Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1900-06-15

take, into whatever enterprise we
start, let us always have Christ in the
ship.s ALI you can do with utmost
tension of body, mind and soul you
are bound to do; but, oh, have Christ
in every enterprise!
There are men who ask Gods help
at the beginning of great enterprises.
He has been with them in the past;
no trouble can overthrow them; the
storms might come down from the
top of Mount Hermon and lash Gen
nesaret into foam and into agony,
but it could not hurt them. But here
is another man who starts out ini
worldly enterprise, and he depends
upon the uncertainties of this life.
He has no God to help him. After
awhile the storm comes, losses off the
masts of the ship; he puts out his life
boat and the long boat; the sheriff
and the auctioneer try to help him
off; they can't help him off; he must
go down; no Christ in the ship. Your
life will be made up of sunshine and
shadows. There may be in it arctic
blasts or tropical tornadoes; I know
| not what is before you, but know if
you have Christ with you all shall be
| well. You may seem to get along
| without the religion of Christ while
| everything goes smoothly, but after
awhile, when sorrow hovers over the
| soul, when the waves of trial dash
clear over the hurricane deck and the
| decks are crowded with piratical dis
| asters-oh, what would you do then
without Christ in the ship? Take
God for your portion, God for your
| Cod fOr. holm. fhop oil &c
we'll; all is we'll for a time; all shall
be we'll forever. Blessed is that man
I who puts in the Lord his trust. He
| shall never be COMPOUNDED.
| But my subject also impresses me
with the fact that when people start
to follow Christ they must not expect
| into the small boats, and I have no
doubt they said: "What a beautiful
| day this is! How delightful is sailing
in this boat! And as for the waves
under the keel of the boat, why, they
only make the motion of our little
boat the more delightful But when
| the winds swept down and the sea
was tossed into wrath, then they
| smooth sailing. So you have found
| it; so have found it.
| Did you ever notice the end of the
| life of the apostles of Jesus Christ
| You would say if ever men, ought to
| have had smooth life, smooth de-
parture, then those men, the disciples
| of Jesus Christ, ought to have had
| such a departure and such a life. St.
James lost his head. ST. Philip was
hung to death on pillar. ST. Mat
thew had his life dashed out with a
| halbert. ST. Mark was dragged to
death through the streets. ST. James
the Less was beaten to death with a
| ful1er's club. ST. Thomas was struck
through with spear. They did not
find following Christ smooth sailing.
Oh, how they were all tossed in the
| tempest! John Huss in fire; Hugh
McKail in the hour of martyrdom;
the Albigenses, the Waldenses, the
Scotch Covenanters-did they find it
smooth sailing? But why go into
history when we can draw from our
own memory illustrations of the truth
of what I say?
A young man in a store trying to
serve God, while his employer SCOTS
at Christianity; the young men in the
same store, antagonistic to the Chris
tian religion, teasing him, tormenting
him about his religion, trying to get
him mad. They succeed in getting
him mad and say: "You're a pretty
Christian!" Does that young man
find it smooth sailing when he tries
to follow Christ? Or you remember
Christian girl. Her father despises
the Christian religion; her mother
despises the Christian religion; her
brothers and sisters scott at the Chris
tian religion; she can hardly find a
quiet place in which to say her
prayers. Did she find it smooth sailing
when she tried to follow Jesus Christ
Oh, no! All who would live the life
of the Christian religion must suffer
persecution. If you do not find it in
one way, you will get it in another
way. But be not disheartened! Take
courage. You are in a glorious com
partnership. God will see you through
all trials, and He will deliver you.
My subject also impresses me with
the fact that good people sometimes
get frightened. In the tones of these
disciples as they rushed into the back
part of the boat I find they are fright
ened almost to death. They say:
Master, carest Thou not that we pers
ish?" They had no reason to be
frightened, for Christ was in the boat
L suppose if we had been there we
would have been just as much at
frighted. Perhaps more. In all ages
very good people get very much af-
frighted. It is often so in our day
and men say: "Why, look at the bad
lectures. Look at the various errors
ooino over the church of Cod We are
going to founder. The church is GO
| -. l. 1911. L e.. |,