Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-12-12
A SUNDAY CONVERT
GIVES EXPE R|ENCES
Y. v. SlLlAWAY, SUPERlNTEND-
EMIT OF RESCUE MISSION AT
TABERNACLE.
LBY GORDON LATHROP. |


Des Moines. Dec. 11.--William Sun
day IN the sermon: And he arose
AND followed him." set out to prove
that the effective extraction of devils
from ones life did not necessarily
nave to be accompanied by any wiring
ing OF the hand, beating of the head,
ceremony; that quiet, instantaneous
conversion was not only more betting
the simplicity of Gods plan but was
the method of conversion of most of
the strong men and women of history,
from Matthew, the disciple, and before
to U. V. Sillaway, ex-drunkard and Jail
bird and after.
1t was of Matthew that it was writ
ten In the gospel according to Mark:
And he arose and followed him" U.
V. Sillaway testified for himself.
Mr.. Sillaway is fresh complexion
ed, stocky man, apparently In his Wig
orous forties. He has a good fore
head, clear eyes behind his nose
glasses andl he speaks in quiet,
pleasing, conversational tone.
He had but three minutes to talk,
having OF necessity to return on an
early evening train to his home in Mil
waukee where he is superintendent of
the rescue mission.
He spoke volume in the three
minutes, however. Quietly, simply he
began:
Il wasn't converted until | was 33
years OF age. l started out in life to
be a physician and at 33 was barber.
married the sweetest woman in the
world but | gave her and my boy a
hell for home-a drunkard's hell.
have been in most of the jails in the
country, have taken the gold cure
without effect and during the six
months preceding my conversion I
tried twice to take my own life. | ac-
cepted Jesus Christ one night and
have found that his power is I'M
limited
Mr.. Sillaway spoke few sentences
about the work of the Milwaukee res.
cue mission, of it's financial success
and power for good, of the thousands
who have been brought to God through
its work and he closed his remarks
with a reference to the saloon bust.
ness by saying: Would to God you
would vote as you pray
Perhaps Mr.. Sillaway's short talk de-
cided Sunday on the choice of SER
mons. Five minutes before he an.
nounced the text no one, including
himself, know which of two sermons
he would preach.
That he chose the story of Matthew,
the publican, the well fed, worldly man
OF affairs who arose at Christ's call
and forsook his easy position in the
world to follow him, seemed peculiarly
applicable after the living proof en-
bodied in the ex-drunkard of Christ
ianity's regenerative power. The
two stories, one of the living man
and one of the living works of the
follower of Christ conceded beautiful
ly in all their essentials.
Sundays words; THE instant you
yield to Christ, Gods plan of salvation
is thrown into gear was the promise
of which the lives of these two men
stand as the conclusion.
Sunday introduced his sermon by
saying that he had no quarrel with
any method of conversion that con-
tanned God in it but on this night, he
was citing the striking instances OF
quiet, ,undemonstrative conversions
and pleading in addition for the in
Simultaneous conversion.
In telling the story of Matthew, he
dilated at length on the wonderful
work accomplished by the man who
had once been lying, thieving, serv-
ant of the Roman government. He
called the gospel Of Matthew "the
most comprehensive story of Christ
ever written Matthew, he held,
could not know what great place there
was to be in the world for him. but
he instantly followed Christ and his
life thereafter was unfolded as per-
fectly as dawn follows the break of
day"
You, young man, do not know what
power lies within you until you accept
Jesus Christ" he said. He told of the
conversions Of Sam Jones, Moody,
Chapman, Martin Luther. His own
life affords in its achievement as not
able an illustration of Development
through devotion to spiritual VOWS as