Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1904-08-13

door of the tomb which separates us
| from our dear ones. Sometimes we
must be separated from those we love.
even as 81. John on the island of Pat
mos WAS separated from his friends in
Asia Minor But in heaven God will
give us back our loved ones. Yes. there
will he no separations. no partings
there. For i'm heaven according to the
| inspired Apocalypse. there Is no more
sea-
Inward Spiritual Strife.
But the Mediterranean waves heat
ing against the Patmcs rocks We're not
only symbolic of external troubles. but
also of an inward spiritual strife.
| When ST. John gave his heart to
| Christ in one sense he was cmancipat-
ed from sin. But Satan never for an
| instant. this side of the grave. leaves
off his struggle to capture Il gospel
stronghold. The Bible declares Chris
tian shall not be tempted by sin
greater than he can bear. But Chris
tians always have to be going to Christ
| for more spiritual strength i'm order to
rcpcl the Satanic OnSlaughts which are
daily being made against the strong
holds of their hearts
| Can we not find the symbol of Il
spiritual struggle in the never ending
rcstlcssncss of the sea-: oh" said Il
lady some time ago To me. Il am so
tired of hearing those waves beat up
against the rocks" Yes. those waves
have been heating upagiinst tlloSerocks
for thousands of years. When sailing
upon the ocean. some days its surface
seems as calm as Loon lake asleep. as
| Adirondack mountains. But that is
only slumhcr Within few hours
she may awake with Il scowling face
with the fire of the lightnings i'm her
eye and with the shrickings of the
tornadoes in her voice. In our lives
the spiritual struggles keep on to the
end. We have the good angel whis-
pering in one ear to lie good: we have
the bad angel whispering in the
other ear to he bad St John. even up
| to the end of his life. had To fight by
the power of the Holy Spirit against
the restless "sca of temptations" So
have we.
About the best illustration of my
thought that l know is the simple one
which DIR. Frederick Goss told to his
Cincinnati people a few months ago.
One day one of his Sunday school
teachers was trying to explain to her
class that there are two kinds of lives
to live. the good life and the bad life.
"NOw. children" she said, "all those
little girls who want to live the good
life.' will please step over on this
nice warm carpet. and those who want
to live the bad life will stand OH that
cold, hard oilcloth!" Much To the teach
er's surprise. her own little girl put one
foot upon the carpet and the other
mother in surprise you are standing
upon both" Il know IL. mamma" said
the child, "but you know 'thometimes'
want to be just little bad" So IN
every Christian life there has TO he Il
continual war against the world. the
flesh and the devil And when st. John
looked off upon the troubled waters of
| Iile MttlltcTFiilc;tn lc HUI oiliS iooh'A
off upon his own spiritual struggles.
but at the same time he looked off in
vision to the time when those spiritual
struggles should forever pass away.
when there shall be no more sea-"
Thus my text means more than q
mere figure of speech. 1t has more
than mere literal Interpretation that
heaven is TO be a place without at
mospheric moisture. 1t means that the
mountain of Calvary" shall be large
enough to hold all peoples who give
their hearts to Jesus Christ. 1t means
that this mountain of Calvary" shall
not only he II wide mountain. but n
high mountain. 1t shall lift us up and
up and up until il lifts us to the very
gates of heaven itself Oh. my brother
and sister. will you not stand upon this
mountain. this blood red Calvary noun
tain: Will you not today let the island
of Patmos be to you II stepping stone
to n heavenly throne? There you will
never again hear the surging waves of
temptation beating against the rocks of
sin and threatening to sweep you out
into the unfathomable depths. May
the sunrise of gospel hope sled to-
day its yellow beams over life's trou-