The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1908-10-10

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Laodicea. in honor of his wife
Laodice. It was the principal city
of t~e province of Phrygia. in Asia
Minor. It counted many Jews among
its Inhabitants. Epaphras. promi-
nent member of the Colossian church.
was deeply interested in the Laodicean
church. (Col. 4: 12-13.) Paul
was deeply interested in it. (Col- 2:
~ He once sent letter to this
church. (Col. 4: 16) Archippus was
it's minister.
2. ITS CHIEF CHARACTERS
TIC. ". Y. Is 16) (The church had
become lukewarm. The members
enjoyed prosperity; they were sitting
at ease in Zion.
It isn't open opposition that the
church has to fear; it is Indifference
that is her deadly foe. The days
of prosecution produced moral and
spiritual giants; days of ease and
prosperity produced in this Laodicean
church ecclesiastical drones-reli-
gious dwarfs. They neglected the
things that minister to spiritual pros-
pertty. Their religious life ebbed
away.
Neglect? what does it mean? In
business it means bankruptcy; In
farming it means no harvest. The
sailor doesn't have to scuttle his
ship. or blow her into mid-air by
touching of the powder magazine |:
all he has to do is to neglect and his
ship will crash on the rocks. and the
crew will 60 down into the watery
grave. And the church doesn't have
to commit any great sin: she doesn't
have to plunge into any great crime !;
she doesn't have to be guilty Of any
great moral delinquency-al she has
to do is to neglect. and she'll 60
down into sure and certain death.
The curse of this Laodicean church
was Indifference. 1t was eating out
it's life, undermining its foundations,
dismantling it's walls and fastening
it into crumblinR ruins. The church
was dead. Its light bad gone out.
If a lighthouse keeper should suffer
his light to grow dim or 60 out.
months afterwards he would be getting
letters from the other side of the
globe telling him that ships had
passed by there at certain time and
that his light had gone out. My
friends. are we going to allow our
light to go out? Be Indifferent to the
means of grace: Indifferent to private
devotion. Indifferent to Bible study !;
Indifferent to the voices of the
Spirit, Indifferent to christian duty.
and your light will go out. Is there
anything that you can do that you
are not doing? God is going to ask
you about it someday. Can you
preach? sing? teach Gods words
minister to the sick? and are you not
doing these things! God is going to
ask you about 1t someday. and in
that day you will wish you had never
| Oc0u OOIus IAdy 0Ou saw 0VOAy OA0
of us from the curse of the Laodicean
church,
8. SOLEMN WARNING AND
Elk HORTAT TON. Wv. 1919
Worldly prosperity begot spiritual
pride. Self-conceit was followed by
self-deceit. They were rich and in
creased with goods. They gave their
gold to the church and thought that
their passport to the realms of eternal
bliss was thereby secured. Let no
man think that he has done all that
is required when ne has contributed
of his means for religious purposes.
Let him not think that by so doing he
has DISCHARGED his tull duty. and
that his reward is sure It is not
gold but grace that saves. It is not
cash. but calvary that buys the souls
freedom. 1t is not the currency of
any earthly mart that opens the
gates of pearl. but the currency in
L