The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1892-06-24

it." Said the kings SON: ITO brave
man no sword Il too short III it be too
short take one step in advance, and
then IL Is long enough" So I say 10
any Christian who may feel that he has
poor weapons with which to fight
against sin and darkness and death:
Advance upon the enemy. In the
strength of Christ 60 forward. God is
for you. and If God be for you, who
can be against you? Remember that
God never puts you in battle but He
gives you weapons with which TO
fight
NV second word of counsel to those
who have recently entered upon Chris
tan life is: Abstain from all pernicious
associations, and take only those that
are useful and benefcent. Stay out of
all associations that would damage
your Christian character. Take only
those associations that viii help you.
A learned man said: OF stay with
that man Fenelon any longer H shall
get to be Christian in spite OF my
self" In other words, there is a
mighty power IN Christian associa-
tions. Now, what kind of associations
shall we, as young Christians, seek
after? ! think we ought to get in com
Pany better than ourselves, never go-
ing into company worse than ourselves
III we get into company little better
than ourselves, and there are ten peo-
pie in that company, ten chances to one
we viii be bettered- IL we get into
company little worse than ourselves,
and there be ten people. i'm that COM
pany, ten chances to one we will be
made worse than we were before
Now, when young Christian enters
the church, God does not ask him to
retire from the world. The anchorite
that lives on ncorns is no nearer Heaven
than the man who lives ON partridge
and wild duck. Isolation is not de-
manded 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 asso-
Citations. This remark is more espe-
cially appropriate to the young. Now
il is impossible that the young
and untroubled should seek their
associations with those who are
aged and worn out As God in
tended the aged to associate with the
aged, talking over the past and walk
ing 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 unnatural 4 do not want you
to take this caution have given you as
that of a growing misanthrope, hating
hilarity. For you must have spring
bow if you want to make the arrow fly.
But while this is so, 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 f1oated 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. can
see they are changed for the worse, but
they are not aware of il. o young
man, come out of that bad association.
/ do not know what it is. lido not know
to what place you may have private
key. do not know to what place you
go without the sanction of those who
love you very much. ] do not pre-
tend to point out any evil influences
but are there not some surrounding in
fiueDces that are pernicious to your
growth in grace? Stand back from
that furnace in which so many young
Christians have been destroyed. In
this church there is large company of
Grated to Christ. / know of no better
people than they are Young convert,
/ invite you into their friendship. Con-
tact with them viii elevate you. All
hail, young followers of Jesus Christ,
my joy and my pride! My heart thrills
at every step of your advancement.
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 everlasting vic
tory. Stand off from all evil associa-
tons. A man is no better than the
company 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. I -
My next word of counsel is that you
be actively employed. see a great
many Christians with doubts and per-
plexities, 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 despond-
ency is a Judgment of God upon idle
ness Who are the happy people in the
church to-day? The busy people. Show
me man who processes the religion of
Jesus Christ and is idle, and will show
you an unhappy man. The very first
prescription that give to 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 sum-
mer insects An axman goes into the
wood to cut frewood. 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 a horrible thing to stay in the wood.
Why does he not take an AK and go to
work? So there are thousands of Chris
tians now in the church who go out
amid great annoyances in hfe-they
are not perplexed, they are all the time
busy; while there are others who do
nothing, and they are stung, and stung,
and stung, and covered from head to
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