Milford chronicle., 1908-02-07

ENNA ~ GAgt ~ olNdAAAgf 81 =
so cruel. as is the spirit of evil. He
will follow you. He will fatter you
and throw you of your guard. But
when the time comes he will drive into
| your heart the poisonous fang, and
I then, from a human standpoint, there
will be no hope. Do you not realize
that today over every immortal soul
are fiends innumerable-fends strug
Cling. fighting and battling? From a
human standpoint every soul is lost
soul unless it is saved by divine grace.
God Is Stronger.
But. thank God, divine power can
save the soul Though temptation has
an arm of iron, yet God, who made the
iron. is stronger. Though the serpent
Of sin has a fang charged with deadly
poison. yet one drop Of Christs shed
blood is an antidote for that poison.
20 death, where is thy sting? o grave,
where is thy victory? The sting Of
death IS sin, and the strength of sin is
the law. But thanks be to God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ" There is the keynote
Of the whole text God is not asking
you to accomplish the impossible. He
says, with my help you can win
souls for Christ" VIII you today
seek that help7 viii you today con-
Quer in that divine work. "He that
winneth souls is wise"
But l want to draw your attention
to this text for another reason. Why
is the word Soul written in the plu-
raj form? Why did not King Solomon
say, HE that winneth a soul is wise"
Because he knew how much was in
vOlved in winning a single soul. For
each life is like the link of a chain.
Each one grips on to other links. When
you save one soul, you reach out to
save many souls which are directly or
Indirectly connected with that life.
And how far the influence of that life
extends no one knows, and no one can
ever estimate this side of heaven.
But there is another truth connected
with this subject. Who are to be my
companions in heaven? There is a per-
sistent voice within me assuring me
that | am immortal. ! know 1t. feel
1t. l also feel and know that l am to
be a conscious individual, with the
same identity as l have now, when l
shall enter that other world. / am not
to be a living creature, like the lily or
the rose. which has no thinking power.
In that other world / shall live and
breathe and talk and associate with
other immortals just as am associat-
ing with men and women on earth. l
am to be myself, glorified in heaven. l
am to have all my faculties. all the
loving capabilities Of my heart. But
in that other world l shall be enamel
pated from all weaknesses and mean
nesses and sin. In other words, shall
be. as Paul expressed It, changed into
the divine image. l shall be clothed
with purity and truth and love and
gentleness, perfect as God is perfect.
Souls Won to Christ.
Now. if am to be my glOrifed self in
heaven the question that interests me
is this: Who are to be my companions
In that eternal world? Who are to live
with me in heaven as my dear ones
live with me on earth? We are to have
our loved ones and our neighbOrs and |
our friends. We are to associate with |
certain immortal spirits who will be
our companions. Who are those spir- |
its who will live closest to us? Why. |
for the most part they are to be the
immortal. souls we have won to |
Christ. They are to be the souls for
whom we have prayed and agonized /
and with tears of joy led to the mercy |
seat. There is no doubt about that. 1t
is the most rational thought. Can |
mother forget her own child of the /
flesh? Can a disciple of Jesus Christ
forget his own child of the spirit?
This suggests another overwhelming |
thought. If we are going to associate
through all eternity with those who
have saved US and with those whom
we have saved, some of us may have
awful regrets if we find some places
there not filed by those dear ones
whom we could have brought to Christ
Il we had only tried. We are in closest
touch with husband, brother, sister,
wife. child, father and friend. We love
hem. and they love us. But somehow
we have not a holy, absorbing passion
10 bring them to the cross and bind
hem there. We may go to church
)nce in awhile with them. We may
,ven say a few good moral things to
hem But have we ever gone to them
md said, Brother, sister, loved one
will you not surrender your heart to
Christi" What are you going to do
when you reach heaven if that boy,
hat husband, that sister, never comes
o live with you? You can take them
here If you will o Christ, shall there
,e any vacant places in my mansion
# heaven? Am l wise? Am I win
ling souls for thee? Am I pleading
With my dear ones of earth so that
hey will live with me in heaven?
Remember the words Of the prophet
Who had so clear a vision of the fu-
ure. "They that be wise shall shine as
he brightness of the armament and
hey that turn many to Righteousness
8 the stars for ever and ever"