The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1910-10-10
WHAT TT COSTS TO BE A CHRISTIAN


10 | was sent OF to the university
and matriculated for a degree. and
my father sent me up all the money
/ wanted
Now, II YOU put boy into uni
versity, who learns easily and has no
trouble to keep up with his class,
a boy with a rich father. who does
not ask him how he spends his
MONEY! have often thought it
would have been good thing for
me if he had-if anybody can have
a good time. he can. and went
in for a good time. Did I find it2
You know whether I did or not. I
did not. And went deeper. deeper,
deeper. deeper into dissipation and
sin TO find JOY to satisfy my unsatis-
fed heart.
did not find Il, and one awful
night, a mere boy still. with all hope
gone. with life desolate and hare.
life so barren that there was just one
step between me and hell, in fact.
that very night | started to take that
awful step, to take my life by my
own hand. / sprang out of bed and
drew open a drawer 20 take out the
instrument that would end my life.
For some reason or other | could not
find H. God did not let me find Il,
and | dropped upon my knees. and
said. 20 God, il YOU will take this
awful burden from my heart. / will
preach the Gospel" and God not
only removed the burden. | found a
JOY | had never dreamed. of in this
world. and ali the years since il has
gone on increasing with the ex-
Iception of short time when | fell
under the blighting power Of sceptic-
sm and agnosticism; all the rest OF
the time all these years the joy has
grown brighter. brighter. brighter
every year. Young men and women.
II YOU want the deepest, sweetest.
purest. most overflowing JOY there
Is TO be known on earth, come to
Jesus Christ.
Hope Gone.
In the third place. not TO be a
Christian costs the sacrifice of hope.
A Christian has hope.-As we read
I'm Titus !. 2, I'm hope of eternal life.
which God that cannot lie,
promised. Oh, how magnificent
that hope is. hope OF eternal life,
How sure Il is. resting on the Word
of God. who cannot lie. The world
has not hope like that. The world
holds out no hope that has any
Foundation. Hope for the future is
more important than present pos
session.
"Oh," some one says. 81 do not
believe that; give me the present
and win let the future take care Of
Itself"
Yes, you do believe II. There is
not man or woman here tonight
that does not believe that hope for
the future is more important than
present possession.
A man says, II do not believe
it,"
Yes. you do; / will prove il to
you in five minutes. Suppose you
had your choice tonight between
being a millionaire and having all
that money can buy for tonight,
with no hope for tomorrow, but
with the rising of tomorrow's sun
and the opening of tomorrow's
banks to be proved TO be an en-
bezzler. and all your money swept
away, and you cast into prison TO
spend the rest of your life there; or
to be absolutely penniless tonight.
but with the absolute certainty that
with the rising of tomorrow's sun
and the opening of tomorrow's
banks you were TO be a millionaire
all the rest of your life, which
would you choose?
oh" you say. that very easy;
would choose to be penniless to-
night, with the certainty that tomor-
row and all the rest OF my life L
was to be a millionaire"
So would /, but that only shows
that you believe that hope for the
future is more important than pres
ent possession; and ! would rather
be the poorest child of God in the
world tonight, with the absolute
certainty that with the daw ing of
eternity | was to be for all eternity
an heir of God and joint-heir with
Jesus Christ. than TO be the richest
man on earth tonight out of Christ,
with no outlook for all eternity but
to be cast into Gods eternal prison.
house of hell.