The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-01-10

the church of 100 members instrument
tai in the conversion of six souls to
Christ in q year. I would not be sat
isfied with that rate at all. One hun
dred per cent. is the least rate Of gain
that any Christian church ought to
think worthy Of the kingdom Of God.
The bells Of the millennium would be
ringing before we uled If we only
would keep our soul winning for a few
years. 1t is not difficult to win a soul.
/ have been trying to work out this
problem for years-trying to be worth
something for Jesus. One night l ar
rived at New Haven, Conn.,, and took
a hack at midnight to the house where
I was to stay. When the hackman
asked for his fare I dropped a quarter
into his hand, and, grasping it, said:
Good night, sir! l hope to meet you
in glory some day" He jumped on the
box. .whirled his horse around, and
was gone.
I did not expect to see him again.
Away after midnight my host Knocked
at my chamber door and said: "A
hackman is here, acting queerly. He
says he wants to see you and mas got
to see you tonight" l said: Let
him come i'm 1 arose and threw q
shawl owe nae, and in came q great
: stalwarty hickman with" his whip, IN
his hand and tears running down his
cheeks and he said: IF I meet you in
glory I have got to turn around, FOR l
am not going that way. l have come
to ask you to pray for me. I could not
keep away" What a JOY 1t was to
pray for that man! He went out COM
forted by Gods holy spirit, and I be-
lieve, I was worth 100 per cent. to- my
Master that night. The possible
growth of the kingdom is what l am
talking about.
In 1865, when the war was over, l
was on O train going from Lancaster,
Ohio, and saw a drunken soldier sitting
by himself. Nobody would sit by a
drunken soldier, but that Is the very
kind Of man I like to sit by. I sat
down by him and by and by stole my,
arm gently around his neck and Whis-
pered to him: "Comrade, when are
you going to give your heart to Jesus
Christ and be q. Christian" He
looked embarrassed and got up and
went to. another part Of the train.
I thought Ihad offended him. I. went
that night to preach in the little town
Of Putnam. where I ono was pastor,
and there sat that man and his sister
beside him. We had a glorious meet
ing that night. I did not see him
again for thirty-fve years, but one
night I was ABOUT to speak to the
Grand Army in the old Dutch Church
on Fifth avenue There were 1900
soldiers there. A splendid looking
man came down the aisle and / said to
O gentleman: "Who is that manP"
and he said: THAT is Colonel Hadley,
the head Of the st. Bartholomew Mis-
sion. He has been instrumental IN
planting ffty-four rescue missions IN
this country" I went down, and said:
Brother Hadley, I am glad to see
you I have heard about your work,
but I never saw you before" '"0h; yes
you .have,n' he replied. "~Thirty-iVe
years ago I was sitting on a train n
%you.'came; and sat down by me and
wanted tosknow when I was going to
be Christian and give my heart TO
God. 1 never got over that question.
You have seer me .efore." / believe
it is possible for every Christian to
gain over 100 per cent. for our blessed
Lord every year.
There are souls that are worth a
thousand per cent. There was that
noble woman in the Epworth Rectory
with her nineteen children. Do you
know she adopted five orphans be-
sides-twenty-four altogether-and her
husband was. a preacher. Naughter).
Surely the invested life Of Susanna
Wesley was worth more than lOW per
cent.
The bishop then reviewed at some
length the progress of Methodism
since the first conference in 1773, par
ticularly in Ohio. He then spoke of the
work in Russia, where there are now.
100000 converts and liberty to wor-
ship according to conscience, and
then said:
There will come q time when God
Himself will get in a hurry and when
He will say, 1.-The earth has wept long
enough. There has been enough war,
enough. trouble" and when He will
hasten on the kingdom and bring it
quickly. I think He will hasten When
we u6Sleu. III, UloIhS1S; z . "eAAJI
with The gospel!
After an urgent appeal for increased
subscriptions to missionary work, Bis
hop McCabe concluded his sermon as
follows:
t. Brothers, your children will see this
world converted. In great meeting
the other day we sent this message to
Theodore Roosevelt: 1--WE are looking
to you to bring about a movement for
universal arbitration" / find TWEEN
ty-one nations have asked him to take
the initiative, and your children will
live to see the day when war will be
no more, and when that happens we,
who have believed it all the time, will
say, II told you So" There are two!
kinds Of -aith, one that believes before
a thing happens, and the other after.
What and have you? I thank. God l
believe it now before it happens 1
believe the whole earth is going. to be
converted. The time is coming when
no man will have to say to his neigh
Dor, know the Lord" And the time
is coming when 1.-The glory Of the Lord
shall fill the earth as the waters cove
the sea-" May He hasten it in His
time.
Gods Presence.
C. n. Spurgeon once uttered these
L. - '