The Religious Outlook

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 22 June 1940, Page 3

The Religious Outlook

“ AND PETER”

A WONDERFUL SERMON Dr Wilbur Chapman, the famous evangelist, will be remembered by many, for the wonderful revival cam-

paign which he conducted some years ago in Australia and New Zealand, in conjunction with Dr Charles Alexander. The following is one of the sermons which were listened to by thousands j of people. To-day, in these few minutes, I wish to speak to you on what I believe is one of the most beautiful, certainly one of the most suggestive texts in all the New Testament. It is found in the 16th chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel, 7th verse —two words—" And Peter.” I There is something about the very I name of this generous, wayward, child- ; hearted man that interests us at once. We study Peter in his failure, and we tremble, for we say to ourselves if a I man like Peter, in close fellowship with i Jesus, with Him on the Mount of | Transfiguration, with Him in the home i of Jairus, with Him in the Garden of Gcthsemane. if he could fail, how carefully we ought to walk in the midst of this sinful and adulterous generation. We study him in his successes, and our hearts give a great bound, for we say to ourselves, "If a man like Peter, profane and uncultured —if he could become the writer of Epistles, and the preacher of the sermon on Pentecost, there is hope for each one of us in these days.” For God is still working, the Spirit of God is still present, and He wants to fill us with power if we are only willing to be filled. A MESSAGE FROM CHRIST The text is an angel’s message to a broken-hearted company of disciples. The Crucifixion scene is over, the rocks i had ceased their throbbing, the crosses on the hillside are still, and a little company of disciples, like sheep without a shepherd, have gathered in one of the upper rooms at Jerusalem. They are well-nigh broken-hearted because Jesus has been crucified, their hopes have been blighted, and they are possibly sitting alone in this upper room talking of the events of the past days. If this statement is true, then there was one man who was not in the company—poor broken-hearted Peter. I think I see him of! in the byways of the city of the King. If there is any man in the New Testament whom I pity it is Peter, and if there is any man anywhere whom I pity it is the man who once knew Jesus Christ, whose heart was once thrilled with His presence, whose testimony once rang with His power, and who, to-day, is away in darkness and away from hope. The message is to him to-day. But if Peter was not of this company, then there is one thing of which I am equally sure, and that is, that these men in the upper room must have been discussing him. I think I hear them talking. One man raising his head to say. as he looks around the room, "Where is Peter?” Another answers with a smile, "Peter! Did you expect 1 him to be here? Did you ever know | him to be faithful to the end?” Then another would say, “I remember how he was always promising and always breaking his promises to the Master;: how when the Master was washing the disciples’ feet Peter said, ‘You shall not wash my feet; how when he started to walk on the waves he went down.” And another would say. ‘‘That was like him. Always promising great things, always failing in the performance of great things.” But there is another thing of which I am equally sure, and that is, it Peter was not of the company, with all his heart he was longing for fellowship. I see him drag his way along the streets of the city. He finds out the room where they are meeting, he begins to ascend the stairs, he drags his feet after him as if they were made of lead, when suddenly his hand touches the latch ofd.he door, and he is about to open it when he hears his name. Pool* broken-hearted Peter! He does not know they are criticising him. His heart gives a great bound, and pushing open the door he steps within. Every eye is raised to see him, but no one advances to speak to him. Poor Peter! If someone in that assembly had risen to greet him, saying, "Peter we are glad to welcome you. We know about your denial of the Master, but we know you, Peter,” I think his heart would have been quite broken. I think we would have had the tenderest scene in all the New Testament in that little upper room. For. listen, if ever there is a time in a man’s life when he needs a word of sympathy, if ever there is

a time in one’s experience when he needs a warm hand-clasp, if ever there is a time when he needs cheer, it is when he is drifting, and drifting, and drifting. Poor Peter! I see him drag his way across the room and sink down on the flood. There is a hush of embarrassment, when suddenly tfiey hear a commotion upon the streets, and a moment later they hear someone ascending the steps of the room, not as Peter a moment ago ascended them, but with feet scarcely seeming to touch the steps. Then the door is thrown open It seems as if all the light of glory had centred in that room, l’or the one that comes is Mary. She has been at the tomb, and the tomb is empty. She has been gazing into the faces of the angels and she comes with an angel’s message --the gladdest message the Christian world has ever known. “lie is risen.” ‘He is risen.” And every disciple springs to his feet. "He has gone over into Galilee. He wants His disciples to meet Him.” And while Mary is still saying it, they rush to the door and down the steps, and away through the streets. All but Peter. Poor brokenI hearted Peter! I think I hear him sayi ing, “Oh, if I had only been true. If I | had only been faithful!” Then I think I I sec Mary turning her face back over |her shoulder to see if there is anyone j left in the room, and she sees Peter i Then she gives the message as the angels had given it to her, and as Jesus had given it to the angels. "He is risen. He wants His disciples to meet Him. Go. tell His disciples, and Peter.” And the only man whose name was mentioned was the man who thought he could not go. The only man that had a special invitation was the man whose heart was almost broken; and, gentlemen, hear me! that is the Saviour 1 preach, mighty to save, mighty to keep, and matchless to love. A minister in one of the Southern ►States of America had preached a sermon on Redemption, and as he closed ti.e service, and the people were passing out, a distinguished judge who had been one of the congregation walked through the vestibule of the church. He came across an old coloured woman who was a nurse in one of the rich families. She had been sitting in the gallery with one of her charges. Gazina into the face rtf this devout old nurse the judge said, “Aunty,, is it not a marvellous thing what the minister says that Jesus Christ should die for you and me.’’ And the old coloured woman with eyes glistening with tearo and her lace shining, said, with trembling lips. No. massa, it is not vonderful, it is just like Him.” And listen! It is like Him to love us all, and to love us in spite of our sins, to love us in spite of our failures. But bless His name, it is like Him to love the man that has fallen

the oftenest and drifted the farthest.! And the text to-day is for him. "Go 1 tell disciples and (put your name! in).” WHAT IS DRIFTING? We have in America a certain class I of people who never see good in anything. We call them pessimists. They! are always looking on the dark side of i things, they never see beauty in any- j thing; they can pick the spots out in a man’s character a thousand miles away. 1 1 They do not need a telescope. If ever you find a man like that he is a thorn 1 in the minister’s flesh. In Christ one 1 day, and imagining he is out of Christ the next day. They are very trying ■ people to live with. In one of our Western Colleges in ! America, one of the professors, who was a real pessimist, was walking along the campus on a beautiful June morn- : ing. There was not a cloud in the sky, the birds were singing beautifully. One of his fellow-professors, meeting him, said, "What is the matter with today? This day is perfect. What is the ■ matter with it?” Well, the pessimistic 1 man looked about him, hoping he could ; see a cloud the size of a man’s hand in j' the sky, or to find some bird that had dropped a note in its song, but every- i thing was perfect, and, shaking his 1 head and passing along, he said, "Well, ■ it won’t last.” If ever you find a man i like that in the church, you will find ; him backsliding three-fourths of his ‘ time. , But that is not the only reason. 1 Sometimes we drift because of the 1 physical conditions. The connection between the physical and spiritual is ’ close and intimate. They act anc’ react upon each other, and sometimes it is 1 because you are ill that your faith in i Christ weakens, but it need not be so. « One day, when I was preaching in a i Western city, they brought into the 1 church an old woman. She had not! 1 been in church for ten years, because! ‘ she was such a sufferer from pain, i 1 After the service was over I asked for i 1 the privilege of meeting her. As I took! < her hand and asked her a question, she - suddenly drew it away and covered her, 1 face with her hands. I could see by I ' the twitching of her lips that she wash suffering. Brushing away her tears she 1 said, “If I could only tell you, sir. For I twenty years I have not been without j 1 pain, for twenty years I have not slept h the night through.” And then one of the paroxysms of pain came on again < and she shuddered before me. "But. r sir.” she said, “if I might tell you this! That in all the twenty years there has never been a day that He has not been with me. In all the twenty years He has given me songs in the night.” Hear 1 me. men! Just because you are weak ‘ physically you need not suffer spirit- < daily. j Third reason, and I cannot under- ■ stand this reason, is this. Sometimes 1 men drift because of trial. Peter knew 1

. that. He said, "You are in heaviness j through manifold trials.” I cannot see | why, when a man’s hea.has been j broken, he should leave Jems. I do not j see why, when you pass through darkness, you should walk wrong. when , your home has been made desolate that j you should turn away from Him. ; A number of years ago D. L. Moody j was holding a mission service in Baltij more, Maryland. Just as he was in the midst of his sermon a detective I came in. He said to one of the ushers. "Did you see such and such a man come into this service?” and the officer described him plainly. The usher said, "Yes, he walked down t’ centre aisle a while ago.” So the detective came ; down to arrest him. On his way down. Mr Moody said n word that arrested him. He sank into a chair to listen. When the service was over the man slipped out. but the detective still ijp-| mained. He was converted that day. l He made his way out to the edge of Baltimore, and said to his wife, "I have accepted Jesus Christ. I mean to live a different life. If : ou will come into church I will come in with you;” and l their daughter joined with them, too. j Toc *d Hall, for I am speaking of him, was a great detective, but he was a ' great preacher, add until the end of j his detective career he preached. He 1 came into my church In Philadelphia, | and I saw hundreds of men walk to the 1 front and take his hand, saying that 1 they would accept Christ. His little 1 daughter went singing everywhere with ' him. One day one of his deacons met my friend, the minister, and said: 1 ' “Todd Hall’s daughter is dead.” The!' minister threw up his hands and said,' 1 "Oh, I hope it has not hurt him.” 1 3 "Hurt him!” said the deacon. "You ' 1 should have been in the room when the * J doctor said she was going. Mr Halil 1 got down on his knees an’ took her) 1 little hand in his. end said "Blessed : God! You gave her to me. You loved ; her. You saved her, and now I give! l her back to Thee.’ And the doctor bent j 1 over and said, ‘Mr Hall, she is going! l quickly.’ ” And Todd Hall could not! * sing very well, but holding on to her!' hand, he raised his face, and began to 1 sing—“And bear her away on your I I snowy wings to her eternal home.” and! 1 the angels took her. Todd Hall rose i s from his grief transfigured. I said to 5 him one day, “Mr Hall, what is the 1 secret of your power?” and he said. c "Suffering.” Yet sorm of you men have * drifted and drifted. Jesus calls you to- s day. "And Peter.” 1 t THE APPLICATION I c Now I will close by saying that there < are two men in the Bible who illustrate £ this. The first is Elijah I see him: t once locking up the heavens and hold- 1 i ing the key. carrying it round with him j 1 in his pocket, as Mr Moody used to say, I r until he got ready to use it, then he un- r locks the heavens. I see him calling c

down fire from Heaven. Then I see him under the juniper tree, saying, "O; Lord, let me die.” Can any of you men tell me what the difficulty was with Elijah? He looked away from God to his surroundings, and there is not a man but will lose the power of his faith if he will do that. Look down, and it is confusion; look up, and it is power. I tell you there is not a minister that can preach if he looks down too much. The second is Peter himself. May I tell you why he drifted? First, he followed Jesus afar off. You never had any ifficulty when you were reading your Bibles, when you were praying, when you were faithful in church. I will tell you when you had your difficulty. It was when you forgot the Bible, and neglected prayeii and stayed away from church, and criticised the minister, and you went down. Secondj ly, he was in bad company. I am not a i bit of a fanatic about the things people should do. or should not do, if they are Christians, but I know this. That a Christian man has no right to fellowship with the world. There has got to be a sharp line betwee*. and youri business partner if he is n a Chris-! tian. An old Scotch woman once said, and you people who are ' otch would j know better what she meant than I, she j said. "Peter had nae business among the flunkeys.” Hear ..e! Any man who calls himself a Christian and fellowships with the world, will drift and drift. But if you have .ifted, Jesus calls you. May I close with this? The last Sunday I spent in my old «hi* ’ in Philadelphia. I was seated on the platform of the great Sunday-school, when an English clergyman came in. Mr Wauamaker, the superintendent of the school, asked him to speak. He told this story, part of which only I had heard: A young girl in London went away from her mother to a life of sin. He said, “This mother came to one ofi my friends, a clergyman, to seek for her daughter. He said to her. ‘Bring me every picture you have of yourself,’ and she brought the picture:. and he wrote underneath the swtet face these i words, ‘Come back.’ The. took the! picture to the mission station, and to the haunts of vice. Months passed, and she didn’t return. But one night she saw just inside the door the picture of the face of her mother th-* had looked 1 down into hers the first with love. For a moment, with tears blinding her eyes, she could not see the words. She brushed them away and saw the invitation. She went out to the edge of London to her home. She put her hand! on the latch of the door to open the ! door, and it yielded to her touch.” He said, "She had no soorcr crossed the threshold than she was in her mother’s arms. Her mother greeted l her with this, ‘Dear child, the door has! never been fastened.’ ” That is God’s' message to you. You may I ave drift- ; ed, you may have denied Him, but the