SERMONS BY OUR CHINESE HELPERS.
It seemed to me that no better use could be made, this month, of the columns set apart for our Chinese Mission, than to introduce to our friends some of our Chinese helpers, by giving a sample or two of their work. Let it be remembered that they have been taken from the kitchen, and set, at once, in the missionary service; and that whatever of special training they receive, comes along with the work itself. They are assisted in the study of the Bible by the teachers with whom they serve respectively, but learn to preach, mainly, by preaching.
Lee Sam, in our missionary work but four months as yet, sends the following:
Matt. xxvi., 41.—Jesus says to his disciples, “Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” When we first become Christians then our own hearts are evil. It often seems much easier to do wrong than to do right; without Jesus we can do nothing. We must pray without ceasing. Jesus says, “If a man love Me he will keep My words, and My Father will love him and make Our abode with him.” Hear what He says: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.” If we know of Jesus and His love we shall be willing to give our life that we may bring others to love Him and to accept Him as their Saviour. We must pray to Jesus to help us love the Lord our God with all our hearts, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and love one another and keep His commandments; and we must pray that we enter not into temptation, and we may ask Him for whatever we need. We may ask Him to heal us if we are sick, to help us if we are weak; for food to eat and clothes to wear. We must ask His care when we go to bed, and His wisdom and strength when we rise in the morning to the labors and duties of another day. We must rely upon Jesus Christ as long as we live. Most of all must we beg of Him to blot out our sins and give us a new heart. If we live a life of prayer, God will love us in this life and when we die we shall have joy, and after death our souls shall be full of joy for ever and ever. We cannot live near Jesus without much prayer; but we must watch as well as pray. We have many enemies that we must watch. Our own hearts lead us away from Jesus. Jesus says: “If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee, or if thy right eye offend thee pluck it out.” This means that we should part with anything, no matter how dear, if it makes us sin. We must watch our thoughts; if we know they do not please Jesus, we must put them from us. We must love only good things, and delight only in what we can have with our heart full of love to Jesus. If we know that anything will tempt us to sin, we must watch against it and keep away from it. We must not go to any place where we know Jesus would not wish us to go. We must watch our tongues that they do not speak any wrong words, and we must watch that in all that we think, in all that we say, and in all that we do, we please Jesus. “The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.” If we are true Christians, we desire more than anything else to follow Jesus. We mean to love Him always, to work for Him always, and to turn from everything that is wrong. But how many times we do not do things we mean to do, and how many times we do things that make us sorry: and we go to Jesus and we ask Him to forgive us. Our spirit is willing. In our heart, our very soul, we love Jesus, but the flesh is weak. The flesh is our sinful self, the old wicked heart, anything in this life that makes us do wrong. Sometimes we want to speak good words for Jesus. We would like to tell our brethren of His love, but we are not wise; we do not know the right words to say. “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” That is, in our own selves, without Jesus we are very weak, we cannot do anything right. But He will give the Holy Spirit to help us, so we may be strong in Him, though we are in our own selves, without His spirit, very weak. He will help us be strong to do right, and wise to say the right word.
Lena Chung, our Sacramento helper, who has been in service about one year, sends the following:
John xiii., 34. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another.”
What does this mean? Our Lord was on earth; His disciples had followed Him three years. Jesus knew His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father. The disciples had been with Him so long; they might know how to love God and follow Christ, but when their Light should go away then they would be troubled and offended because of the world. Jesus knew they would receive persecution; be cast out of the synagogues and despised and hated of men; so He gave them this new commandment that they should love one another in this world.
I. We ought to love one another. It is our duty to obey this command. Some may say: he may be a Christian, but he is not my countryman, not near to me. I am a white man, he is black, or he is a yellow man, he does not belong to my family or friends. I will not love him. It can be no sin to hate him. Not so, my friends. It hath been said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy.” But Christ tells us: “Love your enemies and bless them which curse you.” If so, we must love all who love God, and are trying to serve and please Him, whatever their place in life.
The body has many organs. The head is upward, feet downward, hands at the sides; they must work in harmony with each other—they must love one another. So with us. There are many kinds of people in the world; but God is the Father of all, though same are in Europe, some in Asia, some in Africa and some in America. The color may be different, the figure also different; but all must work for the same object, and all must love one another as members of one body—which is Christ.
Oh, my friends, I hope you will turn to love and not hate. If any love Christ they must love all people in the world, not only those they know, but spread it wider and love all who come to Christ,
II. Love one another truly with our hearts. Paul said: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” So, then, we must love truly, honestly, and freely. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar.” When Christ saw the people love outwardly, not with the heart, He said: “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” We may learn from this, unless we love one another truly and honestly, we cannot get the blessing of God.
III. Love one another continually. This is like God, whose love is unchangeable. He loves us all the time, gives us our daily bread, our clothes, and all we have. He gave His only begotten Son to the world to die for us. If we hate Him, He does not hate us, but loves us still. There was once a father in China who loved his son like the precious diamond. His son did all things to dishonor his father, but his father loved him still, and would not change his love. After a time the son left his father and came to California, where he grew worse and worse; never wrote any letters to his father. At last, a friend came to California whom the father knew, and sent word by him to his son. He said: “When you meet my son please tell him for me, I love him continually. I never forget my love.” A few months after, this friend met the son. He said to him, “You are doing all things vain. The precious time is almost gone. Soon you will feel gloomy and sad. When I left home your father sent a short message to you. He said he loves you continually.” When the son heard this his face changed, his heart became like a piece of ice on the hot fire. He started at once to see his father. When he reached home, his father was so happy to see him he forgot all the wrong his son had done. The father represents the true living God; the son, the people of the world; and the friend represents Jesus Christ. The bad son leaving his father and doing wrong, is like the people of the world disobeying God and going far away from Him. God sent us word by our Saviour that He loves us continually. This word should melt our hearts and make us return to God. He will receive us joyfully and forgive us our sins.
Brethren: If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
[The third sketch, which is by Jee Gam, to whom, during his recent visit to the East, many of our readers listened with great interest, must be deferred to another issue.—Ed. Missionary.]