The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-06-06

do good. They say: "0hl il | only had
wealth, or, if had eloquence, or, i'll had
high social position, how much / would
accomplish for God and the
church, | stand here to-day to tell you
that you have great opportunities for use
fulness. The trouble is that in the army
OF Christ we all want to be captains and
colonels and brigadier generals. We are
not willing TO march with the rank and
file and to do duty with the private sol
der. We want TO belong to the reserve
corps and read about the battle while
warming ourselves at the camp fires, or on
furlough ut home, our feet upon an otto
man, we sagging back into an arm chair.
As you 60 down the street you see an ex-
cavation and four or five men are working
and perhaps twenty or thirty leaning on
the rail looking over at them. That is the
way il is in the church OF God to-day;
where you find one Christian hard ut work
there are fifty men watching the job. II
this world is ever brought TO Christ
it will be through the unanimous
and long continued efforts OF men who,
waiting for no special endowment
consecrate 10 God what they have. Among
the most useless people In the world are
men with ten talents, while many man
with only two talents, or no talent at all,
Is doing a great work, and so the lame
take the prey. One step further: There
are a great many people discouraged about
getting 10 heaven. You are brought up
in good families, you had Christian pa
rentage; but YOU frankly tell me that you
are n thousand miles away frem the right
track. My brother, you are the one
want to preach TO this morning have
have been looking for you. | will tell
You who you got astray. IL was not ma
liciousness on your part. II was perhaps
through the geniality and sociability of
your nature that you fell into sin. You
wandered away from your duty, You un-
consciously left the house OF God; YOU
admit the Gospel 30 be true, and yet you
have so grievously and SO prolongedly
wandered, you say rescue Is impossible.
10 would take week 10 count up the
names OF those in heaven who were on
earth worse than you tell me you are.
They went the whole round OF iniquity,
they disgraced themselves, they disgraced
their household, they despaired of return
because their reputation was gone, their
property was gone, everything was gone,
but in some hour like this they heard the
voice of God and threw themselves on the
divine compassion and they rose up more
than cOnquerors. And tell YOU there Is
the same chance for you. That il one rca-
ION why like 10 preach this gospel, 50
free gospel, so tremendous gospel II
takes a man all wrong and makes him all
right In former settlement where /
preached a member OF my congregation
quit the house OF God, quit respectable
circles, went into all kinds of sin and was
slain OF his iniquity. The day
for his burial came and his
body was brought TO the house of God.
Some Of his comrades who had destroyed
him were overheard along the street, on
the way 10 the burial, saying, Come, let
us GO and hear Talmage damn this old
sinnerp Oh! had nothing but tears for
the dead, and | had nothing but invita-
tons for the living. You see | could not
do any otherwise. "Christ Jesus came TO
seek and save that which was lost"
Christ in His dying prayer said Father,
forgive them," and that was a prayer for
you and for me. Oh start on the road to
heaven to-day. You are not happy. The
,hirst OF your soul viii never be Stacked
by the fountains Of sin. You turn every
where but to God iep help. Right you
are, call on Him. He knows you. He
knows all about you. lie knows all the
odds against which you have been con-
tending in life. Do not go TO Him with
long rigmarole of prayer, but just look
up and say; Help! help"