say that in his earlier years he had no
executive ability. Men would say of him, "Well, Gordon can preach but--"
intimating that he could not do much else; not much of the practical
getting of things done in his makeup. When he was offered the
chairmanship of the missionary committee of the Baptist Church, he
promptly declined as being utterly unfit for such a task. Finally with
reluctance he accepted, and for years he guided and molded with rare
sagacity the entire scheme of missionary operation of the great Baptist
Church of the North. He was accustomed with rare frankness and modesty
to speak of the change in himself as an illustration of how the Spirit
develops talents which otherwise had lain unsuspected and unused.

The second fact: _ALL of one's faculties will be developed, to the
highest normal pitch._ Not only the undeveloped faculties, but those
already developed will know a new life. That new presence within will
sharpen the brain, and fire the imagination. It will make the logic
keener, the will steadier, the executive faculty more alert.

The civil engineer will be more accurate in his measurements and
calculations. The scientific man more keenly observant of facts, better
poised in his generalization upon them, and more convincing in his
demonstrations. The locomotive engineer will handle his huge machine
more skillfully. The road saves money in having a christian hand on the
throttle. The lawyer will be more thorough in his sifting of evidence,
and more convincing in the planning of his cases. The business man will
be even more sharply alive to business. The college student can better
grasp his studies, and write with stronger thought and clearer diction.
The cook will get a finer flavor into the food. And so on to the end of
the list. Why? Not by any magic, but simply and only because man was
created to be animated and dominated by the Spirit of God. That is his
normal condition. The Spirit of God is his natural atmosphere. The
machine works best when run under the inventor's immediate direction.
Only as a man--any man--is swayed by the Holy Spirit, will his powers
rise to their best. And a man is not doing his best, however hardworking
and conscientious, and therefore not fair to his own powers, who lives
otherwise.

Some one may enter the objection, that many of the keenest men with
finely disciplined powers may be found among non-christian men. But he
should remember two facts, first, that a like t