The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-05-11

for Heaven So you may well take my
text out of the minor key and set it to
some tune in the major key. Zone
generation passeth away and another
generation cometh."
Nothing can rob us of the satisfac-
ton that uncounted thousands of the
generation just passed were converted,
comforted and harvested for Heaven
by this church, whether in the present
building or the three preceding build
ings in which they worshiped- The
two great organs of the previous
churches went down in the memorable
fires, but the multitudinous songs they
led year after year were not recalled or
injured. There is no power in earth or
hell to kill hallelujah. 1t is impossi-
BILE to arrest hosanna What a salts
faction to know that there are many
thousands in glory on whose eternal
welfare this church wrought mightilyl
Nothing can undo that work. They
have assembled, the multitudes who
served God in that generation That
chapter is gloriously ended But that
generation has left its impression
upon this generation. A sailor
was dying on shipboard and he said
to his mates: my lads, L can only
think of one passage of Scrip
ture, The soul that sinneth it shall
die, and that keeps ringing in my ears.
The soul that sinneth it shall die,
can't you think of something else in
the Bible to cheer me up? Well, sail
ors are kind and they tried to think of
some other passage of Scripture with
which to console their dying comrade,
but they could not One of them said:
LET us call up the cabin boy. His
mother was Christian, and guess he
has Bible. The cabin boy was called
up, and the dying sailor asked him if
he had Bible. He said, YES" but
he could not exactly find it, and the
dying sailor scolded him, and said:
"Aint you ashamed of yourself not to
read your Bible?" So the boy eX-
plored the bottom of his trunk and
brought out the Bible, and his mother
had marked a passage that just fitted
the dying sailors case: 1.-The blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all
SIM" That helped the sailor to die in
peace. So one generation helps an
other, and good things written, or said,
or done are reproduced long after
ward.
During the passing of the last gener-
alton some peculiar events have unfold
ed. One day while resting at Sharon
Springs, n. V, think it was in 1870,
the year after my settlement in Brook
Ign, and white walking in the park of
that place, l found myself asking the
question: 81 wonder if there is any
special mission for me to execute in this
world? IL there is may God show it to
me!' There soon came upon me a great
desire to preach the gospel through
the secular printing press. realized
that the vast majority of people,
even in Christian lands, never enter a
church and that it would be an oppor-
tunity of usefulness infinite if that
door of publication were opened.
And so l recorded that prayer in
a hand book and offered the prayer
day in and day out until the answer
came, though in way different from
that which had expected, for it came
through the Misrepresentation and per-
secution of enemies, and have to re-
cord it for the encouragement of all
ministers of the gospel who are mis-
represented, that if the misrepresenta-
ton be virulent enough, and bitter
enough, and continuous enough, there
is nothing that so widens ones field of
usefulness as hostile attack, if you are
really doing the Lords work The
bigger the lie told about me, the big
ger the demand to see and hear what l
really was doing. From one stage of
sermonic publication to another, the
work has gone on, until week by week,
and for about twenty-three years, l
have had the world for my audience,
as no man ever had, ard to-day, more
so than at any other time.
In this, my quarter-century sermon,
| record the fact that side by side with
the procession of blessings has gone a
procession of disasters. ] am preach
ing to-day in the fourth church build
ing since | began in this city. My first
sermon was in the old church on Scher-
merhorn street, to an audience chiefly
OF empty seats, for the church was al
most extinguished. That church filled
and overlooking, we built a larger
church, which after two or three years
disappeared in flame. Then we built
another church, which also in line of
fiery succession disappeared in the
same way. Then we put up this build
ing, and may it stand for many years,
fortress of righteousness and light
house for the storm-tossed, its gates
crowded with vast assemblages long
after we have ceased to frequent them!
We have raised in this church over
81, O3o, 600 for church charitable purposes
during the present pastorate, while we
have given, free of all expense, the
gospel to hundreds of thousands of
strangers, year by year. record with
gratitude to God that during this gen.
Grafton of twenty-five years l remem-
Der but two Sabbaths that l have
missed service through anything like
physical indispositiou. Almost a ia
matte on the subject of physical exer-
else, 1 have made the parks, with which
our city is blessed, the means of good
physical condition. A daily walk and
run in the open air have kept me ready
for work and in good humor with all
the world.
Most of you are aware that propose
at this time. between the close of my
twenty-fifth year of pastorate and be-
fore the beginning of my twenty-sixth
year, to be absent for few months, in
order to take a journey around the
world. expect to sail from San Fran
cisco in the steamer Alameda, May 81.
NV place here on Sabbaths will be
fully occupied, while on Mondays, and
every Monday, will continue to speak