Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-02-20
Journals
Saturday
Sermon

1
} This does not mean at all that the sim
! ner has had but one opportunity. 1t may
mean that he has had many opportuni-
ties. He may have many more. But We
| certainly have one opportunity now. II Is
| just like God to give a poor sinner time
to repent. 1t is just like God to give
sinner chance for Heaven. 1t is just
! like God to send the Holy Spirit TO the
unregenerate heart to teach that heart
the way of everlasting life. But the
| sinners time is not today. 1t is "tomor-
| row." He presumes on the unborn OPP
portunity. He is waiting for the days to
come. Yea, he is waiting for the reas-
| on, frst that he has not got enough or
| this world. Now. to me, that is a very
! unplausible and very unsubstantial reas-
! on. ST have not got enough of this
! world" and IT Is astonishing to note now
| much of the world 1t takes to I'LL a ilttle
sinner. 1t is astonishing to note how
| much a little soul can receive and stu
| not be filed. And 1T is astonishing what
| abnormal tastes he has, what queer
| appetite how low how grovelling MS
| tastes and pleasures. The world never
| did satisfy a sinner. History Is against
it. Experience is against ii, Christianity
is against H. The Book is against 1t, and
| the Holy Spirit seeing that this world can
never satisfy the human heart, came
| down to you and stands before you ana
| saws to every man and woman OF you
| tonight unborn into the kingdom OF
Christ: Look higher satisfaction comes
from up yonder."
read a little story once. of how a
young fellow, in some old. dilapidated cas-
tie with walls badly battered and bro
ken was playing with party of young
men and young women a game at hlde
| and seek This young fellow, when II
came his turn, put his hands on top OF
an old ruined wall and made leap. ana
he leaped with great force and energy
| and made such bound as that when he
| landed, instead of catching on the little
ledge of rock just on the outside of the
old ruined wall, he went beyond 1t, and
down, down, down the great declivity ms
| poor body fell and was mangled by the
stones down by the seashore. He did not
have enough. He went beyond the pru-
dence line. He was not wise. He MADE
the leap too far.
And so 1t is with every ungodly sinner
today. You are playing as it were. hide
and seek with your unworldly Fellows
| and one of these days you are going to
leap too far. you are going out of the
world and into another world, and you
will still not be satisfied. Now, that IS
the reason that you don't come to Gods
| time, that you don't accept the terms; II
is because the world with all of it's al
| lurements. with all Of its pleasures. with
| all of its Kaleidoscope glories are saying:
Take hold of me and taste me. and live
| by me, and have good time with me,i
Yea, tomorrow is the sinners time. be-
cause he is not feeling enough today. Do
you know that a great many people, and
very sensible people, and very wise people
| as the world goes. have put; feeling for
| religion If they feel very bad or If they
| feel very good they think that they are
saved Trust not to feeling. i will tell
you what these feelings do signify or
what they may signify--you are great
sinner and you need great Savior. rC.5-.
Now. I know a poor woman in this
| town-some OF you know her, She has
been putting off Jesus Christ. our
blessed Savior, for a year, am sure, Tor
! have known her that long and more,
and when sometimes / would venture, to
speak to her about her soul that poor
woman tells me with the saddest face
and with the most pitiful tone, Il don't
feel right" and so with her feelings she
is cropping her poor way out OF this world
and into eternity simply because she Is
depending on her feelings. Now. That
will not do at all, foresome of the very
best Christians who hear me tonight
have had feelings of woeful dependency
and have come almost into despair
Sometimes you have thought that God
Almighty had forsa.keno you, and no Won
der. Does that signify that the Lord
Jesus did not wash you with His blood
and save you by His power?
Sometimes the mangon his dying bed
havtne been taught bys faithless prophets
and priests and preachers lies there hug
cling the delusive phantom of hope as he
lies suplnely on his back and says all Is
clear. all Is right, and doubtless he dies
and goes down to hell, feeling 1t rs all right
but realizing at last that 1t is all wrong
Feeling won't do And so that is why the
sinner puts off till tomorrow, in order
that he NAV get up a better stock of feel
ing. 1t is as much as to say before the
Lord God "Give me feelings and you can
do what YOU please with the blood. Let
me feel good and happy and let the very
fountain of Christ dry up on calvary
mountain" Whether you feel hot or cold,
good or bad. saint or sinner, be sure that
YOU touch the hem OF His garment, that
His virtue may run out of Him and come
into Sou.
Again. why the sinner puts off till to-
morrow IS, he wants more time. de
wants more time to pray. Now, L want 10
be charitable to the sinner. | don't want
TO make any untruthful or unkindly accu-
sation or any merciless charge against
the sinner tonight. tell you that accord
ing to observations and in my humble
Judgment hundreds and thousands of hon
est and earnest and yearning and misera-
Bile sinners want to know Jesus Christ,
and yet they cannot see nor cannot ne-
lieve, somehow or Otner, tndt lHSy may
have Him today. Wait till tomorrow.
that may have time to pray. Wait till
tomorrow, that may have time to weep
for all of my sins ~
received a letter the other day from
a minister in Augusta. Ca, and in that
letter he said substantially this There
was an old-time conversion in my church
| last Sunday night, and every one there
believed that that man knew the Lord
Jesus Christ He cried out for mercy,
| and then found peace to his soul
But now 1t is not fair for the finite man
to say just how the Infinite shall save
| him; 1t is presumptuous, 1T is not right TO
| say that God Almighty shall same every
| man or woman or boy right precisely az
| ter the same fashion. God can save one
| man without a tear in his eye, and God
saves another man with his heart all
broken and bleeding and his tears run
ming like rain. God can save one, and He
| comes into the Kingdom of Christ shout
! ing the praises of God and happy as he
! can be; but God saves another, and he
stands as stolid and as solid as rock
with NOT one single muscle moving-sim-
| ply, hdmbly trusting in the Eternal.
| Now, mat is Gods way.