The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-10-12
SEEKING new FIELDS
DR.. TALMAGE DRAWS LESSONS FROM
PAUI'S ACTIVITY
Points Out Places of Usefulness Not
Yet Fully Occupied-Need of More
Workers he Church as a Life
boat

oOaL-
In this discourse DR.. Talmage points
to fieI1s of usefulness that are not yet
thoroughly cultivated and shows the
need of more activity. The text is Ro-
mans XIV. 20, Lest I shall build upo
another mans foundation"
In laying out the plan of his mission
ary tour Paul sought out towns and
cities which a not yet been preached
to. He goes to Corinth, a city famous
for splendor and vice, and Jerusalem,
where the priesthood and the andhe
drin were ready to leap with both feet
upon the Christian religion. He feels
ne has especial work to do, and he
means to do it, What was the result?
The grandest life of usefulness that a
man ever lived. We modern Christian
workers are not apt to initiate Paul
We build on other peoples foundations
If We erect a church we prefer TO nave
it filled with families all of whom
have been pious. Do We gather a SAP
bath school class, We want good boys
and girls, hair combed, faces washed,
manners attractive. So a churcn III
this day is apt TO be built out OF otner
churches. Some ministers spend all
their time in fishing in other peoples
ponds, and they throw the line into
that church pond, and they jerk out a
Methodist and throw the lin into
another church pond n bring out a
Presbyterian, or there Is a religious
row in some n~eighboring church,
and a whole school of fish swim on
from that pond, and we take them all
in with one sweep of the net. What Is
gained? Absolutely nothing for the
cause of Christ. What strengthens
any army is new recruits? While cour-
teous to those coming from other hock
we should build our churches not out
of other churches, but out of the world
lest we build on another mans foun-
dalton.
The fac is his is a big world. When
in our school boy days, we learned the
diameter and circumference of this
planet, We did not learn half 1t IS
the latitude and longitude and diam
eter and circumference OF want and
Woe, and sin that no figures can cal
culate. This one spiritual continent
OF W~retchednesS reaches across all
zones, and if i were called TO give IL
geographical boundary, l would say
it was bound on the north and south
and east and west by the great heart
of Gods sympathy and love, Oh 1t
is a great world Since 6 O'Clock this
morning so, 800 persons have been born
and all these multiplied populations
are to be reached by the gospel In
England or in our eastern American
cities we are being much crowded, and
an acre of ground is of great value,
but in western America 500 acres Is a
small farm and 5000 acres is no I'M
usual possession. There is a vast HELD
here and everywhere unoccupied, plen-
ty of room more, not building on
another mans
THE SPIRIT OF EVANGELISM.
We need as churches to stop bonn
harding the old ironclad sinners that
have been proof against 80 years OF
Christian assault Alas for that cnurcn
which lacks the spirit of evangelism,
spending on one chandelier enough to
light 500 souls to glory, n in one
carved pillar enough to have made a
Thousand men pillars in the mouse OF
our God forever" and doing less good
than many a log cabin meeting house
with tallow candles stuck in wooden
sockets and a minister who has never
seen a college and does not know the
meaning between Greek and ChoctaW.
We need as churches to get into SYM
pathy with the great outside world
and let them know hat none are SO
broken. hearted or hardly bestead that
they will not be welcomed. No.
says some fastidiOus Christian. /
don't like to be crowded in church.
Don't put any body in my pew
My brother, what will you do in
heaven? When a great multitude That
no man can number tney
will put 80 in your pew. What are the
select few today assembled in the
Christian churches compared with
the mightier millions outside
of them? Many of the churches are
like hospitals that should advertise
that its patients must have nothing
worse than toohache or "runroundS,
but broken heads, no crushed ankles
no fractured thighs. Give us for treat
ment moderate sinners, velvet coated
sinners and sinners with a gloos on.
1t is as though a man had a farm OF j.
900 acres and put all his work on one
acre. He may raise never so large
ears of corn, never so big heads OF
wheat, ne would remain poor. The
church of God has bestowed its chief
care on one acre and has raised Splen-
did men and women in that small in
closure, but the field is n world.
That means North and South America,
Europe, Asia and Africa and all the
islands of the sea. 1t is as though af-
ter a great battle there were left 40
900 wounded and dying on the field
and three surgeons gave all their tins
to three patients under their charge.
The major general comes in and a.
~ lhc uOCIOISs SOllIO OaN SAS oAN
look at the nearly so, 600 dying for lack
of surgical attendance" No." avs
the three doctors, standing there fan
ming their three patients; I'VE ave
three important cases here, and we are
attending to them, and when we are
not positively busy with their wounds
it takes all Duh time to keep the flies
off" In this awful battle of sin ano
sorrow, where millions have fallen or
millions, do not let us spend all oul
time in taking care OF a few people
and when the command comes. Ok
into the world" say practically, mo
I cannot go; / have here a few chotct
cases, and I am busy keeping ON on'
flies" There are multitudes TO-DAY
who have never had any Christian
worker look them in the eye and witt
earnestness in the accentuation say
"tOome," or they would long ago have
been in the kingdom. My friends, re
figion is either a sham or a great re
atty. If it be a sham, let us diSbant
our churches and Christian aSsocfa'
lions. If 1T be a reality, then greaf