The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-10-08
from coal to the solitaire. The crystd

rrOm coal 10 tne s0lftaIre. Line cIysS0
cannot equal it"
Power OF the Gospel.
But, my friends, the chief Transforming
power Of the gospel viii not be seen in
this world, and not until heaven breaks
upon the soul. When that light falls
upou the soul, then you Will see the crys-
tails. What a magnificent setting for
these jewels of eternity / sometimes
hear people representing heaven In q way
that is far from attractive to me. 1t seems
almost a vulgar heaven as they represent
il, with great blotches of color and bands
of music making a deafening racket
John represents heaven as exquisitely
beautiful. Three crystals, In one place
he says, Her light was like a precious
stone. clear as crystal" In another place
he says. II saw a pure river from under
the throne, clear Is crystal" In another
place he says. Before the throne there
was a sea OF glass clear as crystal"
Three crystals, John says crystal atmos-
phere. That means health. Balm Of
eternal June. What weather after the
worlds east wind, No rack Of storm
clouds. One breath OF that air will cure
the worst tubercle. Crystal light on all
the leaves. Crystal light shimmering on
the topaz of the temples. Crystal light
tossing in the plumes Of the equestrians
of heaven on white horses. But The
crystal cannot equal it." John says crys-
tai river. That means joy. Deep and
ever rolling. Not one drop Of the Poto-
mac or the Hudson or the Rhine to soil
it. No one tear Of human sorrow to inn
bitter it. Crystal, the rain out of which
it was made. Crystal, the bed over
which it shall roll and ripple. Crystal.
its infinite surface. But "the crystal can
not equal it." John says crystal sea.
That means multitudinously vast. Vast in
rapture. Rapture vast as the sea, deep
as the sea, strong as the sea, ever chang
ing as the sea. Billows of light. Bill
lows Of beauty, blue with skies that were
never clouded and green with depths that
were never fathomed. Arctics and Ant
arctics and Mediterraneans and Attain
tics. and Pacifcs in crystalline magnif-
cence. Three crystals! Crystal light
falling on a crystal river. Crystal river
rolling into a crystal sea. But 'the crys-
tai cannot equal it."
"Oh," says some one, putting his hand
over his eyes, "can it be that / who have
been in so much sin and trouble will ever
come to those crystals?" Yes, it may
bet will be. Heaven we must have,
whatever we have or have not, and we
come here to get it. "How much must
I pay for it," you say. You will pay for
it just as much as the coal pays to be-
come the diamond. In other words,
nothing. The same Almighty power that
makes the crystal in the mountain will
change your heart which is harder than
stone, for the promise is, 81 will take
away your stony heart, and I will give
you a heart of flesh"
Open the Door to Christ.
"Oh," says some one, sit is just the doc
trine I want. God is to do everything,
and I am to do nothing" My brother,
it is not the doctrine you want. The coal
makes no resistance. 1t hears the resur-
rection voice in the mountain and it
comes to Capitalization; but your heart
~resists. The trouble with you, my broth
er, is the coal wants to stay coal.
l do not ask you to throw open the door
and let Christ in. I only ask that you
stop boiling it and barring it. My friends,
we will have to get rid Of our sins. l
will have to get rid of my sins, and you
will have to get rid Of your sins. What
will we do with our sins among b three
crystals? The crystal atmosphere would
display our pollution. The crystal river
would be befouled with our touch. Trans
formation must take place now or no
transformation at all. Give sin full
chance in your heart and the transforms
ton will be downward instead Of upward.
Instead of crystal it will be a cinder.
In the days Of Carthage a Christian
girl was condemned to die for her faith,
and q boat was dedaubed with tar and
pitch and filled with combustibles and
set on FIRE, and the Christian girl was
placed in the boat, and the wind was off.
shore, and the boat foated away with its
precious treasure. No one can doubt
that boat landed at the shore of heaven.
Sin wants to put you in a fiery boat and
shove you off in an opposite direction-of
from peace, off from God, off from heav.
en-, everlastingly of, and the port toward
which you would sail would be a port OF
darkness. and the uns that would greet
you would be the guns Of despair, and
the flags that would wave at your ar
rival would be the black flags OF death
Oh, my brother, you must either kill sir
or sin will kill you! It is no exaggeratior
when I say that any man or woman that
wants to be saved may be saved. Ire
mendous choice! A thousand people arr
choosing this m between salvation
and destruction, between light and dark
ness, between charred ruin and gloriou:
Capitalization.
copyright, 1901, Louis Klopsch, N. "