Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-11-17


porary contact. that is what 1 believe
every true church member ought to
do. I believe every Christian ought to
be so anxious to save souls for Christ
that, no matter in what position in
life he may be placed, he ought never
to allow any man, woman or child to
come into contact with him in any
way unless he tactfully improves that
chance for speaking a word for his
Divine Master.
Spread the Invitation.
Church members should present the
gospel invitation to the men and wOm-
en- whom they chance to meet the more
willingly because they would never
dream of waiting for an introduction
or Of hesitating on account of embar-
rassment If they saw those same peo-
pie threateESl with any physical dan
ger. Supposing, 0 Christian man, you
were returning home late some night
end you saw the flames playing about
the curtains Of the dining room in your
neighbours house. Would you hesitate
for one instant about ringing that OWN
er's doorbell because you had not a
personal acquaintance with him? Would
you first scurry round the town to
hunt up some mutual acquaintance to
give you that Introduction? No! At
the top Of your lungs you would cry
Fire! Fire! Firev' You would tell
your companion who was by your side
| to run to the nearest fire alarm box
and at once call the engines. And if
the smoke was rolling up in great
clouds and threatening to suffocate
the inmates of that home you would
with your cane smash the parlor win
| dows and rush upstairs unannounced
and awaken the drowsy sleepers. If
necessary, you would help carry the
children down into the street in your
| protecting arms. After you are ready
to do all that to warn a stranger of an
earthly danger, do you mean to tell me
that unless you have been introduced
you have no right to give to that same
stranger the gospel invitation? 1 de-
clare that your position is not tenable.
1 tell you that il you truly believe that
an unrepentant sinner must die, then
y
is in imminent danger of destruction
in the same way in which you would
act toward that man who is sleeping
In bed when the fire demons are dane
ing along his Railways and playing
hide and seek among the tapestries of
his parlor.
Again, it is absolutely necessary in
| >rI 30, h.
text for the average church member
to give the gospel invitation to his
friends and to strangers when they are
gathered inside the church walls as
well as when they are scattered with
out, and it Is also necessary for the
church members to extend this invita-
ton for a specified time and place. A
general invitation to come to supper is,
as a rule, worse than no invitation at
all. When a person comes to me and
gushingly says, "Oh, Mr.. Talmage, /
do wish you would come and visit us;
come any time you can and stay as
long as you please" am sure of one
fact-that person wants to be polite
but he does not want me to come. He
|
comes to me and says, "Mr. Talmage
will you and your wife take supper
with us next Thursday night; we are
poor folks, but we will give you thu
best we have?' l generally accept
Why? Because think that man wants
me to come. He set time and place
where he wished to entertain me. So
when the minister of the Lord Jesus
Christ breaches q sermon and gives O
general invitation and says to the sin
ners, Come to Christ" and then dis
misses his audience with q benedic
ton and goes home, as q rule, that sur
mon has amounted to but very little il
its evangelistic results. But when the
minister Of the Lord Jesus Christ car
, go to his church members and say
/ Brethren, we must gather in the sin
: ners who are living around this church
, We must go out into the highways an(
the hedges and compel them to come in
, We will tonight as soon as the bene
5 diction has been pronounced have al
, after meeting. AS members Of thi
5 church we will distribute ourselve
| through the aisles and buttonhole ever,
{ man, woman and child, so that no on
shall leave the building without havin,
9 a special invitation for this after meet
2 Ing" there will be no disappointment
: in the spiritual results. Why? Becaus
q the church members themselves ar
r asking their friends and the stranger
to meet Jesus Christ in specific,
4 place at specified time. General in
f vitations in reference to the gospe
). banquet as we'll as to an earthly home
! as a rule, are worse than no invitation
at all.
G The Fault of the Pevs.
l. So, today, 1 lay the blame for th
= lack Of spiritual results in on
+ churches far more upon the pews tina
j do upon the pulpits. God knows,
!. do not believe that our ministers al
8 perfect men, but most of them al
: earnest men, intense men. They wOul