Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-06-13
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to be strong physically as to be strong
without prayer. The only way to get any
strength into the soul is by prayer, and the
only difference between that Christian
that is worth everything and that who is
worth nothing is the fact that the last
does not pray and the other does.
And the only difference between this
Christian, who is getting along very fast
in the holy life, and this, who is only get
ting along tolerably, is that the first prays
more than the last. You can graduate a
mans progress in religion by the amount
of prayer, not by the number of hours,
perhaps, but by the earnest supplication
that he puts up to God. There is no ex-
ception to the rule. Show me Christian
man who neglects this kind of duty and
will show you one who is inconsistent.
Show me man who prays, and his
strength and his mower nannnt hn auas-
that God never puts you in battle, but he
gives you weapons with which to fight"
ABSTAIN FROM PERNICIOUS ASSOCIATIONS.
My second word of counsel to those who
have recently entered upon Christian life
is, Abstain from all pernicious associations,
and take only those that are useful and be-
neticent. Stay out of all associations that
would damage your Christian character.
Take only those associations that will help
you. A learned man said, ''If l stay
with that man Fenelon any longer shall
be a Christian in spite of myself" In
other words, there is mighty power in
Christian associations. Now, what kind
of associations shall we, as young Chris
tians, seek after? I think we ought to get
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going into company worse than ourselves.
If we get into company little better than
ourselves, and there are ten people In that
company, ten chances to one we will be
bettered If we get into company little
worse than ourselves, and there be ten
people in that company, ten chances to one
we will be made worse than we were be-
fore.
Now, when young Christian enters the
church. God does not ask him to retire
from the world. The anchorite that lives
on acorns is no nearer heaven than the man
who lives on partridge and wild duck. Iso-
lation is not demanded by the Bible. A
man may use the world with the restriction
of not abusing it. But just as soon as you
find any surroundings pernicious to your
spiritual interest, quit those associations
This remark is especially more appropriate
to the young. Now it is impossible that
the young and untroubled should seek
their associations with those who are aged
and worn out
AS God intended the aged to associate
with the aged, talking over the past and
walking staff in hand along the same paths
they trod thirty, forty and fifty years ago,
so | suppose he intended the young chiefly
to associate with the young. The grace of
God does not demand that we be unnat-
ural. ! do not want you to take this eau
ton have given you as that of growl-
ing msanthrope, hating hilarity. For you
must have II spring bow if you want to
make the arrow fly. But while this is so,
l want you to be especially on guard in
this matter and let the religion of Jesus
Christ control you in all your associations
know young people who have meant
well enough but they have fioated off into
evil influences and they have associated
day by day with those who hated God and
despised his commandments, and their
characters are all depleted l can see they
are changed for the worse, but they are
not aware of it. Oh, young man, come out
of that bad association. / do not know
what it is. i do not know to what place
you may have a private key. / do not
know to what place you go without the
sanction of those who love you very much.
l do not pretend to point out any evil in
huences, but are there not some surround
ing influences that are pernicious to your
growth in graceP Stand back from that
furnace in which so many young Chris
tians have been destroyed.
In this church there is a large company
of young men and young women conse-
Grated to Christ. know of no better peo-
pie than they are. Young convert, / in
vte you into their friendship. Contact
with them will elevate you. All hail,
young followers of Jesus Christ, my Joy
and my pridel My heart thrills at every
step of your advancement. l talked with
you in that hour when you first tried to
break from sin, and now rejoice as | see
you putting on the armor of a conflict in
which God will give you present and ever
lasting victory. Stand off from all evil as
sociatons. A man is no better than the
he keeps. Go among those who
are better than you are, and you will be
made better. Go among those who are
worse than you are and you will be made
worse.
KEEPS ACTIVELY EMPLOYED.
My next word of counsel is that you be
actively employed. / see a great many
Christians with doubts and perplexities,
and they seem to be proud of them. Their
entire Christian life is made up of gloom,
and they seem to cultivate that spiritual
dependency, when | will undertake to
say that in nine cases out of ten spiritual
dependency is n judgment of God upon
idleness. Who are the happy people in the
church today The busy people. Show
me man who processes the religion of
Jesus Christ and is idle, and l will show
you IN unhappy man. The very first pre-
scription that give to a man when find
him full of doubts and fears about his
eternal interest is to go to work for God
Ten thousand voices are lifted up asking
for your help Go and help.
Here is wood full of summer insects.
An axman goes into the wood TO cut fire.
wood The insects do not bother him very
much and every stroke of the AK makes
them fly away But let man go and lie
down there and he is bitten and mauled
and thinks it is horrible thing to stay in
the wood. Why does he not take an AK
and 90 to work. So there are thousands
of Christians now in the church who go
out amid great annoyances in life-they
are not perplexed, they are all the time
busy; while there are others who do moth
ing and they are stung and stung and
stung and covered from head to foot with
the blotches of incidence and inactivity
and spiritual death.
The first thing, then, you have to do, O
Christian young man, Christian young
woman, is to go to work in the service OF
the Lord if you want to be happy Chris
tan. When an army goes out, there are
always straRglers falling off here and there,
some because they are faint and sick, but
a great many because they are afraid to
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