The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1888-06-13
WAVING A FLAMING CROSS.
DIR. TALMAGE'S SUNDAY SERMON Al
THE CROWDED TABERNACLE.

THE CROWDED TABEKNACLE.
He Calls Upon the Unbelievins to Take
Up the Cross---The Requirements OF a
Disciple.
Rev. DIR. Talmage preached Sunday
morning upon ''The Assassination.
He took his text from Luke, xiv, II:
e.Whosoever does not bear his cross
and come after Me cannot be My dis
ciple." After portraying Christ's death
on the cross in his peculiarly graphlc
manner, DR.. Talmage said:
ssOhl my soul, He is dead. Can you
tell why? Was He fanatic dying for
principle that did not amount to anything?
Was He man infatuated? No; to save
your soul from sin, and mine, and make
eternal life possible, he died. There had
to be a substitute for sin. Who shall it
be? Let it be me! said Christ, let 1t
be me- You understand the meaning
of that word, substitution? You were
drafted for the last war; some one took
your place, marched your march, suffered
your wounds, and died at Gettysburg.
Christ comes to us while we are fighting
our battle with sin and death and hell,
and He is our substitute. He marches
our march, fights our battle, suffers our
wounds, and dies our death. Substitution!
Substitution!
"How do you feel in regard to that
scene described in the text, and in the
region around about the text? Are your
sympathies aroused? Or are you so
dead in sin, and so abandoned by reason
of your transgression that you can look
upon all that fearless and unmoved.
No. no; thousands of people ale here this
morning who Can say IN the depths OF
their soul: NO, no, no, if Jesus endured
that, and all that for me, ought to love
Him. must love Him, I will love Him,
do love Him. Here, lord, / give my
self to Thee; tits all that [ can do.
s'But how are you going to test your
love, and test your earnestness? My text
gives test. It says that while Christ
carried cross for you, you must be
willing to carry cross for Christ. well,
| YOU say, Il never could understand that.
There are no crosses to be carried in this
land; hosepersecutions have passed, and
in all the Land there is no one to be
cruciied, and yet in the pulpit and In
the prayer meetings you all keep talking
about carrying cross. What do you
mean, sir?' | mean this: that is q cross
which Christ calls you to do which is un-
pleasant and hard.
ssHere is man whose cross will be to
announce among bis business associates
tomorrow morning on Charge that he
has begun new life; that while he wants
to be faithscl in his worldly duties, he is
living for another world, and he ought to
advise all those Who are his associates, so
far as he can influence them, to begin
with him the Christian life. Gould you
do that, my brother? 'Oh! no, you say,
mot lust that. I think religion is religion,
and business is business, and it would
be impossible for me to recommend the
Christion religion in places of worldly
business Just IS I feared. There is q
cross offered you, and you cannot carry
it. Christ lifted a mountain for you;yo
cannot lift an ounce for Him.
ssThere is some one whose cross will be
to present religion In the home circle.
Would you dare to kneel down and pray
if your brother and sister were looking
at you? Could you ask blessing at the
tea table? Could you takethe Bible and
gather your family around you, and read
Of Christ and Heaven and your immortal
soul? Gould you then kneel and pray
for blessing on your household? sOh!'
YOU say, mot exactly that. couldn't
quite do that, because / have very quick
temper, and if professed religion and
! tried to talk religion In my household,
and after that should lose my temper
they would scof at me and say: ssYou
are pretty Christian!'' So you are
cowed down and their scarcasm keeps
you out of Heaven and away from Christ,
when under God you ought to take your
whole family into the kingdom. Christ
lifted mountain, Lifted world for you;
YOU cannot lift an ounce for him. see
how it is; you want to be favorable to
religion; you want to support Christian
institutions; you like to be associated
with those who love Jesus Christ; but as
to taking a positive step on this subject
you cannot-you cannot, and my text,
ike gate of hundred bolts, bars you
away from peace on earth and glory in
! Heaven.
ssThere are hundreds of men and
women here brave enough in other things
in life who simply for the lack of manli-
ness and womanliness stay away from
God. They dare not say: Forever, Lord
Jesus, T take Thee I tell you these
things this morning because, my dear
friends, want to show you how light
the cross is that we have to carry COM
pared with that which Christ carried for
| us. You have not had the flesh torn off
for Christ's sake in carrying your cross.
He tainted dead away under His cross.
You have not carried the cross until it
fetched the blood. Under His there was
a pool of carnage that FLASHED the horses
fetlocks. You have friends to sympathize
with you in carrying the cross; Christ
trod the winepress OF Gods wrath alone,
alone!
ssThere has some one come here to-day
whom you have not observed. He did
not come through the front door; He did
not come down any of these aisles; yet |
know He is here. He is from the East,
the far East. He comes with blistered
foot, and broken heart, and cheeks red
not with health, but with blood from the
temples. I take hold of His coat ard I
say: 1t Goes not seem to fit Thee.
No, He says, it is not mine; it is bor-
rowed; it does not belong to me now.
For nv vest,1ra did thew cost lots And