INSPIRING ADDRESS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 79, Issue 7101, 31 August 1949, Page 7

INSPIRING ADDRESS

CHALLENGING VISIONS LAST NIGHT’S SERMON AT METHODIST SYNOD Ths preacher at last night’s inspirational meeting in the Methcdist Chuch held in connection with che South Auckland District Syhod of the Methodist Church now in session at Te Awamutu was Rev. t J. H. Wbolford, M.A. The address was one oi the most outstanding heard in the town for a considerable time pajt- It was inspir- . ing and challenging and it was de- - livered with’ considerable eloquence and force that appealed to the large congregation. Taking as his text a portion of the first verse of the fourth chapter of Micah, “But in the latter days it shall come to pass,” Mr Woolford said:— We live in such turbulent times that it is fascinating to turn again to the Old Testament prophets. The prophets lived in days so similar to our own that their message is very otten just the one we ourselves need. As we read Micah we notice how he denounces the moral and social evils cf his day. Much of the sin of the people was due to the teaching of certain prophets—false prophets—who preached an easy doctrine of hope and comfort. God would look after his own Whatever they did. But Micah declares that the only hope of the spiritual regeneration of the Nation lies in a crushing retribution. Israel will be scattered abroad and so brought to repentance. The Book of Mican tnen like so many of the writings of the prophets is a mixture of despair and nope, of threatened doom but conditional salvation, of coming disaster but possible restoration. As the prophet looked to the future he could see dark tragedy and doom awaiting the nation. How could it be otherwise if the people persisted in their evil way—if a nation persistently negiects God and His ways the result is always disaster. So Micah at the end of chapter 3 points out the ruin that is coming to Jerusalem. “But” he continues and what a wealth of meaning there is in the little word “but.” As the man of God peered into the future it looked very dark but there was a gleam of light shining through the darkness. “But in the latter days it shall come to pass.”

Because Micah caught a vision of what was to be he was able to carry on his task with fresh energy and zeal. It is always the way. Without some vision we lose the spirit of endeavour. Value of Visions “Our visions,” remarks Jowett, “always determine the quality of our tasks.” It was his conception of what should come to pass in the latter days that determined the task of the prophet. When Bunyan’s Pilgrim was about to continue on his way from the Palace Beautiful his new-found friends led him to the top of the house and bade him look away to the south. When he looked he saw in the distance a most pleasant mountainous country, with beautiful woods, fruits and flowers and streams—the Delectable Moutains. A glimpse of what lay ahead to comfort and inspire him. Notice that this ability of being able .... gaze upon the future and so using the future to help mould the present is one of the distinguishing marks between man and the lower creation. Those who see in evolution a complete explanation cf our life seem to forget this fact- Man is not only a product of the past, he can look ahead—he can form ideals, he can form his visions and set out to make them come true. He can use the future to mould the present. “Planning for the future is always a significant feature of any mature life, —Allport. Children lack this ability to a large extent. They don’t think much of what is to be—they live solely in the present. Yes, and some adults have no vision. They do not think of to-mor-row. They say, “Eat, drink and be merry,” but do not finish the sentenceTruly it has been said, “Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint.” How true that is of our own day. What a difference it. would make if only men and women would think of to-morrow and remember that in the latter days it shall come to pass ... You see without vision we lose the spirit of endeavour. Our visions determine the quality of our tasks.

Reformers as Visionaries It is no wonder all great reformers have been visionaries. They have looked around and seen misery and suffering and injustice but they have seen also something else—they have seen these evils eradicated, they have seen injustice give way to justice. They have seen that in the latter days it shall come *to pass . . . Florence Nightingale had dreams —a vision of a new kind of nurse, one capable of helping the sick by gentle skilful nursing. Her opportunity came during the Crimean War—but first there was the vision, the conviction that in the latter days it shall come to pass. Lord Shaftesbury saw the way children were being treated but he saw also a vision of what might be. John Howard saw the prisons as they were but he glimpsed what they might be and so laboured to get others to see what he saw. Michael Angelo could look at a block of marble and see what it couid become —he would see a figure there where others would see just an ugly useless block. Where one person could see nothing beyond the thing or the conditions that was actually there the other person couid see what might be and what by the Grace of God would be in the latter days. That vision made all the difference. If we are to make the most of life and worthily serve the Kingdom of God there must be some vision —we must look to the future and see what cught to be and than set out to make our dreams come true. Our visions determine the quality of our tasks; we use the future to mould the present. “But in the latter days it shall come to pass.” Our National Life Let us apply this truth as we think about our National life. Micah saw his nation great because of God 'verses 1, 2,5.). Have we this expectation? unless we have our service will

lack zest for without vision we loose the spirit of endeavour. John on the Isle of Patmos looked out on a troubled world and saw the great Roman Empire full of iniquity, drunk with the blood of the saints. But he saw also the Rome that might be “The Holy City, the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” “I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” “But in the latter days it shall come to pass.” Have we any vision of our nation ?

Here, I suggest, is one of the danger spots in a system of Compulsory Military Training. As young men are trained in the methods of modern warfare what is the picture that they will be getting in their minds? What will they see as they prepare and look to the future? Almost inevitably it will be picture of war and because we use the future to mould the present it will make war more likely. However difficult it may be iet us endeavour to keep a vision of a time when nations shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghcoks; when, nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (verse 3.). Have we a vision of our nation great? Great—not because of her force of arms, and skill in former politics, not because of her wealth, not merely because of her humanitarian legislation, but great because of God; great because of loyalty and devotion to the purposes of God. “See Athens as she might be,” cried Pericles, th a famous old Greek orator and statesman, “see Athens as she might be and give her your love.” And I say to you, “See your nation as she might be and give her your love.”

“But in the latter days it shall come to pass.” Church Life

Let us apply this truth to our church life. What will our church become in the days that lie ahead ? Have we any ideals for her? Our service will be very haphazard unless we have some vision for our visions determine the quality of our tasks and we use the future to mould the present.

Dr Oman says something that our interest in the church should be, “like an artist’s in his work.’' The artist gets his material together and arranges his pigment on the canvas but his work always follows his vision and is controlled every moment by it. Every movement of his brush is an attempt to try and express something he has seen. Now if the picture is not a success he will not be able to make it a success by daubing on more colours by say more scientific means; by using a spraying machine for example. His only way to success is to see the vision again for himself more clearly and to discipline himself that he may better express what he sees. The vision is what matters; the work with brush and paint must follow the vision.

“But in the latter days it shall come to pass.” Some men caught a vision of the churches of the world working together in harmony and cooperation . . . some talk about a World Church. So we have the great gathering of the World Council of Churches at Amsterdam twelve months ago. Have we a picture in our minds of what might be? A vision that is being worked out and expressed in the Ecumenical Movement? However blurred the picture may be, however indistinct the vision may be, unless we have caught some glimpse of a World Church, we are out of touch with eno of the most significant things in the life of the church today and so our service must suffer. “See Athens as she might be and give her your love.” See the Church of Jesus Christ as she might be and give her your love. Churchill’s Famous Words

For too long the picture we have had in our minds of the church has been that of a small body of people holding on grimly against terrific odds that seemed too great. Although we have not dared to say so we have even seen the church overwhelmed by the forces of evil. There was a time in 1940 when the people of England were afraid. As they looked into the future they saw an invading army that nothing could withstand. In that moment of the nation’s crisis there came a man who shows many characteristics that are the very opposite cf those commended by our Lord, but who is a master in the pse of words, in June, 1940, Mr Churchill spoke to the nation. “We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the landing grounds, ■we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” By his speaking the thinking -of a nation was changed; there came a new unforgettable picture in the minds of millions, the picture of a defending army giving ground but never giving up, and fear gave way to confidence. New Picture Needed We need a new picture in our minds of the church. We need to see her not merely holding onjjrimly against the advancing forces of evil but marching forward in triumph for Christ and His Kingdom. As a church we are for a Crusade. The Spiritual Advance Committee has been sending out material and information; in various places meetings have been held and organisers busy. But the Crusade has not started yet, it is not to be launched until Conference in November. What then are we trying to do this year? This is a year of preparation. I suggest that what the Spiritual Advance Committee has been trying to do, and doing it, is to change our thinking. To give us a new picture, a new vision of the church and her work. They have been trying to help us to see the church not as defeated but as confidently moving forward in an aggressive Crusade to win men and women for the Kingdom. Have we any vision for our church? Have we tried to picture the kind of church cur Lcrd would desire. But in the latter days it shall come to passOur visions determine the quality of our tasks—we can use the future to mould the present. Truth Applied to Individuals

Let us apply this truth in dealing with individual men and women. As we go out to win them for Christ it is not sufficient that we see them only as they are. We must see them as they might be and as they will be by the Grace of God. That is whjat Jesus did. He looked at Peter impetuous, unstable and He saw Peter, the Rock.

He looked at the despised, the outcasts from respectable society and He saw in them a spark of the Divine. He saw what they might become when they themselves saw the possibilities of a new life.

If a man is to be changed he must change his thinking. He must get a new picture—see himself as he wants to be. As Canon Peter Green puts it, a man should say: “Let me sketch on the blackboard of my mind, the sort of man I ought to be, and given time, I will become that man.” Now we can only help people to catch a vision of a transformed life if we first catch that vision ourselves. Really believe a man can be changed and see him as he will be. Need For Vision

“But in the latter days it shall come to pass.” The need for the vision of a goal for the individual life brings us to an aspect of our Methodist emphasis that is often neglected. John Wesley set before his converts the visions of a goal, the possibility of Christian Perfection. It is not sufficient that men be Christian. The church is not going to cut much ice until we have better Christians. It is not enough that men be converted. They must be able to sing, “He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free.” Dr Sangster reminds us that Wesley was able to constrain his converts to go on and become evangelists themselves because of his Class Meeting and his teaching on entire sanctification..

We must help men and women to realise that there are no limits to the possibilities of growth in Christian character. We must hold before their eyes the vision of a life of love—a love which is the very life of God in the soul. We must not allow our people to remain content with the lower levels of Christian experience. We must point them to the heights. “But in the latter days it shall come to pass.” What is our vision. I see men and women so transformed by the power of God that they love Him with all their heart and soul and strength and mind and their neighbour as themselves. I see them united in a great church serving with such devotion that the powers of evil are unable to stand against them. I see the nation the whole of life transformed and all things made new. “For all people will walk every one in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.”

May God give us Grace to catch a vision like that. At the close of the address the chairman of the Synod, Rev. C. H. Olds, of St. Paul’s Methodist Church, Hapiilton said he felt sure that they had all caught a glimpse of the vision and they would carry away with them a determination to put that vision into practice.