SUNDAY HEADING

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8878, 14 May 1892, Page 4 (Supplement)

SUNDAY HEADING

AN ADDRESS TO BUSINESS MEN.

[JSY KKV. JOHN M'NKILL.]

A roan that is called Jesus, mado ci'iy and anointed (or smuamt) mine eyes and said unto me, go to the pool of Siloftin and wash ; and X went Mid washed, and I received sight.—John is., 11. Hkkk is personal testimony. And after all, seeing that religion is still the great matter of controversy, there is no better contribution to the generation-long discussion than one's own stone upon the cairn. The scientific method is much wanted to-day; it has always been the best method of the Church's apologetic. We simply point to drunkards converted, harlots made chaste, covetous men made liberal, and ask them to give their own testimony. Right there before they have spoken ten sentences, every soul of them will utter the name of Jesus as being the be-all and the end-all of whatever mighty change has passed upon them. I say it is high time that in this tremendous controversy, with the battle thickening at all points, the Church should bring to bear her best weapon of personal testimony. Jesus Christ is the biggest trouble in tho world to-day—in business, in commerce, in tin: home—everywhere. I want to ask every man of you if you have made a contribution to this question : and if so, has it come along this line of personal testimony? Has Jesus done something for us that at all corresponds to this man's experience? If not, why not? Notice that the heart of the testimony is Jesus. 1 do not care who you are ; but if you stand 111> here to-day and tell your biography, and if it does not run out into the name of Jesus, it is not worth listening to. The man who tells his story, or who writes and publishes it, if the centre and circumference of it is not Jesus, whatever little light is in it, it will soon flicker out into darkness. livery lamp that lie has not lit shall sputter out finally into total darkness, and every lamp that he has kindled shall shine like the stars for ever ami ever.

Look at this blind beggar. He is a greater man to-day than Alexander. The most that we know about Alexander, I suppose, is what we got in out school books—that he sat down and cried because he had no more worlds to conquer. I hope, for hi.? own sake, that modern criticism will spoil that story, as it has many another. But this blind man is a bigger man to-day than yesterday, and his light will shine more brightly still tomorrow. BECAUSE JESUS IS ITS CENTRE. We all want to live, and to make the best of life. We like to be remembeaed alter we are gone, and to be heard tell of again. And so you shall if Jesus Christ gets into the centre of your life. That young fellow down there, who has slipped in here, calls himself of no account. Let him take Jesus into the heart of his life, and he will be heard of yet. My young friend, He will make you a burning and a, shining light to His praise and glory. This is not the ptory of a beggar. No, no. It is the story of a beggar, plus Jesus. And that "plus" is die x that will multiply your life to the «th power—lf I may remind you of your algebra. Perhaps the formula is about all that we know of it by this time. The darkness, the weariness, the insignificance, the misery, the loss of independence—all old things will pass away, and you will walk under new skies, because the Light of life has come.

As it was with this blind beggar, so it comes to us still I waken up some day to discover that Jesus and I are contemporary ; and every miracle of bodily healing recorded here is for me a parable of spiritual grace. His work in the visible world is but a picture of how He can cure spiritual blindness and lead men out of spiritual beggary and bankruptcy ; how He can enable me to do my own day's work ; give me my own independence ; make my own life, worked out by my own hand, worth living. How did He do it? He " made clay and anointed mine eyes.'' I want to say that just as the Lord dealt with that man physicallyin a region where you could see Him and follow Him— He works in the invisible region of faith and spirit. There is a stage at which Christ's work on me may seem rather to add to the darkness, ami MAKE CONFUSION' WORSE CONFOUNDED. To make clay, moisten it with the moisture from His own blessed mouth, and smear that upon a man's eves—why that would ruin eyes that see. 80 there is a stage, paradoxical as it may seem, at which Jesus Christ and His Gospel seem to deepen the darkness in a man's soul.

i 1 auv of you arc at that stage, lie low; keep close ; "but; do not lose hope or heart. The Gospel requires 110 exaggeration and no false notes. Do not say you feel something you do not feel. Do not construct a more or less elaborate make believe that you are something you know you arc not. If some of us to-day are natural—and I trust we all will be, for first there is that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual—we will admit that at the stage we have reached Jesus Christ and His Gospel simply thicken the darkness. In the case of many there is 110 name on the tongues of men more opaque than the name of Jesus; no book darker than the Bible. Do not force yourself to praise the Bible because it is the correct thing to do; simply tell the truth. It may be that the Gospel is the most irritating thing you ever listened to. You are simply glowering into the darkness as you hear it. You can listen to politics, or science, or commercial matters, and can keep wide-awake ; but when you come to religion, the darkness deepens. The minister is a weariness ; but lie is not altogether to blame. There is a good deal of preaching, but there is also a deal of mighty poor listening. It is so in the nature of the case. You are on the road to brightness, but I say there is a stage ot which the very Gospel seems to thicken the darkness. It is in grace as in nature ; it is the old story — TIIK DARKEST HOOB BEFORE THE DAWN. So it is sometimes at the very end ; conscience, reason, memory, intelligence—all fading and flickering away at the dying moment, just before the soul is ushered into the blinding blaze, the larger life, the loftier activities of the world to come. So it may be with some of you who are not young. Grey hairs may be upon you. You are a decent man as the world counts it, and you deserve to be so counted. But you may still be at that stage when the Gospel is a puzzle and a torment. Men round about you are saying it is so bright and clear and simple; but if you are honest you will say, "I can make nothing of it." The explanation lies here: The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit, because they are spiritually discerned. The carnal mind is enmity against God ; and the very Gospel itself .is an irritation at first.

How did the darkness lift ? What a philosopher this man was, though he was a blind beggar. When the man called Jesus smeared his eyes with clay, he said to himself, " I will wait." He did not see the man who anointed him, but perhaps there was something on the tips of Christ's fingers that made him wonder whether he was not in his Maker's hands. My friend, do not go away, although it may seem foolish to take clay and make an 'optic nerve out of it. Hold on a bit. Did Christ not take clay one morning and make a whole man out of it— whole man, eyes and all Christ was wonderfully consistent in what He did. The beggar had got back into his Maker's hands.

So with us when our Lord's fingers in the Gospel are working round about our debility and breakdown. Let Him do His work. I am preaching to you salvation and brightness that shall be eternal to heart and mind and feet through simple faith in Jesus Christ; though the one looks as foolish as the other to the natural understanding. Suppose you never heard the Gospel before, in the brief way that I have stated it, it seems, perhaps, to your mind, to thicken the darkness, How does it save ? "Go to the pool of Siloam and wash. I went and washed, and I received sight." Practically salvation from darkness, from ignorance, and from all that it involves —stumbling on into the outer darkness comes to me along the simple lino of obedience. " Jesus Christ is the Author of eternal sal ration to them that obey Him." Obedience

is just ringing the changes on fnUu should get to be commonplace? h ' le « ik So coin grows smooth in »«■..« . Till Caesar's image is efface, at lis J" 6 "' Pa,,e <>, God reveals Him in different nl,, one good custom should coirinE 0 ' "'««» Goon; be and do all as tor Hi, ewc flfl" Him, and this wonderful chanL"v^'n 1 fr "m 1 his may not explain every ,><»,, • Cor "e. it will explain some, and that ' i m '? n ' C Do not kick or fret. Do not ,]l, lll , c "'nt the Lord and the Gospel should " <l th « whims, caprices, and foregone „„ SU , U )' fj Ur No doctor would listen to you if v usi °n«. dare to order him or dictate to him . s! "" ll 'l think your trouble ought to he tr',7 J "" 1 ' with Jesus Christ. You are in , ed " So desperate darkness, for the Divine* ,tat(! °t of His free spirit has not been ui, ( „',° t ,l( ' r,lti "n not say : I think this, that, or tIT ,' 3 thing. Lie m His hand as the r i ° tller potter's wheel. Be obedient So/rV to ttla bulando: the thing will he '"s'olv.i r amgoing" in many cases. ' 111 the 1 see this man going away to w»„|, ~ believe the hardest part of it was in 'i <lnJ 1 two or three steps. There must ha T tlr " strong temptation to turn round and <t n 1 «av: "Do not add insult to niV . ° ! ' aml What kind of quackery is this- a r'f' 7 - been trying to avoid quacks all mv ! IV ' But, whatever he felt, lie set his hJk" 7 ' clenched himself hard, and au,

SKTS HIMSKLF AG'OI.S,;. God be praised, 1 believe 1 shall , you started to-day to go ; no li)ii"erV' Jmt °' and fly in the {ace of preacher and m , ' ir - u « and say: "How is that so-and-so ' v^ e ' go along and say: "God lic-lnii,,, ,L f a ,i try." h ' i will The mail started, and at last lie * 0 t m i pool. I see him stooping down to a ,|i l ' 1? as he did so, that clay mixed with tl',. literally became the " solution" of ; I j., vr - l « r culty—the lotion for /lis blindness. ' A,' 1 '?" apostle says, " The word prenchoif— tl . ■ ' the clay to human wisdom--" not i '- 14 mixed with faith in them that h<ar' » not profit. The clay was laid ou V ,\i" did not go and wash. 1 I cannot tell how the cure was c \ , t , neither could he. There are more thin'..! heaven and earth than are dreamt of in*. 10 of the phlosophies. The last link id process was as mysterious as -my „< ,/" others. The man would say : " 1 stoot', down and washed : I rose up, and, wom' of wonders, for the first time I saw th,'"''" blue skies, the Temple turrets am' tow,.'*' the trees, the sweet faces of my fellow-,^' 1 ' I came away from the pool saying. (; 0 ,j eD f Abraham! what a world! ami 1 "called it dark and dreary world. Many a day 1 nisi.,.,} that I were dead, and at the noontide h,,! I stumbled and groped for the wall. \, nf r what a world it is !_ Surely the IL-htU sw.cr' and a pleasant thing it is for tin; ( .y e . ' behold the sun !" 11

Why do I ask you to come here? B*. lieve me, I would not be guilty of the rudeness of .asking business men if. cine here that I might speak to thein about i,p<t ness. You know more about that than I,'w Aut I think I have a message ["rum (iori thv justifies this gathering to-day. Tiiei.. "j'/j world of light, a world of peace, a world'if exquisite beauty; and that world beats all round about thee, as the sweet, natural sun. li;;ht beats round the darkened eyes of th« blind man. Oh, that thou mayest see that world of which Jesus Christ is the Centra and the Sun ; so that when you see Ilim you are already in eternity; you are away f,,,,, the mist and darkness of time ami .sense an','i sin; the curtain has been lifted, "yourlife is hid with Christ in God."

Far from tliu worM of fjriuf and sin, With God eternally shut in. You are translatedbeautiful expression!from the kingdom of darkness to the kinjku of God's dear .Son.

There is no more to say virtually ; the thin* now is to do. You are practical business men. I like to meet with practical men. i am wearied with speaking to iiii|>nutk\,l people, who listen and go away ami do nothing. God lie praised, the Gospel will get to-day. You say business is business. have got you into my trap beautifully. Fall to now and believe. Be true to your own creed. Believe, obey, and not a few of von will a r i out of these doors in the light of life.

ALL FOR JESUS. Have you heard the Master speaking, And responded to the call ? Have you with truo-heartnd gladness, Iteally given Jesus " all ?" Have you told Him that your "service" Never more shall lie your own, But the life that He has ransomed

.Shall he lived for Him alone? Have von rolled on His strong shoulder All your weary weight of care Does He now your burden carry, Have you really left it there ? Can you trust Him in the darkness Just as well as in the light ? re you sure the " way" He leads you Can be nothing else but " right ?'■ Have you brought Him all your "pleasures, * .Simply laid them at His feet, Asking Him to take— lend you Those most fitting and most meet ? Have you found your cup of Messing Filled tip to the very brim, Since you learned in glad obedience Never to say " No" to Him ? Does the thought, " It is for Jesus !" Make each irksome duty light ? Are the " humdrum things" done always Consciously as in His sight ? Does He simply manage for you, Things of great import or small? If not, Why not? As your Master, Oh, let "Jesus" take your "all." May the "time past" '*3 sufficient For all "other lords' to reign, From henceforth let no usurper Enter Jesus Christ's domain. S.M.C.