The Washington weekly post., 1899-12-19

my flock They are scattered all over the 1
earth Other sheep / have. whsfh are not |
of this fold.
The Field Is the World.
There are a hundred thousand souls In /
this city who ought 10 be gathered into |
the churches. and I pray God that the |
pastor tonight inaugurated may go out
and gather many OF them While ne
looks after the welfare OF the nock al
ready within these walls. he viii be COM
PEELED often TO say: other sheep | have,
which are not Of this fold and may TINS
church be the center of an influence that
will take Washington TO Godi We need'
as churches. 20 get into sympathy with
the great outside world. and let them
know that none are so broken-neartea
or hard beset that they will not De wei
coined. No says some fastidious Chrls-
tian. I do not like 10 be crowded IN
church. Do not put any one in my pew.
Ny brother, what will you do in heaven,
when a great multitude that no man can
number assemblies? They viii put fifty In
your pew. What are the people assem-
bled in Christian churches compared with
the mightier millions outside? Some
churches are like a hospital that should
advertise that its patients must have
nothing worse than toothaehe or run
rounds; but no broken heads. no crushed
ankles. or fractured thighs. Bring there
for treatment moderate sinners, VeiNet-
coated sinners. and sinners with gloss
on. II is as If a maTxhad farm OF S'v.
acres. and put all his work on one acre.
He might raise never 50 large ears OF
corn never so big heads OF wheat, sun
he would remain poor. The church OF
God has bestowed its chief care on one
acre, and has raised splendid men ana
women In that small Enclosure. But the
field is the world. That means North ana
South America, Europe. Asia, Africa anu
all the islands of the sea
1T is as though at a great battle there
were left 1000 wounded and DYING on
the field. and three surgeons gave All their
time TO half-doZen patients IN tneiI
charge The major general comes IN anu
saws 10 the doctors: Come out mere anu
look at the 1O.0O0 dying for lack OF surgi-
cal attendance No say the three doc-
tors standing there tanning their patients.
we have a ! alf-doZen important cases
here. and We are attending 10 lneni' az aah
when We are not positively busy Win
their wounds II takes all our time 10 KEEP
the flies on In this awful battle OF SIN
and sorrow where millions nave naIen
on millions do not let US spehd All our
time in taking care of few people, ana
when the command comes. Go INTO tne
world say practically, No. l cannot go'
/ have here n few choice cases, ana an
busy keeping off the flies We need as
churches to stop tombardlng the ora niDn+ oi0s.
clad sinners that have been proof against
thirty years of Christian assault. ahd N Iahs
| aim in other directions. Oh! for deeper
| aDpreciation of the sentiment OF my teAt.
| Other sheep / have which are not Oh inns
| fold
Many sheep Outside the Fold.
an the first place, I remark that the
heavenly Shepherd will find many sheep
| amid the non-church-goers. There are
congregations where they are all Chris-
/ tiars and they seem TO be completely M
| ished. and they remind one OF the skeie-
| ton leaves. which by chemical prepara-
| ton have had all the greenness ana YER
! dure taken off them and are lett coid
and white and delicate, nothing wanting
but a glass case to put over them ine
minister of Christ has nothing 10 10
with such Christians but To come once
week, and with ostrich feather dust OIL
| the accumulation of the last six days,
| leaving them bright and crystalline aS
before. But the other kind of church is an
armorv. with perpetual sound of drum
and fife, gathering recruits for the Lord
of hosts. Say to every applicant, DO you
want to be on Gods side. the safe side
and the happy side? If so, come in the ar
mory and get equipped. Here IS bath
in which to be cleansed. Here are san
| dals 10 nut upon your feet. Here Is a nell
met for your brow. Here is breast
plate for your heart. Here is sword Tor
| your right arm and yonder is the Dattie-
field Quit yourselves like men,.
There may be some here who say i
stopped going to church ten or twenty
years ago. My brothers. is 1t not strange
that YOU should be the first man l talk TO
tonight? / know all your case l know
il very we'll. You have not been accus-
toned TO going into the house of God. but
| have surprising announcement to make
TO YOU You are going to become one OF
the Lords sheep. oh" you say, 1t is
impossible You do not know how far
am from anything of that kind | know
all about it. | have wandered up and
down the world, and l understand your
case. / have a still more startling an
nouncement to make in regard to you.
You are not only going to become one of
the Lords sheep. but you will become one
tonight.
when the steamer Atlantic struck
Mars Rock and the people clambered up
on the beach, why did not Mr.. Ancient,
that heroic minister OF the Gospel, oil
whom we have all read, sit down and take
care of those men on the beach, wrapping
them in fannels, kindling fire for then,
seeing that they got plenty of food? An!
he knew that there were others who would
do that He says: 'Yonder are men and
women freezing in the rigging or thal
wreck Boys, launch the lifeboat And
| now 7 see the oar blades bend under the
strong pull But before they reach the
wreck woman was frozen and dead. She
was washed off, poor thing. But, ne
says, there is a man 10 save And ne
cries out. Five minutes longer and l viii
save YOU. Steady steady, Give me your
hand Leap into the lifeboat. Thanh
! God he Is savedr So there are those who
are safe on the shore Of Gods mercy. ]
; will not spend any time with them al all
They are as safe as thougn they mao peer
| a thousand years in heaven, kept by tins
power of God through faith unto complete
salvation But there are some who arr
freezing In the rigging or sin and sur
| rounded by tempest. Pull away. my lads
! et us reach them. Alas, one Is washed
. off and gone There is one more TO b.
/. saved. Let us push out there for that one
Clutch the rope, o dying man; clutch II a.
with a death grip. STEADY, now, on I'M
slippery places. Steady. They are saved
: saved, just as | thought, for Christ ha!
( declared that there are some still in tn
| breakers who shall come ashore 'Othei
, sheer have which are not of this fold
Lost sheep Must BE sought.
"Christ says that ministers of the Cos
. mel are 10 be fishers for men. Now, whes
go fishing i do not want TO FISH In any
body eIse's pond. I do not want TO y
A.. along Hohokus creek, where there are te'
= or fifteen men fishing, and drop my hr'
, inst about where they drop their lines
The lines would get tangled. ] should lik
! | to get In a Newfoundland fishing snaci
and push out 10 sea fifty miles beyond tn
breakers. i do not think tie church o
, God gains a great deal when you TAX
. sheep from one fold and put them In an
; other fold. and yet you and | have some
, times seen pastors fishing in other peo
pies ponds They throw line into on
. pond and they jerk out a Methodist: the
throw a line into another pond and jerl
/, out Presbyterian; or there is religion
, row in some neighboring church and .
T, whole school OF fish swims or from tha
! pond. and we take them all in with on