Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1905-06-28
CHRISTIAN ENDEAvoR.
Prayer Meeting Topic For the Week
BeginniDg July 2.
BY REV. $. +. DOYLE.


Topic.-fhe making Of Christian: his
destiny.-I John il. i5-1I; if. 1-S. {Conse-
Grafton meeting)
Scripture and science agree upon the
great fact that the material universe
had a beginning. There was time
when the world did not exist 1t is
temporal. not eternal Having had a
beginning it viii have an end. The
world and the inhabitants thereof have
a destiny before them. and we are to
consider the destiny OF the Christian.
In the making Of Christian the final
result is Of great Importance. Whether
little or much care should be put upon
his making depends upon his destiny.
What Is it all to amount to? Is his life
to end in death except 50 far as he
shall influence the lives Of those who
come after him. or has he u future life
OF endless ages before him? An Angelo
would be foolish man to expend great
time and energy upon a statue Of ice.
but if working IL marble that can
stand the tests of the centuries even
such genius might well give to the
task the best of everything that is in
him. Hence If a Christians destiny is
eternal rather than temporal we may
well "a-oui1e to enter in at the straight
gate" This being true it is of tremen-
dous Importance that God has revealed
the fact that the Christians destiny
Ia an eternal one. The world pasSeth
away and the lust thereof. but he that
dceth the will of God abideth forever"
Christians bear three relations to
time. They are to the present to what
IA called the intermediate state (be-
tween death and the resurrectionj, and
the future after the resurrection. In
fhe present we are the children of
God. 'Now are we the sons of God"
Here in this present life we enjoy all
me rights and privileges of Gods
children. What we shall be In the in
tnrmediate state has not been revealed.
land it doth not yet appear what We
shall be- There has been much specu-
Ation regarding the souls condition
eetween death and the resurrection,
hut nothing definite has been revealed.
After the resurrection we shall be with
Christ and like Christ But we know
that when He shall appear we shall be
IKE Him, for we shall see Him as He
-" Seeing Christ shall make us like
Christ, and being like Him we shall
spend eternity with Him
The Christians destiny being an
eternal rather than a temporal one too
much time and thought cannot be ex-
pended in his making. As Christians
we should consecrate all our powers to
the service of God in Christ aud live
for eternity rather than time. This
world should be estimated at its proper
value. 1t is temporal; 1t viii pass
away; Its charms even fail to hold us
before we are called into the great
future, as one who lives for it alone
finds sooner or later that ii is vanity.
Why then should we sacrifice eternity
for time? Let us. therefore, not love
the world in an unworthy sense, but
let us, having the hope of being with
Christ and like Him. live as such
should live, for every man that hath
this hope In him puriheth himself
even as He Is pure"
BIBLE READINGS.
Ps. xiii, 1-6; Matt vi, 1874. XIV. 81
46: Luke xvi, 1881; John XII. 20-27;
xiv. 1-6; l Cor. XIV, 1924: II Cor. iv, IL