SUNDAY READING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 377, 30 April 1910, Page 10

SUNDAY READING.

SERMON BY THE REV. THOMAS

CHAMPNESS.

"The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lorn, and to seek the Lord of Hosts. I will go also."—Zech. viii., 21.

If in to-morrow's paper 'we read as follows—"We hear that arrangements have been made for cheap trips to Birmingham at an early date. Some thousands of people, Christians of various churches, have sent word to the Christians of that town to say that they are coming to spend some hours with then\ in prayer. The Birmingham Town Hall and other large buildings have been engaged, and arrangements made for united meeting for prayer to take place. We also hear that the Christians of Leeds have arranged for similar meetings. They have sent word that they are coming to Manchester, and the Free Trade Hall, St. James' Theatre, and the Central Hall have been engaged. Several thousand visitors will be here from Leeds and Birmingham. This is a new era in Christian enterprise, and though we cannot endorse the extreme doctrines taught by these people, we cannot "but feel that they are in earnest, and mean what they say, and certainly act &s though they believed the doctrines that they teach." If we read that, I say, it would open some people's eyes, would it not? It is going to come to pass some day. Listen. The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, "Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts." When that time comes to pass our Bradlaughs and Blatchfords and other people of their persuasion will find that they have not much to do. There will not be many people going to hear them, when the time comes that Christian people believe about prayer what they think they do. I want you to look at it. There is no doubt in my' mind that there are very few Christians that believe the Bible in the matter of prayer. We are compelled to believe what we see not; not what people say. If you want to find the smallest meeting of any church, it is the prayer meeting. Whatever people may say, they will never get me to believe that they think prayer what the Bible says it is; and you have to try this, that and the other, to get them to come to prayer. Nineteen-twentieths of us are infidels in the matter of prayer. I do not use the word in an offensive sense, but so far as any practical outcome is concerned, it is so. You want to know whether the ministers believe in prayer? Go to the minister's prayer meeting at the conference, and you will find not half as many there as at the election of the president. Think about it. If you think the Sunday School teachers believe in prayer, go to the teachers' prayer meeting. If you think I am wrong, I should be very glad to talk to anybody who can give me the facts on the other side. Show me a church where there are more people who go to talk to God than to listen to a tjU}. And I 'will go and visit that place. Now this is a great theme, and I am one of the men who believe that sooner or later we shall get a bit of religion on this matter. That will he when the time comes that men understand that in prayer we "go before the Lord." When that time comes and prayer meetings are on we shall want the chapel and the gallery. many come to the preaching we shall want the whole house for the prayer meeting. "Go pray before the Lord;" "Elijah was a man ol .UKe passions with us,' St. James tells us. We should not have known if he had not told us. But Elijah believed in prayer. All the difference between Elijah and the average Christian was that he believed in prayer. When he talked to Ahab he spoke by "the God before whom I stand. And it was this man who felt himself in the presence of God when he prayed that he could stand on the top of Mount Carmel . After he had challenged these priests of Baal, he knew very well that he would be put to death if he failed when he went up that day; he knew that "either this will be this day a dead lot of idolatrous priests or a dead Jehovah's prophet." And he prayed it out. And we all know the result.

I want to encourage young Christian? to make that sort of bargain with God. If I could persuade some man or woman here to act it out; if I could persuade (two or three to believe what Jesus Christ said to those of as that are in a minority—"where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst!" It may be only a man

and his wife kneeling down, nobody but "*■ those two, but "there am I." See if it is not true. lam prepared to lose my soul on it that Jesus Christ spoke true words when He said "There am I." That is

THE REAL PRESENCE. What need have I for a priest to bring Christ to me? I have only to find another Christian like-minded, and "there am lin the midst." I will tell you a story ten years old. I have several stories belonging to the same course of things, but I will tell you of three distinct answers to prayer. One happened at a conference at Nottingham months before it was laid on my mind, that I should be called upon to pray at the

conference prayer-meeting. I knew that I should be singled out to pray; I felt that this would be the opportunity of my life. I thought, "Now when I begin to pray there will be hundreds of godly men whom I must lead before the Throne of Grace; I must have a great blessing that day." And so I began to beseech the Holy Spirit to reveal to me the secret, and tell me what His will was. And it was told me that I must pray that Charles Garratt might get well, and that William Arthur might have his voice back again. The president was elected. I had not known who it would be, whether he was friend of mine or not. But my name was called out—"Thomas Champness.' I had been listening for it. I knew' I should fee called upon. I came out into the aisle, and knelt down to pray. As soon as I began to pray I felt that the Spirit was upon me. I spoke their names, and immediately the greater part of the congregation rose right up to it. Nobody I can contradict that. Those who know ! anything about it know that Charles Garrett got well, and he has been well ever since, and that William Arthur spoke at the next conference. It was "before the Lord." It is a glorious thing to know that the greatest power in the world is within the reach of anybody who will only kneel down and call upon the name of Hod. T tell you that I could not endure the burden that is on me; the responsibility of caring for sixty-five people, and finding everything thev need. I could not undertake to look after these evangelists, but that there is not a moment in my life that I do not feel that it is before Jehovah, and that I can draw on the infinite resources of the Almighty. And I knowthat as long as it is His will nobody in this world can stop it. Hudson Taylor is perhaps the most mighty man in

I prayer I know. When he first went out to China, he went at his own expense, and in a little sailing vessel. They were becalmed at a great distance from land, but to their great surprise the land appeared in sight. They found that a current tnat was running about three miles an hour was carrying them unto the rocks. They saw the land twelve miles away, and no power on earth could stop them. Hudson Taylor went to the captain. "Captain, you are a Christian; you believe in prayerr And to the carpenter he said the same. "The captain tells us we shall lose the ship, and perhaps our lives. Let us go and pray. I will go also." He got these men with him and prayed, and got his answer. He was the first man on the deck, and he went to the first officer. "You had better get ready." It was drifting quickly nearer the rocks; they could see some of the natives. "You had better get ready; get those halliards clear." "What for?" "We are going to have a fair wind." "How do you know?" "We have been at prayer, and got an answer. It is sure to be." The man laughed him to scorn. But all at once the little pennant on the ship began to flutter. "Stand by those halliards; let got that sheet." The breeze lifted them right' away. The man is living that did that. "I myself will go elso." Please take this bit of piain talk. I will guarantee if you do you will be better than you are to-day.