One of the most striking examples of true humility that I ever
saw was on the day I first met and became acquainted with Brother
Warner. With his company of workers, he came to the place where
I was expected to preach that day. I was just beginning in the
ministry, and had a very high ideal of a minister, to which I was
trying hard to attain. When I arrived at this place, the company
had already come, and we simply met and were introduced before the
Sunday-school began. After the exercises were over, and before
time to begin preaching, Brother Warner came to me and said he
understood that I was expected to preach that day. I answered
yes, but not when a man of such reputation and ability as he was
present. He insisted that I go ahead, as he was very tired from
the labors he had been in and from the trip which they had just
made from the West. I answered that I could not preach much yet,
and if he would speak only a little while, it would be a treat to
the congregation and me. He still insisted that I should preach,
and did not seem to care to take the pulpit. I plead with him to
do so, and said, "Brother Warner, I simply could not preach in the
presence of such a great man as you are." He came up to me and
placed his arm around my neck and his head on my shoulder, and
said, "God bless you, my brother, I am only one of God's little
ones."
This action seemed very strange to me, as I was not acquainted with
such a spirit in a man of such reputation; but I kept insisting
that he take the pulpit, if not for more than but a few minutes. He
then said, "Well, then, if you feel that way, I will; but I need
your prayers." He really did look weary, and seemed so frail in
body that for a moment I feared I did wrong in urging him so hard.
Well, he began, and I felt that I should be prepared to follow him
in case he should stop suddenly, and I would finish the sermon. He
preached on the subject of sanctification, and I was so desirous
that he might be able to give us a full sermon on this precious
subject. Well, he had hardly begun when he seemed to change into
another man, and my fears were soon gone that he might have a
physical breakdown before the close. That weary look and the
appearance of frailty soon disappeared, and the wonderful words
that he spoke were full of power and authority. I was soon lost
in the glorious truths of the sermon and was unconscious of my
surroundings. When he sat down, we were surprized to find that he
had preached just three hours, which seemed such a short time to
all of us.
The deep impression of the humility of this man of God and the
divine power with which he preached had this effect upon my heart:
If this is "but one of God's little ones," where will there ever
be a place for such an ignorant beginner as I? My ideal of a
minister was wholly changed, and it was for some time that I had
great difficulty to believe there was a place for me. But having
the privilege of sitting at Brother Warner's feet in a series of
meetings following that day, I was greatly helped to try to sink
into deeper humility, and through the grace of God find my place in
the body, the church. This impression of humility has remained with
me these years, and has often been a protection when at times there
would be presented temptations to self-exaltation.