The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-10-04
SEEKING NEW FIELDS
Or. TALMAGE DRAWS LESSONS
FROM PAUL's ACTIVITY.
Points Out Places of Usofu,nes. Not
Yet Fully Occupied - Need of More
Workers The Church as Life
Boat.

>.SSAsAAAANsoS
thoroughly cultivated and shows the
need of more activity. The text is
Romans XIV, 20, Lest l should build
upon another mans foundation
In laying out the plan OF his mis-
sionary tour Paul sought out towns
and cities which had not yet been
preached to. He goes to Corinth, "a
city famous for splendor and vice, and
Jerusalem, where the priesthood and
the sanhedrin were ready to leap with
both feet upon the Christian re-
llglon. He feels he has especial work
to do, and he means to do it. What
was the result? The grandest life Of
usefulness that a NAN ever lived. We
modern Christian workers are not apt
TO initiate Paul. We build on other
peoples foundations. If we erect
church, we prefer to have it filled with
families all of whom have been pious.
Do we gather Sabbath school class,
we want good boys and girls, hair
combed, faces washed, manners attrac-
tive So a church in this day is apt to
be built out of other churches. Some
ministers spend all of their time in fish
ing in other peoples ponds, and they
throw the line into that church pond,
and they jerk out Methodist and
throw the line into another church
pond and bring out Presbyterian, or
Shere is religious row in some neigh
boring church, and whole school of
fish swim off from that pond. and we
cake them all in with one sweep of the
net. What is gained? Absolutely
nothing for the cause of Christ What
strengthens an army is new recruits.
While courteous to those coming from
other focks, we should build our
churches not out of other churches
but out of the world, lest we build on
another mans foundation.
The fact is, this is a big world
When, in our schoolboy days, we
learned the diameter and circumfer-
ance 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 con-
.inent of wretchedness reaches across
all zones, and if were called to give
its geographical boundary l would say
1t was bounded on the north and south
and east and west by the great heart
Of Gods sympathy and love- Oh, it
Is great world! Since O'Clock this
morning 60,SO0 persons have been
born, and all these multiplied popula-
fions are to be reached by the gospel.
In England or in our eastern Ameri-
can cities we are being much crowded,
and an acre Of ground is of great
value, but in western America 500
.slaak is small farm and 10000 acres
is no unusual possession. mere Is a
vast field here and everywhere unoc-
cupied, plenty Of room more. not
building on another mans foundation.
The Spirit of Evangelism.
We need as churches to stop bonn
harding the old ironclad sinners that
have been proof against so years Of
Christian assault. Alas for that
church which lacks the spirit of
evangelism, spending on one chande-
lier enough to light 500 souls to glory,
and in one carved pillar enough to
have made thousand men pillars in
the house of our God forever" and do
ing less good than many log cabin
meeting house with tallow candles
stuck in wooden sockets and a min
lister who has never seen college and
does not know the difference between
Greek and Choctaw. We need as
churches to get into sympathy with
the great outside world and let them
know that none are so broken hearted
or hardly bestead that they will not
be welcomed. mol" says some fas-
tidious Christian II don't like to be
crowded in church. Don't put any
one in my pew"
My brother, what will you do in
heaven? When great multitude that
no man can number assemblies, they
will put so 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 a hos
pital that should advertise that its
patients must have nothing worse
than toothache or 'runrounds, but no
broken heads, no crushed ankles, no
fractured thighs. Give us for treatment
moderate sinners, velvet coated sin
ners and sinners with gloss on. 1t
is as though man had farm of 8 900
ooroc opd mt oil hic uyorl, IN r,,o o.,.
He may raise never so large ears of
corn, never so big heads of wheat. he
would remain poor. The church of
God has bestowed its chief care on ont,
acre and has raised splendid men and
women in that small Enclosure, but the
field is the world That means North
and South America, Europe, Asia and
1t .s as though after a great battle
thpfe were left $4,000 wounded and dy-
ing on the field and three surgeons
gave ali their. time to three patients
under their charge. The major gen
eral comes in and says to the doctors.
Come out here and look at the nearly
$4,000 dying for lack of surgical at
tendance. No. say tie three doctors,
standing there tanning their patients;
1--WE have three important cases here,
and we are attending to them, and
when we are not positively busy with
their wounds it takes all our time to
keep the flies off," In this awful bat
tie of sin and sorrow, where billions
have fallen on millions, do rot let us
spend all our time in takirg care of
few people and when me command