The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-03-14


De Just as you were yourselves.
Ihey VIII not deserve this marvellous
iore tnat Is being shown to them. Your
enort for them will be a display of the
Divlne beneyolence. Your benign work is
to be the unfoldings of the mysteries of
the atonement. And the marvellous thing
ABOUT all this is the fact that God has so
tenderly loved this sinful world that He
has come to redeem it at great cost to
Himself. That same theme which filled
the heart of the prophet is to I'LL your
soul. God desireth not the death of any.
but rather that all should turn and live"
A work that goes out among the wicked
ness OF this world and sets these great
truths before the minds of men in their
sirs and shows them the love of
1od and causes them to see what that love
IS, and that they can share in that love,
deserves to be put among the stars.
This is why you have this marvellous
declaration of our text. Turning souls
from wickedness to righteousness is turn
ing them from the pit into this vast sea of
the love OF God. 1t is winning to Christ
Carlyle says: Everywhere the human
soul stands between hemispheres of light
and darkness. on the confines of two hos
tile empires" You who win souls to
Christ Jesus are standing on the shores of
an empire of light. On one side of you
is that radiance of the cross of Christ
Jesus, beaming with love and hope and
promise to the lost. On the other hand
is the sea, billowy with the waves of dark
ness, whose shores are strewn with
wrecks. Ringing out to the helpless are
to be your words of love.
Almost any one speaking upon such a
theme as this would tell you also that
your Work will receive its excellence from
the great fact of the worth of the soul. I
have no intention to enter this tremend-
GUS theme tonight. In fact that would be-
long to discourse all by ITSELF Yet let
US bear in mind the fact that such is the
case: Your exalted position comes from
the fact that you are working for fadeless
and valueless wealth. And this you
will see most clearly as you bear in mind
the relation that soul bears to the atone
merit. In your efforts to save a soul you
are trying to put into effect that which
brought Jesus Christ from heaven to earth
to give His life to save the lost. From this
comes the value of the soul You can
never tell what a soul is thought to be
worth till you read it in the light of the
uplifted cross of Jesus of Nazareth But
We should look at some of those things in
which lie the wisdom in carrying on such
work as this. That is, in order to be
wise in soul-winning, or soul-turning,
your efforts must rest on the un-
are the same today that they
were when the warm life blood of your
Savior and mine was trickling down the
rugged cross. Yes, | have made a danger
GUS mistake. l have made it thousand
times. l have actually thought that if /
had been among those who stood by the
cross of Christ and saw His mortal agony.
saw the darkness and the blood; then
turning away shifting their breasts and re-
turning home IN sorrow; | have thought
that had been one of these witnesses
would have preached as much in earnest
as they did. AS if a thousand years could
make any difference with such theme as
this As If all the ages could make any
change in what was then done, and what
is now needed. We must start with the
fact that sin today is the same as it was
then. That the same power is needed now
to redeem q soul from death. That the
same hell OF woe awaits the iIupenitent,
and the same devil Expresses and ruins the
souls of our fellow-men. 1t takes nothing
less, nothing more to lift q sinking soul
from iniquity to heaven now than it took
twenty centuries ago. | say that as to
means to this wise purpose this is indis-
pensable. Those who start with anything
short of such basis of work show their
utter folly. Those who hold and act upon
these unchanging truths are wise. Then
there lies wisdom in singleness OF aim,
recognizing IN this your calling.
You know how it was with Uncle John
Vassar. He had gone into room at a no.
tel he found an unsaved soul there. A lady
whose husband was just then out This
man of God so pleaded with that woman
to accept Christ that when her husband
returned he found her all agitated. When
he inquired as to the cause of this she told
him that man had been there talking to
her about her soul. The husband said that
if he had been there he would have told him
to go on about his business. She said to
him, that if he had been there he would
have thought that the man was about his
business. This makes easy work of your
winning souls TO Jesus Christ.
o, how many divine services We have
attended with no object beyond one of sell
fish endowment. Going to hear a sermon
instead of saving soul. That all needs
to be changed. Go that you may lead a
soul to the foot of the cross. lou are ia
miliar with the story of the young man no
was asked as to whose preaching it was that
brought him to the Savior. His answer
was that it was not under anybody's
preaching that he was saved, but that 1t
vas under his aunt's practicing.
4 divine life in you is mighty power
to turn souls to Jesus. If you are not
concerned to have them find this life that
lives forever you can hardly hide this fact
from their discerning eyes. But let that
desire be there and it cannot be hidden.
You can as easily hide the sun in the
heavens.
Your calling is high enough that your
lives might easily be one continuous flame
in this 3ervice. What else could you de-
sire that you might be forever seeking
some lost one that you might bring him to
paradise? Some evangelist tells us OF
man who was anxious TO die; he was
weary of this earth. He wanted to go
right off to his final reward. He had a
vision of the night in which he saw him.
self in heaven. All was glorious. He saw
the palace in which he was 10 live. Saw
his crown. Then his guide took him to
the gate and showed him fearful preci-
pice. Owe it were going thousands to
their deaths. He was told that these
were the sinners who were being lost, and
that he could remain in heaven If he
wished; but that he might return and
helm to save these from ruin. He was
anxious TO take his place on earth once
more for toll.
saw again that TO be efficient soul win
ners We must know what Is our calling.
We must know shat there is nothing to
COMPARE with this work in which We are
engaged. We need 10 know that these
things are eternal verities, and that God
did not do so much for souls and leave the
work in our hands with only chance
here and there for success. God has made
his promises sure to US. You labor not IN
vain.
"Kuowest thou the importance OF soul i'm
ReboId me midnight glory-worlds on worlds;
Ten thousand add, and twice ten thousand
Then weight the whole: one soul outweighs
them all.