The Penn's Grove record., 1892-06-17
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BRoOkLYN DIvINE's sun
-
DAY SERMON.
Subject, Raw Recruits"

F-1A@ : L
There is in tins text a great rattle of
shields and helmets and swords. Soldiers
are getting really Tor battle. We have had
recently IN this church new enlistments, and
shan address myself to those in this ana
other churches VINO are putting ohthe armor
o. Eoi, ana Nho may feel themselves TO be
as yet only raw recruits. MASTERY re
treat Is a term often used in military cir
Giles, but In religion there is no such thing
1t is either glorious advance or ~disgraceful
and lgnominIouS falling back. 1t would DO
a strange thing II all our anxiety about men
ceased the moment they we're converted.
You would almost doubt the 3anity of that
farmer who, hayinr planted the corn and
seen 1t Just spTOut above ground, should ssys
'My work Is all done. / nave no mere
anxiety tor the field - No. There is work
for tue pillow ami tue hoe, and there muS
be a careful keepiu. u1 Of tho fences, and
there must be a frightening away OF the
birds that would pIllage the field. And |
say the entrance upon Chri stan life is only
the implantatlon OF grace in the heart.
There Is earnest, hard work yet to be done
and perhaps many years of anxiety before
there shall be hearI the glorious shout of
Harvest home"
The beginning to be a Christian is only
putting down the touudation; but after that
there are years of hammering, POLISHING,
carving, lifting, before the structure is coin
pleted. 1t takes five years to make q Chris
tian characte"; 1t takes twenty years, it
takes forty years, it takes seventy years, II
a man shall live 50 long. In other words, 4
man dying after half a century of Christian
experience feelsSnat he has only learned the
"A B Cs' of the glorious alphabet. The
next year viii decide a great deal in your
history, young Christian man. 1t will de.
cid whether you are to be a burning AMI
shining light of the church, or a sparI; OF
grace covered up in a barrel OF
ashes. 1t will decide whether you are to be
q strong mar in Christ Jesus, with gigantic
blows striking the iron mail of darkness, or
a bedwarfed, winning, grumbling soldier.
that ought to be drumme1 out of the Lords
camp with the "ROgues' March," You have
only Just been launched; the voyage is to be
mace. Earth and heaven and hell are
watching to see how fast you will sail, how
well you will weather the TEMPEST, n
whether at last, amid the shouting of angels,
you shall come into the right harbor. May
Goo help me this morning to give you three
or four words Ct Christian counsel, as l adj
dress myself more especially to those who
nave just now entered the Christian lie.
Ny first word Of counsel is, hold before
your soula very high model. Do not say,
~ wish | could pray like that man, or speak
like this man, or have the conservation of
this one" Says Here is the Lord Jesus
Christ, a perfect pattern By that I mean,
with Gods grace, to shape all my life" In
other words, you will never be any more a
Christian than you strive to be, If you
build q foundation twenty by thirty feet you
will only have a small house, II you build
a foundation one hundred by one hundred
feet you will have a large house. II You re-
solve to be only a middling Christian you
will only be a n.dding Christian. II you
have no high aspiration in 4 worldly direc-
ton you will never succeed in business. Ii
you have no high aspiration in religious
things you will never succeed in religion.
You bave a right to aspire to the very
highest style OF Christian character.
From your feet there reaches out a path
of Christian attainment which you may
take, and | deliberately say that you may
be a better man than was Paul or David
or Symmetrical or Dotdridge-a better
! woman than Hannah More or Charlotte
| Elizabeth. Why nuts Did they have a
monopoly Of Christian gracet Did they
AVE a private KEY to the storehouse of
Gods mercy' Does God shut you out
from the ~gladness ana goodness to which
they were introduce1g oh, no. You
have just the same promises, just the
same Christ, just the same Holy Ghost,
just the same offers OF present and ever
lasting love, ami ii you fall short of what
they were-aye, if YOU do not come up to
the point which they reached and go beyond
tit is not because Christ has shut you out
from any point Of moral and spiritual eteva-
ton, III because you deliberately refused to
take it. admit that man cannot become
a Christian ike that without a struggle; but
what do you get without fighting for it?
TIL fortresses OF darkness arctic be taken by
storm. You may by acute strategy flank
the hosts of temptation, but there are temp
t~ations, there are evils in the way that you
will have to meet face to face, and it will be
shot for shot. gun for gun, grip for grip,
slaughter for Slaughter. lhe apostle
Paul over and over again represents the
Christian life az I combat.
When the war vessel of Christs church
comes inco glory bringing its crew and its
passengers it will not come in like a North
River yacht, beautifully painted and adorned,
swinging into the penthouse after a pleasure
excursion. Oh. nc. it will be like a vessel
coming with a heavy clrgo from China or
India, the marks of the wave and the hurri-
cane upon it-sails rent, rigging spliced,
pumps all working u keep her atioat, iEuI-
warks knocked away, | see such az FL
coming and get out my small boat and ; III
toward her, AMI / shout; "Ahoy, captain
What are YOU gong To so with those saw
cred timbsrs2 That was O beautiful sniI
when you went CIT, but you have ruinet
it" ''Oh.' says the captain, 81 AVE a fnt
cargo on boari, and hy this round trip
L have made ten fortunes.
.onI At ias+ come infa rhe harbor of hos vnn
T. III 80 SAM ,Han If the marts os d
yreat stress of weather. You can see nv tb1
ysrr ,ooEs Of thar s11i asIt comes into glorS
baf il va driven nv a sform and dssbad
in the bnTT.rana hnT br 50 much as The vov
ace is ronyb vii the 6arbor be blessej III
We safer vrirh HIM IN earth. We shall he
diorifa i vim Hin IN be,yer.o Aim hign
Do NOT he satis6a to be Ike the Christian.
! ali eTnnnJ yoI IA more tLau they have aver
been for Christ.
Nv = conJ wor3 NJ c7,nsel to those who
bav2 recently entered ugon Christian life is
ABSTAIN from al pernici6us ASSOCIATIONS, and
Ike only tbose hat are u sfuI and benefi.
cant. Stav ont OF all ASSOCIATIONS thai
would dsmage YOUR CHRISTIAN character
raEe only tho-e associations that Will hein
YOU. A Learned man said. III / stay with
that man Fenelon n longer / shall get 10
be a Christiau in spite OF myself" In other
worjS t1srei is a mighty power in Christian
associations. Now what kind of associa
|tions shall W., as voun- Christians, seek
after, / thing we ou.ht to get into coln
pany better than ourselves, never going