Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

85 T1IE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1907. A Prize Worth an Effort “wSS *** 'That I May Win " ist." —Phil. 3: 8. By REV. RICHARD ORME FLINN, Pastor North Avenue Presbyterian Church Largely a Matter of Method. Other things being equal, the win ning of a contest largely resolves Itself into a matter of method. Therefore the man who can secure bis secret from the champion and learn how he does It. It he only has enough stamina may hope to become a champion too. The words we are considering today are the frank confession of h man who won. who Is telling us how he did it. If ever a man had odds to contend with it was Paul, and If ever a man outstripped the crowd It was he. Though he started with a handicap he won with a margin. His race was bo worthy of the prise, and the prise he won so worthy of the race, and alto gether Ills career was so inspiring, his end so triumphant, and Ills record so Illustrious, that when we find him as we do in this third chapter of Philip- | plans taking us Into his confldence and telling us the secret of his method and his motive. It Is well worth our while . to pause and ponder what he says. The language in which he makes his statement seems alive. Take It word by word and you will find It vital, and not only so, but personal. We mean that It not alone concerns himself, or how and what he accomplished, but it Is furthermore a stimulating affirma tion that each may appropriate to ex press what we ourselves may do. Let us take It to pieces, then, and feel Its force. First, “I May Win." There Is inspiration in that. I may not only run. but win. There are fail ures enough, God knows, In life, and heavy hearts enough over defeat and disappointment, without our increasing the number, and there Is no need that we should. With courageous confidence we may say with Paul not only i may win.’ but ‘win I shall, God helping me. But ivhat shall I win? REV. RICHARD ORME FLINN. all that ho might do in the future, Ills past was against him, and was a mat ter of record which he could not reach or change. Facing such a future with such a conscious need. Christ hnd been offered to Paul as the one thing all- sufficient for his need. and. realising this, Paul's desire was to win Him and appear in Him. Do you ask what he means by “appearing In Him?" Let us tell you. Jesus Christ - stands for some thing; His name Is good for something at the bar of God, just os the names of certain Atlanta men are good for some thing In our banks. In other words, thece is something to Christ’s credit upon which He can draw, and Paul asks and'seeks first of all that when he has this final dealing with his Judge, which shall determine his eternal des- . tiny, that God, In looking at him, will The choice of not open the ledger to Paul's account. the prise we contend for Is as impor tant as that we win it. -Did I say as important—nay, it is more, for "not failure, but low aim Is shame.” There is far too much wasted energy; too many are striving for that which is not worth while. Men are shooting cannon at sparrows. • Why seek to be the first man In a village when we may be the leader of a nation? Why strive for the transient when we may have the permanent? Why reaoh out after the finite when we may lay hold on the infinite? But let us go back to the text. •i May Win—Chriit" Oh. if 1 may win Him. In Him I may win everything that Is worth the liav. lng. Look back a little in this chapter ami you will see why Paul was so bent on winning Christ. It was, as he tells us, that he might be found in Him, not having his own righteousness which was of the law, but that which was of faith In f^firlst the righteousness of God. Of what does he speak? Tliis—there Is a day of reckoning coming when we all, small and great, must stand before the throne of God, there to bo weighed 1n the balances of impartial justice. And Paul realised as he looked forward to that hour that he was not able In him self to stand the test The best he could do would be insufficient to meet the demands of that hour, und despite One hundred and ninety Vehicles, con sisting of Buggies, Surreys and Runabouts. Can furnish any of the above In steel or rubber tire* Also a large line of Deliv ery and Farm Wagons and Harness. Special prices for tho nsxt ten days only. Remember, our motto is quick sales and small proofs. Wo enn euro you money on Vehicles. Farmers’ Supply Co., 40*42 W. Alabama St Atlanta, Ga. but to Christ's account, and read out what Is written there to his Lord's credit, and that when the great Judge shall review his record He shall not turn the book of biography to the story of Paul's life, but to the story of Christ's, life, and assign Paul a place upon the basis of what is recorded there. In other words. Paul wanted to change places with Christ, so that all that was coming to him might he trans ferred to the account of Christ, and so that all that was coming to Christ might-be transferred to him. Paul felt that If this' could be arranged he was safe, and so he was. And so are we, if In that sense we, too. win Christ and 'are found In Him. and the glorious af- llrmallon of our text Is we may—win Christ. But notice further. There Are Two Sides to the Matter. If we ion* to have Christ represent us in the future we should crave the privilege of representing Him In the present, so that all that is coming to Christ of shame may be borne by us in time, just as all that is coming to us of shame may be borne by Christ in Rternlty. Paul did not shrink from such reciprocity, but rather craved It. His effort was not merely to receive the benefit of Identification with Christ In His hour of triumph at the throne of judgment, but as a fair man he asked that he might receive all the conse quences that might be incurred through identification with Christ on earth dur ing His period of rejection. Thus In the tenth verse we find him asking not only to be found In Christ, but to "win Chris#' not merely as his advocate, hut to win Christ ns his friend. “That I may know Him." That Is, that he might become vitally ac quainted with Him, to be on speaking terms and In blessed fellowship, In or der that he might adequately represent His Interests. Moreover os His friend he craVei to receive an anduement of power such ns was manifested In His resurrection. In order that he might be strengthened to enter Into "tho fel lowship of His suffering" and go on even - to a conformity with Him in death. How Did He Do It? "That-1 may win Christ." The prep, osltlon hero Is the significant word— That" It points'us to the method which he discloses In the context. Let us consider what ho says point by point There are six features in his method. The first one is concentra tion. "One thing I do." Paul was careful not to dissipate his [lowers, but with all that was In him he laid himself out to accomplish the one thing .of supreme Importance. It Is here that too many of us fail in our spiritual- lives. We havo loo many irons in the Are—tod many conflicting purposes—we are en deavoring to do' too many things. We do not mako this one great thing of winning Christ tire chief ihterest of our life. Tho kingdom of heaven ie not sought first and Ip such a way as that everything olse must foil In behind It nnd find whatever place It can. We need more concentration. Tho second feature In liU method 1* Calculation. "I count all things but joss tint I mtf kin jUiriit" nad “What tilings were gain to me I counted but loss for the excellency of tho knowl edge Of Christ" After definitely de ciding upon the one supreme object of his Quest he qpjetly and calmly counts the cost of securing this. He faces the issue like a man. Having reckoned what It will require he determines to pay the price. Moreover lio does this deliberately and once for all, so that never in the future will ne hesitate at any expenditure or loss which the quest may necessitate. "What things were gain to me”—that Is, what things In the old life before ho caught hla vis ion of Christ seemed Important, he says, “I counted loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ." They may have been good, but Christ Is better, nnd when it Is r conlllct belwoen them there can be no question hereafter as to which must yield. Christ Is the pearl of greatest price for which all else may well be sacrificed. «The third point In his method Is Rllmlnatlon. This Is but a statement of the other side of concentration, but It Is Important, os It Involves the time element. "This one thing I do, forget ting those things which are behind.” It Is not enough for us to eliminate side issues; we must eliminate tho past—old triumphs, old failures, old weaknesses, old sources of strength, old ambitions, yea, all the lusts and alms of the past must be put away. And not only must theyTie put away; they most bo forgot ten. We must never pull them out again to reconsider or regret them; we must never be looking wistfully back at what we have left, never mournfully recounting what allegiance to Christ has cost us. Too many of us, alas! have failed here. We have not, ns did Paul, courageously sundered ourserves from what lies behind; we have not relentlessly burned all the bridges. The next feature In Paul's method Is his Anticipation. The past Is not only to be forgotten, bbt the future Is to be continually remembered. Like a racer, he Is looking ahead at the goal, and consequently forever "reaching forth to those things which are before.” It Is by thus quickening the ardent passion of his soul, by a constant vision of the ever-nearing goal, that he Is enabled perpetually to know the “expulsive power of a new affection.” which has dynamic enough to drive him ever on ward to thd*attalnment of his quesL The fifth feature Is Animation or Passion—the result >f elimination and anticipation. He pur sues his effort not listlessly, but with all the vigor of a soul on fire. "I press toward the mark." Ah, this Is what wo need—Push, Passion, a Pressing On. We can not float In a millpond and reach the Rlyslan Islands. We must have a port of destination. We must launch out Into the deep and press on through storm and tide until It Is at tained. It Is not enough that our lives be blameless so far the the world may Reckon;,they must be endued with un conquerable power. And last of all, the sixth feature of Paul's mothod is Determination. “I follow on, that I may apprehend” or grasp. “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after. If that I may grasp that for which also I am grasped of Christ Jesus." With a resolute and grim determination that nothing can abash or daunt, he prose cutes hlB quest, scorning low attain ment, content with no compromise until vision shall merge Into experience and Ills Ideal be attained. There Is a splen did Illustration In Columbus of such unconquerable courage, which is neces sary to conquest, and this Is beautifully presented In the stansas of Joaquin Miller describing that Intrepid voyage through the unknown seas: "Behind him lay the gray Asnres, Behind the Gates of Hercules; Before him not tho ghost of shores, Before him only shoreless seas. The good mate said, 'Now must we prgy For lo! the very stars are gone. Brave admiral, speak, what shall I mmyT ‘Why, say "Sail on! Sail on, and on!"' “They sailed and sailed, ns winds might blow, Until at last the blanched mate said: •Why now not even God would know Should I and all my men fall dead. These very winds forget their way. For God from these dread seas Is gone. Now speak, brave admiral, speak and say'— He said; 'Sail on! Sail on, and on!'" Yes, yes. Let us thus press on, what ever may beset us. Oh, Paul, wo thank thee for thy confession; we thank theo for the stimulus of thy splendid life; we thank thee for thy choice. And we, too, by God’s help, one thing will do. Forgetting those things that are be hind and reaching forth unto those things that are before, wo. too, will press toward tho mark for the prise of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Bretton Hall Hotel / Broadway, 85th to 86th Streets, New York City. C, New York's Largest Uptown Hotel, in exclusive residen* tial section,overlooking Hud son River and the famous Riverside Drive. CL Subway Station at door- only ten minutes to theatre and shopping districts,Grand Central and new Pennsyl vania Railroad Stations. CL Moderate prices—unexcelled accommodations —exclusive service and appointments. €U n ideal Summer Residence Hotel for visitors. ANDERSON & PRICE CO. Also Ormond Beach, Fla., and Bretton Woods, N. H. WE LEAD Other, follow. That others Imitate our habits shows that our policy Is sound. “Asconite” Stands fur quality and quality saves money. Us. AS- CONITE QUARTZ or GRAVEL ROOFING and your In- vestment Is Mcure. “You can put H on." ATLANTA SUPPLY CO., MANUFACTURERS, 29-3t South Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Ga. J. C. Greenfield, Prea. C. A. Peek, Sec.