od-by word. Three are directly spoken, and
one is not spoken, but directly implied. First is this, your chief work is
to win men. That is directly said. The second is implied--it is the
toughest task you ever undertook. That is implied in this that it will
take more power than they have. A power that only He has. A supernatural
power. And we all know how true that is. Of all luggage man is the hardest
to move. He _won't_ move unless he _will_. Every man of us that has ever
tried to change somebody's else purpose knows how impossible it is unless
by the inward pull. You simply _cannot_ without the man's consent. The
third thing is this: I have all the power needed. The fourth this: _You_
go.
And the Master meant to tell them, and to tell us, this: that a man should
lead a triple life, three lives in one. We sometimes hear of a man leading
a double life in a bad sense. In a good sense, every one of us should be
living a triple life, three distinct lives in one. The first of these
three lives is this: _a secret life, lived with Jesus, hidden from the
eyes of men_. An inner life of closest contact with Him, that the outside
folks know nothing about.
Notice again the four statements in that good-by word. Your chief concern
is to win men. It is the toughest task you ever undertook: it will take
supernatural power. I have all the power you need. Instinctively you feel
as though the fourth thing should be, "I will go." That would seem to be
the logical conclusion. "No," Jesus says, "_you go_." Plainly if we are to
do something taking supernatural power, and we haven't any such power of
ourselves, there must be the closest kind of contact with the source of
power. The man who is to go must be in the most intimate contact with the
Man who has the powers needed in the going.
And this is simply a law of all life, given to us here by life's greatest
Philosopher. The seen depends upon the secret always. The outer keys upon
the inner. The life that men see depends wholly upon the life that only
the Master sees. David had power to slay the lion and bear in secret, away
from the gaze of men, before he had power to slay the giant before the
wondering eyes of two nations. The closet becomes the swivel of the
street.
In crossing the ocean there are two great dangers to be dreaded and
guarded against, aside from the storms that may arise. The greater of
these is an abandoned ship. One that through some stress of storm has been
left
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