Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1892-08-27
I am terribly sick and want help" II

| ~ bOAJ anu III ia uhN
all right in soul you have need of moth
ing; but suppose have persuaded you
that the leprosy of sin is upon you, the
worst of all sickness. o! then you say
Bring me that balm of the gospel
bring me that divine medicament; bring
me Jesus Christ"
But says some one in the audience:
slow do you prove that we are in a
ruined condition by sin?' Well, / can
prove it in two ways, and you may
have your choice / can prove it either
by the statements of men, or by the
statement of God. Which shall it be?
You all say: 'Let us have the state
ment of God" Well, lie says in one
place: THE heart is deceitful in all
things, and desperately wicked" He
says in another place: "What is man
that he should be clean? and he that is
born of woman, that he should be
righteous" He says in another place:
''Thcre is none that doeth good, no,
not one" He says in another place:
las by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin; and so death
passed on all men, for that all have
sinned."
well, you say. VI am willing to ac-
knowledge that, but why should take
the particular rescue that you pro-
pose?" This is the reason: There is
one name given under Heaven among
men whereby they may be saved"
Then there are thousand voices here
ready to say: "Wcll, am ready to ac-
cept this help of the gospel; would
like to have this divine cure; how shall
go to work?' Let me say that mere
whim, an underlined longing amounts
to nothing. You must have stout,
tremendous resolution like this young
man of the text when he said: II will
arise and go to my father"
Again, / notice that this resolution of
the young man of the text was founded
in sorrow ut his misbehavior. 1t was
grief that he had so maltreated his
father. 1t is sad thing after father
has done everything for child to have
that child be ungrateful.
How sharper than n serpent's tooth II Is
To have thankless child
That is Shakespeare "a foolish son
is the heaviness of his mother" That
is the Bible. Well, my friends, have
not some of us been cruel prodigals?
Have we not maltreated our Father?
And such Father. So loving, so kind.
If He had been stranger, if He had
forsaken us, if He had Negotiated us, if
he had pounded us and turned us out
of doors on the common, it would not
have been so wonderful-our treatment |
of Him; but lie is n Father, so loving. |
so kind. and yet how many of us for |
our wanderings have never apologized. |
We apologize for wrongs done to our
fellows, but some of us perhaps have |
committed ten thousand times ten thou
sand wrongs against God and never |
ipologized.
We read nothing in this story-this
parable founded on everyday life-we
cad nothing about the mother. 1t
says nothing about going home to her
think she was dead. l think she had
lied of broken heart at his wander
ngs, or perhaps he had gone into dissi-
,ation from the fact he could not re-
member a loving and sympathetic
mother. A man never gets over having
ost his mother. Nothing said about
Ter here. But he is homesick for his
athers house. He thought he would
ust like to go and walk around the old
,lace. He thought he would just like
O go and see if things were as they
lsed to be. Many man after having
,een off long while has gone home
nd knocked at the door and stranger
las come. 1t is the old homestead, but
stranger comes to the door. He finds
mt father is gone, mother is gone and
rothers and sisters all gone. think
his young man of the text said to him
elf: Perhaps father may be dead"
till he starts to find out He is home
ick. Are there any here to-day home
lex for God. homesick for Heaven?
But remark the characteristic of
his resolution was, it was Immediately
ut into execution.
The context says ''he arose and came
o his father" The trouble in 900 times
ut of 1000 is that our resolutions
mount to nothing because we make
hem for some distant time If / resolve
0 become n Christian next year, that
mounts to nothing ut all. If resolve
0 become a Christian tomorrow, that
mounts to nothing at all. If resolve
{ the service to-day to become Christ |
IN, that amounts to nothing at all If
resolve after go home to-day to yield
ny heart to God, that amounts to moth
ng at all. The only kind of resolution
hat amounts to anything is the resolu-
ion that is Immediately put into execu-
ion.
o! but you say: II agree with You on {
II that, but must put it off little 1
onger." Do you know there were many
rho came just as near as you are TO the
ingdom of God and never entered it? ]