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the meaning of the word Lord as we find it used
here? It means Divine Sovereign.
As our Divine Sovereign, there are five things
that we are to keep in mind. First, His attitude
with respect to life. He cannot be our Master un
less we have His attitude, for He does not simply
master the flesh, He masters the will; He masters
the spirit; the inner man as well as the outer man;
the whole of life, body, soul and spirit. Thus mas
tered, we assume His attitude with respect to life.
That is to say, we assume first His attitude with
reference to the Father; second, with respect to the
devil; third, with respect to enemies; fourth, with
respect to lost souls.
It seems to me that this compasses the whole
realm of his life. Let us see. As our Divine Sov
ereign we have assumed His attitude with respect
to everything. First, what was His attitude with
respect to the Father? Here it is: 4 ‘My meat is
to do my Father’s will.” Now, when we speak of
Jesus as our Lord and Master, if we speak, the
truth we mean this, that our meat is to do the will
of our Father and nothing else. Is it our meat to
do the will of our Father in heaven, or do we want
to do partly our Father’s will, and partly our own
will? If the former is true, then we have a right
to join in with Paul, and say, “Our Lord.” If this
is not true, we cannot say it.
His attitude with respect to the devil. After the
Baptism Jesus was led up into the wilderness to ba
tempted of the devil. The Spirit often does this.
He leads man in the ways of temptation that He
may try him, but He does not propose to turn His
back on him after He has led him there.
When Jesus got up into the wilderness He was
struck at three points common to man. He was
struck at the point of His appetite. He was struck
at the point of faith. He was struck at the point
of desire for worldly possession. What was Jesus’
attitude toward the devil at these points? Here it
is, “Get thee hence.”
Take the attitude of Jesus concerning His ene
mies that we assume likewise if He is our Lord.
What was His attitude concerning His enemies?
Hanging upon Calvary’s cross, with His enemies
mocking, jeering and actually crucifying Him with
out cause, what was His attitude? What, may I
suggest, would have been your attitude? What has
been your attitude about things that do not ap
proach the crucifixion? “Father, forgive them.
They know not what they do.” Our attitude too
frequently about our enemies is to curse them. They
are after us. They are interfering with our rights.
Jesus’ attitude was, “Father, forgive them.” Men
who join with the apostle Paul and say, “Our
Lord,” are the men who have that attitude concern
ing his enemies. If you have not that attitude, stop
calling Him “Our Lord.” It is mockery.
Is it true that He is our Lord, our Divine Sov
ereign, the ruling Master of our whole being ? If
it is not, He is nothing.
Lastly, take His attitude concerning lost souls.
What is His attitude with respect to them? “The
Son of Man came to seek and to save that which
was lost.” That is to say, the whole mission of
Jesus was seeking so save the lost. If Jesus ate a
meal, it was to enable Him to do the work of His
Father in saving souls. If Jesus made a garment,
or purchased one, if He dressed Himself in the
morning, it was that He might win souls. If Jesus
studied to know the customs of the people, it was
that through the observance of the customs of the
people He might better win souls to Christ. Now,
my brethren, hear this: Jesus said, “As my Fath
er hath sent me, even so send I you.” Thqt is to
say, the mission that Jesus had, we have, if He is
our Lord and Master. If He is our Divine Sover
eign, then His mission is our mission, and just as
everything He did was for the purpose of enabling
him to do more soul winning, so it must be true with
us. If you are a merchant, your merchandise is
to help you do more soul-winning. If you are a
housekeeper, or nurse, it is the same. The one ob
ject of every child of God who says, “My Lord
and Master” is to win souls to Christ.
The other day I took up a magnet. It was a very
strong instrument. I observed that it took up a
piece of steel two or three times its own weight.
When that piece of steel was covered with tin or
The Golden Age for August 8, 1907.
nickel it did not pick it up. You can rub the mag
net all over it, and it will stay where it is. There
is no connection between the steel and the power
of the magnet. The piece of tin cuts it off from
the pov’er of the magnet. Now, Jesus Christ as
our Lord and Master, as our Divine Sovereign, is
the great magnet of power. The only reason today
why we have missed the life of Jesus Christ with
its power, is because He as our great magnet is
severed from us by the coating of unbelief that we
have covered our lives with, and the only need
of the church today, as I see it, is to get the coating
off and let Christ as Magnet, and ourselves come
in touch. When we do this, the power of heaven,
courses through our lives and lifts us into the pres
ence of our Lord.
* *
Among, the Workers.
“Rev. J. L. Gross, Houston, recently held a fine
meeting at Livingston, Texas, in which many strong
men were saved, and several joined the Baptist
Church. ’’ —Baptist Standard.
The compiler of these notes cherishes remi
niscences of Livingston of the most tender charac
ter, and Brother Gross is a beloved Georgian.
The Countess’ Daughters, a class of young ladies
at the Baptist Tabernacle, had charge of the tent
meeting for two weeks in the Soldiers’ Home neigh
boihood. The preaching was done by Rev. Mr.
Price, the teacher of the class. Many were convert
ed. S ime of the old veterans at the Home were
among the saved. , i jigg.
I|cv. E. H. Peacock, the assistant pastor of the
Tabernacle, and the general manager of the City
Mission and outside evangelistic work, is engaged
in a tent meeting near the foot of Kennesaw Moun
tain, just outside of Marietta, Ga. Mr. Peacock an
nounced on Sunday morning at the Tabernacle that
it is : ntended to secure a suitable tract of land in
that country and establish a permanent summer
camp meeting place, to be used each year during
August under the auspices of the Tabernacle.
He who announces that he takes the Sermon on
the Mount as his rule of life can “make good”
only by absolute submission to the will of God
and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Either the
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affirmation is an ignorant and therefore foolish
one, or it is based upon a deep conviction of the
indwelling and compelling power of God in the
soul. To live up to the spirit of the Sermon is
the most strenuous task that mortal man can un
dertake^ —an impossible task without divine as
sistance.
The “Commonwealth,” of Philadelphia, speak
ing of the results of the meeting held in that city
by Gipsy Smith, says:
“After a somewhat careful investigation by the
editor, who was chairman of the general committee
and so in close touch with the work throughout, it
has been impossible to locate ten who have united
with the Baptist churches as a result of the mis
sion. About two months have passed since the mis
sion closed; the work was thoroughly organized
and names sent immediately to pastors. This result
is distinctly saddening. What became of the 126
who professed preference for the Baptists it is
impossible to tell; that they are not in our church
es seems almost positive.
“We believe in the value of the mission; we
would advocate it again most earnestly, and we be
lieve Gipsy Smith one of the greatest preachers of
the age, but one thing seems certain: the value of
this kind of a mission to get people into the
churches is practically nil. The results of the
great Torrey-Alexander meetings in Philadelphia,
carried on for three months and with the most per
fect of organizations and the largest advertisement,
were deplorably small and far below what was -
pected. This is not saying that the meetings were
of no value nor is it underestimating their value.
As a spiritual uplift, an intellectual stimulus and a
creator of church activity they are beyond esti
mate, and it is on this basis that we must pass
judgment. The fact remains that the best force
for reaching the unconverted is the local pastor and
the local church.”
The meeting held by Gipsy Smith at Brough
ton’s Tabernacle was not what the Commonwealth
calls a “mission.” It was simply a series of evan
gelistic sermons during the annual Bible confer
ence. Scores were converted, and very many were
added to the church by baptism soon after the
conference. The safer plan is to do the work in
the churches and for the churches, concludes the
Commonwealth’s article.
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