The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-08-30

emn il we had an eye to see the spiritual
wrecks aud the places where they foun.
dered. You would find thousands along
our roads and streets. Christ came down
in their awful catastrophe. putting out
for their souls, spreading forth his
hands as . swimmer spreadeth forth
his hands to swim;" but they thrust
Him in the sore heart, and they smote His
fair cheek, and the storm and darkness
swallowed them up. ask you to lay hold
of this Christ and lay hold of Him now.
You will sink without Him From horizon
70 horizon not one sail in sight. Only one
strong swimmer. with head flung back
and arms outspread. hear a great many
in the audience saying: "Well, / would
like to be Christian. l am going to work
to become a Christian" Nv brother, you
begin wrong. When a man is drowning.
and a strong swimmer comes out to help
him, he says 10 HIM: "Now, be quiet
Put your arm on my arm or on my shout.
der, but don't struggle, don't try to help
yourself, and Pll help you ashore. The
more you struggle and the more you try
to help yourself the more you impede me.
Now be quiet and Pll take you ashore"
When Christ the strong swimmer, comes
out to save a soul, the sinner says:
THAT'S right. l am glad to see Christ
and am going to help Him in the work Of
my redemption. am going to pray more
and that will help Him; and am going to
weep extravagantly over my sins, and
that will help Him" No my brothers, il
will not Stop your doing. Christ will
do all or none. You can not lift an ounce,
you can not move an inch in this matter
Of your redemption.
This is the difficulty which keeps thou
sands of souls out of the Kingdom of
Heaven. 1t is because they can not con.
sent to let Jesus Christ begin and complete
the work of their redemption. Why"
you say. ''then is there nothing for me to
do?" Only one thing have you to do, and
that is to lay bold of Christ and let Him
achieve your salvation and achieve it all.
do not know whether make the matter
plain or not. simply want to show YOU
that a man can not save himself but that
the Almighty Son of God can do it and
will do it if you ask Him. o. fling your
two arms. the arms of your trust and love,
around this omnipotent swimmer Of the
cross.
That is thrilling time when some one
swamped in the surf is brought ashore and
is being resuscitated. How the PEG.
pie watch for the moment when
he begins to breathe again, and
when at last he takes one full
inhalation, and opens his eyes upon the by.
ISLANDERS. a shout of joy rings up and down
the beach. There is joy because life has
been saved. o, yew who have been swamped
in the seas of trouble and sins we gather
around you. Would that this might be the
hour when you begin 10 live. The Lord
Jesus Christ stems down, He gets on His
knees. He puts His lip to your lip and
would breathe pardon and life and Heaven
into your immortal soul. God grant that
this hour there may be thousands Of souls
resuscitated. l stand on the deck of the
old Gospel ship amid a crowd Of pas.
sengers, all of them hoping that the last
man overheard may be saved. May the
living Christ this hour put out for your
safety, spreading forth his hands in the
midst of you as a swimmer spreadeth his
hands to swim.'