but the rest of us had lingered behind1 and so the main column became detached from its leader4 ,everybody was talking about the lost leader4 ,james ,gordon ,bennett1 the owner of the i,new ,york ,herald1_/i sent a telegram to one of its correspondents1 ,henry ,m4 ,stanley4 ,bennett was in ,paris1 and ,stanley at ,gibraltar4 ,the telegram summoned ,stanley to come to ,paris at once4 ,stanley went1 reached ,paris at midnight1 knocked at the great newspaper-man's door1 and asked what was wanted4 ,find ,livingstone1 was the short1 blunt reply4 ,how much money do you place at my disposal8 asked ,stanley4 ,fifty thousand dollars1 or a larger sum4 ,never mind about the money2 find ,livingstone4 ,stanley went4 ,it took two years' time to get ready4 ,it required a specially planned campaign and thorough preparation4 ,the planning was done1 and the world was thrilled when the bold missionary leader was found4 ,our ,master has sent a message to ,his ,church4 ,it is written down in a ,book1 and is being repeated by wireless messages constantly4 ,he says1 ,find my world1 and bring it back2 never mind about the expense of money and lives4 i,find my world and win it back4_/i ,and the ,church has the winning power to do it4 ,each ,one of ,us ,our ,drawing ,power4 ,sowing ,ourselves in ,life's ,soil4 ,our ,need of a ,world to ,win4 ,living ,broad ,lives in ,narrow ,alleys4 ,giving ,god ,free ,use of ,ourselves4 ,growing ,bigger for ,service's ,sake4 ,my ,mission-field4 ,our ,spirit-touch4 ,each ,one of ,us u,our ,drawing ,power4_/u ,the greatest human winning force is a man swayed in every bit of his being by the ,spirit of ,jesus4 ,man himself is the most attractive thing on ,god's earth4 ,he has the greatest drawing power4 ,he is attractive to ,god4 ,he drew out of the creative power of ,god this world of beauty and splendor4 ,he drew ,jesus down from the throne of ,god to the earth1 to poverty and hard labor1 to the limitations of human life1 to misunderstandings and suffering and pain and death4 ,these were gladly yielded to because it was all for man4 ,how the crowds used to draw ,jesus6 ,he would give ,his strength out to them without stint1 until those closest to ,him1 not understanding1 sought to interfere for the sake of his strength4 ,one man was a sufficient magnet to draw him away from ,his rest1 and to draw out of ,him the best of love and strength ,he had4 ,nicodemus' earnest presence wooed out of ,his busy life a whole evening1 and drew out the matchless words that the world has been feeding upon ever since4 ,the woman of little half-breed ,sychar1 though an outcast1 drew from ,him the touch of power that transformed her life and her village4 ,man is attractive to his fellows4 ,there is no power so attractive to a man as another man4 ,the phenomenal growth of modern cities is one of the evidences of this4 ,everywhere men acknowledge the attractiveness that their fellows have for them4 ,every friendship1 every leadership1 every family circle1 and gathering of men for whatever purpose tells of the winning power that man has for his fellows4 ,it is modified by all sorts of surrounding conditions1 and exists in many different degrees4 ,the great leader and the great orator have it in unusual measure4 ,every man has some of it4 ,each man is a magnetic north pole4 ,every man of his spirit-current is drawn toward him with a steady pull4 ,man can win man4 ,that fact at once brings out strikingly his winning power4 ,for the hardest thing in all this world to win is a man4 ,of all luggage man is the hardest to move4 ,he won't move unless he will move4 ,only as the string is tied inside to his will can he be persuaded to move4 ,the heart may help open the door into the will4 ,most often that is the way to get in4 ,sometimes intelligence1 the reasoning powers1 open the way in1 but rarely2 often these two1 the heart and the reason1 combined4 ,but even then they go tandem1 with the heart in the lead2 only man can get that door open1 and tie the tether to the other man's will1 and draw him out1 whither he will4 ,he can do it4 ,and only he can4 ,man yields to the drawing power of his fellow4 ,with the deepest reverence be it said that when ,god would redeem a world ,he sent a ,man4 ,aye1 ,he came as a man4 ,and1 while ,jesus was so much more than man1 we must always insistently remind ourselves that ,he was truly and fully a man4 ,he was as really human in every bit of ,his make-up and life as though only human4 ,because of man's power to win his fellow1 ,jesus came to the man-level1 as a ,man1 that so ,he might win men4 u,sowing ,ourselves in ,life's ,soil4_/u ,man is winsome1 wherever found1 just as he is4 ,he may be shackled and slimed over with sin1 as he plainly is4 ,he may have lost much of his winsomeness1 as probably he has1 through deeply rooted prejudice and superstitions1 and endless limitations of surroundings and education1 but he still remains a powerful magnet to his fellow4 ,but he is most winning in his winningness as he returns to the original as ,god planned him4 ,his native winning power comes out fully only as sin is taken out of him1 washed out1 and burned out2 the desire for it removed1 and the hurt of sin upon his bodily and mental powers overcome4 ,jesus is the sort of human that ,god planned4 ,and only as ,he is allowed to come into a man's life1 and treat the sin trouble at the core1 and rule from within1 can man come to his own in his rare winsomeness4 ,only iwon_/i men can win men1 of course4 ,only the man who has felt the power of ,jesus can tell some one else of that marvellous power4 ,nobody else wants to4 ,nobody else can4 ,for nobody else knows that power4 ,but that man must4 ,there is something inside that compels him to4 ,the man who realizes most keenly that he has been saved will be the most intent on getting others saved1 too4 ,the passion for ,jesus becomes a passion for telling others about ,jesus4 ,jerry ,mc,cauley must spend out his life in ,water ,street because he had been gripped by the ,man who spent out ,his life for him4 ,the passion is irresistible4 ,splendid young ,hugh ,beaver must win the ,pennsylvania students to ,jesus because ,jesus had become the magnet of his own life4 ,livingstone must plunge into the depths of the ,african wilds1 and ,duff into ,india's heat1 and ,hudson ,taylor into ,china's inner provinces because of the ,jesus-passion that gripped them4 ,now the thing to mark very keenly is this3 that ,god's chief reliance in ,his passionate outreach for ,his world is imen_/i4 ,he is counting on you and me4 ,the power that actually wins men is the power of ,god4 ,only ,he can so play upon human wills and hearts as to induce them gladly to open to ,him4 ,that is true4 ,but it is as true that only ithrough_/i the winsome power of men can ,he use ,his winning power fully4 ,i am not going to take up just now why this is so1 though that is full of helpful suggestion4 ,but simply to have you mark that straight through this old ,book1 and through church history1 and in actual experience this has been ,his way of reaching men4 ,god's pathway to one human heart is through another human heart4 ,when men have failed ,him ,god's plan has failed4 ,his sovereignty doesn't mean that ,his plan doesn't fail4 ,it means here that with endless patience ,he clings to the failed plan until ,he can get the man through whom it can be carried out4 ,but meanwhile there has been serious delay and sad suffering for man4 ,there is a most striking sentence spoken by ,jesus in explaining the parable of the tares1 in ,matthew1 ,chapter thirteen4 ,he said1 ,the good seed are the sons of the kingdom4 ,we think of the truth1 the ,gospel message1 as the good seed that we are to sow1 and so it is4 ,but there's a far better seed4 ,it is men1 saved men4 ,we are to sow our saved selves1 our lives1 in the soil of men's lives4 ,our presence among men was meant to be ,god's greatest sowing of the seed of life4 ,upon that seed ,he sends the dew and rain and sunlight of ,his ,spirit4 ,and through that sort of sowing ,he wins ,his greatest harvests4 u,our ,need of a ,world to ,win4_/u ,now ,i want to turn aside here a bit1 and say this3 we men need a world to win4 ,the world needs winning4 ,there's no doubt of that4 ,and just as really we men need a world to win4 ,we need the impetus and stimulus1 the grip and the swing of having a world to win4 ,the ,master's command fits with great exactness into the need of our lives4 ,every man needs a great purpose to grip his life4 ,so he is anchored and held steady against the world's tidal movements4 ,if he isn't tied to some great gripping purpose the wash of the sea will send him adrift1 or the fierce undertow will suck him under4 ,and many are adrift4 ,and many are in the deadly suction of the undertow4 ,jesus' command provides the great purpose that every man needs to hold him steady and to bring out1 and bring out best1 all the splendid powers with which we are endowed4 ,when we are not gripped by the great purpose planned for us we swing off into smaller1 meaner purposes4 ,i mean1 of course1 those of us who are awake4 ,many people are habitual somnambulists4 ,all their walking and moving about is done in a state of sleep4 ,some men never wake up4 ,they go through the motions of life so far as they must4 ,the mechanism of habit keeps certain motions going1 but the real man within is asleep or dozing1 with occasional spells of being sleepily awake4 ,but men who are awake1 and doing something1 find a vent for their energy on some lower level4 ,the ,god-given energy will move out and stir itself to action4 ,but1 having somehow missed the real purpose planned for them1 they allow the lower purposes to grip them4 ,they organize great affairs1 or less great1 industrial1 intellectual1 political1 fraternal1 social1 and spend their energy on these4 ,it is the response they make to the call of their natures for some great gripping purpose4 ,but it looks very much like another case of meeting a request for bread with cold hard stones4 ,these things in themselves are right1 of course2 so far as they are right4 ,they belong in the scheme of life4 ,they should be given full place in one's life4 ,but that place is always a distinctly secondary place4 ,they belong in as number two4 ,a ,christian business man gives most of the day and year to his business1 and gives of the best of his thought and strength to it4 ,but if he have gotten his bearings straight1 his business is not in first place4 ,it is made to serve something higher4 ,it earns the gold with which to finance the great purpose of ,jesus' life1 and of his own life1 namely1 the purpose of winning men1 and of winning a whole world of them4 ,how it would sweeten business and fraternal and social contacts and friendships1 if the salt of this great purpose seasoned them6 u,living ,broad ,lives in ,narrow ,alleys4_/u ,we need the ibigness_/i of this great purpose4 ,so many lives are dwarfed by their very littlenesses4 ,we are bothered with being short-sighted4 ,the eyeglasses of the ,master's purpose for us would wondrously widen out our scope of vision4 ,and through the new eyes would come broader1 farther1 clearer views1 and changed action4 ,the littleness of our ideas would be amusing if it were not so distressing4 ,i recall one day riding on a ,fort-,wayne train through ,indiana4 ,i chanced to overhear a bit of conversation4 ,two men1 chance acquaintances1 were talking4 ,one of them had his home in ,elkhart4 ,the other asked him where ,elkhart is4 ,by the side of the ,elkhart man there sat a little sweet-faced boy4 ,instantly1 as the question was asked1 he looked up with surprised eyes1 and said1 ,don't you know where ,elkhart is8 ,why1 ,elkhart is down where ,i live4 ,the amusing childish words seemed to have a familiar sound4 ,i seem to have run across a few people whose idea of ,god's world is about on the level of the small boy's4 ,the world is where they live4 ,the rest is a hazy1 vague something1 or--nothing4 ,it exists for them1 if it exists at all in their thoughts4 ,living for self1 for self alone1 for self and none beside2 ,just as if ,jesus had never lived1 as if ,jesus had never died4 ,it would be pitiable and pathetic enough if only these people themselves were concerned in their poor1 stunted1 narrow-alley living4 ,but it is more than that2 it is tragic1 because of the multitude of brothers1 here and abroad1 sorely needing the help that was meant to go out to them through us4 ,then most men live narrow lives so far as the daily round is concerned4 ,the home1 or shop1 or store1 or office is their daily horizon1 with practically the same round of duties day after day1 year in and year out4 ,the very narrowness of the round tends to make narrow people4 ,they get into as much of a rut in their thinking as their daily action is apt to become4 ,their work runs in fixed grooves that are apt to become fixed ruts4 ,and this makes ruts in their thinking4 ,their souls seem to grow small by the very smallness and sameness of the daily tread4 ,that is the life of the great crowd of men all over the world4 ,it's an immense relief to see something big ,big things always attract4 ,is it partly because our daily round is so narrow and small8 ,jesus plans a bigness that shall refresh us constantly4 ,we have hearts big enough to hold a world1 and brains able to plan for a planet1 even while our feet tread the same old shut-in path4 ,a young man may be going a commonplace1 treadmill sort of grind1 in a small corner of some great manufacturing concern1 and be at the same time carrying on a bigger enterprise than the president of his concern4 ,for he may be planning and praying for a world1 and actually lifting it up in the arms of his strong purpose toward the level of ,god4 ,the shipping clerk may be hammering in barrel-heads all day long1 but each blow may help emphasize the prayer of his heart for ,china1 or ,india1 or his ,sunday-school class4 ,forenoon1 afternoon1 and night1 ,forenoon1 afternoon1 and night1 ,forenoon1 afternoon1 and what8 no more8 ,the empty song repeats itself4 ,yea1 that is life4 ,make this forenoon sublime1 this afternoon a psalm1 ,this night a prayer1 and time is conquered1 and thy crown is won4 ,the ,master's gracious plan is that we shall have the refreshment of doing big things4 ,we are made for big things4 ,they help us grow into the big size that belongs to us4 ,world-winning is a great boon to the crowd compelled by the habit of life to tread a narrow path4 u,giving ,god ,free ,use of ,ourselves4_/u ,now the great question every earnest man asks himself is1 ,how can ,i be of most use to ,god and my fellows8 ,i want to suggest three things that have helped me in answering that question4 ,it may be that they will help you1 too1 in getting your answer to it4 ,first of all is this3 that we let ,god have the free use of us4 ,whatever ,i am1 whatever gifts and opportunities ,i have--these ,i will turn over to ,god1 that ,he may have the fullest and freest use of them4 ,god asks from each of us ia consecrated personality_/i4 ,and consecrated simply means that ,i give ,god the use of myself1 and that ,he makes use of what ,i have given to ,him4 ,that's the double meaning of the word in the ,bible4 ,my personality1 that is1 what ,i am in myself1 is the chief thing ,i have in life4 ,it is through this personality1 which men recognize as ,i1 that the ,spirit of ,god works in ,his reaching out for others4 ,my personality is the make-up of all that ,i am4 ,my presence is that subtle something that combines all that ,i am4 ,it clings to me wherever ,i go4 ,men know it by my name4 ,out through it goes the power of the man within4 ,the body1 the glance of the eye1 the quality and intonation of the voice1 the way the body is carried1 and the something more than these that unites them into one--these go to make up the presence1 the outer shell of the personality4 ,all the power within makes itself felt through this4 ,a man's mere presence is an immeasurable influence4 ,there is a subtle1 intangible1 but very real spirit influence breathing out of every man's presence4 ,it is proportioned entirely to the strength of the man living within4 ,with some it is very attractive4 ,sometimes it is positively repulsive4 ,it is the expression of the man within4 ,the presence becomes the mould of the spirit within1 large or small1 noble or mean1 coarse or fine1 as he makes it4 ,the strength of a man's will or its weakness2 the purity of his heart or its lack of purity2 the ideals of his life1 high or low2 the keenness or slowness of his thinking--all these express themselves in his presence4 ,we know the difference between a man of strong presence and one whose presence is weak2 though very few of us are skilled in reading1 except in a very small way1 the character it reveals2 through our presence each of us is constantly influencing those with whom we come in contact4 ,now this is the chief thing we have for our winning work4 ,this is the thing that ,jesus uses4 ,it is this that the ,spirit of ,god takes possession of1 if ,he may1 and that ,he uses in ,his outreach to others4 ,we win most and best through what we are4 ,now1 of course1 ,i do not mean that we are to be thinking of it that way all the time4 ,the thinking that you have a winsome presence would itself rob you of the most winsome part of it4 ,winsomeness of presence is greatest and sweetest when we are wholly unconscious that there is such a thing about us4 ,as we are absorbed in ,jesus1 and in our fellows1 the winsomeness that is native to us shines out most attractively4 ,it has been covered up and hidden away a good bit by sin4 ,some men seem to have none4 ,some have a great deal1 in spite of their ignoring of ,god4 ,but as ,he is allowed to play upon us1 as we seek to let ,his ,spirit rule our conduct and control our powers1 the original ,god-image comes out4 ,this is a return to natural conditions as planned by ,god4 ,what has been lost through sin is restored and grown bigger and richer by the ,spirit's presence4 ,i can give ,god the full use of this precious gift of personality4 u,growing ,bigger for ,service's ,sake4_/u ,there's a second thing to do4 ,this consecrated personality can be made ia developed personality_/i4 ,we don't start into life full size4 ,we have to grow4 ,the greatest task of life1 as well as one of the sweetest1 is in growing fine in grain1 and big in size1 and skilled in action4 ,the highest achievement of life and the rarest to find is self-mastery1 that is1 all that one is in himself grown big and fine-grained1 skilfully used and held steadily to its true use4 ,all other achievements are through this one4 ,the stronger ,i can make my body the more ,i can give ,god to use4 ,the more thoroughly ,i can understand the great1 simple laws of my body1 and the more ,i can get into the habit of obeying them1 the more can ,god use me in ,his plans4 ,such common things as eating and drinking1 breathing and exercising1 sleeping and resting and dress1 may not be called common any more1 if through thoughtfulness here you and ,i can be of greater use to our ,master and our fellows4 ,the keener and clearer and stronger we can make our thinking1 by dint of self-discipline1 the greater power have we with other men4 ,the purer the heart1 the loftier the practical ideals that control the personal habits1 the greater is the winning power at command4 ,we may not be conscious of the difference4 ,we will not be thinking of that4 ,but the increased power of attraction is there1 and is breathing out of one's presence1 and is distinctly felt by others4 ,and1 more1 it is making a distinct mark upon others1 more than they know4 ,we must set ourselves to growing bigger and better for service's sake4 u,my ,mission-field4_/u ,the third thing is ia world-wide vision_/i4 ,that is to say1 our thinking and planning and praying and giving shall be on a world scale4 ,there is nothing remarkable about this4 ,the strangely remarkable thing is that there is so little of it4 ,man was made on the world size4 ,it is natural to us to grasp the world in our thinking and action4 ,this other thing of living on a smaller scale is the cramping effect of sin4 ,we were1 made big4 ,we are big4 ,we need a big world4 ,we enjoy bigness4 ,we get this from ,god4 ,we are truest to ourselves as we live on the world plan4 ,the world was given us originally to subdue1 and now to win4 ,this does not mean to neglect anything or anybody nearby4 ,it's a bit of the cramping of sin that anybody thinks so4 ,the man who spreads a map of the world beside his open ,bible in the morning or evening prayer-hour is likely to have a warm hand for the fellow next him4 ,we are made that way1 to grasp the globe1 iand_/i each thing close at hand that needs our care4 ,that's a bit of the image of ,god in us4 ,as we allow ,him sway1 the original power is restored to us4 ,one result of this will be that many of us will go in person to some far-away part of the great world-field4 ,that's a serious thing to do1 requiring some special qualification of body and of training4 ,for the task out there is a great one4 ,there are trying conditions to be met4 ,the very best is called for4 ,if a man may go in person to the foreign field he is greatly favored4 ,let nothing hold him back4 ,it is a privilege to serve anywhere4 ,but the highest privilege of service is out there4 ,many cannot go2 and many may not go4 ,some are plainly bidden to stay4 ,the home administration of the missionary enterprise requires strong men at home4 ,a second result will be that wherever we are1 will be a mission-field to us4 ,we are1 where we are1 ito give_/i1 not to get4 ,whether in far-off ,china or maybe in some disillusioned commonplace home town1 we will be winning men to ,jesus all the time iby direct touch_/i4 ,the mastering thought will be to let the wondrous ,spirit reach out through us1 freely and fully1 unhindered by anything in us1 and so touch every one whom we touch4 ,in any circle1 business or social1 our hearts will be saying1 ,i am among you as he that serveth4 ,consciously1 by direct word1 by indirect touch1 with love's rare diplomacy we will win men4 ,unconsciously1 by our presence1 we will as really be winning them4 ,no one has an imagination vivid enough1 or words graphic enough1 to tell the power of that direct human touch4 ,all life is athrill with its magic4 ,even when it becomes less direct1 a bit removed from the personal1 its power is indescribably great4 ,john ,eliot's work among the ,massachusetts ,indians kindled ,david ,brainerd4 ,brainerd's flame touched ,jonathan ,edwards4 ,edwards' pamphlet on ,extraordinary ,prayer for a ,revival of ,religion and the ,advancement of ,christ's ,kingdom on ,earth suggested to ,william ,carey the plan of an organized society4 ,fire spreads4 ,where the touch of ,god comes the fire of ,god goes out through that human touch4 u,our ,spirit-touch4_/u ,a third result will be this3 we will be reaching out and winning men in all the rest of the world by iour spirit-touch_/i4 ,you may be in some ,african fastness or in the midst of ,china's age-old civilization or just here at home1 but you can be exerting a tremendous spirit-power that can be felt out to the ends of the earth4 ,it will all be in the ,name of ,jesus4 ,it will be in the power of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,only in that ,name and through the ,spirit can such winning influence be exerted at all4 ,so a man can have spirit-touch with the man by his side4 ,and just as truly he can have spirit-touch with men at the farthest reach of the earth4 ,there is a spirit influence going out from each of us in addition to that which goes through the direct personal touch4 ,it is not a conscious influence4 ,that is1 we are not concsious that it is being exerted4 ,it goes out from us as we pray4 ,it goes out of us as our thought is centered on those far-away parts and peoples4 ,its strength will depend on the strength of one's personality4 ,we are familiar with the fact that a man of strong personality has a greater influence upon his fellows whom he touches directly than a weaker man has4 ,it is just the same with regard to one's spirit-touch4 ,the stronger and keener and purer ,i may become1 the more ,i know of the self-mastery which comes through ,jesus-mastery1 the greater force can ,i exert as a winner of men1 both by direct touch and by spirit-touch4 ,will you kindly come up nearer in spirit1 as we close our talk together1 and let me ask softly3 ,have we given the free use of ourselves to the ,master8 ,are we growing ourselves into bigger-sized1 finer-grained1 better-controlled men and women daily8 ,for the ,master is depending on us4 ,he is counting much on having the use of us4 ,he can reach out to the very ends of the earth ithrough each one of us_/i4 ,may we not fail ,jesus6 ,jesus ,jesus ,draws ,men4 ,jesus ,draws ,out the ,best4 ,many ,doors1 but ,one ,purpose4 ,make ,it a ,story4 ,how ,peter ,told ,paul4 ,a ,more ,excellent ,way4 ,jesus u,jesus ,draws ,men4_/u ,the great heart-magnet is ,god4 ,no one is so winsomely attractive as ,he4 ,his winning power is beyond any other4 ,man is winsome4 ,but it is because ,god made him winsome1 and re-makes him yet more winsome4 ,he gave him a bit of ,his own self4 ,that's the secret of all our human winsomeness4 ,now ,jesus is ,god to us4 ,we know ,god only as we know ,jesus4 ,jesus is the heart of ,god beating in time and tune with human hearts4 ,nobody is so winsome as ,jesus4 ,all the native winsomeness of man and all the divine winsomeness of ,god combine and blend in ,him4 ,he has always drawn men to ,himself4 ,and ,he still does1 and always will4 ,he drew men of all classes when ,he was down here4 ,the reverent star-students of far-away ,babylon were drawn to ,his birth by a compelling they could not resist4 ,he drew the thoughtful1 scholarly men of ,his own nation1 such as ,nicodemus of the inner1 highest circle4 ,and ,he drew military officials of high rank and wealth in the service of imperial ,rome4 ,by the same power the half-breed1 despised ,samaritans and the earnest seekers after truth from cultured ,greece were drawn to ,him4 ,the plain farmer people of ,galilee1 and the hardy fisherfolk1 and hard-handed laboring-men came as eagerly to him4 ,he drew the pure1 fine grained1 gentle ,mary of ,bethany1 with her unusual keenness of spirit insight2 and drew as well the unnamed outcast woman1 steeped in sin1 who was forgiven much1 and who loved much1 and so gave much4 ,practical hard-headed men of sharp bargains and shrewd trading1 like ,matthew1 felt ,his pull upon their hearts equally with men of pure heart and lofty ideals like ,nathanael4 ,by special effort1 for a special purpose ,he drew high-bred1 high-strung1 scholarly1 intense ,paul1 out of his mad enmity into a lifelong devotion4 ,the crowds came until ,his daily routine and ministering help were repeatedly and seriously interrupted4 ,and strong men sought ,him alone to lay bare the longings and questionings of their hearts4 ,his ,roman judge felt the strange winsomeness of ,his presence and speech1 though lacking in the courage to follow his convictions regarding ,him4 ,and the ,roman officer in charge of ,his execution was forced to admit the power of ,his presence4 ,all the world gathered about ,his cross4 ,representatives from all parts1 in large numbers1 were at the ,jerusalem feast2 and on that morning1 by common consent1 they were drawn out to the place where ,he hung4 ,he even drew the arch-tempter4 ,he came with his subtlest temptations1 and bitterest enmity1 and most malignant cunning4 ,could there be greater evidence1 by contrast1 of the drawing power of ,his purity and goodness and steadfast devotion to ,his mission8 u,jesus ,draws ,out the ,best4_/u ,and ,jesus had the power to draw out of men the best there was in them4 ,possibilities1 traits1 and powers that neither they nor their friends supposed they had came out into strong life under the spell of ,his touch4 ,there seemed to be something in ,him that drew the same sort of thing out of them4 ,out of ,simon1 the hot-headed1 impulsive fisherman1 ,he drew the steady man of rock4 ,out of fiery ,john1 the son of thunder1 ,he drew the man of tender1 strong love4 ,and out of quiet1 retiring ,andrew ,he drew a man with a reputation for bringing others to ,jesus4 ,he drew out of the ,sychar outcast a sense of her sin1 and then a winner of souls2 and out of that other woman of open sin1 a longing for purity that paved the way to all else that came4 ,under ,his compelling touch there came out of the blind-born man a willingness to sacrifice all for such a ,master2 and out of ,james1 the other son of thunder1 a courage to endure suffering that men had not known he had4 ,that was when ,he was down here1 a man4 ,and ever since that fleecy cloud received ,him out of sight ,he has been drawing men of all the world4 ,and time would as utterly fail me1 as it did the writer of the ,hebrews1 if ,i tried to tell of the men ,he has drawn4 ,men of every rank1 high and low1 in every nation1 savage and civilized1 in every generation of all these centuries have felt the thrill of ,his power4 ,and they have followed ,him at the cost of all that men hold most dear4 ,and ,he is just the same to-day4 ,he is as available now in all ,his drawing power wherever men meet1 in city slum and savage wild1 in college hall and business street1 among the philosophical and cultured1 and among the ignorant and untrained4 ,if we will take ,him to them1 and let ,him out through our lips and lives1 ,he will draw men up the heights4 ,he can draw against any power of downward suction1 and ,he will4 ,he promised to draw men1 if lifted up4 ,and ,he has never failed to do it4 ,now1 it is this drawing ,jesus that men need and want4 ,there is an enormous advantage in taking ,jesus to men1 because there is a something inside men everywhere that responds to ,jesus4 ,that something may be choked and covered up1 crowded down and fought against1 as it is4 ,but it is there4 ,when you take ,jesus to a man you may know that you are taking a supply to a demand4 ,you are bringing a man the answer to his heart's questions4 ,it is as the coming together of two parts that belong together1 but have been held apart by some hindrance4 ,that hindrance is stubborn4 ,it has to be fought4 ,it can be overcome4 ,that's the chief task4 ,then the part in man that answers to ,jesus eagerly fits into its place in ,him4 ,that coming together is always blessed1 beyond words4 ,everywhere men of all sorts and ranks and degrees of savagery and culture eagerly respond to ,him4 ,and they declare that they find in ,him the full answer to their deepest longings4 u,many ,doors1 but ,one ,purpose4_/u ,it is this marvellous magnet1 ,jesus1 that we are to take to men2 not theology1 nor education1 nor medical skill1 nor hospitals1 nor industrial helps1 except incidentally4 ,these are the tin cup which one is glad to use to give the thirsty traveller water from the spring4 ,you will understand at once that ,i have no thought of criticizing theology or of discrediting it1 if ,i could4 ,it has its place4 ,but that place is not out in the thick of the crowd1 but back in the quiet hall of study4 ,there must be thorough study and systematic putting together of the truth4 ,there needs to be patient plodding and mental drilling4 ,you have no need to be told of the immeasurable value of the splendid foundation building of ,christian scholars4 ,but this is school work1 in the main4 ,it is to make us better workmen4 ,so a man gets his bearings and poise4 ,but the people down in the dust and drive of the crowd don't want theology4 ,they want ,jesus4 ,it is striking that everywhere men want to hear about ,jesus4 ,educational work has played an indispensably great part in the scheme of missions4 ,but the purpose of it1 of course1 is to make an open door for the entrance of ,jesus into men's lives4 ,it is invaluable in itself alone1 regardless of any other purpose4 ,but the teacher of any sort of learning in the mission school1 who is chiefly absorbed in the teaching itself instead of using it as a means to something higher1 is missing the whole purpose of his work4 ,and what words can be used strong enough in speaking of the blessed work of medical men in foreign-mission lands8 ,these skilled1 patient1 faithful men and women in hospital and dispensary and private service are doing a work of incalculable value4 ,it should be done even if the bodily results were all4 ,but the underlying purpose through it all is to lead men to know ,jesus4 ,and no one has such a short1 quick road into a man's heart as he who can relieve his body4 ,these things are doorways into men's lives2 and great doorways1 too4 ,they are well worth all the money and lives expended if they went no farther than body and mind and better conditions4 ,but the main purpose in them is to find a way into men's hearts1 and take in ,jesus2 that so men may get the greater as well as the less4 u,make it a ,story4_/u ,now1 how shall we best tell men of ,jesus8 ,well1 the modern newspaperman's rule in his work is this3 ,make it a story4 ,this is his leading rule in all his writing work4 ,whatever the occasion may be1 whether a meeting of scholars or an accident on the street1 it is to be put into story-form4 ,that is the ideal toward which he works4 ,all the descriptions1 and quotations1 and information1 and philosophizings are to be woven into this web4 ,they know that a story is the easiest thing to read and to listen to1 and also the hardest to tell well4 ,that should be our rule here3 i,make it a story about ,jesus4_/i ,when it comes to talking the ,gospel to a group of people1 large or small1 in ,new ,york or ,shanghai1 make it a story4 ,wherever you may begin the story1 see that its purpose is to lead up to ,jesus4 ,you may use twenty-five minutes in getting your story out1 and then put the ,jesus touch in the last five minutes4 ,but as they go away that last five has given its flavor to the whole half-hour's talk4 ,or1 you may begin with ,him1 and so run through4 ,but the rule should be3 ,make it a simple1 natural1 attractive story1 such as people will want to listen to1 because it interests them4 ,that means a lot of hard work in preparation4 ,the simpler and easier and more natural it seems to the crowd the more it will have cost you in study4 ,you will have to study so carefully that they won't guess you have studied at all4 ,you must absorb this ,bible story1 bit by bit1 through and through1 until it becomes a bit of yourself4 ,you must use books that help make this ,book clearer and plainer4 ,that is really the mission of biblical books1 to make ithe_/i ,book plainer4 ,if they send you to the ,bible they have fulfilled their mission4 ,if you stay in them1 they have failed4 ,the ,bible is an ,oriental book in its way of putting things4 ,its story is built upon the habits of those ,eastern peoples4 ,while it is full of simple teaching easily understood1 one needs to understand those habits to get the real meat of the meaning4 ,this means a habit of hard work for him who would be a winner of men4 ,he should have an ambition to know the ,bible story thoroughly1 and to get it from the ,bible itself4 ,but1 whatever your particular message may be at any time1 let it lead up by a straight road to ,jesus4 ,follow the rule of the ,book itself here4 ,the ,old ,testament all points to ,jesus4 ,it can be understood only as ,he is understood4 ,and the ,new is aflame with ,his presence4 ,tell the story of ,jesus to men4 ,they never tire of that4 ,tell it accurately4 ,tell it simply4 ,tell it with endless variety4 ,put it in simple every-day words1 so they think about the story and not about you or your words4 ,tell ,jesus' life2 ,his characteristics2 how ,he mingled among men1 and talked with them4 ,take up the ,gospel incidents1 and give them their natural flavoring and coloring in present-day speech4 ,tell of the ,nazareth life1 in home and carpenter shop and village4 ,go through those wondrous three and a half years1 bit by bit4 ,go into the temptation wilderness1 out on the blue waters of ,galilee1 and into ,gethsemane's olive-grove4 ,climb that bit of a rise of ground called ,calvary4 ,wherever you are in that story1 make sure that the coloring of ,calvary gets distinctly in1 by word or phrase or climax or somehow4 ,now1 of course1 there will be some theology in your telling4 ,you will make comments and explanations4 ,and preachers call that theology4 ,that is unavoidable4 ,that is the place for such teaching1 as it naturally grows out of the story4 ,but the story should be the main thing4 ,men should be sent away thinking about a ,man1 ,jesus2 not about a theory of doctrine4 u,how ,peter ,told ,paul4_/u ,i remember very distinctly one time ,mr4 ,moody was speaking at the ,ohio ,sunday-school ,convention in ,cleveland4 ,he was saying that teachers should open up the ,bible and make it attractive4 ,then he told the story of how1 in '#hd1 in ,london he was talking with a lawyer friend who had just come down from ,edinburgh4 ,he had been hearing ,andrew ,bonar preach up there1 and was greatly taken with his way of preaching4 ,mr4 ,moody told the story something like this3 ,bonar was preaching in ,galatians1 where it says that ,paul went to ,jerusalem to see ,peter1 and he said that he could imagine ,peter saying to ,paul1 ',would you like to take a walk8' and ,paul said he would1 so they went down through the streets of ,jerusalem1 over the brook ,kidron1 arm in arm1 and ,peter stopped and said1 ',look1 ,paul1 this is the very spot where ,he wrestled and where ,he suffered1 and sweat great drops of blood4 ,there is the very spot where ,john and ,james fell asleep1 right there4 ,and right here is the very spot where ,i fell asleep4 ,i don't think ,i should have denied ,him if ,i hadn't gone to sleep1 but ,i was overcome4 ,i remember the last thing ,i heard ,him say before ,i fell asleep was1 ,father1 let this cup pass from me if it is ,thy will4 ,and when ,i awoke an angel stood right there where you are standing1 talking to ,him1 and ,i saw great drops of blood come from ,his pores and trickle down ,his cheeks4 ,it wasn't long before ,judas came to betray ,him4 ,and ,i heard ,him say to ,judas1 so kindly1 ,betrayest thou the ,master with a kiss8 ,and then they bound ,him and led ,him away4 ,and that night when ,he was on trial ,i denied ,him4' ,he pictured the whole scene4 ,and the next day ,peter turned again to ,paul and said1 ',wouldn't you like to take another walk to-day8' and ,paul said he would4 ,that day they went to ,calvary4 ,and when they got on the hill ,peter said1 ',here1 ,paul1 this is the very spot where ,he died for you and me4 ,see that hole right there8 ,that is where ,his cross stood4 ,the believing thief hung there1 and the unbelieving thief there on the other side4 ,mary ,magdalene and ,mary1 ,his mother1 stood there1 and ,i stood away on the out-skirts of the crowd4 ',the night before1 when ,i denied ,him1 ,he looked at me so lovingly that it broke my heart1 and ,i couldn't bear to get near enough to see ,him4 ,that was the darkest hour of my life4 ,i was in hopes that ,god would intercede and take ,him from the cross4 ,i kept listening1 and ,i thought ,i would hear ,his voice4' ,and he pictured the whole scene1 how they drove the spear into ,his side1 and put the crown of thorns on ,his brow1 and all that took place4 ,and the next day ,peter turned to ,paul again and asked him if he wouldn't take another walk4 ,and ,paul said he would4 ,again they passed down the streets of ,jerusalem1 over the brook ,kidron1 over ,mount ,olivet1 up to ,bethphage1 and over to the slope near ,bethany4 ,all at once ,peter stopped and said3 ',here1 ,paul1 this is the last place where ,i ever saw ,him4 ,i never heard ,him speak so sweetly as ,he did that day4 ',it was right here ,he delivered ,his last message to us1 and all at once ,i noticed that ,his feet didn't touch the ground4 ,he arose and went up4 ,all at once there came a cloud and received ,him out of sight4 ,i stood right here gazing up into the heavens1 in hopes ,i might see ,him again and hear ,him speak4 ,and two men dressed in white dropped down by our sides and stood there and said3 ,ye men of ,galilee1 why stand ye gazing into heaven8 ,this same ,jesus which is taken up from you into heaven1 shall come in like manner as ye have seen ,him go into heaven4' ,then ,mr4 ,moody said1 ,my friends1 ,i want to ask you this question3 ,do you believe that picture is overdrawn8 ,do you believe ,peter had ,paul as his guest and didn't take him to ,gethsemane1 didn't take him to ,calvary and ,mount ,olivet8 ,i myself spent eight days in ,jerusalem1 and every morning ,i wanted to steal down into the garden where my ,lord sweat great drops of blood4 ,every day ,i climbed ,mount ,olivet and looked up into the blue sky where ,he went to ,his ,father4 ,i have no doubt ,peter took ,paul out on those three walks4 ,if there had been a man that could have taken me to the very spot where the ,master sweat those great drops of blood1 do you think ,i would not have asked him to take me there8 ,now1 you ministers1 don't you believe the people want preaching like that8 ,they do4 ,they want to hear about the ,lord4 ,i remember that ,i was sitting in that convention where ,i could easily see the faces of the people4 ,it was a sight not to be forgotten4 ,i remember that sea of eager upturned faces as distinctly as ,i remember ,mr4 ,moody's talk4 ,the people sat so still1 as though in a spell1 with eyes big and shining with something wet1 and occasionally a slight twitching of emotion and a handkerchief called into service4 ,mr4 ,moody talked in that natural way of his1 so quiet and yet so intense in its quietness4 ,that's what people want--,jesus brought to them1 simply and naturally4 ,and ,moody knew it4 ,it took years of hard self-discipline for him to be able to talk as he did4 ,such talking takes study and hard work4 ,but it's all worth while if we can make ,jesus plain to men in all ,his wondrous winsomeness4 u,a ,more ,excellent ,way4_/u ,then there's another way of telling the story of ,jesus to men4 ,it's a yet better way4 i,tell it with your life4_/i ,that was ,jesus' own plan4 ,he lived what ,he taught4 ,he proposed coming down into each one of us and living ,his life over again in us4 ,he does just that now4 ,then as men meet us they are meeting ,him1 too1 in us4 ,the things that marked ,him will be noticed in us4 ,the intense hatred of sin1 the purity1 the gentleness and patience1 the warm sympathy1 the constant self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice1 the eagerness to win men1 the tireless going wherever men could be helped--these may be in us as they were in ,him1 and will be1 as we let ,him live in us4 ,and men will recognize the ,jesus-story being lived in their midst4 ,jesus wants to reach out through us to men4 ,and ,he will2 ,he will2 more than we ever know or will know4 ,this is the best telling of the story4 ,i am told that in the ,palace of ,justice in ,rome there is a remarkable chamber where visitors are sometimes taken4 ,the remarkable thing about it is the decorations4 ,the ceiling and walls and even the floors are covered with strangely painted frescoes4 ,that is1 they seem strange as one enters4 ,they seem grotesque4 ,they do not harmonize4 ,they are out of touch with each other1 and make a bewildering maze of confusion4 ,but there is one spot in the chamber1 just one spot upon the floor1 where1 if you stand1 everything falls into place4 ,the artist's conception stands out perfect in perspective and color and beauty4 ,to the great crowd of men in this old world life seems a good bit like that ,roman chamber4 ,things seem out of harmony--sin1 pain1 confusion1 unsatisfied longings1 unconquered weaknesses1 broken plans1 and disappointed ambitions4 ,but there is one spot1 a central point1 just one1 where all that concerns you will come into harmony1 and bring heart-rest4 ,that one spot is where you take your stand side by side with ,jesus4 ,his presence clears everything up4 ,he sweetens the life1 and straightens the path1 and leads you steadily on toward the dawning of the day4 ,and that's as true for ,china and the ,pacific islanders as for ,britisher or ,american4 ,men need ,jesus4 ,he satisfies them4 ,he is the great magnet4 ,he draws men as no other can4 ,he places ,himself at our disposal to be taken to men4 ,they can't resist ,him4 ,let us take ,him4 ,o ,jesus ,master1 thou hast drawn me till ,i want to be ,thy slave forever4 ,help me take ,thee to all other men that they may feel ,thy wondrous drawing power1 and satisfying power1 too4 ,the ,holy ,spirit ,the ,last ,talk ,together4 ,the ,partnership of ,service4 ,the ,power that ,never ,fails4 ,the ,trinity of ,service4 ,living on the ,top ,floor4 ,partial ,weavings of the ,strands4 ,unbroken ,connection ,above4 ,the ,holy ,spirit u,the ,last ,talk ,together4_/u ,a little group of men were climbing the winding path that led up ,olivet's slope4 ,the ,master was in the midst1 and the others before and behind1 where they could hear ,his voice4 ,for they were talking together as they walked along4 ,that is to say1 ,he was talking1 and they were listening1 with an occasional question4 ,they went on until they were over against where little ,bethany nestles in among the blue hills4 ,there they stood a little while1 still talking together earnestly4 ,it was their last talk together4 ,and there were two things the ,master was saying4 ,those two things came with all the tender emphasis of a last message4 ,they were to go on an errand to the world2 a lifelong errand1 and to the whole world4 ,that was being burned in4 ,but they weren't to start on the errand until the ,holy ,spirit had come upon them4 ,the errand and the ,spirit's presence were coupled together4 ,that was to be their errand4 ,and ,he was to be their life-power as they went on the errand4 ,they were to go4 ,the ,spirit was to come4 ,he would come before they went4 ,they must not go until ,he had come4 ,then they were to go in ,his presence and power4 ,they would be able to go because of ,him4 ,their going would be worth while1 because wherever they went ,he would be at work in them and through them4 ,the real work would be done by ,him4 ,but it would be done through them4 ,his presence was essential to their work being done4 ,their presence was essential to ,his doing ,his work4 ,he would work as they went1 and where they went4 ,that was the new blessed partnership of world-wide service planned by the ,master as ,he went away4 ,they would tell of ,jesus4 ,the ,spirit would open doors1 guide their tongues1 guard their persons1 and make the message of ,jesus as a flame of fire in men's hearts4 ,just before this1 ,jesus had talked a great deal with ,his disciples about the ,holy ,spirit4 ,they didn't yet know how much this that ,he was saying1 would come to mean to them4 ,but they remembered after the ,master was gone1 and then they understood4 ,when they got down into the thick of the world's crowds they understood the great significance of what ,he had said4 ,that last talk#bd they had together in the upper room and along the ,jerusalem streets1 on the betrayal night1 was full of teaching about the ,holy ,spirit4 ,and the next time after that that they met1 in the upper room1#be on the evening of the resurrection day1 ,he breathed strongly upon them1 and said1 ,receive ye the ,holy ,spirit4 ,and the very last word on the ,olivet slope was1 ,wait2 wait until the ,holy ,spirit comes4 ,he burned in deep that their dependence must be entirely upon the ,spirit4 u,the ,partnership of ,service4_/u ,jesus ,himself is an illustration of what ,he told them about this4 ,he was on a missionary errand4 ,he had been sent by ,his ,father1 even as later these men and we have been sent4 ,with awe ever growing1 one remembers that the divine ,jesus in the days of ,his humanity gave ,himself over to the control of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the ,spirit was the dominant factor in ,his life and in all ,his activities4 ,all ,his teachings and movements were at the suggestion and direction and control of the ,spirit4 ,the power in speech and action1 in healing1 in raising the dead1 and in the wondrous mastery of ,himself was the ,holy ,spirit's power working upon and through ,jesus4 ,then it was that as ,he was going away ,he said1 ,as the ,father hath sent me1 even so ,i send you4 ,and with that ,he coupled the significant breathing upon them1 with the word1 ,take ye the ,holy ,spirit4 ,we are to be as ,he1 both in our utter dependence upon the ,spirit and in our assurance of ,his power in us4 ,ever since then that has been the effective partnership for world-service3 men and the ,holy ,spirit2 the ,holy ,spirit and men4 ,if you are thinking of the human side you say1 i,men_/i and the ,holy ,spirit4 ,if you are speaking of the divine side1 you say1 i,the ,holy ,spirit_/i and men4 ,the two belong together4 ,where men have failed to go the ,spirit has been hampered in speaking to men4 ,he has spoken1 but the story of salvation through ,jesus has not been known4 ,the ,spirit's mouth-piece for the telling of that story was lacking4 ,that seriously hindered ,him in ,his work4 ,where men have gone without the ,spirit1 that is without yielding themselves habitually to ,his control1 they have been sorely hampered4 ,it is like having the kindling wood set in order for a fire1 but the fire not started4 ,there is no heat1 nor any of fire's results4 ,the kindling must have the flame1 and the flame must have the coals4 ,the two are partners in service4 ,this partnership belongs peculiarly in the world-wide service of winning men4 ,if anybody needs the ,spirit's presence1 he does who attempts to win a man to ,jesus anywhere4 ,but if any man-winner needs that presence more than another1 he does who goes into the peculiar atmosphere of a non-,christian people4 ,and1 on the other hand1 if anybody can be sure of the ,spirit's presence and power always with him1 and working through him1 he can who has gone out on the world-errand4 ,that man is in the direct line of obedience to ,jesus' command4 ,the ,spirit ,himself is sent by ,jesus1 and comes to us in direct obedience to ,jesus' desire4 ,these two1 the man and the ,spirit1 are as one in the purpose that controls them4 ,that man may depend on the gracious1 irresistible ,spirit's power at every turn4 ,he is a thrice ,west man1 if he have learned to depend upon ,his unseen ,partner4 u,the ,power ,that ,never ,fails4_/u ,you and ,i have to remind ourselves constantly that our chief dependence is not upon organization1 nor method1 nor personal talent1 nor personal training1 but upon the ,holy ,spirit working ithrough_/i these4 ,the better organized the human machinery1 the better the methods used1 the more there is of personal gift1 and the more thoroughly one's powers have been drilled1 the more there is at the ,spirit's disposal for ,him to use4 ,the practical bother is to remember this2 to get it rubbed in until it is like an instinct in us1 that the power is all from ,him1 through us4 ,not without ,him1 and not without us2 the two together2 but always ,his the far greater part--indeed1 the real part4 ,the ,holy ,spirit has a double work to do3 with us who go2 and upon those to whom we go4 ,within us ,he has to work out the character of ,jesus4 ,he opens the ,word1 making its meaning stand clearly out4 ,he wakens the mind up to do its best work4 ,he guides in our decisions1 suggesting and directing and controlling our thoughts1 and in our actions1 in our dealings with men4 ,in things that are little in themselves1 but on which so much hinges1 ,he guides4 ,it constantly occurs that we are not at all conscious of ,his control at the time4 ,but afterward we can see how ,he has been deftly1 softly guiding1 with ,his rare light touch upon us4 ,when1 in the thick of work1 we may be pressed hard1 and a bit wearied1 and in doubt1 ,he sends the quiet1 quick suggestion into our thoughts that leads out of the tight corner and into the achievement of the thing desired4 ,he works through us1 and through what we do1 giving power that otherwise would not be there4 ,while you are talking in conversation or in public address1 ,he is working through what you are saying4 ,and ,he works upon those to whom we go4 ,he opens doors2 the doors of circumstances that we find locked and double-padlocked against us4 ,he opens the yet tighter-shut1 harder-to-open human doors4 ,he inclines men favorably toward us personally1 and to our message4 ,under ,his touch the message becomes as a tongue of flame1 kindling1 disturbing1 softening1 burning down1 and moulding over into new shape the inner man to whom the message comes4 ,sometimes quarrymen find a very hard kind of rock in the stone quarries4 ,they pick little grooves for the iron wedges1 and then with great sledge-hammers drive these wedges into the hard rock4 ,but sometimes this fails to split the rock4 ,the iron wedges and big sledges have no effect at all on the stubborn stone4 ,then they go at it in another way4 ,the iron wedges are removed from the narrow grooves4 ,then little wooden ones1 of a very hard fibre are selected4 ,these sharp-edged1 well-made wooden wedges are first soaked in water4 ,then they are put in the grooves tightly while wet1 and water is kept in the grooves4 ,the sledges are not used4 ,they would smash the wooden wedges4 ,the water and wedges are left to do their work4 ,the damp wood swells4 ,the particles must have more room as they swell4 ,the granite heart of rock can't stand against this new pressure4 ,it takes longer than with iron wedges and sledge1 but after a while the rock yields and lies split wide-open4 ,the water works on the wood1 and that in turn on the stone4 ,the iron wedges sometimes fail1 but the wood and water never fail4 ,it seems to be a part of our make-up to make plans1 and to count on the plans4 ,and planning does much4 ,we don't want to plan less1 necessarily1 but to learn to depend more iin_/i our planning on the soft1 noiseless1 but resistless power of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,the day is long1 and the day is hard2 ,we are tired of the march and of keeping guard2 ,tired of the sense of a fight to be won1 ,of days to live through1 and of work to be done2 ,tired of ourselves and of being alone3 ,yet all the while1 did we only see1 i,we walk in the ,lord's own company4_/i ,we fight1 but 'tis ,he who nerves our arm2 ,he turns the arrows that else might harm1 ,and out of the storm ,he brings a calm2 ,and the work that we count so hard to do1 ,he makes it easy1 for ,he works1 too3 ,and the days that seem long to live are ,his-- bit of ,his bright eternities--and close to our need ,his helping is4#bf u,the ,trinity of ,service4_/u ,now1 we want to mark keenly that ifull_/i power depends upon three things4 ,there is a trinity of service1 a human-divine trinity4 ,the full results can come only through its working4 ,the ideal winner of men needs to believe thoroughly in this trinity4 ,first of all is ithe message_/i4 ,there needs to be a clear understanding of the ,gospel4 ,that is the winner's message4 ,that is the direct thing he uses in approaching and laying siege to some man's heart4 ,it is a simple message1 but very often it is grasped only partly by those who tell it4 ,that message needs to be understood clearly and fully by the man who would have the greatest power in winning men4 ,from its first plain teaching about sin1 on to the terrible results that sin left to itself works out2 through the blessed teaching of love as shown most in the sacrifice for sin which ,jesus made on the cross2 the need of a clean cutting with sin1 and clear-out surrender to ,jesus as ,saviour and ,master2 the work of the ,holy ,spirit in one's heart2 and then the climax of service out among men--this simple message needs to be grasped fully and clearly4 ,this is the first great essential hi the trinity of service4 ,there is a second thing1 yet more important1 that must go with this first4 ,and that is ia man who embodies the message_/i in himself4 ,it isn't enough to know the story of the ,gospel1 nor to tell it4 ,it must be ilived_/i4 ,that is the best telling of it4 ,the man must be a living illustration of the truth he is telling4 ,he may be conscious of not illustrating it as he should4 ,the earnest man is never aware that he is as good an illustration of it as he is4 ,he may think himself a poor illustration4 ,he is quite apt to4 ,but he is yet more apt not to be thinking of that side as he attempts to win men4 ,he will be all taken up with ,jesus1 and with getting men to know ,him4 ,the man is more than the message1 even when he is less than the message4 ,when his life fails to live out the truth he is speaking1 still even then he is more4 ,for the life is more than the lips4 ,and1 while he is talking1 his life is discounting his words and taking away some of the power that belongs with them4 ,i do not mean that those he is talking to are making the comparison1 necessarily4 ,they may not know about his life1 whether it embodies the message or not4 ,i mean that the life that is true breathes a force and power into the man himself and so into his words4 i,or_/i it doesn't4 ,the message takes on the quality of the man4 ,one man's talking catches fire2 another's doesn't4 ,the listeners know that it is so1 though they don't usually know why4 ,all the while you and ,i are trying to win others1 in ,sunday-school class or meeting1 in ,gospel service or church preaching1 in personal conversation or letter-writing1 there's a subtle something that goes out of us1 as an atmosphere1 that affects the power of the message we're giving out4 ,and that something is actually greater in its power than the truth we are speaking4 ,it may be a touch of flame making the truth burn within him who is listening4 ,it may be a deadly1 dampening chill checking the fire that is naturally in the truth4 ,the man is always more than the message4 u,living on the ,top ,floor4_/u ,then there is a third thing4 ,it is yet more than the message or the man1 or than both message and man together4 ,it is this3 ithe ,holy ,spirit controlling the man who embodies the message_/i4 ,i mean by controlling him that he has surrendered himself to the ,spirit's control4 ,and1 further than that1 that he cultivates the ,spirit's presence4 ,there needs to be a habitual cultivation of the ,spirit's presence and friendship1 even as we cultivate our human friendships4 ,there needs to be time spent alone1 habitually1 with the ,book of ,god4 ,i do not mean just now merely studying the ,bible to get better acquainted with its contents4 ,something more than that--thoughtful meditation on its truths2 the quiet1 steady holding of one's self open to the searching and stimulating and enlightening influence of this rare ,book4 ,the ,spirit speaks through these pages4 ,yet it is to be feared that many a careful student of its pages does not get deeper in than the print4 ,he doesn't know and meet the ,person who speaks in the print and through it4 ,then1 beyond the quiet time with the ,book1 there is the holding of one's whole life open to the ,spirit's suggestion and subject to ,his direction4 ,he guides through our thinking4 i,and_/i sometimes ,he guides us when our thinking1 for some reason1 has not gotten up high enough for ,him to guide through it4 ,samuel thought that ,david's oldest brother was ,god's chosen one4 ,but into his rarely sensitized inner ear the ,spirit said ,no4 ,his thinking wasn't keen enough to be the channel through which he could be guided4 ,but he had learned to hold his thinking subject to a higher power4 ,one time ,paul thought it would be good to go over east into the province of ,bithynia1 and even tried to make a start that way4 ,but the ,spirit made plain ,his plan that they were to go in just the opposite direction1 to the west4 ,had ,paul's thinking been more open to the ,spirit's touch at that point1 he wouldn't have made the false start4 ,but he was wise clear beyond the great crowd of us4 ,for at once he dropped his own thought-out plans1 and did as he was bid4 ,the keener our mental processes are1 the better informed we are1 the better poised our judgment--the better can the ,spirit reveal ,his plans to us through this natural channel1 if it is open to ,him4 ,but there is one thing higher up than our thinking powers4 ,and that is the spirit-perception4 ,the mental isn't at the top4 ,it's a step up to the spirit floor1 the highest of all4 ,some men of splendid ability and training and consecration are constantly hampered because they insist on living on the mental floor4 ,all their decisions are made there1 inot_/i subject to change from above4 ,and the ,holy ,spirit1 who is the ,commander-in-chief of all the forces in this campaign1 is unable to use them as ,he would4 ,they haven't got the sensitized inner ear of the quiet time that would lead them up into higher1 broader service4 ,they go faithfully plodding along on the lower level4 ,the ,spirit can use them1 of course4 ,he does2 but never to the full ,the ,spirit of ,god controlling the man who embodies the message--this brings fulness of power in winsome service2 and only this can4 ,it is not by keenness of thinking1 nor fulness of learning1 nor shrewd1 well-balanced judgment1 but by the ,spirit of ,god working through these1 and sometimes working higher up than they have reached4 u,partial ,weavings of the ,strands4_/u ,now it will help us1 ,i am sure1 and make the truth stand out more clearly1 to recall a good many variations that belong in here4 ,running back over these things brings up certain facts4 ,the truth has power of blessing in itself1 regardless of who is speaking it4 ,a bad man may preach the ,gospel1 and the truth itself will be felt in spite of the man4 ,there is a life in truth itself1 quite apart from the medium of its transmission4 ,this explains why men who have turned out to be bad men have had good results attending their ministry4 ,but it was the truth making itself felt in spite of the handicap it suffered at the hands of the man talking4 ,and men whose understanding of the truth is very one-sided and meagre have been greatly used and blessed in their work4 ,it is striking how a man who has been rescued from a life of open sin1 and who goes into ,christian service with tremendous earnestness1 will have great power4 ,his emphasis of truth may be one-sided4 ,it is quite apt to be4 ,he tells what he has experienced4 ,the man himself is a living illustration of the truth spoken4 ,all the truth that can get out through him has the tremendous push forward of his life4 ,but the extent of his service is limited4 ,and there are men who have a clear1 well-rounded grasp of the blessed message of ,jesus1 and who give it out clearly and fully4 ,but they are hampered by their mental swaddling-clothes1 in which they have been wrapped up in school-days4 ,they never get up out of them into the freedom of strong action through the ,spirit's control4 ,then1 too1 without doubt ,god's ,spirit works alone1 without using anybody4 ,he speaks through nature's beauty and power4 ,he speaks in the inner heart of every man4 ,he is speaking directly to men all the time everywhere4 ,but the message is a partial one4 ,the direct revelation of ,god1 in nature and in conscience1 is a limited revelation4 ,the full revelation of ,god was made in ,jesus4 ,and so it is in this ,book that tells of ,jesus4 ,the ,spirit of ,god can speak most fully where that ,book is known4 ,he can work most fully and powerfully through the man who lives the ,book4 ,every printing of this ,bible1 or any part of it1 is giving the spirit freer entrance into men's hearts4 ,every one of us who produces a new translation of it in the language of his life gives the ,spirit a wide-open door where otherwise the opening had been narrow4 ,now1 whatever combination of these there may be1 some of the blessed power of ,god will be seen and felt4 ,the truth unembodied or even hampered2 men who embody the truth they know1 but whose knowledge is small2 men of much knowledge1 but small practice2 men of full knowledge1 but who have not learned to let the ,spirit sway them fully2 the ,spirit ,himself speaking where ,jesus is not known1 and without any man's help--through each of these1 power of life will go out to men4 ,but the fulness of power that runs like a mighty stream goes only as the three things come into one4 ,the imessage_/i1 full and clear1 the iman_/i who lives it1 the i,holy ,spirit possessing and controlling the man_/i who lives the message--this is the trinity of service through which alone the flood-tide flows4 u,unbroken ,connection ,above4_/u ,that blessed flood-tide of power may be much more common than it is4 ,there needs to be daily quiet time1 alone with the ,master1 with the door shut1 the ,book open1 the knee bent1 the will bent too1 to a clear right angle1 the mind quiet and open1 the inner spirit unhurried2 broad1 thoughtful reading2 keen1 clear1 quiet meditation2 the rigorous squaring of the life up to the standard of the ,book2 the cultivation of the ,spirit's presence and friendship2 and these habits steadily followed until they become second nature4 ,then will be fulfilled the promise1 ,out of ,his inner being ishall flow rivers of water of life_/i4#bg ,and men have always been drawn irresistibly to the rivers4 ,and yet1 while there will be fulness of power1 there will not be full knowledge of how full the power is4 ,that is reserved for the ,morning4 ,for hundreds of years men have used a contrivance called a diving-bell for working under water4 ,practically it enables a man to live out of his native element4 ,for a man to live in water for any length of time is impossible4 ,expert divers do so for a few minutes at a time1 but must rise constantly to get a fresh supply of air4 ,but their work is dangerous1 and very trying on the body4 ,by means of the diving-bell a man may live and work for hours under the water2 that is to say1 in an element that of itself1 unchecked1 would quickly take his life4 ,the diving-bell is a sort of huge inverted cup1 let down into the water by its own weight1 opening downward1 so that the man in the bell faces the water directly with nothing between himself and it4 ,death by drowning is always within arm's length1 yet he remains safe4 ,the simple principle on which the thing is constructed is that water and air can't occupy the same space at the same time4 ,the bell1 being full of air1 holds the water out4 ,but there needs to be a continual supply of fresh air sent down by means of a tube connected with the upper air4 ,death by drowning and death by suffocation1 both threaten constantly1 and each is held off1 one by the air1 and the other by the continual supply of fresh air4 ,the man's ability to work and his very life depend upon the uninterrupted connection with the fresh air above4 ,the ,christian man in this world is living out of his native breathing element4 ,he needs to have his own atmosphere with him1 or else he will die4 ,and he needs to have a fresh supply continually from above1 or his life will be at very low ebb4 ,missionaries in foreign-mission lands speak much of the peculiar1 deadening1 moral atmosphere there4 ,there is a strange sense of depression in it4 ,they always plan to have their children brought home at an early age that they may be brought up through the tender1 impressionable years in a land where ,christian standards of life are recognized4 ,there is no language strong enough to put this truth1 that we imust_/i1 each of us1 whether here or there1 carry our own atmosphere with us1 and have continual uninterrupted connection with the upper air4 ,and that imust_/i cannot be too strongly underscored4 ,blessed ,holy ,spirit1 breath of ,god1 and breath of my life1 help me to let ,thee have full sweep within me1 that so my life may be kept sweet and full2 and so ,jesus can get freely and fully out of me to the great hungry crowd4 ,prayer ,the ,greatest ,doing ,is ,praying4 ,at the ,other ,end4 ,a ,weekly ,journey ,round the ,world4 ,prayer a ,habit4 ,a ,praying ,bent ,of ,mind4 ,the ,man ,is ,the ,prayer4 ,unseen ,changes ,going ,on4 ,prayer u,the ,greatest ,doing ,is ,praying4_/u ,the greatest of all things we can ido_/i is to ipray_/i4 ,jesus lived a life of prayer4 ,all that ,he did and said grew out of ,his prayer4 ,there is no way of knowing exactly how far it was so4 ,but the more ,i study ,his life the stronger grows the impression that ,his teaching and activity1 which form the greater part of these ,gospel pages1 were actually less than ,his praying4 ,he seems to have put prayer first4 ,all the rest was an outgrowth of it4 ,he was on a world-winning errand4 ,and this was what ,he thought of prayer4 i,the emphasis of ,jesus' personal habit was laid upon prayer4_/i ,the ,holy ,spirit is a prayer-spirit4 ,he is the ,master-,intercessor4 ,he breathes into us the spirit of prayer1 and makes it glow into a passion4 ,he teaches us how to pray4 ,it is a lifelong teaching4 ,you who are teachers know that patience and skill are more in a good teacher than the knowledge taught4 ,with greatest skill1 and loving1 tactful patience the ,spirit teaches us to pray4 ,and then ,he does more3 ,he uses each of us as ,his praying-room1 praying in us with yearnings beyond utterance the prayer to which we have not yet reached up1 but which needs to be prayed down on the earth4 ,all the power needed in this great winning work is in the ,holy ,spirit and comes from ,him4 i,and the chief thing ,he emphasizes is prayer4_/i ,the greatest thing each one of us can do is to pray4 ,if we can go personally to some distant land1 still we have gone to only one place4 ,but our field is the world4 ,it is impossible for us to reach our whole field personally4 ,but it can be reached1 and reached effectually1 by prayer4 ,the place where you and ,i are sent1 whether at home or abroad1 is simply our ibase of action_/i4 ,it is our field for ipersonal_/i touch4 ,and that means very much4 ,but it is more than that4 ,it is only a small part of our field of activity4 ,it is most significant as our ibase of action1_/i from which we send out our secret messengers of prayer to all parts of the field4 ,and then1 in the particular town or city or country district to which we have been sent1 or in which we are being kept1 the prayer properly comes before the personal activity4 ,and it runs along side by side with the activity1 and follows along after4 ,we give the personal touch which must be given1 and which may be so marvellous in power1 but there's something even there greater than the great personal touch2 and that is the power of prayer4 ,it is through the prayer that the personal presence means most4 ,that personal presence may become a positive hindrance4 ,it may be a drag upon the work4 ,it often is just that for lack of prayer4 ,for the real sweetness and efficiency of personal service out among men is in secret prayer4 ,and if we give imoney_/i1 it needs even more the prayer to go with it4 ,money seems almost almighty4 ,as a winning force1 of course1 it must be reckoned far less than personal service4 ,for it is less4 ,it gets its almost omnipotence from human hands4 ,if the personal touch depends for its subtle power on prayer1 how much more does money6 ,money given to missions1 unaccompanied by prayer1 can no doubt be made to do great good4 ,but it is a very pauper in its poverty alongside the bit of money that is charged with the spirit-current of prayer4 u,at the ,other ,end4_/u ,one day ,i ran across a party of about twenty ,pittsburg men on their way to a men's ,christian convention in ,cincinnati4 ,there were a few ministers in the party1 but it was made up chiefly of business men1 typical1 keen1 alert ,american business men4 ,we got together and talked about things of common interest4 ,and this question was asked3 i,does prayer do things8_/i ,then the question was spread out some4 ,i go into my room at night to retire4 ,i read a bit from the ,book1 and kneel to pray4 ,i pray for a man in ,pittsburg or in ,hang-chow1 ,china4 ,does anything take place in ,pittsburg or in ,hang-chow that wouldn't have taken place if ,i hadn't prayed8 ,of course1 the praying does ime_/i good4 ,the very bending of knee and head before ,god1 the good wishes in my heart going out to some one else--these influence me4 ,i rise better for both4 ,but is that all8 ,does anything happen iat the other end8_/i ,does my prayer do anything in ,hang-chow8 ,if ,i write a business letter to ,hang-chow1 enclosing a foreign draft1 the letter does something4 ,a vast amount of business is carried on that way4 ,would the prayer as really do something as the letter and the draft8 ,there was a good bit of talk back and forth1 and questions asked4 ,it was interesting to find these men were ready to admit that they really believed that something would occur at the other end4 ,they belonged to a church noted for its sound teaching1 and came from the orthodox church city of ,pittsburg4 ,the matter-of-fact power of prayer to do business at the other end seemed to appeal to these business men4 ,apparently they had not been looking at prayer that way4 ,but they readily admitted that it must be so4 ,then the next question asked itself3 ,how much of this foreign business are we doing8 ,and so the little crowd talked along while the train pounded the rails at the rate of forty-odd miles an hour4 ,prayer does do things4 ,something happens at the other end that wouldn't happen if the prayer were not made4 ,the banker can touch ,london and ,paris and ,shanghai and ,calcutta and ,tokyo1 without moving from the desk where he is dictating letters1 with his correspondence spread out before him4 ,the praying man can as really touch these cities as he kneels in his room1 with map and ,book spread out before him4 ,things are changed out there that need changing4 ,that banker does business1 too1 in his home city and out in the home-land4 ,but many times1 with many a house1 the bulk of foreign business is in excess of that done at home4 ,now we want to do a large business abroad in soul-winning and in world-winning1 as well as at home4 u,a ,weekly ,journey round the ,world4_/u ,i use that word business in this connection thoughtfully and reverently4 ,i know there is a sacredness1 a hallowedness about prayer that never or rarely enters into business matters4 ,we keep the two things apart in our thoughts2 reckoning the one a common thing1 and the other a holy thing4 ,and ,i would increase1 if ,i could1 that sense of reverence in prayer4 ,but there is a great advantage in using the familiar language of business in thinking of the results of our praying4 ,prayer is doing business for ,god4 ,it gives a practicality1 a something-you-can-touch-and-feel feeling to think in that way4 ,shall we not make plans at once to increase our foreign correspondence8 ,you can have a simple schedule or memorandum to guide your praying4 ,i do not mean a slavish hard-and-fast system1 or set of rules1 set down to be followed1 with a feeling that you have been untrue if you forget4 ,nothing of that sort at all4 ,but merely a simple something to glance at each day1 and so serve as a reminder to guide your thoughts4 ,a little memorandum can be made running through the days of the week4 ,it can be so planned as to run around the world during the week4 ,the little schedule which ,i use is divided into the days of the week1 ,sunday to ,saturday4 ,there is a daily page containing notes1 catch-words1 about personal affairs1 and home1 and friends1 and church1 and appointments1 and such items4 ,then each day of the week has a page1 and on it is marked home-land items and foreign items4 ,in marking out the weekly world journey ,i had to begin somewhere4 ,the ,master told the disciples to begin at ,jerusalem and work out4 ,so ,i followed that rule1 and ,sunday is marked ,turkey and the lands grouped with it1 ,arabia and ,persia4 ,the memorandum moves east1 following the compass-line of greatest need4 ,monday is ,india day1 including ,ceylon and the lands and islands lying adjacent4 ,tuesday is ,china day2 ,wednesday1 ,japan1 the island kingdom2 and the island world of the ,pacific4 ,this brings me across the ,pacific1 and so ,thursday is marked ,south ,america1 including ,central ,america and ,mexico4 ,the easterly line takes me across the ,atlantic again to ,africa on ,friday4 ,saturday takes an upward turn to the papal lands of ,europe1 and to ,russia1 completing the world-journey for that week4 ,the matters for prayer here in the home-land are noted through the days of the week in the same way4 ,each page has certain home and certain foreign items4 ,a little prayer-book of that sort grows under constant use4 ,your reading of missionary news leads to the making of fresh notes4 ,names of persons are added1 and dates of coming conferences1 and so on1 and verses of ,scripture that stand out in the daily reading4 ,so the book becomes to you a very precious little batch of leaves1 lying inside the precious ,book of ,god4 ,it should be accompanied by a map of the world4 ,for a good while ,i used the one which was inserted in one of ,dr4 ,a4 ,t4 ,pierson's mission books4 ,that copy has long since been replaced by others1 larger1 giving more information4 ,it is an immense help to glance at the map daily1 and look at the part marked for the day4 ,the lands get fixed in mind in that way without special effort4 ,gradually they stand out more and more clearly1 and come to be very real to you4 ,that map may become dear to you1 for it suggests the field that you are influencing4 ,it is your prayer sailing-chart4 ,it becomes fragrant with memories4 ,experiences you have had alone with ,god over ,his ,word1 and over this map of ,his ,world1 come back to refresh and sweeten4 u,prayer a ,habit4_/u ,there's a little sentence of ,paul's that used to puzzle and bother me1 ,pray without ceasing4 ,but it has become a great help to me4 ,it puzzled me because ,i didn't see any practical way of doing it4 ,it didn't seem to mean the repetition of prayers1 with little mechanical helps1 such as some use4 ,it surely doesn't mean staying on your knees a long time4 ,but1 as ,i tried to pray my way into its meaning1 it came to mean four distinct things to me4 ,and ,i would not be surprised to find more yet coming out of it4 ,first of all1 it means that prayer should be ia habit_/i4 ,there should be a fixed time every day1 or times1 for going off alone to pray4 ,into that time the ,book is taken4 ,quiet time is spent in reading it4 ,for this is listening to ,god4 ,and that comes first in praying2 listening first1 then speaking4 ,the reading may be rapid and broad1 or slower and more meditative4 ,whichever it may be1 there should be a cultivation of ithe habit of meditation_/i4 ,i do not mean a sleepy trying to imitate what we suppose some holy men do4 ,but a keen thinking into the meaning of the words1 and into their practical use in one's own life4 ,then the praying itself4 ,the being still before ,god1 and the definite prayer for particular things1 and persons1 and places4 ,that habit can be fixed until it becomes second nature4 ,it can be cultivated until it becomes the sweet spot of the day to you4 u,a ,praying ,bent of ,mind4_/u ,then while the daily habit continues prayer may become an attitude1 ia bent of mind_/i4 ,whatever comes up suggests prayer to you4 ,the bent of your mind is to pray as things come up in the daily round4 ,you can't stop your work1 but you ithink_/i prayers4 ,your heart prays while your hands are busy4 ,i shall never forget the school in which ,i learned to pray this way4 ,a case of protracted illness in my home required my personal attention constantly for a time4 ,it seemed as if no assistance ,i could get meant quite as much as what ,i could do personally4 ,the life in peril was so precious that all else dropped out of sight4 ,my habits of life were completely broken up4 ,i was up night and day4 ,the early morning hour of reading and prayer was broken into1 with everything else of a regular sort4 ,but as ,i went about my round of service ,i found myself praying constantly4 ,i was much wearied1 and things sometimes seemed desperate4 ,i realized how everything depended on ,god's touch4 ,and without any planning a habit of continual praying formed itself4 ,i could be engaged in conversation1 thinking intently into something needing great care1 and yet there was an undercurrent of prayer constantly4 ,i shall never cease to be grateful for that trying experience1 because in it this new habit of a praying bent of mind formed itself4 ,do you not know how as you go about your ordinary round there is a constant undercurrent of thought8 ,you may be talking1 or reading1 or writing1 or doing something more mechanical1 and yet this underneath train of thought is running along apparently of its own accord1 regardless of you4 ,it is broken at times1 or you lose consciousness of it1 as your work requires closer attention4 ,when you swing into the habitual things that you have done over and over again until they almost do themselves1 it reasserts itself4 ,i remember years ago1 in a banking-house where ,i served for a time1 ,i had long additions to make4 ,sometimes the rows of figures to be added up were a foot in length4 ,and ,i got so used to adding that often ,i was surprised to find that my thoughts had been far away1 completely taken up with something else1 while ,i had been adding the figures4 ,and fearing that ,i had been slighting my work1 ,i would go back carefully all over the figures1 only to find the footings correct4 ,the adding habit had become fixed1 and left the undercurrent of my thought free4 ,that current is apt to reveal the heart's purpose or set of mind4 ,whatever you are most set upon1 whatever your favorite fads or hobbies or inclinations or moods are1 they are apt to appear in that involuntary train of thinking4 ,now this can be cultivated4 ,it can be cultivated chiefly by the cultivation of the controlling purpose of your life1 and then by trying to give directions to the undercurrent1 and holding it to that direction4 ,if ,jesus has gripped your heart the purpose of the life will be for ,him4 ,and if you have come to realize the tremendous power of prayer1 this undercurrent of thought can be made a prayer-current4 ,i do not mean by any forced or artificial holding of one's self to such a current by dint of main force1 and then mentally whipping yourself if you have forgotten4 ,the power of all action lies in its being perfectly free and natural4 ,you can cultivate the ,jesus-passion1 and the life-purpose1 and the prayer-habit1 and all of this will be a training of that undercurrent of thought toward prayer4 ,the shipping clerk1 as he heads up his barrels and boxes1 can be sending out and up his current of prayer4 ,at intervals he is thinking closely about something connected with his work4 ,then his thoughts free themselves4 ,as he hammers in the nails1 his thought says1 ,this is ,china day4 ,each ringing blow of the hammer rings out ,this is ,china day3--,thy blessing1 ,master1 to-day upon the missionaries in ,hang-chow2--upon ,mr4 ,blank out there2--victory in ,jesus' name to-day2--the physician missionaries1 the nurses2--,thy power upon them2--help the native workers4 ,the picture of his little prayer memorandum comes up before his mind's eye4 ,the map of ,china stands out more or less distinctly1 according to how long he may have been practising looking at it in his prayer-hour4 ,his mind runs of itself from one point to another4 ,and so1 all the while1 his undercurrent of praying goes on4 ,it is broken into by newer or more exacting duties2 then free again1 and swinging more or less to the thing his heart is set upon4 ,it becomes a perfectly free1 natural thing with him4 ,this is part of the meaning of ,pray without ceasing4 u,the ,man is the ,prayer4_/u ,then prayer is ia life_/i4 ,the life is what you are in yourself4 ,it is not the mere span of years you live through4 ,your thoughts and loves1 your heart's ambitions and gripping purposes1 the things you will to do1 and to be--that is your life4 ,that exerts an enormous influence upon the circle in which you live1 and upon the world4 ,if underneath all else that driving purpose1 that warm1 intense love-power1 that yearning desire1 is ,godward1 and manward1 and world-ward1 that becomes a prayer1 a continual prayer4 ,you are not thinking of it that way4 ,but that is your life1 and that life is a prayer4 ,its influence against the evil one and for ,god is enormous4 ,that is a prayer unceasing1 as long and as strong as your life itself4 ,satan fears it4 ,it hinders him and thwarts him every day4 ,the fragrant incense from the censer of your life rises up before the throne of ,god continually1 and affects the events on the earth4#bh ,and then prayer is ia person_/i4 ,that is to say1 you yourself may be a prayer1 a walking prayer offered up in ,jesus' name4 ,your presence will affect the evil one1 and change events1 and help ,god in ,his plans4 ,you may be so allied with ,jesus in the simple gripping purpose of your heart that you yourself1 where you are1 by your mere presence1 will be recognized by evil spirits1 and by the ,master ,himself as a mighty power for ,god4 ,your presence disturbs the evil one's plan4 ,it has an influence upon those you meet4 ,it is helping ,god4 ,the whole effect of your presence is precisely the same as a prayer4 ,you are a prayer yourself1 though unconsciously4 ,the whole trend of your life says1 ,thy ,kingdom come2 ,thy will be done on earth as in heaven4 ,a few years ago ,president ,roosevelt's daughter was a member of the ,taft party that visited parts of the ,orient4 ,she did not go as the ,president's daughter1 of course4 ,there could be no official significance attached to her presence4 ,we ,americans can understand better than some others that she went simply as a young woman eager to see ,japan and ,china1 not as the ,president's daughter4 ,but everywhere she went in the ,orient she was treated not merely as a member of the party1 but as the daughter of the ,president of the ,united ,states4 ,presents were made to her1 receptions tendered1 and deference shown1 because of her personal relation to her father4 ,to the ,orientals her presence stood for the head of our ,government4 ,they treated her in relation to him4 ,even so it is with us ,christians4 ,the evil one doesn't think of you and me for ourselves simply4 ,he thinks of us in relation to the ,jesus1 who is his ,victor4 ,we stand to him down here for ,jesus4 ,he fears us as he fears ,jesus4 ,that is1 he can be made to fear us1 by our being true to our ,lord4 ,the final purpose of prayer is to defeat ,satan and to bring about ,god's will4 ,and we do just that in our persons1 by our presence2 or we may4 ,prayer is a person4 ,you are a prayer4 ,the man himself becomes a tremendous prayer1 off-setting evil influences1 changing men and events1 and helping ,god in ,his plans4 ,these last two1 the life and the person1 may be called unconscious prayer4 ,the influence is constantly going out1 though we are not aware of it4 ,but it is great encouragement to recall that this prayer-power is going out of us constantly4 ,and these two are not limited to the place where we are4 ,they act as a momentum to every wish we breathe1 and every spoken prayer we utter1 sending these with renewed force out to the place involved4 ,spirit influence does not know anything about the limitations of distance4 u,unseen ,changes ,going ,on4_/u ,all this praying makes a difference at the other end1 the place toward which it is directed4 ,things in ,tokyo are made different4 ,the copy of a ,gospel that some native in ,india is reading becomes a plainer book to him because of this praying4 ,your prayer is a spirit-force travelling instantly through the distance between you and the place you are praying for4 ,and things occur that otherwise would not4 ,opposition lessens4 ,difficulties give way4 ,the road some man is travelling clears and brightens4 ,the truth on the printed page stands out in bigger letters4 ,the health renews4 ,the sickness or weakness gives way to a new health and strength4 ,the judgment steers a straight course4 ,the purpose holds its anchor steady4 ,the man rides the rough seas of temptation safely4 ,things are happening4 ,and they are happening because some scarcely noticed young fellow hammering a barrel-head and marking the shipping directions1 and some typewriter chopping her machine1 are praying in the quiet time1 and are praying softly in the undercurrent of their scarcely thought-out thoughts4 ,oh1 if our ears were opened ,to hear as angels do ,the ,intercession-chorus ,arising full and true1 ,we should hear it soft up-welling ,in morning's pearly light2 ,through evening's shadows swelling ,in grandly gathering might2 ,the sultry silence filling ,of noontide's thunderous blow1 ,and the solemn starlight thrilling ,with ever-deepening flow4 ,we should hear it through the rushing ,of the city's restless roar1 ,and trace its gentle gushing ,o'er ocean's crystal floor2 ,we should hear it far up-floating ,beneath the ,orient moon1 ,and catch the golden noting ,from the busy ,western noon2 ,and pine-robed heights would echo ,as the mystic chant up-floats1 ,and the sunny plain resounds again ,with the myriad mingling notes4 ,there are hands too often weary ,with the business of the day1 ,with ,god-entrusted duties1 ,who are itoiling while they pray_/i4 ,they bear the golden vials1 ,and the golden harps of praise1 ,through all the daily trials1 ,through all the dusty ways4 i,these hands1 so tired1 so faithful1 ,with odors sweet are filled1_/i ,and in the ministry of prayer ,are wonderfully skilled4 ,there are noble ,christian workers1 ,the men of faith and power1 ,the overcoming wrestlers ,of many a midnight hour2 ,prevailing princes with their ,god1 ,who will not be denied1 ,who bring down showers of blessing ,to swell the rising tide4 ,the ,prince of ,darkness quaileth ,at their triumphant way1 i,their fervent prayer availeth_/i i,to sap his subtle sway4_/i ,and evermore the ,father ,sends radiantly down ,all-marvellous responses1 ,his ministers to crown2 ,the incense cloud returning ,as golden blessing-showers1 ,we in each drop discerning ,some feeble prayer of ours1 ,transmuted into wealth unpriced1 ,by ,him who giveth thus ,the glory all to ,jesus ,christ1 ,the gladness all to us6#bi ,money ,limitations4 ,the ,best ,partnership4 ,jesus' ,teaching4 ,be ,your ,own ,executor4 ,missing the ,master's ,meaning4 ,money ,talks4 ,debts4 ,rusty ,money4 ,are ,we ,true to ,our ,friend's ,trust8 ,money u,limitations4_/u ,money seems almost almighty in its power to do things1 and make changes4 ,it can make a desert blossom as a rose4 ,it can even defy death4 ,medical skill holds the life here that otherwise would have been snuffed out4 ,great buildings go up4 ,colleges begin their life with apparatus and books1 skilled instructors1 and eager students4 ,mammoth enterprises spring into being4 ,hospitals and churches rise up with skilled attendants and talented preachers4 ,we have come1 in our day1 and perhaps peculiarly in our country1 to think that there is no limit to the power of money4 ,our ideas of its value are really greatly exaggerated4 ,that first sentence ,i used would be revised by many to read1 ,money is almighty4 ,the cautious words seems and almost would be promptly cut out4 ,yet money has great limitations4 ,it will help greatly to remember what they are4 ,and many of us need the brain-clearing of that help4 ,of itself money is utterly useless1 so much dead-weight stuff lying useless and helpless4 ,it must have human hands to make it valuable4 ,it gets its value from our conception of its value and from our use of it4 ,it must have a human partner to be of any service at all4 ,in bad hands it becomes devilish in its badness4 ,and ,i needn't put an almost in that sentence4 ,it may be as a very demon1 or as the arch-devil himself1 as really as it may seem to be divine in its creative and changing power4 ,then it is valuable only in this world1 on the earth4 ,at the line of death its value wholly ceases4 ,over that line it takes its place as a pauper4 ,it is represented as being used for cobble stones in the streets of the new ,jerusalem4 ,yet it would need to go through some hardening process to make it of any account at all as paving material4 ,we ought to remind ourselves of something else1 too1 that the crowd constantly forgets1 and that we are tempted to forget when touched by the contagion of the crowd4 ,and that is1 that money is always less in its power than a strong1 sweet1 pure life4 ,maybe you think that comparison can't properly be made4 ,you say that things so unlike can't be compared4 ,but1 whether consciously or intentionally or otherwise1 that comparison is being made constantly in practical life1 and most times to the advantage of money4 ,commonly the crowd reckons money more than character4 ,we do well to remind ourselves that its influence for good is always distinctly less than that of a life4 ,to live a life pure and strong and wholesome in its ideals out among men is more than to be able to give money in any amount4 ,to keep one's life up to such ideals in the heartless drive and competition of modern life means more than to extract large quantities of gold out of the mine of barter and trade1 and to give some of it away4 ,and money is less than personal service4 ,great deference is paid to checks and subscriptions4 ,the man who can draw a large check for some good object1 and who may by dint of much dexterous handling be induced to write his name under some large figure1 is treated with awe4 ,but there's another man who stands higher up in the scale1 and to whom hats should go farther off and more quickly4 ,that is the strong man who gives personal service4 ,there may be a blessed partnership between the man of money and the man of service4 ,there often is4 ,but he is an unfortunate man1 to be pitied1 who lets anything else crowd out of his life the privilege of giving some of his self out in personal service for others4 ,these are some of gold's limitations4 u,the ,best ,partnership4_/u ,give money good partners1 and there is no end to what it can do4 ,let prayer and sacrifice and money form a life-partnership1 and that first sentence can be revised1 and greatly strengthened by the revision3 ,money iis_/i almost almighty4 ,it gets all the good qualities of its partners as long as it stays in the partnership1 on good working terms4 ,it isn't the head of the firm1 however4 ,prayer belongs in that place4 ,it must direct4 ,it is the prayer's touch with ,god that hallows the gold and gives to it some of ,god's omnipotence4 ,money is the working partner1 best when hard at work1 and famous for the amount of work it can do in obeying orders from the head of the house4 ,it gives a strange sense of awe to realize that the bit of money you hold in your hand can be used to ichange a life1_/i aye1 more1 to change many lives4 ,that money is yours to control4 ,it came to you in exchange for your labor or your skill4 ,it is yours1 for the sweat of your brow or your brain is upon it4 ,and now it can be sent out1 and the result will be a life utterly changed1 purified1 and redeemed4 ,through your partnership the money produces something greater than itself4 ,and that changed life becomes the centre of a new power1 changing other lives out to the far rim of an ever-widening circle4 ,it may have cost you much4 ,some of your very life has gone out in the work that brought into your hands that bit of gold4 ,it is red with your blood4 ,and now1 if you choose1 it can be sent out and made to bring new life in to some one else4 ,life has gone from you in getting it1 and life will come to another in your giving it out1 under the blessed ,master's transmuting touch4 u,jesus' ,teaching4_/u ,jesus' teaching about money is startling4 ,i mean that it stands in such utter contrast to the commonly accepted standards out in the world1 and inside in the ,church1 that the contrast startles one sharply4 ,there are four passages in which ,his money teachings group1 largely4 ,there's the ,lay-not-up-for-yourselves-treasure-upon -the-earth bit in the sermon on the ,mount2#cj with the still stronger phrase in the ,luke parallel1 ,sell that ye have1 and give4#ca ,there is the incident of the earnest young man who was rich2#cb the parable of the wealthy farmer in ,luke1 twelfth chapter2#cc and the whole sixteenth chapter of ,luke1 with that great ninth verse1 whose full meaning has been so little grasped4 ,the truth taught in each of these is practically the same thing4 ,the ,master is evidently talking about what a man has over and above his personal and family needs4 ,it's a law of life1 from ,eden on1 that a man should work to supply his daily needs and the needs of those dependent upon him4 ,just how much that word needs means each man settles for himself4 ,it means different things at different times to the same man4 ,it is surprising how little it can be made to mean when the pinch comes1 and yet a man have all actual necessities supplied4 ,the man who would have his life count for most for the ,master1 and the ,master's plan1 thinks over that word prayerfully and sensibly with full regard to personal strength1 and loved ones1 and the future4 ,whatever it may be made to mean1 this teaching is plainly about what is left over after the needs are met4 ,now1 about that left-over amount the ,master gives three easily understood rules1 or bits of advice1 or commands4 ,first3 i,don't treasure it up for the sake of having it4_/i ,if you do it is in danger1 and you are in danger4 ,it may be stolen4 ,every vault1 and safe1 and safety-deposit company1 and lock1 and key backs up that statement4 ,or it may be lost through rust or moths1 the two things that threaten all inactivity4 ,the stuff that isn't in use wears away4 ,the wear of use can't compare with the wear of disuse or neglect4 ,then iyou_/i are in danger of your heart being affected4 ,it will be wherever your treasure is4 ,it may get locked up1 and so dried up for lack of air or poisoned by bad air4 ,the blood must have fresh air4 ,the heart must have touch with men to keep its vigor4 ,it may get all dried up with ithings_/i1 instead of keeping vigorous by touch with needy men4 ,that's the twofold danger4 ,that's the first thing ,jesus says3 ,don't store it up1 down here1 in the ordinary way4 ,the second thing is this3 i,store your surplus up4_/i ,be careful of it4 ,keep strict tally4 ,let the books be well kept and balanced4 ,let no thoughtlessness nor carelessness nor thriftlessness get in4 ,store it up4 ,but be careful where you store it4 ,keep it carefully guarded against the action of thieves and moths1 and against the inaction of decaying1 destroying rust4 ,that is the second thing4 ,store it up carefully4 u,be ,your ,own ,executor4_/u ,the third thing is this3 i,store it up by means of exchange4_/i ,keep it safe by giving it away4 ,the whole value of money is in exchange4 ,it must be kept moving4 ,but1 ibut_/i--and the whole heart of the teaching is here--be very wary about your exchanges4 ,invest your money in imen_/i1 wherever the need may be4 ,all that you invest wisely in men is stored up against any violence or craftiness of thieves and any corroding of rust4 ,all that is not out in active use directly among men1 for men1 in ,jesus' name1 is in danger of being stolen1 or of decaying1 or of injuring you1 or of being left behind1 utterly worthless to you when you are through down here4 ,be your own executor4 ,some years ago one of the religious papers of ,new ,york ,city told of the death of a maiden lady named ,elizabeth ,pellit4 ,her home was in the hall-room of a tenement-house1 and at her death all her earthly possessions could be put into one common trunk4 ,no executor or administrator was needed4 ,living in narrow circumstances1 her friends thought she had denied herself all luxuries and even many comforts4 ,but in the forty years of her ,christian life she had been able to give over thirty thousand dollars to missionary work4 ,she had supplied the money to send out and sustain one missionary in ,salvador1 and also for another who was to go out soon4 ,she seemed to have grasped the meaning of the ,master's teaching4 ,good common sense comes in for free play here1 both in adjusting one's personal and family schedule and in giving4 ,giving may be done foolishly1 or not wisely4 ,there is no place where there is more room for good sense in avoiding both the extreme of unwise giving and the other extreme of handicapping one's gifts4 ,it is a question of personal judgment how far to give money out directly and how far to invest some of it and use the income wholly in gifts4 ,you may think that in some directions you can invest it better1 and direct the income better than some organization4 ,that is an important detail4 ,but the chief thing is that the money itself is dedicated wholly for use out among needy men4 ,now you will please mark keenly that in all this ,i am not talking about what ,i think about money4 ,i am simply putting into plain talk ,jesus' own teaching about it1 in these four great passages4 u,missing the ,master's ,meaning4_/u ,christian men1 generally1 seem to have missed the meaning of ,jesus' words4 ,i think it due largely to the lack of teaching in the ,church that world-evangelizing is a ifirst_/i obligation4 ,recently a fire destroyed the home of a man of large wealth who lives some distance east of ,san ,francisco4 ,it was a beautiful palace1 full of art treasures4 ,the value of house and furnishings and the art collection was reckoned at about two million dollars4 ,he is a ,christian man1 prominently identified with active ,christian work1 and reckoned a liberal giver4 ,he has visited foreign-mission lands1 and made special gifts to missions4 ,but his gifts to missions seem like a copper cent or a silver quarter given to a beggar in contrast with the two million dollars tied up for himself in the house that burned4 ,two millions stored up in a home1 while many millions of men have lived and died in ignorance of the light and peace that comes with ,jesus6 ,yet this man calls ,jesus his ,master1 and sincerely1 ,i have no doubt4 ,and his ,master said the one great thing was to tell all men of ,his love and death4 ,by no extension of the meaning of that word need could he be said to need a two-million-dollar home for himself and family4 ,and there are other millions under the same man's control4 ,it looks very much as if this good man had missed the meaning of ,jesus' words4 ,the criticism1 however1 must be first upon the ,church and its leaders1 with whose general trend of teaching this man is in accord4 ,according to the ,master's teaching1 most of the money in his house1 and stored up in other ways of the sort for himself1 is being lost4 ,far more serious1 the opportunity of investment in men is being lost4 ,that money will be all loss to him when he reaches the line of departure over into the next sphere of life4 ,it is very difficult to use such an illustration from life4 ,there is danger that the words will sound critical in a bad or unkind sense4 ,i earnestly pray to be kept from that4 ,you will know that ,i am talking to myself first of all2 and speaking of this only to help4 ,the bother is that this man is not an exception4 ,rather he represents the habit and standard of his generation4 ,i recall another ,christian man as ,i speak1 of large wealth1 by inheritance and by dint of business keenness4 ,his face showed plainly his fine ,christian character4 ,he gave liberally in many directions1 sometimes very large sums4 ,but he lived in a home whose value ran close to a half-million of dollars4 ,when he died1 full of years and honors1 he left many millions to a son who does not inherit his father's generous hand with his wealth4 ,of course1 the son didn't ineed_/i the vast wealth4 ,and ,i wondered1 silently1 within my heart1 how things looked to that man1 as he slipped out of life up into the ,master's presence1 and looked down on the earth through the eyes of the ,one whose teaching we have been talking about4 ,he could see ,china and ,india and ,africa then as plainly as ,america4 ,how did the lost opportunity of laying up his treasure in the lives of men look to him then1 ,i wondered4 ,he was a good man4 ,i saw him smile once1 and his face seemed to shine as an angel's4 ,i think probably no faithful friend had ever talked to him of the plain meaning of ,jesus' words1 and of world-winning being a ifirst_/i obligation4 ,he hadn't been taught it from the pulpit4 ,and he hadn't thought into it himself4 u,money ,talks4_/u ,many are losing a great opportunity of silently preaching ,jesus to their fellows by their habit of giving4 ,two men were discussing the evidences of the ,christian religion4 ,the one was a ,christian2 the other not1 and inclined to be sceptical4 ,arguments were freely exchanged4 ,at last the sceptic1 who was a blunt1 out-spoken man1 said frankly1 to his friend and neighbor3 ,i think we might as well drop this matter4 ,for ,i don't believe a word you say4 ,and1 more than that1 ,i am quite satisfied in my own mind that you do not really believe it yourself4 ,for to my certain knowledge you have not given1 the last twenty years1 as much for the spread of ,christianity1 such as the building of churches and foreign and domestic missions1 as your last ,durham cow cost4 ,why1 sir1 if ,i believed what you say you believe ,i'd make the church my rule for giving1 my farm the exception4 ,that ,christian man's life was contradicting every word he uttered to his neighbor4 ,money talks4 ,his was talking very loudly to his sceptical neighbor4 ,his neighbor was unusually frank in saying out what thousands are thinking4 ,he had lost a great opportunity of winning his friend4 u,debts4_/u ,in a simple little sentence ,paul reveals how thoroughly he had grasped ,jesus' meaning4 ,he said1 i,i am debtor_/i both to ,greeks and barbarians--to all men4#cd ,now that word1 debtor1 commonly means two things3 that you have received something of value from some one1 and that therefore you owe him for what he gave to you4 ,but ,paul hadn't gotten anything special from the men of whom he is speaking4 ,his birth and training and whatever else he had were ,jewish4 ,and the ,jews were a minority in the world4 ,he was not under the debtor obligation of having gotten something from the men he is speaking of4 ,in his use of that word1 debtor means ithree_/i things3 first1 something received from ,god1 and that something everything2 then something owing to ,god2 and then that something ipayable to man_/i4 ,he counted himself in debt to all men on ,jesus' account4 ,and so are we4 ,how much owest ithou_/i to thy ,lord8 ,that's how much you are to pay to men on your ,lord's account4 ,we are not even our own1 much less our goods4 ,we were bought up when we were bankrupt ,a great price was paid for us1 even the life-blood of ,jesus4 ,and our ,owner bids us pay iup_/i by paying iout_/i4 ,we are badly and blessedly in debt2 badly1 for we can never square the account2 blessedly1 because we can be constantly paying on account1 out to men in ,jesus' name4 ,over against the ,treasury this day ,the ,master silent sits2 whilst1 unaware ,of that ,celestial ,presence still and fair1 ,the people pass or pause upon their way4 ,and some go laden with ,his treasures sweet1 ,and dressed in costly robes of ,his device ,to cover hearts of stone and souls of ice1 ,which bear no token to the ,master's feet4 ,and some pass1 gaily singing1 to and fro1 ,and cast a careless gift before ,his face1 ,amongst the treasures of the holy place1 ,but kneel to crave no blessing ere they go4 ,and some are travel-worn1 their eyes are dim1 ,they touch ,his shining vesture as they pass1 ,but see not--even darkly through a glass-- ,how sweet might be their trembling gifts to ,him4 ,and still the hours roll on2 serene and fair ,the ,master keeps his watch1 but who can tell ,the thoughts that in ,his tender spirit swell1 ,as one by one we pass him unaware8 ,for this is ,he who1 on one awful day1 ,cast down for us a price so vast and dread1 ,that ,he was left for our sakes bare and dead1 ,having given ,himself our mighty debt to pay6 ,oh1 shall unworthy gifts once more be thrown ,into ,his treasury--by whose death we live8 ,or shall we now embrace ,his cross1 and give ,ourselves1 and all we have1 to him alone8 ,is not that the meaning of ,paul's ,owe no man anything1 save to love one another4#ce ,we owe a debt of love to all men on ,jesus' account4 ,we can be paying on it continually1 and yet never get a receipt in full that discharges the debt4 ,but then we get other things in full--peace1 and joy1 and a life overflowing in fulness4 ,with an honorable business man ia debt is a first obligation_/i4 ,his personal expenditures and his home schedule are shaped by his debt4 ,the extras that he would feel quite free in allowing himself and his home are not allowed until the debt is cleared4 ,the debt controls his spendings until it is paid off in full4 ,that's reckoned a matter of honor4 u,rusty ,money4_/u ,james1 the first bishop of ,jerusalem1 had caught the ,lord's very language as well as ,his thought4 ,he says1 ,your gold and silver are rusted1 and their rust shall be for a testimony against you4#cf ,it would seem as though there were quite a bit of rusty money entered in ,christian names and controlled by ,christian people4 ,it is lying in vaults1 and lands1 and savings-societies1 and old stockings1 gathering rust4 ,it is in sore need4 ,it needs friction1 the friction of use4 ,without that its real1 rare value will be completely lost4 ,it is furnishing food for moths when it was meant to be furnishing food for men1 bread of wheat and bread of life4 ,there'll be many a striking scene when some men come up into the ,master's presence with loaded purses1 caught with the goods1 while millions of their brothers are living such pitiable lives because of their ignorance of ,jesus4 ,but there are men who do understand4 ,and their number is increasing4 ,there are those who understand ithe ,master's basis_/i for conducting their business matters4 ,that basis is shrewd1 faithful management of the business itself as good stewards of ,god2 full1 proper provision for home and loved ones--simple1 but ample and intelligent2 and then all the rest out in active service for men in ,jesus' name4 ,if that basis were more largely understood and accepted1 what wondrous changes would come2 changes out in the world1 and changes in the home1 and changes in the home church4 ,many men are supporting their own representatives in the foreign field4 ,many a church now sustains its own missionary or missionaries4 ,the ideal toward which the ,church might well aim is that ievery family_/i should have its own missionary4 ,the real unit of life is the family4 ,the children would then grow up with the world-vision dearly and deeply marked4 ,there are thousands of families in circumstances that are reckoned moderate that could support a missionary by planning4 ,but the relationship should be carefully kept one of warm sympathy and prayer1 as well as one of money4 ,the reflex blessing upon the home would be immeasurable in its sweetness and extent4 u,are ,we ,true ,to ,our ,friend's ,trust8_/u ,jesus admits us into the inner circle of friendship4 ,he gives us the one rarest token of friendship1 that is1 a task to do for our ,friend's sake4 ,he asks us to go out to all men1 and tell them about ,his love and sacrifice for them4 ,and ,he asks that everything we have be held and used for this sacred friendship trust4 ,are we being true to our ,friend's trust8 ,is there more stored away for ourselves than is being sent out on ,his errand8 ,is there any discoloration on our gold8 ,anything that looks like rust1 a dull-red color--ah1 it looks strangely like the color--the stain--of blood4 ,is ,judas so lonely1 after all8 ,he coupled a token of friendship with a betrayal of his ,friend's trust4 ,in his heart he meant far less than the act actually involved4 ,is he so much alone8 ,the latest years shall tremble hearing this ,and burn for human shame unto the end1 ,that one of us betrayed the tryst his ,friend ,would keep with ,god4 ,a sign that none might miss ,he named--the pledge of love4 ,the soul's abyss1 ,christ saw1 the heart of night1 the ipurse_/i1 the end2 ,knew all1 a ,man1 and knowing stui could bend ,with soul unpoisoned to receive the kiss4 ,before the multitude have ,i kist ,thee ,fresh come from my blood-barter--thou but come ,from intercession for all souls--and me4 ,and1 mocking ,love ,divine1 amazed and dumb1 ,i learn ,love's deathlessness1 and trembling press ,the lips that kiss away my faithlessness4#cg ,sacrifice ,one ,hank ,over ,for the ,candle4 ,sin's ,healing ,shadow4 ,the ,underground ,way into ,life4 ,a ,rare ,harvest4 ,the ,fellowship of ,scars4 ,won't ,you ,save ,me8 ,sacrifice u,one ,hank ,over ,for the ,candle4_/u ,the light of a common candle in the window of a little cottage near the coast shone far out over the sea4 ,it was up north of ,scotland1 in one of the ,orkney ,islands4 ,near the window sat a frail1 gray-haired woman with cheery1 thoughtful face4 ,she was busy working at her spinning-wheel1 and watching the candle1 turning now and again to trim it4 ,all night long she sat at the spinning-wheel and watching the candle4 ,fishermen out on the water1 heading for home1 knew that light could be counted on1 and came safely in1 past all the dangers of their coast4 ,for more than fifty years that woman tended her little lighthouse4 ,when she was a young girl there had been a wild storm1 and her father1 out in his fisherman's boat1 lost his life4 ,there were no shore-lights4 ,his boat had struck a huge1 dangerous rock called ,lonely ,rock1 and been wrecked4 ,the father's body was found in the morning washed up on the shore4 ,she watched by her father's body1 as was the habit of her people1 until it was laid away4 ,then she laid down on her bed and slept the day through4 ,when night came she rose1 lit a candle1 put it in the window1 drew up her spinning-wheel1 and began her night vigil for the unknown out at sea4 ,all night long1 and all her life long1 her vigil of love and light continued4 ,from youth to old age1 through winter and summer1 storm and calm1 fog and clear1 that humble lighthouse beacon failed not4 ,each night she spun so many hanks of yarn for her daily bread1 and ione hank over for the candle_/i4 ,she turned night into day1 reversing the whole habit of her life1 and holding every other thing subject to her self-imposed task of love4 ,and through the years many a fisherman out at sea1 and many an anxious woman watching by hearth and crib1 sent up heart-felt thanks to ,god for that little1 steady light4 ,and many a life was saved1 of which no record could be kept4 ,that tells the whole story of sacrifice4 ,a need1 nobody to meet it2 the need passing into an emergency2 and that into the tragedy of an unmet emergency2 a heart sore torn to bleeding by the tragedy thrust bitterly home2 then sacrifice1 lifelong1 that others might be saved where her loved one was lost1 and still others spared what she herself suffered4 ,and that story has been repeated with endless variations1 and is being repeated1 in every land1 on every mission-field1 home and foreign1 and in almost every home of all the world4 u,sin's ,healing ,shadow4_/u ,sacrifice has come to be a law of life4 ,wherever there is sin there will be a icall for sacrifice_/i4 ,for sin makes need1 and need intensifies into emergency4 ,and need and emergency mean sacrifice thrust upon some one in peril4 ,and they call for sacrifice1 volunteered by some one1 who would save the man in peril4 ,and wherever there are true men and women1 as well as need1 there will ibe_/i sacrifice4 ,and sin is everywhere4 ,even nature is full of evidence of a bad break in all of its processes4 ,the finger-marks of decay and death are below and above and all around in all its domain4 ,that is sin's unmistakable ear-mark4 ,man's mental powers1 and his loss of a full knowledge of his powers1 tell the same story4 ,and so there is need4 ,everywhere you turn need's pathetic face1 drawn and white1 looks piteously into yours1 pleading mutely for help4 ,and so there is sacrifice4 ,sacrifice is sin's healing shadow4 ,it follows sin at every turn1 binding up its wounds1 pouring in the oil and wine of its own life1 and taking the hurt victims into its own warm heart4 ,nothing worth while has ever been done without sacrifice4 ,every good thing done cost somebody his life4 ,the life was given out with a wrench under some sharp tug4 ,or it was given in the slower1 more painful1 more taxing way of being lingeringly given out through years of steadfast doing or enduring4 ,every man who has done something worth while for others has spilled some of his life-blood into it4 ,his work and name may have become known4 ,or he may belong to the larger number of blessed faithfuls whose names are unknown here1 but treasured faithfully above4 ,either way1 the tinging red of his life is upon the thing he did4 ,the nations that are freest cost most in the making1 in the lives of men4 ,every church1 and every mission station1 has had to use red mortar as its walls went up4 ,every bit of advance ground gained for liberty and truth has been stained with the life-blood of the advance-guard4 ,you can depend upon it that whatever you are to do that will really help must have a bit of your own self1 your very life in it4 ,immortality of action comes only by the infusion of human blood4 ,sacrifice attends us faithfully from the cradle to the body's last resting-place4 ,the giving of one's self for others begins with the beginning of life1 and never ends till life ends4 ,each of us comes into life through the sacrifice of the mother who bore us4 ,that love-service of hers would not have been a sacrifice1 but only a joy1 had sin's cramping1 restricting atmosphere not been breathed into all life4 ,now1 with much pain1 and great danger1 and sometimes at the cost of life1 it becomes a sacrifice4 ,yet it is a sacrifice of great sweet joy to her4 ,and that same spirit of sacrifice attends our baby years1 and childhood experiences1 and school-days1 and times of sickness1 and our matured years4 ,the more faithfully those who make up your life-circle yield to the law of sacrifice1 and give of themselves out to you1 the finer and stronger you grow to be1 and the sweeter life becomes to you4 ,and every selfish shirking and shrinking back by some one impoverishes your life by so much4 ,a hush of awe comes over one's spirit as we recall that even for the ,son of ,god there was no exception to this law1 as ,he took ,his place down among human conditions4 ,it was by ,his own blood that ,he saved men1 and saves men4 ,it was the spilling out of ,his own life that brings such blessed newness of life to us4 ,his was a iliving_/i sacrifice through all the years1 and then greatest when that life1 so long being given1 was given clean out4 ,that sacrifice of ,his stands unapproached1 and can never be approached by any other4 ,his relation to sin was different from that of all other men4 ,he made a sacrifice for men in a sense that no other can4 ,yet1 while that is true1 it is equally true that every man who follows ,him will drink of ,his cup of sacrifice4 ,but it's a cup of joy now1 for ,his drinking drained out all the bitter dregs4 ,he asks us into the inner fellowship of ,his suffering4 ,the work ,he began isn't yet done4 ,he asks our help4 ,we may fill up the measure of ,his sacrifice yet needed1 in healing men's wounds and in throttling sin's power4 u,the ,underground ,way ,into ,life4_/u ,the request of the ,greek pilgrims1 that last tragic week1 drew out of ,jesus wondrous words about the law of sacrifice#ch4 ,their request made the necessity for ,his coming sacrifice stand out more sharply to ,his view--with edgy sharpness4 ,the realness of that sacrifice of ,his stands out very vividly in the intensity of ,his feelings1 of which we get only glimpses4 ,listen to ,him talking3 'if the grain of wheat doesn't suffer death1 it lives2 but it lives alone4 ,but through death it may live in the midst of a harvest of golden grains4 ,the man who turns away from the appeal of need will live a lonely life1 both here and in the longer life4 7,is there anything more pathetic and pitiable than selfish loneliness67 ,he who feels the sharp tug of need1 and can't resist the appeal that calls for his life-blood1 rises up through that red pathway into a blessed fellowship with the lives that owe their life to his4' ,he goes on3 'he that clingeth with strong self-love to his life will find it slipping1 slipping insistently out of his fingers1 leaving a dry husk of a shell in his tenacious clutch4 ,but he who in the stress of the world's emergency of need1 and in the thick of the subtlest temptations to put the self-life first1 treats that life as a hated enemy1 to be opposed and fought1 as he gives himself freely out to heal the world's hurt1 ihe_/i will find all the sweets and fragrance of life coming to him4 ,their unspeakable refreshment will ever increase1 and never leave4' ,then follow the words that go so deep3 'if any man iwould serve ,me1_/i let him come along1 putting his feet into my prints4 ,let him come through a long ,nazareth life of common toil in home and shop1 then along the crowded path of glad service for others1 responding to every call of need4 ,let him come down into the shadowed olive-grove beyond ,kidron's waters1 up the bit of a hill outside a city wall1 and deep down into the earth-soil of men's needs4 ',and where ,i am there ,i will surely have that faithful follower of ,mine up close by my side4 ,he shall find himself rising up out of the common earth-life into a new life of strangely strong drawing power4 ,and1 while he will be all wrapped up in love's service1 ,my ,father will give special touches of ,his own hand upon his person1 and upon his service4' ,in one of his exquisitely quiet talks1 ,henry ,drummond used to tell the story of a famous statue in the ,fine ,arts ,gallery of ,paris4 ,it was the work of a great genius1 who1 like many a genius1 was very poor1 and lived in a garret which served as both studio and sleeping-room4 ,one midnight1 when the statue was just finished1 a sudden frost fell upon ,paris4 ,the sculptor lay awake in his fireless garret1 and thought of the still moist clay1 thought how the moisture in the pores would freeze1 and the dream of his life would be destroyed in a night4 ,so the old man rose from his cot1 and wrapped his bed-clothes reverently about the statue1 and lay down to his sleep4 ,in the morning the neighbors found,b him lying dead4 ,his life had gone out into his work4 ,it was saved4 ,he was gone4 ,but he still lived in it1 and still lives in it4 ,he saved not his life1 and he found a new life in the world of his art4 ,he that saveth his life shall surely lose it4 ,he that gladly giveth his life up for the ,master's sake1 and for men's sake1 will find a wholly new life coming to him4 u,a ,rare ,harvest4_/u ,there is a strange winsomeness about sacrifice1 peculiar to itself1 and peculiarly strong in its drawing power4 ,everywhere men acknowledge the peculiar fascination for them of the man who is not only wholly unselfish1 but who utterly forgets himself in doing for others4 ,the feeling is very common that the man in public life is chiefly concerned with what he can get out of it for himself4 ,and when1 now and then1 the conviction seizes the crowd that some public man is not of that sort at all1 but is devoting himself unselfishly and unsparingly to their interest1 their admiration and love for him amounts to a worship and enthusiasm that knows no stint4 ,there's a something in unselfish sacrifice in their behalf that draws the crowd peculiarly and tremendously4 ,jesus said that if ,he were lifted up ,he would draw men4 ,and ,he has4 ,he was lifted up as none other1 and ,he has been drawing men ever since as none other ever has or can4 ,quite apart from other truths involved1 that sacrifice of ,his had in itself the tremendous drawing power of all unselfish action4 ,and sacrifice brews a subtle fragrance of its own that clings to the person as the soft sweet odor of wild roses4 ,no one is ever conscious that there is any such fragrance going out to others4 ,he knows the inner sweets that none know but they who give sacrifice brewing room within themselves4 ,such folks don't stop to think about themselves1 except to be thinking of helping and not hindering4 ,the very winsomeness of the sacrifice spirit has led men to the seeking of sacrifice4 ,it seems strange to us that earnest men in other generations have sought by self-inflicted suffering to attain to the power that goes with sacrifice4 ,and even yet some morbid people may be found following in their steps4 ,don't they know that out in common daily life the knife of sacrifice is held across the path constantly1 sharp edge out1 barring the way8 ,and no one can go faithfully his common round1 with flag at masthead1 and needs crowding in at front and rear and sides1 without meeting its cutting edge4 ,that edge cutting in as you push on frees out the fine fragrance4 ,whenever you meet a man or woman with that fine winsomeness of spirit that can't be analyzed1 but only felt1 you may know that there's been some of this sort of sharp cutting within4 ,blood is a rare fertilizer4 ,they tell me that the bit of ground over in ,belgium called ,waterloo bears each spring a crop of rare blue forget-me-nots4 ,that bit of ground had very unusual gardening4 ,ploughed up by cannon-and gun-shot1 sown deep with men's lives1 worked never so thoroughly by toiling1 struggling feet1 moistened with the gentle rain of dying tears1 and soaked with red life1 it now yields its yearly harvest of beauty4 ,all life's a ,waterloo and can be made to yield a rich growth of fragrant flowers4 u,the ,fellowship of ,scars4_/u ,and there's yet more of this winsomeness4 ,there's a spirit power that goes out of sacrifice4 ,it reaches far beyond the limited personal circle1 out to the ends of the earth4 ,it can't be analyzed1 nor defined1 nor described1 but it can be felt4 ,we don't know much about the law of spirit currents4 ,but we know the spirit currents themselves1 for every one is affected by them and every one is sending them out of himself4 ,you pick up a book1 and suddenly find there's a something in it that takes hold of you irresistibly4 ,a flame seems to burn in it1 and then in you4 ,invisible fingers seem to reach out of the page and play freely up and down the key-board of your heart4 ,why is it8 ,i don't know much about it4 ,it's an elusive thing4 ,but ,i can tell you my conviction1 that grows stronger daily4 ,there's a life back of that book2 there is sacrifice in that life of the keen1 cutting sort2 and ,jesus is in that life1 too1 giving it ,his personal flavor4 ,the life back of the book has come into the book4 ,it's that life you are feeling as you read4 ,spirit power knows nothing about distance4 ,the man who yields to sacrifice has a world-field1 and is touching his field in a sense far greater than he ever knows4 ,and there is still more4 ,the ,master knows our sacrifices4 ,he keenly notes the spirit that would give all1 even as ,he did4 ,he can breathe most of ,his own spirit into such a life4 ,for it is most open to ,him4 ,he can do most through that spirit1 for it comes nearest to ,his own4 ,his own winsomeness breathes out of that life constantly4 ,there's a simple little tale that comes dressed in very homely garb4 ,the story has in it a bit of that that makes the heart burn4 ,it has all the marks of real life4 ,it runs thus3 ,in one poor room1 that was all their home1 ,a mother lay on her bed1 ,her seven children around her2 ,and1 calling the eldest1 she said3 ',i'm going to leave you1 ,mary2 ,you're nearly fourteen1 you know2 ,and now you must be a good girl1 dear1 ,and make me easy to go4 ',you can't depend much on father2 ,but just be patient1 my child1 ,and keep the children out of his way ,whenever he comes home wild4 ',and keep the house as well as you can2 ,and1 little daughter1 think ,he didn't use to be so2 ,remember1 it's all the drink4' ,the weeping daughter promised ,always to do her best2 ,and1 closing her eyes over weary life1 ,the mother entered her rest4 ,and ,mary kept her promise ,as faithfully as she might4 ,she cooked1 and washed1 and mended1 ,and kept things tidy and bright4 ,and when the father came home drunk1 ,the children were sent to bed1 ,and ,mary waited alone1 and took ,the beatings in their stead4 ,and the little chubby fingers lost ,their childish softness and grace1 ,and toughened and chapped and calloused1 ,and the rosy1 childish face4 ,grew thin and haggard and anxious1 ,careworn1 tired1 and old1 ,as on those slender shoulders ,the burdens of life were rolled4 ,so1 when the heated season ,burned pitiless overhead1 ,and up from the filth of the noisome street ,the fatal fever spread1 ,and work and want and drunken blows ,had weakened the tender frame1 ,into the squalid room once more ,the restful shadow came4 ,and ,mary sent for the playmate ,who lived just over the way1 ,and said1 ',the charity ,doctor1 ,has been here1 ,katie1 to-day4 ',he says ,i'll never be better-- ,the fever has been so bad2 ,and if it wasn't for one thing1 ,i'm sure ,i'd just be glad4 ',it isn't about the children2 ,i've kept my promise good1 ,and mother will know ,i stayed with them ,as long as ever ,i could4 ',but you know how it has been1 ,katie2 ,i've had so much to do1 ,i couldn't mind the children ,and go to the preaching1 too4 ',and ,i've been so tired-like at night1 ,i couldn't think to pray1 ,and now1 when ,i see the ,lord ,jesus1 ,what ever am ,i to say8' ,and ,katie1 the little comforter1 ,her help to the problem brought2 ,and into her heart1 made wise by love1 ,the ,spirit sent this thought3 ',i wouldn't say a word1 dear1 ,for sure ,he understands2 ,i wouldn't say ever a word at all2 ,but1 ,mary1 ijust show ,him your hands6'_/i ,jesus knows every scar of sacrifice you bear1 and loves it4 ,for it tells ,him your love4 ,he knows the meaning of scars1 because of ,his own4 ,the marks of sacrifice cement our fellowship with ,him4 ,the nearer we come to fellowship with ,him in the daily touch and spirit the more freely can ,he reach out ,his own great winsomeness through us1 out to ,his dear world4 u,won't ,you ,save ,me8_/u ,to outsiders1 who don't know about the thing1 that word sacrifice has an ugly sound4 ,it drives them away4 ,but to the insiders1 who have come in by the ,jesus-door1 there is a joyousness of the bubbling-out1 singing sort1 that makes the word sacrifice1 and the thing itself1 clean forgot even while remembered4 ,it is remembered as a distinct real thing1 but it is pushed away from the centre of your consciousness by this song that insists on singing its music into the ears of your heart4 ,i said a while ago in these talks that it would be ian easy thing_/i for the whole ,church1 or even half of the ,church1 to take ,jesus fully out to all the world4 ,but may ,i tell you now plainly that it won't be an easy thing8 ,somebody will have to sacrifice if the thing's to be done4 ,and that somebody will be you1 if you go along where the ,master calls4 ,if you icount_/i on the ,church doing it1 or on anybody else doing it1 you may be sure of one thing3 some part of what needs doing won't be done4 ,but if you and ,i will reckon that this thing belongs to us1 as if there were nobody else to do it1 and ipush on2_/i--well1 there'll be sacrifice of the real sort and1 too1 there'll be all of sacrifice's peculiar winsomeness going out to draw men4 ,and there will be men changed where you live1 and out where you will never go personally4 ,and there will be a great joy in your heart1 but with the greater joy breaking out in the ,morning1 when the ,king comes to ,his own4 ,i hear the sob of the parted1 ,the wail of the broken-hearted1 ,the sigh for the loved departed1 ,in the surging roar of the town4 ,and it's1 oh1 for the joy of the ,morning6 ,the light and song of the ,morning6 ,there'll be joy in the ,christmas ,morning ,when the ,king comes to ,his own6 ,now let our hearts be true1 brothers1 ,to suffer and to do1 brothers2 ,there'll be a song for you1 brothers1 ,when the battle's fought and won4 ,it won't seem long in the ,morning1 ,in the light and song of the ,morning ,there'll be joy in the ,christmas ,morning ,when the ,king comes to ,his own6 ,arise1 and be of good cheer1 brothers2 ,the day will soon be here1 brothers2 ,the victory is near1 brothers2 ,and the sound of the glad ',well done6' ,there'll be no sad heart in the ,morning ,no tear will start in the ,morning2 ,there'll be joy in the ,christmas ,morning ,when the ,king comes to ,his own6 ,we're in for the winning side1 brothers1 ,bound to the ,lord who died1 brothers1 ,we shall see ,him glorified1 brothers1 ,and the ,lamb shall wear the crown4 ,what of the cold world's scorning8 ,there'll be joy enough in the ,morning ,there'll be joy in the ,christmas ,morning1 ,when the ,king comes to ,his own6 ,years ago a steamer out on ,lake ,erie caught fire1 and headed at once for the nearest land4 ,all was wild confusion1 as men and women struggled for means of escape4 ,in the crowd was a returning ,california gold-miner4 ,he fastened the belt containing his gold securely about his waist and was preparing to try to swim ashore4 ,just then a little sweet-faced girl in the crowd touched his hand1 and looked up beseechingly into his face1 and said1 ,won't you please save me8 ,i have no papa here to save me4 ,won't you1 please8 ,what would he do8 ,he gave the belt of gold1 that meant such a hard struggle1 one swift glance4 ,but that soft child-touch on his hand1 and that face and voice strangely affected him4 ,he couldn't save both2--which8 ,the quick-as-flash thoughts came all in a heap4 ,then he dropped the gold1 and took the child1 made the plunge1 and by and by reached land1 utterly exhausted1 and lay unconscious4 ,as his eyes opened the child he had saved was standing over him with the tears of gratitude flooding her eyes4 ,and a human life never seemed quite so precious4 ,he had lost his gold1 and his years of toil1 but he had saved a life1 and in saving it had found a new life springing up within himself4 ,as we close our talk together will you listen very softly4 ,listen3 out of the distance comes a murmur of voices1 like a low1 long heart-cry4 ,it comes from near-by1 where you live4 ,it comes most from far-away lands4 ,its words are pathetically distinct3 i,will you save me8_/i ,i have no one to save me4 ,won't iyou_/i8 ,and we can do it4 ,but the gold and the life must go4 i,shall_/i we do it1 hand in hand with ,jesus1 the only ,saviour8 ,shall we inot_/i do it8 ,footnotes #a ,acts #ac3ah1 ,american ,revision4 #b ,john #c3ag4 #c ,matthew #ac3ch4 #d ,john #ab3bj-cc4 #e ,matthew #bd3ad4 #f ,revelation #bj3g-h4 #g ,matthew #bd3ad4 #h ,acts #ae3ac-ah4 #i ,matthew #ac3ch4 #aj ,christina ,rossetti1 in i,the ,outlook_/i1 slightly altered4 #aa ,matthew #be #dj1 #de4 #ab ,revelation #b3e #ac ,matthew #bd #ad4 #ad ,revelation #a3e1 #f4 #ae ,revelation #d3h4 #af ,revelation #d3i-aa4 #ag ,revelation #e3aa-ab4 #ah ,revelation #g3i-ab4 #ai ,revelation #ad3a-e #bj ,revelation #ae3b-d #ba ,revelation #ai3a-h4 #bb ,thessalonians #a3h4 ,,ii ,corinthians #a3a l4c4 #bc ,romans #a3h4 #bd ,john1 chapters #ad-af4 #be ,john #bj3ai-bc4 #bf ,susan ,coolidge4 #bg ,john #g3ch4 #bh ,revelation #h3c-e4 #bi ,frances ,ridley ,havergal4 #cj ,matthew #f3ai-ba #ca ,luke #ab3cc1cd #cb ,matthew #ai3af-bi4 ,mark #aj3ag-ca4 ,luke #ah3ah-cj #cc ,luke #ab3ac-ba4 #cd ,romans #a3ad #ce ,romans #ac3h #cf ,james #e3b1 #c #cg ,arthur ,peirce ,vaughn #ch ,john #ab3bd-bf4 ,transcriber's ,notes ,a ,the original chapter contents listing erroneously transposed ,a ,crisis of ,neglect and ,success and ,a ,westernized ,heathenism4 ,b ,original text read fond for found4