The Red Cloud chief., 1892-06-24

marks Of the wave and the hurricane
upon it-sails rent, riggings spliced
pumps all working TO keep her afloat
bulwarks knocked away. I see such q
vessel coming and get out my small
boat and push toward her, and I shout
"Ahoy, captain! What are you going
TO do with those shivered timbersi
That was a beautiful ship when you
went out, but you have ruined IT,
10" says the captain, II have n Ane
cargo. and by this round trip ! have
made ten fortunes" So I believe Il
will be when the Christian soul comes
into the harbor of Heaven. II will come
bearing the marks upon IL Of a great
stress of weather. You can see by the
very looks Of that soul rs II comes into
glory that IL was driven by q storm and
dashed into the hurricane; but by 40
much rs the voyage is rough will the
harbor be blessed. "If We suffered with
Him on earth, yc shall be glorifcd with
Him In Heaven" Aim high.
Do not be satisfied to be like the
Christians all around about You. BE
more than they have ever been for
Christ. An old Arabian king was show
ing a beautiful sword that had been
given him, when one of his courtiers
said: This sword is too short. You
cannot do anything with IT," Said the
kings son: ITO a brave man no sword
is too short. fit be too short take one
step In advance, and then IL IL long
enough" So I say to 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 II
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"
My second word of counsel to those
who have recently entered upon Chris
tian life Is: Abstain from NIL pernicious
associations and take only those that
are useful and beneficent. Stay out of
all associations that would damage
your Christian character. Take only
those associations that will help you.
A learned man said: III I stay with
that man Fenelon any longer I shall
get to be a Christian in spite Of myself"
In other words, there Is q mighty power
In Christian associations Now, what
kind OF associations shall we, rs young
Christians, seek after? I think we
ought TO get in company better than
ourselves, never going into company
worse than ourselves. II we get into
company a little better than ourselves
and there be ten people In that COM
pany ten chances to one we will be bet
tered. II we get into company a little
worse than ourselves and there be ten
people In that company ten chances to
n we will bo made worse than we
were before.
Now, when a young Christian enters
the church God does not ask him to re-
tire from the world. The anchoritc
that lives on acorns 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 1t. But just rs O as you
find any surroundings pernicious to
your spiritual interest, quit those asso-
Citations. This remark il more especial
ly appropriate to the young. Now 1t Is
impossible that the young and un-
troubled should seek their associations
with those who are aged and worn out.
As God intended the aged to associate
with the aged, talking over the past
and walking staff in hand along the
same paths they trod thirty, forty and
fifty years ago, so I suppose lie intended
the young chiefly to associate with the
young.
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 Chri stian 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 n man who Processes the re.
ligion of Jesus Christ and Is idle, and |
will show you an unhappy man. The
very first prescription that l give to q
man when I find him full OF doubts
and fears about his eternal interest Is
to go to work for God. Ten thou
sand voices r lifted up asking
fPr your help. Go and help
Here Is a wood full Of sum
mer insects. An axman goes into the
woods to cut firewood. The insects do
not bother him very much, and every
stroke OF the AK makes them fly away.
But let q man 20 and lie down there
and he Is bitten and maulcd, and thinks
1t 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
Christians now in the church who 20
out amid great annoyance in life-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
foot with the blotches of Incidence and
inactivity, aud spiritual death.
The first thing, then, you have TO do,
D, Christian young man, Christian
young woman, is to go TO work in the
service of the Lord II You want to be n