The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-05-25
Many Protested Religion
AT Sunday Meetings.
DR.. Torrey Preached to Women in the After
noon and to Men at Night and Reaped a
Harvest of Souls for Christ.

W Ue christians ana really are, LnOSS
who have dropped the world with
both hands, and laid hold Of Jesus
Christ with both hands. And l am
here to affirm that kind OF a Christ
tian has a JOY ~unspeakable and full OF
glory and nobody else has.
1t is just at that point that the devil
deceives us. When a man is thinking
Of becoming a Christian, especially a
young man, the devil comes TO him and
says, Now, don't YOU do it; if yoU
become a Christian you'll have to give
up horse racing, dancing, card playing,
and this, that and the other thing and
it will take all the joy, sunshine,
brightness and ~buOyancy out OF your
life" Men, that statement Of the
devil is a lie. So far from its taking
all the JOY out Of life you will never
know what real JOY and sunshine and
light-heartedness is until you take
Christ. Do you think it has taken
all the JOY out of Alexander's life 10
be a Christian?
The devil deceived me at that point
for six dark. bitter years. When |
was a boy ! was upstairs On the top
story of III country home, rumaglng
around among the old books, picket
| up a book that told how to become a
Christian, and | said to myself, L
| wonder if | can't be a Christian?' and
| began to read it, | read the first thing;
| said, why, | could say yes to that;
and the next, Il could say yes to that
and the next, Il could sa yes to thar
and | cOuldsay yes to that and i
| was GREETING along finely, until carle
to something to the effect that II |
| became a Christian | must be willing
| to 90 wherever God told me to go. /
! shut that book and threw it across
| the room. said, NO, |. won't say
| yes to that; just as likely as not o
| would tell me to be a preacher, ana
| | was bound to be a lawyer, as SO
| many in my family had been. Anu
| settled it then and there that | Woulo
not be a Christian. | was going IN
for a life of pleasure. My rather
was rich; We had a beautiful nome
with everything h a money could Guy
Furthermore, was sent off to Yale
| college at Is years of age. NOW you
take a young fellow in Yale with a
rich father back of him, who SENDS
him all the money he writes for, and
! never asks him how he spends a per-
nv of tit would have been a good
thing for me if he had-who keeps up
we'll with his classes without much
study; if any one can have a good
1 time, he can.
FOUND WRETCHEDNESS.
And | went in for a good time. Did
find it? | did not. l found dlsap-
pointment, | found barrenness, found
wretchedness, l found despair; until
at last, one awful night, still a very
young man, | sprang out OF bed, rush
ed to the washstand drawer, pulled Il
open to take out Of it the weapon
that would end the whole miserable
business | couldn't find it; l don't
know to this day why l couldn't ind
it think it was there. And l drop
ped on my knees beside that open
drawer, and looked up and said, IN
God, if you will take this awful burden
off my heart, I'll preach the gospel. l
didn't expect to get joy; l hoped to
get rid of some of my misery. But,
to nv utter amazement, l found a soy
in Christ | had never dreamed OF IN
the world, and though many years have
passed since, that joy has gotten better
every year of my life. Men, if you
J want the best, the highest, the mos
/ satisfying, the most overwhelming Joy
! that is to be known upon earth, take
Jesus Christ, and take Him tonight.
Again. not to be a Christian costs
the sacrifice of hope. AS we read IN
Titus 1:2, a Christian has hope-"!n
hope OF eternal life which God that
cannot lie hath promised before the
world began See how magnificent
that hope is, "hope of eternal life.
Has the world anything to put up
against that? See how ure it is
resting upon the Word of God, that
cannot lie" And do you know that
hope for the future is better than pres
,ent position? You say, Il dont BE-
lieve it." Yes, you do, n Ill prove
night between being a millionaire
with all that millions could buy, but
with the rising of tomorrow sun 10
he nroyed an embezzler, and all that
money swept away and you cast into
prison to spend the remainder of your
life. or to be the poorest man in At
lanta tonight, but with the absolute
certainty that with the rising OF to-
morrow's sun you We're TO be a mill
ionaire for the rest Of your life, which
! would YOU choose? o say, III
choose the latter Well, that only
proves that you believe that hope foc
the future is better than present poss-
essions. And | would rather be the
poorest child of God that walks the
earth tonight with the absolute GER
tainty that with the dawning OF eter,
nit's day | was to be all eternity and
heir of God and a joint heir with jesus
Christ. than to be the richest mar on
earth out of Christ, with no outlook
for all eternity, but to be cast into
Gods eternal prison house of hell.
, TWO RICH MEN
But a man out of Christ has no hope
that is at all sure even for the life
that now is Come with me TO New
York city. We walk down FIFTH aven-
ue, and stop before one Of the finest
mansions. We walk up the front stoop
we are met at the door and urshered
- c%,dx, % tho on1 Df tho hall WE