The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-10-24

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this strong swimmer. NO." you say,
''it is always disastrous for drowning
man to lay hold of swimmer" There
is not river or lake but has a calamity
resultant from the fact that when strong
swimmer went out to save a sinking man,
the drowning man clutched him, threw
his arms around him, pinioned his arms,
and they both went down together. When
you are saving man in the water you do
not want to come up to his face; you want
TO come up by his back. You do not want
him to take hold of you while you take
hold of him. But, blessed be God, Jesus
Christ is so strong swimmer He comes
not to our back, but to our face, and He
asks us to throw around Hi.i the arms of
our love, and then promises to take us to
the beach, and He will do it. Do not
trust that plank of good works. Do not
trust that shivered spar of your own
righteousness. Christ only can give you
transportation. Turn your face upon Him
as the dying martyr did in olden days,
when he cried out:
''None but Christ None but Christ"
Jesus has taken millions to the land,
and He is willing to take you there Oh,
what hardness to shove Him back when
the throne of God to where You are now,
and is ready to swim all the way back
again, taking your redeemed spirit.
have sometimes thought what a spectacle
the ocean bed will present when in the
last day the water is all drawn off. 1t
will be a line of wrecks from beach to
beach. There is where the harpooners
went down. There is where the line of
battle ships went down. There is where
the merchantmen went down. There is
where the steamers went down, a long
line Of wrecks from beach to beach.
What a spectacle in the last day when
the water is drawn off But oh, how
much more solemn if we had an eye to
see the spiritual wrecks and the places
where they foundered. You would find
thousands along our roads and streets.
Christ came down in their awful ca
tastrophe, 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.
l ask you to lay hold of this Christ, and
lay hold of Him now. Y on will sink with
out Him. From horizon to horizon not
one sail in sight. Only one strong swim
mer, with head flung back and arms out
spread. hear great many in the audi
ence saying:
"Well, I would like to be Christian.
l am going to work to become Chris
tian."
My brother, you begin wrong. When a
man is drowning, and strong swimmer
comes out to help him. he says to him:
Nov, be quiet. Put your arm on my
arm, or on my shoulder, but don't
struggle, don't try to help yourself, and
Pll take you ashore. The more you
struggle and the more you try to help
yourself, the more you impede me. Now,
be quiet and I'll take you ashore"
When Christ, the strong swimmer,
comes out to save soul, the sinner says:
"That's right. am glad to see Christ,
and am going to help Him in the work
of my redemption. I 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 brother, it 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 redemp-
ton. This is the difficulty which keeps
thousands of souls ont of the kingdom of
Heaven. 1t is because they can not con-
sent to let Jesus Christ begin and COM
plete 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 hold of Christ
and let Him achieve your salvation and
achieve it all. do not know whether
make the matter plain or not. l simply
want to show You that a man can not
save himself, but 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 ON.
nipotent swimmer OF the cross.