Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1892-07-02
REV. DR.. TAIMAGE
TIE IIttLL1N DIMES Sun
DAY SERMON.

! snail address myself 70 those in this AMI
otd@r churches hoarep putting on THE arnor
u col and ~ho may feel TIER, elves TO he
vet only raw recr'itt. ".Masterly re-
ereat' IL 4 term often Use in military cir
Gee, but in religion there is no such thing.
II u either glorious advance or disgracefti
ap ~.ign9minIous falling back. il would be
a strange thing II all our aisie,v about men
1ea<ed the moment they "ere converted.
You would alnos. doubt the sanity Of that
farmer who having planted the corn ap1
sen 1t just sprolt above ground, saaa't say:
VI WORK Is ali done. 1 ha~e 10 more
anxiety Tor the fed " Ne. There is work
for tue piow and the noe, AMI there must
be a careful keeping UP Of thu fences. AMI
there mHst be a frightening away ct tie
birds thst would plllag e the fiet. AnlI
SAY the entrance upon Christian life is only
the lnplantatiOn OF rIac. in the heart.
There i earnest, hard work yet to b. don.
and pertiap, many years Of anxiety before
there *tai be heard the glorious shout Of
Harvest home
The beginning. to be . Christian is only
putting down the Foundation: but after that
there are yesr. Of hanmering. polishlny<
carving. lifting, before the structure is com.
piet@t. It taxes five years to make = Chris
t'an character, 1T takes twenty years, it
takes forty years, it take seventy YEAR. if
q iaan shall live 50 lcnG. In other words. a
man dying af:-s half a century OF Christian
experience feels that he has only learned the
"A ; IS OF the glorious alphabet, The
next jear wall decide a great deal In your
hls;' ~. young Christian man. 1t will de
eide whether YOU are t. be a burning and
shining light of the church, or Il spark Of
grace covered up in a barrel Of
ashes. I 1t will decide whether you are to be
a strong man in Christ Jesus, with gigantic
blows striking the iron mail CT darkness, or
a hedwarfed, winning. %gfuinbling soldier.
That ought to Toe drlmmed out of the Lords
camp with tho kogues' March," You have
only Just teen launche1; 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 angels,
YOU shall come into the right harbor. May
Cod help me this morning to give you three
or four words Of Christian counsel. as / ad-
dress myself more especially to those who
have Just now entered the Christian life.
My first word OF counsel is, hold before
your souia very high model. Do not say,
Il wish | could pray like that man, or speak
like this man, OF have the conservation OF
this one" Say: Here is tho Lord Jesus
Christ, a perfect pattern. BY that l mean,
with Gods grace, to shape all my life" In
other wo:d>, YOU will never be any more a
Christian than you strive to be. If you
buIld IA foundation twenty by thirty feet you
VIII only have "a small house. Ii you build
a foundation one hundred by one hundred
lctl you Will nave ldISc uOuS0. 1 L YOU Z
solve to be only u middling Christian you
will only be "a middling Christian. If you
have no high aspiration in a worldly direc-
ton you will never succeed in business. II
you have no high aspiration in religious
things You will never succeed in religion.
You have a right to aspire to the very
highest style OF Christian character.
From your feet there reaches out a path
Of Christian attainment which you may
take, and l deliberately say that you may
be a better man than was Paul or David
or Summerdeld or Doddridge-a better
woman than Hannah More or Charlotte
Elizabeth. Why not? Did they have a
monopoly of Christian grace? Did they
have a private key to the stOrehouse OF
Gods mercy? Does God shut you out
from the gladness and goodness to which
they We're introduced, Oh, no. You
have just the same promises, just the
same Christ, just the same Holy Ghost,
Just the same offers OF present and ever
lasting love. and if you fall short of what
they were-aye, if YOU do not come up to
the point which they reached and go beyond
tit is not because Christ has shut you out
from any point of moral and spiritual eleva-
ton, but because you deliberately refused to
take it.. l admit that man cannot become
II Christian like that without a struggle; but
what do you get without fighting for it?
The fortresses OF darkness aretO be taken 10y
storm. You may by acute strategy flank
the hosts of temptation. but there are temp.
tations, there are evils in the way that you
will nave to meet face to face, and 1t will be
shot for shot. gun for gun. grip for grip
slaughter for slaughter. The apostle
Paul over and over again represents the
Christian life as a combat.
hen the war vessel of Christ's church
comes iuco glory bringing its crew and it
passengers it will not come i'll like a Nortl
River yacht, beautifully painted and adorned
swinging into the boathouse after Il pleasure
excursion. Oh, no; 1t will be like a vesse
coming with a heavy cargo from China OF
India, the marks OF the wave and the hurrl
cane upon it-sallS rent, rigging spllced
pumps all working II keep her a1oat, bul
warks knocked away. | see sucn a veSse
coming and get out my small boat and puS
toward her, ana | Shout: "Ahov. captain
Whit are You goin9 10 do with taose shy
cred tlmbers? That was a beautiful SIN
when you went ont, but you have RUNE
it. oh says the captain. IL have a fin
cargo on board, and by this round trip
| have made ten fortunes
SO believe it will be when the Christia,
soul at last comes into the harbor OF heaven
1t Will come hearing upon it the marks OF
great stress or weather. You can see by til
Very looks OF that soul as 1t comes into glor'
that 1t was driven by a storm and daSha
mthe hurricane, but 10y 50 much as the voy
age Is rough, will the harbor be blessed. Il
- T'ihtt ca "ith AAiiil Oh Stt II StidtI u
eloritiet with Him in heaven" Aim higu
Do not be satisfied TO be like the Christia,
all around you. Be more than they have eve
been for Christ.
My second word of counsel to those VIII
have recently entered upon Christian life il
ABSTAIN from all pern.ciouS associations, au
~ only those that are useful aud benei
cent. Stay out OF all associations ths
would damage your Christian *charactel
lake only those associations taat will hel
You. y learned man said. If | stav wit
that man Fene.on any longer | shall get I
he a CHRISTIAN III spite of myself In othe
"oristdere is a mighty power in ChriStia
associations. Now what kind Of assoc,a
ions shall we, as young Christians. see
after think We ought 70 get into cou
nany better than ourselves. never goin
into company worse than ourselve-
4 II We get into company a littI
4 letter than ourselves and tler
Q arr ten people in that company, ten chance
e one we will be betterei. If We get int
Company a little worse than ourselves. an
there be ten people IN that company. t.
chances 10 one We Will be made worse tha
we Were before
ioo not preten1 70 poIn- our any evil III
Ha2nc@s, but are there no. some suvrouuC
. my influences that ara parnicious TO you
growth III grace: Stand back from that fui
i mace. III which 50 many yo4y,y (Srtet,a-