St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-09-04

announcement to make in regard to you.
You are not only going to become one of
the Lords sheep, but will become one to-
day. You will go from this service to talk
with some one about your soul. People of
God, pray for that man!
Other sheep have, which are not of this
fold.
Christ commands his ministers to be
fishermen, and when go fishing do not
wantto go among other churches, but into
the wide world; not sitting along small
creek where eight or ten other persons are
sitting with hook and line; but, like the
fishermen of Newfoundland, sailing off
and dropping net away outside forty or
fifty miles from shore. Yes, there are
non church goers here who will come in.
Next Sabbath they will again be i'm the
religious service. They are this moment
being swept into Christian associations.
Their voice will be heard in public prayer.
They will die in peace, their bed sur
rounded by Christian sympathies, and
| be carried out by devout men to be buried,
and on their grave be chiseled the words:
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the
death Of His saints.
| And on resurrection day you will get
| up with the dear children you have al
| ready buried, and with your Christian
parents who have already won the palm.
| And all that grand and glorious history
begins now.
Other sheep have, which are not Of this
fold.
I remark again: The Heavenly Shop
herd is going to find great many of his
sheep among those who are positive re-
jecters of Christianity. I do not know
how you came to reject Christianity. 1t
may have been through hearing Theodore
Parker preach, or through reading Re-
mans "Life of Jesus" or through the inf
del talk of some young man in your store.
It may have been through the trickery of
some professed Christian man who dis
gusted you with religion. I do not ask
you how you became SO; but you frankly
tell me that you do reject it. You do not
believe that Christ is divine being, al
though you admit that he was a very
good man. You do not believe that the
Bible was inspired of God, although you
think that there are some very fine
things in it. You believe that the Scrip
tural description of Eden was only an al
legory. There are fifty things that l be-
lieve that you do not believe.
And yet you are an accom- modating
man. Every body that knows you says
that Of you. If 1 should ask you to do a
kindness for me, or if any one else should
ask of you a kindness, You would do it.
Now I have kindness to ask of you to-
day. It is something that will cost you
nothing and will give me great delight.
want you. by experience, to try the
power of Christ's religion. If I should come
to you, and you were very sick, and doc
tors had given you up and said there was
no chance for you, and should take out
a little bottle and say:
"Here is medicine that will cure you;
it has cured fifty people and it will cure
you."
You would say: ST have no confidence |
in it."
would say: "Won't you take it to
oblige me?"
SWELL" you would say, "if it's any ac-
commodation to you I'll take it."
My friend, will you be just as accommo-
dating in matters of religion?
There are some of you who haye found
out that this world can not satisfy your
soul. You are like the man who told me
after the service was over:
ST have tried this world and found it an
insufficient portion. Tell me of something
better.n
You have comesto that. You are sick
for the need of Divine medicament. Now
] come and tell you of physician who
will cure you, who has cured hundreds
and hundreds who were sick as you are.
"Oh," you say, 81 have no confidence in
himw
But will you not try him? Accommodate
me in this matter; oblige me in this mat
ter; just try him. am very certain he
will cure you. You reply: 81 have no
special confidence in him; but if you ask
me as matter of accommodation, introduce
him." Sol introduce him-Christ, the
physician who has cured more blind eyes,
and healed more CHASTITY wounds. and
bound up more broken hearts, than all the
doctors since the time of Esculapius.
That Divine physician is here. Are you
not ready to try him! VIII you not as
pure matter Of experiment state your case
before him now? Hold nothing back from
him. II you can not pray, if you do not
know how to pray any other way, say:
ooh, Lord Jesus Christ, this is strange
thing for me to do! know nothing about
the formulas Of religion. These Christian
people have been talking 50 long about
what thou canst do for me, am ready to
do whatever thou commanded me to do.
am ready to take whatever thou command
est me to take. If there be any power in
religion, as these people say. let me have
the advantage of it."
Willyou try that experiment? do not
kbic r,oiut op INV diccourca Gov, that