Telegram-herald., 1891-07-27
TALAAGE IL WISCONSIN.
CHRISTIANS ssOULo SEIZE TIER
PRESENT OPPORTUNITY.
Every Pf2es Mag >ss ne Pulpit. Every
wsrksAos. Gravel PA. FsEa or k=siss-a
Ir@ia-EssFy Christina MAJ ssv ID.
sosasxhiax fsF Ckxist.


MADISON, July 2s.-Rsy. DR.. Talnags
preached this morning at a ChaatAueua
assembly on the baaks OF Monoaa lake.
near rms city. IL u a great gathering II
people from AL p&rts Cf the northwest.
His te1L uss Esthsr iv, IA. ''wbo kaowe1A
y hsther thou ART come 70 the 1lngd0n for
sach a time - thiss'
Esther the Beautiful was the wife Of
Aaasuergs the AbomInable The time had
come for her % present petition TO her ia
famous Easbr al IN hehaif OF the lsraelitish
nation. 70 which sssa hS.t once belonged
she Sas afraid "a undertakes tue work
lest she should lose her osn life; bat her
1neie. A0rdseai y 40 had brought her up.
encouraged her with the ga question that
PROBABLY ale had besa raised ap Of God for
tnar pecullAE Ls4sssoa Who knoasth
whether thou art come TO the Kingdom for
such a time a. thsss Esther had her God
appointed wosk you and nave ours It
Il nay business 10 tell you what style of
people We ought 10 be Ia order that we
may meet the demand or the age in which
Col has east our ios. IL you have como
expecting % hear distractions discussed
or dry tschnlcslitles Of religion gIOriAed,
you have come ID the wrong place; but IL
yoa really voald ike 20 know what this
age has a right ID expect Of you a. Chris
t!an mea and women. then | am ready in
the Lords mans 20 look you ia the face.
When Two armies have rushed into bat
tie the officers Of either army do not want
philosophical discussion about the ehemi-
cal properties Of human blood or the ~
ture OF gunpowdsr. They want some ON
% man the batteries and swa5 out the
guns And now, when all the forces OF
hight and darkness, OF heaven and hell
have plunged into the light. it is no time
10 give ourselves 10 the definitions and
formulas and tecLaicalities aud conven-
tionaitties Of religion. What we want is
practical. earnest, concentrated, enthusiast
Tic and triumphant help. What we need
In the east you In Wisconsin need.
In the Grst place, in order To meet the
special demand Of this age. you need TO he
an Enthusiastically aggressive Christian. OF
half and half Christians We DO not want
any more. The church OF jesus Christ
will BE- better without ten thousand Of
them They are the chief obstacle 10 the
ehurch's advancement. | am speaking Of
another kind OF Christian. All the appll-
aaces for your becoming an earnest Chris
tian are at your hand. and there is a straight
path for you into the broad daylight OF
Gods forgiveness You may have CONS
here today the bondsnen Of the world, and
yet before you 20 out OF these doors you
may become the princes of the Lord God
Almighty. You know what excitement
there is in this country when foreign
prince comes TO our shores Why, Because
IL is expected that some day he will sit
upon a throae. But what is all that honor
compared with the honor to which God
calls yoa-to DC sons and daughters OF the
Lord Almighty; yea, to be queens and
kings unto Godi They shall reign with
him forever ard forever"
A HEALTHY OPEN AIR FAITH
But, my friends. you need not be aggres-
siye CHRISTIANS, and not like those persons
who spend their lives in hugging their
Christian graces and wondering why they
do not make any progress. How much ro-
business OF health would a man have il he
hid himself In dark closet, A great deal
OF piety of the day IS too exclusive. 1t
hides Itself IL needs more fresh air, more
outdoor exercise There are many Chris
tians who are giving their entire life to
self examination. They are feeling their
pulses to see what Is the condition of their
spiritual health. How long would a man
have robust physical health IL be kept all
the days and weeks and months and years
Of his life feeling his pulse instead of going
out into active, earnest, everyday work!
was once amid the wonderful, bewitch-
ing cactus growths Of North Carolina I
never was more bewildered with the beauty
OF flowers. and yet when would take up
one OK these cactuses and pull the leaves
apart. the beauty was all gone. You could
hardly tell that it had ever been flower
And there are a great many Christian peo-
pie Ia this day Just pulling apart their
Christian experiences to see what there IS
In them, and there is nothing attractive
left This style OF self examination is a
damage instead OF an advantage to their
Christian character. l remember when I
was a boy used TO have a small piece in
the garden that I called my own, aud I
planted corn there, and every few days
would pull IL up to SEQ how fast it was
growing. Now, there are n great many
Christian people in this day whose self ex-
animation merely amounts to the pulling
up Of that which they only yesterday or
the day before planted.
o.. my friends. IL you want 10 have stall
wart Christian character. plant IL right out
q doors In the great feld OF Christian use
fulness. and though storms may come
upon Il, and though the hot sun Of trial
may try To consume it. IL viii thrive until
it becomes n great tree. in which the fowls
az heaven may have their habitation l
hav- no patience with these fowerpot
Christians. They keep themselves under
shelter. and ell their Christian experience
In a small, exclusive circle. when they
cught 10 plan. it in the great garden Of the
Lord, so that the whole atmosphere could
- aromatic with their Christian useful-
ness. What we want la the church OF God
il more Drawn Of piety
The century plant ia wonderfully sug
Cestive and wonderfully beautiful. but I
never look 81 is without thinking % It's
parSi ynony. 10 lets whole generations go
by bsfore it puts forth enc blossom; so |
have really more heartfelt admiration
when 7 see the dewy tears In the blue eyps
% tho vioiets, for they come every spring
Ny Christian friends. time n going hy SO
RAPIDLY that ws cannot afford 20 be idle
A recent sfatistician says that human life
now has an average of only thlrtytwo
years. From these thirtytwo years ron
pnst subtract ali the tire ron take for
sleep and the taking Of food aud recrea-
ton. that viii leave you ABOUT sixteen
years. From those sixteen years. ron must
subtract sll the time yoa are necessarily
engaged in the earning 81 a livelihood,
thas will leave you ahoat eight years.
FROM those eight years ron nnst take all
The DAYS and weeks aud uionths-asl the
length ~ time that Il passed en- childhood
and siek n~--. ieavine VOC about one yesr
In which ~ work for God. On, mr. aorl.
wake MP How dsrest thou sleep In bar
vest time and with so few hours in which
70 resp' 50 that state u s~ simple fact
that all the TIRE thar the vast majority ~