Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-12-01
SUNDAY PRESENTS MORE HARD
PROBLEMS FOR SKEPT|CS TO
WRESTLE WITH, 64CONvERTED

well try 20 understand the words l
am talking over now; this building
might just as we'll attempt to walk
down the street as for you to know
anything about God or religion by any
other method other than the surrender
Of your will to God. In your day or
mine we hear men say: 81 take moth
ing on trust; find out everything for
myself" and they consider people OF
faith weak-hrained, over-credulous, stu
MD souls that never use the reason
God gives them. But to the reasonable,
faith, belief, the acceptance of truth
On the authority of others, is the OASIS
of our judgments, our conclusions. our
reasoning. You can't convict man OF
crime and you can't liberate him on
charge, except on the testimony OF
others. Our business system, every
thing, is built on faith. You can't plant
a seed without faith; you can't run
farm without faith. You can't do It,
Never Been in Rome.
| have never been in Rome. but
can tell you of her streets, of the
coliseum, of st. Peters and Of the
vatican on the testimony of others.
I have never been in Egypt, but
| can tell you of her pyramids, OF the
River Nile and of the sphinx on the
testimony Of others. | would be
fool to stand up here and say that l
didn't believe it because I have never
saw it. You can't turn around that
you are not bound to believe the
testimony of others. You can't do
it. | didn't live in the days OF Jesus
and of the Apostles, but | believe and
accept the gospel as authentic his
tory, on the testimony of others. |
accept the history of julius Caesar
when he crossed the Rubicon, on the
| testimony Of others.
Then you are a fool to turn the
Bible down and accept the other.
You have got to believe on the testl-
| monv of others. You can't accept his
! tory unless you do it. | pick up a
newspaper and it tells me SO and so.
believe l get letter from a man
| and in it he tells me his mother re-
Gently died. I believe-on the testi-
mony Of others. Don't you see? The
doctor tells me: "You have pneumo-
mia, Bill" and l believe him. The
! chemist tells me that two gases com
i bine in water and believe him. The
Bible tells me Jesus Christ died on
the cross. believe it. 1t tells me He
was resurrected from the dead. | be
lieve it. 1t tells me there is a heaven
and hell I believe. it. 1t tells me
if I repent l will be saved. ! believe
it. / would be fool not to, and sc
are you. And I guess that will hold
you for a while. So I must believe
on the authority of others or cease to
exist. I don't care how learned o.
how skeptical you are, you have to &c
it. That is one side, that's the prac
teal side.
The al Will"
The other is, start the machine ant
see if the machine will make wha
the man says it will make, and i
1t does, you are compelled to believe
it. Don't you see? Every time. ODE!
God and act as though God mean
! what he said when he said: eff 70,
do my will you will know" You know
there are no activities Of life apar
from the will. The will is the base
line Of character l WILL I can't lif
that book unless l will" l can't la!
it down unless l will" l take out m!
pocket handkerchief, lift it to m!
face. l "will." l will" to wipe m!
brow. There are no activities of life
apart from your will. You are wha
you are because you will You
will is sovereign supreme. 1t say
to you double your fist and swat tina
fellow. You do 1t says to you reacl
out and take that glass of booze, ant
i twill >,
Now, the natural man is in rebel
lion to God. The only difference be
tween sinner and a Christian i
| that the Christian says: II will d
, Gods WILL and the sinner says:
| won't do Gods WILL That's all.
/ Now, every man and every woma
t has perverted will. You set you
S will i, to please yourself. You d
j. things because it pleases you to d
4 them. It may not please you to ge
!, drunk, or to be virtuous, but you ar
l. doing your will" Now, when
l. yield to Jesus Christ, and God b
h the Holy Spirit imparts His natur
T to me, then it will be my delight t
do Gods will, for I have had God
nature impaired to me by my repen
" duCe dlu ld1lll Ill jesus ShAioI, Oh
Q so. until you do that, your will
the natural man and the natural ma
n Is in emnity with God. The fes
:. dosnt ike God or religion Whe
II l accept Of Jesus Christ then God
u nature comes into me, and it Is God
II nature to do Gods will, hence | q
" His will. The first God asks {
u you, then by doing that, 1t will lea
l. you to the fact that you are 81
i ner and you will be sorry for 20,
u sins.
u Sensitive to Sin.
y l believe a man will be convicte
. of sin just in proportion as he trit
- to do Gods will. The nearer yt
~ get to God the more sensitive to S
- you will become You can go dow
-, there and pick up a particle of tn
- sawdust and drop it against my boo
- and | won't feel it, but hold my he;
g down and put particle of that sa
NJ dust in my eye and it will hurt drea
nj fully. The nearer you get to God &
hi more Sensitive to sin you become.
Nd A good many people seem to thil