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THE KINO'S BUSINESS
disposition and weaknesses, my friends, then I must allow for being overcome. It is not a matter of Tem perament but Trust. The Lord says He is greater than all these, and it is all determined by simple and con stant faith in God. What an inspira tion it is to every man that is de feated to see another man that is living, by the power of faith in Christ, a life of continual victory and over coming. And then not only does it inspire others, but what a wonderful thing it is to the person who is over coming. Have you ever tried to live with a woman who is overcome with jealousy; have you ever tried to live with a man who is overcome with meanness, or who is of a vile and pas sionate nature and disposition and temper ? If you have, you know what that kind of a life means. I know of some homes which are a regular hell on earth. Sometimes it is the woman and sometimes it is the man. What a fine thing it is to work along side of a man who has learned the secret of overcoming. It makes a great deal of difference to others whether or not we overcome or are being overcome. MAKES A DIFFERENCE TO OURSELVES. Then, too, it makes a great differ ence to ourselves. Show me a man that is always being overcome by the enemies that assail him and I will show you a man that has lost heart. Why did the Turks get such a ham mering? It was simply because the very heart had been pounded out of them and they did not have the stamina to stand up. Why was it the Japanese defeated the Russians so badly? It was not that they were better than the Russians, but they de feated them so often that they lost heart. And it makes a wonderful difference whether a man is victorious
or not. You can tell it by the sparkle in his eyes and the manner of his bearing. Take a man that has been defeated. He has his head down and he slouches along. Show me a man or a woman who has learned this secret of overcoming, and I will show you a person who has all the sweet ness there is in life. There is not that mean, selfish feeling which comes to those who are constantly overcome, but we stand erect with our shoulders squared and we are able to look every foe in the face because of our simple trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, friends, to be continually overcome and to be continually crushed by defeat means that your life is spoiled, and it destroys all the joy and all the gladness, and your life is filled with gloom and misery and hopelessness. MAKES A DIFFERENCE TO THE DEVIL. Then, too, it makes all the differ ence to the devil whether you and I are overcome or not. If I am al ways being overcome then in my life, the devil has a place, and the Bible distinctly says “we are not to give place to the devil,” and yet how many of us have given the devil a large territory in our Christian lives? It may be along the line of passion; it may be along the line of lust; it may be along the line of one thing or an other in which we have given place to the devil, and it makes a great difference to the devil whether you and I are being overcome. In this respect the devil can do more harm through the professing Christian than he can do through all the skeptics and infidels that ever lived. A man who does not make any profession may get drunk seven days in the week, but that does not hurt the Church. But you show me a man or woman who is always giving vent to his or her pas-
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