The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-03-26
WORK OF An EVANGELIST
Mr.. Mills Appeals to the Unconverted
to FOrsake Sin and Follow Christ.
His Three Sunday Meetings Attended by Very
Large Crowds-Mission Priestsat st. Johns
Church-0ther Religious Services.


souraging circumstances. the weather being not
merely disagreeablo. but Of such nature as to
render it somewhat hazardous TO venture upon
the streets. The ice on the streets was especially
bad in the morning and the service at 1870 A
81 was the most poorly attended OF the day.
In the afternoon it was still raining but the at
tendance was better, and at night over 5000
people ventured out in nasty rain and over
slippery streets for the purpose OF attending
the meeting. This is much the largest attend
Ance so far during the series, and. along with
the large number OF penitents who announced
themselves at the close of the service. indicates
that the meetings rapidly spreading in in
terest and effect. Another cause for the smaller
attendance at the morning meeting is to be
found perhaps. in the fact that only limited
number Of the churches had adjourned in order
20 unite in that service Mr.. Mills preached
, apon the subject of Entire Conservation 20
Christ" and the necessity of being dead to all
worldly ambition.
At the service in the afternoon there was a
narked increase in attendance, and as the peo-
pie kept coming in and filling the seats to the
very rear, the face Of the evangelist, which had
borne disappointed expression in the morn
Ing. began to brighten. Many of those present
were children, they having come from their
Sunday schools directly the hall; and as a
consequences the evange 81 made an esp ecial APP
peal during the course ,f his address to them.
'sNo one" said he, lean become better Chris
tians than the boys and girls. These little fell
lows here can do more good, if they will only
try, than they have the least idea of. had
band of little boys in one of my churches once
who did more good 10 bringing people TO christ
than almost any other people in the church"
Mr.. Mills took his text from the fifty-ifth
chapter Of Isaiah, portion of the sixth
may be found" This text he declared did
need explanation, it needed only emphasis
Every word IN it was emphatic. Some people
thought that shey could become Christians IN
careless manner; that they could wait until
Gods time for them to become so and then they
would turn 20 Him. Gods time never would
comet has always been here. A man had to
seek God and seek him diligently. There
never a man who found God without seek
early might better be expressed seek God
diligently" 1t rather meant that sinners should
get up early to seek Christ than that they should
seek him early in life, although they ought TO do
that also Statistics showed that the major
ity of people who became Christians did
so in their youth. before they were twenty
years of age. In order to substantate that
fact he said he would call upon all those present
who Christians and had been converted
before arriving at the age of twenty years to
stand mp. Then he called on the number con-
verted between twenty and thirty years aud
then those converted after the age of thirty
years. The response indicated that about two
thirds present had been converted before they
were twenty years old. How important was is,
then, the preacher continued. to seek God in
ones youth
The trouble with some people who seemed to
be seeking the Lord was that they were really
seeking something else. They were seeking
some things through the medium of the church
which they thought would benefit them, but
were not really seeking God. They did not
perience the true siufulness of being without
God. He thought no phase in the Bible was
grave as that-"to be without God" Perhaps
the paramount portion of the text the
closing wants. They implied that there might
be q time when GOD would not be found.
L. ~ ha1sn 1oSA kh0 AHs1L
''that God will refuse to a soul
as long there is any hope for that soul, but
there comes time when Goo mas to give mp a
soul although He does not want to do it. It is
not generally at death-indeed, it is more fire.
quently not at death 1t is mistaken idea that
q mans opportunity for salvation is lost until
he is dead Il lasts only until he is spiritually
dead. The old couplet,
While the lamp heds out to burn
The vilest sinner may return
does not mean the physical lamp, but the spirit
Mr.. Mills then proceeded to show the danger
of putting off salvation and of refusing to listen
to the promptings of conscience. He graphical
~ related the history of young lady who had
once been attendant at his church, but was
not Christian. At series of meetings some
of her associates begged her to start on
life, and one evening she returning home
che was overheard deriding younger sister
who had that night arisen for prayers. The
next night she did not come to church. but her
Sisters-an older and younger cne-did. During
the services a messenger hurried into the
church and was hastily followed out by these
two sisters. After service some one came up to
Mr.. Mills and asked: did you hear of the awful
accident which happened while to Miss
M Mr.. Mills replied that he had not, and
then he was told that the young lady had
dropped lighted lamp which had exploded
setting fire to her clothing and burning her in a
frightful manner. She was kept alive few
days by the use of narcotics, during which she
made spasmodie efforts to speak with the pastor
who called upon her. but she never able to
finish sentence ss she quickly relapsed into
Snea flni In n CHI Had. hsalr
shat the saddest thing / was ever called upon TO
do" said Mr.. Mills, was to attend that funeral
Preach! There was no sermon that could be
preached; and yet there was a voice which spoke
louder than the voice of any man could speak. It
said Seek We the Lord while He may be found"
At the conclusion of his sermon he extended
an Invitation to those who desired the prayers
Of the church to stand up. II want TO tell you,"
he said, that there Is a great power in the
prayer of good people. If was in trouble be-
y1ieve that the first TIL ng would do would be
TO ask some good Ch ristlans to pray for me-"
Quite q number arose. after which the evan
galist said: NOW just put Your heads down
the seats and lift up your hearts In silent
prayer TO God for those people who have stood
up." While this progressing he called
entire number WAS probably about forty. Those
were invited to remain and speak to the evan
gest, after which the congregation was dis
missed
The crowd of listeners at the services last
evening filled both the gallery and lower floor.
Mr. Millss discourse followed closely that of the
afternoon. his text being taken from that
10 the Bible which succeeded the verse taken in
the afternoon text-Issiah lv. Z: ''Les the
wicked forsake his way" He said 81 expect
all protesting Christians here are leaning back
in their seats after hearing that text. and say
Jag. Now. he's going TO talk to the wicked peo-
pie and wen look on But l don't mean TO
exclude all processing Christians. Every
man is wicked who is not in every respect what
he ought to be- whose heart is right In the
sight of God and whose daily walk is not right
10 the sight of man. No man is worse than the
protesting Christian who is nos a real Christian.
want TO say right at the beginning of this
series OF meetings that ministers and pro-
Tossing Christians do not propose to ask you
who not protesting Christians to do any
thing you do not think is right. We do not
intend to ask you to try and find any sin IN your
hearts without asking the same thing Of those