The Penn's Grove record., 1903-01-23
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
"A NoTE OF WARNING"
Che Rev. DIR. j. Wilbur Chapman Rejoices
That the Bible Gives Instances of Fail
ure to Serve as an Inspiration-How
to Avoid Similar Mistakes.

Che Rev. Dr. j. Wilbu Chapman Rejoices
Thai the Bible Gives Instances of Fail
ure to Serve as an Inspiration-How
to Avoid Similar Mistakes.
NEW York CITY.-The following sermon
entitled, "a Note of Warming" was
preached by the great evangelist, the Rev.
DR.. J. Wilbur Chapman.
1t is to the praise Of God that He has in
HIS word given us repeated instances of
men who have fallen, that they might
serve ds a warning and their very failure
be an inspiration to US to avoid similar
mistakes. One can not read the story of
Adam and Eve without getting a glimpse
both OF the power of Satan in his over
throw OF our first parents and the tender
ness of God as He cried out in the cool Of
the day: Where art thou?" We can not
study the life and character of Noah with
out being impressed with the fact that a
man might be used. of God to-day, then to-
morrow wander away SO far from Him as
to make grievous mistakes. The whole of
the Old Testament is a cry to those who
have wandered away from God to return.
In their wanderings we get our lessons,
and in Gods cry we nave certain evidence
that though we may have sinned, yet He
Is always ready to put our sins away from
Him and from us.
One of the best illustrations in the Old
Testament, to my mind, is that of Saul.
He made a splendid appearance as a king.
When the people demanded a king God
sent Samuel to look one out, and he found
Saul, whose appearance was kingly. If
nothing else recommended him to the
throne this did. The first thing Samuel
did was to pour the amounting oil upon his
head, which was an indication that God
was taking him for His own, and thus
separating him from the world. A little
later we read that the Spirit of the Lord
came upon Saul, and it looks as If he must
have been filled with His presence, and
must have fulfilled the highest expecta-
tions of the people. A little further ON in
his history the man of God appears to
him, saying: God is with thee, thou
conclusion, as we look upon him, that it is
indeed true. and when the people cry out
for the king and Saul is called forth, he
stands head and shoulders above. the men
gathered about him, and ~inyoluntarily the
people, when they look upon him, are
stirred to such enthusiasm that they shout,
GOD SAVE THE KING"
there gathered around him "a band of
men whose hearts God had touched"
Thus the story goes on, with Saul rising
ever higher and higher in the popular es-
TEEN and favor. Yet in the end, and in
the face of it all, he blackened the pages
of the Old Testament. made the ruling of
his kingdom a failure, and died by his own
hand-really, in the sight of God, a MUIR
derer.
One cannot read such a story as this
without trembling, and it is for each one
OF us to-day that the Bible was written,
that we might know God, and that we
might know ourselves.
l have learned from this story of Saul,
the king, that it is possible for one to be
born of the Spirit, really to be saved, and
to be saved forever, and yet
MISERABLY FAIL
in the sight of God.
l remember preaching in one of the
cities of Indiana. For four DAYS the church
was crowded, but a crowd is not an indi-
cation of a blessing. Not ~infrequently the
presence of a crowd is an indication of
defeat, for preachers are apt under such
circumstances to put their confidence in
men, rather than in God. During all the
four days not a hand was lifted for prayer,
nor a single indication given that there
might be On awakening ON the part of the
Christian people. The field / was next to
labor in seemed quite ready for the har-
vest, spd in the preparatory services many
people were being saved. l called the min
listers of the Indiana city together and
asked them to give me the privilege of
closing my engagement with them, that
there was some barrier in the way of the
working of Gods Spirit, and that I felt
when I preached as if | was bound with
chains. After a little conference one of
the ministers requested that the decision
be withheld for a little, that he felt sure
that he knew where the difficulty was. As
the leader of our force of personal work
ers we had one of the members of this
minister's church, a man well known
throughout his WI State, and a Judge of
one of the highest courts. Somehow it
seemed that when this man passed through
the audience he sent a cold wave over the
people. From the conference of ministers
the pastor of this church went into the
office of this old judge and said to him:
Il have been hearing rumors On the
streets for a long time that your life is not
clean, and l have come to say that if these
rumors are untrue / desire to take some
public stand with you to contradict them,
but | have also come to say that if hey
are true I win stand nearer to you than a
brother, and help you to get free from the
power Of your besetting sin"
The old judge looked a moment at him,
and then put his head on his arms on the
desk and sobbed out:
"They are all true, and more"
In a moment they were ON their knees
in prayer, and it was but a moment more
before the old judge rose a delivered man,
Tree from the power OF MS SIN.
/ was Just lifting my hands to pronounce
the benediction at the close OF an afternoon
service when the church door opened and
the old Judge came in. Having lifted his
hand to ask permission to speak he made
this statement:
MY friends, I have been known for
years as one of the members of the church
and as an officer Of the church, but for a
long time my life has been robbed of its
power and my soul of it's peace. / have
lost my influence in my home, and I fear
almost altogether in my city. But I have
gotten right with my minister, and right
with God, and | have come to ask your for
giveness."
The confession was made with sobs.
There was no benediction pronounced that
afternoon. The people all filed out one
way. Some took the hand Of the judge to
say God bless you" some to say nothing,
but to pass with tear-wet cheeks and burn
ing hearts. But when the evening service
came, and the sermon had been preached
there was a remarkable change. The at
mosphere seemed like heaven. Fully fifty
people pressed their way to the front to
accept Christ as their Saviour. The first |
man to come was the old judge, with his
arm around a poor lost man, who was
hopefully saved. In less than six days |
more than 500 people came pressing their |
~ - A4t0 viz il
1t is likewise a possible thing to have
been filed at one time with the Spirit, and |
after all to make a failure of ones life. 1t
is not enough to live on the old expe-
~riences, however precious they may have |
been. 1t is not enough to have been once
filled, we must all the time be kept full,
and we can only thus be kept by living in
CLOSE FELLOWSHIP AND UNINTER
RUPTED COMMUNION
with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mr.. Meyers Interpretation of the ex-
preston, Lest / myself should be a easta-
way" | heartily accept. Certainly we
men to-day who were once used of
God in preaching, blessed of Him in soul
winning, but who are set aside to-day;
in other words they have become casta-
ways. They are objects of pity, both to
and to men. Mr.. Meyer, in describ-
ing these, tells us of his stylographic pen.
1t was one of some value, and had been
given to him for his private use. For a
long time he carried it with him every
where, and used it on all occasions. And
a more improved pattern came out
and he used the new one instead of the
old; the old one was still his, but was dis
approved and set aside. Mr.. Meyer says
he can imagine how the pen would say, as
it thought of the past:
There was once q time when he used
alWaysEand now, never. There was a
when / knew his thoughts before
any one else, and now / am set aside.