Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1892-06-18
RAW RECRUITS.
DIR. IAlmAeE's SERMON AT rHE
BROOKLYN TABERNACLE.

1900 49,
ont "a Struggle Nor Conquer Temptation
Without u s.rugsle--The Fortress oil
Darkness Must lie Carried by Assault
! BROOKLYN, June i2.-Dr. Talmage
prefaced his sermon this morning with
statement to the effect that he would
suil on Wednesday next for Europe and
might DO able to be present at'the dis
tribution in the famine stricken districts
of Russia of The Christian Herald relief
cargo, consisting of three million pounds
of flour and other supplies, which goes
out this week on the steamship Leo
chartered for the purpose. He congratu-
lated the American people on the gener-
Gus spirit eyinced by this magnificent
gift to the starving people. His sermon
was from the text, Ephesians vi, IL, "Pus
on the whole armor of God"
There is in this texta great rattle OF
shields and helmets and swords. Sol
diers are getting ready for battle We
have had recently in this church new en-.
listmcnts, and shall address myself tC
those in this and other CHURCHES who are
putting on tho armor OF God, and who
may feel themselves to be as yet only
raw recruits. Mastery retreat" is q
term often used in military circles, but
in religion there is no such thing. 1t is
either glorious advance or disgraceful
and ignomiuious falling back. 1t would
be IL strange thing if all our anxiety
about lncii ceased the moment they were
converted.
You would almost doubt the sanity OF
that farmer who, having planted the
corn and seen it just sprout above
ground. should say: My work is all
done. have no more anxiety for the
field" No. There is work for the pillow
and the hoe, and there must bo u careful
keeping upof the fences, and there must
be ~ frightening away of the birds that
would pillage the field. And say the
entrance upon Christian life is only the
implantat;ou Of grace i'll the heart. There
is earnest. hard work yet to be done md
perhaps many years of anxiety before
there shall be heard the glorious shout
of Harvest home.
The beginning to he d Christian is only
putting down the foundation; but after
that there are years Of hammering, pol
ishing, carving, lifting, before the struc-
turc is completed. It takes five years to
make Christian character; it takes
twenty years, it takes forty ycars, il
takes seventy years, if man shall live
so long. In other words, n man dying
after half century of Christian expert
cnce feels that he has only learned the
IA 3 Cs" of a glorious alphabet. The
next year will decide great deal II
your history. young Christian IMAM. II
will decide whether you are to be u burn
ing and shining light of thc.chlirch, or q
spark of grace covered up i'll Il barrel OF
ashes. It will decide whether you Gge
to be strong man in Christ Jesus, with
gigantic blows striking the iron mail OF
darkness orss,av.bedwarfed, whining
grumbling soldier, that ought to he
drummed out of the Lords camp with
the "Rogues' March" You have only
just been launched; the voyage is to be
made. Earth and heaven and hell are
watching to see how fast you will sail,
how well you will weather the tempest,
and whether at last, amid tho shouting
of angels. you shall come into the right
harbor. May God help Inc this morning
to give you three or four words of Chris
tan counsel. as address myself more
especially to those who have Just now
entered the Christian life.
HOLD CHRIST ASA PATTERN.
My first word Of counsel is, hold be.
fore your soul very high model. Dc
not say, II wish could pray like that
man, or speak like this man, or have the
conservation of this one.' Say: "Here
is the Lord Jesus Christ, perfect pat
tern. BY that mean, with Gods grace,
to shape all my life" In other words,
you will never be nny more a Christian
than you strive to be. If you build q
foundation twenty by thirty feet you
will only have small house. If you
build foundation one huAdred by one
hundred feet you will have q large house.
If you resolve to DO only mideiling
Christian you will only be II middling
Christian. If you have no high aspira-
ton in worldly direction you will never
succeed in business. Ii you have nc
high aspiration in religious things you
will mover succeed in religion.
You have right to aspire to the very
highest style of Christian character.
From your feet there reaches out path
of Christian attainment which you may
take. and | deliberately say that You may
he Il better man than was Paul or David
or Symmetrical or Doddridge-a better
woman than Hannah More or Charlotte
Elizabeth. Why noti Did they have q
monopoly of Christian grace: Did they
have private key to tie storehouse OF
Gods mercy? Docs God slut you out
from the gladness and goodness to which
they were introduced? 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, and if you fall short of what
they werc-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
md spiritual elevation, but because you
deliberately refused to take it. | admit
that man cannot become Christian
like that without IL struggle; but what
do you get without fighting for it? Tho
fortresses of darkness are to be taken by
storm. You may by acute strategy
flank the hosts Of temptation, bat there
are temptations. there are evils i'll the
way that you will have to meet face to
face, and it will le shot for shot. gun for
gun, grip for grip. slaughter for slaugh-
ter. The apostle Paul over and over
again represents the Christian life as a