The Apostle's Glory and Joy
The Christian worker always should wait on God till he gets the word of the message. There is an essential difference between delivering a sermon or an address and delivering a message. The latter is direct, eager; you wait to be sure it is understood; you expect an answer. A gospel message works in those who believe. That its ultimate effect will be to bring us into collision with the world-spirit goes without saying. For this conflict the Christian must be prepared in advance.
The separation between this true, strong, loving soul and his converts was a bereavement, though only for an hour, r.v. margin, and his heart longed to be with them again. He clung to them the more tenaciously because he had been cast out by his Jewish brethren, and also because he looked for a great revenue of joy and glory to accrue to the Savior's name. His one purpose seems to have been to accumulate garlands of saved souls, as children make garlands of flowers in spring, that he might lay them at the feet of the Redeemer. Satan hinders, but Jesus helps and smiles His benediction.