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Show (i - j ELMER I. GOSHEN'S '! I PTTBLISHED -rm-mf- . - -.lr !; Tslspraja' Special ' ! I j etebt momdat. SUN DAY SER M ON I m- j j solitudes of the mountains he had nursed the Idaas of his life and his mission mis-sion upon his faith in God. Under the open Syrian sky he had brooded over his task and had comprehended Its greatness. Out of his brooding and his s illtude he came forth an orator with masterful Imagery and with awful invective. in-vective. He struck against Iniquity high and lowelegar.t and vulgar. The crowd went to hear him and ha preached to them of righteousness and of Judgment to come. The aristocrats went g'irbd in their costly jv.rments and robed In their proud conceit. They were proud that Abraham was their father. But this man stood among the scattered rocks on the river bank and told them that God was able of these stones to raise up hlldren untd Abra-1 Abra-1 am. His splendid enthusiasm and intense in-tense earnestness arousd the slumber-iiig slumber-iiig comciences of even this form-cursed form-cursed crowd, and when they heard Him say," "Behold the kingdom of K;aven Is at hand" then they remembered remem-bered the scriptures of old, that told of one who would come to establish the Kingdom and to lead mankind even to the citadel of eternal truth and they said this must be the Messiah this is John !.. 23. He said, I am the voice of one crying cry-ing In the wilderness, make' straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet pro-phet Esaias. Jerusalem had begun to feel the corrupting cor-rupting influence from which Rome -"was tottering. Eplcurianism and stoicism stoi-cism stalked the streets, and the spiritual spirit-ual ideas of the pact lived only in a few .of the noblest souls. Form and ceremonials cere-monials hid taken the place of soul end character qualities; outward washings wash-ings and baptizing bad been raised to importance over inner cleansing and purifying. The best of the past was dead, the hope of the future had not ' vyet appeared. , Just then it was rumored in Galilee that. In the wilderness of Judea, "a man of extraordinary intensity of conviction con-viction and power of eloquence was preaching in that desolate and craggy region rear the outflowing of the Jordan. Jor-dan. The man's influence was already 1-elng felt and for a moment, the chattering chat-tering Rabbis were forgotten. He wore a cress that reminded his hearers who knew history, of the "lofty-souled" Elijah. Eli-jah. Thia man had long been in prep-c prep-c ration for his work." In the majestic Is evidence of the utter Inability of the old Interpretations to meet modern needs. There never was a time when so many souls were asking what is truth as just today. There never was a time when true forerunners of the larger hope and of the larger message were so much needed apd demanded. Oh, you who have felt something of the Joy and power of a life centered or. God, great is your responsibility. Do you dare to shirk it? Do you dare to stand back and watch others bear the burdens? Do you dare te withhold yourself from the active work of pro agatlng'and enlarging the Kingdom Of God upon the earth? If you do. It V111 be at the price, of your manhood and womanhood. FoV your ease and your indifference you will pay the price of your soul for it will shrink until it is the mere ghost' of Us former self and to you life will be a barren and an ln-I'lpid ln-I'lpid thing. What need for forerunners? What need for voices? The country, the school, the family await them. The church needs consecrated men and women wo-men who will work not to bolster up some petty dogma or sectarian Idea of supposed truth, but who. day In and day out, will live a sweet and helpful life and in a definite way seek to help men and women to-nnd and to tnjoy a life centered on Him, who alone can make life worth the living. You to whom I speak have Just this opportunity. Will yod be great and noble enough to live within the contracted con-tracted cell of your own selfish desires and so defeat the noblest plans of your life? Some years ago a little girl In one of our lajge cities went to a mission Sunday-school and asked to be put in a c'ass. The pastor told . her that the classes were so crowded that there was no more room, and that the church was co small that no new classes could be formed. The girl was greatly disappointed, disap-pointed, and began to save her pennies fb build a larger church. She told no one about the plan, and when the pastor pas-tor was called to her bedsidV in a few months time he saw nothing unusual only a frail little child of six and a half years. The little sufferer died, and a week later there were found In her little pocket book 57 pennies and a scrap of Taper.. which told in childish print of her plan and self-denial. The story of .that little pocket book and 11s contents got abroad. It touched the heart of the community. Her inspiration became a prophecy, and men labored and women sang and children saved to aid In its fulfilment. Those 57 penr.Ies became the nucleus of a fund which In six years grew to i:.r0.0OO; and tcday this little girl's picture pic-ture hanps in the hallway of a college col-lege buiMing where 1400 students attend. at-tend. Connected with It Is a church which toats 8000 people and a hospital for children and a Sunday-school rjom large enough for all who may come, and that splendid institution is her undying un-dying monument. "fjhe was literally a voice crying in the wilderness of the great city, and her childish devotion said to saint and to sinner, "Prepare ye the way ofj the Lord." Oh, you men and women whom I address ad-dress today, the call comes to you to proclaim the .najesty, the power, the beauty of truth. Go forth to be a voice crying In the wilderness, and because of you some desert shall blossom with the rose, some barrenness shall rejclce, some discouraged, sin-sick soul shall lift hta oice to Join the anthem of the universe, uni-verse, and to proclaim for himself and for his fellows the unsearchable riches of the Kingdom of God. Only a voice but the wilderness of some life Is waiting Its sound Only a voice but some lonely, desolate heart shall, because of that voice, find the melodies and the harmonies of life. Only a voice, but sounding It and Its message shall reach some poor discouraged dis-couraged man or woman, and they shall find courage to pick up .the tangled thread of life and go with face turned towards the rieing sun. Only a voic but let It be heard, and some poor shipwrecked soul who laments la-ments over the past and despairs concerning con-cerning the futurj, shall light the candle can-dle of hope and shall hear through that voice the old message with a new meaning, "Let not your heart be troubled, trou-bled, neither let it be afraid." , r1 ; -riper mind or richer character, search-inc search-inc the crannies of time, demanding of science her secrets, wresting from bird and from rock the story of the universe and all this not in order that he might win simply fame or honor, but In order that he might be a voice that should say: to the scholarship of the 19th and 20th centuries, prepare ye the way of the Lord. To you and me. iot less than to all these, comes the privilege and responsibility respon-sibility -of being b voice that shall awaken some conscience and lead some soul Into the sunlight of God's" truth. To be a volce-ywhat a matchless privilege what a 'tremendous responsibilityfor respon-sibilityfor privilege and responsibility responsibil-ity are always and forever linked together. to-gether. And believe me, we shall never have the privilege of the richest living unless we are willing to assume the complete burden of stern responsibility. The voice of the forerunner largely determines what men shall think of the one announced. The Jews got their idea of the Christ from John so will men get theirs from us. Religion is a great force, but it requires re-quires a personality to exhibit that force. It Is not In theories, nor in arguments, ar-guments, nor In controversies that Its teal power Is manifested, but in the lives of men. "From persons radiate the powers which have made history. Thought is great, but thought is powerless, pow-erless, till It is wedded with the man vho gives It expression action, action, action has been the cry, but what Is action In its noblest sense if It be not the expression of personalized thought? All great religions have centered around a person: and no religion has ever achieved any real greatness which has been without a person as Its author, au-thor, or the hero of Its early days. In other words, all great work is and must be preceded by a voice crying In the wilderness. "When men say of anything creed, bonk, ordinance. It can save us, then the down road towards fetishism has begun. There Is no power in a creed to help man except In so far as the creed reveals to man a person who can help. There Is no power In the Bible to help man. except in so far as It reveals Him who has never left the world without His present aid. To forget this Is to degrade the Bible to the level of a charm, the creed to the level of cabalistic words, and the sacrament sac-rament to the le'vel of a magical rite." And the appreciation of all this summons sum-mons us all to be a voice proclaiming the living truth. And as we seek to meet that need, let us be very earnest and very honest. Let us say to ourselves and to our fellows fel-lows that "It shows no defect of nature na-ture to refuse to believe in old things Just because they are old. Tradition, however venerable and weighty, may be rooted in error. It has often been proved to be so rooted. To find one's pelf, therefore, incapable of accepting truths accredited by most venerable tradition shows no defect In nature." I repeat! to refuse to believe things Is no sin: but to refuse the great central facts of life and faith and their demands de-mands Is to enervate life and to destroy its power. 'Teach men that In order to know God and his truth they must all think alike, and what have you done? You have erected thorny hedges around the cross of the Christ through which men must peep, over which, wounded, they nriy strain, and after all, only see partial view and catch distorted dis-torted outlines of Him whom you would place within. This has been done again and again; done with the Dtst intentions, done by those possessed pos-sessed of a passionate love for Him whom they would protect. But the human hu-man hedge, whether erected by friends or foes with spiny barrier forbid the ehild-falth He so loves to come near-Him." near-Him." All great causes and reformations have had and must have forerunners who prepare the way for their reception, recep-tion, but In the wilderness John formed a little company of praying souls, who were content to let the excitements and frivolities of the world pass by, that they might prepare themselves and thtlr countrymen to meet the Great Deliverer. It was necersary for Luther to live- and to give his life In arousing the people. In order that the Reformation Reforma-tion when born should find ready minds and hearts to keep that great movement move-ment alive. It was necessary for Love-Joy Love-Joy and Garrison to suffer the Indignities Indigni-ties and acsept the abuse of the American Ameri-can people. In order that the day might dawn when liberty might be a sacred fact and In order that the shackels might fall from 4.000,000 slaves. No less Is there need of forerunners today. Never In the history of time was there a perl 3d when reconstruction was nore. certain and necessary than now. In the religious world old creeds and dogmas have served their day and nit n are crying for better things. The springing up of all sorts of sects and beliefs Is not an evidence of the decadence de-cadence of the. trulr religious spirit but i anything more than a great bundle of disjointed facts If we see there a great plan and a mighty purpose that slowly unfolds as the j-ace climbs upward then we also see that Individuals and society have prospered when living the truth proclaimed by Almighty God. We also learn for a certainty that God proclaims his truth not through mut-tt mut-tt rings on Slnal nor In any mystical or occult fashion, but that It comes as a message through the best lives of each age. These lives are In very truth the volce; of God and they teach his truth and announce hla message. And such a voice is always In the end listened lis-tened to. The men who are in the best nense urworldly and have the good of their country or any class at heart, these are listened to as the commissioned com-missioned messengers of heaven. To these men, no matter how different they may be from us In creed, we are forced to listen," fqr we know that theirs is the power and the message of a godly life. As it has been truly said: "There Is no power on earth like the power of a holy, consecrated life, because he who is leading such a life, is already above the world, and belongs to a higher kingdom. There Is hope for our country, coun-try, or for any country, when Its young men have something of the spirit that dominated such men and made them a voice for God and for His Christ; when they school their body until it becomes the ready Instrument of a higher and spiritual intention, fearless of hardship; when by sympathy with God's purposes they .apprehend whut Is most needed by men, and are able to detect the weaknesses and vices of society, and to bear the burden of their lives." Oh. that young mun o today would drink in the great things of life, until they felt a mighty, commission to a voice for the most High. Then would there be a race of stalwarts on the earth, and Insipid youth and burden-tome burden-tome middle and old age would be gone forever. What need for a voice fn the family. One whose life sweetens the dally routine, rou-tine, and by practical demonstration of Christian living really prepares the way of the Lord. What need for a voice In business! One that speaks, by noble and honest conduct ard high mlndedness, a mes-sage mes-sage to those who are apt to forget that life Is more than business and that honor is above wealth. What netd of a voice In all the multiplex mul-tiplex conditions of society a voice that shall utter more than the senseless chatter of the crowd and that shall make for positive nobility of character. That we may be used in some way to live and to teach the sanctity and the worth of life, let our desire be, and may we count It all -Joy and supreme honor If only we can be a voice crying In the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord. The history of time Is rich with Illustrations Il-lustrations showing that those who have been truly great and have lived to real purpose have been those who were willing to be but a voice speaking bold truth and preparing the way for better days. There was Isaiah finding his age steeped with Indulgent silence and enervated en-ervated by shameless compromise and by his life and by his voice he startled that age "with the trumpet of the Lord's Assize." He was only a voice, but Jt was a voice that sounded the message of God's own truth, and that prepared a remnant for the coming of the Son of Man. There was John his raiment coarse, his food locusts and wild honey content con-tent to be but a voice, but It was a voice that waked the world from a sleep of four centuries, and that Introduced Intro-duced the Son of God. , There was John Knox gifted genius and learned scholar yet content to climb over the mountains and. to wade the snows that he might be a voice waking humanity from -its sleep of death. There was Tauler, who might have lived In ease and elegance, but who counted it great honor to accept hardship, hard-ship, if nr.ly he might be n voice telling the glories of God as incarnate In the Christ. There was IJvingston, who- forgot elf and forsook ease and honors, who left books and culture, who courted fever and death, that he might go to the wilderness of -the dark continent and say to that benighted land: "I am the voice of one crying In the wlller-r.css, wlller-r.css, prepare ye for the way of ths Lord." And there wan Hetry Drummond no the Christ and so they asked him to tell them plainly If be be the Christ. VJ. And this, is the rec-ord of John, when the J?ws sent prints and Levltes from Jerusalem to ask him. Who art thou? 20. And he confessed, and denied not: but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21. And when they asked hlhi. What then? Art thou Ellas? And-he salth, I am not. Art thou that Prophet? And he answered. No. 22. Then said they unto him. Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sajvst thpuf thyself? ' Now was the man's opportunity. Now v.ould this crowd proclaim him as Messiah. Mes-siah. -Now would they follow him and hear hit message. "Young and old. rich ind poor, Roman soldiers and shrewd Saddncees, orth'Vlox prifsts and heretical Greeks, ragged outcasts and meek saints" all joined in the cry, "What sayest thou of thyself?" and there standing by the river's bank, he laid aside all claims to preference and uttered his message: "I am the voice of one crying In the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord."" What a happy thought it is In con--nection with so great a man as John, he whom Jesus honored by saying, that of those born of woman, there had nol arisen a greater, that he was content to pay, "I am the voice of one crying In the wilderness." "A voice- -only a voice Blessed Is i he man whom God honors to' act as His voice!" It would be altogether helpful for us to study deeply into the life of John as a forerunner of Jesus; to examine carefully the long yars of preparation that enabled him to execute this great commission: but this study might be ot:ly historical and leave us without any very definite appeal to our present pres-ent life and duty. But seeing in this subject a universal message and teaching, teach-ing, I would turn from the purely historical his-torical phase of the question, and speak to you upon the very real and practical prac-tical subject, of the possibility, nay of the responsibility, of every life being a , voice for God, and so a voice for His humanity; and when I say. a voice. I mean' not any speech or speaking but a life that utters In come way a message. mes-sage. For If we see -anything In history, |