WORKERS NEEDED

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 43, 14 November 1932, Page 10

WORKERS NEEDED

‘Take Up the Staff Yourself II Kings 4: “And Gehaze passed on before and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing.” Speaking at the Roseneath Presbyterian Church recently, Mr. K. H. Evans said that there was a whole philosophy of life contained in thil failure of Gehaze to restore life to the young sun-smitten lad. The servant was unable to carry a prophetic staff. He was little more than a hypocrite. It was Gehaze who defrauded Naaman tlie Syrian. He used the name of his master, and would probably have used the name of God himself for his own personal gain. Power departed from the staff —well, one was not surprised that it did. It became utterly useless. It could give “neither voice nor hearing to the child.” “Sin impoverishes whenever it clutches. The greatest joys in life are given to the pure in heart. ‘They see God,’ and, seeing Him, have abundant life. They can trust Him with a perfect trust. ‘Whose everlasting purposes embrace all accidents converting them to good.’ To such ones nature speaks of the divine. The flowers are the tabernacles of God, and the song of the birds finds an echo in the soul. “It Is such a saintly writer as Fay Inchfawn who can speak so tenderly of the musk in her mother’s old-fashion-ed garden. It is David Grayson who loves the open road, and writes of his adventures in friendship. The fool says in his heart there is no God, and impoverishes his life by his negation. “To her fair works, did Nature link The human soul that through me ran.”

“It is the heart cry of a lover of Nature, and one who lived near God. "There is another application of our text,” said Mr. Evans. “In witnessing for Jesus Christ, we are still bearing a prophetic staff. ‘Ye shall be my witnesses,’ said Jesus. Witnessing for Him who can bring the dead to life. Bearing His staff. He has promised, ‘Ye shall have power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.’ Well, then, I take it that the secret of effective witnessing is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the servant. There must be an utter consecration to the work of God. Then the staff has power. “The influence of individuals through the ages who have grasped this truth has been tremendous. Italy turned to St. Francis of Assisi and England turned to John Wesley, as the witnessing of these remarkable men became effective. Puritan influences turned the course of English history. You know what Macaulay says of the Puritans: ‘To know God, to serve Him, to enjoy Him, was with them the great end of existence.’ They brought to life the sleeping faith of Britain. “Again, the bearing of the staff is largely a personal matter. There is a call peculiarly yours; there is a call peculiarly mine. To-day the calls are many. The church needs workers, the Sabbath schools need teachers, the sick need visitors, the suffering need help. Take up the staff yourself. Bear It forward. - .‘You will be more than conquerors through Him who loved, you. ”