The record-union., 1897-11-08

church who would not wish to see II
at the head of the Sacramento Presby-
/ terry in every good work. How bess,
/ then, can We obey the command, Go
forward? If we are to go forward
every member must take an interest III
| the life and work of the church. That
| is a fair proposition that will appeal
strongly to every candid mind. / care
not how young or how old, how rich or
how poor, member may be, he is ex-
pected to show in some way that he is
interested in the welfare of his church
| If there is one member who is not in
/ terested, and cares little whether we
sink or swim, that member delays the
forward march of Gods army. If there
aae dozen such members the progress
is so much more retarded. They are
| SO many icebergs floating around the
church that chill its atmosphere and
threaten its very life. What would
you think of a regiment of soldiers
holding high festival on the field Of
| war While all the other battalions are
fighting for life and liberty? You
know that such soldiers would quick
| ~ be brought to the bar of court
martial and punished for their crime.
I L ct lItiG dIS CUuICil IlSlIlDeISs III GAL
our churches who are quite content TO
let others do all the work while they
enjoy all the ease A live church is one
in which every member does something
for the Master along the lines of the
church's work. If we are to go for
ward as a church we must learn to love
one another We must crush out of our
hearts all the old resentments antip-
athies and passions, and treat each 9TH
er kindly and in the spirit of brotherly
love. This church is one large family
| of which God is the heavenly father.
We are all brothers and sisters N
Jesus Christ Remember the solemn
words of Paul. IF any man have not
the spirit of Christ he is none of His ,
That was a spirit of patience, of for
bearance, of love. 1t was a spirit that
forgave injuries, yearned over the fall
en-, and was always ready to suffer for
men. The people of God have enough
to suffer from the world without
being mercilessly scourgsd by their
own brethren of the household Of
faith. Criticism is just and right when
there is a spirit of love back of it, but
1t is mean and contemplate when it is
INDUCED in for the purpose of showing 3
ones own good character in bold re-
lief against the besmeared and be-
daubed character of ones friend. There
is nothing that does so much harm in
the church of God as the busy tongue
OF the fault-fnder. l am told that in
little church in the northern part Of
the State there is signboard above
the organ bearing these ominous
words: Don't shoot the organist. for
he is doing the best he can" Brethren,
in all seriousness, / think we need some
/ such placard in all our churches. In
stead of severely criticising those who
do the work, let US encourage them by
a word of praise occasionally and
stretch out to them a helping hand.
The old book says over and over again,
Love one another" Nothing is i'm
possible to the church that will obey
that command. If we are to go for
ward as church we must do more for
missions than we have ever done
| believe firmly in giving the gospel
to the whole world. GO We into all the
! world and preach the gospel to every
creature is as binding upon us in this
nineteenth century as it was upon the
Christians of the first century A
hundred years ago Very few even of the
ministers Of the gospel We're in favor Of
sending missionaries to the heather,
and / am ashamed to make the state
ment, but we are wiser since then and
have received more light I do not be-
Heve there is a Christian minister to-
day who sets himself in opposition 10
missionary enterprise. / have never
met with an active church worker who
did nn xtyitb iss-
sionary effort the world over. If there
are any such church members, it may
be interesting to them to know that
they are just one hundred years be-
hind the times, and the sooner they get
abreast of the age the better for them
selves and the better for the church
The churches that are most success
ful are those that do most in propor-
tien TO their strength and wealth for
this holy cause. The church of the flu
ture viii be above all else mission
aIy church. If we are to go forward
as church we must be often upon our
knees. Every great thing that has
been accomplished in Christian serv-
ice has been begun in prayer, carried
on in prayer and crowned with prayer
in its consummation. When l find
good Christian people neglect
ing the services of the sanctuary ana
staying in their own homes without
sufficient reason, / at once conclude
that they have forgotten to pray. When
l miss this one and that one from the
Endeavor meeting, who might have
been present with little effort. / can
not help thinking that their prayer
must be cold and formal. If I could
induce every member of this large con-
gregation to pray earnestly and fer
vently morning by morning and even
inc by evening for the blessing of heav-
en- upon our work, / think We should
have another Pentecost. Brethren,
these are the lines along which / want
you to work for prosperity in the days
that are before us. These are the lines
along which success will come TO us.
The work IN which we are engaged is
the Lords 1t is the grandest work
! ever undertaken by human beings
It has magnificent rewards to offer both
in this life and in that which lies across
the river. All the power OF the omnipo-
! tent God is behind us in the doing of
1t, and we cannot fail. We have con-
auered giants in the past, and we win
/ conquer again. I see in vision millions
of angels on the battlements of the
clouds looking down with intense in
tereSt on the church of God struggling
on and up through darkness and dan
ger. There are inaumerable spirits Of
evil and mighty hosts of good. When
the church is bafllea and defeated.
fiendish laughter rings through all the
vault OF heaven. When the church is
yjefnrip,1s q oia6 cpro of s1,-a ica cualle