Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1891-01-17

There are those here, perhaps, who
says Tt is now renS fifteen years since
1 was:in the habit, the regular habit, of
church going" Iknow all about your
case am going to tell you something
thatEzwill be startling at the first, and
thatsis that you are going to become
the Lords sheep. "oh," you say, that
is ilnpossible;4 you don't know my case;
yousdon't know how far lam from any
thing of that kind" know all about
your case have been up and down
theworld ! know why some of you
do not attend upon Christian services.
I.go further, and make another an
nouncement in regard to you, and that
is, you are not only to become the
Lords sheep, but you are going to be.
come the Lords sheep this hour. God
is going to call you graciously by his
spirit; You. are. going to come into the
foldsof Christ This sermon shall not
be So much. for those who are Chris
tisnssf I1haVe preached to them hun
dredss and thousands of times The
sermon that preach now is going
to be chiefly for those who con-
slider themselves outsiders, but who
may. happen to be in the house, and
the5cllief employment of the Christian
people here. today will be to pray for
those who are not accustomed to at
tend upon Christian sanctuaries.
When the steamer Atlantic went to
pieces on Mars Rock why did that
brave minister of the gospel, of whom
we have all read, go out in the lifeboats
Why did he not stay and look after the
passengers that got ashore, wrapping
Aannels around them, and kindling
fires for them, and preparing them
food. There was plenty of work to be
done on shore for those who had al.
ready escaped. ALL that brave man
knew that there were others who would
take care of those, and SO he said:
Man the lifeboatl Pull away, my
lads, pull away Yonder is a man;
there is u woman freezing in tile rig
ging. Pull awayr" see the oar
blades bend in the strong pull of the
oarsnlen Then they come up to the
wreck. The woman is frozen She
drops into the wavc-alasl poor WON
an-and washes out to sea. But then
Mr.,Ancient says: 'There is man yet
hanging to the rigging Pull away,
my,ladsl pull awayl" They come up,
and he says. Hold now there five
minutes and we will save you. Steadyl
steady Now give me your hand.
Leapl Thank Coz, he is saved
Thank God, he is savedr
So there are men now in the break.
ers: They have made shipwreck Of
life. While we come out to save them,
some are swept ofF-swept off before
we can reach them-and there are
others still hanging on. Steady there
among the slippery places Steady
Leap into this lifeboatl Now is your
chance for heavcnl This hour some of
ydnsare going to be saved. Far away
Sod, you are going to be brought
q F i.sn = Other sheep have which are
not of this fold"
Christ says that ministers of the COS
pei are to be fishers for men. Now, |
when l go fishing l do not want to fish
in anybody else's pond. do not want
to go along Hohokus creek, where there
are ten or fifteen men fishing, and drop
my line just about where they are drop
ping their lines. should like to get in
Newfoundland fishing smack and
push out to sea fifty miles beyond the
breakers. do not think the Church
of God gains great deal when you
take sheep from one fold and put them
in another fold 1t is the lost sheep on
the mountains you want to bring back
the lost sheep on the mountains. And
they are coming today.
You are now this hour in the tide of
Christian influences You are going to
be swept in; your voice is going to be
heard in prayer; you are going to be
consecrated to God; you are going to
live life of usefulness, and your death
bed is going to be surrounded by Chris
tian sy1npathizcrs, and devout men
will carry you to your burial when /
your work is done, and these words !
will be chisclcd for your epitaph /
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is |
the death of his saints. And all that /
History is going to begin today. "Other /
sheep have which are not of this
fold"
Again remark, the Heavenly Shep I
herd is going to find many of his Sheep
among those who are now rejecters OF
Christianity. do not know how you
came to reject Christianity. l do not
know whether it was through hearing
Theodore Parker preach, or whether it |,
was reading Remains -"Life of Jesus,
or whether it was through some skeptic
in the store or factory. Or it may be-
probably is the case-that you were
disguised with religion and ditgusted
with Christianity because some man
who protested to be Christian de
hauded you, and he being a member
of the church, and you taking him as O
representative of the Christian religion,
you said, well, if that's religion,
don't want any of it.
L do not know low you came to re-
ject Christianity, but you frankly tel
Inc you do reject it; You do not think
the Bible is the word of God. although
there are many things in it you admire;
you do not think that Christ was a
divine being, although you think he
was very good man. You say, IF
the Bible be truc-tLe most of the
Bible be tr,e-I nevertheless think the