The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-11-10
MAN SHOULD ATTAIN
A HEAVENLY CHARACTER.
The Reverend Frank G. Tyrrell
nch n Sermon on ''The
Heavenly State"

The Reverend Frank 6; Ty.rell, pastor
of the Mount Cabanne Christian Church
emily State" taking for for his text John
xvii. 81: 1.-The kingdom of God cometh not
with observation. neither shall they say
God Go; is Within You" He said. in part:
Much Of the popular thought concerning
the kingdom of God or the kingdom OF
rlous. into which the redeemed enter. and
are safe. But you will never enter heaven
till heaven enters you; 1t takes character
to make a heaven. and II one has the right
character. then place, surroundings, land
scapes. are matters of little moment.
.'The efforts of men should. therefore. be
emily character. Religious societies and in
stitutions. creeds and formulas. reasts,
fasts and solemn assemblies. customs and
manners are all meaningless except as they
help in character building. This Is the
chief end of religion. as 1t should be Of gov
ernment of commerce and OF industry In
all its forms.
The heavenly state is a condition Of
mind and soul which accords with the IL
vine purpose. which gives the fairest, freest
and fullest expression Of ones self. And
this is a condition of absolute holiness. or
freedom from sin. Only the pure In heart
shaii see God. When a man feels the de-
beneath his burden OF guilt, then he is
ready for a. Savior. II there Is any better
It Ma and o. ,h put e1nsea aWay s'h foI tns ipra st { tbs of
by the forgiving grace Of God, as revealed
In Jesus. Christ. the world is welcome to 1t.
The white robes that John saw are SYM
state Of the redeemed.
Neither is there any temptation in this
are tempted at every side of their nature.
Iney know that certain solicitations to
evli nave no power over them. And when
nothing will tempt. For the present. We
are wooed and drawn in a score of ways
toward sin; but we are fortified by the
word nf God h- rrayyar nv, ra1iUfOr-r
sociatons. by reason and memory, and re-
sist temptation. strengthened by the very
s ansrss di Sc 1ssista4 ase t ehar as a result ssenms Of
strong and triumphant, and sin has no more
dominion over US. There are souls weary
treasure s'' to be- T iree T from ss SIM a nnd ab aHs
emily state.
after toll, health after sickness. victory
after conflict. these are sweet. and these
aae shades of meaning rejected In that
IT.. but how many. even Of the worshiping
millions, receive it? Here burn the fires of
1 With som ambitions d,asrs.,oe every sSere da y lis Is e siams
attrition. a seething turmoil. but out Of
this We grow INTO moral equilibrium. into
wars and discords without. but there is
peace within.
st is likewise a state of happiness. The
liant with metaphor, is exhausted In the
efforts Of the inspired writers to depict the
joys of heaven. Every book In the Bible
rings with the cadence Of song and the
vibrant melody of stringed instruments.
And this state Of happiness is attainable
here. It belongs to heaven not as a place,
but to the Inhabitants of heaven; and as
far as We know that world celestial is to
be populated from this whirling sphere-at
least In part.
The resources Of happiness are as nu-
merous as are the faculties Of the human
mind; They are to be found In some of
thousand things provided for our weIl-be-
Ag. To the child Of God the starry sk1es