The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1889-07-10

Our HOUSE on tne Hills" His text was
John xiv, Q; ''In my Fathers house are
many rooms" Following is the sermon:
Here Is bottle of medicine that Is cure
all The disciples were sad and Christ
offered heaven as an Alternative, stimulant
and o tonic He shows them that their sor-
rows are only dark background Of a bright
picfure OF coming felicity. He lets them
know that though they now live in the low
lands they shall vet have a house on the up
lands. Nearly all the Bible descriptions OF
Heaven may be figurative. am net posi-.
tive thatin all Heaven there Is a literal
crown, or harp, DR. pearly gate, or throne, or
chariot They may be only used to illustrate
the glories Of the place, but how well they
90 II The favorite symbol by which the
Bible presents celestial happiness is house.
Paul, who never owned house, although
ne, hired one for two years in Itaay, speaks
OF Heaven as "a "house not made with hands, ("
and Christ IN our text, the translation Of
which is a little changed so as TO give the
more accurate meaning, says: "In my
Fathers house are many rooms"
This diviuely authorized comparison of
Heaven toa great homestead Of large ac-
commodations propose TO carry out In
some healthy neighborhood man builds a
very commodious habitation. He must have
room for all his children. The rooms come
TO be called rster different members Of the
family. That is mothers room. That Is
GeorgeSroom. That Is Henry,s room. That
is Floras room. That is Mary's room. And
the house is all occupied. But time goes by,
and the sons 20 out into the world and build
THAR IN hNOnaa nA 4 ~. lo., ,ul,4
ried or have talents enough: singly to 20 out
and do good work in the world. After q
while the father and mother are almost
alone in the big house, and, seated by the
evening stand, they sry: "well, our
family Is no larger now than when we
started together forty years ago." But time
goes still further BY and some Of tho chill
dren are unfortunate and return to the old
homestead TO live, and the grandchildren,
come with thcm, and perhaps great-grand-
children, and again the house Is full. Many
millennia ago God built on the hills OF
Heaven great homestead for family in
Vulnerable, yet to be. At first He lived
alone In that great house, but after while
II was occupied by very large family,
cherubic, seraphic, angelic The eternities
passed on and many OF the inhabitants be.
came wayward and left, never TO return.
And many OF the apartments were vacated,
refer 10, the fallen angels. Now, these
apartments are filing up again. There are
arrivals at the old homestead Of Gods chill
dren every day, and the day will come when
there viii be no unoccupied room in all the
house. g.it f -l,,-ie .ttI..E.
AS you and expectto enter Il and make
there eternal residence, thought you would
like 70 get some more particulars about that
many roomed homestead. 'In my Fathers
house are many rooms" You see the place
rs to be apportioncd on into apartments.
We shall love all who are in Heaven, but
there are some very good people whom we
would not want 10 live with in the same
room. They may be better than we are, but
they are Of divergent temperament. We
would like TO meet with them on the golden
streets and worship With them in the tenn
pie and walk with them on the river banks,
but am glad 10 say that we shall live In
different apartments. ''In my Fathers
house are many rooms" You see Heaven
win be so large that II one wants an entire
room TO himself or herself, II can be az
forded. An ingenious statistician, taking
the statement made in Revelation, twenty
first chapter, that the heavenly Jerusalem
was measured and found TO be twelve thou
sands furiongs and that the length and
height and breadth OF II are equal, says that
would make Heaven In size 94S sextillion,
oSS quintillion cubic feet, and then reserv-
Ing certain portion for the courtof Heaven
and the streets, and estimating that the
world may last hundred thousand years,
he ciphers out that there are over five tril
lion rooms, each room seventeen feet long,
sixteen feet wide, fifteen feet high. But /
have no faith in the accuracy OF that calcu-
lation. He makes the rooms too small. From
all can read the rooms will be palatial, and
those who have not had enough room in
this world, will have plenty OF room at the
Last. The fact is that most people in this
world are crowded, and though out on a
vast prairie or in a mountain district people
may have more room than they want, In most
Eases II Is house built close 10 house, and
the streets are crowded and the cradles
crowded by other cradles, and the graves
,rowded In the cemetery by other graves,
md one Of the richest luxuries OF many |
people In getting out Of this world will be |
me gaining Of unhindere4 and uncramped |
" the room that the statistician clphered |
,utas only seventeen feet by sixteen, IL
hculd be larger than any of the imperial
'ooms at Berlin, st. James, or Winter Pal |
'ce. 's1n my Fathers house there are many |
ooms." Carrying out still further the sym
'oiism Of the text let us Join hands and 20 |
Up 70 this majestic homestead and see for |
Az We ascend the golden steps, an invisi-
'le guardsman swings open the front door
md we are ushered TO the right into the re-
eptionroom Of the old homestead That Is
he place where we first meet the welcome
4 Heaven. There must be place where the
eparted spirit enters and place in which
confronts the inhabitants celestial. The
eception room Of the newly arrived from
his world-what scenes Il must have wit
essed since the first guest arrived, the vic
Inn OF the first fratricide, pious Abel. In
hat room Christ lovingly greeted all new
omers. He redeemed them and He has the
ight to the first embrace on their arrival.
What minute when the ascended spirit
rst Sees the Lord. Better than alive ever
cad about Him, or talked about Him, or
ang about Him in all the churches and
trough all our earthly lifetime, will It be,
lst for one second 10 see Him. The most
,pturous ideas we ever had Of Him on sac
lmental days or at the height Of some great |
syival, or under tho uplifted baton Of an {
ratorio are bankruptcy Of thought com I
sred with the first fash Of His appearance
! that reception room. AT that moment {
hen you confront each other, Christ look. I
q upon you, and you looking upon Christ, Q
lere will be an ecstatic thrill aud surging +,
emotion that beggars all description. 3
ookl They need no Introduction Long I
% Christ chose that repentnnt ainner md !