The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1889-05-30
SAM. JONES.

Sparks From His Sermon in Danville.
J. was glad to see, when came into this
warehouse, how the people of sDanville
had prepared for God. God always comes
when you prepare for Him. I once went
to a meeting and saw a great many poor
people who had to. work and couldn't stay
at the meeting. and told, 'em If they
would stay would feed 'em, during the
meeting. 1t,cost me $500. but l caught
Sam Small at the meeting. and / wouldn't
take a million for him. SO I made q clear
profit Of 5000, 500. You must look after
the body as well as the. SOUL. and some-
times the best way to save a fellow S soul
is to do, good. to his body. Send your
prayers around to some poor woman s
house in the shape of, -four and bacon, a..
Prayer is like .telegraphipg to heaven.
II vol! desire to send a telegraphic mes
sage. to Richmond, the wire must be clear.
II it is on the ground and weighted down
by rocks and logs. the operator may call
year and he cannot, make the click. be
heard in Richmond. The wire must be
off the ground, clear and well insulated,
and then the click will not he started in
Danville before it is heard lin Richmond.
Ii the line between you. and heaven lis
weighted down by your. own. meanness--
your, own, sins of omission and commits
sionl--you may Gala, Thousand years and
God will not hear your prayer; but get
your line off the ground. insnlate it with
divine grace, and your message. will
hardly be started at this end before the
answer will begin at the other. ,..eeF
Let US not say a man s. not a Christian
because he sometimes does wrong. SO
long as he's improving there's hope. If
you.do wrong, don't, give up.a but rally
around Christ. Doing wrong. is not so
bad, if we have the power of recuperation.
When | was q boy and hunted rabbits, /
watched for the place on the groundwhere
the rabbit lay down. it was. warm, /
knew that he had not been gone long. and
I had little trouble .in; catching, him.
When you fall--don't lie still long. enough
for. the. place to get. warns if you. do,
the Devil will get you. When you fall.
fall like a rubber ball, and bounce higher
than you We're. before. -. J., y. j s.sn =. ....i
The atingy. man-of all men who ever
cursed the world, the worst. is. the money
monger in. the Church. !, Here's an old. hog
who is " orth 800, 600, gives. $500 to- the
Church, and wants to boss the whole husi-
ness because he's t, the "pEinelpallesto
giver. The best man in your city is the
most liberal man. I'd. rather. be a liberia
gan bier than to be stingy Methodist, for
if the gambler gets religion. he's all right,
but the stlngy Methodist has already got
it. and he amt Werth killing. ,e .
Christ won t 60 ir a house where the
whskey deoanter sets on the. side,board,
nor where the card parties and .parlor
DANCES are allowed. Mothers,of the nine
teenth century are so prone to push their
daughters off. They don't need any push
Ing If you raise them right. If your.
Can. play as, well ,onpa cook stove
as a .piano* and make her own dresses,
she n eds no pushing. Good men viii go
a thousand miles to look for such girl.=.
4 will. show you five men-one makes
one sells it, one Ia member of the
church, rents the seller a house to sell it
in, one votes the seller his. license, and one
buys the whiskey. gets drunk onstit, aud.
dies drunk. and the last fellow ris,the only
one, in the, lot who is not a gentleman
Now, how are you going to separate that
crowd to send some to heaven and some to
hell? 1t can't be DONE God. being a
just God, is going to send the whole lot to
hell together
There are always some old lazy members
of the Church. who, hang around on the
outskirts of. a meeting and,do nothing I'M
a mighty hurry, and. say. 20 don't. close
the meeting non. i am just getting ripe.A
Well. amt got time to stay here and rack
you up and down, the universe until you
get ripe. Getlripe, now. ..t-,.,..-e -
When you hear.a man say he has no con-
fdencein Sam Jones. justtell him to- write
that ont, bring it4to; me. and Twill sign
the paper. l. have no confidence in him
mysalf. Il followed him bllndly fer TWEEN
ty four years, and he carried me to. the
brink of ruin, from, which, the grace Of
God saved me. l have,no faith. in him,
but have faith in the Lord Jesus, and
am preaching Christ-not Sam Jones'. u.
never go to a prayer meeting that !
don't hear some old brother say. I've
been bearing the cross for twenty years. .
Now, what's q cross? When Gods will
is straight up and down and yours is in a
horizontal position. then you We got first
class cross. God don't want you to bear
the cross. A Christian ought to bear his
cross TO Calvary. die on it. and then say
good bye to the cross and live. !,
Some preachers don't like reviyals be.
cause they dread the reaction. There.
must be action before there can be re.
action. and hence reaction is but proof
that something has been done; so if you
want to avoid reaction, all YOU have to do
is to do iiothing, and there viii be nothing
to react. . When REACTION sets in after
revival, then tits time to start another re-
yiya1. ''''-
God wants His people to be as as responsive
to His viii as horses are to the will of the
driver. But some of you are like mules.
You won't 60 when God says go, and when
he slaps you on the back With the reins
you Kick. some Of you have been Kicking
already. That's all you are good for. If
/ were' called on to preach your funeral,
I'd stand'at the head of your'conin. ''' -
We talk about voting, and we hurrah
for this man or that man for President.
| would rather see the Devil President
with no whiskey in the, land'thannto see
any other President and ,Wlhskey sold ev.
etywhere. If there was no whiskey:. the
Devilawould resignin tive, wet ks and .gd
out of business.