The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-09-16
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
A Discourse on the Sheep Who
Live Outside the Fold.

Live Outside the Fold.
The Non-Church Goers, Rejecters OF
Christianity and the Victims of Evil
Habits-From These the Shepherd
will Call Many of His Sheep.
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, in a recent
sermon at "The Hamptons," took for his
subject "The Sheep Outside the Fold"
illustrating it from the text:
Other sheep have which are not of this
fold.-John <, Is.
There is no monopoly in religion. The
grace of God is not little property that
we may fence off and have all to ourselves.
1t is not kings park at which we look
through barred gateway, wishing that
we might go in and see the deer and the
statuary, and pluck the flowers and the
fruits in the royal conservatory. No, it Is
the Father orchard, and everywhere
there are bars that we may let down and
gates that we may swing open.
In my boyhood, next to the country
school-house there was an orchard OF
apples, owned by a very lame man, who,
although there were apples in the place
perpetually decaying, and by scores and
scores Of bushels, never would allow any
of us to touch the fruit. One day, in the
sinfulness of a nature inherited from our
first parents, who were ruined by the same
temptation, some of US invaded that
orchard, but soon retreated, for the man
came after us at speed reckless of max
ing his lameness worse, and cried out:
"Boys, drop those apples, or pn set the
dog on youw
Well, my friends, there are Christian
men who have the church under severe
guard. There is fruit in the orchard for
the whole world, but they have rough
and unsympathetic way of accosting out.
siders, as though they had no business
here, though the Lord wants them all to
come and take the largest and the ripest
fruit on the premises. Have you an idea
that because you were baptized at thirteen
months of age, and because you have all
your life been under hallowed infuen ces,
that therefore you have a right to one
whole side of the Lords table, spreading
yOuIScAA Oub 6uu t&A4u& up tAO CAeAt 2
room? tell you, no. You will have to
haul in your elbows, for / shall to-day
place on either side of you those whom
you never expected would sit there; for,
as Christ said to the Jews long ago, SO he
says to you and to me:
other sheep have which are not of this
fold.
Macdonald, the Scotchman, has four OF
five thousand head of sheep. Some of them
are browsing on the heather, some of them
are lying down under the trees, some Of
them are in his yard; they are scat
tered around in eight or ten different
places. Cameron, his neighbor, comes
over and says:
II see you have thirty sheep; have just
counted them."
"No," says Macdonald, 81 have q great
many more sheep than that. Some are
here and some are elsewhere. They are
scattered all around about. have -four
or five thousand in my focks. Othel
sheep have, which are not in this fold.
So Christ says to us: Here is knot OF
Christians and there is a knot of Christ
ians, but they make up small part of the
flock. Here is the Episcopal fold, tn,
Methodist fold, the Lutheran fold, III,
Congregational fold, the Presbyteria
fold, the Baptist and the Pedo.Baptis
fold-the only difference between thes,
last two being the mode of sheep washing
and so they are scattered all over, and ",
come with our statistics. and say there ar
SO many thousand Of the Lords sheep; bu
Christ responds:
mo. no; you have not seen more thai
one out of a thousand of my flock. The,
are scattered all over the earth, and 'othe
sheep have, which are not of this fold.''
Christ in my text was prophesying tn
conversion of the Gentiles with as mucl
confidence as though they were alread,
converted, and he is to-day, in the word
of my text, prophesying the coming of
great multitude Of outsiders that You neve
supposed would come in, saying to 20
and saying to me:
Other sheep have, which are not of TIL
fold.
In the first place I remark that th
Heavenly Shepherd win find many of hi
sheep amid the non-church goers. Their
are congregations where they are al
Christians, and they seem to be complete
~ finished, and they remind one Of til
skeleton leaves which, by chemical prepa
ration. have had all the greenness an
verdure taken of Of them and arc left col
and white and delicate, nothing wantin
but glass case to put over them. TIL
minister of Christ has nothing to do wit
such Christians but to come once q weel
and with ostrich feather dust of the &C
cumu1ation Of the last six days, leavin
them bright and crystalline as before. BIZ
the other kind Of church is an armor
with perpetual sound Of drum and ar,
gathering recruits for the Lord OF Host
We say to every applicant:
"Do you want to be on Gods side, tb
safe side and the happy sides II SO, com
in the armory and get equipped. Here
bath in which to get 81 ansed. Here a,
sandals to put upon your feet. Here Is
helmet for your brow. Here Is breast
plate for your heart. Here is sword Il
your right arm, and yonder is the battl,
Geld. Quit yourselves like men,"
There are some here who say: ~ stoppe
going TO church ten or twenty years ago.
My brother, is it not strange that ye
should be the first man should talk to To
davf / know all vour casa TsEuo-