The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1904-07-17


tratlon and incident that true and en-
during happiness and satisfaction ar,
not to be found In worldly success, bu
In embracing the offer OF salvation
through Christ The text Is Mark xii
"a. Thou art not far from the kingdom
of Cod
What is to you the saddest word II
all the English language? Edgar AL
Ian Poe, that brilliant genius Of Amer
lean literature, whose designations en-
dungeoned him In chamber of hor
rors as CHASTITY as that in which Thorn
as De Quincy was compelled to live
and whose raven of delirium trelnens
sounded his death knell when he had
just reached forty years Of age, has
made the word "nevermore' awful IN
black bird Of demoniacal despair croak-
ing dirge, In it are heard the sobs
of breaking hearts and are seen the
ghostlike horrors of d living charnel
house. "Neyermore. Nevermore. New
ermore" To many that word will al
ways be the saddest of all words.
Thomas Carlyle, the great English
essayist and philosopher, the master Of
mighty sentences and prose master
pieces, dipped his pen In the reddest Of
all inks when he wrote the word
fought" The great author of the just
ly famous philosophical dissertation
upon "The French Revolution de-
clared that the word ought Is the
saddest of all words. 1t has in it all
the harsh and revefberatiag voices
which run the gamut OF remorse. Car
lyle's conception OF the imperial force
of that word ought had in it the
thunder of Sinai, and to the offender
recreant to duty II still sounded, min
gled with the taunts OF the iiends OF
the eternal inferno, deriding and mock
ing the miserable sufferer with the re-
minders of the Bliss he might have en-
1oyed II he had done as he ought
Some have declared that the saddest
of all words is gone" others "death,
others despair" But today | want TO
call your attention to another word
which | think is the saddest word ever
uttered by man. 1t was that which
King Agrippa spake to Panl when on
the Roman tribunal of Caesarca Phi
lippi he said: almost! Almost thou
persuadest me to be Christian All,
yes, King Agrippa was SO near thcf
kingdom of God that just one step
forward would have placed the Roman
ruler at the feet of Christ Just one
step more would have changed him
from n pagan Into humble and re-
pentant follower OF the Nazarcne. But
that one step was never taken. King
Agrppa was almost persuaded TO be
n Christian, but his almost" never
brought him into safety and eterna!
life.
Today am going to try to help some
of you to overcome that saddest of all |
words, almost" | am going to show
some of you that. like the scribe of my |
text, who came 70 question Jesus, YOU |
are mot far from the kingdom of Cod.
but am also going 10 show you that |
TO be almost" saved and yet not saved |
is TO be lost completely and utterly lost,
just as much as were the poor fellows |
who were imprisoned few years ago /
in the iron hulk of the steamers burn
ing Mt the wharfs of Hob0ken, In New |
York harbor Frantically they stood nj
the barred portfolios Frantically they |
stretched forth their arms through the
iron gratings. The could see the blue
waters Of the harbor. They could hear
the calls of the would he rescuers hard
at work. But they were lost. entirely
lost, though there was only one step"
between them and perfect safety.
Advantage of Christian Home.
Almost saved. Yes, you are How
do | know It? / learn how near you
have come TO salvation as look nj the
entries on those white pages sewed be-
tween the Old and the New Testamcnis
Of the family Bible. by this record Of
the family births and deaths find
your father was Christian. Your
mother was a Christian. Your sisters
md brothers were all Christians.
ind also that your parents reconsecrat-
VI their lives for Gods service when
hey held you before the sacred altar
M the day you were baptized. 1t is n
'ery easy matter for you TO become a
Christian, with such 4 family history
Its true" says some young man TO
ne. 81 was born in Christian home.
am not near however. but very. very
ar from the kingdom of God. Why. |
Ifter left my Christian home | seem.
d TO be possessed not with seven
Ieyils. but seventy times seven devils.
30 sooner did I leave home and 90
way from mother and father than !
llunged into life of dissipation. ]
frank. gambled. blasphemel. ! did
! ought not 10 have done.
nd ! left undoi4e everything ] ought
o have done. II IS said that when
-ysiniachus was fighting against the
ieiae he was enfrapped by his enc
MES In The desert sands. His thirst
ecame so great that De offered his
rhO%e Kingdom for drink Of water. rs
,sau sold his birihright for y mess Of
ottage. But no sooner had Lysi-
lachus slskcd his thirst than he cried:
Ali. wretched me. who for such a