The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-08-07

vansary, 2nd Ii ne mad not, with the
crushed hand of the crucifix, Knocked
at the iron gate of the sepulcher of our
spiritual death, crying, Lazarus, come
forth?" o, my Christian friends, this
is no time for inertia, when all the
forces OF darkness seem to be in full
blast; when steam printing presses are
publishing infidel tracts; when express
railroad trains are carrying messengers
of sin; when fast clippers are laden with
opium and rum; when the night air OF
our cities is polluted with the laughter
that breaks up from the 10000 saloons
OF dissipation and abandonment; when
the fires of the second death already
are kindled in the cheeks of some who,
only little while ago. were incorrupt.
Never since the curse fell upon the
earth has there been time when 1t
was such an unwise, such a cruel, such
an awful thing for the church to sleep.
The great audiences are not gathered
in the Christian churches, the great
audiences are gathered in temples OF
sin-tears of unutterable woe their bap-
tism, the blood of crushed hearts the
awful wine of their sacrament, blasphe-
mics their litany. and the groans OF the
lost world the organ dirge OF their wor-
ship.
Again, il you want to be qualified to
meet the duties which this age demands
of you, you must on the one hand
avoid reckless iconoclasm, and on the
because they are old. The air is full OF
new plans, new projects, new theories
of government. new theologies, and |
am amazed to see how so many Chris
tians want only novelty in order to
recommend thing to their confidence,
and so they vacillate and swing to and
fro, and they are useless, and they are
unhappy. New plans secular, ethical,
philosophical, religious, cisatlantic,
transatlantic. All, my brother, DO not
adopt a thing merely because it is new.
Try it by the realitiaes of Judgment
day.
But, on the other hand, do not adhere
to anything merely because it is old.
There is not single enterprise of the
church or the world but has sometimes
been scotfed at. There was a time
when men derided even Bible societies;
and when a few young men met near a
haystack in Mass achusetts and organ
lied the first missionary society ever
organized in this country there went
laughing and ridicule all around the
Christian church. They SAID the I'M
dertaking was preposterous. And so
also the work of Jesus Christ was as
sailed. People cried out, "Who ever
heard Of such theories of ethics and
government? Who ever noticed such a
style of preaching as Jesus has,"
And so there are those who have no
patience with anything like improve
ment in church architecture, or with
anything like good, hearty, earnest
church singing, and they deride any
form of religious discussion which goes
down walking among every day men
rather than that which makes an excur-
sion on rhetorical stills. o that the
church of God would wake up to an
the simple fact that the churches of
Jesus Christ in this day do not reach
the great masses. There are $4,000
people in Edinburg who never hear
the Gospel. There are 1000, 900 people
in London who never hear the Gospel.
There are at least 800, 900 souls in the
city of Brooklyn who come not under
the immediate ministrations of Christ's
truths; and the church of God in this
day, instead of being place full of liv-
ing epistles, read and known of all men,
is more like dead letter" postoffice.
But" say the people. "the world is
going to be converted; you must be
patient; the Kingdoms OF this world are
TO become the kingdoms of Christ"
Never, unless the church Of Jesus
Christ puts on more speed and energy.
Instead Of the church converting the
world. the world is converting the
church.
Here is a great fortress. How shall
it be taken? An army comes and sits
around about it, and cuts off the sup
plies, and says: "Now we will just wait
until from exhaustion and starvation
they will have to give it up" Weeks
and months. and perhaps year, pass
along and finally the fortress surrend-
ers through that starvation and eX-
haustion. But, my friends, the fort
resses of sin are never to be taken in
that way If they are taken for God it
will be by storm: you will have to bring
up the great siege guns of the gospel TO
the very wall and wheel the flying ar
tillery into line, and when the armed
infantry of heaven shall confront the
battlements you will have to give the
quick command, Forward, Charger
All. my friends, there is work for you
to do and for me to do in order to this
grand accomplishment. Here is a
pulpit, and clergyman breaches in it.
Your pulpit is the bank. You pulpit is
the store, Your pulpit is the editorial
chair. Your pulpit is the anvil. Your
pulpit is the house scaffolding. Your
pulpit is the mechanics shop. l may
stand in this place and, through cow
ardice or through self seeking, may
keep back the word | want to utter;
while you, with sleeves rolled up and
brow besweated with toll, may utter
the word that will jar the foundation of
heaven with the shout of great
victory. o, that to-day this whole
audience might feel that the Lord AL
mighty is putting upon them the hands
of ordination. Every one, go forth and
preach this gospel. You have as much
right to preach as l have. or as any man
has. Only find out the pulpit where
God will have you preach, and there
preach. Hedley Wears was wicked
man in the English army. The grace
of God came to him. He became an
earnest and eminent Christian. They
scoffed at him and said: You are a
hypocrite: you are as bad as ever you
we're" Still he kept his faith in
Christ. and after awhile, finding that
they could not turn him aside by call
ing him hypocrite, they said to him:
'Oh, YOU are nothing but fanatic"
They did not disturb him he went on
performing his Christian duty until he
had formed all his troops into a Bible
class. and the whole encampmcnt was
shaken with the presence of God. So
Havelock went into the heather tenn
pie in India while the English army
was there. and put a candle into the
hand of each of the heather gods that
stood around in the heather temple,
and h, .hn linht Of those candles. held