The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1886-06-10
OUR EVENING SERMON p!
"And he went round about the villages
teaching. 6-6.

"And he went round about the villages
teaching."-MaRk 6-6.
One of the objections met with-and
seemingly reasonable one, too-in the
work of the missionary, is the complaint
at home, in fact that "there are heather
among u.s." who need looking after. A
teacher is expected to thoroughly finish
the work in his or her own immediate
neighborhood, before going abroad, or at
tempting to induce others to come up out
of the thralldom of sin. If the teaching
is righteous, one says, it will be successful
at home, therefore there is nothing in the
teaching which is carried abroad. Yet
there seems to be one feature that is en-
tirely overlooked. Mankind may receive
or reject, at pleasure, and the salvation
that is rejected by one may be carried
successfully to another. Christ himself
could not make his immediate people be-
lieYe in him, or honor him, to any great
extent, until he had gone abroad, and per-
formed wonders in the name of the Mas
ter. Then, coming back heralded by his
wonderful manifestations of power and
love, the people were more willing to
hear and honor him.
And thus have the relative positions of
the church and the world been to this
day. The church is here-on every hill
side, and in every valley. The word of
Divine Truth is proclaimed from the pull
pit week after week, and year after year.
That there are hundreds who do not heed
it, and other hundreds who do not even
hear it. only establishes the fact that the
world is human. A mans duty may be
plain, the conviction of the spirit may
tell it to him in unmistakable terms, and
yet he may be too stubborn to discharge
it. He will not permit himself to become
interested in the work Of the church, and
is ever ready to seek an excuse for his
negligence, or lack of interest. "What
does the church care for mep" is his ever
ready query, and thus the teaching is
without honor. Now, suppose that every
Christian worker should accept this as an
ultimatum and quits it at all likely
that such men would ever become inter-
ested? We may all be willing to admit
that they would not, in all probability,
yet can any reasonable man say that af-
ter the church door has stood ajar for a
lifetime, waiting to receive such men, it
is the duty of the church to close doors
and go after them? A man is not taught
in the Bible that Christ will make Sc
ries of visits around in his neighborhood,
coming after him, and bringing the gift
of His love. to be accepted, thrown away,
trifled with. The whole teaching of the
Savior was, and is, "Come unto me-" Not
that a sinner should stand idly waiting
for Christ to come after him, but that he
should obey the the call of duty, come to
Jesus, and remain in communion with
Him. From the standpoint of reason and
righteousness, then, we conclude that it
is the duty of man to come to Christ, to
seek the church, and Christ's methods of
preaching.
There are persons in the world, howev-
or, who feel degree of antagonism to-
ward all churches, that forbids their seek
ing such places of worship. Such people
are sensitive and sensational, and any
form of religious excitement is greatly
impressive to them. Perhaps their only
seasons of spiritual enjoyment come
through the more sensational methods of
religious work. 1t is such people as these
that it seems necessary for some gospel
means to go out after, and bring in, and
at the same time it is somewhat discour-
aging to the Christian workor to be COM
PEELED to pursue, increasingly, those who
ought to come with the simple invita-
tion. To create an interest in any
great subject requires an effort out
side of the ordinary state of affairs.
Men become used to certain conditions,
and familiarity breeds neglect, and total
abandonment. The influence, then, which
suddenly awakens them to a sense of
privilege and duty, is cons idered as a
blessing of special Importance. Go out
among strangers, and preach the gospel,
but do not be surprised at your success,
if by some sensational method, you Sc
cure great following. These people are
honest in conviction, and actuated by no
BILE impulses. They greet anything unu-
sual in the way of church work as theirs,
and for them alone But, after all the
preaching in the highways and hedges,
men and women must think, and pray,
and live righteously, or no amount of
church work can save them. "Come and
be saved!" says the Evangelist. But the
process of salvation is only begun by the
coming. A man or woman may feel the
witness of the Divine Spirit that he or
she is child of God, but it must not be
forgotten that we are on probation as
long as the temporal life lasts. There is
something deeper and grander in religion
than mere passing excitement The
preacher who comes along with a mes
sage of salvation may succeed in arous-
ing religious enthusiasm, but the new
convert must not expect such enthusiasm
to count as a inality. either temporarily
or spiritually. If you have been a men,
Der of every church in the community,
and have fallen away. it is high time that
you were cultivating Christian charac-
ter; that you were acquiring that stabili-
ty that would enable you to Withstand
every little encouragement that might
come along. No matter in what form the
religious work is carried on-whether
through deep, calm reflection, or bolster
GUS enthusiasm, let us give due weight te
the good accomplished, and always re-
member that the responsibility is on the
individual soul. after all.
The Savior declared that Prophet was
not without honor save in his own eoun-