The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1891-07-31


upon the necessity of Christian workers
being aggressive. His text was Esther
w Il: s'Who lznOveth whether thou
art come TO the kingdom for such a
time as this?'' DR.. Talmage said:
Esther, the beautiful, was the wife of
Ahasuerus, the abominable- The time
had come for her to present a petition
to her infamous husband in behalf of
the Israelitish nation, to which she had
once belonged. She was afraid to IN
-dertalke the work, lest she should lose
her own life; but her uncle, MOrdecai,
who had brought her mp, encouraged
her with the suggestion that probably
she had been raised up of God for that
peculiar mission. ''WhO knOwest
whether thou art come to the kingdom
for such a time as this?" Esther had
her GOd-appOinted work; you and have
ours 1t is my business to tell you
what style of people we ought
meet the demand of the age
in which God has cast our lot. If
you have come expecting to hear alb
sstraetions discussed, or dry TECHNICAL
ties of religion glorihed, you have come
to the wrong place; but if you really
would like to know what this age has
right to expect of you as Christian men
and women, then I am ready, in the
Lords name, to look you in the face.
When two armies have rushed into bat
tile the officers of either army do not
want a philosophical discussion about
the chemical properties of human blood
or the nature of gunpowder; they want
some one to man the batteries and
sswab out the guns And now, when
all the forces of light and darkness, of
sheaven and hell, have plunged into the
fight, ut as no time to give ourselves to
the definitions and formulas and tech
snicalities and conventionalities of re-
hot Te tsfsal
earnest, concentrated, enthusiastic and
triumphant help. What we need in the
east you in Wisconsin need.
In the first place, in order to meet the
especial demand of this age, you need to
be an Enthusiastically aggressive Chris
tian. 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 to the church's advancement.
am speaking of another kind of Chris
-tian. All the appliances for your be-
coming an earnest Christian are at your
hand, and there is a straight path for you
into the broad daylight of Gods for
sgiveness- You may have come here
to-day the bondsmen of the world, and
yet before you go out of these doors
you may become the princes of the
Lord God Almighty. You know what
excitement there is in this country
shores. Why? Because it is expected
that some day he will sit upon throne
But what is all that honor compared
with the honor to which God calls you
to be sons and daughters of the Lore
Almighty; yea. to be queens and kings
unto God? They shall reign with
Him forever and forever"
But my friends, you need to be ag
agressive Christians, and not like those
persons who spend their lives in hug
zging their Christian graces and won
rdering why they do not make any,
progress. How much robustness o
health would man have if he hid him
self in dark closet? A great deal o
piety of the day is too exclusive. I
hides itself. 1t needs more fresh air
more out door exercise. There ar,
many Christians who are giving thei
entire life to self examination. The
are feeling their pulses to see what i
the condition of their spiritual health
How long would a man have rObus
physical health if he kept all the day
and weeks and months and years of hi
life feeling his pulse instead of goin,
out into active, earnest, everyda,
work?
was once amid the wonderful, be
-vvitching cactus growths of North Can
DINA I never was more bewildere
with the beauty of flowers, and We
when I would take up one of these caC
fuses and pull the leaves apart tn
beauty was all gone. You could hardl
tell that it had ever been a flower
And there are a great many Christia
people in this day just pulling apaI
their Christian experiences to see wha
there is in them, and there is nothin
attractive left.
o, my frisndsi if you want TO have
.stalwart Christian character plant
right out of doors in the greet field {
Christian usefulness, and though storm
may come upon If. and though the he
sun of trial may try to consume 1t,
will thrive until it becomes a gres
tree, in which the fowls OF Heaven ma
have their habitatiOn- / have no p,
thence with these flower pot Christian
They keep themselves under shelte
and all their Christian experience in
small exclusive circle. when they ougl
to plant it in the great garden OF Il
Lord, so that the whole atmosphel
could be aromatic with their Christia