The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-06-15
A FAREWELL SERMON
PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF
GOD"

DR.. Talmage Speaks of His Approaching
Departure for Europe-He Advises His
Congregation to Hold Very High
ModeI-Take esus Christ for Pattern.
BROOKLYN, June 12.-Dr. Talmage pref
aced his sermon this morning with state
ment to the effect that he would sail on
Wednesday next for Europe, and might be
able to be present at the distribution in
the famine districts of Russia of The Chris
tian 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 congratulated the American people on
the generous spirit evinced by this mag
nifcent gift 70 the starving people. His
sermon was from the text, Ephesians vi,
II, Put on the whole armor Of God"
There is in this text a great rattle of
Ihields and helmets and swords. Soldiers
ire getting ready for battle We have
had recently in this church new enlist
nents and | shall address myself to those
N this and other churches who are put
ling on the armor Of God, and who may
feel themselves to be as yet only raw re-
cruits. Mastery retreat is a term often
used in military circles, but in religion
there is no such thing 1t is either glori-
Gus advance or disgraceful and ignomi-
NOUS falling back. 1t would be a 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 l. 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 az ha a raf11 Eaapincr ~ ha
fences, and there must be a frightening
away of the birds that would pillage the
field. And say the entrance upon Chris
tian 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 Christian is only
putting down a foundations; but after that
there are years Of hammering, polishing,
carving, lifting. before the structure is
completed 1t takes five years to make a
Christian character. it takes twenty years,
it takes forty years, ii takes seventy years
If a man shall live so long. In other words,
a man dying after half century of Chris
tan experience feels that he has only
learned the . B C's" of glorious alpha
bet. The next year will decide a great
It will decide whetheryou are to be burn
ing and shining light of the church, or
spark of grace covered up in a 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 a bedwarfed, whining, grumbling sol
der that ought 10 be 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 the
shouting of the angels you shall come into
the right harbor. May God help me this
morning TO give You three or four words of
Christian counsel, as / address myself
more especially to those who have just
now entered the Christian life.
HIGH MODEL
Ny first word of counsel is, Hold before
your soul a very high model. Do not say,
Il wish | could pray like that man, or
speak like this man. or have the consecra-
tiOn of this one" Say: Here is the Lord
Jesus Christ, perfect pattern. BY that
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 a foundation twenty by
thirty feet You viii only have a small
house. If you build a foundation one hun
dred by one hundred feet, you will have a
large house. If you resolve 10 be only a
middling Christian, you will only be a
niddling Christian. If you have no high
aspiration in a worldly direction you will
never succeed in business.
If you have no high aspiration in reli-
giOus things you will never succeed in re-
ligion. You have a 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 be a
better man than was Paul or David or
Summerfeld or Doddridge-a better wom-
an than Hannah More or Charlotte Eliza
beth. Why nots Did they have monop-
oily Of Christian graces Did they have a
private key of the storehouse Of Gods
mercy? Does God shut you out from the
gladness and goodness to which they were
introduceds
Oh, no. You have just the same prom
Uses, just the same Christ, just the same
Holy Ghost, just the same offers of present
and everlasting love, and if you fall short
of what they were-aye, if you do not come
up to the point which they reached and 90
beyond lit IS not because Christ has
shut you out from any point of moral and
spiritual elevation, but because you delib-
erately refused TO take it.
/ admit that man cannot become Chris
tian like that without a struggle, but
what do you get without fighting for it1
The fortresses of darkness are to be taken
By storm. You may by acute strategy
flank the hosts of temptation, but there
are temptations there are evils, in the way
that you will have 70 meet face to face, and
il will be shot for shot. gun for gun, grip
foR grip, slaughter for slaughter. The
Apostle Paul over and over again repre-
sents the Christian life as a combat.
When the war vessel Of Christ's church
comes into glory bringing its crew and it's
passengers, it will not come in like a
North river yacht, beautifully painted and
adorned, swinging into the boathouse after
a pleasure excursion Oh, no. It will be
like vessel coming with a heavy cargo
from China or India. the marks of the
wave and the hurricane upon it-sails rent,
riggings spliced, pun Is all working to
keep her afoat, bulwsrks knocked away.
see such a vessel coming and get out my
small boat and push toward her, and
shout: "Ahoy. captain What are you
going to do with those shivered timbers?
That was beautiful ship when you went
put, but you have ruined it," 'Oh," says
The captain 'T have fine cargo on board.
and by this round trip have made ten
fortunes"