sus _up_ by our lives of loyalty to Him, by our
modest, earnest testimony for Him, by our unselfish love for the men He
loved so. _Up_ let us lift Him before men's eyes; _up_ on the cross,
transfigured by His love; _up_ on the Olives' Mount, Victor over all the
forces of sin and death; _up_ at the Father's right hand in glory, waiting
the fullness of time for the completion of His plan for man.

Thou great winsome God, we have seen Thy beauty in this Jesus. We have
heard Thy music in His voice. We feel the strong pull upon our hearts and
wills of Thy presence in Him. We cannot resist Thee if we would. We would
not if we could. We are coming a-running to keep tryst with Thee under the
tree of life thou art planting down in our midst. We will throw ourselves
at Thy feet in the utter abandon of our strongest love, Thy volunteer
slaves.

III. The Great Experiences of Jesus' Life

1. The Jordan: The Decisive Start.
2. The Wilderness: Temptation.
3. The Transfiguration: An Emergency Measure.
4. Gethsemane: The Strange, Lone Struggle.
5. Calvary: Victory.
6. The Resurrection: Gravity Upward.
7. The Ascension: Back Home Again Until----

The Jordan: The Decisive Start

<u>The Anvil of Experience.</u>

Experience is going through a thing _yourself_, and having it go _through_
you. And "through" here means not as a spear is thrust through a man's
body, piercing it, but as fire goes through that which it takes hold of,
permeating; as an odor goes through a house, pervading it.

A man _knows_ only what he experiences; what he goes through; what goes
through him. He knows only what he is _certain_ of. And he is certain of
only that which he _experiences_.

It is one of the natural limitations of our humanity that it is so. Even
the primary knowledge of space, and time, and so on comes in this way. A
man knows space only by seeing or thinking through space. He knows time
only by living consciously through some moments of time. Such knowledge is
primary only in point of time.

Experience is weaving fact into the fabric of your life. The swift drive
of the double-pointed shuttle, the hard push of the loom back and forth
_goes through you_.

Experience is sowing truth in actual personal occurrences. The cutting,
upturning edge of the plow, the tearing teeth of the harrow, go on inside
your very being, while perhaps the moments drag themselves by, slow as
snails.

Experience is hammering