The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-02-13

- III 49, CAL \ AAiSA CGoAA6 IA Ill
terest steadily. The audience last
night was larger than that of Sunday
evening and the increasing number of
men-a much larger proportion than
one usually finds in any Missoula au-
dience-Was noticeable. Surely Evan
geiist Smith is a man for men. His
sermons have a firm grip. He is so
reasonable and logical, so fair and
courteous that people not only listen
to his, ermon but are drawn to him.
There were many more who took a
public stand for Christ last night when
the invitation was extended. In addi-
ton to the program announced for
last evening Mrs. Harold High sang
a solo. How Can l Look on Calvary's
Cross"
Today.
Today at 3 p. m. Mr.. Smith will
give a SECOND talk on Personal
Work" He urges that pencils and
notebooks be brought as well as Bibles.
A trio will be sung by the evangelists.
A large attendance is desired.
At 7 p. m. will be held a Commute
prayer meeting in the ladies' parlor.
SSANhi 81 - w >oiIlS q
little early for this service.
At the 1920 p. M. meeting Mr..
Smiths subject will be "Why People
Who Are Not Christians Are Not"
Another great musical program will be
enjoyed. The evangelists, by special
request, will sing, ooh, Love That
Will Not Let Me Co." and the choir
will render the stirring Welsh hymn
'Diadem." The public is invited to
come early and enjoy the song service.
Lessons From a Fool.
Last evening Evangelist Smith drew
some practical lessons from the story
Of the rich fool, his text being: but
God said unto him, thou fool, this
night thy soul shall be required of
thee, her whose shall those things be
which thou hast provided? So is he
that layeth up treasures for himself,
and is not rich toward God"
Said Mr.. Smith: when God calls
a man a fool, he is one, and that God
does that thing in His word, directly
or indirectly, more thar $50 times, is
a significant, undeniable, awful fact.
I have not time, of course, to call
your attention to $50 passages of
scripture, but I do want you to no.
tice the one I have chosen as my text,
which, perhaps, is the most signfi-
cant of all. Let it be understood at
once, that God did not call this man
a fool because he had great posses
sions, but because his possessions had
him. He was foolish because he was
selfish, and so are you if you are self
ish. A selfish person is never happy
no matter how much he possesses.
And in the second place he was fool
ish for thinking the possessions of
this life the most important things;
and so are you if YOU are thus delud-
ed. In the third place, he was fool
ish for leaving the living God out of
all his calculations, and so are you if
you are doing that thing, for sooner
Or later God is going to say: Chou
fool, this night they soul is required
of thee and when that time comes,
the one who has naught but the
things of his life to point to, will call
himself a fool.
Each night during this week l have
been holding before the throngs who
have gathered in this hall, the import
ance of the Christian life, and you
have repeatedly declared your belief
in the Bible and in the Christian life.
Holding this before you. I ask every
man and woman who is not a Chris
ton, if God should call for your soul
tonight, as He may, what would you
say? One thing certain, the excuse
you are making to the preacher and
to the workers would not do then, for
excuses are not easons. A reason is
a just cause for not doing a thing,
while am G is usually a make
shift, n that is always true when
given as a reason for not being a
Christian. There are excuses and
excuses, but that man does not live
who has a reason for not being a
Christian. I appeal to you, would
you not be foolish to face God thus,
should he call tonight?
But the revised version of that
passage of scripture reads: Thou
foolish one, this night thy life is re-
quired of thee 1t means precisely
the same thing, but suggests that God
requires our lives, and really T like
that better, for one is not prepared to
live until he is prepared to die. And
God does require our lives, and has
a right to require them, for he pur-
chased us with the blood of His own
son. He requires your young life,
your strong life and all of your life,
and one who does not give his life to
God, is robbing God and is of all men
most foolish for that reason. I wish
l had the power to show you the aw-
ful, indescribable sin of robbing God,
but no man an do it. I beg of you
to commit that foolish, sinful act no
longer.
again, one is foolish who does not
give himself to God, because he robs
himself. That occurs first of all here
In this life. l know some of you
smile at that, because you are so al
lured with this old world that you
cannot realize that you are robbing
yourself of pleasures u~nspeakable here.
The old man at Hamilton of whom I
told you who said, I nave just begun
to live has at last found it out.
Then that husband out of Christ, is
robbing his wife of the right of a
Christian husband. I insist on that
thing; n the father out of Christ
is robbing his children of the influ-
ence Of a Christian father. and 7 in