The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-03-29

In this gate, out that gate, east, west,
north, south. All through the ruins. The
ruins must be explored before the work OF
reconstruction can begin. The reason
that so many people In this day appa-
rentiy converted do not stay converted Is
because they did not first explore the ruins
of their own heart The reason that there
arc 90 many protested Christians who In
this day lie and forge and steal and COM
NIT adultery and 60 to the penitsntiary ID
because they do not learn the ruins
of their own heart They have not found
out that 'the heart IL deceitful above all
things and desperately wicked" They
had an idea that they were almost right
and they built religion a. . sort OF extern
sion, as an ornamental cupola. There was
Q superstructure Of religion built on sub.
stratum OF unrepented sins The trouble
with q good deal of modern theology ID
that instead Of building on the right
foundation it builds on the debris Of an
unregenerated nature. They attempt to
rebuild Jerusalem before, in the midnight
Of conviction, they have seen the ghastli-
ness of the ruin. They have such poor
foundation for their religion that the first
northern storm of temptation blows them
down. have no faith in Q mans CONVEX
sion IL he is not converted in the old.
fashioned way-John Bunyan's way, John
Wesley's way, John Calvin's way, Paul's
way, Christ's way, Gods way. A dentist
once said to me: "Does that hurti" Said
1: 'Of course it hurts. It il in your busi-
ness as in my profession. We have to
hurt before we can help"
You will never understand redemption
until you understand ruin. A man tells
me that some one is q member Of the
Church. 1t makes no impression on my
mind at all. I simply want to know
whether he was converted in the old fash.
toned way, or whether he was converted
verified in the old fashioned way he will
stand. II he was converted in the new
fashioned way he will not stand. That is
all there is about it. A man comes to me
to talk about religion. The first question
ask him Is: "Doyou feel yourself to be
sinner" II he says: swell, I-yes,"
the hesitancy makes me feel that that
man wants ride on Nehemiah's horse by
midnight through the ruins-in by the
gate of his affections, out by the gate Of
his will, and before he has got through
with that midnight ride he will drop the
reins on the horses neck, and will take
his right hand and smite on his
heart and say: 'God be merciful
to me a sinners" and before he has
stabbed his horse he will take his feet
out of the stirrups, and will slide down on
the ground and he will kneel, crying,
"Have mercy on me, o God, according
unto Thy loving kindness, according unto
the multitude of Thy tender mercies; blot
out my transgressions, for acknowledge
my transgressions and my sins are ever
before Thee" All, my friends. you see
this is not complimentary gospel That
is what makes some people so mad. 1t
comes to a man of a million dollars and
impenitent in his sins and says, You're a
pauper." 1t comes to a woman of fairest
cheek, who has never repented, and says,
"You're a sinner" 1t comes to q man
priding himself on his independence and
says, "You are bound hand and foot to
the devil" 1t comes to our entire
race and says, you're a ruin, q
CHASTITY ruin, an illimitable ruin"
Satan sometimes says to me, ''Why
do you preach that truth? Why don't
you preach a gospel with no repentance in
it! Why don't you flatter mems hearts so
that you make them feel all right? Why
don't you preach humanitarian gospel
with no repentance in ii, saying nothing
about the ruin, talking all the time about
say, Get thee behind me,
Satan" l would rather lead five souls
h. -t<y.& h. A,.-n 49, H.
wrong way. The redemption of the gospel
is a perfect farce if there is no ruin. ''The
whole need not physician, but they that
are sick" '1f any one, though he be an
angel from Heaven, preach any other than
this" says the apostle, ''let him be ac-
cursed" There must be the midnight ride
over the ruins before Jerusalem can be
built. There must be the clicking of the
hoofs before there can be the ringing of
trowels.
Again. My subject gives me a specimen
of busy, triumphant, sadness. If there was
any man in the world who had a right to
NOPE and give up every thing as lost it
was Nehemiah. You say, "He was a cup
bearer in the palace of Shushan and it
was grand place" So it was. The hall
of that palace was 200 feet square and the
roof covered over thirty-six marble
pillars, each pillar sixty.eight feet high;
and the intense blue OF the sky and the
deep green of the forest foliage and the
white of the driven snow all hung tremb-
ling in the upholstery. But, my friend,
you know very well that fine architecture
will not put down home-sicknesS Yet
Nehemiah did not give up. Then when
you see him going among those desoiate
streets and by these dismantled towers
and by the torn up grave of his father you
would suppose that he would have been
and that he would have dis.
mounted from his horse and gone to his
room and said: "Woe is me. My fathers
grave is torn up. The temple is dis.
honored. The walls are broken down. I
have no money with which to rebuild. l
wish 1 had never been born. I wish
I were dead" Not SO says Nehemiah.
Although he had great grief
so intense that il excited the
commentary of his King yet that penni-
less, expatriated Nemehiah rouses himself
to rebuild the city. He gets his permission
of absence. He gets his passports. He
hast. MS away to Jerusalem. BY night on
horseback he rides through the ruins. He
overcomes the most ferocious opposition.
He arouses the piety and patriotism of the
people, and in less than two months,
namely, in fifty.two days, Jerusalem was
rebuilt That's what call busy and tri-
umphant sadness. My friends, the whole
is with you, when you have
trouble, to do just the opposite to the be-
havior of Nehemiah. and that is, to give
up You say, Il have lost my child and
can never smile again" You say, Il have
lost my property and never can repair
my fortunes" You say, Il have fallen
into sin and l never can start again for q
new life" II Satan can make you form