Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1892-06-13
RAW RECRUITS.
DR.. TALMAGE'S SERMON AT THE
BROOKLYN TABERNACLE.

mt 81 Struggle Nor Conquer Temptation
without Il StrusgIe-The Fortress OF
Darkness Must Be Carried by Assault.
BROOKLYN. June 12.-Dr. Talmage
prefaced his sermon this morning with
a statement to the effect that he would
sail on Wednesday next for Europe and
might be 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 -four 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 evinced by this magnificent
gift to the starving people. His sermon
was from the text, Ephesians VI, IL, "Put
on the whole ar1nor of God.
There is in this text great rattle OF
shields and helmets and swords. Sol
diers are getting ready for battle. We
have had recently in this church new en-
listments. and | shall address myself to
those in this and other churches who are
uniting on the armor of God, and who
NAV feel themselves to be as yet only
raw recruits Mastery retreat Is
term often used in military circles, but
in religion there is no such thing. 1t IS
either glorious advance or disgraceful
and iynominious falling back. 1t would
be q strange thing if all our anxiety
about men 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. l have no more anxiety for the
field" No There is work for the plow
and the hoe, and there must be a careful
keeping up of 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
implantation of grace in the heart. There
is earnest, hard work yet to be done and
perhaps many years OF anxiety before
there shall be heard the glorious shout
of Harvest home"
The beginning to be q Christian is only
putting down the foundation; but after
that there are years Of hammerlng, pol
ishing, carving, lifting, before the struc-
ture is completed. It takes five years to
make a Christian character; 1t takes
twenty years, it takes forty years, 1t
takes seventy years, If a man shall 1--we
SO long. In other words, a man dying
after half a century of Christian expert
ence feels that he has only learned the
"a B C's'' OF a glorious alphabet. The
next year Will decide a great deal ia
your history, young Christian man. 1t
will decide whether you are to be q burn
ing and shining light of the church, or d
spark of grace covered up in barrel OF
ashes. 1t will decide whether you are
to be a strong man in Christ Jesus, with
gigantic blows striking the iron mail OF
darkness, or q bedwarfed, whining,
grumbling soldier, that ought to be
druumed out of the Lords camp with
the -sRogues' 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 the shouting
of angels. you shall come into the right
harbor May God help me 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 AS \ PATTERN
NV first word Of counsel is. hold be
fore your soul very high model. d.
not saw. Il wish | could pray Ike tina
man. or speak like this man, or have th
conservation of this one" Say: "Her
is the Lord Jesus Christ. q perfect pat
tern BY that l mean, with Gods grace
to shape all my life In other words
YOU will never be any more Christian
than YOU strive to be. If you build
foundation twenty by thirty feet yo7
will only have small house. LII yo7
build foundation one hundred by on
hundred feet you will have large house
LIE YOU resolve to be only a middlin
Christian you will only be a middlin
Christian If you have no high aspirs
ton in a worldly direction you will neve
succeed III business. If you have n
high aspiration in religious things 20
will never succeed in religion.
You have a right to aspire to the yer
highest style of Christian characte
From your feet there reaches out pat
of Christian attainment which you ma
take. and deliberately say that you ma
be q better man than was Paul or Dav1
or Symmetrical or Doddridge-a bette
woman than Hannah More or Chariot
Elizabeth Why not? Did they have
monopoly of Christian grace? Did the
have private key to the storehouse
Gods mercy? Does God shut you OF
from the giadness and goodness to whie
they were introduced? Oh, no. Yc
have just the same promises, just tt
same Christ, just the same Holy Ghof
lust the same offers Of present and eve
lasting love, and if you fall short of VIII
they were-aye, if you do not come I
to the point which they reached and :
beyond tit is not because Christ h
shut you out from any point OF NOR
and spiritual elevation, but because "
deliberately refused to take 1t. L adm
l,ncn,nnn ~ Christi.