Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-06-28
CalmaQe
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Tslmsse. d. d.

sermon the preacher shows that the Sc
cret TO lfe of real achievement and
usefulness is TO live up to our priv
ileges by laying hold of the divine
promises in good faith and expecting
large things. The text is John II, 4.
And they filed them up to the brim. {"
LIZ there is any passage in the Bible
which teaches us TO expect big things
from God it is the sentence which
have chosen for my text. When Jesus
commanded the servants at the we'd
ding of Cana of Galilee to fill up the
water pots they did not go grumbling
around saying: "Oh. what is the use?
What the guests need Is wine, not wa
ter. Besides, Jesus is not asking us
TO fill one water pot, but six of them.
Why, those six water pots will hold 1875
gallons. Think of the distance we will
have to travel down to the well to get
that water, Think of all the fun and
the music and the songs we will lose
while we are goneP' No, those young
men spake not thus. They obeyed or
ders. If they had known what was
about to occur they would have said,
If Christ can change the water into
wine, then the more water we have
the more wine we shall have" So
they took their buckets and started of
for the well. They kept emptying the
water into the water pots until the wa
ter ran over the tops OF the water pots.
And they filed them up to the brim."
They did big things for God and they
got big things. May we today learn
to have "a brimful faith" May we
expect God to bless us nightly in ev.
cry department of life and in our
youth and middle age and old age and
make great preparations for the CON-
ing spiritual blessings.
Let us, in the first place, have a
brimful faith in reference to our pray
ers. Let us learn that prayer to God
Is not narrow ledge of rock upon the
side of mighty precipice where we
must stand trembling and pleading for
eternal life or else our feet will slip
and we will tumble into the bottomless
pit. But prayer is the broad invitation
God gives to his children to come and
talk with him and ask what they will,
and he will grant their requests IL it is
best for them TO be granted. Prayer is
our hands. and we are encouraged to
I'LL 1t out literally. Prayer is the hold
we have on the power that is capable
or recreating ourselves and recreating
our dear ones and lowering the bars SO
that we can enter into great fields OF
usefulness. Prayer Is the most vital
spiritual power we have on earth.
With 1t we can catch the ear OF the
Lord God Almighty, and he will listen
to our petitions and grant them IL IL
is best for us and for those for whom
we pray. What says the Bible? Is
there any limitation to the petitions
We are TO make to God? Nay. All
things will be granted for our best
welfare II these petitions are made in
the spirit OF Jesus Christ. ASK, and
1t shall be given you; seek. and ye shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened I'M
to YOU" But, though this sweeping in
vitation is given to make our prayers
as big as heaven itself, some OF the
most miserable and contemplate and
Insignificant things I'm the world are
those we ask In the circumscrlbed and
limited petitions which we make to
God through the gateway OF prayer.
Marrow Ideas.
In our ideas of prayer we are Just as
narrow boundaried as are the ideas OF
some men born away back In the coun-
try who have never seen q steam en-
CINE, who have never learned to read a
newspaper and who have never been
TO village OF larger popula ton than
200 Inhabitants. You go to such man
and say. "My friend, how would you
like 10 go to New York and see the
greatest metropolis OF the new world?"
He answers: mo. / don't want to go.
Why, some OF the men down at the
village store tell me that the buildings
there are twenty times higher than my
barn. Why. l would he afraid to 60
there for fear they would fall down
and crack my skull open. And they
say the street cars run so fast that
they kill people there every day. And
they say there are lot of thieves and
murderers there. No New York for me.
j prefer TO live here i'm my quiet dig
glngs, where i am not In danger of
being killed every step l take" But
say: my friend. you are not going to
keep your children here I'm the back
woods. There are no schools or
churches here. You have poor, mis-
cradle shack OF house, with no car
pets on the floors and no pictures upon
the walls. Are you going to let your
children grow up as ignorant as you
areT WELL" answers the old back
woodsman, 81 do not know that book
learning does q man any good The
children have enough TO eat They
have enough clothes to wear. They
nave room I'm which TO sleep. What
IS the good OF stockings and under
clothes? They do not help a man to
keep any warmer And then n little
dirt does not hurt anybody. / have
lived for nigh on TO fifty years I'm these
here woods without learning how TO
read or write, and guess the children
are no better than their father Is. If |
had to do as have done guess they
can do the same" You see that man IS
an animal. simple animal The great
wide world. with its music and books
and knowledge and joys and hopes, is
utterly beyond his visual ran~
Foolish Prayers.
Instead OF starting with a great
sweep or holy desires 10 benefit all
mankind through prayer. instead OF I'LL.
Ing up six great water pots with petit
mons for Gods honor and glory. we
come to God with little thimble filed
with our selfish desires. and we call
that prayer. Thus some or us go on
year In and year out making lot OF
miserable little selfish petitions and
calf those petitions prayer. Not for
years have we broadened the scope Of