Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 231, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 October 1918 — Three Needs of Christian Workers [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Three Needs of Christian Workers

By REV. B. B. SUTCLIFFE

Extension Department, Moody Bibb Institute, Chicago

TEXT—Be of good courage and let us behave ourselves valiantly, and let the Lord do that which Is good in his sight.— I Chron. 19:13. , Joab, the commander in chief of David’s army, found himself between

two fires. Ths army of the Syrians opposed him on one ride and the army ol the Ammonite* on the other. Employing the best tactics he knew and placing hi* army to the bed advantage, h* made an addres* to his men on th* eve of battle. Th< text is part 01 that addres* which reminded them they were

about to fight for their people and the cities of their God. His exhortation might well be pondered by all Christians today and especially those who are more or less directly engaged in Christian work. There are| three things upon the surface of this text. I. The Need of Courage. - It is said of some regiments in human armies that they are so foolish as never to know when they are beaten. It is not foolishness that is the trouble, but a high-hearted courage which will not admit defeat or which takes a defeat and wrestles It into a victory. The Christian worker, above all others, should have such good courage. He has a Leader who is possessed of all wisdom and knowledge—a Leader who knows the secret plans of the enemy. He is aware even of the secret thoughts of the enemy. He is-never taken off his guard, or by surprise. He is fully informed of every movement. He gives promise to his people that no weapon formed against them shall prosper. Her is a Leader who not only has all knowledge, but all power to use his knowledge. He is the Invincible Ohe. Sometimes a man finds himself in possession of valuable knowledge which is valueless to him because of a lacK of power. He has not the ability to use what he knows. But unto our Lord has been given all power in heaven and in earth. Be of good courage, then, no matter what odds we face, knowing there is more with us than with the enemy. The message of the saint of old is well worth remembering—“ One with God fs always a majority.” This is. still true. God who gave the victory to his people in olden days Is the same God. There is no change in our Leader. He Is the same yesterday, today and forever. Following him, the Christian Is assured of ultimate victory. It may seem as though we were hedged In by overwhelming forces and defeat is certain, but wo may have good courage as we look away from the opposing hosts to the one whom we follow; 11. The Need of Valiant Behavior. The Revised Version renders this by “play the njrfh.” It means simply to “do your best” To do one’s best is to tyehave valiantly. No matter if others may do better than we, the need is to do our best We are to “play the man” and not*be like children who become discouraged because someone else does better than they can do. We must just keep on doing our part to the best of our ability. Much wa< dependent on each man of Moab’s army behaving valiantly. Much more depends on each Christian doing his best We must “play the man” for the honor of the name of him whose we are and whom we serve. He does not expect us to weakly surrender but to stand up to the fight, behaving ourselves valiantly; we must meet his expectations. Then again, the well being of the church depends on each doing his best. The church is the body of Christ and we are all members of that body. If one member suffers, all the others suffer with it. When one member fails to behave valiantly, all the others are Injured. On the other hand, all the members are blessed each time we do our level best. Again our own personal growth in grace follows such behavior. If we would be strong in faith, ard experience the delight of the approval of our Lord, we will go forth to “play the man” in the name of our God. 111. The Need of Trust “Let the Lord do that which is good In his sight” We are not to think that results from our work shall be in accord with what we imagine they should be. He may have purposes to fulfill by our work other than we know. We are naturally eager to obtain results which are good in our own sight We may make serious mistakes, not knowing all our Leader knows, and desire results which would not be good In his sight We need to trust him fully; to believe he knows what is best; to revel in a high-heart-ed courage which grows from the certainty of final victory; to keep on doing our best and allow him to do that which Is good in his right irrespectiye of whether It is good in ours or not