Bradford County telegraph. (Starke, Fla.) 1888-current, 1895-03-15
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE NOTED DIVINE's SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Subject: ''New Ground"

SUBJECT: NOW drOun0."
TEXT: 'Gest should build Upon another
mans foundation. Romans w, 20.
After, with the help Of others, had built
three churches In the same city, and not
feeling called upon to undertake Ito super
human toll OF building a fourth church,
Providence seemed to point TO THE place az
the field In which could enlarge my work,
and feel a sense Of relief amounting to ex-
ultation. Whereunto this work will grow I
cannot prophesy. 1t Is inviting and promis-
ing beyond anything I have ever touched.
The churches arc the grandest institutions
this world ever saw, and their pastors have
no superiors this side Of heaven, but there Is
a work which must be done outside OF the
churches, and to that work join myself for
awhile, LEST / build on another mans
foundation"
Tho church Is a fortress divinely built.
Now, fortress Is for defense and for drill,
and for storing ammunition, but an army
must sometimes be on the march far outside
the fortress. In the campaign Of conQuering
this world for Christ the time has come for
an advance movement, for a general enA
gaSement," for massing the troops, for an
invasion Of the enemies country. Confident
that the forts are well manned by the ableSt
ministry that ever blessed the church, pro-
pose, with others, for awhile, to join the
cavalry and move out and on for service In
the open field.
In laying out the plan for his missionary
tour Paul, with more brain than any Of his
contemporaries or predecessors or success
eors, sought out towns and cities which had
not yet been preached TO. He goes to Cor
NTH, a city mentioned for splsndor and vice,
and Jerusalem, where the priesthood aud
sanhedrin were ready to leap with both feet
upon the Christian religion He feels he has
special work to do, and he means to do II.
What was the result2 The Grande5t life of
usefulness that man ever lived We modern
Christian workers are not apt to initiate
Paul. We build on other peoples founda-
tons. II we erect church, we prefer to
have filled with families all Of whom have
been piOuS. Do we gather Sunday-achool
class, we want good boys and girls, hair
combed, faces washed, manners attractive.
So church In this city Is apt to be built out
OF other churches, Some ministers spend ali
their time In fishing in other peoples ponds,
and they throw the line into that church
pond and jerk out a Methodist, and throw
the line into another church pond and bring
out Presbyterian, or there Is a religious
row in some neighbOrin9 church, and the
whole school Of fish swim of from that pond,
and we take them all In with one sweep OF
tho net. What is gainsd7 Absolutely moth
ing for the general cause OF Christ. It Is only
as in an army, when q regiment Is trans
ferred from one division to another, or from
the Fourteenth Regiment 10 the SIxty-ninth
Regiment. What strengthens the army is
new recruits.
The Tact is, this Is d big world. When In
our schoOlboy days we learned the diameter
and circumference OF this planet, we did not
learn half 1t is the latitude and longitude
and diameter and circumference of want and
woe and sin that no figures can calculate.
This one spiritual continent Of Indebtedness
reaches across all zones, and II I were called
TO give its geographical boundary would
say 1t Is bounded on the north and south and
east and west by the great heart Of Gods
sympathy and love. Oh, It Is a great world.
Since 8 o'clock this morning at least 90, 900
have been born, and all these multiplied
populations ars to be reached of the gospel.
In England or in Eastern American cities
we are being much crowded, and an
acre OF ground Is Of great value, but out
West 500 acres Is a small farm, and 90
600 acres is no unusual possession. There is
vast field here and everywhere unoo-
cupied, plenty Of room moro, not building
on another mans foundation. We need
as churches to stop bombardIng the
old iron clad sinners that have been proof
against thirty years Of Christian assault, and
aim for the salvation OF those who have
never yet had one warm hearted and point
blank invitation. There are churches whose
buildings might be worth 5000, 900, who are
not averaging five new converts year and
doing less good than many log cabin nieet-
ing house with tallOw candle stuck in wooden
socket and q minister who has never seen a
college or known the difference between
Greek and Ohoctaw. We need churches to
get into sympathy with the great outside
world, and let them know that none are SO
broken hearted or hardly bestead that thew
will not be welcomed. "Nor' SAYS some fas-
tidious Christian: az don't like TO be crowd
ed in church. Don't put any one In nv
pew" Ny brother, what will you do In
heaven2 When a great multitude that no
nan can number assemblies, they will put
fifty in your pew. What are the select few
to-day assembled in the Christian churches
compared with the migdtler millions outside
OF thsm2
At least 9,OOO, 900 people in this cluster o!
seaboard cities, and not more than 200 900 In
the churches, Many Of the churches ara
like hospital that should advertise that its
patients must have nothing worse than tooth
ache or "run aroun1S, but no broken heads.
no crushed ankles, no fractured thighs.
Give us for treatment moderate sinners, vel
vet coated sinners and sinners with a gloss
on. 1t is as though a man had q farm of
5000 acres and put all his work on one acre.
He may raise never so large ears OF corn
never 80 big heads of wheat, he would re-
main poor. The church OF God has bestowed
It's CHIEF care on one aero and has raise I
splendid men and women in that small in
closure, but the field Is the world. That
means North and South America, EuroOe.
Asia and Africa and all the islands OF the
sea.
1t is as though after a great battle there
were left so 900 wounded and diving on the
field and three surgeons gave all their time
TO three patients under their charge. Tho
msjor-general comes In and says to the doc
tons, Come out here and look at the nearly
o., OOO dying for lack OF surgical attendance"
mo, say the three doctors standing there
| and tanning their patients; 1--WE have three
important cases here, and we are attending
them, and when VIC are not positively busy
with their wounds 1t takes all our time to
keep the flies on In this awful battle OF
| sin and sorrow, where millions have fallen
on millions, do not let Us spend all our time
In taking care OF few people, and when tho
command comes, "Go into the world" say
practically; "NO; 1 cannot go. 1 have here
| few choice cases, and l am busy keeping of
/ the flies" There are multitudes to-day who
have never had any Christian worker look
them in the eye, and with earnestness in the
accentuRtiOn say, "Comer' or thew would
long ago have been in the kingdom. NV
| friends, religion is either a sham or a tire
mendous reality. Fit be sham, let us cease
to have anything to do with Christian as
| ISOLATION. II it be a reality, then great
| populations are on their way to the bar OF
God untitled for tho ordeal, and what are we
| doingi
In order to teach the multitude Of outsid-
ers We must drop all technicalities out of our
religion. When we talk to people about the
hypoStatic union and French ency,lopedIan-
ism and erastianism and complutensIanis1l,
we ere as ImpOlittc and little understood as
| If a physician should talk to an ordinary pa
tient about the pericardium and Intercostal
| muscle and scorbutic symptoms. Many of
us come out Of the theological Summaries 80
loaded up that We take the first ten years to
show our people how much We know, and
the next ten years to get our people to know
AS much as We know, and at tho end full
that neither OF US knows anything as We
ought to know. Here are thousands Of sim
ming, struggling and dying people who need
to realize just one thing-that Jesus Christ
came to save them, and will save them now
But into A urOfOunl and aiahOrata