The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1904-04-29

eye brighten ana the ilp sllilc anu VIII
hear the blessed words Of endless graf
ltude. You will not only hear human
concentrations, but you will also hear
the Divine Saviour say. 81 was sick
and ye visited me. Verify | say unto
YOU inasmuch as We have done it unto
one Of the least Of these my brethren
We have done il unto me-
But there is still one more field Of
Christian activity TO which / would di-
rect your attention. That is to the
side rooms where the aftermeetings
should be held I'm every Christian church
Immediately following the benediction
Of the Sunday night services. That is
the place where the gospel net is drawn.
That is the room in which after week
Of prayer the sinners are given direct
invitation to join the church. There
they are brought face to face with Je'
sus Christ and are urged 10 make de
cision I'm reference 10 their souls eter-
nal destiny. That IS the one place
above an others where the Christian
should expect to see the direct results
Of his spiritual labors. 1t is the one
place toward which all his scholars and
Young people should converge and con
center and find its gospel climax.
The busiest and most intense Chris
tian worker should be found in the
Sunday night aftermeeting. No sin
ner should be there to whom church
member would be unwilling to extend
gospel invitation and with whom he
would feel a dlflidence i'm talking about
his Saviour. Jesus Christ But the great
stumbling block in the way Of most
new church members is this-they think
as new members that they should take
back seat They feel that older Chris
tians. and not the new converts, should
move up and down among the people.
They feel that a church ought to be
run like the United States senate; that
I'm II no new member has a right TO be
conspicuously seen or heard until ne
has served a silent apprenticeship OF
M least six or ten years. The inevi-
table result is when a Christian is Will
ing TO remain silent in the beginning Of
his religious life he is very apt to re-
main dumb all through his earthly
Christian career
Oh. that our new converts IN our sac
red Sunday night aftermeetings would
Immediately begin TO testify FOR Je-
susl Testify as Paul testified on the
dav after his conversion. No sooner
did the good Ananias open his blinded
owes then he Immediately began to
talk about Jesus. and him crucified
He Immediately began TO work for the
conversion Of souls until he was at last
driven over the Damascus wall, and
he had TO fee the town by night. on,
that our new converts i'm the sacred
aftermeetings on Sunday night would
testify for Christ as did James Iissol
with his brush Immediately after his
conversionl This noted French artist
was once the idol of Partisan society.
He made his first fame as a portrait
painter Of society women. But one
dav while studying the French society
woman I'm an attitude Of prayer in
Parisian cathedral he gave his heart
10 Christ Immediately TO his old
friends Tissot became a changed man.
He not only turned his back upon his
old life. but that he might the more
ably portray the scenes i'm the life OF
Christ ne lived for many years in the
far east The famous series Of Chrlsts
life i'm art is the result Of Tissots tes-
dmonv. Church member plead at
once for Jesus. Plead at once wherey-
or YOU 20. Especially plead for him
and work for him in the sacred after
meeting held Immediately following
the benedlctlon of the Sunday night
preaching service.
Thus the call to the Christian life is
bnple blast for work. The church pew
is not meant for a bed OF roses, where
Incidence and sloth can lie down for
perpetual slumber. COnsecrated church
membership Is a sacred affinity for in
tense missionary activity as well as for
gospel rest" A famous musician once
said. IF ] stop practicing upon the
piano one day I will feel my deteriora-
ton. IL two days the musical critics will
feel IT, if three the world at large In my
promiscuous audiences will feel it, II
the consccrated church member stops
working for Christ one day he himself
will feel his own spiritual deteriora-
ton. II two days his Christian friends
will realize IT, II three days the world
at large will be the sufferer because Of
IT, Faiths wings are movable. They
must be kept working all the time
Now comes the practical determination
for the Christian TO settle-where are
You specially fitted to 90 10 work for
Christ? Choose your spiritual occupa-
tions. From among the many fields OF
gospel opportunities choose them now